Chapter One

The Science of Psychology

Definition
The meaning of psychology its aims as a discipline and the scope of its content are seldom
understood by those outside the discipline.

There is no single definition that captures perfectly the essence of the study of psychology. At
various times in its history psychology has been defined as the study of the soul, the mind,
consciousness, behavior and a host of other events and entities, and process, because of the
differing views of those who have studied psychology over the years. However the most
accepted and commonly used definition of psychology today is that Psychology is a scientific
study of behavior and its underlying emotions and mental process of human beings and animals.

It is a discipline that attempts to describe, predict and explain the behavior of an organism. In
other words the primary concern of psychology is understanding of individual behavior and the
underlying mental and emotional processes relying on a variety of specific methods of inquiry.

Analysis of the definition

Scientific- Psychology is an empirical science. That is to say like physics and biology; its
concern is with questions that can be answered by making appropriate scientific investigation
(observation, experiment). It tries to explain and predict behavior by using scientific methods.

Behavior- The total response, motor and glandular, which an organism makes to any situation
with which it is faced. It is any observable activity of the organism.

Emotions A complex state of the organism, involving bodily changes of a widespread character.
For example crying may indicate sadness.

Mental process- The term mental process applied to all processes of mental life, conscious.

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Human- The major objective of psychology is studying human behavior.
Animal- Psychology studies animal behavior for two purposes:
a) It is ethically forbidden to conduct experiment (e.g. destroying part of a brain) on
human beings. So animals are subject to experiment.
b) Conclusions obtained from experiments on animal behavior are usually applicable
to human behavior (e.g. instrumental conditioning)

Goals of psychology

Psychologists are not interested in only describing behavior. They go beyond

this to try to explain, predict and ultimately modify it to enhance the lives of
individuals and of society in general.

Description- to identify regularly occurring sequences of events,

including both environmental events (stimuli) and behavioral
responses.
Explanation- to know what caused the behavior?
Prediction- to say that behavior follows certain laws and that regular
and predictable relationships exist between variables.
Controlling- various ways of applying those principles of behavior
modification.

Schools of Thoughts of Psychology

As psychology developed in the late 19th century two quite distinct approaches begun to emerge.
One was termed as Structural Psychology and the other Functional. The Structuralists ask
question about what something is and functionalists ask what it is for.

Structuralism
The school of psychological thought that is concerned with reducing conscious
experience to its basic parts determining the laws by which the parts are synthesized, and
investigating the structure and content of mental state by introspection.
The founder of this school of thought was Wilhelm Wundt, who established the first
scientific laboratory of psychology in Leipzig in 1879, and believed that human mind
could be scientifically studied.

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 Structuralisms argue that mind (conscious experience) consisted of or built from elements
or components such as sensation, images, feelings and these components of the mind
constituted the proper study of psychology. We can break down all conscious experience
to elemental parts in order to understand it better.

Structuralism relied on a self - observation technique known as introspection- to analyze

conscious experience. Introspection was the method introduced by structural
psychologists in which the subject reports on his or her own conscious experience.
Trained self-observers or introspectionists tried to breakdown the content of their own
conscious experience in to all of its component parts. In other words trained subjects
were asked to describe their impression of a wide variety of physical objects and
experience, what the eye saw, what the ear heard, or what the muscle felt was considered
to be an appropriate way of describing mind. Wundt believed that these verbal
descriptions would yield the basic elements of consciousness- sensation, images, and
feelings of the subject and the job of the psychologist was to discover the elements of the
mind.

Tichener (1867-1927) was an English man who is primary representative and interpreter
in the English-Speaking World. He extended Wundts work in to English language. He
argued incorrectly that Wundt was trying to discover an exact structure or blue print of
the mind by reducing experience to its elemental components. Though structuralism
attributed to Wundt, it is largely the result of Titcheners ideas and interpretations.

Because of failure and problem raised even in the introspective method itself, by the
1930s, researchers had begun to abandon structuralism as a way of learning about the
mind.

Contributions
It provided psychology with a strong scientific and research impetus.

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 It gave the introspective method a through test, which was worthwhile, because most
psychologists now agree that introspection has severe limitations.
It served as a foundation against which new psychological thought could rebel.

Criticism
Although Wundt's approach represented an important departure from the philosophers'
enterprise it was not without its problem.
It is difficult even for carefully trained subjects to describe their own mind as well as for
the psychologist to interpret dissimilar descriptions of the same object.
Structuralism seemed too static to encompass the richness and complexity of experience
and the subjectivity of the introspective method were troublesome for other scientists
who were searching for greater objectivity.

Functionalism
The school of psychological thought founded by William James (1842-1910) which
proposed that, the function, not the structure, of conscious experience should be studied.
Stood against structuralism and claim that consciousness should be studied in terms of its
function than its structure.
James became interested in psychological inquiry in 1875, and published his famous-two
volume work, Principles of Psychology in 1890-it is fascinating reading. To him,
conscious experience was more like a river that was always changing and flowing. He
coined his famous term Stream of Consciousness to express this property.
Stream of Consciousness- a term coined by W. James to describe the idea that conscious
experience is like a river always changing and flowing rather than permanent fixture.
James was greatly influenced by the work of Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who believed
that body parts are created to help an organism to survive in their environment 9body
function). Charles Darwin Theory of Evolution- Darwin gave new significance to
function by emphasizing the role of adaptive processes and adjustment to environmental
influences.

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 He stated that through the process of natural selection, characteristics in animals that
served a valuable function would be favored and carried over from one generation to the
next. With this in mind James concluded that human consciousness must also have
function. He believed that the conscious mind enabled people to make rational choice,
which in turn enabled them to survive generation after generation.

Because of this philosophical emphasis, other functionalists such as G. S. Hall, J. Dewey

who followed in James footsteps were concerned with why a thought or behavior
occurred, rather than with what a thought or behavior was.
G. S. Hall 1844-1924)-founder of American Psychological association, Beginner of
developmental Psychology.
J. Dewwey (1859-1952) -interested in the problem solving ability of the conscious mind
as a factor in our species survival
Behaviorism
Founder-John B. Watson (1978-1958)
The school of psychology that views leaning as the most important aspect of an
organisms' development. Behaviorism objectively measures behavior and the way in
which stimulus-response relationship are formed.
Watson rejected the tremendous philosophical steps of the study of conscious thought and
mental activity because they were not directly observable. Instead, he emphasized
observable environmental stimuli and the observable behaviors or muscular responses
that occurred in the presence of such stimuli. For this reason behaviorism is known as S-
R psychology.
Its focus is on observable behavior and rejected dealing with unobservable events, such
as dreams, or the action of unconscious mind.
It is also referred to as Black-Box Psychology because Watson considered the mind to be
like a mysterious black- box that could never be examined objectively.

Contribution
Behaviorism has evolved since Watson's day and remains a powerful force in modern
psychology

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 It has been of great value in demonstrating that much of our behavior is the product of
our immediate environment and on past experience.
Behavioral psychologists have emphasized the need to define terms carefully, to run
controlled experiments, and in general to make psychology more a science.

Criticism
Behaviorists often ignore important but un0observable aspects of human behavior- such
as emotions, thoughts and unconscious experiences.
They discredit feelings or ideas that don't readily lend themselves to controlled
experimentation.

Gestalt psychology
Founders- Max Wertheimer (1880-1943)
Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967)
Kurt Koffka ( 1886-1941)
It is the school of psychological thought that emphasizes that wholes are more than the sum of
their parts.
Gestalt psychologists study forms and patterns and contend that stimuli are perceived as whole
images rather than as parts built in to images. They argue that the whole experience (Gestalt) is
not just the sum of its parts, it is more, it is itself.
Thus, they explain that conscious sensations can be examined but that the whole experience
must be taken for what it is.
For Gestalts, the laws of psychology are the laws of System, not of parts, and there is little
value in breaking down experience mechanistically.
It is prevalent throughout modern psychology. it is now well appreciated that experiences must
be analyzed and understood as whole entities and can not necessarily be broken down into
constituent parts- which is a testimony of the influence of Gestalt Psychology.
Psychoanalysis
It is a school of psychological thought founded by a Viennese physician Sigmund Freud (1856-
1939).

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 Emphasizes the study of unconscious mental process or mind. Its goal was to understand
and treat abnormal behavior. A therapy that seeks to bring unconscious desires in to
consciousness and make it possible to resolve conflicts, which usually date back to early
childhood experience.
Psychoanalytic theory did not developed as a reaction against structuralism, instead
traces its roots to neurology and medicine. Freud, argue that human beings are controlled
primarily not by rational and conscious processes, but rather by derives and urges
hidden in the unconscious. He believed that abnormal behavior and for that matter, all
personality could be explained by the motives and derives of the unconscious.
The unconscious mind served a function-it kept unacceptable thoughts or desires
repressed or hidden from the conscious mind. Because of this, he argued the unconscious
mind would be reluctant to give up its knowledge, so special technique such as hypnosis,
free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of slip of tongue were needed to probe
its secrets.
The historical importance of psychoanalysis cannot be denied, Freud's work made a great
contribution to psychology.
Criticized for its lack of scientific control and careful experimentation.
Psychoanalysis relies on techniques that have never been validated.
Humanistic Psychology
A school of psychology that emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual and the search
for Self-Actualization.
Self-Actualization-Abraham Maslow's term for the process in which an individual
constantly strives to realize full potential.
Psychologists Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Rogers 91902-1987) helped to
develop and create humanistic psychology, and were among its leading proponents.
Against psychoanalytic and behaviorists, humanists don't believe that behavior is
governed in an important way either by unconscious derives and motives or by external
stimuli and rewards in the environment. Instead, they argue that people are free agents,
have free will, are conscious and creative and are born with an inner motivation to fulfill
their potential-What he called self actualization- which is a lifelong process.

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 Same as Gestalt Psychology, humanists strongly believe that human beings cannot be
understood piecemeal, rather the whole person always must be taken in to account if any
reasonable understanding ids to be attempted.
Like Psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology has been criticized for being based on
speculation more often than on evidence obtained from scientific experiments.
Cognitive Psychology/Perspective/
The study of behavior as it relates to perceiving, thinking, remembering, or problem
solving.
Study internal mental processes, which include thinking, memory, concept formation, and
processing of information. To the cognitive psychologist, behavior is composed of mental
events or internal representations desires, beliefs and thoughts.
The concern of cognitive psychologists is exploring thought process, problem solving and
the internal understanding we have for our world - which influences behavior. We
respond to the world not just through our conditioned responses but also through our
knowledge of it.
A cognitive representation of the world is a valuable asset. With it you can manipulate,
alter, or change things mentally to examine possible out comes before you actually do
anything. You use your cognitive understanding to orient yourself to particular problems,
or situations.
Sub-fields in psychology
The study and practice of psychology encompasses a vast range of topics
and a large number of sub fields. Because human behavior is so varied, the
number of sub-fields in psychology is constantly growing and evolving. Some
of the sub-fields of the following:

Bio-psychology: - study the biological foundations of behavior. They

focus on the operation of the brain and nervous system.
Counseling Psychology:-counseling psychologists are concerned
with normal problems of adjustment that most of us face sooner or
later, such as choosing a career or coping with marital problems. They
deal with countless personal problems that do not involve psychological
disorders. A number of counseling psychologists try to help people who
are having problems with; family living; these are marriage and family
counselors.

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 Clinical Psychology: Clinical psychologists diagnose and treat
emotional and behavioral disorders that range form mild to very severe.
They are trained to do psychotherapy with highly disturbed people, as
well as with those who are simply troubled or unhappy or who want to
learn to handle their problems better.
School Psychology;-much of the school psychologists job consists of
diagnosing learning difficulties and emotional problems in schooling and
develop solution for such problem.

Educational Psychology: - educational psychology may include

school psychology, but educational psychologists as such are usually
involved with more general, less immediate problems than are most
school psychologists or school counselors. Educational psychologists are
especially concerned with increasing the efficiency of learning in school by
applying their psychological knowledge about learning and motivation to
the curriculum.

Developmental Psychology: - the developmental psychologists

study mental, physical and social development of humans over the entire
life span (from the prenatal period through childhood, adolescence,
adulthood, and old age.
Child psychology, the study of childrens behavior, comprises a large part
of developmental psychology. But, developmental changes also occur in
adolescence, adulthood, and old age; and so the study of these changes
is also a part of developmental psychology.
Industrial and/or Organizational Psychology/:- Industrial/or
Organizational psychologists study behavior in the workplace. They
address the problems of training personnel, improving working
conditions, and studying working effects of automation on humans. The
primary concern of industrial/or organizational psychologists is to make-
work as pleasant as pleasant and productive as possible.
Social Psychology:-Social psychologists study the way we affect and
are influenced by other people, both in groups and in intimate
relationships. This focus covers a wide range of possible interests. For
example, it includes the study of the ways in which we perceive other
people and how those perceptions affect our behavior toward them.
Personality Psychology:- attempts to explain both consistency and
change in a persons behavior and individual traits over time.

Experimental psychology- studies all aspects of basic psychological processes such as

perception, learning, and motivation. It is concerned on employment of experimental
methods to obtain psychological data or to solve psychological problems.

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 Cognitive psychology- Investigates all aspects of cognition-Memory, thinking, reasoning,
language, decision-making, and so on. It studies internal mental processes, which include
thinking, memory, concept formation, and processing of information. To the cognitive
psychologists, behavior is composed of mental events, internal representations, desires,
beliefs and thoughts. Cognitive psychologists often place strong emphasis on
experimentation and scientific. As developmental psychologists, they also study how people
learn at different stages at their life.
Comparative Psychologists are interested in behavioral differences and similarities among
species.

