Childhood and Growing Up
Childhood and Growing Up
Childhood and Growing Up
Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Objectives
1.3 Meaning of Psychology
1.4 Branches of Psychology
1.5 Educational Psychology
1.6 Purpose and principles of teaching and learning
1.7 Meaning of growth and development
1.8 Differences between growth and development
1.9 Importance of growth and development
1.10 Human development process
1.11 Concept of individual differences
1.11.1 Biological
1.11.2 Psycho- analytical
1.11.3 Cognitive implications
1.12 Cognitive development
1.13 Attention factors
1.13.1 Span of attention
1.13.2. Inattention and distraction
1.13.3 Concept formation types
1.14 Let us sum up
1.15 Unit- end activities
1.16 Answers to check your progress
1.17 Suggested readings
1.1 INTRODUCTION
As a teacher trainee, when you are engaged in the teaching -learning activity if
you understand the student’s interests and needs you can make your teaching according
to their needs, they will be interested in learning and consider you as a good teacher. How
do you understand the attitudes, interests and needs and aptitudes of the students?
Psychology helps you to understand the mental activities, experiences and behavior of
human beings. Psychology deals with not only the behavior of the conscious level, it also
deals with the experiences of sub-conscious and unconscious levels of human mind.
Behavior in Psychology includes the physical activities and mental activities such
as thinking, imagining that could be indirectly observed and emotions such as anger, joy.
Behavior in Psychology is explained in terms of stimulus and response. The
Psychologists feel that the changes in the development are not uniform at all ages. The
Growth and development is studied in biological, psychoanalytical and cognitive
implications.
1.2 OBJECTIVES
The word Psychology is derived from two Greek words Psyche and Logus.
‘Psyche’ means soul, ‘logus’ means science. So psychology in the beginning was meant
to be the science of soul. Later people began to question the existence of soul.
So Psychology was defined as the science of mind. The activity of mind cannot be
externally observable; so Psychology was defined later as the science of human behavior.
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1.4 BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Educational psychology will help the teacher to get answers for the following questions.
(i) Who are to be educated?
(ii) Why should one be educated?
(iii) Where should education be given?
(iv) When it should be given?
(v) How should it be given?
and many other questions relating to teaching learning process.
A teacher’s most typical role is that of instructional expert. In that role, the
teacher is responsible for planning activities to facilitate learning. The teacher is
responsible for guiding students in learning activities and evaluating them. Beyond these
instructional responsibilities, a teacher also takes on the role of manager. A teacher needs
to bring order and structure to the environment to facilitate the learning process.
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maintaining clear rules, and (3) Employ didactic teaching, which is an elaborate system
of knowledge for understanding problems in teaching and knowing how to transform
content into curriculum.
Figure1.1 The Teaching –Learning Process: An integration of “who” “what” and “how”
WHO WHAT
( Characteristics of the learner Curriculum Objective
Teaching to learner uniqueness) What is the purpose what is to be
of this curriculum Learned?
Cognitive (level of development and
style) How does it fit in the what must
Socio emotional (level of anxiety scope and sequence of the student do
socio economic Needs etc.) a student’s education? to learn?
Individual differences(Learning,
gender, SES, culture, exceptionalities How will this learning be
demonstrated?
HOW
Learning theories Principles of Managing the classroom
(Motivation)
Behavioral value of learning Prevention
(Need / drive theory)
Neobehaviourist Expectancy theories Intervention
(Efficacy, Attribution Remediation
Personal conversation)
Teaching has its artistry, but it is an art that can be studied, analyzed and
understood. Once the science of teaching has been understood, effective actions can be
taught, incorporated, practiced and perhaps become so automatic for the effective teacher
that it once again appears as an art.
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Check Your Progress
Change is the law of nature. Animate or inanimate objects are all subject to
change. Animate objects are distinguished from inanimate objects chiefly by their
potentiality to maintain the flow and cycle of life. Seeds, after germinating in the soil
grow as saplings and then as specific plants or trees which in turn flower and produce
seeds or fruits for further germination. Similar is the case with birds, animals and human
beings who can reproduce their own kind by the transmission of specific characteristics
of the species through sexual union between the male and the female.
As far as the human being is concerned, life starts with the conception in the
mother’s womb as a result of the process of fertilization of the ovum(egg cell) of the
mother by the sperm cell of the father. The mother’s womb then becomes the site and the
meaning for the growth and development of the new life and it is only after nine months
that the baby is able to come into the world as a new born. The period spent in the
mother’s womb is termed as pre-natal period and is usually not included in the
computation of one’s chronological age.
In all animals, including human beings, the pre-natal period resembles the time
taken by a germinating seed to come out of the soil, which then grows and develops into
a full fledged plant or tree. The processes by which a germinating seed or conceived
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organism is turned into the mature plant or full fledged being are collectively termed
growth and development.
The term growth may be limited to the changes in the quantitative aspect i.e
increase in size, length, height and weight and expansion of vocabulary etc., The term
development implies the overall changes occurring in both the quantitative as well as
qualitative aspects. Therefore, development as a term carries a wider and more
comprehensive meaning than the term growth.
The chief aim of education is to help the students to have desirable changes and
new way of thinking. To bring about this kind of changes it is necessary to know about
the growth and development of the children to their age. Development is a continuous
and non- stop process at all periods and stages of human life. Therefore, we should never
give up our efforts to achieve perfection in terms of development in the different
dimensions of our personality.
The Principles related to growth and development suggests a pattern or trend for
the advancement of children on the developmental path. Principles like proceeding from
general to specific responses and the principle of integration helps us to plan the learning
processes and arrange suitable learning experiences so as to achieve maximum gain in
terms of growth and development.
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1.10 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
1.11.1 Biological
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developed psychoanalysis, a therapeutic approach aimed at giving patients insight into
unconscious emotional conflicts.
Cognitive development takes place with the help of experiences through sensory
organs, observation and memory, arranging thoughts and by finding solutions to
problems. Some educationalists feel that cognitive development takes place in different
stages from the time of birth. According to them the development of one stage is based
on the development of the previous stages. These stages of growth may occur at different
age for different children. But the order of the stages will be the same.
The factors that determine attention from inside us are internal or subjective
factors. Sometimes there may be certain factors from outside too. These are present in the
stimulus or the objects that attract us. These are called external factors.
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1.13.1 SPAN OF ATTENTION
We can notice a few things within a short period of time. The number of things
we can observe in a very brief period is the span of attention. The span of attention
denotes how many things can exist within the focus of our conscious mind at a time.
When you ask children to see many things for a short period of time, they can see
all the things with equal attention. Because the number of things we see at a time is
limited. We can find out the span of attention of a person using Tachistoscope in the
psychology laboratory. Cards with varying number of dots will be flashed one by one.
Each card will be shown for a second. We have to say how many dots there are in each
card. The maximum number of dots you can notice is your span of attention.
Distraction, on the other hand, refers to attending to irrelevant stimuli that are not
part of the main assigned task. A student would like to attend to the lecture in the class
room but he may be distracted because of the noise coming from outside. Distraction
results in poor productivity and wastage of energy resulting in fatigue.
4) Who among the following was the supporter of heredity influences as human
development?
a) Galton b) Watson
c) Pearson d) woods
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1.13.3 Concept Formation Types
Concept refers to generalized image or idea which stands for a group of objects
that have some common characteristics. In other words it is the generalized idea which
stands for all our experiences with regard to particular object, person or event.
Concept
Quality Relations
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1.14 LET US SUM UP
Observe the various age group children (Early childhood, later childhood,
adolescent) in various situation like in the classroom, playground, at home, with parents,
friends, siblings, and list down the characteristics of them in physical , social, emotional
and intellectual domains.
Observe the various age group children (Early childhood, Later childhood,
Adolescent) in various situations like in the classroom, Playground, at home, with
parents, friends, siblings and list down the characteristics of them in Physical, social,
emotional and intellectual domain.
1 b
1 d
3 b
4 a
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UNIT – II UNDERSTANDING ADOLESCENT LEARNER
Structure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Objectives
2.3 Adolescent learner
2.4 Growth and development
2.4.1 Physical Development
2.4.2 Cognitive Development
2.4.3 Social Development
2.4.4 Emotional Development
2.4.5 Moral Development
2.5 Adolescent Period
2.5.1 Nature and Peer Factor influencing development
2.5.2 Behavioral pattern in terms of motivation
2.5.3 Attitude and Development of self-concept
2.6 Method of studying learner’s behavior at the adolescent stage
2.6.1 Observation
2.6.2 Interview
2.6.3 Experimentation
2.6.4 Case study
2.7 Let us sum up
2.8 Unit-end activities
2.9 Answers to check your progress
2.10 Suggested readings
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2.1 INTRODUCTION
The word ‘adolescence’ comes from the Latin Verb “adolescere” which means ‘to
grow’. So the essence of the word adolescence is growth and it is in the sense that
adolescence represents a period of intensive growth and change, in nearly all aspects of
child’s physical, mental, social and emotional life. Adolescence begins with the onset of
puberty and lasts till the beginning of adulthood. Several Physiological and psychological
changes occur during this period. According to Cole, adolescence is a period of growth in
all systems of the body. In the course of a few years the individual undergoes both in size
and in his internal body chemistry. The rapidity, variety and force of these developments
are amazing. The changes are so extensive that some people call this as second birth.
Stanelly Hall called this period as “Period of storm and stress” a time when the individual
is erratic , unstable and unpredictable.
2.2 OBJECTIVES
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2.4 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Emotional
Social Intellectual
Moral
Physical
WHO defines adolescence both in term of age (spanning the ages between 10 and
19 years) and in term of a phase of life marked by special attributes. These attributes
includes:
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2.4.1 Physical Development
At the adolescent stage, marked changes take place in the following domain:
(i) Direct instruction emplacing the necessity of having a good physique may be
given.
(ii) Suggestions regarding the maintenance of good health are very helpful.
(iii) Emphasis on right posture should be laid
(iv) Provision of good seating and lighting arrangements in the classroom, thereby
impressing upon them the importance of studying under healthy surroundings
should be made.
(v) Providing ample opportunities to the children for physical activity should be
given its due importance.
(vi) Physical exercise for any child should be compulsory in the school.
