Applications of Psychology

Clinical and Counselling Psychology

What Is Clinical Psychology?

Clinical psychology is a broad branch of psychology that focuses on diagnosing and

treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Some of the more common
disorders that might be treated include learning disabilities, substance abuse,
depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Clinical psychologists usually work with clients whose behavioural problems are
more severe than those of clients of counselling psychologists. They can provide
individual or group therapy, assist clients with drug-related problems, or test patients
for psychological and neurological problems.

The skill areas central to the field of clinical psychology include assessment and
diagnosis, intervention or treatment, consultation, research, and the u of ethical and
professional principles. Clinical psychologists are distinguished by their expertise in
the areas of psychopathology, personality and trauma.

What is Counselling Psychology?

Counselling psychology focuses on the emotional, social, vocational, educational,
health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns as they promote personal
and interpersonal functioning throughout life. Always sensitive to multicultural issues,
counselling psychologists integrate theory, research and practice, to help people
improve their well being, alleviate distress and maladjustment, resolve crisis, and
increase their ability to live more highly functioning lives. Counselling psychologists
usually deal with reasonably ‘well-adjusted and functional’ people.

Counselling denotes a professional relationship between a trained counsellor and a

client. This relationship is usually person-to-person, although it may sometimes
involve more than two people. It is designed to help clients to understand and clarify
their views of their lifespace, and to learn to reach their self-determined goals through
meaningful, well-informed choices and through resolution of problems of an
emotional or interpersonaul nature.

Role of a Clinical Psychologist in working with Individuals

A clinical psychologist has four main responsibilities:

1. Collect Demographic Details- it includes collecting basic information about

the patient such as one’s age, sex, profession and socio-economic status. It
helps in understanding the larger context of the patient’s lived reality.

2. Formulate a Case History- Case History taking typically involves speaking

with the patient and possibly one’s family members. During these interviews,
a clinical psychologist will often learn a great deal about what is troubling the
patient, how one has experienced different stages and events of life and what
are one’s wishes and desires. An elaborate and effective case history helps the
psychologist find cues and patterns of developing symptoms at different stages
in life.

3. Diagnosis- It includes identifying, assessing and describing the present

symptoms to reach a clinical diagnosis. Diagnosis is essential in forming a
framework/ strategy of therapy and further interventions. The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) is primarily used to help
diagnose a patient according to her specific symptoms.

4. Analysis/ Treatment- Analysis is a part of therapeutic process that deals with

exploration and deeper understanding of the presented symptoms.
Recommending a specific course of treatment with help of analysis is an
important responsibility of a clinical psychologist. In some cases, a
psychologist may be able to treat the patients herself; however more severe or
unusual cases, on the other hand, may require the psychiatric interventions in
terms of medication.

Role of a Counseling Psychologist in working with Individuals

1. Insight- helping the client understand the origins and development of

emotional difficulties, leading to an increased capacity to take rational control
 over feelings and actions.
2. Self-awareness- support them in becoming more aware of thoughts and
feelings that had been blocked off or denied, or developing a more accurate
sense of how self is perceived by others and oneself.
3. Cognitive change- The modification or replacement of irrational beliefs or
maladaptive thought patterns associated with self-destructive behaviour.
4. Self-actualization or individuation- Moving in the direction of fulfilling
potential or achieving an integration of previously conflicting parts of self.

Role of a Counsellor/ Clinical Psychologist in working with Groups

In today’s world, there is an increase in the use of the process of Group counselling in
all sectors of the society which include schools, colleges, community mental health
clinics and other human service agencies. The role of group counsellor involves
facilitating interaction among the members, help them learn from one another, assist
them in establishing personal goals and also provide continuous empathy and support
to the members and also to check if the members have carried their learning
experience from the group and practiced it in the outside world.

 Nature of the group: When groups of people have similar problems, and they
fall within a particular age range, they can be counselled in groups. In group
counselling, the problems should be simple and not complicated or acute. In
group counselling, few people with similar background and similar problems
should be involved. Group counselling is economical. It saves time and cost.

 Size of the group: In group counselling, not many people should be taken in a
group. The best size is of 8 to 10 clients. The client must attend all the group
sessions. But if more number of persons are taken in a group of interpersonal
contact may be absent which will not help the client.