Research Methods in Psychology

Psychologists from all areas of specialization use the scientific method
to test their theories about behavior and mental processes. Under
this section the goals and methods of research in psychology are
discussed.

Activity 2 - 1. What research Mean?

2. What are the goals of research in psychology?

Research is a scientific and systematic investigation aimed at the discovery

of knowledge or to solve some educational or social problem. In the
discussion on psychology as a science, it was emphasized that the discovery
of new knowledge about Behavior is based on systematic research.
Psychologists use several different techniques for conducting this systematic
research.

The goal of research in psychology is

To carefully examine questions using objective methods to test ideas
about the factors that contribute to or affect learning
To add the principles, laws, and theories about the behavior of the
learner at different stages of development as well as about teaching
and learning.

Activity 3-What research

methods are
used in
psychology?
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 In order to accomplish its main goal, an educational psychologist employs
various methods and techniques to collect data on behaviors and problems
of the learners.
In this section we will describe some key research methods and techniques
from descriptive research and procedures of experimental research methods.

1. Archival Research:
Archival research examines existing records such as collection of letter,
census data, and tape recorder, video recording, old news paper, or other
similar documents to confirm a hypothesis.

2. The Naturalistic Observation Method

In observational studies, the researcher observes, measures, and records

Behavior taking care not to be intrusive or to interferer with the people (or
animals) being observed. Observational studies usually involve many
participants (subjects). Often an observational study is the first step in a
program of research; it is helpful to have a good description of Behavior
before you try to explain it.

The primary purpose of naturalistic observation is to find out how people or

animals act in their social normal environments. Psychologists use
naturalistic observation wherever people happen to be- at home, on
playgrounds or streets, in schoolrooms, or in offices.
Observational studies like other descriptive studies are more useful for
describing behavior than for explaining it.

3. Case/Clinical Studies

A case study (or case history) is a detailed description of a particular

individual, based on careful observation or on formal psychological testing. It
may include information about the persons childhood, dreams, fantasies,
experiences, relationships, and hopes-anything that will provide insight into
the persons behavior.
Clinicians most commonly use case studies, but, sometimes, academic
researchers use them as well, especially when they are just beginning to
study a topic or when practical or ethical considerations prevent them from
gathering information in other ways.

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Case studies illustrate psychological principles in a way that abstract
generalizations and cold statistics never can, and they produce a more
detailed picture of an individual than other methods do.
4. Surveys

Surveys are questionnaires and interviews that gather information about

people by asking them indirectly about their experiences or attitudes.
Surveys can be done on many topics, including consumer preferences,
sexual behavior, political opinions, religious affiliation, child rearing practices,
use of internet, and just about any attitude you can think of.

5. Correlational studies
In descriptive research, psychologists often want to know whether two or
more phenomena are related and, if so, how strongly. To find out,
psychologists do correlational studies. The word correlation is often used as a
synonym for relationship. Technically, however, a correlation is numerical
measure of the strength of the relationship. Correlations always occur
between sets of observations.
In psychological research, a positive correlation means that high values of
one variable are associated with high values of the other, and that low
values of one variable are associated with low values of the other. A
negative correlation means that high values of one variable are associated
with low values of the other. If there is no relationship between two variables,
we say that they are uncorrelated.
The statistic used to express a correlation is called the coefficient of
correlation. A perfect positive correlation has a coefficient of + 1.00, and a
perfect negative correlation has a coefficient of 1.00. When there is no
association between two variables, the coefficient is zero or close to zero.

6. Experimental Methods

Researchers in plenty of illuminating information from descriptive studies,

but when they want to actually track down the causes of Behavior, they rely
heavily on the experimental method.
An experiment allows the researcher to control the situation being studied.
Instead of recording what is going on, the researcher actively does
something to affect peoples behavior and then observes what happens.

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These procedures allow the experimenter to draw conclusions about cause
and effect- about what causes what.

The aspect of an experimental situation manipulated or varied by the

researcher is known as the independent variable.

The reaction of the subjects- the behavior that the researcher tries to
predict- is the dependent variable. Every experiment has at least one
independent and one dependent variable.
Ideally, everything in the experimental situation except the independent
variable is held constant- that is, kept the same for all participants. Holding
everything but the independent variable constant ensures that whatever
happens is due to the researchers manipulation and nothing else. It allows
you to rule out other interpretations.

Experimental and Control conditions: Experiments usually require both

an experimental condition and a comparison, or control condition. In
the control condition, subjects are treated exactly as they are in the
experimental condition, except that they are not exposed to the same
treatment, or manipulation of the independent variable. Without a control
condition you cannot be sure that the behavior you are interested in would
not have occurred anyway, even without your manipulation.
7. Longitudinal Studies
When conducting longitudinal studies, a psychologist studies the same group of people at
regular intervals over a period of years to determine whether their behavior and/or feelings have
changed and if so, how. Longitudinal studies are time-consuming and precarious; participants
may disappear at middle of the study. Longitudinal studies, however, are an ideal way to examine
consistencies and inconsistencies in behavior over time. A good example was the New York
Longitudinal Study begun in 1956. Psychologists followed 133 infants as they grew into
adulthood, discovering that children are born with different temperaments (Thomas, Chess, &
Birch, 1968).

8 .Cross-Sectional Studies
An alternative approach to gathering data is cross-sectional studies. In a cross-sectional study,
psychologists organize individuals into groups on the basis of age. Then, these groups are
randomly sampled, and the members of each group are surveyed, tested, or observed

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simultaneously. Cross-sectional studies are less expensive than longitudinal studies and reduce
the amount of time necessary for the studies. In 1995 researchers conducted a cross-sectional
study in which they showed three-, four-, six-, and seven-year-olds a picture of a serious looking
woman. The psychologists then asked the participants what they thought the woman was
thinking about. The psychologists found that the older children seemed to have a clearer picture
of mental processes. From understanding of mental processes improves (Flavell, Green, &
Flavell, 1995).

UNIT TWO
Basic Concepts, Principles & Issues of Development
2.1. Definitions of Basic terms
The basic terms that will be used frequently through the course are Growth,
Maturation, and Learning & Development

1.Growth: refers to quantitative changes increase in size height, weight, and

structure of the different parts of the body. These changes are cumulative
effects of changes in the size & structure of internal organs, and the brain.
Quantitative change refers to changes in size, amount or quantity, which is
subjected to measurement. e.g. A child may weight 20 kg & heights 1.34 m.

2. Maturation: refers to inherently determined sequences of physical changes

that are relatively independent of environmental dealings.

Maturation is a natural potential that is common to all human races. For

example, Phylogenetic functions such as lying, sitting, crawling,
creeping, standing and walking.

It is relatively free from environmental influences.In other words, maturation

refers to the readiness or ripening of a certain growing body part to start its

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 purposes/functions/. eg. The ripening of the brain to think, The appearance of
permanent teeth replaced by milk teeth.
3. Learning: refers to relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge
that occurs because of experience or practice. This definition includes an
immense Varity of human changes, but it rules out changes that happen
because of instincts, or maturation.
Instincts are natural or innate behavior that are not affected by learning or
experience & that are common to all members of a species. Learning also
exclude such as changes due to drug usage, fatigue & illness. Examples of
learning are Ontogenetic function: these are functions specific to an
individual like, writing, reading, driving, swimming etc are the result of
learning. Learning is extremely dependent on the environment.
4. Development: refers an orderly, progressive and continuous change of the
organism from conception to death (throughout the life span).
It is a broad concept that encompasses growth, maturation and learning. In
other words, it is the result of the interaction of heredity (nature), and learning
(environment or nurture). These are considered as the source of development.
Development refers to the constant changes of the physical, cognitive and
psychosocial aspects of an individual.
Development includes both qualitative and quantitative changes. The overall
changes result in improved working or functioning.

2.2. Aspects (Domains) of Development

One reason for the complexity of human development is that development
occurs in many different aspects by itself. This implies that development
manifested through different kinds of changes rather than through one type of
change.
To make the study of development easier, development can be divided into
three domains, namely, Physical, Cognitive/intellectual / and
Psychosocial development.

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However, you have to remember that very few factors belong exclusively to one
aspect or another and each aspect of development is related to all three
aspects.

1. Physical development
It involves changes in the persons body, the brain, sensory, Capacity and motor
skills.
-It affects other aspect of development.

2. Cognitive Development
It involves changes in the mental abilities such as learning, memory, reasoning,
thinking, language acquisition and moral judgment.
-It also related with other aspects of development.

3. Psychosocial Development
It involves development in the area of personality (Such as, self-esteem, self
-concept, and self- awareness, and self-confidence), Social (Such as, attitudes,
relationships, communication) and emotion (Such as, anger, disgust, fear,
sadness).
Like other aspects of development, psychosocial development also related with
the physical & cognitive development.

1.4 Developmental Issues

Activity
Form a group and make a debate on the issues of development discussed below.

The most common developmental issues or controversies include the nature

versus nurture, continuity versus discontinuity, and stability versus
change.

1. Nature versus nurture controversy

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The most common developmental issues or controversies include nature versus
nurture. It is one of the oldest issues in psychology. Nature refers to biological
inheritance (heredity) while nurture refers to environment.
Psychologists who are in favor of nature side argue that development is
primarily influenced by biological inheritance. They argue that individuals
are born with an inherited blue print. In an extreme case, they believe
that environment has little to do with individual development; the possibility is
little to change what nature has provided.
On the other hand, the proponents of nurture/environmentalists/ claim that
environmental experiences are the most important to determine
development. They believe that the childs mind is a blank slate at
birth/tabula rasa/ on which experiences write on it and determine our
knowledge. Largely they argue that any one can become any thing if the
environment is right.
The debate which one, heredity or environment, was considered as illogical
because both heredity and environment are necessary for a persons
development. Instead, the debate focused on the question how much is
contributed by each. Either that is . . . or question was replaed by an
assumption that heredity and environment act in additive, but in inseparable
way. Again the question how much was seen as illogical because it is
almost the same as asking which one. So the question in what way these
two factors influence a persons development has been rose.
The answer for the question in what way heredity and environment interact to
influence development is that any trait of individual is the product of
environment and heredity.

2. Continuity versus discontinuity

Another major developmental issue in human development is the issue of
Continuity Versus discontinuity. Does a change in development occur

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 smoothly overtime or through a series of pre-determined steps? This question
reflects the issue of Continuity discontinuity.
Psychologists who argue in favor of Continuity see development in terms of
gradual, smooth, cumulative and continuous processes. They say there are no
stages. These psychologists argue that changes are simply a matter of quality
and it is possible to predict later behavior from previous one as development
always governed by the same process.
On the other hand, psychologists who argue in favor of discontinuity believe
that each person passes through a sequence of stage in which change is
quantitatively rather than qualitatively different. In each stage new abilities
and ways of thinking and responding occur. Each stage is characterized by
distinct functioning. However, contemporary psychologists recognized the
merits of both sides of controversy. That is both, Continuity and discontinuity
can be found in development.

3. Stability versus Change

Another important developmental issue is the stability versus change issue. This
issues addresses whether development could be best described by stability or
change. The Stability versus change issue reflects the extent to which a
person becomes older renditions of his/ her earlier self or whether his/her
development into some one different from whom he/ she were at earlier point
in development. Whether a childs experiences-positive or negative affect
them throughout their lifespan the important dimension of stability change
issue. However, most psychologists believe that both stability and change
characterize development throughout the human life span.

2.3. Major Theories of Human Development

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 Introduction

This unit will present you the major theories of human development. Before you
learn about the theories, you will learn about what a theory is, the importance
of studying a theory of human development. Next to this will learn about the
basic assumption, concepts & practical importance of each theory at
classroom level

The major theories of human development highlighted in this unit are the
following:

2.1 Psychoanalytic Theories

A. Psychosexual Theory (Freuds theory)

B. Psychosocial Theory of Development (Eriksons
Theory)
Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, who lived from 1902 to 1994, provided an alternative
psychodynamic view in his theory of psychosocial development, which emphasizes our social
interaction with other people. In Erikson's view, society and culture both challenge and shape us.
Psychosocial development encompasses changes in our interactions with and understanding of
one another as well as in our knowledge and understanding of ourselves as members of society
(Erikson, 1963).

From the discussion above, what similarities and differences have you
observed between Freuds psychosexual theory and Eriksons psychosocial
theory?

Erikson's theory suggests that developmental changes occur throughout our lives in eight distinct
stages. See table: 2.1.

The stages emerge in a fixed pattern and are similar for all people. Erikson argued that each
stage presents a crisis or conflict that the individual must resolve. Although no crisis is ever

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 fully resolved, making life increasingly complicated, the individual must at least address the
crisis of each stage sufficiently to deal with demands made during the next stage of development.
If the conflict is not satisfactorily resolved, the person will continue to struggle with it and
healthy ego development will be impeded. Unlike Freud, who regarded development as
relatively complete by adolescence, Erikson suggested that growth and change continue
throughout the life span. For instance, he suggested that during middle adulthood, people pass
through the generativity versus stagnation stage, in which their contributions to family,
community, and society can produce either positive feelings about the continuity of life or a
sense of stagnation and disappointment about what they are passing on to future generations
( McAdams, & Kim, 2004).

Ericksons theory differs from that of Freuds in the following points.