(vii) Various activities promoting physical development should be well planned and
children should be encouraged to take part in these activities.
(viii) At this stage, students also have sexual development. It is necessary for us to
impart them sex education.
(ix) Teachers should be conversant with norms of motor development of the child.
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Cognitive abilities include abilities like sensation, perception, imagination,
memory, reasoning, understanding, generalization, interpretation, problem solving and
decision making etc. In fact most parts of the school programmes relax to mental
development.
The adolescent learns to reason and seek answer to how and why of everything
rationally and scientifically. Power of critical thinking and observation in much
developed. They are more creative and inquisitive. They are almost critical of everything.
They develop a lot of imagination. This becomes the beginning of the artist, inventor,
philosopher, poet and writer etc. in the adolescent.
(i) Adolescence is marked with too much sex consciousness resulting in sexual
social relationships.
(ii) During adolescence loyalty becomes very much pronounced and adolescence
are in a mood to sacrifice their selfish interests for the greater cause of the
group, society and nation.
(iii) Adolescence stage is often marked with increased friendly relationships.
(iv) Emotional behavior of the adolescence dominates his social characteristics
and qualities.
(v) There is too much diversity in the adolescents regarding their social interests.
ii). Role of the school in the social development and satisfaction of the social needs of
the adolescence
The function of the school has considerably changed in the rapidly changing
civilization. The traditional function of imparting the basic skills of the three R’s is now
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no longer considered to be adequate to meet the present challenge. The present day
school has also to perform some of the functions of the family. It may develop certain
desirable social habits.
A teacher can play a vital role in the social development of adolescent under his
charge. He exerts a great influence upon the development of the personality of the
adolescent. Following are the important suggestions for the social development of the
adolescent.
(i) Adolescent may be taken from time to time to public places like museums,
courts and places of historical importance etc to observe social interaction.
(ii) People engaged in different economic activities or vocations may be invited
to school for giving a description of what they do and how useful their work is
to the nation. This will enable the adolescent to be acquainted with those
around them in the society.
(iii) Adolescent should be acquainted with the social events like the celebration of
the birthdays of leaders.
(iv) The school programme should be full of numerous co-curriculum and
curricular activities in which adolescent meet, co-operate and learn from each
other’s personality.
(v) Stories depicting self-sacrifices made by great men for the cause of general
good may be told to adolescents so that they are motivated to rise above petty
gains and work for the betterment of the humanity.
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2.4.4 Emotional Development
i) Role of the school and the teacher in satisfying the needs of the emotional
development of the adolescent.
Following are the ways for meeting the needs of the adolescent.
(i) Providing equal treatment irrespective of consideration of wealth, status or
gender of the adolescents.
(ii) Using dynamic and progressive methods of teaching-learning
(iii) Love and affection as the part of teacher to be made the basic of work
(iv) Balanced emotional behavior of the teacher himself
(v) Creative and democratic classroom and school discipline
(vi) Healthy physical conditions in the school
(vii) Due regard to individual differences of the adolescent
(viii) Due regard to the individuality of the adolescents
(ix) Adequate provision for a variety of co-curricular activities
(x) Provision of sex education
(xi) Rich and varied curricular
By morality we mean conformity to the moral code of the social group. The term
comes from the Latin word “mores” meaning manners, customs or folkways. To act in a
moral way means to act in conformity to group standards of conduct. Morality also
includes a sense of right or wrong behavior which has to do with the conscience of the
individual. Moral behavior is learnt. Moral standards vary from group to group depending
upon what has been accepted by the group as a socially approved behavior. True morality
comes from within the individual. It is internal in nature and not imposed by external
authority.
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Bowley and others are of the view that a person of moral character has the
following qualities (i) self control (ii) reliability (iii) persistence in action (iv) industrious
(v) feeling of responsibility (vi) consciousness
It has been stressed again and again that nothing can be more helpful in moulding
the adolescent’s moral behavior than the teacher’s own conduct. A teacher has to set a
high standard of moral behavior before the adolescent.
1) You have studied in the above unit about pattern of emotional development, from your
experiences, write any five points where you find difference in emotion between children and
adults.
Adolescence is commonly defined as the stage of life that begin at the onset of
puberty, when sexual maturity or the ability to reproduce is attained. It has been regarded
as a period of rapid change, both biologically and psychologically. Though the physical
changes that take place during the stage are universal, the social and psychological
dimensions of the adolescent’s experiences depend on the cultural context. For example,
in cultures where the adolescent years are viewed as problematic or confusing, the
adolescent will have very different experiences from someone who is in a culture, where
adolescent years are viewed as beginning of adult behavior and therefore, undertaking
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responsible task. Although most societies have at least a brief period of adolescente, it
is not a universal across cultures.
As adults when we reflect on our adolescent years and recall the conflicts,
uncertainties, occasional loneliness, group pressures, we feel it was definitely a
vulnerable period. During adolescence peer influence new gained freedom, unresolved
problem may create difficulties for many of you. Conforming to peer pressure can be
both positive and negative. Adolescents are often confronted with decisions regarding
smoking, drugs, alcohol and breaking parental rules etc.
These decisions are taken without much regard to the effect they can have.
Adolescents may face period of uncertainty, loneliness, self doubt, anxiety, and concern
about themselves and their future, they are also likely to experience excitement, joy and
feelings of competence as they overcome the developmental challenges.
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2.2 Diagrammatic representation of the concept of Self-concept
The idea of self starts growing from the period of infancy and grows during
childhood, adolescence and maturity. As the child grown up, he starts feeling that he is
separate from others. He slowly begins to learn that certain things belong to him. The part
of the environment in which he lives is known as his phenomenal self and the rest of the
environment of which he is aware or to which he responds is called phenomenal
environment or perceived environment and not self.
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2.6 METHOD OF STUDYING LEARNER’S BEHAVIOUR AT THE
ADOLESCENT STAGE
Adolescent’s thought becomes more abstract, logical and idealistic: they become
more capable of examining their own thoughts, other’s thoughts, and what others are
thinking about them. Adolescents developing ability to reason gives them a new level of
cognitive and social awareness.
Piaget believed that formal operational thought appears between the age of 11 and
15. During this stage adolescent thinking expands beyond actual concrete experiences
and they begin to think more in abstract terms and reason about them. In addition to
being abstract, adolescents thought is also idealistic. Adolescents begin to think about
ideal characteristics for themselves and others compare themselves and others with these
ideal standards. For example, they may think what an ideal parent is like and compare
their parent with these ideal standards. This may at time make adolescents wonder which
of the new-found ideal standards they should adopt.
2.6.1 Observation
For example:
The main characteristics of these method are described in the following section.
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i) Observation
(a) Selection:
Psychologists do not observe all the behavior that they encounter. Rather, they
select a particular behavior for observation, For Example, you may be interested to know
how children studying in class XI spend their time in school. As a researcher, you might
think that you have a fairly good idea about what happens in school. You might prepare a
list of activities and go to the school with a view to finding out their occurrences.
Alternatively, you might think that you do not know what happens in the school and by
your observation you would like to discover it.
(b) Recording:
While observing, a researcher records the selected behavior using different means,
such as marking tallies for the already identified behaviour whenever they occur, taking
notes describing each activity in greater detail using short hand or symbols , photographs
video recording etc.,
After the observation has been made, psychologists analyze whatever they have
recorded with a view to derive some meaning out of it. It is important to know that
making good observation is a skill. A good observer knows what he is looking for, whom
he/she wants to observe, when and where the observation needs to be made, in what form
the observation will be recorded, and what methods will be used to analyze the observed
behavior.
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TYPES OF OBSERVATION
When observations are done in a natural or real life settings, it was a school in
which observation was made, it is called naturalistic observation. In this case, the
observer makes no effort to control or manipulate the situation for making an
observation. This type of observation is conducted in hospitals, homes, schools, day care
centres, etc,. However many a times you might need to control certain factors that
determine behaviors they are not the focus of your study. For this reason, many of the
studies in psychology are conducted in the laboratory.
Observation can be done in two ways. One you may decide to observe the person
or event from a distance. Two, the observer may become part of the group being
observed. In the first case, the person being observed may not be aware that he/she is
being observed for example.
You want to observe the pattern of interactions between teachers and students in a
particular class. There are many ways of achieving this goal. You can install a video
camera to record the classroom activities, which you can see later and analyse.
Alternatively, you may decide to sit in a corner of the class without interfering or
participating in their everyday activities. This type of observation is called non-
Participant observation.
The danger in this type of set up that the very fact that someone (an outsider) is
sitting and observing may bring a change in the behavior of the student and the teacher.
In participant observation, the observer becomes a part of the school or the group
of people being observed. In participant observation the observer takes some time to
establish a rapport with the group so that they start accepting her/him as one of the group
members. However, the degree of involvement of the observer with the group being
observed would vary depending upon the focus of the study.
The advantage of the observation method is that it enables the researcher to study
people and their behavior in a naturalistic situation as it occurs. However, the observation
method is labour intensive, time consuming and is susceptible to the observer’s bias. Our
observation is influenced by our values and beliefs about the person or the event. You are
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familiar with the popular saying “we are things as we are and not as things are”. Because
our biases we may interpret things in a different way than the participants may actually
mean. Therefore, the observer should record the behavior as it happens and should not
interpret the behavior at the time of observation itself.
2.6.2 Interview
Types of Interview
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TYPES OF INTERVIEW
Characteristics of an Interview
Steps in Interview
Technique of Interview
1. Rapport should be established. Rapport is a technical term used to denote the
feelings of friendliness, security and mutual confidence between the investigator
and the subject.
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2. The investigator should try to ease the subject’s fear by encouraging him that
information will be kept confidential.
3. The Investigator attempts to ease tension in the mind of the subject with
humorous talks.
4. All evidence of fatigue, stress, irritation and anxiety should be avoided.
5. On the whole the interview should be confined to issues of hand.
6. Thinking of a subject should be challenged.
7. Before the end of the interview the subject should have developed the feeling of
having a satisfying and generally helpful experience.
8. The interview should be terminated fact fully and therefore it should be planned,
not sudden clear cut and not indefinite.
9. Salient points of interview should be immediately recorded.
Advantages
1. There is face to face relationship and thus congenital atmosphere for data
collection.
