Name: Sheeba Javed

Roll number: CB567532

Subject name: Educational Psychology and Guidance
Course code: 6501
Date: 6th july,2021
Semester Terminal Exam

Q.1 Discuss different stages and aspects of cognitive development. Critically analyze the role
of heredity and environment in this regard.

ANS

STAGES AND ASPECTS OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four
different stages of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how
children acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence. 1 Piaget's
stages are:

 Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

 Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7
 Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11
 Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

The Stages

Through his observations of his children, Piaget developed a stage theory of intellectual

development that included four distinct stages:

The Sensorimotor Stage

Ages: Birth to 2 Years

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

 The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations
 Children learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking,
and listening
  Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen (object
permanence)
 They are separate beings from the people and objects around them
 They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them

The Preoperational Stage

Ages: 2 to 7 Years

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

 Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent
objects.
 Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the
perspective of others.
 While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to think about
things in very concrete terms.

The foundations of language development may have been laid during the previous stage, but it
is the emergence of language that is one of the major hallmarks of the preoperational stage of
development.

The Concrete Operational Stage

Ages: 7 to 11 Years

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events
 They begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of liquid in a
short, wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example
 Their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete
 Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general
principle

The Formal Operational Stage

Ages: 12 and Up

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

 At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about
hypothetical problems
  Abstract thought emerges
 Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues
that require theoretical and abstract reasoning
 Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific
information

Important Concepts

To better understand some of the things that happen during cognitive development, it is
important first to examine a few of the important ideas and concepts introduced by Piaget.

Role of Heredity and Environment

Meaning of Heredity:
Each individual has a different pattern of behaviors and personality. This difference is seen due
to the influence of heredity and environment. Truly speaking heredity and environment play an
important role in the development of the personality and other qualities in the individual.

No person can be born without heredity and genes cannot develop without proper
environment. An individual’s heredity is present since the moment of conception, and some
environmental conditions also start influencing him from this very stage.

Each trait and response of an individual depends on his heredity and environment. Therefore,
in order to know about the individual, it is necessary to understand his heredity and
environment.

Mechanism of Heredity:
(i) Mating:
Mating is the 1st step for reproduction. The union of male sperm with female ovum the results
is zygote.
(ii) Growth:
It involves repeated division of the fertilized cell or zygote.

(iii) Chromosomes:
Every woman and man receives 23 chromosomes from each parent or 46 in all.

(iv) Genes:
Each chromosomes consists of small particles numbering 40 to 100 which are called genes.

(v) Chance factor:

Both ovum and sperm before fertilization contains 23 pairs of chromosomes each. At the time
of conception, the genes in the chromosomes of the sperm, pair the genes of ovum and
determines the potential characteristics and qualities of the off spring.

Q.2 Explain the nature and causes of maladjustment? Discuss different adjustment
mechanisms and their characteristics with the help of examples. How guidance and
counseling can help in adjustment of students.

ANS

Causes of Maladjustment:
The five main causes of maladjusted behaviour of adolescent are as follows:

(i) Family:
The family as an institution has various functions to perform various causes e.g. social,
economic and psychological contribute immensely to maladjusted behaviour in children.

(a) Social causes:

Gibbon says that the social problem of one generation is the psychological problem of the next
generation. Children coming from homes that have been broken due to death, divorce,
desertion, separation etc., are often maladjusted in their behaviour.

(b) Economic causes:

The occupational status of parents problems of unemployment poverty and low economic
status breed maladjustment amongst children.

(c) Psychological causes:

If parents are over-possessive highly authoritative, unrealistic in their expectations
incompatible and abusive, this will have an adverse effect upon their children. When the
psychological needs are not met, children get frustrated and develop problems like nail biting
fear of dark, lack of self confidence.

(ii) Personal causes:

The individuals who are physically, mentally and visually handicapped react abnormally to the
situation. When they cannot score well academically compared to their peers, they develop an
inferiority complex.
Finally they isolate themselves from others and indulge in day-dreaming.

(iii) School-related causes:

When growing children do not find ways and means to channelize their energy in a purposeful
manner in the school they exhibit in maladjusted behavior.

iv) Teacher-related causes:

If the teacher is unfair, biased or not involved with the student it certainly affects the mental
health of the children in the school.

(v) Peer-group related causes:

Another important factor that disturbs the psycho-equilibrium of students is an unhealthy
relationship with their peer group.

Adjustment & Maladjustment Characteristics

 “Adjustment”?
The term “adjustment” originates from the biological term “adaptation”. Biologists used the
term “adaptation” strictly for the physical demands of the environment, but psychologists use
the term “adjustment” for varying conditions of social or inter-personal relations in the society.

Adjustment means the reaction to the demands and pressures of social environment imposed
upon the individual. The demand to which the individual has to react may be external or
internal.

Psychologists have viewed adjustment from two important perspectives—“adjustment as an

achievement”, and “adjustment as a process”.