Erickson emphasized psychosocial development than psychosexual development
Erickson believed that developmental changes occur throughout the lifespan as opposed to
Freud who believed that our basic personality is shaped in the first five years.
Erickson suggests eight stages of development
Erickson emphasized egos struggle for identity over the ids influence on personality
The struggle of the ego is related more to the conflicts between the interest of the
individual and the society rather than internal conflicts of the id, ego and the superego
Basic Assumptions
Personality development is the product of the interaction of our body and the environment
Personality development is a continuous process of change of our body and that of the
environment and takes different forms continuously because of the interaction
Personality development is a process of facing and successfully resolving the various
developmental crises that emerge at different periods in our life.

Examine the following table and identify the similarities and differences you

observed between Freuds and Eriksons stages of human development?

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 Table 2.1: Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development

STAGE BASIC IMPORTANT STRENGTH/ OUTCOME

CONFLICT EVENTS VIRTUES
Infancy Trust vs. Feeding hope Children develop a sense of trust
(birth to 18 Mistrust when caregivers provide reliability,
months) care, and affection. A lack of this will
lead to mistrust.
Early Autonomy Toilet Children need to develop a sense of
Childhood vs. Shame Training will personal control over physical skills
(2 to 3 and Doubt and a sense of independence.
years) Success leads to feelings of
autonomy, failure results in feelings of
shame and doubt.
Preschool Initiative vs. Exploration purpose Children need to begin asserting
(3 to 5 Guilt control and power over the
years) environment. Success in this stage
leads to a sense of purpose. Children
who try to exert too much power
experience disapproval, resulting in a
sense of guilt.
School Age Industry vs. School competence Children need to cope with new social
(6 to 11 Inferiority and academic demands. Success
years) leads to a sense of competence, while
failure results in feelings of inferiority.
Adolescenc Identity vs. Social Teens need to develop a sense of self
e (12 to 18 Role Relationship fidelity and personal identity. Success leads
years) Confusion s to an ability to stay true to onerself,
while failure leads to role confusion
and a weak sense of self.
Young Intimacy vs. Relationship love Young adults need to form intimate,
Adulthood Isolation s loving relationships with other people.
(19 to 40 Success leads to strong relationships,
years) while failure results in loneliness and
isolation.
Middle Generativity Work and Adults need to create or nurture
Adulthood vs. Parenthood care things that will outlast them, often by
(40 to 65 Stagnation having children or creating a positive
years) change that benefits other people.
Success leads to feelings of
usefulness and accomplishment,
while failure results in shallow
involvement in the world.
Maturity(65 Ego Integrity Reflection wisdom Older adults need to look back on life
to death) vs. Despair on and feel a sense of fulfillment.
Life Success at this stage leads to feelings
of wisdom, while failure results in
regret, bitterness, and despair.
Erikson's view that development continues throughout the lifespan is highly importanthas
received considerable support. However, the theory also has its drawbacks. It is vague in some

21
respects, making it difficult for researchers to test rigorously. For instance, it is difficult to know
whether an infant is experiencing trust and /or distrust and it is difficult to make definitive
predictions about a given individual's behavior using the theory.

2.2. Cognitive Theory of Development

As it is explained in (Aggarwal, 1994) Cognitive development is the process of improving the

intellectual or mental abilities to help an individual to adjust his/her behaviors the ever changing
environmental conditions. On the other way, Cognitive development is a qualitative change in
the mind or intellect. The chief exponent of Cognitive Development Theory is Jean Piaget.

Basic Assumptions

Although there is no general theory of cognitive development, the most historically

influential theory was developed by Jean Piaget, a Swiss Psychologist (1896-1980).
His theory provided many central concepts in the field of developmental psychology and
concerned the development of intelligence, which for Piaget, meant the ability to more
accurately represent the world, and perform logical operations on representations of
concepts grounded in the world.
According to Piaget, the child is an active, not a passive receiver of
information. To him, children continually try to make sense of their
world by dealing actively with objects and people and developmental
changes are viewed as products of the childs activity. Piaget believed
that children pass through a series of sequential, universal, invariant
stages, acquiring different classes of mental abilities.
The theory concerns the emergence and acquisition of schemataschemes of how one
perceives the worldin "developmental stages", times when children are acquiring new
ways of mentally representing information.
The theory is considered "constructivist", meaning that, unlike nativist theories (which
describe cognitive development as the unfolding of innate knowledge and abilities) or
empiricist theories (which describe cognitive development as the gradual acquisition

22
 of knowledge through experience), it asserts that we construct our cognitive abilities
through self-motivated action in the world.

In the construction of his theory Piaget formulated the following concepts:-

A) Schem It is the primary mental structure of an individual to acquire knowledge. Schem can
be modified in relation to age in order to adjust oneself to the existing situation.
B) Adaptation It is the process of adjusting oneself in order to acquire something new.
Adaptation can be performed through assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation: The process of acquiring something new in to the
existing old mental sterata.Example,considering a table
tennis ball as an egg. In the process of assimilation there
is akind of destortion.
Accommodation: It refers to the real understanding of an object or an idea. In
other words, it is the complement of assimilation.
Equilibration It is the process of mental balance between cognitive elements in
the mind and in the outside world.
C) Organization is the process of integrating information that gained
through different sense organs at different times.

Stages of Cognitive Development

These Four stages are:

1. Sensorimotor stage

According to Piaget, this child is in the sensorimotor stage and primarily explores the world with
senses rather than through mental operations.
Infants are born with a set of congenital reflexes, according to Piaget, in addition to a drive to
explore their world.
The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages. According to Piaget, this stage marks the
development of essential spatial abilities and understanding of the world in six sub-stages:

23
 sucking of objects in the mouth, following moving or interesting objects with the eyes,
and closing of the hand when an object makes contact with the palm (palmar grasp).
The sense of object permanence.

2. Preoperational stage

The Preoperational stage is the second of four stages of cognitive development. By observing
sequences of play, Piaget was able to demonstrate that towards the end of the second year a
qualitatively new kind of psychological functioning occurs. Operation in Piagetian theory is any
procedure for mentally acting on objects.
According to Piaget, the Pre-Operational stage of development follows the Sensorimotor
stage and occurs between 2-7 years of age. It includes the following processes:
Symbolic functioning - is characterised by the use of mental symbols words or pictures
which the child uses to represent something which is not physically present.
Centration - is characterized by a child focusing or attending to only one aspect of a
stimulus or situation. For example, in pouring a quantity of liquid from a narrow beaker
into a shallow dish, a preschool child might judge the quantity of liquid to have
decreased, because it is "lower"--that is, the child attends to the height of the water, but
not to the compensating increase in the diameter of the container.
Intuitive thought - occurs when the child is able to believe in something without
knowing why she or he believes it.
Egocentrism - a version of centration, this denotes a tendency of a child to only think
from her or his own point of view. Also, the inability of a child to take the point of view
of others.
Inability to Conserve - Piaget concluded that children in the preoperational stage lack
perception of conservation of mass, volume, and number after the original form has
changed.

3. Concrete operational stage

The Concrete operational stage is the third of four stages of cognitive development in Piaget's
theory. This stage, occurs between the ages of 6 and 11 years and is characterized by the
appropriate use of logic.

24
Important processes during this stage are:
Decentering - where the child takes into account multiple aspects of a problem to solve
it. For example, the child will no longer perceive an exceptionally wide but short cup to
contain less than a normally-wide, taller cup.
Reversibility - where the child understands that numbers or objects can be changed, then
returned to their original state. For this reason, a child will be able to rapidly determine
that if 4+4 equals 8, 8-4 will equal 4, the original quantity.
Conservation - understanding that quantity, length or number of items is unrelated to the
arrangement or appearance of the object or items. For instance, when a child is presented
with two equally-sized, full cups they will be able to discern that if water is transferred to
a pitcher it will conserve the quantity and be equal to the other filled cup.
Serialisation - the ability to arrange objects in an order according to size, shape, or any
other characteristic. For example, if given different-shaded objects they may make a
colour gradient.
Classification - the ability to name and identify sets of objects according to appearance,
size or other characteristic, including the idea that one set of objects can include another.
A child is no longer subject to the illogical limitations of animism (the belief that all
objects are animals and therefore have feelings).
Elimination of Egocentrism - the ability to view things from another's perspective (even
if they think incorrectly). For instance, show a child a comic in which Jane puts a doll
under a box, leaves the room, and then Jill moves the doll to a drawer, and Jane comes
back. A child in the concrete operations stage will say that Jane will still think it's under
the box even though the child knows it is in the drawer.

1. Formal operational stage

The formal operational stage is the fourth and final of the stages of cognitive
development of Piaget's theory. This stage, which follows the Concrete
Operational stage, commences at around 11 years of age (puberty) and
continues into adulthood.

25
Major Characteristics of Formal Operational Stage

Deductive logic:- Piaget believed that deductive logic becomes

important during the formal operational stage. Deductive logic requires

the ability to use a general principle to determine a specific outcome.

This type of thinking involves hypothetical situations and is often

required in science and mathematics.

Abstract Thought: While children tend to think very concretely and
specifically in earlier stages, the ability to think about abstract concepts

emerges during the formal operational stage. Instead of relying solely on

previous experiences, Adolescents begin to consider possible outcomes

and consequences of actions. This type of thinking is important in long-

term planning.
Problem-Solving:- In earlier stages, children used trial-and-error to
Solve problems. During the formal operational stage, the ability to

systematically solve a problem in a logical and methodical way emerges.

Children at the formal operational stage of cognitive development are

often able to quickly plan an organized approach to solving a problem.

Adolescence egocentrism: One of the unique aspects of cognition
during adolescent is adolescent egocentrism.

Some of the features of adolescent egocentrism are:

Argumentativeness: - adolescents want to argue in every issue and

try to convince others forcefully toward their

view.

Indecisiveness (unable to decide): adolescents are unable or

26
 reluctant to make decisions generally or to

come to a decision about something in

particular because multiplicity of choices are

suddenly aware of.

Fault findingness: - they want to magnify faults specially with

authority figures.

Self centeredness (personal fable): - thinking only of self:

adolescents are tending to concentrate on their own

needs and affairs and to show little or no interest in

those of others moreover ,they consider themselves

as unique and special from the rest of the society.

Self consciousness (imaginary audience): - adolescents

excessively concerned with their appearances and

thereby they are highly conscious of the impression

made on others and tending to act in a way that

reinforces this impression (i.e. they put themselves into

the mind of others)

Apparent hypocrisy: - adolescents assume that every thing is easy

to them even though it is difficult to be

done . Besides, they do not recognize the

difference between expressing an idea and

working towards it.

.

2.3 Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

27
Kohlbergs Theory of Moral development

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Stages of Moral Development

Moral development is a major topic of interest in both psychology and education. One of the best
known theories was developed by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg who modified and expanded
upon Jean Piaget's work to form a theory that explained the development of moral reasoning.

Piaget described a two-stage process of moral development, while Kohlberg's theory of moral
development outlined six stages within three different levels. Kohlberg extended Piaget's theory,
proposing that moral development is a continual process that occurs throughout the lifespan.

"The Heinz Dilemma"

Kohlberg based his theory upon research and interviews with groups of young children. A series
of moral dilemmas were presented to these participants and they were also interviewed to
determine the reasoning behind their judgments of each scenario.

The following is one example of the dilemmas Kohlberg presented"

Heinz Steals the Drug

"In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one
drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist
in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the
druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the
radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband,
Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together
about $ 1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying
and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I
discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate
and broke into the man's store to steal the drug-for his wife. Should the husband have
done that?" (Kohlberg, 1963).

Kohlberg was not interested so much in the answer to the question of whether Heinz was wrong
or right, but in the reasoning for each participant's decision. The responses were then classified
into various stages of reasoning in his theory of moral development.

Level 1. Preconventional Morality

Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment
The earliest stage of moral development is especially common in young children, but

28
 adults are also capable of expressing this type of reasoning. At this stage, children see
rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules is important because it is a means to avoid
punishment.
Stage 2 - Individualism and Exchange
At this stage of moral development, children account for individual points of view and
judge actions based on how they serve individual needs. In the Heinz dilemma, children
argued that the best course of action was the choice that best-served Heinzs needs.
Reciprocity is possible at this point in moral development, but only if it serves one's own
interests.

Level 2. Conventional Morality

Stage 3 - Interpersonal Relationships
Often referred to as the "good boy-good girl" orientation, this stage of moral development
is focused on living up to social expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on
conformity, being "nice," and consideration of how choices influence relationships.
Stage 4 - Maintaining Social Order
At this stage of moral development, people begin to consider society as a whole when
making judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order by following the rules,
doing ones duty and respecting authority.

Level 3. Post conventional Morality

Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights
At this stage, people begin to account for the differing values, opinions and beliefs of
other people. Rules of law are important for maintaining a society, but members of the
society should agree upon these standards.
Stage 6 - Universal Principles
Kolhbergs final level of moral reasoning is based upon universal ethical principles and
abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these internalized principles of justice,
even if they conflict with laws and rules.

29
Criticisms of Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development:
Does moral reasoning necessarily lead to moral behavior? Kohlberg's theory is concerned
with moral thinking, but there is a big difference between knowing what we ought to do
versus our actual actions.
Is justice the only aspect of moral reasoning we should consider? Critics have pointed out
that Kohlberg's theory of moral development overemphasizes the concept as justice when
making moral choices. Factors such as compassion, caring and other interpersonal
feelings may play an important part in moral reasoning.
Does Kohlberg's theory overemphasize Western philosophy? Individualistic cultures
emphasize personal rights while collectivist cultures stress the importance of society and
community. Eastern cultures may have different moral outlooks that Kohlberg's theory
does not account for.