2. Information is highly reliable.
3. Confidential data can also be gathered.
4. It can bring out even unconscious data.
5. The Data collected can be recorded and used for future purpose.
Disadvantages
2.6.3 Experimentation
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factor, while keeping other related factors constant. In the experiment, cause is the event
being changed or manipulated. Effect is the behavior that changes because of the
manipulation.
Any stimulus or event which varies, that is,, it takes different values and can be
measured in a variable. Variables are of many types. Independent variable is that variable
which is manipulated or altered or its strength varied by the researcher in the experiment.
It is the effect of this change in the variable which the researcher wants to observe or
note in the study.
Case studies provide detailed in-depth depiction of people’s lives. However, while
generalizing as the basis of individual cases one needs to be very cautious. The problem
of validity in a single case study is quite challenging. It is recommended that the
information should be collected using multiple strategies from different sources of
information by a number of investigators. Careful planning of data collection is also very
necessary. Throughout the process of data collection the researcher is required to
maintain a chain of evidence for linking various data sources having bearing on the
research questions.
Physical development of the adolescent is important both for the individual and
social development. It is also important for ethical and moral development . Social
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development of adolescents is such a way that the adolescent become an efficient and
useful member of the society which he belongs. He conforms to the culture of the society
of which he is a member. The development of emotion is extremely important for the
harmonious development of the personality of the adolescents. Emotional development is
one of the major aspects of adolescence growth and development. Not only adolescents
physical growth and development is linked with his emotional make-up but his aesthetic,
intellectual, moral and social development is also controlled by his emotional
development.
Select a student during your facing produce and observe how he behaves with
other students, answers the question in the class. Participate in the class room activities
and other behavior aspects and record the observation. Analyze and submit the report on
the student behavior.
Select a adolescent student, interact with him and find out his problem and record
how you would offer counseling.
I 1
2
3
4
5
II.
1. The bond that develops between an infant and mother by which the infant seeks
close contact with the person and will show signs of emotional upset if separated
from that person.
2. Showing signs of fear and anxiety in the presence of a strange person and the
immediate reaction of children also seek the security of the mother.
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3. The anxiety that the infant experiences when he is separated from an attachment
figure.
4. A person sense or image of himself. It includes how he looks like, what he
believes and what he can and cannot do etc.
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UNIT – III LEARNING
UNIT-III LEARNING
Structure
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Objectives
3.3 Learning
3.4 Types of learning
3.4.1 Trial and error learning
3.4.2 Classical conditioning
3.4.3 Operant conditioning
3.4.4 Gestalt theory
3.5. Theories of development
3.5.1 Cognitive theory of development
3.5.2 Psycho-social theory of development
3.5.3 Theory of moral development
3.5.4 Theory of psycho-sexual development
3.5.5 Theory of emotional development
3.6 Factors affecting learning
3.6.1 Learning problems
3.6.2 Enhance learning skills
3.7 Transfer of learning
3.8 Remembering and forgetting
3.8.1 Curve of forgetting
3.8.2 Individual differences in learning
3.9 Let us sum up
3.10 Unit- end activities
3.11 Answers to check your progress
3.12 Suggested readings
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3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 OBJECTIVES
3.3 LEARNING
Learning takes place in many ways. There are some methods that are used in
acquisition of simple responses while other methods are used in the acquisition of
complex responses. The simplest kind of learning is conditioning. Two types of
conditioning have been identified. The first one is called classical conditioning and the
second instrumental/ operant conditioning. In addition, we have (Trial and Error learning
and insight learning) observational learning, cognitive learning, verbal learning, concept
learning and skill learning.
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Learning is explained in term of stimulus and response by a group of
psychologists. They are known as behaviorists the stimulus is an impulse that we receive
from the external environment of from within. Response is our reaction to the stimulus
that we receive. Two types of learning based on stimulus response bonds are described by
Pavlov and skinner. Pavlov called this classical conditioning and skinner operant
conditioning.
The famous psychologist Edward lee Thorndike (1834 – 1949) was the initiator of
the theory of trial and error learning based on the findings of his experiment on cat.
In one of his experiments, for instance, he put a hungry cat in a puzzle box. There
was only one door which could be opened by correctly manipulating a farce. A fish was
placed outside the box.
The smell of the fish ached as a strong motive for the hungry cat to come out of the box.
In another trial, the process was repeated. The cat was kept hungry and placed in
the same place in the same puzzle of the box. The fish and its smell again worked as a
motive for it to get out of the box, it again made random movements and frantic efforts.
But this time, it took less time to come out. In subsequent trials, such incorrect responses,
biting, clawing and dashing were gradually reduced and the cat took less time on each
succeeding trials. In due course, it was in a position to manipulate the latch as soon as it
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was put in the box. In this way, gradually the cat learnt the art of opening the door. The
experiment sums up the following stages in the process of the learning.
1. Drive : In the present experiment it was hungry and was intensified by the
sight of the food.
2. Goal : To get at the food by getting out of the box.
3. Block : The cat was confined in the box with a closed door.
4. Random : The cat persistently tried to come out of the box without knowing
Movements how.
5. Selection : Gradually, the cat recognized the correct way to manipulate the
latch. It selected the proper way of manipulating the latch out of
its random movements.
6. Fixation : At last, the cat learned the proper way to open the door by
eliminating all the incorrect responses and fixing only the right
response. Now it was able to open the door without any error or in
other words, learnt the correct way of opening the door.
Based upon the experiment mentioned above the major theoretical principles
which form the basis of Thorndike’s theory of learning and summarized in the discussion
as follows. Learning involved trial and error or selection and correction. Learning is the
result of the formation of connectionism. Learning is incremental, not insightful;
Learning is direct, not mediated by ideas. The experiment sums up the following stages in
the process of learning.
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2. The Law of Exercise
This law has two sub-parts. The law of use and the law of disuse which may be
stated as the Law of use:
The law of use states that the more accompanied by or frequently modifiable
connection between stimulus- response (S-R) is made stronger
In other words, learning can be said to have taken place properly when it results in
satisfaction and the learner derives pleasure from it. In the situation when the child meets
failure or is dissatisfied, the progress of learning is blocked. All pleasant experiences
have lasting influences and are remembered for a long time, while the unpleasant ones
are soon forgotten, Therefore, the satisfaction and dissatisfaction, pleasure or displeasure
resulting from a learning experience decides the degree of its effectiveness. This law
emphasizes the role of rewards and punishment in the process of learning.
Thorndike’s theory of trial and error learning and his laws of learning have been a
significant contribution to the field of learning. It has made learning purposeful and goal
directed and has emphasized the importance of motivation. It has also given an impetus
to drill and practice and highlighted the psychological importance of rewards and praise
in the field of learning.
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3.4.2 Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
This type of learning was first investigated by Ivan P. Pavlov. He was primarily
interested in the physiology of digestion. During his studies he noticed that dogs, on
whom he was doing his experiments, started secreting saliva as soon as they saw the
empty plate in which food was served. As you must be aware, saliva secretion is a
reflexive response to food or something in the mouth. Pavlov designed an experiment to
understand this process in detail in which dogs were used once again.
In the first phase, a dog was placed in a box and harnessed. The dog was left in
the box for some time. This was repeated a number of times on different days. In the
meantime, a simple surgery was conducted, and one end of a tube was inserted in the
dogs jaw and the other end of the tube was put in a measuring glass.
The experimental set up is illustrated in figure 3.2. In the second phase of the
experiment, the dog was kept hungry and placed in harness with one end of the tube
ending in the jaw and the other end in the glass jar. A bell was sounded and immediately
thereafter food (meat powder) was served to the dog. The dog was allowed to eat it. For
the next few days every time the meat powder was presented, it was preceded by the
sound of a bell. After a number of such trials, a test trial was introduced in which
everything was the same as the previous trials except that no food followed the sounding
of the bell. The dog still salivated to the sound of the bell, expecting presentation of the
meat powder as the sound of bell had come to be connected with it. This association
36
between the bell and food resulted in acquisition of a new response by the dog, i.e
salivation of the sound of the bell. This has been termed as conditioning.
You might have noticed that all dogs salivate when they are presented with food.
Food is thus an unconditional stimulus (US) and salivation which follows it, an
unconditional response (UR). After conditioning, salivation started to occur in the
presence of the sound of the bell. The bell becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) and
saliva secretion a conditional response (CR). This kind of conditioning is called classical
conditioning. The procedure is illustrated in fig 3.2.
1. Extinction
It was noted by Pavlov that if the conditioned stimulus (ringing of the bell) is
presented alone a number of times without the food, the magnitude of the conditioned
response of salivation begins to decrease, and so does the probability of its appearing at
all. This process of gradual disappearance of the conditioned response or disconnection
of the S. R association is called extinction.
2. Spontaneous Recovery
It was also discovered by Pavlov that after extinction, then a controlled response
is no longer evident. The behavior after reappears spontaneously but at a reduced
intensity. This phenomenon of the reappearance of an apparently extinguished
conditioned response (CR) after an interval in which the pairing of conditional stimulus
(CS) and unconditional stimulus(CS) has not been repeated is called spontaneous
recovery.
3. Stimulus Generalisation
Responding to the stimulus is such a generalized way was termed as stimulus
generalization with reference to a particular stage of learning behavior in which an
individual once conditioned to respond to a specific stimulus is made to respond in the
same way in respond to other stimuli of similar nature.
4. Stimulus Discrimination
Stimulus discrimination is the opposite of stimulus generalization. Here, sharp
contrast to responding in a usual fashion the subject learns to react differently in different
situation.
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Implication of Classical Conditioning
This type of conditioning was first investigated by B.F. Skinner. Skinner studied
occurrence of voluntary responses when an organism operates on the environment. He
called the Operants. Operant’s are those behavior or responses, which are emitted by
animals and human beings voluntary and are under their control. The term operant is used
because the organism operates on the environment; Conditioning of operant behavior is
called operant conditioning.
Skinner experimented with white rats. He kept the rats inside the cage without
giving any food for some time. The rat was hungry and was searching for food.
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In its random movements running here and there within the cage the rat struck a
lever. When the lever was struck food was given to the rat. For the random striking of the
lever, food was given as reinforcement. Gradually the rat learnt to strike the lever
whenever it became hungry. Now in this process the emitted response namely striking of
the lever at random casually is re-inforced by food and striking of the lever becomes a
usual behavior i.e whenever food is required the rat strikes the lever and gets food. The
rat operates on the environment casually and this casual operation becomes an usual
operation by getting re-inforcement for a casual operation in the beginning.