 Informed consent: The leader has to demonstrate to all the members honesty
and respect and also provide information about the group in the initial session.
The information includes a clear statement regarding the purpose of the group,
ground rules, the group leader’s introduction, information concerning fees,
issues of confidentiality, rights and responsibilities of group.
  Rules of the session: It also involves stressing on the responsibilities of the
group members which are regularity, punctuality, being willing to openly talk
about one self, providing feedback to others, maintaining confidentiality.

 While a member wants to leave a group, he should provide a valid reason to

the group leader for opting out and not just leave without prior notice and
explanation.

 Confidentiality is one of the key norms of behaviour in a group. It should be

clearly explained in the initial session by the group leader to all the members
and also the situation when confidentiality can likely be broken in certain
cases. Group counselling is really an effective from of learning experiences as
members can share their experiences, learn from others, and also come to
know that everyone has similar problems and they are not the only one
struggling with an issue.

 Psychodrama which is a group psychotherapy technique can be used for group

counselling. Originated by Jacob Moreno, Psychodrama aims at exploring the
emotional problems, interpersonal relationships, personality make up, conflicts
and emotional problems of the client. It is based on the role playing technique.
The clients express their complexes, suppressed and repressed urges,
aggression and violence through the character they play. Selection of a role for
a particular individual which may have some special significance for him is of
great importance.

Group counselling is basically effective in a school or college setting as students find

it easier and enjoy learning with their peers provided the leader or the Counsellor is
effective and maintains the ethical issues and standards efficiently and is able to use
his potential to the fullest and also his personality.

Role of a Counsellor/ Clinical Psychologist in working with Couples

A substantial number of people seek counselling as a couple, because they recognize

that their problems are rooted in their relationship rather than being attributable to
individual issues. It originated as a result of fears about the sanctity of married life,
and were in their early years mainly ‘marriage saving’ concepts. In recent years,
however, the realities of changing patterns of marriage and family life have influenced
this practice in the direction of defining their work as being more broadly based in
finding meaning, togetherness and self amidst each other. The field of couples
counselling is dominated by two major approaches: psychodynamic and behavioural.

The psychodynamic approach aims to help couples gain insight into the unconscious
roots of their marital choice, and into the operation of projection and denial in their
current relationship. One of the fundamental assumptions of psychodynamic couples
counselling is that each partner brings to the relationship a powerful set of ideas about
being a spouse and being a parent, which originate in his or her family of origin. Each
partner also brings to the relationship a set of interpersonal needs shaped by
experience in early childhood. The cognitive–behavioural approach to couples
counselling is quite different. There is very little theoretical baggage, little exploration
of the past and a predominant emphasis on finding pathways to changed behaviour.
The central assumption in this approach is that people in an intimate relationship act
as a source of positive reinforcement for each other. At the time of first meeting each
other, and through courtship, there is usually a high level of positive reinforcement or
reward associated with the relationship. Later on, as the couple perhaps live together,
work together or bring up children, the opportunities for rewarding contact diminish
and the costs of the relationship, the compromise and stress, increase. As a result, the
‘reward-cost ratio’ reduces, and there is a loss of satisfaction. At the same time, the
couple may encounter difficulties in such areas as communication, problem-solving
and sexuality. The remedy for these problems, in a cognitive–behavioural mode, is to
apply behavioural principles to initiate change, such as the use of contracts between
spouses.

One of the central issues and debates in couples counselling concerns the decision to
work with partners individually, or to see them together as a couple. There are many
occasions when this decision is made by the clients, when only one member of the
couple is willing to see the counsellor. Even in these circumstances, however, there is
an issue about how much to involve the absent partner or spouse.

Role of a Counsellor/ Clinical Psychologist in working with Families

Family Therapy, is a means of intervention that attempts to understand and address
human beings’ pain and distress within the context in which it occurs i.e. the family or
relationship environment. This therapeutic approach does not isolate an individual
patient, but rather it takes account of the family as an organic whole, whatever form
that family group might take.

Some of the issues that brings families to counselling include Family violence,
Depression, Intergenerational conflict, Culture shock, Separation or divorce and so
on. The function of a professional counsellor is to render help and advice to any
individuals for solving of their personal problems. The counselling service may be
individual or group, depending on the purpose of the case. The main purpose of
family counselling is to restore harmony at home as well as build healthy intra-
familial relationships among the family members. So, it may include sessions of both
individual and group counselling.

The areas of family counselling may include:

• Child counselling

• Parent counselling

• Relationship counselling.