Unit Three: Human Learning theory

Dear students, in this unit you will be introduced the definition of learning, theories of learning,
major factors that affect human learning.
Objectives
At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
explain various cognitive strategies for acquiring learning .
identify the themes of cognitive & social approaches to learning .

30
 differentiate between cognitive & behavioral views of learning .
apply the principles of cognitive & social learning approach.
identify the implications of behavioral, cognitive,& social learning
theories .
Different scholars define learning in different ways. One of its definitions, learning is acquiring
knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors.
It is common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human
learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn throughout their lives. There
are different types of learning theories. Some of them are: behavioral learning theory, cognitive
learning theory, and social learning theory

1. Behavioral Learning Theory

Some of the behavioral theories are classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Some Phenomena of Classical

Conditioning
Pavlov discovered several phenomena during his experimental studies on
the gastric secretion in dogs. We will discuss important findings as reported
by him in his classic book on conditioning.
1. Intensity
One simple fact is that gastric secretion is the function of kind of food (UCS).
There is positive correlation between intensity of the stimulus and
magnitude of the response but there is negative correlation between
intensity of the stimulus and latency of the response.
The more intense the CS, the more rapidly conditioning will proceed and
larger the CR will be. It has also been reported that if the CS is too weak,
there may be no conditioning.
CS ------------------------------------------------------------------- CR
(High intensity) (High magnitude)
Latency is less
CS --------------------------------------------------------------------CR
(Low intensity) (Low
magnitude)

31
 Latency is high

2. Temporal relationship between CS and UCS:

Classical conditioning experiments have been conducted in control
conditions in psychological laboratory. Psychologists to have
manipulated systematically the time interval between the CS and
UCS. It has been reported that an interval of half a second
between CS and UCS produces the greatest amount of
conditioning. If the time interval is shorter than half a second and
particularly if the interval is of conditioning is typically found. Studies
suggest that there may be very different optimum interval for
different responses. The following types of temporal relationships
have been studied by psychologists for classical conditioning:
Simultaneous conditioning. When CS and UCS occur
either at the same time or just following the onset of the
unconditioned stimulus.

CS

UCS

Delayed conditioning. Delayed conditioning has been

reported as the most widely used temporal relationship. It
has been found most effective in establishing conditioning.
This is called delayed because the onset of the UCS is
delayed following the onset of the CS.

CS

UCS

Trace conditioning. Trace conditioning is not as effective

as delayed conditioning. It is very difficult to establish
particularly when there is long interval between CS and
UCS.

32
 CS

UCS

Backward conditioning. Backward conditioning is

mostly unsuccessful. There the UCS is presented prior to
CS.

CS

UCS
3. Extinction (reduction in response):
The term extinction is used to describe the elimination of the conditioned
response by repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the
unconditioned stimulus. If a dog has learned to salivate at the sound of a
bell, an experimenter can gradually extinguish the dogs response by
repeatedly ringing the bell without presenting food afterward. Extinction
does not mean, however, that the dog has simply unlearned or forgotten the
association between the bell and the food.
4. Spontaneous recovery
It is the reappearance of an extinguished response after some time has
passed. After extinction, if the experimenter lets a few hours pass and then
rings the bell again, the dog will usually salivate at the sound of the bell once
again. This process is called spontaneous recovery.
5. Inhibition
Inhibition may be defined as a process in which a stimulus inhibits a
response that would otherwise occur Pavlov describes two types of
inhibitions as given follows.
External inhibition:-

33
It is a process of inhibiting CR by external factors in the environment as noise
or any other distraction which may draw the attention of the dog. Let us
illustrate it by an example: suppose a dog has been conditioned to a tone to
salivate. When we present the tone and a new distracting stimulus (noise) is
also presented, we find that occurrence of a novel stimulus inhibits or blocks
the CR, the dog does not salivate.
Internal inhibition
It was observed by Pavlov that if complete extinction of CR is obtained by not
providing food to the dog and it is then given a period of 24 hours rest. CR
will show spontaneous recovery when the dog is tested again. The extinction
does not permanently weaken the CR. Pavlov argued that spontaneous
recovery proves that CR in extinction does not represent dying of the reflex
or any real weakening of the learned S-R connections. It is blocked by some
internal inhibitory process. For example physical health of the organism or
pre occupation with some other activity etc.
1. Generalization-
The act of responding to a new stimulus in the same way as to a conditioned
stimulus .After an animal has learned a conditioned response to one
stimulus, it may also respond to similar stimuli without further training.
Generalization consists of the following sequence:
(1) A stimulus is conditioned to a response:
(2) The organism is presented with a new stimulus that is similar to, but not
identical with, the conditioned stimulus
(3) The organism responds to the new stimulus as though it were the as the
old one.
Example1- a man who is rewarded with laughter when he tells certain jokes
at a bar may tell the same jokes at restaurants, parties, or wedding
receptions.

Example 2- if a child is bitten by a large black dog, the child may fear not
only that dog, but other large dogs. This phenomenon is called
generalization. Less similar stimuli will usually produce less generalization.

2. Discrimination
Is the opposite of generalization, in which an individual learns to produce a
conditioned response to one stimulus but not to another stimulus that is
similar. Discrimination is learning that a behavior will be reinforced in one
situation but not in another. A man, who is rewarded with laughter when he
34
 tells certain jokes at a bar, will not make people laugh that telling his jokes
in church or at a serious business meeting.

Sometimes a neutral stimulus can become a

8. Higher-order conditioning: -
conditioned stimulus by being paired with an already established
CS, a procedure known as higher order conditioning.
I.e. Pavlovs experiment goes one step further in the procedure of
conditioning experiment
1. UCS (Food) ----------------------------UCR (Saliva)
2. CS + UCS (bell+ food) ------------------CR (Saliva)
3. CS1 (bell) + CS2 (light) ------------------CR (Saliva)
4. CS2 (light) ------------------------------------CR (Saliva)

In conclusion, Classical conditioning model suggest that learning is simply

building Stimulus Response connection, i.e. all behaviors are considered to
be a response to some stimuli and hence the theory called stimulus-learning
model.

Applications of Classical Conditioning

Pavlovs findings and those of other researchers who have studied classical
conditioning have implication in teaching.

Psychologists now know that classical conditioning explains many of

our emotional responsessuch as happiness, excitement, anger,
and anxietythat people have to some specific situation learned in
part through classical conditioning.
Psychologists use classical conditioning procedures to eliminate
phobias and other unwanted behaviors.
Although classical conditioning principles can be used in developing
good habit and desirable behaviors in children. For example,
behaviors like habits of cleanliness, respect for elders, punctuality,
moral values etc. developed through classical conditioning.
Developing attitude for e.g. student can develop favorable or
unfavorable attitude toward learning a school or a teacher or a
subject.

35
3.2. Operant Conditioning (B. F. Skinner 1904-
1990)
Operant Conditioning was pioneered by American psychologist; B. F. Skinner.
Operant means voluntary action. The organism operates in its
environment to produce some desirable result. A central concept of operant
conditioning is that any given behavior is dependent upon the consequences
of that behavior. If these consequences make the behavior more likely to
occur in the future, they are called reinforcement.
An emphasis on environmental consequences is at the heart of Operant
Conditioning (also called Instrumental Conditioning), the second type of
conditioning studied by Behaviorists.
In operant conditioning, the organism's response operates or produces
effects on the environment. These effects, in turn, influence, whether the
response will occur again.

Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental

conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and
punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is
made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.
Experiment in Operant Conditioning
B. F. Skinner designed an apparatus, now called a Skinner box. Skinner box is
a small enclosure containing a food try and a lever. The food try was
connected with the lever. A rat placed inside the box is rewarded with a small
bit of food each time it makes the desired response, such as pressing a lever.
A device outside the box records the animals responses. Skinner put a
hungry rat in the box. The rat began to explore the box in order to get food.
Accidentally, the rat pressed the lever. As a result, a pellet of food was
released. After many attempted, the rat became efficient to press the lever
and could obtain its food timely.

36
Skinner box

Some Basic Concepts of Operant Conditioning

1. Shaping
Shaping is the most important concept used in Operant conditioning.
Shaping refers to a reinforcement technique that is used to teach animals or
people behaviors that they have never performed before. In other word it is
refers to the process of reinforcing each small step of progress
toward a desired goal or behavior.

It this procedure the experimenter first reinforcing gross approximations of

the behavior, then closer approximations, and finally the desired behavior
will be reinforced. Through this process of reinforcing successive
approximation, the experimenter gradually shapes the final complex set of
behavior.

In shaping you start by reinforcing a tendency in the right direction. Then you
gradually require responses that are more and more similar to the final,
desired response. The responses that you reinforce on the way to the final
one are called successive approximations.

37
 2.
Reinforcemen
In operant conditioning, reinforcement refers to any process that strengthens
t
a particular behavior- that is, increases the chances that the behavior will
occur again.
Reinforcers is any stimulus that increases the probability that a preceding
behavior will be
repeated is an event that raises the rate of responding. There are two basic
types of reinforcers or reinforcing stimuli: primary and secondary reinforcers.

I) Primary reinforcers: - a reinforcer that are unlearned and satisfies some

biological need (thirst or hunger) and works naturally, regardless of the
persons past experience. Primary reinforcers include food, water, sex,
oxygen, sleep and physical comfort. Primary reinforcers, in general, have the
ability to reinforce without prior learning.

II). secondary reinforcers: - is a stimulus that becomes reinforcing

because of its
association with primary reinforcement. For instance, money, status,
attention success, or
good grades are some of the examples of secondary reinforcers.

Both primary and secondary reinforcers can be positive or negative. In both

of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.

I) Positive reinforcement: is a method of strengthening behavior by following it

with a Pleasant stimulus or favorable events. Positive reinforcement is a powerful method for
controlling the behavior of both animals and people. For people, positive reinforcers
include basic items such as food, drink, sex, and physical comfort. Other
positive reinforcers include material possessions, money, friendship, love,
praise, attention, and success in ones career. When they made contingent
with the response, each has the capacity to increase the frequency of a
response. Much human and animal behavior is acquired through positive
reinforcement.

II) Negative Reinforcement: is a method of strengthening a behavior by

following it with the removal or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus or the removal of
unfavorable events. The reduction or the avoidance of threats of imprisonment,
illness, loud noise, shocks, and hunger pangs would be negatively
reinforcing because they strengthen the behavior immediately preceding
them. Negative reinforcement differs from positive reinforcement in that it
requires the removal of an aversive condition, whereas positive
reinforcement involves the presentation of a beneficial stimulus.
The effect of negative reinforcement, however, is identical to that of positive
reinforcement; both strengthen behavior.
38
 3.
Punishment
Refers to unpleasant, aversive or painful stimuli that are added to the environment if a
certain behaviors occur. It is anything that weakens undesired behavior. Punishment is the
presentation of an aversive event or outcome or removal of some desirable stimulus after the
occurrence of a behavior in order to decrease or weaken its feature occurance. For example,
if a student interrupts the teacher and the teacher verbally warning the
students, the students stop interrupting the teacher.
Punishers can be any aversive (unpleasant) stimuli that weaken responses or
make them unlikely to recur. Punishers can also be primary or secondary.
Pain and extreme heat or cold are inherently punishing and are therefore
known as primary punishers.
Criticism, demerits, catcalls, scolding, fines, and bad grades are common
secondary punishers.

The positive, negative distinction can also be applied to punishment.

I) Punishment by application (positive punishment): - involves the
presentation of an unfavorable stimulus or outcome (i.e., giving extra work
or a spanking following some misbehavior) in order to weaken the response
it follows.

II) punishment by removal negative punishment :-occurs when a favorable

event or outcome (something pleasant) may be removed after a behavior
occurs ( i.e. taking away privileges or disconnecting an adolescent mobile
phone and removal of favorite toy after misbehavior).

The application and types of reinforcement and punishment summarized in

the following way.

Punishment Reinforcement
(behavior decreases) (behavior increases)
Positive Positive Punishment Positive Reinforcement:
(someth Something added
ing decreases behavior Something added
added) increases behavior
Negativ Negative Punishment Negative Reinforcement

39
 e Something removed Something removed
(someth decreases behavior increases behavior
ing
removed
)

4. Reinforcement Schedule
A reinforcement schedule is a rule that specifies the timing and frequency of
reinforcers. When and how often we reinforce a behavior can have a
dramatic impact on the strength and rate of the desired response. Certain
schedules of reinforcement may be more effective in specific situations.
There are two types of reinforcement schedules:

4.1. Continuous Reinforcement: - In continuous reinforcement, the

desired behavior is reinforced every single time it occurs. Generally, this
schedule is best used during the initial stages of learning in order to create a
strong association between the behavior and the response.
4.2. Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement: - In partial reinforcement, the
response is reinforced only part of the time, if the desired behavior occurs.
Partial reinforcement schedules are often more important to strengthen
already established habits and behavior
There are four main types of partial reinforcement
schedules:
Fixed-ratio schedule: - individuals receive a reinforcer each time they
make a fixed number of responses. For example, a factory worker may earn a
certain amount of money for every 100 items assembled. This type of
schedule usually produces a stop-and- go pattern of responding. [[

Variable-ratio schedule: - individuals must also make a number of

responses before receiving a reinforcer, but the number is variable and
unpredictable. Slot machines, roulette wheels, and other forms of

40
 gambling are examples of variable-ratio schedules. Behaviors
reinforced on these schedules tend to occur at a rapid, steady rate, with
few pauses.
Fixed-interval schedule, individuals receive reinforcement for their
response only after a fixed amount of time elapses. For example, in a
laboratory experiment with a fixed-interval one-minute schedule, at
least one minute must elapse between the deliveries of the
reinforcer.
Variable-interval schedules: - also require the passage of time
before providing reinforcement, but the amount of time is variable and
unpredictable. Behavior on these schedules tends to be steady, but
slower than on ratio schedules. For example, a person trying to call
someone whose phone line is busy may redial every few minutes
until the call gets through.
Principles of Operant Conditioning

Extinction: In operant conditioning, extinction refers to the gradual

weakening of and disappearance of a response tendency because the
response is no longer followed by a reinforcer.
Spontaneous Recovery: Just as in classical conditioning, animals
and people whose operant behaviors have been extinguished may
recover them. This is called spontaneous recovery.
Stimulus Generalization: Stimulus generalization describes the
phenomenon whereby an animal or person has learned a response to
one stimulus and then applies it to other similar stimuli.
Stimulus Discrimination: The tendency for a response to occur in
the presence of a stimulus but not in the presence of other, similar
stimuli that differ from it on some dimension.