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Thinking above these lines, a group of German Psychologists called gestaltists
and primarily wolfgange kohler originated a learning theory named insightful learning.
Gestalt is a German noun for which there is no English Equivalent. The nearest English
translation of Gestalt is Configuration or more simply an” organize d whole”. The basic
idea of the theory is that a thing cannot be understood by the study of its constituent parts
but only by the study of it as a totality or whole.
Fig 3.4 Sultan Chimpanzee learns to assemble a long stick from two shorter ones
Kohler (1925) used the term insight first of all, to describe the learning of his
apes. During the period 1913-1917, he conducted many experiment on chimpanzee in the
canary islands and embodied his findings in his book (ibid). In one experiment, Kohler
put the chimpanzee sultan, inside a cage and a banana was hung from the roof of the
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cage. A box was placed inside the cage, The Chimpanzee tried to reach the banana by
jumping but could not succeed. Suddenly he got an idea and used the box as a jumping
platform by the placing it just below the hanging banana.
Experience
Past experience helps in the insightful solution of problem. A child cannot solve
the problem of modern mathematics unless he is well acquainted with its symbolic
language.
Intelligence
Insightful solutions depend upon the basic intelligence of the learner. The more
intelligent the individual the greater will his insight be.
Learning Situation
How insightfully an individual will react, depends upon the situation in which he
has been placed. Some situations are more conducive to insightful solution from others.
Individual Efforts
Insightful learning has to be pass through the process of trial and error but this
stage does not last long, these initial efforts in the form of a simple trial and error
mechanism, open the way for insightful learning.
Development refers to growth, adaptation, and change that occur over the course
of a lifetime. Through the process of development we have all changed significantly in
many different ways. While changes are one’s physical make-up (physical development)
may be the most apparent form of development. People also develop in their ability to
form and use language (language development) interact with other (social development)
and process information and make meaning from experiences (cognitive
development).Different theories have been evolved by psychologists which will identify
the significance of each development.
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget is well known for his theory which describes how
humans gather and organize information and how this process changes developmentally.
Piaget used a clinical-description method to collect his research data. The method
involved asking children carefully selected questions and recording their response along
with meticulous observation of children’s behavior. Although he frequently observed
small numbers of children his observation were longitudinal in nature that is, following
the development of these same children over a period of years. While much of his early
work was based on systematic observation of his own three children, a large part of his
later work was based on statistical friendship.
Piaget indentified four concepts, which he used to explain how and why cognitive
development occurs. These include schema, assimilation, accommodation and
equilibration.
(i) Schema: Piaget used the term scheme to refer to the cognitive structures by
which individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their environment.
Based on his interests in biology. Piaget postulated that the mind has mental
structures or schemata, just as the body has physical structures. Piaget
suggested that when an organism encounters stimulation or a new experience,
and relies on its structures to assist in that adaptation. Thus, just as the human
body is “organized’ into various structures such as the stomach, kidneys etc.,
which assist in ongoing adaptation, so too does the mind have structures or
ways of organized experiences, which facilitate adaptation to the experiences.
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(ii) Assimilation: This process of integrating new perceptual, motor or conceptual
material or experiences into existing schemata is termed assimilation.
Teachers often facilitate the student’s use of assimilation by connecting the
new material to the student’s existing knowledge. Thus, often watching a
nature film, a child may discover new animals to add to existing groups of
animals she has already stored in memory.
Piaget’s first stage of intellectual development, in which the child moves from the
reflective activities of reaching, grasping and sucking to more highly organized forms of
activity. The infant begins to understand that there is a difference between him/herself
and the rest of the world and that the sensory experiences received are in fact suggestive
of the existence to some form of “objects” or “events” that exist outside of themselves.
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This development of object permanence expands the infant’s view of the world
beyond that which is immediately and directly experienced. Thus, the infant may begin to
search for objects that are out of sight. During the period, the infant develops object
permanence, the realization that objects exist even if they are out of sight.
The stage is Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, in which the lack of logical
operations forces children to make decisions based on their perceptions. The major
development during the pre-operational period is the ability to represent object and events
or to use symbolic functions. You will recall that towards the end of the sensorimotor
period, children become capable of engaging in activities that involve mental
representation such as pretending.
Between the ages of two and seven, the mental abilities come to unfold fully as
advances in language development and imagination enable the child think and play in
new ways. In addition to symbolic functions the pre-operational period is characterized
by several unique features.
Egocentrism
Centration
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row contains nine objects and a second but longer row, contain seven objects. The pre-
operational child will typically select the longer row as having more objects even though
the child knows that nine is more than seven.
The later illustration shown that pre-operational children are not yet ready to
engage in conservation or to conceptualize that the quantity or amount of matter stays the
same despite changes in an irrelevant dimension.
Animism
Transductive reasoning
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(III) The Concrete operational Period
(i) Decentering
A child in the concrete operational stage is able not only to imagine things
independent of their immediate experience, but now is capable of employing all of the
perceptual features of an experience (decenter) in order to derive logical solutions to
concrete problems.
(ii) Reversibility
Piaget proposed that the most important of these was reversibility. A concrete
operational child understands that a model of an airplane, which had formerly been a
ball of clay, can be changed back into a ball of clay.
(iii) Conservation
The fact that the child in the concrete operational stage of development is able to
decenter and to reverse operational facilities the ability to develop conservation skills. A
child is able to solve conservation of number problems around the age six, area and mass
problem around seven or eight, and volume problem by eleven or twelve.
(iv) Classification
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(v) Seriation
Hypothetical reasoning transcends perception and memory and deals with things
not in the realm of direct experience. For instance, if a logical argument is prefixed by the
statement” suppose coal is white” a concrete operational child will invariably say that is
not possible and therefore the question cannot be answered. However, a formal
operational child will readily accept the assumptions of the argument and goon to reason
about its logic.
Analogical reasoning in which children can fully explain why an analogy works
and how each pair of the analogy is connected to the other, also emerges in formal
operations.
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(iv) Reflective abilities
Erik Erickson, the famous psychoanalyst is considered with developing the theory
of psycho-social development which covers normal development over the entire life span
of human beings. Erikson postulated that the development of an individual is the result of
his interaction with his social environment. Right from his book, his social development
puts him under specific pressures or conflicts by making specific demands at different
ages or developmental stages of his life.
Erickson discovered eight such issues or crisis of life arising at different ages or
periods of one’s development and linked them with the eight stages of one’s psycho-
social development covering one’s entire life span.
In the first one year of life, the infant is confronted with the crisis termed trust Vs
mistrust. During the period the baby is completely dependent upon its mother or caretaker
for the satisfaction of its needs. The sense of trust or mistrust with regard to the
environment gained in this way at this stage of development may then be carried over to
the stage of development to follow and consequently reflected in the developing
personality.
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Stage II: The Period of Autonomy Vs Shame and Doubt (1 to 3 years)
Having gained a primary sense of trust and security with regard to his
environment in the second and third years of his life, the child now passes through the
second stage of psycho-social development. With the newly developed motor or physical
skills and language ability, the child now engages in exploring his environment and
experimenting with his strength and limitations for achieving a sense of autonomy and
independence.
The third stage of psycho-social development between three to five years of age is
characterized by the crisis of initiative versus guilt. Equipped with the sense of trust and
autonomy the child now begins to take initiative in interacting with his environment.
In the case the child is discouraged from taking the initiative by his parents and
guardians not having faith in him or is pulled down by unhealthy criticism, punished or
rebuke for minor failures, the child is sure to develop a sense of guilt leading to
hesitation, indecision and lack of initiative in planning and carrying out life activities.
The teachers and school environment thus play a very significant role in helping
the child out of the industry versus inferiority crisis, for the child. The school becomes
the place where success and failure are defined. Therefore, it is the duty of the teachers
and school authorities to structure their classroom and school environment in such a way
as to help the students to maintain a positive attitude and view themselves as capable and
valuable individuals.
This stage, beginning with the advent of puberty, is marked with the crisis of
identity vs role confusion. Equipped with the sense of trust, autonomy, initiative and
industry, adolescents begin to search for their own personal identity. The sudden changes
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in the bodies and mental functioning and the altered demands of society compel then to
ask and questions of themselves like, who am I?.
Teachers and parents can play a very constructive role in helping, adolescents
through this identity versus confusion crisis. The adolescents craving for identity must be
fully recognized and it should be clearly understood that adolescents want to be identified
as adults and must, therefore be treated as such and not as children as many teachers and
parents tend to do.
This is the sixth stage of psycho-social development the span of years of early
adulthood. During this stage the individual tends to develop a sense of intimacy or
commitment to a close relationship with another person. Thus, during this stage the
individual seeks to form close personal attachments by merging his identity with that of
another person. The relationships develop into such a close involvement that he tends to
risk even the loss of his ego or image as is evidenced in the harmonious relationship
between husband and wife and intimate friends, and is the ideal relationship between a
teacher and his pupil.
Stage VIII :The Period of Ego-Integrity Vs Despair (Over Sixty Five Years)
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integration or culmination of the successful resolution of all the seven previous crisis
provides a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction to one’s ego.
When one reflects on one’s past and feel satisfied over what could have been or
for what should have been done differently. On the other hand, person who have not been
to successfully resolve the previous crisis of the developmental stages are sure to feel
differently. They look back on their lives both despair and feel dissatisfied with the way
they have lived their lives.
He differs from the popular view that children imbibe the sense and methods of
moral judgment from their parents and elders by way of learning. According to him as
soon as we talk with children about morality, we find that they have many ways of
making judgments which are not internalized from the outside and which do not come in
any direct and obvious way from parents teachers and even peers (Kohlberg, 1968).
Going further he clarified that internal or cognitive processes like thinking and reasoning
also play a major role in one’s moral development i.e the way children make moral
judgment depends on their level of intellectual development as well as on their
upbringing and learning experience.
For studying the process of moral development in human beings, kohlberg first
defined moral development as the development of an individual’s sense of justice.
The child begin to make judgments about what is right or wrong, good or bad.