Adjustment as process:
‘Adjustment as a process’ lays emphasis on the process by which an individual adjusts to his
external environment. It is important, especially from teachers’ point of view. Students'
adjustment largely depends on their interaction with the external environment in which they
live. They always try to adjust to it. Piaget has studied the adjustive process from different
angles.
Characteristics of a well adjusted person:
A healthy and well-adjusted person should possess/display some observable behavioral
patterns. These behavioral patterns must be according to the social expectations of an
individual. These patterns are as follows:
 Maturity in thinking

 Emotional balance

 Warm and understanding towards others

 Free from tension due to routine events

 Independent in decision making

Elements in adjustment:
There are certain prime elements for fulfillment of needs necessary for healthy adjustment of a
person. They are as follows:
 Satisfaction of needs

 No obstacle in achieving needs

 Strong motives in realizing needs

 Feasible geographical atmosphere to fulfill needs

Maladjustment?
‘Maladjustment’ is a process whereby an individual is unable to satisfy his biological,
psychological or social needs successfully and establishes an imbalance between his personal
needs and expectation of the society resulting in the disturbance of psycho-equilibrium.

Q.3 Differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation by providing examples. How
would you, as a teacher enhance motivation of your students by using intrinsic and extrinsic
motivational techniques.

ANS

A key ability of successful people is that they know how to motivate themselves effectively. The
skill of being able to start and finish tasks rigorously is what solidifies their chances at being
successful overall. But what kind of motivation is most important? Is it motivation that arises
from outside the individual (extrinsic), or motivation that arises from inside the individual
(intrinsic)? 

There are benefits to both types of motivation, each with their own set of respective effects on
behaviours and how people choose to pursue goals. In order to understand how these types
of motivation influence human action and a drive for success, we must first understand what
each one is. 

Extrinsic Motivation? 
Simply put, extrinsic motivation refers to the behavior of individuals to perform tasks and learn
new skills because of external rewards or avoidance of punishment. In this case, you engage in
behavior not because you enjoy it or because you find it appealing or satisfying, but in order to
obtain something of value in return or avoid something unpleasant. Let’s take a look at some
extrinsic motivation examples: 

Extrinsic Motivation Examples 

1. Going to work because you want to earn money 

2. Studying because you want to get a good grade 
3. Helping others because you hope for praise 
4. Volunteering because it looks good on a resume 
5. Going to the same store because you benefit from loyalty programs 
6. Cleaning your apartment because you do not want your partner to get mad 
7. Going to new places because you want to post it on social media 
8. Paying taxes because you want to avoid a fine 
9. Pursuing a certain degree because you want to make your parents proud 
10. Going on a business trip because you were ordered by your boss to do so 

Intrinsic Motivation? 
Intrinsic motivation refers to the act of doing something that does not have any obvious
external rewards. You do it because it’s enjoyable and interesting to you, not because of any
outside incentive or pressures, like rewards or deadlines. In short, intrinsic motivation is
performing an activity for its own sake rather than the desire for some external reward or out
of some external pressure. Essentially, the behavior itself is its own reward.  
Intrinsic motivation is more about personal growth, a sense of duty, and the recognition of
purpose, while extrinsic motivation is more about financial incentives, status, and public
recognition. Let’s look at some intrinsic motivation examples: 

Intrinsic Motivation Examples 

1. Playing sports because you enjoy how they make you feel 

2. Staying longer at work because you believe in your work 
3. Using positive affirmations because you want to change your mindset positively 
4. Investing money because you want to become financially independent 
5. Traveling because you want to explore different cultures 
6. Working in a team because you enjoy collaboration 

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation 

Intrinsic motivation comes from within, while extrinsic motivation arises from external factors.
When you are intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity because you enjoy it and get
personal satisfaction from doing it. When you are extrinsically motivated, you do something in
order to gain an external reward. 

Consider the way each type considers both motivation and goals: 

Intrinsic Motivation: 

 You are motivated to do the activity because it is internally rewarding. You choose to do

it because it’s fun, enjoyable, and satisfying. 
 Your goal comes from within, and the outcomes of your goal satisfy your basic
psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. 

Extrinsic Motivation: 

 You are motivated to do the activity in order to gain an external reward in return. 

 Your goal is focused on an outcome, and does not satisfy your basic psychological needs.
Rather, it involves external gains, such as money, fame, power, and avoiding
consequences. 
 Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation to engage in an activity for its own sake.
People who are intrinsically motivated perform tasks and engage in behaviors because
they find them enjoyable. Simply participating in the activity is reward enough. Fit Fred
 falls into this category. Fred enjoys running and is happy about how he feels afterwards.
He needs no other motivator to continue running.

 Classroom Applications of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

 It is easy to assume that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation fall along a continuum with
intrinsic motivation on one end and extrinsic on the other. However, there is no
automatic relationship between the two. For any activity, an individual may have both
high extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, low or in between, on any given day.
 Let's go back to the gym. Tentative Tom is intrinsically motivated by the health benefits
of working out, but he is also motivated extrinsically by building muscle to impress his
friends. In the classroom, a student might study hard for a math test because he or she
wants to have the highest grade in the class but also because he or she really enjoys the
subject.
 Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are time and context dependent. Things that
people find interesting one day can slowly become mundane the next; doing something
because one wants to can easily become doing it because one has to. For example, if
Fred was hired to teach people how to run, his intrinsic motivation for running might
decrease because now he has to run for a purpose as opposed to simply running for
enjoyment. Has this ever happened to you?

THE END