Applications of Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning techniques have practical applications in many

areas of human life.
Parents who understand the basic principles of operant conditioning
can reinforce their childrens appropriate behaviors and punish
inappropriate ones.
In the classroom, many teachers reinforce good academic performance
with small rewards or privileges.

41
 Companies have used lotteries to improve attendance, productivity,
and job safety among their employees.
Psychologists known as behavior therapists use the learning principles
of operant conditioning to treat children or adults with behavior
problems or psychological disorders.
Behavior therapists use shaping techniques to teach basic job skills to adults
with
mental retardation.
Therapists use reinforcement techniques to teach self- care skills to
people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, and use
punishment and extinction to reduce aggressive and antisocial behaviors
by these individuals.
Psychologists also use operant conditioning techniques to treat
stuttering, sexual disorders, marital problems, drug addictions,
impulsive spending, eating disorders, and many other behavioral
problems.

3.3. Cognitive learning theory

Cognitive theorists emphasize the importance acquisition of knowledge
and internal mental process on learning. They explain that the ways
we think about situation with others influences how and what we
learn. Unlike behavioral theorist, they do not believe that stimulus,
response, and reinforcement adequately explain the learning process.
They believe that learners thinking, belief, motivation, attitude and
values are influential in learning process. Learning is concerned with
what learners know and how they come to acquire it.
A cognitive theorist sees people as active learners who initiate
experiences and seek out information to solve problems.
Cognitive learning theory focuses on the processes by which
people encode, store, and retrieve information.

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 Encoding refers to the initial perception and registration of
information.
Storage is the retention of encoded information over time.

Retrieval refers to the processes involved in using stored

information. Whenever people successfully recall a prior
experience, they must have encoded, stored, and retrieved
information about the experience.
Cognitive learning theory can be categorized into two, as Gestalt
theory of learning and information-processing theory of learning.

3.4. Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social
context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such
concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. Learning by
observation involves simply watching the behavior of another person, called
a model, and later imitating the models behavior.
Among others Albert Bandura is considered the leading proponent of this
theory.
Activity- List & explain the three basic models of
observational learning?
Bandura identified three basic models of observational learning:
Live model, which involves an actual individual demonstrating or
acting out a behavior.
Verbal instructional model, which involves descriptions and
explanations of a behavior.
Symbolic model, which involves real or fictional characters
displaying behaviors in books, films, television programs, or online
media.

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Methods of observational learning
Vicarious reinforcement - The observer will react to the way the
model is treated and imitate the model's behavior. Thus, consequences of
the models behavior affect the observers behavior vicariously
(indirectly).

Imitation imitating the behavior of the model without considering

reward or punishment.

Processes of Observational Learning

List & explain the processes of observational learning?

Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Factors involving both the
model and the learner can play a role in whether social learning is
successful. Certain requirements and steps must also be followed. The
following steps are involved in observational learning.
The Attention process: In order to learn, you need to be paying
attention. Anything that detracts your attention is going to have a
negative effect on observational learning.
Retention process: The ability to store information is also an
important part of the learning process.
Motor Reproduction process: Once you have paid attention to
the model and retained the information, it is time to actually
perform the behavior you observed.
Motivational process: Finally, in order for observational learning
to be successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the behavior
that has been modeled.

implications of social learning theory

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 Social learning theory has numerous implications for classroom use. Some of them are:
Students often learn a great deal simply by observing other people.
Describing the consequences of behavior, that can effectively increase the appropriate
behaviors and decrease inappropriate ones.
Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for teaching new behaviors. Instead of
using shaping, which is operant conditioning; modeling can provide a faster, more
efficient means for teaching new behavior.
Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and take care that they do
not model inappropriate behaviors.

CHAPTER FOUR

Memory: The Information Processing Approach

Nature and Definition of Memory

Psychologists consider memory as the process by which we encode,

store, and retrieve information/ what was learned earlier.
In discussing memory it is useful to separate the process from the
structure. Memory process is the mental activities we perform to put
information into memory, to keep it there, and to make use of it later.
Memory structure is the nature of memory storage itself- how
information is represented in memory and how long it lasts and how it
is organized.

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Memory Processes

As indicated memory processes refer to the mental activities we perform to

put information into memory, to retain it, and to make use of it when
needed. To understand how memory works, we need to consider how
memories are formed (encoding), how memories are maintained once they
are encoded (storage) and how the stored information is recovered and
translated into performance (retrieval).

Memory processes involve these three basic steps:

Encoding: refers to the process by which information is initially

recorded in a form usable to memory. In encoding we transform a
sensory input into a form or a memory code that can be further
processed.
Storage: Memory specialists speak of placing information in storage,
the location in memory system in which material is saved. Storage is
the persistence of information in memory.
Retrieval: Involves the use of stored information when it is needed. In
retrieval, material in memory storage is located, brought into
awareness and used.

Structure/stages/forms of Memory

Although people usually refer to memory as a single faculty, the term

memory actually covers a complex collection of abilities and processes. Many
cognitive psychologists relate the mind to an information processor, along
the lines of a digital computer that takes items of information in; processes
them in steps or stages, and then produces an output.
Consider how the computer works; First, it takes in information (for instance
via keystrokes) and translates the information into an electronic language,
then the computer permanently stores the information on a disc, and
finally it retrieves the information (file) stored on a disc on to a
working memory (which also receives new information from the keyboard)
and the information is put on to the screen as part of the working memory.
Models of memory based on this idea are Information processing theories.
Like the computer, we also store vast amounts of information in our memory
store house. From this storehouse, we can retrieve some information onto a
limited capacity working memory, which also receives information from our

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current experience. Part of this working memory is displayed on the mental
screen we call consciousness. A number of such models of memory have
been proposed. One of the most important and influential of these is the one
developed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin (1968).

According to Atkinson and Shiffrin, memory has three structures:

1. Sensory Memory/Register: It is the entry way to memory. It is the first

information storage area. Sensory memory acts as a holding bin, retaining
information until we can select items for attention from the stream of stimuli
bombarding our senses. It gives us a brief time to decide whether
information is extraneous or important; not everything detected by our sense
warrants our attention.
Sensory memory includes a number of separate subsystems, as
many as there are senses. It can hold virtually all the information
reaching our senses for a brief time.
For instance, visual images remain in the visual system for a
maximum of one second and it can hold about 11-16 items of
information. Auditory images remain in the auditory system for a
slightly longer time, by most estimates up to two second or so.
The information stored is sensory memory is a fairly accurate
representation of the environmental information but unprocessed.
Most information briefly held in the sensory memory simply decays
from the register. However, some of the information that has got
attention and recognition pass on short-term memory for further
processing.

2. Short-Term Memory: is part of our memory that holds the contents of

our attention. Unlike sensory memories, short-term memories are not brief
replicas of the environmental message. Instead, they consist the by-products
or end results of perceptual analysis.
STM is important in a variety of tasks such as thinking, reading,
speaking, and problem solving.
There are various terms used to refer to this stage of memory,
including working memory, immediate memory, active memory, and
primary memory.
STM has a very limited storage capacity. Years ago, George Miller
(1956) estimated its capacity to be the magic number seven plus or

47
 minus 2. Some researchers have questioned whether Millers magical
number is so magical after all.
Everyone agrees, however, that the number of items that short-term
memory can handle at any one time is small.
According to most models of memory, we overcome this problem, by
grouping small groups of information into larger units or chunks. The
real capacity of short-term memory therefore is not a few bits of
information but a few chunks.
Material in STM is easily displaced unless we do something to keep it
there.
Interference appears to be the primary mechanism of memory loss.
Within STM, there are three basic operations:
Iconic memory - The ability to hold visual images.
Acoustic memory - The ability to hold sounds. Acoustic memory can
be held longer than iconic memory.
Working memory - because its content is activated information that
we are thinking about at the moment. It consist the by-products or end
results of perceptual analysis.
Material in STM is easily displaced unless we do something to keep it
there.

3. Long -Term Memory: It is a memory system used for the relatively

permanent storage of meaningful information.
The capacity of LTM seems to have no practical limits. The vast
amount of information stored in LTM enables us to learn, get around in
the environment, and build a sense of identity and personal history.
LTM stores information for indefinite periods. It may last for days,
months, years, or even a lifetime.
The LTM is assumed to be composed of different sub systems
Declarative/ explicit memory- the conscious recollection of information
such as specific facts or events that can be verbally communicated. It is
further subdivided into semantic and episodic memories.
Declarative memories are memories of knowing that. They can
come into varieties: Semantic and episodic memories.
Semantic memory- factual knowledge like the meaning of words,
concepts and our ability to do math. They are internal representations of
the world, independent of any particular context.

48
 Episodic memory- memories for events and situations from personal experience.
They are internal representations of personally experienced events. Semantic
memories: Include items of general knowledge. They are internal
representations of the world, independent of any particular context.
Non-declarative/ implicit memory- refers to a variety of phenomena of memory in
which behavior is affected by prior experience without that experience being
consciously recollected. One of the most important kinds of implicit memory is
procedural memory. Procedural memories are memories of knowledge
how- e.g. knowing how to comb your hair, use a pencil or swim.
Serial Position Effect

The three-box model of memory is often invoked to explain interesting

phenomenon called the serial position effect. If you are shown a list of
items and are then asked immediately to recall them, your retention of any
particular item will depend on its position in the list.

Recall will be best for items at the beginning of the list (the primacy effect)
and at the end of the list (the recency effect). When retention of all the items
is plotted, the result will be a U-shaped curve.

A serial position effect- occurs when you are introduced to a lot of people
at a party and find you can recall the names of the first few people you met
and the last, but almost no one in between. According to the three-box
model, the first few items on a list are remembered well because short-term
memory was relatively empty when they entered, so these items did not
have to compete with others to make it into long term memory. They were
thoroughly processed, so they remain memorable.

The last few items are remembered for a different reason: At the time of
recall, they are still sitting in STM. The items in the middle of the list,
however, are not so well retained because by the time they get into short-
term memory, it is already crowded. As a result many of these items drop out
of short-term memory before they can be stored in long-term memory.

Forgetting

Psychologists generally use the term forgetting to refer to the apparent loss
of information already encoded and stored in the long-term memory. The first
attempts to study forgetting were made by German psychologist Hermann

49
Ebbinghaus(1885/1913) about hundred years ago. Using himself as his only
subject, he memorized lists of three letter non-sense syllables- meaningless
sets of two consonants with a vowel in between, such as FIW and BOZ.

By measuring how easy it was to relearn a given list of words after varying
periods of time from initial learning had passed., he found that forgetting
occurred systematically.

The most rapid forgetting occurs in the first hours, and particularly in the first
hour. After nine hours, the rate of forgetting shows and declines little, even
after the passage of many days. Ebbinghauss research had an important
influence on subsequent research, and his basic conclusions had been
upheld. There is almost always a strong initial decline in memory, followed
by a more gradual drop over time.

Furthermore, relearning of previously mastered material is almost always

faster than starting from a scratch, whether the material is academic
information or a motor skill such as serving a tennis ball.

Psychologists have proposed five mechanisms to account for forgetting:

decay, replacement of old memories by new ones, interference, motivated
forgetting, and cue dependent forgetting.

1. The Decay Theory

The decay theory holds that memory traces or engram fade with time if they
are not accessed now and then. This explanation assumes that when new
material is learned a memory trace or engram- an actual physical change in
the brain- occurs.

In decay, the trace simply fades away with nothing left behind, because of
the passage of time. We have already seen that decay occurs in sensory
memory and that it occurs in short term memory as well, unless we rehearse
the material. However, the mere passage of time does not account so well
for forgetting in long-term memory. People commonly forget things that
happened only yesterday while remembering events from many years ago.

Although there is evidence that decay does occur, it does not seem to be the
complete explanation for forgetting. Memory specialists have proposed an
additional mechanism: Interference

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2. Interference
Interference theory holds that forgetting occurs because similar items of
information interfere one another in either storage or retrieval. The
information may get into memory, but it becomes confused with other
information.

There are two kinds of interference that influence forgetting: proactive and
retroactive. In Proactive Interference, information learned earlier
interferes with recall of newer material. If new information interferes with the
ability to remember old information the interference is called Retroactive
Interference.

3. New memory for old/ displacement theory

This theory holds that new information entering memory can wipe out old
information, just as recording on an audio or videotape will obliterate/wipe
out the original material. This theory is mostly associated with the STM,
where the capacity for information is limited to seven plus or minus chunks.
It cannot be associated with the LTM because of its virtually unlimited
capacity.

4. Motivated Forgetting

Sigmund Freud maintained that people forget because they block from
consciousness those memories that are two threatening or painful to live
with, and he called this self-protective process Repression. Today many
psychologists prefer to use a more general term, motivated forgetting.