However, the standards by which he measures the morality are those of others. He is
persuaded to take such judgment either to avoid punishment or to earn rewards.
Development of morality at this level usually follows the following two stages.
Stage 1 In the beginning the child’s morality is controlled by the fear of punishment. He
tries to obey his parent s and elders purely to avoid reproof & punishment.
Stage 2 In the second stage of the pre-moral stage, children’s moral judgment is based on
self-interest and considerations of what others can do for them in return. Here they value
a thing because it has some practical utility for them.
At this stage also, children moral judgment is controlled by the likes and dislike
of others -the conventions, rules and regulations and the law and order system maintained
within society. Staling or mercy killing would thus be judged wrong because it is
considered wrong by the society at large by the legal system. In this way, the
conventional level of morality may be regarded as the level where the child identifies
with authority. It is characterized by the following stages.
Stage 3 In the early years of the second level of moral development, the child’s moral
judgment is based on the desire to obtain approval of others and avoid being declared a
good boy or a good girl. For this purpose he begins to judge the intention and likes and
dislikes of other to act accordingly.
Stage 4 In the later years of conventional morality level, children’s moral judgment are
governed by convention as well as the law and mores of social system.
This marks the highest level of attainment of true morality as the centering force
for making judgments now rests with the individual himself. He does not value a thing or
conform to a idea merely because of consideration of the views of others, conventions or
the law and order system of society but because into the frame work of the frame work
of the self-accepted moral principles. This level is also characterized by two separate
stages.
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Stage 5 At this stage the individuals moral judgment are internalized in such a form what
he responds positively to authority only if he agrees with the principles upon which the
demands of authority are based.
Stage 6 At this stage the controlling forces for making moral judgments are highly
internalized. The decision of the individual are now based upon his conscience and the
belief in universal principles of respect, justice and equality. He does what he, as an
individual thinks regardless of legal restrictions or the opinion of others. Thus at this
stage people act according to the inner voice of their conscience and lead a life that they
can without self-condemnation or feeling of guilt or shame.
Freud, while explaining the structure of the human psyche or mind, divided it in
two different parts, first by arranging it into three layers as the conscious, the sub-
conscious and the unconscious and second by postulating three other components i.e. id,
ego and super ego.
The Conscious mind lies just above the surface of the water like the tip of an
iceberg and occupies only one tenth of our total psyche or mental life. The ideas,
thoughts and images that we are aware of at any moment of our mental life are said to lie
within this upper layer our mind. First beneath the conscious layer lies the sub-conscious
mind. This middle portion of our mind stores all types of information just beneath the
surface of awareness dormant or untapped which can be easily brought to the level of
consciousness at a moment’s notice whenever required.
Below the subconscious mind lies the unconscious, the most important part of our
mind. It is related to the vast part our mental life which is hidden and usually inaccessible
to the conscious. It contains all the repressed wishes, desires, feelings, drives and motion,
many of which relate to sex and aggression.
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Psycho – Sexual Development
According to Freud, sex is the life urge or fundamental motive in life. All physical
pleasures arising from any of the organs or any of the function are ultimately sexual in
nature. Sexuality is not the characteristic only of the adults. Children from the very
beginning have sexual desire also. This, he termed as ‘infantile sexuality’. A child passes
through the following different stages with respect to his psycho-sexual development.
1. The Oral stage: According to Freud, the mouth represents the first sex organ for
providing pleasure to the child. The beginning is made with the pleasure received
from the mother’s nipple or the bottle. Thereafter the child derives by putting
anything, candy, a stick, his own thump etc in to his mouth.
2. The anal stage: At this stage the interest of the child shifts from the mouth as the
erogenous zone to the organs of elimination i.e the anus or the urethra. He derives
pleasure by holding back or letting go of the body’s waste material through the anus
or the urethra. This stage generally ranges from two to three years.
3. The Phallic Stage: This phase starts from the age of four years with the shifting of
the child’s interest from the eliminating organs to the genitals. At this stage children
come to note the biological differences between the sexes and derive pleasure by
playing with and manipulating the genital organs. This stage, according to Freud,
may give rise to a number of complexes like deprivation and Electra complex in girls
and castration and Oedipus complexes in boys.
4. The Latency stage: This period starts from six years in the case of girls and seven to
eight years in the case of boys and extends up to the onset of puberty. At this stage,
boys and girls prefer to be in the company of their own sex and even neglect or hate
members of the opposite sex.
5. The genital stage: Puberty is the starting point of the genital stage. The adolescent
boy and girl now feels a strange feeling of strong opposite sex. At this stage, they
may feel pleasure by self-stimulation of the genitals, may fall in love with their own
self by taking interest in beautifying and adorning their bodies and may be drawn
quite close to members of the opposite sex even to the extent of indulging in sexual
act.
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Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Write yours answers in the space given below
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
Once children become able to talk, emotional development assumes a whole new
dimension. Emotions can now become a subject for reflection: by being able to label the
feelings they experience, children can stand apart from them, think about them and in this
way objectify whatever is going on inside them. Having words for emotions, children can
also enter into discussion about them: on the one hand, they can listen to other people
give an account of the feelings that they experience. Emotions can thus be shared, and
learning about their nature – their causes and consequences and how to handle them-
becomes so much easier once they can be dealt with at a verbal level.
Children do not only experience emotions; as they grow older, they increasingly
think about them as well. They try to understand what it means, for them and for other
people, to be involved in emotional episodes, and accordingly they will construct theories
about the nature and causes of the feelings they encounter.
Learning is the term used in the modification of the learner when occurs as a result
of training or experience, with the modification in behavior, the learner now can do what
he could not do earlier. The outcomes of learning from learning activities or experiences
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may result in the modification of attitudes, skills, social competence and abstract and
creating thinking. Learning is an enrichment of experience.
The learner is to learn and therefore his interests, abilities, aptitudes have to be
taken note of. It must be remembered that he is an active being. Individual differences
have to be attended to. Some of the learning problems will be highlighted below:
The capacity to learn has a limit in every child. One cannot learn more that what
is set by physiological capacity.
Usually use of rewards leads to better learning. Rewards may be in the form of
verbal appreciations or in cash or in certificate.
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(iv) Place of Insight Learning:
(i) Active participation of the learner is more effective than passive reception.
(ii) Meaningful materials and meaningful tasks are learned more quickly.
(iii) Moderate practice and repetition is very useful for durable learning.
(iv) Effective audio-visual aids contribute to make learning effective and
inspirational.
(v) Transfer of learning will be better if learner himself discover relationship
between new and old tasks.
(vi) Optimal learning takesplace when appropriate teaching strategies are adopted.
(vii) Learning through reward or success motivation is more effective than
punishment or failure.
(viii) The personality of a teacher is a great contributory factor is teacher-learning.
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3.7 TRANSFER OF LEARNING
Students learn and gain knowledge within the classroom contexts. The knowledge
that they have gained in this way should be useful for them to solve problem that they
face later in life. Effective learning in fact is learning in such a way that the present
learning becomes useful for later problems. If this does not happen, learning becomes
very much contextual and further use of learning is not possible.
Previous Present
Facilitate
Learning Learning
We can think of another use of transfer of learning where the present learning
may help the future learning. For example, the knowledge and skills related to school
mathematics help in the learning of statistical computation. Positive transfer is facilitated
where there are identical elements or components in both present and future learning.
Previous Present
Hinders
Learning Learning
Transfer is said to be ‘zero’ when learning or training in one situation does not
have any significant influence over the learning or training in another situation.
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Previous Present
Has no effect
Learning Learning
For example: Learning history may neither help nor hinder the learning of economics
“Memory can be likened to a giant filing cabinet in the brain, with data sorted,
classified and cross- filed for future reference. Remembering depends on how the brain
goes about coding its input” Levin (1978)
Heptic
Response output
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The process of memorization starts with the interaction of one’s sense organ with
one’s environment. The sensory message or information must stay or linger in the
resource system briefly, to give the brain time to interpret it. Sensory information passing
through the sensory stores either disappears within a second or is transferred to the short-
term store. In the case of short-term store is able to hold or register the information up to
20 seconds, it may move to the long-term store. For transferring information from the
short-term store to the long-term store one can make control processes. The long term
store is used for storing the sensory information on a permanent basis.
Forgetting
Types of Forgetting
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He plotted the data as a graph as shown below
Ebbinghaus concluded that (a) The amount learnt material forgotten depends upon
the time lapsed after learning. And (b) The rate of forgetting is very rapid at first and
then gradually diminishes proportionately as the interval lengthens.
Both heredity and environmental forces are said to be the role determinants of the
wide individual differences found in human beings. After conception what goes on inside
and outside a mother’s womb (approximately for nine months) and after birth, our
interactions with the environment forces, physical, social , cultural and educational
opportunities available to us for our growth and development all these create individual
differences.
The knowledge of the existing wide individual differences among the learners
carry quite significant educational implications. It has helped the learners to know
themselves in term of their potentialities and teachers and parents to realize that they have
to teach and care for their children in terms of their individualities. It has led to the
individualization of instruction and educational programmes to suit the needs, interests
and potentialities of individual learners.
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conditioning, insight learning focused the significance of learning. Further, this unit
highlighted theories of development, cognitive development, psycho-social development.
Theory of moral development, theory of psycho-social development and theory of
emotional development. One of the important characteristics of learning is that it is
transferable. But the amount of transfer may vary. It is depend on the factors involved in
learning. There is no complete transfer of learning from one subject to the other. This unit
also deals with the importance of remembering in learning situations.
1. Select any two students having different learning outcomes or capability from the
school or neighbourhood. Observe them for a considerable period of time and collect
information regarding their learning difficulties from all probable sources like
parents, peers, teachers etc. List those factors or comditions which are responsible
for their learning outcomes.
2. Try out your class any three methods of effective learning.
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3.12 SUGGESTED READING
1. Bower, G.H and Hilgard R.K (1986) : Theories of Learning, (5th Ed), Prentice
Halll, New Delhi.
2. Dandekar, W.K (1981): Psychological foundation of education, (2nd Ed)
Macmillan India Ltd., Madras.
3. Kundu, C.L and Tutoo, D.N (1985): Educational Psychology, (4th Ed) Sterling
Publications Pvt Ltd., New Delhi
4. Chauhan, S.S (1988): Advanced Educational Psychology, Vikas Publications,
New Delhi.