The patients will seek out the family counsellor and it is then up to the family
counsellor to meet with the individuals to get the ball rolling. This initial contact is the
first step in the counsellor-client relationship. The family counsellor must also collect
information from clients in order to properly diagnose and treat their disorders. This
entails speaking with the clients and family members to determine what issues need to
be addressed in the therapy sessions. This type of correspondence can take the form of
in-person meetings, telephone conversations and mail correspondence. The family
counsellor must be a sort of therapist detective in order to gather pertinent information
to enable them to help their client.

One of the more important duties which family counsellors engage in on a daily basis
is counselling. The counselling sessions are where the counsellor and clients discuss
their issues and try to resolve them as completely as possible. Counselling sessions
usually take the form of in-person meetings however, these may also be done via the
telephone from time to time.

Record keeping is another important duty of the family counsellor. The family
counsellor must keep accurate and complete records for each client. These records
include personal information, documentation from sessions and referrals or
information received from other counsellors and officials regarding the client. It is
crucial that the family counsellor keeps these records confidential and well organized
so that they can be retrieved whenever they may be needed in the future. Family
counsellors must also write evaluations in their line of work. Writing succinct and
accurate evaluations is an important duty of family counsellors.

Counselling and referrals are two main ways in which family counsellors treat clients.
Lastly, some family counsellors will also be responsible for giving lecturers and
holding seminars on various family counselling issues and topics. There are many
family counsellors who are quite revered in a certain speciality of their field and will
lecture on these topics so that the other family counsellors and interested parties can
learn more about the specific counselling issue.

Individuals can find Family Therapy helpful, as an opportunity to reflect on

important relationships and find ways forward.

Educational Psychology

What is Educational Psychology?

Educational psychology is a branch of general psychology, but is a fully developed

branch with its own standing as a distinct system of study. It is the study of how
humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions,
the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organisations.
Educational psychology is concerned with how students learn and develop, often
focusing on subgroups such as gifted children and those subject to specific
disabilities.
According to Skinner, Educational psychology covers the entire range of behaviour
and personality as related to education. Educational psychology includes a range of
specialities within educational studies, including instructional design, educational
technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and
classroom management. Educational psychology helps to facilitate learning in school
– candidates and teachers, deals with individual problems, learning differences, career
counselling, choice of a career requirement of a field or job, testing individuals,
matching individual and field job. Educational psychology has a multidimensional
scope as it enables a study of pupils’ minds, their behaviour and the laws and methods
of learning. It also aids in the analysis of the aims of education with reference to
psychology. It helps in evaluation of students achievement and assessment of their
personality.

ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGY IN FACILITATING LEARNING IN SCHOOL

Learning Difference- refers to the extent and kind of variations among people on
some of the important psychological aspects such as intelligence, personality, interest,
and aptitude. People develop their unique traits/ characteristics and patterns of
behaviour due to their genetic make up and the environment in which they are brought
up. Once we know these differences systematically, we can utilize the capabilities of
people efficiently for their healthy development. Knowing about the specific
characteristics of a person is necessary in order to extend support and utilize his or her
potential to optimal level.

Differences “within” a student are almost as extensive as differences between

children. That is, the various skills and achievement levels of a particular learner are
not homogeneous; indeed, achievement in some areas, such as music, may be
uncorrelated with achievement in others, such as mathematics. The importance of this
for the school was quickly realized and is exemplified in such practices as ungraded
schools, differential assignment of pupils to instructional groups in curricular areas,
and increased use of differential aptitude tests in pupil assignment and educational
diagnosis.
The method that describes people by specifying how they are different from or similar
to other individuals is called Psychological Assessment. It the use of specific
procedures for evaluating personal qualities, behaviours and abilities of individuals.
Psychologists frequently use tests of ability and personality. The tests of ability tell
what an individual can do when he or she is at his/her best. Ability tests measure
capacity as potential rather than achievement. Tests of intelligence and aptitude come
under this category. Aptitude refers to the ability to learn a particular kind of skill
required in a specific situation. Personality tests measure the characteristic ways of
thinking, feeling or behaving.

The Learning Experiences. It is concerned with experience of learning which

should be positive and growth oriented. The topics of concern include the classroom
climate and group dynamics, techniques and aids that facilitate learning and
evaluation, guidance and counselling that play an essential role in learning.
Educational Psychology helps in deciding what learning experiences are desirable, at
what stage of the growth and development of the learner. It takes into account ideas
such as remembering and forgetting, perceiving, concept formation, thinking and
reasoning, problem solving.