5. Cue Dependent Forgetting

Often when we need to remember, we rely on retrieval cues, items of

information that can help us find the specific information were looking for.
When we lack retrieval cues, we may feel as if we have lost the call
number for an entry in the minds library. In long-term memory, this
type of memory failure may be the most common type of all.
Cues that were present when you learned a new fact or had an
experience are apt to be especially useful later as retrieval aids.
That may explain why remembering is often easier when you are in the
same physical environment as you were when an event occurred:
Cues in the present context match from the past.

51
 Your mental or physical state may also act as a retrieval cue, evoking a
state dependent memory. For example if you are intoxicated when
something happens, you may remember it better when you once again
have had a few drinks than when you are sober.
Likewise, if your emotional arousal is specially high or low at the
time of an event, you may remember that event best when you are
once again in the same emotional state.

Improving Memory

Someday in the near future, drugs may be available to help people with
memory deficiencies to increase normal memory performance. For the time
being, however, those of us who hope to improve our memories must rely on
mental strategies.

Some simple mnemonics can be useful, but complicated ones are often more
bother than they are worth. A better approach is to follow some general
guidelines.
Rehearsal: To keep information activated in STM for longer than 20
seconds, most people rehearse the information mentally. Repetition or
rote rehearsal is a technique we all use to try to "learn" something.
There are two types of rehearsal. These are:
a) Maintenance Rehearsal:-involves repeating the information in your
mind.
b) Elaborative Rehearsal: - involve associating the information a person
is trying to remember with something that a person already knows or with
information from long-term memory.

The limited capacity of short term memory can also be somewhat improved
by the process of chunking.
Chunking; is a process of grouping individual bits of information.
According to most models of memory, we overcome this problem, by
grouping small groups of information into larger units or chunks. The real
capacity of short-term memory therefore is not a few bits of information
but a few chunks.
For example, the letters "b d e" constitute three units of information while
the word "bed" represents one unit even though it is composed of the same
number of letters. Chunking is a major technique for getting and keeping
information in short-term memory; it is also a type of elaboration that will
help get information into long-term memory.

52
 Mnemonic devices: mnemonic devices depend upon two basic
principles:
recoding of information into forms that are easy to remember, and;
supplying oneself with excellent retrieval cues to recall the
information when it is
needed.

Pay Attention: It seems obvious, but often we fail to remember

because we never encoded the information in the first place. When
you do have something to remember, you will do better if you encode
it.
Encode information in more than one way: The more elaborate
the encoding of information, the more memorable it will be
Add meaning: The more meaningful the material, the more likely it
is to link up with information already in long-term memory.
Take your time: If possible, minimize interference by using study
breaks for rest or recreation. Sleep is the ultimate way to reduce
interference.
Over learn: Studying information even after you think you already
know it- is one of the best ways to ensure that youll remember it.
Monitor your learning: By testing yourself frequently, rehearsing
thoroughly, and reviewing periodically, you will have a better idea of how you
are doing.

CHAPTER 5: MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

Introduction
In this unit, we will examine motives, motivation and some related theoretical
perspectives which explain about the concept and sources of motivation.

53
3.1. Definitions of Motivation

Activity-What is motivation? What do you

understand about the word motivation?

The term motivation is derived from Latin word moveers, which means to
move. From the derivation of this word, the literal meaning of motivation is
the process of arousing or stimulating movement in the organism. And the
psychology of motivation is indeed the study of what moves us, why we do
what we do.

In other words, motivation refers to the forces that initiate and

direct behavior, and the variables that determine the intensity and
persistence of that behavior.
It is concerned with factors that direct and energize the behavior of
humans and other organisms.
motivation as an internal driving force that activate, sustains and
direct the behavior of humans and other organism toward a
goal.
It is an internal process that energizes and makes a person move toward
a goal. Thus, the term motivation is refers to the process that
energizing, maintaining and persisting goal-directed behavior.
To sum up, motivation is described as internal states that arouse us to
action, pushes us in a particular direction, and keeps us engaged in
certain activities.

Kinds of motives
Motives are refers to a need, want, interests, or desires that prompts someone
(an organism) in certain direction. It is the needs and desires goal-directed
behavior attempted to satisfy. There are two types of motives. These are:
I. Primary or Biological Motives: - they are motives based on
physiological needs or tissues deficits within the body. These motives
stem from the need for things that are necessary for survival of an
organism such as food, water, air, sleep, warmth, avoidance of pain and
so on. There are some evolutionary reasons for these motives.

54
II. Secondary or psychological (learned) Motives
These are motives that are not directly related to the biological survival of
the individual or the species. Rather they are motives that related to the
individual happiness and well-being. They are acquired or learned from the
social environment or cultural heritage.
Some of the important social motives are social approval, needs for affiliation,
affection, achievement, respect, prestige, power, Money, etc.

Types of motivation
Psychologists categorize motivations in to two as intrinsic and extrinsic
motivations.

Extrinsic Motivation
The term extrinsic means coming from outside of an individual.
It refers to motivation to engage in an activity in order to gain some
tangible reward or to avoid some kind of punishment or undesirable
condition. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such
as food, money, good grades, praise or some other rewards.

Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic means coming from within the organism. It is a type of
motivation, which is generated from the persons internal feelings.
When an individual takes on an activity for its own sake, for the
enjoyment it provides, the knowledge gained or the feelings of
accomplishment, it brings, it is said to be intrinsically motivation. For
example, studying hard for enjoyment

Theories of Motivation
There several distinct theories which can help us in understanding motivation.
Motivation theories are concerned with the processes that explain why and
how human behavior is activated and directed. Motivation theories can be
categorized in to four major areas as:

55
1. Biological based theory of Motivation

A. Instinctive theory
Instinct theory states that biology or internal (instinctual) forces causes
people to display motivated or unmotivated behavior. Accordingly,
motivation is the result of biological or genetic program for the survival
of the organism.
Instincts are inherited or inborn patterns of behaviors that are
biologically determined rather than learned.
For example, within a species of bird, all the members may build
identical nests and all work in the same way. Within a species of spiders,
they spin their webs and work in the same way.
Why?
Instinct theory suggests that it is programmed to behave in this manner
at birth. Thus, animals are born with the capacity and knowledge of how
to survive by building nests, avoiding danger, and reproducing.

B. Drive Theories- Push theory of motivation

According to drive theories, when we experience a drive, we are

motivated to pursue actions that will lead to drive reduction. A drives is
an internal state of tension that motivates (pushes) an organism to
engage in activities that should reduce this tension.
In general drive theories say the following: When an internal driving
state is aroused, the individual is pushed to engaged in behaviour which
will lead to goal that reduces the intensity of the driving state.
The goal of motivated behavior - physical or psychological state that gives
the organism satisfaction.

According to drive theories motivation is said to consist of:

56
 Motives Driving state
Goal-directed behavior
Goal attainment
Reduction of the driving
Relief Behavior state

Goal

Motivation is Cyclic

2. Behavioral Approaches of Motivation

Behavioral theories of motivation explaining motivation emphasize the
positive aspects of the environmental stimuli that direct and energize behavior

A.Incentive Theories- Pull theory of motivation

This theory suggests that motivation is not primarily a matter being pushed
from within by various urges; rather, it is more a question of being pulled
from without by expectations of attaining desired outcomes (incentives).

Incentive theories appear to explain why many people engage in complex

effortful or even painful behaviours such as working many hours on their
jobs, or studying long into the night.

Incentive theory has been applied to many aspects of human motivation.

Perhaps, though, it has found its most important practical use with respect to
work motivation- the tendency to expend energy and effort on ones job.

3. Cognitive Approaches of Motivation

According to cognitive theory, motivated behavior can be explained by
conscious mental process of the individual. They focus on the role of our
thought; expectations and understanding of the world underlie their
motivation. There many theories of motivation. Among different cognitive
57
theories of motivation lets see Expectancy-value theory and Self-efficacy
motivational theory.

A. Expectancy-value theory
According to this theory, two kinds of cognitions underlie our behavior. The
first is our expectation that a behavior will cause us to reach a particular goal. The second
is our understandings of the value of that goal to us underlie behavior.

B. Self-efficacy motivational theory

One of the main proponents of this theory is Albert Bandura. Bandura
defined self-efficacy as the learned expectation that one is capable of
doing what is necessary to reach ones goal. It determines the kind of
goals that people set for themselves (sense of knowing what to do) and
being emotionally able to reach that goal. Self-efficacy underlies
peoples faith in their ability to carry out a particular behavior.
People who perceive themselves as self-efficacious accept greater
challenges expand more effort; they will be more persistent and may be
more successful in reaching the goal as a result.
Generally, Bandura, believe that learner initiate, work hard, and persist
longer at tasks they judge they are good at.

4. Humanistic Approaches to Motivation

The humanistic theory is a blend of a biological and social needs and
perhaps the most known theory of motivation. Humanistic approach
describes motivation as an integrative internal force that causes all
human beings to grow, develop, and full fill their potential to self-
growth. Each person has an innate growth potential that energizes
and directs all human behavior.

According to this theory, humans are driven to achieve their maximum

potential and will always do so unless obstacles are placed on their way.
These obstacles included hunger, thirst, financial problem, safety issues

58
 or anything else that takes our focus away from maximum psychological
growth.
The best way to describe this theory is to utilize the famous pyramid
developed by Abraham Maslow (1970) called the hierarchy of needs.

Maslows Hierarchy of Motivation

Psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a theory called hierarchy of needs
(motives).
Basic Assumptions
His theory of need can be conceptualized as a pyramid in which the more
basic need (like food, shelter, water and safety) that vital to daily survival are
at the bottom and the higher-order need are at the top of the pyramid.
Maslow assumes that we all have the same basic needs. Our needs energize
and direct our behavior. Our needs are organized in a hierarchy - a series of
steps. The need hierarchy is a systematic arrangement of needs according to
priority, which assumes that basic needs must be met before a person
motivated to move upward to higher order needs.
Thus, according to Maslow, humans have specific needs that must be met and
that if lower level needs go unmet, we cannot possible strive for higher level
needs.
Lets see the schematic illustration of Maslows hierarchy of needs.

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 MASLOW'S THEORY OF MOTIVATION AND HUMAN NEEDS
LEVELS OF NEEDS
Level:5=Self-Actualization
FULFILLMENT OF GOALS & DREAMS
A start of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential in their own unique way. The
desire to put your ability in to practice (actualize) whatever skills and talent we posses. It is include
establishing meaningful goal and purpose in life. They seek knowledge, peace, esthetics, and
onness with God and become the best you are capable of becoming. In general this is the highest
and most difficult level to reach. Interestingly, Maslow indicated that people will be frustrated if they
cant pursue their true loves and talent. For example, if a parson has a talent for painting, but they
become a doctor, they will be frustrated because the need for self-actualization will be hindered.

Level 4 = Self-Esteem needs

At this level, people become concerned with the need to develop feelings of self-acceptance, need
for reputation, prestige, and recognition from others. There are two types of esteem needs. First self
esteem which results from competency or mastery of a task. Contains the desire to feel important,
strong and significant. Second, theres the attention and recognition that comes from others.

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 Level 3 = Belonging (love or social) needs
After us reasonably safe, we seek friendship closeness, contact and love, which include the need to
obtaining and give affection or needs for social interaction. Humans have a desire for love,
affection and belonging from family members, friends, work group, religious group and lovers.

Level 2 = SAFETY (SECURITY) needs

Safety needs have to do with establishing stability and consistency in a chaotic world. Need to be safe
from physical and psychological harm, freedom from fear in the present and future, and trust in a
predictable future to function effectively. They seek out stable lives with careers, homes, insurance,
etc.
Level: 1=Physiological (survival) needs
Need to stay alive! Biological and cultural imperatives to live. Includes having enough healthy food,
air, and water to survive. When these are not satisfied we may feel sickness, irritation, pain,
discomfort, etc. Once they are alleviated, we may think about other things.

Educational implication of motivation

Motivational strategies play a decisive influence at the beginning of learning, during learning &
at the end of learning.
The key motivational processes involved at the beginning of learning are attitude &needs.
The teacher bears great responsibility for student attitude being positive or negative
towards themselves, their school, their teacher & their subjects. Students behave to satisfy
all of their needs, and the need that is predominant at any moment will be a students
primary concern.

The key motivational process involved during learning is simulation. Teachers should try
to hold the students attention during instruction.

The key motivational processes involved at the end of learning are competence &
reinforcement. Competence denotes a feeling of controlling the environment where as
reinforcement refers to encourage students learning improvement.

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5.2. Frustration

The term frustration refers to the blocking of any goal directed behavior. If motives are
frustrated, or blocked, emotional feelings and behavior often result. People who cannot achieve
their important goals feel depressed, fearful, anxious, guilty, or angry. Often they are simply
unable to derive ordinary pleasure from leaving.

Sources of Frustration

Environmental forces: Environmental factors can frustrate the satisfaction of motives

by making it difficult or impossible for a person to attain a goal.

Personal inadequacies: Setting unattainable goals can be important sources of

frustration. People are often frustrated because they aspire to goals- have a level of
aspiration- beyond their capacity to perform.

Conflict of motives

Conflict exists whenever a person has incompatible or opposing goals. The frustration comes
from being unable to satisfy all the goals. Whatever goal the person decides to satisfy, there will
be frustration, most likely preceded by turmoil, doubt, and vacillation.

Of the three general sources of frustration described above the one that often produces the most
persistent and deep-seated frustration in many individuals is motivational conflict. There are
about four basic kinds of motivational conflicts.