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UNIT – IV MOTIVATION
Structure
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Objectives
4.3 Motivation
4.4 Kinds of motives
4.5 Theories of motivation
4.5.1 Hulls drive reduction
4.5.2 Maslow’s need hierarchy
4.6 Mc Clelland’s achievement motivation
4.7 Fear of failure and hope of success
4.8 Motivation in the classroom context
4.9 Praise and blame rewards and punishment
4.10 Level of Aspiration
4.11 Let us Sum up
4.12 Unit- end activities
4.13 Answers to Check your Progress
4.14 Suggested Readings
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 OBJECTIVES
4.3 MOTIVATION
Motivation in the force that energies, and directs a behavior towards a goal.
Typically the concept of motivation is applied when a person is energized to satisfy some
need or desire. The person will engage in or be attracted towards, activities that are
perceived as having the potential to meet this need or desire. Since activities that appear
to satisfy unmet needs will appear attractive and interesting, the teacher who observers an
unmotivated students may really be observing someone from whom life in the class room
is not meeting needs. When the class room activities allow for the satisfaction of the
student’s needs, even this unmotivated student will actively engage in the learning
experience.
Psychologists now use the concept of need to describe the motivational properties
of behavior. A need is lock or deficit of some necessity. The condition of need leads to
drive.
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Reduction of
Need
arousal
Achievement Drive
Goal
directed Arousal
behaviour
Basically, there are two kinds of motives: biological and Psycho- social.
Biological motives are also known as Physiological motives as they are guided mostly by
the physiological mechanisms of the body. Psycho-social motives, on the other hand, are
primarily learned from the individual interactions with the various environmental factors.
KINDS OF MOTIVES
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However, both kinds of motives are interdependent on each other. That is, in
some kind of situation the biological factors may trigger a motive where as in some other
situation; the psycho-social factors may trigger the motive.
Social motives are mostly learned or acquired. Social groups such as family,
neighborhood, friends and relative do contribute a lot in acquiring social motives.
These are complex form of motives mainly resulting from the individual’s
interaction with her/his social environment.
Under this category, we can list all those needs that are associated with the socio-
cultural environment of an individual. They are acquired through social learning.
Although such needs are not linked with the survival of the organism or the species. Yet
deprivation of these may lead to a psychological state, there by seriously affecting its
survival and welfare. For the sake of clarity these needs may be classified in the
following manner.
(i) The need for freedom or gaining independence
(ii) The need for security
(iii) The need for love and affection
(iv) The need to achieve
(v) The need for recognition or social approval
(vi) The need for company
(vii) The need for self-assertion
(viii) The need for self-expression or self-actualization
The drive reduction theory was supported by other psychologists and its sphere
was broadened by including the psychological drives in it. For explaining the
mechanisms of drive reductions as a source of motivation, the term homeostasis.
However the failure of this theory to explain human behavior especially at the higher
cognitive level has reduced its importance as a major motivational theory.
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Self
actuali-
sation
Aesthtic
Needs
Esteem Needs
Safety needs
Physiological needs
The Physiological needs necessary for survival are at the bottom of the structure
while distinctly Psychological needs are at the top. Starting from the satisfaction of the
physiological needs, every individual strives for the satisfaction of the other needs of a
higher order. This striving for one or the other level of needs provides the motivation for
his behavior. A need that that has been satisfied is no longer a need. It ceases to be a
motivating force and therefore the satisfaction of one need leads an individual to try for
the satisfaction of other needs. In this way the motivational behavior of a person is
always dominated not by his satisfied needs but by his unsatisfied wants, desires and
needs.
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(i) Deficiency Needs:
Deficiency needs are needs that disrupt psychological and or biological balance,
causing a response to the discomfort. Deficiency needs include such physical
requirements as food, water, sleep and pain reduction. Also included in this group are
needs for security, belongingness and self-esteem.
Growth needs are those that apparently have an unlimited capacity for
satisfaction. As a class, they are needs that motivate us to develop the fullness of our
unique capabilities. Growth needs, according to Maslow include or quest for
understanding, appreciation of beauty, and our own personal development. These needs
are never truly “met” in the same way that the deficiency needs could be ‘met” or
“fulfilled”. Rather, growth needs continue to expand and take on new directions each
time the individual experience them. This would explain why a person having begun to
learn about music or electronics for instance may truly desire to learn more. It is a
reflection of the adage “the more you know, the more you want to know”.
Maslow also suggested that within each group needs are arranged in a hierarchy
of precedence. This hierarchy is the proposition that a lower, survival-based deficiency
need takes precedence over the higher-level growth needs. Thus, the higher needs are
more predominant and directive of our actions only when the lower needs have been
satisfied.
The Physiological needs are the ones that most demand satisfaction. As with the
other need levels of the hierarchy once this level is satisfied. The next level emerges.
Safety needs include good health and security from harm and danger. Safety needs also
arouse in anticipation that physiological needs will need to be satisfied again. Thus, an
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individual is motivated to same for a rainy day or to ration water or food when confronted
with limited supplies.
It could be argued that when a student asks the teacher “Is this Important?” or will
this be on the test? “the primacy of the safety need is interfering with the need to know.
Under these conditions the role of the teacher may be to facilitate learning through
provides for the safety (Physiological and Psychological) of the student. By being
specific in telling students their learning objectives, along with telling them what they
will need to do, the teacher can satisfy or at least reduce this safety need and open the
way to activate higher-order needs such as the need to know and understand.
Next in the hierarchy of needs are what have been termed belongingness needs.
These are the needs to feel connected with others. Needs for the friends, family and
interpersonal connectedness are all reflections of this level of level of motivation, as is
the need to give and receive love. As we continue up to hierarchy, the next needs to
emerge are those involving the need for esteem or the desire to have respect, confidence
and a sense of personal worth and value.
The needs to know and to understand include the need to safety curiosity to seek
knowledge and to gain understanding. The final needs in a person’s path toward self-
actualization are the aesthetic needs. There are the needs to experience order, truth
beauty, symmetry, closure and the sense of completion of an act.
Maslow’s position was that as these more fundamental needs are met on
individual will be directed towards the ultimate growth need, self-actualization. This
refers to the drive to develop one’s potential in order to become what one is capable of
becoming. This paths toward self-actualization can be many and varied, ranging from
career or vocational choices, life style choices and even leisure activity choices. Self-
actualization is not so much a matter of what a person does, as how he feels about what
he is doing.
Achievement need is the term most often applied to the drive to excel in learning
(Atkinson 1980, 1983) Thus, students who persistently attempt to do well in school and
succeed with high grades have high achievement needs and high achievement motivation.
These with high achievement motivation are generally perceived as being more
intrinsically motivated, ambition, competitive and independent in decision making than
people with low achievement needs. People with high achievement motivation generally
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do not enquire immediate students with high need for achievement tend to be motivated
by challenging assignments. Opportunities for second attempts and correcture feed back
where as students with a high need to avoid failure seek small, clearly defined
assignments with clear achievable pay offs.
Providing “do-able” tasks does not mean providing easy tasks or easy goals. Easy
goals are not the answer since they provide very little satisfaction or else of mastery,
where as difficult goals may provide little hope of accomplishment.
Atkinson felt that student’s motivation to learn was influenced by their perception
of the difficulty of the task. Achievement oriented students preferred tasks that they
consider to be moderately difficult. Therefore, it is important to help students develop
more relative goals and prediction around moderately difficult tasks.
According to David Mc Clalland and his associates (Mc Chelland, 1973, 1985)
giving students concrete ideas about how to reach their goals increases their motivation to
achieve, where as abstract advise (eg. Just keep trying” (You will get it, practice makes
perfect) are not very useful.
Weisz (1975) suggest that students appear to develop a stranger need to avoid
failure s they progress along in their education. Whereas younger children after plunge in
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and attempt tasks older student after devote more energy to developing strangers to
reduce failure than they do those strategies that increase achievement.
Thus, for those with high fear of failure and shifting self-perception of
competence, the teacher needs to minimize failure by providing support and praise for
legitimate effort as well as for outcome.
But success and failures are relative terms. They are related to the level of
aspiration. An experience which one person considers as rewarding may be interpreted as
failure by another. Success and failure thus depend not only upon the actual achievements
of an individual but on the goals and expectations which he has set for him.
Teachers should help each students to set a goal which is appropriate for him. An
appropriate level of aspiration has two characteristics. It is high enough to be challenging
and low enough to be attainable. The level of aspiration is closely related to motivation.
The teacher should set the goal in such a way that the students will not meet with
continuous failure. There should be a balanced diet of success and failure with success
predominantly.
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4.8 MOTIVATION IN THE CLASSROOM CONTEXT
Within the classroom the primitive motives such as hunger and thirst are seldom
involved in direct fashion. If the student finds that a particular activity in school given
him states or recognition or success he will naturally be motivated to do activity since it
satisfies his need. Motivation is fundamentally is dependant as an individual needs and
drives. These drives produce willingness to learn. The teacher should therefore, organize
the activities in such a way that they will appeal to the needs.
These are also strong incentives for effective learning. Praise stimulates average
and inferior children but has less effect on those of superior intelligence. Reproof is felt
most by superior children, but girls seem more susceptible to praise them do boys.
Regardless of age, sex or initial ability, praise is the most effective of the incentives.
Reproof seems to be less effective than blame with young children, but Harlock (1920)
generalized still accepted by contemporary investigation, that praise is more effective
stimulus in motivating both immediate and long-contained tasks.
Rewards are certainly better and positive incentives to learning. They are
responsible for initiative, energy, competition self expression and creative ability.
According to the law of effect rewards is satisfying and pleasant. Thus reward strengthen
learning, rewards may in the form of gifts, prizes, money, badges, cups, certificate of
merit or other objects of some value. But when these rewards are too much strived for
they degenerate whole learning.