Teaching and Evaluation Techniques- Teachers know that students walk into their
classrooms with a wide range of abilities, and they try to find ways to meet the needs
of all students, including those with learning and attention issues. Perhaps, flexible yet
stable teaching and evaluation techniques are important to ensure that the educational
environment is not being unfair or unreliable in any sphere. An effective pedagogy
includes the content elements, and the strategy for presenting that content; how the
elements are assembled to construct a scaffold for learning based on the principles of
cognitive psychology, and finally how to evaluate whether that process is working as
intended and leading to increased learning.

Teaching techniques now include instructional technologies, coupled with cognitive

research findings that are transforming teaching and learning. One of the most
powerful movements in education today is toward "learner-centered" or "active
learning". Active teaching technique requires a shift from simply "delivering
instruction" to setting the conditions for the process of engagement, application,
syntheses and authentic understanding. Perhaps, the evaluation of this understanding
is also very essential. Evaluation is needed every time, when we consider some kind
of change. In changing education system, increasing emphasis on the personal and
social development of the child, as well as his academic achievement, has called for
the corresponding development of a variety of techniques for appraising all phases of
child growth and development, of pupil achievement, of behaviour and of the
teaching-learning processes.

School environment- A substantial body of research shows that, for good or ill, a
school’s social environment has broad influence on students’ learning and growth,
including major aspects of their social, emotional, and ethical development. Perhaps
most important in determining the school environment is the quality of students’
relationships with other students and with the school’s staff. As John Dewey (1958)
observed, an effective school “is realized to the degree in which individuals form a
group”. When students find their school environment to be supportive and caring,
they are less likely to become involved in substance abuse, violence, and other
problem behaviors. They are more likely to develop positive attitudes toward
themselves and prosocial attitudes and behaviors toward others. Much of the available
research shows that supportive schools foster these positive outcomes by promoting
students’ sense of “connectedness”, “belongingness” or “community”.

There are various ways in which psychology helps in school environment. These have
been described below:-

i) Problem of discipline- It is the contribution of psychology which has made people

realize that corporal punishment is inhumane. Teachers now tackle the problem of
indiscipline by examining the causal factors leading to them in a more scientific way.
The teacher is more cooperative now. He has changed his attitude from an autocrat to
a democrat.

ii) Use of audio-visual aids- Earlier, rote memorization was the only method of
learning. Use of audio-visual aids makes the difficult concepts more clear and definite
and learning is more lasting. It is the contribution of educational psychology that
teacher make use of various types of audio-visual aids in class in class-room teaching.
iii) Democratic administration: Formerly the system was autocratic. Now, the
administration and the teachers are democratic, cooperative and sympathetic.
Problems of administration are now solved by mutual discussions among the various
agents of school.

iv) Time table: There was a time when arithmetic and geometry were taught from
morning till evening. No consideration was given to the principles of psychology.
Now subjects are included in the time table keeping in mind their difficulty level. No
two difficult subjects are taught in successive periods.

v) Co-curricular activities: Earlier teachers used to give undue importance to

theoretical subjects in school. Activities like debates and drama or sports were
considered a waste of time. Nowadays, these activities are given their due importance
for the harmonious development of personality and are often included within the
purview of theoretical subjects through the use of varied learning strategies..

vi) Use of innovative methods: Several innovative ideas like visual aids, excursions or
discussions are used to improve the learning process in schools.

Career Counselling- Career counselling is the process of helping the candidates to

select a course of study that may help them to get into job or make them employable.
A career counsellor helps candidates to get into a career that is suited to their aptitude,
personality, interest and skills. Career counselling and advising can be done in
different ways including working with students individually or in groups.

Career counsellors work with people from various walks of life, such as adolescents
seeking to explore career options, or experienced professionals contemplating a career
change. Career counsellors typically have a background in vocational psychology or
industrial/organizational psychology.

Career Testing: An objective form of career counselling is through an aptitude test, or

a career test. Career testing is now usually done online and provides insightful and
objective information about which jobs may be suitable for the test taker based on
combination of their interests, values and skills. Career tests usually provide a list of
recommended jobs that match the test takers attributes with host of people with
similar personalities who enjoy / are successful at their jobs. There are various ways
to test an individual for which field he is suitable psychometric testing being one
among them. Psychometric Testing: Different test companies have their own methods
of testing. Usually, there are multiple sets of questions relating to personality type,
how the test taker would handle aspects of work and home life, what his or her goals
are for the future and his or her strengths and weaknesses. Currently more than 500
tests of personality of different types are in use. These tests have now become very
scientific, refined and comprehensive compared to earlier tests.