1. Approach- Approach Conflict

Occurs when one is simultaneously/equally attracted to two or more desirable goals/

outcomes.
Generally, such conflicts cause little distress and are easily resolved. The reason is that
although we must choose one alternative now, we can often obtain the other at a later
time.

2. Avoidance- Avoidance Conflict

This conflict occurs when we are motivated to avoid each of two (or more) equally
unattractive choices, but must choose one.

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 Avoidance- avoidance conflicts tend to involve a great deal of vacillation and hesitation.
Moving closer to one of the unattractive choices increases our discomfort and leads us to
retreat. This retreat brings us closer to the other unattractive alternative, and we retreat in
the opposite direction.

3. Approach avoidance conflict

This kind of conflict occurs when a person is motivated to both approach and avoid the same
goal.
In these kinds of conflicts both attraction and repulsion are typically strongest when you are
nearest the goal.
The closer you are to something appealing, the stronger your desire to approach it; the closer
you are to something unpleasant, the stronger your desire to flee.
As with avoidance-avoidance conflicts, vacillation is common in these conflicts. Often
however the negative valence is not repellent enough to stop the approach behaviour.
In such cases people reach the goal but much more slowly and hesitantly than they would
have without the negative valence; until the goal is reached there is frustration.
Even after the goal is reached, an individual may feel uneasy because of the negative valence
attached to it.
Wherever a person is frustrated by not reaching it at all, emotional reactions such as fear,
anger, and resentment commonly accompany approach avoidance conflicts.

4. Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts

Such conflicts are the ones we most often face in life. These involve situations in which
several options exist, with each one containing both positive and negative elements.
Not surprisingly these are the hardest to resolve and the most stressful.

5.3. Emotion and Stress

Emotion

No single definition of emotion is accepted; so, finding a definition acceptable to

psychologists has proved to be an elusive task. One mainstream definition of
emotion refers to a feeling state involving thoughts, physiological changes and
an outward expression of behavior.

Components of Emotion

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In spite of the disagreement on one definition of emotion most psychologists
agree on the major components of emotion. These major components are:
Physiological changes
Subjective cognitive states
Expressive behaviors

1. Physiological Changes

When we are excited, terrified, enraged, we perceive some of the things happening in our
bodies, but we certainly are not aware of all that is happening. Direct observation using
recording instruments has given scientists a great deal of information about the bodily events
in emotion.

Psycho- physiologists, who study such events, are able to measure the heart rate, blood
pressure, blood flow to various parts of the body, activity of the stomach and gastro-intestinal
system, levels of various substances such as hormones in the blood, breathing rate and depth
and many other bodily conditions in emotion. All of these changes are called physiological
changes.

From studies by psycho-physiologists, we know that many of the bodily

changes that occur in emotion are produced by the activity of a part of the
nervous system called the Autonomic System. This system is part of the
peripheral nervous system and it consists of two other parts, the
sympathetic and the parasympathetic systems

Sympathetic system- activated in response to threats to the

organism. It arouses the body for action (e.g. by stopping digestion,
increasing heart beat, relaxing bladder and so on).

Parasympathetic system- supports activities that maintain the

bodys store of energy (after emergency is over). It calms down the
body to maintain energy (e/g by slowing heart beat, lowering blood pressure,
resuming digestion, and so on).

2. Subjective cognitive state/ thought

The subjective cognitive states involve the importance of thoughts, beliefs, and
expectations in determining the type and intensity of the emotional response.
It generally includes the personal experiences that we label as emotions.

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3. Expressive Behaviors

Emotions are personal. No one can truly share our subjective experiences. Yet we are able to
recognize the presence of various emotions in others, and we are able to communicate our own
feelings to them as well. This occurs because of the presence of nonverbal cues - outward,
observable signs of others internal emotional states. The most revealing of these consists of
facial expressions, eye contact, body movements and posture, and touching.

Facial expressions: It is possible to learn much about others current moods and feelings
from their facial expressions. That is, moods and feelings are often reflected in the face and
can be read there from specific expressions. It appears that there are six different emotions,
which are clearly represented on the face. These are anger, fear, sadness, disgust, happiness
and surprise.

Eye contact: we do often learn much about others feelings from their eyes. For example, we
interpret a high level of gazing from another as a sign of liking or friendliness. In contrast, if
others avoid eye contact with us, we may conclude that they are unfriendly, dont like us, or
are shy.
Body Language: Our current mood or emotion is often reflected in the posture, position,
and movement of our body. Together, such non-verbal behaviors are termed as Body
Language.

Touching: Growing evidence indicates that when one person touches another in a manner
that is considered acceptable in the current context, positive reactions generally result.

5.3. Stress and Coping

Stress

Stress is an internal state, which can be caused by physical demands on the body (disease
conditions exercise, extremes of temperature, and the like) or by environmental and social
situations, which are evaluated as potentially harmful, uncontrollable or exceeding our resources
for coping.

In other words, stress can be defined as any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to
threaten our well-being and that there by tax our coping abilities. The threat may be to our
immediate physical safety, our long-range security, our self-esteem, our reputation, our peace of
mind, or many other things that we value.

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The experience of feeling threatened depends on what events we notice and how we choose to
appraise and interpret them. Events that are stressful for one person may be routine for another.

Generally, the major factors that influence our subjective appraisals of potentially stressful
events are familiarity with the challenge, the controllability of the events, and the predictability
of the events. The less familiar you are with a potentially stressful event, the more threatened you
are likely to feel. In short, familiarity with a challenge can make yesterdays crisis todays
routine. Similarly, events are usually less stressful when we see them as being under our control.
We also prefer predictable stress over surprise packages.

Major Types of Stressors

Stimuli that cause stress are called stressors. These include all physical, environmental, and
social causes of the stress state. Although they are not entirely independent three principal types
of stressors are identified. These are:
Life Changes
Pressure
Frustration

1. Life changes

Life changes are any noticeable alternations in ones living circumstances that require
readjustment. Significant life events, such as marriage, death of a family member, or moving to
a new home, tend to disrupt our lives and cause more stress than normal. Such events might be
joyous as in case of marriage, grievous as incase of a family members death, or apparently
neutral as incase of change in work hours, yet all such events do cause extra stress, and an
inordinate amount of such stress will exceed the body's ability to cope and may lead to moderate
or serious illness.

2. Pressure

Pressure involves expectations or demands that one behave in a certain way. Pressure can be
divided into subtypes. You are under pressure to perform when you are expected to execute tasks
and responsibilities quickly, efficiently, and successfully. Pressures to conform to others
expectations are also common in our lives.

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3. Frustration

The term frustration refers to the blocking of any goal directed behaviour. If motives are
frustrated, or blocked, emotional feelings and behaviour often result. People who cannot achieve
their important goals feel depressed, fearful, anxious, guilty, or angry. Often they are simply
unable to derive ordinary pleasure from leaving.

Coping with Stress

Coping consists of all things people do to control, tolerate or reduce the effects of life's stressors-
perceived threats, existing problems, or emotional losses. Coping is not single strategy that
applies to all circumstances.

Strategies

1. Physical Strategies

These methods provide more direct and deliberate means of controlling and reducing the impact
of stress and prepare us to deal with unexpected stress and keep us in stress ready condition.

Cooling off: the most immediate way to handle the physiological symptoms of stress is to
calm down. The following are some the activities that can be done to help us calm down.

Relaxation: One of the most effective means of dealing with physical stress reactions is
to relax during stressful situations. Here is how to do it.

Exercise: Exercise plays several roles in reducing the negative effects of stress. The best
exercise for these purposes is aerobic exercise- regular strenuous activity that heightens
cardiovascular functioning, such as brisk walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, dancing
and so on.

Health psychologists have found out that by minimizing the amount of stress in our lives, we
help our bodies stay well and fight off disease. We can further help to maintain wellness by
avoiding smoking, eating nutritionally balanced diets, exercising regularly, and among other
factors, adopting an internal locus of control and a positive attitude toward life.

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2. Problem-Oriented Strategies

These are emotional or cognitive coping strategies that lead to changes in how one views or
appraises stressful situations, rather than strategies for changing the situations themselves.
Some of these techniques include the following.

Reappraising the problem: problems can be changed into challenges; losses into
unexpected gains.
Learning from experience: Even when people suffer major losses, traumas and serious
illnesses they can often find useful lessons in them.
Making social comparisons: successful coopers often compare themselves who are
(they feel) less fortunate.
Cultivating a sense of humor: ability to see the humor in tense or even tragic situations,
to appreciate humor and witty people and to use humor in coping with stress.

3. Problem-Focused Strategies

Problem focused forms of coping are s68trategies that deal directly with the situation or the
stressor in ways that will eventually decrease or eliminate it. The better a person is at solving
problems, the more likely he/she will develop effective coping strategies. These strategies consist
of identifying the stressful problem, generating possible solutions, selecting the appropriate
solution, and applying the solution to the problem, thereby eliminating the stress.

4. Drawing on social support

An important resource for coping is gaining social support from friends, families, colleagues and
social organizations and churches. Researchers have found out that social support, the knowledge
that we are part of mutual network of caring, interested others, enables people to experience
lower levels of stress and to be better able to cope with the stress they do under go.

The social and emotional support that other people provide each other helps in dealing with
stress in several ways. For instance such support demonstrates that a person is an important and

68
valued member of a social network. Similarly other people can provide information and advice
about appropriate ways of dealing with stress.

5. Inoculation

A final strategy for coping with stress is inoculation: preparing for stress before it is
encountered. Inoculation methods prepare people for stressful experiences by explaining, in as
much detail as possible the difficult events they likely to encounter. As part of the process people
are asked to imagine how they will feel about the circumstances and to consider various ways of
dealing with their reactions- all before the experience has actually occurred. Probably the most
crucial element however is providing individuals with clear, objective strategies for handling the
situation, rather than simply telling them what to expect.

CHAPTER 6 PERSONALITY

Defining personality

People frequently use the word personality, but when asked what it is, they could not give a
precise definition of the word. But one thing is clear for all of us, we all have personality. Since

69
personality is a hypothetical concept, different meaning of the term is suggested by different
psychologists.

Most, however, regard personality to be a persons unique and enduring behavior

pattern.
In other words, personality refers to the consistency of who we are, have been and will
become.
It also refers to the special blend of talents, attitudes, values, hopes, loves, hates, and
habits that make each of us a unique person.
The word personality comes from the Latin word persona, which means mask. A
personality theorist Allport defined personality as the dynamic organization within the
individual

The word personality is usually confused with words like character and temperament.
Character implies that a person has been judged or evaluated, not just been described.
When we say somebody has a personality, we may mean that the person is friendly,
outgoing and active, and by this we are actually referring to good characters in a culture.
But in some culture, a person may be needed to become fierce, and cruel. So while
everybody in a culture has personality, not every has a good character.

Temperament, on the other hand is the raw material from which personality is formed.
It is the physical foundations of personality such as prevailing mood, sensitivity and
activity level. Based on their temperaments, babies are divided into easy children (relaxed
and agreeable), difficult children (moody, intense and easily angered) and slow-to-warm-
up children (reserved and unexpressive or shy).

Psychology uses a number of important concepts to explain personality. Following are some of
the basic concepts in the understanding of personality.

Traits- lasting qualities with in a person that are inferred from observed behavior. Some traits are
sociable, orderly, intelligent, shy, sensitive and creative. The interest in traits is because they
enable us to predict future behavior from past behavior. They also imply consistency in behavior.
e.g someone who has the trait of sociability, will be sociable in the coming year, on a wedding
ceremony or in the classroom. This behavior is less likely to change, and the person becoming
shy.
Types- are a category of individuals who have a number of traits or characteristics in common.
We all ask what type of person the other person is before being introduced with the person. e.g
athletic type, motherly type, aggressive type, silent type, and many other.

70
Psychologists have been trying to come up with a short list of personality types to categorize
individuals. Carl Jung (a Swiss psychiatrist) suggested that a person is either an introvert (shy,
self-centered person) or an extrovert (bold, outgoing person). But the extremely outgoing and
party loving person (extrovert) may at times be introverted; and the most introverted person may
at times be very assertive. In short, it is really hard to put up a list to categorize persons into
different traits.

Self concept- is a persons perception of his/her own personality traits. It consists of all ideas and
feelings about who one is (identity). It is believed that ones self concept has a major impact on
behavior. Self concept is creatively build and slowly revised with new experiences so that a
stable self concept is attained. The self concept I turn will influence our behavior.

Theories of personality

There are different personality theories that try to describe the nature and development of
personality. But according to Kluckhohn and Murry(1953),there are three concerns of personality
theories. They observed that:

1. Every human being is like every other human being

2. Every human being is like some other human beings
3. Every human being is like no other human being

We are like all other human beings insofar as there is a human nature that describes humanness.
So one task of the personality theorist is to describe what all human beings have in common i.e.
human nature. Next we are like some other human beings insofar as we share a common culture.
Lastly each human is unique, with his or her particular cluster of genes and his or her particular
cluster of personal experiences.

The major ones that are commonly mentioned are the psychoanalytic approach, the trait
approaches, the humanistic approach and the behaviorist approach. In this chapter we will only
focus on the psychoanalytic and trait approaches.