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4.10 LEVELS OF ASPIRATION
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4.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
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UNIT V INTELLIGENCE
UNIT V INTELLIGENCE
Structure
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Objectives
5.3 Nature of Intelligence
5.4 Theories of intelligence
5.4.1 Single factor theory
5.4.2 Two factor theory
5.4.3 Multifactor theory
5.4.4 Guilford structure of intellect
5.5 Individual differences in intelligence
5.6 Distribution of intelligence
5.7 Intelligence test & uses
5.8 Let us sum up
5.9 Unit-end activities
5.10 Answers to check your progress
5.11 Suggested readings
5.1 INTRODUCTION
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The performance of any task systematically and without any hesitation or interruption is
considered a symbol of intelligence. The world’s greatest literary person, Scientists,
Psychologists and Politicians are arriving at special attainment in the context of
intelligence.
5.2 OBJECTIVES
This theory, the eldest in origin, holds that intelligence consists of one factor, a
fund of intellectual competence, which is universal to all activities of the individual. A
man who has vigor can move as much on one direction as he can in another.
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Similarly, if he has a fund of intelligence, he can utilize it in any sphere of life and
depending on it, be a successful in one sphere as in any other. The ideas propagated by
this theory are not, however, born out in real life situation.
It may be seen for instance that a child who is good in mathematics may not,
despite genuine interest and diligence, be able to do as well his civics while an above
average performer in the laboratory may not exhibit comparable, competence in learning
a language.
This theory was developed by Charles Spearman. He was the opinion that
intelligence consists of two factors i.e., general intelligence, ‘g’ general mental ability is
always the same for the same individual or present is all the individual exercises and
common for all activities and the second factor ‘s’ varies from task to task according to
its nature.
It is also noticed that different individuals differ both in their ‘g’ as well as‘s’
factors. It is believed that ‘g’ is innate, omnipresent, and values with the individual ability
where as ‘s’ factor is acquired and differ from different action. For example, an
individual’s performance in literature is partly due to his/her general intelligence and
partly due to some specific aptitude for language ie, g + s in mathematics his/her
performance may be the result of g + S2 in drawing may be due to g + S3 and in social
sciences in g + S4 and so on. Thus the factor ‘g’ is present in all specific activities and the
amount of ‘g’ and ‘s’ factors required in an activity will depend upon its nature.
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5.4.3 Multi Factor Theory
Thorndike distinguished four attributes of intelligence. They are level, range, area
and speed.
(a) Level :
It refers to the difficulty of a task than can be solved. It means if a task arranged
in a sequential order and the person attain the task up to a certain level indicates his/her
degree of intelligence.
Range refers to the number of tasks at any given degree of difficulty that one can
solve.
(c) Area:
It is the total number of situations at each level to which the individual is able to
respond indicate his/her intelligence.
(d) Speed:
The rapidity, with which the individual can solve or respond to the test item, is
called as his speed.
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It can be interpreted that when we test a person or give him/her a certain number
of tasks (area) these tasks vary in difficulty (level) there are number of items at each level
of difficulty (range) and they respond in a given frame (speed).
Guilford’s model leads us to conclude that any time one is engaged in a mental
operation he or she would be employing some process or operation on some specific
content to drive some final product. He developed a structure of intellect model that
describes intelligence as the intersection of five cognitive operations, four content areas
and six products.
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each category of the three parameters has to be present in any specific intellectual activity
on mental task.
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The distribution of intelligence is not equal among all human beings. It resembles
the pattern of distribution of health, wealth, beauty and similar other attributes or
endowments. It is a normal distribution that is governed by a definite principle which
states that the majority of people are at the average, a few very bright and a few very dull.
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5.7 INTELLIGENCE TESTS
Generally the results of these tests are reported in the form of mental ages,
intelligence quotients, percentiles etc.
Intelligence tests
Verbal test Non- Verbal Performance test Verbal test Non - Verbal
Standardized intelligence test originated in the early 1990s with the work of
Alfred Binet. Originally, Binet and his partner Theodore Simon used tasks on their
intelligence test that differentiated students at each grade level. Initially they described
permanent as a mental age for instance a child who succeeded on task that had been
demonstrated to be possible by most nine year old children, was described as having the
mental age of nine years. However there were problems applying this method with old
population
When the Simon-Binet test came to the United States it was translated by Lewis
Terman at Stanford University. This revised form became known as the Stanford- Binet
test, and with the revision the concept of intelligence quotient (IQ) was added. The
Formulation was relatively simple. Divide the mental age (M.A) as defined by the
number of items on the test successfully passed, by the persons’ actual chronological age
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(C.A). This ratio formed the basis for the ratio intelligent quotient and the multiplication
by 100 removed the decimals from the final product.
IQ = 100
For instance, if a child who was six years old successfully completed all the tasks
that were typically completed by those who were eight that child would have a mental
age of eight years and her IQ would be 133. This would be calculated as follows (8/6=
1.33 x 100 =133)
The most popular intelligence test used in the Wechsler scale of intelligence.
There are three versions in use: one is for the pre-school primary population, one for
elementary students and another designed for adults.
The Wechsler test, regardless of which version, is designed in two parts verbal
and performance. The verbal tests all require a question to be posed orally and the
students to respond verbally. The Performance subtests all require the student to visually
process some test material and respond with a motoric response. The test is individually
administered and consists of thirteen sub texts, six of which are verbal and seven of
which are performance.
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5.8 LET US SUM UP
1. (i) Level
(ii) Range
(iii) Area
(iv) Speed
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UNIT VI CREATIVITY
Structure
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Objective
6.3 Concept of creativity
6.4 Identification of creative pupils
6.5 Difference between intelligence and creativity
6.6 Convergent & divergent thinking
6.7 Latent thinking
6.8 Process of creativity
6.9 Fostering creativity
6.10 Let us sum up
6.11 Unit end activities
6.12 Answers to check your progress
6.13 Suggested readings
6.1 INTRODUCTION
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6.2 OBJECTIVE
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6.5 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY
This is because thinking is neither purely divergent not purely convergent and
always has elements of both which are simultaneously involved in the creative and the
intellectual process. It therefore, follows that when a person is considered to be creative,
he has to have a minimum level of intelligence certainly above the average.
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6.7 LATENT THINKING
Creative thinking in all its shapes and norms is absolutely an internal mental
process and hence should be considered as an important component of one’s cognitive
behavior. Every one of us is capable of creative thinking it is a universal phenomenon.
Any creative experiment as a result of one’s creative thinking is a source of joy and
satisfaction for the creator. Creative thinking in all its dimensions involve divergent
thinking instead of the routine and fixed type of convergent thinking. The mind has
complete freedom to wonder around to create a new idea.
The second stage is incubation, when the person organizes and reorganizes and
tests his ideas. This period involves vicarious experiencing of the problem. Flashes of
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insight trial judgment occur. This is a period of no obvious activity and progress. The
problem is being solved unconsciously.
This is called “Eureka” when the individual suddenly perceives the theme and
relationship among the various components of the problem. Most of the creative thinkers
claim that their creative ideas emerged all of a sudden.
(iv) Revision:
It is the last stage in the development of creativity. At this stage, the individual
reflects, evaluates and submits to critical appraisal.
CREATIVITY TESTS
Creativity test may be used in the identification of the creative in the same way as
intelligence tests are used for the assessment of intelligence. There are many standardized
tests available for this purpose in India. Some of these are now enumerated.
The tests standardized in India
1. Baquer Mehdi’s tests of creative thinking (Hindi/English)
2. Passi’s tests of creativity
3. Sharmas divergent production abilities test
4. Sexena’s tests of creativity.
Creativity is a complex blend of number of abilities and traits, and hence all the
creative tests mentioned above attempt to measure several dimensions of one’s creative
behavior through their test items –Verbal or Non-Verbal. The factors or dimensions of
creativity commonly measured through these tests are a) fluency b) flexibility c)
originality d) unusual responses e) resistance to premature closure and f) elaboration etc.,
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develop creativity, namely flexibility, ideational fluency, divergent thinking, self-
confidence, persistence, sensitiveness, ability to see relationship and make associations
etc are essential for this and may be achieved through the following procedures.
i) Freedom to respond
ii) Opportunity for ego involvement
iii) Encouraging originality and flexibility
iv) Removal of hesitation and fear
v) Providing appropriate opportunities and atmosphere for creative expression
vi) Developing healthy habits among children
vii) Using the creative resources of the community
viii) Avoidance of blocks to creative thinking Proper organization of curriculum
ix) Reform in the evaluation system
x) Use of special techniques like brain storming method
xi) Teaching by example
Creativity as the unique characteristic of the human mind may be defined at the
capacity of an individual to create or produce an entirely new or novel idea or object or
by the rearrangement or reshaping of what is already known. It is both innate as well as
acquired and a process as well as a product. It is also characterized by qualities like
universality, adventurousness and open-mindedness a craving for change and novelty,
ego involvement and divergent thinking. It does not necessarily have a positive
correlation with school achievement and intelligence. It does, however show positive
correlation with anxiety and negative correlation with sociability. Creativity is also
investigated through its outcome, i.e the creative products. The degree of one’s creativity
may then be judged on the basis of its originality, novelty and relevance.
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6.12 ANSWERSS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1) (i) Teaching methods like discovery methods and activity methods can initiate
divergent thinking.
(ii) The teacher can ask students “what are your problems?” Is there any way if
solving your problems?
(iii)The questions given from assignment can develop divergent thinking
(iv) Exercise requiring divergent thinking to be given to promote creative thinking.
Example: How to avoid traffic jam in the city? How to minimize unemployment
in rural areas?
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UNIT VII PERSONALITY
Structure
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Objective
7.3 Meaning and definition of personality
7.4 Major determinants of personality
7.5 Theories of personality
7.6 Psycho analysis theory
7.7 Assessment of personality
7.8 Projective techniques
7.9 Integrated personality
7.10 Let us sum up
7.11 Unit-end activities
7.12 Answers to check your progress
7.13 Suggested readings
7.1 INTRODUCTION
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Morton Prince (1929), tried to give personality a broader base by accepting the
role of both environmental and heredity factors in constituting what is termed as
personality. In his words, personality is the sum total of all the biological innate
disposition, impulses, tendencies, instincts of the individual and the disposition and
tendencies acquired by experience.
7.2 OBJECTIVES
All the traits are related in such a way that they are integrated into a unit. It is the
organization of the traits in a unique fashion that is referred to as personality. Personality
may be defined as the organization of all the physical, mental, and social qualities in an
individual that manifests in a particular way, while he interacts with the environment.