Intelligence Tests: Various intelligence tests are applied to detect one’s intelligence.
While, average intelligent and intelligent persons can be selected for any common job,
below average intelligent persons are advised to take up repetitive and jobs requiring
less skills. Besides these main tests there are other tests like achievement tests,
general aptitude tests, special aptitude tests and various types of special ability tests.
Tests are essential for any selection, recruitment, counselling, training and even at the
time of promotion. A general answer tracing the testing of a student (aptitude,
personality, intelligence, ability and achievement); Explaining test results q
achievability of goals; handling the admission process to courses (prerequisites for a
course, presentation at interviews etc.) and finally finding the right fit for the student.

Career counselling basically consists of four elements:

 helping individuals to gain greater self-awareness in areas such as interests,

values, abilities, and personality style

 connecting students to resources so that they can become more knowledgeable

about jobs and occupations,

 engaging students in the decision-making process in order that they can

choose a career path that is well suited to their own interests, values, abilities
and personality style, and

 assisting individuals to be active managers of their career paths (including

 managing career transitions and balancing various life roles) as well as
becoming lifelong learners in the sense of professional development over the
lifespan.

How Psychology helps in the choice of a career?

Requirements of a field or job- Career counselors are responsible for having

knowledge of the skills needed in various fields, the average salary of each field, and
the requirements of each field. After they have assessed a client they will then match
them up with a field suitable for their skills and personality, creating the most
profitable match possible in terms of job satisfaction and monetary earnings.

Testing- In career counselling, career tests and assessments are often utilized to
provide information regarding a variety of areas, such as interests, aptitude or
personality style. Unfortunately, many of these assessments do not translate well
cross-culturally due to differences in cultural values and norms. However, there may
be assessments available that have been developed or translated to fit the cultural
context.

Matching individual and field/job- Career counselors will not, simply match up a
client with a profession and send them on their way. They work with their clients,
helping them to research the right job, as well as helping to locate resources for
strengthening the skills needed for the job desired. Perhaps, the focus is not to match
the individual with the job, but with the lifestyle, choices and constraints that the job
might bring. The client’s personality as a whole is sensitively matched with the
potential applicable field, considering it not just as a job but as a life form.

Organisational Behavior

Organizational behaviour is a field of psychology that investigates the impact that

individuals, groups and organizational structure have on behaviour within the
organization, for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an
organizational effectiveness and productivity. It is a systematic study of the actions
and attitudes that people exhibit within organizations.
Organizational behaviour is essentially an interdisciplinary approach to study human
behaviour at work. It tries to integrate the relevant knowledge drawn from related
disciplines like psychology, sociology and anthropology to make them applicable for
studying and analysing organizational behaviour.

Motivation: Motivation in an organisation is essential for ongoing work. Human

beings work not only for money but also for getting job satisfaction. interacts with
ability to work to determine individual performance. In today's world motivation is
seen as being best achieved by a combination of elements within the organization that
combine to produce it: needs; job design; satisfaction. One of the most famous
theories of motivation was developed by Abraham Maslow.

Psychologists tried to find out what are the basic incentives which motivate the
workers. Incentives can be divided into two parts: financial and non-financial.
Realists say that financial incentive (money and fringe benefits) is the only the
incentive for which people work. Idealists hold that work is very natural for a human
being. But the additional work one does requires some incentive which is non-
financial. While the financial incentives in industry mainly referred to time-rate,
profit-sharing plans like bonus, etc. group incentive plans, saving plans, pension and
gratuity, the non-financial ones refer to , supervisory relationship, advancement and
security, credit/acknowledgement for work done, autonomy, interest in work
counselling on personal problems, promotion policy, job security, understanding and
appreciation of fellow employees, job satisfaction, praise and blame, knowledge or
result and experience of progress, cooperation and competition, level of aspiration,
etc.

Motivation can be defined as a positive drive that encourages a person to reach a goal.
Through motivation, organisational psychologists, converts the potentialities into
performance, developing a positive attitude towards work which leads to an increase
in employee efficiency and productivity.