1. The Psychoanalytic Approach

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), who believed in the importance of the unconscious

mind and childhood experiences, was the founder of psychoanalytic theory.
I.2.1 Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory

71
The psychodynamic perspective is most closely associated with the work of an Austrian
physician Sigmund Freud (1856 to 1939). Freud's psychoanalytic theory viewed human
development interms of personality and emotional changes and he suggested that unconscious
forces act to determine personality and behavior. He believes that human behavior
is largely governed by the unconscious part of the mind. Freud
expressed the importance of early experience in an extreme case
saying, The child is the father of the man. To him, personality is
formed in the first few years of life, as the child deal with conflicts
between their inborn biological, sexually related urges and the
requirements of the society. Freud also believes that human beings
Freud
Freud (1856-1939)
(1856-1939) developed
are pleasure-seeking his
his theory
animals.
developed called
This
theory Psychosexual
pleasure
called is Theory
Psychosexual of
of Development,
obtained
Theory through the
Development,
Freuds
Freuds Theory,
Theory, or
or Psychoanalysis,
Psychoanalysis, based
based on
on his
his experience
experience with
with mental
mental patients.
patients. His
His
manipulation
theory
theory has ofcentral
has two
two different
central ideas: parts of the body. He called this pleasure
ideas:
Personality
Personality development
development occurs
occurs because of changes in the sexual experiences of an
Sex. The pleasure shifts from one body zone to another from mouth
individual
individual
Adult
Adult personality
personality is
is born
born out
out of
of childhood
childhood personality
personality
to anus eventually to genital areas.
The
The basic
basic assumptions
assumptions underlying
underlying psychosexual
psychosexual theory
theory are:
are:
Human
Human beings
beings areare pleasure
pleasure seeking
seeking
Pleasure
Pleasure is is obtained
obtained by by using
using the
the body
body
Pleasure
Pleasure obtained
obtained by by using
using the
the body
body isis sex
sex
Because
Because sex sex involves
involves using
using any
any part
part ofof the
the body
body for
for pleasure,
pleasure, sexual
sexual interest
interest and
and activity
activity
exists
exists long
long before
before the
the maturation
maturation ofof sex
sex organs
organs during
during adolescence
adolescence
But
But the
the way
way sexual
sexual interest
interest is
is satisfied
satisfied changes
changes with
with age.
age. At
At different
different ages
ages different
different parts
parts
of the body (erogenous zones) become active sources
of the body (erogenous zones) become active sources of pleasure of pleasure
The
The shift
shift in
in the
the dominant
dominant source
source of
of pleasure
pleasure with
with increasing
increasing age
age is
is called
called psychosexual
psychosexual
development
development
The
The person
person maymay over-satisfy
over-satisfy or
or under-satisfy
under-satisfy pleasure
pleasure needs.
needs. This
This is
is called
called fixation
fixation

The
The assumptions
assumptions of of Freuds
Freuds theory
theory can
can be
be generalized
generalized in in the
the following
following twotwo areas:
areas:
Determinants
Determinants of of Personality
Personality
Psychic
Psychic determinism-
determinism- much much of of our
our behavior
behavior is is not
not freely
freely chosen;
chosen; rather
rather itit is
is determined
determined
by the nature and strength of intra-psychic forces called id, ego,
by the nature and strength of intra-psychic forces called id, ego, and superego and superego
Unconscious
Unconscious motivation-
motivation- the the intra-psychic
intra-psychic forces
forces are
are largely
largely operating
operating unconsciously.
unconsciously.
The
The basic
basic and
and true
true motives
motives ofof our
our actions
actions are
are largely
largely unknown
unknown to to us
us
Early
Early childhood
childhood experiences
experiences determine
determine later
later personality-
personality- the the intra-psychic
intra-psychic forces
forces are
are
largely
largely affected
affected byby childhood
childhood experiences.
experiences. Ones
Ones personality
personality is is almost
almost complete
complete by by the
the
age
age ofof six
six or
or seven
seven years.
years. Thus,
Thus, whatever
whatever oneone does
does asas anan adult
adult isis the
the reflection
reflection ofof ones
ones
experience
experience at at early
early years
years of
of life.
life.
b)
b) Nature of Mankind- A
Nature of Mankind- A human
human being
being byby nature
nature isis selfish,
selfish, irrational,
irrational, and
and destructive
destructive
of
of him/herself and others. Human beings have two basic instincts: Life
him/herself and others. Human beings have two basic instincts: Life instincts
instincts
(Eros)
(Eros) -- areare largely
largely sexual
sexual impulses,
impulses, though
though theythey include
include all all positive
positive biological
biological
desires,
desires, and
and Death
Death Instincts
Instincts (Thanatos)-
(Thanatos)- are are largely
largely aggressive
aggressive impulses.
impulses.

72
A brief definition would be that personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts,
feelings and behaviors that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality arises from
within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life. According to Freud,
everyone's personality has three aspects: id, ego, and superego.

73
 The id is the raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality that is present at birth. It represents
primitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses. The id operates
according to the pleasure principle, in which the goal is to maximize satisfaction and reduce
tension.

What would be wrong if you let elementary school child do whatever things

he/she likes?

The superego represents a person's conscience, incorporating distinctions between right and
wrong. It represents the social, cultural, religious and moral issues that are learned from an
individual's parents, teachers, and other significant figures. The superego operates under
perfection principle.

Why do you forbid a child from stealing some ones candy?

How do you think a teacher can assist a child get what he/she wants
without affecting others?

The ego is the part of personality that is rational and reasonable. The ego acts
as a buffer between the real world outside of us and the primitive id. The ego
operates on the reality principle, in which instinctual energy is restrained in
order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into
society. It understands that biological desires of the id must be satisfied so that
the person can survive but they should be satisfied not in immoral ways but in
ways the superego may not be endangered.

Which of the three types of personality governs personality as a persons

age increases? Why?

In addition to providing an account of the various parts of the personality, Freud also suggested
the ways in which personality develops during childhood. He argued that psychosexual
development occurs as children pass through a series of stages in which pleasure, or
74
 gratification, is focused on a particular biological function and body part. He suggested that
pleasure shifts from the mouth (the oral stage) to the anus (the anal stage) and eventually to the
genitals (the phallic stage and the genital stage).

Why do you think new born babies take everything to their mouth during the
first year?

i) Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months). During the oral stage, the child is focused on
oral pleasures (sucking). At birth, the oral region is very sensitive to any kind of
stimulation. However, Freud noted that too much or too little gratification can result
in an Oral Fixation (Fixation is behavior reflecting an earlier stage of development
due to an unresolved conflict) or Oral Personality which is evidenced by a
preoccupation with oral activities.
This type of personality may have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over
eating, biting his or her nails, etc. Personality wise, these individuals may become
overly dependent upon others, susceptible, and perpetual followers. On the other
hand, they may also fight these urges and develop pessimism and aggression toward
others.

How do you think teachers can assist an aggressive child or a child who bites

his/her nails often in schools?

ii) Anal Stage (18 months to three years). The childs focus of pleasure in this stage
is on eliminating and retaining feces. Societys pressure, mainly parents, the child has
to learn to control anal stimulation. Anal fixation during this stage can result in an
obsession with cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal retentive). On the opposite
end of the spectrum, they may become messy and disorganized (anal expulsive).

As you know babies enjoy sitting on their po-po for long hours. Why do you

think this so? What do you think will happen if you let the child sit for too long?

75
 iii) Phallic Stage (ages three to six). During this stage, the pleasure zone (what is also
called the erogenous zone) switches to the genitals. Freud believed that during this
stage boys develop unconscious sexual desires for their mothers and girls go through
a similar situation, developing unconscious sexual attraction to their father. The boy
becomes rival with his father and sees him as competition for the mothers affection.
During this time, boys also develop a fear that their father will punish them for these
feelings, such as by castrating ( losing testicles) them. This group of feelings is
known as Oedipus Complex (after the Greek Mythology figure who accidentally
killed his father and married his mother) and the Electra Complex for girls.
According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of his
father, boys eventually decide to identify with him rather than fight him. By
identifying with his father, the boy develops masculine characteristics and identifies
himself as a male, and represses his sexual feelings toward his mother. A fixation at
this stage could result in sexual deviancies (both overindulging and avoidance) and
weak or confused sexual identity according to psychoanalysts.

Think of your relationship with your parents? Whom do you like more? Your

Mom or Dad? How do you see your attachment to the parent you like more in
the light of Freuds theory?

iv) Latency Stage (age six to puberty). It is a time when sexual desires are directed
to relevant non sexual behaviors such as home/school related activities. Its during
this stage that sexual urges remain repressed and children interact and play mostly
with same sex peers.

How do you think teachers can empower elementary school children

participate in relevant school activities?

v) Genital Stage (puberty on). The final stage of psychosexual development begins
at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. Through the

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 lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto
opposite sex, with the primary focus of pleasure is the genitals.

Levels of Consciousness

Freud divided the mind into three levels of consciousness. The conscious mind
(the tip of the iceberg) contains the constantly changing feelings, memories,
perception and awareness moves in and out. Just below the conscious mind
lies the subconscious mind which includes accessible memories (memories
that we can remember when we want them). The unconscious mind, the bulk
of the mind, lies at the most lower layer of the mind and contains materials
that we cant access even if we want to.

Freud claimed that threatening thoughts and feelings are subject to repression,
the banishment of conscious material into the unconscious. These censored
materials may erupt into conscious part of the mind when psychological
controls are relaxed, e.g. under hypnosis, dreams, fantasies, etc. Slips of the
tongue (slips of the pen) and free associations are means of uncovering the
unconscious.

He assumed that unconscious thoughts and feelings are the most important
influences on our behavior, and the theory of repression is the cornerstone on
which the whole structure of psychoanalysis rests (Freud, 1914/57). The
notion of repressed thoughts and feelings led to the concept of psychic
determinism, which holds that all behavior is influenced by unconscious
motives.

The Structure of Personality

The human mind is made up of three intra psychic forces (id, ego, superego),
which are in continual interaction with one another.
Id (the Latin it) refers of the instinctual, biological urges of human
beings. For example, hunger, thirst, sex, aggression, comfort, etc are id

77
 urges. It represents our animalistic nature, seeks immediate
gratification, and is guided by the pleasure principle.
According to Freud, the Id is part of the personality that contains inborn
biological drives and that seeks immediate gratification.
Id forms mental images (in the form of fantasy, daydreams) of what is
needed to reduce tension, which Freud calls it wish-fulfillment. But
actually, tensions cannot be reduced by the id; rather the ego is needed
to satisfy the aroused desired.

Ego (the Latin I) refers to the executive part of our personality.

Individual actions are performed by the ego. Ego gratifies the ids
demeans in a socially acceptable way and derives its psychic energy from
id.
Ego operates on the reality principle (the principle through which the Ego
directs the individual to express sexual and aggressive impulses in
socially acceptable ways). It locations in reality a potential gratifier,
anticipates the consequences, and decides actions depending on the
consequences. It employs advanced level thinking, which Freud termed
it as secondary process thinking, i.e. reason, logic, and the distinctions
among different objects, people and situations.
Ego mediates between the ids demands to reduce tension and the forces
that restrict the ids satisfaction (i.e. the reality and the super ego).

Superego (the Latin over the I) refers to the internal representative of

the traditional reality (morals, values, and culture of the society) and the
moral guide of the person. Superego represents the dos and donts of
the society. It is moral arm of the society. It also decides any action
taken by the ego to satisfy the id demands as right or wrong. Again the
superego derives its psychic energy from the id.
The Ego helps the individual adapt to external reality by making
comparisons between the Id, the Superego and the environment.
Superego has two parts:
Conscience controls the evil, bad, wrong activities done by the
ego to satisfy the demands of the id.
Ego ideal is concerned with what is right and good activity of
the ego (i.e. every activity approved by the society).

Superego has three functions

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 To inhibit the id impulses.
To persuade the ego to do the job of superego.
To strive for perfection.

Summary: When the person (ego) attempts to satisfy its biological desires (id)
there is an internal observer (superego) that watches & evaluates the persons
actions as good (by the ego ideal) or bad (by the conscience).

The interaction of Id, Ego and Superego

The unconscious level of our mind, according to Freud, is important in

explaining the interaction of the id, ego and superego. That is, the entire id is
unconscious and part of the ego and the superego are found at the three levels.

Since the goal of each psychic force is different, they often get into conflict, and
three kinds of anxieties are identified.
Neurotic Anxiety- When people fear their instincts will get out of
control. That is, a strong id dominates a weak ego.
Moral Anxiety (guilt) occurs when people punish themselves for
minor errors. That is, a strong superego controls a weak ego.
Objective Anxiety is when the ego perceives a genuine danger in
the real world, or the external world.

To cope up with the painful emotions, the Ego uses defense mechanism, a
process of distorting the reality to prevent the individual from being
overwhelmed by anxiety caused by Id impulses, particularly those of sex and
aggression. The Ego also uses defense mechanisms to relive the anxiety caused
by unpleasant personal experiences and unacceptable personal characteristics.

Implication of Freuds Theory to Education

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 Parents and teachers need to encourage the child develop the
ego through understanding childs animalistic desires and the
desire to become a social creature
Parents and teachers should not excessively punish the child for
expressing desires of the flesh or they should not allow the child
to forget social considerations to satisfy his/her innate desires
only
Realizing the importance of satisfying both desires, parents and
teachers should teach the child how to reasonably satisfy
biological and social needs.

Freuds theory helps to understand how important sexuality is in shaping

personality. But some of its problems according to critics is the notion that
people pass through stages in childhood that determine their adult
personalities has little definitive research support. It also gives less attention to
later experiences in shaping personality. Because much of Freud's theory was
based on a limited population its application to broad, multicultural
populations is questionable. Because Freud's theory focuses primarily on
sexual and biological needs neglecting other equally important forces such as
social and environmental

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