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personality development of an individual physiological determinants such as ductless
glands, nervous system, emotion and motivation all play an important role in the
development of an individual’s personality. Then there are a number of psychological
factors which directly and indirectly influence growth and development. Social and
cultural factors also help in moulding personality.
DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY
i) Genetic Determinants
Heredity is of two types: Biological heredity which is the child inherits from his
forefathers in the form of chromosome and second is the social heredity, which means all
that one generation gets from preceding generation in the form of social tradition,
customs, skills etc., Each generation transmits the acquired skills and knowledge to the
succeeding generations.
Environment influences begin since the time of the conception of the child in the
womb of the mother. Mother’s mental, Physical and emotional conditions influence the
development of the foetus in the womb. The external environment starts from the time of
the birth of the child.
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iii) Cultural determinants
Culture refers to total life activities of a society, what the people think or do and
feel constitutes culture of a society. It is the physical way of life. Biological inheritance is
the same in human beings all over the world but it is the difference in their cultural
conditions in the individual of different cultural groups. Culture is the great educator of
human beings, sometimes directly and sometime indirectly by the methods of training
and passing on great social heritage, it leaves permanent impression on the personality of
the child.
1. Role of Home:
The Home plays the most important role in shaping the personality pattern of an
individual in early infancy. The first environment the child moves in his home. Here the
child comes in contact with his parents and other members of the family. There are
several empirical evidences which support experiences and are decisive determinants of
personality in later life. The type of training and early childhood experiences plays an
important role in the development of personality. Children coming from home where
good morale pattern dominated are better adjusted, more independent and more
satisfactorily related to their parents than are the average adolescents of the group. Those
coming from homes showing family discard pattern are, generally poor adjusted in their
social environment. Good family morale is procedure of desirable personality traits and
occurrence of conduct problem are associated with poor family morale.
2. Role of School:
School plays an important role in moulding the personality of children because a
significant part of a child’s life is spent in school between the ages of 6 and 18 years.
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Hence he continues the process of liking and disliking, conforming and rebelling,
acquiring a conception of the world and himself. Child’s personality is already shaped at
home before he comes to school. Here the teacher substitutes the parents. The School
possess new problem to be solved, new taboos to be accepted into the superego and new
models for imitation and identification, all of which contribute their share in moulding
personality.
The teacher is an important constituent in the instruction process who can play
important role in shaping the personality of students. The way he teaches and handles the
students has an effect on the future personality of children. The way the teacher carries
out his role in the class will affect the emotional climate in the classroom. An
authoritarian teacher will establish an autocratic climate and democratic teacher will
create a different kind of climate. These differences in the attitude of teachers will imply
differences in the number of frustrations imposed upon the students and in the kind of
personality development encouraged.
The primary attitude of a good teacher is the ability to create a warm, friendly
atmosphere in the classroom. Teaching should be geared to the needs of the child. The
teacher must have sympathetic attitude towards deviant children. The teacher must try to
locate the causes of anti-social behavior and help the children to improve their
personality.
Theories adopting the type approach. The view point of Hippocrates, Kretschmer,
Sheldon and Jung belong to this category.
Theories adopting the trait approach – Theories like all point’s theory, cattell’s
theory of personality are based on the trait approach.
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Theories adopting the type-cum- trait approach: Theories like Psychoanalytic
theory of Freud.
Theories adopting the humanistic approach: Theories like Carl Rogers self theory
and Maslow’s self-actualization theory.
Theories adopting the learning approach: Dollard and Miller’s learning theory and
Bandura’s social learning theory.
PERSONALITY THEORIES
Personality Theories
Greek physicians were the first in the fifth B.C who classified people into four
broad categories on the basis of emotional and temperamental characteristics. A number
of topologies have been attempted for constitutional, temperamental and behaviourable
types of persons by philosophies and psychologists in the ancient and current literature.
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SOME PROPERTIES OF TRAITS
1. Sociability:
Traits are scalable. They can be measured and scaled quantitatively.
3. Flexibility:
Traits are not static in nature. Traits are flexible in childhood. They become
stable with the maturity of the person in age but some variability is always there.
This approach tries to synthesize the type and trait approaches. Starting with the
trait approach, it yields definite personality types. The Eysenck theory of personality
reflects such as approach.
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Eysenck has found three fundamental dimension of personality
(i) Introversion Vs Extroversion
(ii) Normality Vs Neuroticism
(iii) Psychoticism
The first two dimensions given above may be taken as the part of normal
personality. This relationship may be shown as below:
Normality
Introversion Extroversion
Neuroticism
Psychic Structure
Psychic energy, according to Freud, comes from libido. It denotes sexual energy
when he revised his theory which includes two groups of instincts the libido was defined
as the energy of all the life instincts. The sexual libido was regarded as the source of
primary driving force of the personality. The dynamism of personality is seen as largely
governed by the need to gratify the libido.
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Fig 7.1 Psychoanalysis theory of Personality.
The Id
It is inborn. Its main function is the discharge of psychic energy which when pent
up products tension through the personality system. The Id operates an animal level. It
cannot differentiate between good and bad and operates on pleasure principle.
The Ego
The Id known only the subjective reality of the mind. The second concept of
Freud Is the ego which distinguishes between subjective reality and things in the external
environment. It operates on the principle of reality. The Ego is called the executive of
personality. It obeys the reality principle and operates by means of secondary process.
The Ego is an organized portion of the Id which has been modified by the contact
of external reality and experience. It comes into existence to forward the aims of the id. It
brings a compromise between the instinctual urges of the Id and demands and forces of
the external environment.
The third concept is the super ego. It is the agency which internalizes the
parental influences and ideals of society through early childhood experiences. It
represents the ideal rather than the real and strives for perfection. It works in accordance
with the moral standards authorized by the agents of society.
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Dynamics of Personality
The divine for immediate gratification of instructual demands leads to early class
between the individual and his environment conflict develops when the parents or other
members impose restriction or control on expression.
Psycho-Sexual Development
ORAL STAGE ANAL STAGE PHALLIC STAGE LATENCY STAGE GENITAL STAGE
(both to 12-18 months) (18 m to 3 yrs) (3 to 6 yrs) (6 yrs to puberty) (puberty to adulthood)
Babies whose needs are not met during the old stages, when feeding is the main
source of sensual pleasure, may grow up to become nail-biters or smokers or to develop
“bitingly” critical Personalities.
As a toddler had to stick toilet training may be fixed at the anal stage, when the
chief source of pleasure was moving the bowels.
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(iii) Phallic stage: (3 to 6 yrs)
Children eventually resole their anxiety over these feelings by identifying with the
same sex parent and move into the latency stage of middle childhood, a period of sexual
calm. They become socialized, develop skills, and learn about themselves and society.
The genital stage, the final one, lasts throughout adulthood. The sexual urges
repressed during latency now resurface to follow in socially approved channels.
(i) Physical and mental aspects (ii) Physical, mental and emotional aspects
(iii) Everything about an individual (iv) Physical, emotional and social aspects
(i) Heredity only (ii) Heredity and environment (iii) Environment only
(iv) Family and culture.
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7.7 ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY
The methods used for the assessment of personality may be termed as subjective,
objective and projective. Observation technologies and situation tests, autobiography,
questionnaire, personality inventory, interview, case history, rating scales and socio-
metric techniques can be used.
1. Observation:
Observation is a popular method to study the behavior pattern of an actual life
situation. The observer decides what personality traits of characteristics he needs to
know, and he then observe the relevant activities of the subject in real life situation.
2. Situational tests:
Here situations are artificially created in which an individual is expected to
perform acts related to the personality traits under testing. For example, to test the
honesty of an individual, some situations can be evaluated in term of honesty or
dishonesty.
3. Questionnaire:
In general the world questionnaire refers to a device for securing answers to
questions by using a form which the respondent fills in himself. The subject responds to
these questions in the spaces provided in column of yes, nor or cannot say etc., these
answers are then evaluated and used for personality assessment.
4. Personality inventory:
The questionnaire is a general device and can be used for collecting all kinds of
information not connected specifically with personality traits or the behavior of an
individual, personality inventory is specifically designed to seek answers about the
person and his personality.
5. Rating scale:
The rating scale is used to assess where an individual stands in terms of other
person’s opinion of some of his personality traits. It reflects the impression the subject
has made upon the person who rates him.
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6. Interview:
Interview is a technique of eliciting information directly from the subject about
his personality in face to face contacts.
Projective tests are so named because they include the individual to project
himself into the test situations and thus reveal his motives, attitudes, apprehension and
aspiration. The projects his own personality through the responses just as a film projector
projects the image on the screen. Hence the name projective tests. Hence, unstructured
test material and the whole situations in vague and unidentified. The subject is asked to
project his wishes to the vague test situations. The way in which his projection takes
place in an individual, gives an understanding of the personality of that individual.
Some of the important projective techniques the Rorschach Ink blot test, the
thematic apperception tests.
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To investigate personality, the cards are exhibited before the subject one after the
other and he is asked to describe everything he sees in the blot. The tester records the
subject’s responses comments and reactions; the time the subject takes to give his first
response, the total time for the test; the position of the card when the responses are given:
spontaneous remarks made by the subject: his emotional reactions: qualities perceived
(colour, form, movement); kinds of things reported (like anatomical parts, animals, plants
& people and so on); and other incidental behavior during the test session.
From the various responses the clinician or the tester infers certain personality
traits. For the purpose of scoring, the responses are marked as location, content,
originality and determinants.
Morgan and Murray in 1935 developed the TAT to know the peculiarities of
personality with the help of some pictures. The test consists a set of 31 cards out of which
30 depict various scenes and one black card.
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in this story by projection which expresses his natural desires, emotions and sentiments
etc. On the basis of these stories, the psychologists analyst the personality of the subject
and uncovers its specialties.
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there are three levels of mind. According to him, in the development of personality the
child passes through five psycho-sexual stages namely oral, anal, phallic, latent and
genital. Personality assessment can be made by means of a variety of techniques like
observation, situations test, questionnaire, personality inventory, rating scale, interview
and projective techniques.
Select five persons whom you most admire, either from real life or from history.
Collect information about their contributions in their respective fields and identify the
characteristics in their personality that has impressed you. Do you find any similarities?
Prepare a comparative profiles.
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