Recruitment- Personnel recruitment is the systematic process of hiring and

promoting personnel. It includes developing job announcements, placing ads, defining
key qualifications for applicants, and screening out unqualified applicants.
Recruitment systems employ evidence-based practices to determine the most qualified
candidates for a job. Common selection tools include ability tests, knowledge tests,
personality tests, structured interviews, the systematic collection of biographical data,
and work samples.

A psychologist who specializes in industrial problems and industrial relations is called

an industrial psychologist. Fitting the worker to the job is best done by proper and
judicious selection. Poor selection increases job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, labour
turnover and reduces efficiency. Hence, selection should be scientific, objective and
based on tests and interviews. The task of the industrial psychologist is to ascertain
that the tests are reliable and valid based on objective and scientific procedures.

Scientific Method of Selection includes selection on the basis of photograph, letter of

application, which includes biodata application banks, reference and
recommendations, use of psychological tests, group discussions and interviews. Letter
of application is a good basis for prediction of job success which gives the biodata
and sufficient information about the applicant. Much preliminary information about
the applicant is obtained through letter of application which may be useful for a final
selection. The application bank is a highly structured interview in which the questions
have been formulated and standardized in advance. If the application blank is properly
used, it becomes an efficient tool for selection and can infact be one of the better
selection devices at the disposal of the recruitment personnel. The bias and prejudice
found in interviews is absent in selection through application blank.

Interview techniques are extensively used for the selection of employees. Even the
personality characteristics like emotional stability, anxiety and stress, etc. can be
traced through interviews conducted by expert and experienced psychologists. In
interviews, situational tests are given like asking the interviewee to teach a subject or
solve a crisis in industry. These are also called role playing techniques.

In group- discussions how the candidate is participating, how he is reacting, showing

interpersonal relation, how he is cooperating can be known by observing him. His
tactfulness, emotional stability, activity or passivity, initiative, decision making power,
presence of mind and capacity for taking the group with him can be traced by
observing him in a group discussion. In sum in the recruitment and selection
procedure various objective techniques should be used to select the best candidate.

Team Building and Leadership Skills- Many organizations and groups aim to
identify, foster and promote what they see as leadership potential or ability -
especially among younger members of society. The issues of succession planning or
of legitimating a leader become important when leadership (particularly individual
leadership) might or must change due to term-expiry, accident or senescence (growing
old).

Leadership skill refers to the skill to influence, support and motivate others to work
enthusiastically or effectively towards achieving the goal and objectives. Studies of
leadership have suggested qualities that people often associate with leadership. They
include the following qualities:

 Guiding others through providing a role model and through willingness to

serve others first. Role models - leaders may adopt a persona that encapsulates
their mission and lead by example
 Talent and technical/specific skill at some task at hand that sets them apart
from their followers

 Leaders should have the drive to take initiative Initiative and entrepreneurial
skills. They should inspire the people around them and guide them by
example.

 Optimism is the key characteristics of a leader. Leader creates a vision for the
future, and motivates her followers with a dream for a positive change.

Consumer behaviour and Marketing- Consumer behavior is the study of how

people make decisions about what they buy, want, need, or act in regards to a product,
service, or company. It is critical to understand consumer behavior to know how
potential customers will respond to a new product or service. It also helps companies
identify opportunities that are not currently met.
To fully understand how consumer behavior affects marketing, it's vital to understand
the three factors that affect consumer behavior: psychological, personal, and social.

 Psychological Factors- In daily life, consumers are being affected by many

issues that are unique to their thought process. Psychological factors can
include perception of a need or situation, the person's ability to learn or
understand information, and an individual's attitude. Each person will respond
to a marketing message based on their perceptions and attitudes. Therefore,
marketers must take these psychological factors into account when creating
campaigns, ensuring that their campaign will appeal to their target audience.

 Personal Factors- Personal factors are characteristics that are specific to a

person and may not relate to other people within the same group. These
characteristics may include how a person makes decisions, their unique habits
and interests, and opinions. When considering personal factors, decisions are
also influenced by age, gender, background, culture, and other personal issues.
For example, an older person will likely exhibit different consumer behaviors
than a younger person, meaning they will choose products differently and
spent their money on items that may not interest a younger generation.

 Social Factors- The third factor that has a significant impact on consumer
behavior is social characteristics. Social influencers are quite diverse and can
include a person's family, social interaction, work or school communities, or
any group of people a person affiliates with. It can also include a person's
social class, which involves income, living conditions, and education level.
The social factors are very diverse and can be difficult to analyze when
developing marketing plans.

Consumer Behaviour reflects the totality of consumers’ decisions with respect to the
acquisition, consumption and disposition off goods, services, time and ideas by
(human) decision making units.

How Psychology helps to promote efficiency, well-being and profitability?

1. Recruitment and hiring the right personnel (Explained before)

2. Devise procedures to enhance work motivation – setting goals, providing benefit

plans, enrichment plans for jobs. (Explained before)

3. Help to develop group morale – team building (Explained before)

4. Enhance leadership skills. (Explained before)

5. Enhance employee –employer relationship (Girish Mohanty pg 8.50)

6. Plan a productive environment: Organisational climate is the sum total of all the
organisational situations affecting human behaviour. Organisational behaviour views
organisational climate in totality rather than merely improving physical working
conditions, or increasing employees’ satisfaction by changing isolated work process.

Organisational climate is the creation of an atmosphere of effective supervision, the

opportunity for the realization of personal goals, good relations with others at the
work place and sense of accomplishment. Organisational climate, thus, takes a
systems perspective and affects human behaviour. Organisational behaviour creates an
atmosphere of participative leadership, two way communication, adequate
compensation and better equipment’s for the job.

***

Criminal Psychology

What is Criminal Psychology?

Criminal psychology is a branch of science that deals with observing, studying and
understanding the nature of criminal behaviour, causes of delinquent behaviour and
developing strategies for adequately rehabilitating criminals into the society.

In this field psychologists mainly focus on offenders. They can engage in a number of
activities related to investigation, ranging from profile creation process to conduction
of psychological testing of people for courts/trials for various crimes. Criminal
psychologists are also trying to find out why do people commit offence, what are their
motives, the causes of criminal behaviour. The research of cause-effect relationship
ranges from a serial killer’s childhood environment to psychological stress giving way
to the creation of criminal behaviour.

Criminal behavior can be stated as “Any kind of antisocial behavior, which threatens
life or property and is punishable by law.” In a legal sense, person of 21 years and
above convicted by the court of law for violating the provisions of IPC and CPC is
labelled a criminal in our country and the illegal act for which he is convicted is
known as crime. Any behaviour like pick-pocketing, gambling, burglary, robbery,
theft, dacoity, rape, kidnapping and abduction attempts at suicide, murder, riots,
destroying another’s property, sexual assault, prostitution, cheating, counterfeiting,
failure to deposit taxes and revenue, etc. are termed criminal behaviour.

Delinquency is defined as behaviour that is illegal, immoral or deviant with respect to

societal values. According to the Indian Penal code, juvenile delinquent can be
defined as a child or a young adult below the age of 18 years who engages in extreme
anti-social behavior.

Many psychologists struggle with the continuous nature versus nurture debate when it
comes to delinquency in children. Some think it is biological, suggesting that the
children were born with it and that they inherited some type of illness from their
parents. Others think that these delinquents are simply a product of their environment
and that they act out or kill people due to the social pressures, abuse, and neglect they
have faced the majority of their lives. The third and most popular view of why
children become delinquents is due to both nature and nurture. Children might be born
with an antisocial behavior or bipolar disorder, but the environment that they are in
may also be increasing those illnesses. Stress affects everything and if the child is
under stress due to parental constrictions, school, neglect, or abuse, the mental
disorders or illnesses that the child already has will be increased.

How can psychology play a role in understanding criminals and preventing

crime?

Understanding of Criminals:
It is said that criminal behaviour is a mental disease and a criminal is a mental patient.
In view of this, the role of psychology is of great importance in understanding
criminals. Usually, society looks at criminals with raised eye brows, and hatred.
People of the society condemn them as they are law breakers and do great harm to the
society. But why does a person becomes a criminal. Is he responsible for his
antisocial behaviour or his parental training? Faulty childhood, early frustration and
rejecting parents all combined are responsible for this. Should we, thus blame him or
blame the society and try to change the factors leading to criminal act.

Prevention:

The preventive measures involve improvement of social factors and environmental

conditions that are responsible for the germination and perpetuation of criminal
behaviour. The problem is a gigantic one and needs the cooperation of parents,
members of the family, neighbourhood, community, school or college authorities,
religious heads, police and government officials responsible for the social and
psychological environment of the inhabitants of a society. The following measures
may be fruitful in the prevention task:

1. Since today’s delinquents are tomorrow’s criminals, maximum efforts should be

made for the prevention, control and treatment of the identified delinquents. They
may convert into habitual offender if they are not timely identified and prevented
from committing the offences.

2. The importance of moral values should be inculcated. There should be an end to

the crisis of character threatening the existence of the moral base and legal codes of
our society.

3. The system of education and national planning need rethinking and re-modification
for minimising economic difficulties of our youth and adults. Numerous state
programs attempt early intervention and prevention and independent groups in
communities has taken initiatives to tackle the problem in new innovative ways.

4. The problem of unemployment has to be checked and the professional

dissatisfaction as well as frustration affecting the vast population of the younger
generation should be curbed. Inferiority complexion, fear and anxiety may sometimes
be responsible for the child to commit offence just with the belief of proving himself..

5. The parents, elders, government authorities, social, religious, educational and

political leaders should be such that they become ideals of socially desirable
behaviour. Parental education is very essential for the Juvenile from preventing them
from being involved in any crime. It is the responsibility of the parents to provide
their children such education that they keep themselves away from delinquent acts
and also not get involved in criminal activities. Every community should ensure
opportunities and educational programmes which will help in improving family
relationship and give them guidance for the proper education and care of children.

6. The society should feel the necessity of providing social and legal justice to its
citizens. In case of environmental deprivations and hazards of life, the affected
individual should be helped, protected and rehabilitated. Thus, there is a need for
modifying the environmental conditions so that one does not fall victim to social and
emotional maladjustment or lured by the criminals and drifted by instinctive
behaviour to commit crimes.

REHABILITATION OF CRIMINALS

Rehabilitation means restoration of the organism to a good and stable condition,

restoring his previous rights, comforts facilities and privileges which he normally
enjoyed before he was ill, wayward or mentally challenge. Modern welfare states no
more wish to punish or penalise or neglect the mentally disorganised person including
delinquents, mentally retarded and criminals. Rather, they are interested to make them
responsible citizens of the country, restore their rights and comforts, joy of life,
security and self-confidence through rehabilitation. In other words, they are brought
back to the national main stream through various rehabilitation programmes.

Rehabilitation programmes works successfully in case of delinquents, mentally

retarded, socially and emotionally challenged and mentally disorganised persons who
are ready to attempt an adjustment in the community with families to return. The use
of sheltered workshops in the community is of great value for delinquents, making the
transition from institutional life to community life easier. These sheltered workshops
help the delinquents to learn and perform simple occupational tasks under the able
supervision of counsellors, experts and trained supervisors.. Undoubtedly,
rehabilitation is a kind of therapy where the individual is kept engaged in various
small jobs, meaningful, but pleasant occupations.

Through the rehabilitation procedure, they develop increased interest, awareness and
interaction with their environment. It is seen that in all jails and prison, inmates are
given various therapeutic aids such as occupational, vocational, and recreational
therapy like making candles, bamboo and cane furniture, greeting cards, embroidery
and knitting, tailoring, toy making. These jobs are simple and very interesting. These
works are distributed among the inmates, keeping in view, their ability, talent, interest
and past experience. While in rehabilitation, no work should be forced on them.
Through rehabilitation, they are also allowed to show their inner talent like drama,
sports, acting, play therapy, painting, writing, etc. Rehabilitation programmes help
them to return to their own community. Besides earning some money, which gives
them security and economic independence, they also make pleasant and meaningful
contacts with the reality.

Rehabilitation programmes also serve as an acceptable outlet for emotional

expression. Through rehabilitation programmes their lost self-esteem and ego identity
is restored. In most of the jails of India, rehabilitation centres are going on. The
main purpose of rehabilitation is to help the delinquents and criminals, who have
suffered a lot without any fault, who have been away from the society for a long time,
to re-enter the society and community with all dignity, self-confidence, ego identity
and self-esteem. Rehabilitation helps the people to be accepted by their families and
society. The purpose of rehabilitation is to restore what has been lost or nearly lost.
Rehabilitation helps in changing their life style and conduct disorder. Formal
education, vocational and profession training, etc. are imparted to lead a normal and
healthy, happy life in future. Different rehabilitation facilities should be provided to
different persons depending upon the nature and condition of their disease, disability
personality make up attitude and aptitude. Formal education is provided to
uneducated and illiterate ones.