Introduction To Psychology

ALAGAPPA UNIVERSITY
[Accredited with ‘A+’ Grade by NAAC (CGPA:3.64) in the Third Cycle

and Graded as Category–I University by MHRD-UGC]
(A State University Established by the Government of Tamil Nadu)
KARAIKUDI – 630 003
Directorate of Distance Education
B.Sc. [Psychology]
I - Semester
119 13
INTRODUCTION TO
PSYCHOLOGY
Reviewer
Assistant Professor in Education

Dr. AR. Saravana Kumar
Directorate of Distance Education,
Alagappa University, Karaikudi
Authors:
Dr Gunjan Mathur, Faculty Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour in Jaipuria Institute of Management
Units (1, 2.2, 5.2, 5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 6, 9.2, 12.2)
Dr Sushma Suri, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi
Units (3.2, 8, 9.3-9.5, 11, 13)
S.S. Chauhan, Professor and Dean (Retd.), Faculty of Education, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla
Units (4, 5.3, 5.5, 14)
Mr Atul Kumar, Lecturer in Amity Institute of Behavioural Health and Allied Sciences, Amity University, Noida
Mrs Gagandeep Kaur, Clinical Psychologist at Khetrapal Hospital, Delhi
Unit (7)
Vikas® Publishing House: Units (2.0-2.1, 2.3-2.8, 3.0-3.1, 3.3-3.7, 5.0-5.1, 5.3.1, 5.8-5.13, 9.0-9.1, 9.6-9.10, 10, 12,0-12.1,
12.3-12.7)
"The copyright shall be vested with Alagappa University"
All rights reserved. No part of this publication which is material protected by this copyright notice
may be reproduced or transmitted or utilized or stored in any form or by any means now known or
hereinafter invented, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording
or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the Alagappa
University, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.
Information contained in this book has been published by VIKAS® Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. and has
been obtained by its Authors from sources believed to be reliable and are correct to the best of their
knowledge. However, the Alagappa University, Publisher and its Authors shall in no event be liable for
any errors, omissions or damages arising out of use of this information and specifically disclaim any
implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular use.
Vikas® is the registered trademark of Vikas® Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.

VIKAS® PUBLISHING HOUSE PVT. LTD.
Phone: 0120-4078900 Fax: 0120-4078999
Website: www.vikaspublishing.com Email: [email protected]
Work Order No. AU/DDE/DE1-238/Preparation and Printing of Course Materials/2018 Dated 30.08.2018 Copies - 500
SYLLABI-BOOK MAPPING TABLE
Introduction to Psychology
Syllabi Mapping in Book
BLOCK 1 : PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY

UNIT 1: Introduction Unit 1: Psychology: An Overview
Psychology Nature – Scope - Origin of psychology, Definition, (Pages 1-15)
Psychology- as a Science, Specialities within Psychology, Psychology Unit 2: Biology of Behaviour
and other Disciplines - Perspectives in Psychology: (Pages 16-24)
UNIT 2: Biology of Behaviour Unit 3: Work of Psychologists
Perspectives in Psychology: Psychodynamic - behavioural Humanistic - (Pages 25-36)
Bio Psychological Evolutionary Socio cultural cognitive
UNIT 3: Work of Psychologists
Typical behaviour Patterns Brain ad Behaviour Neurons and synapses A
guide to the nervous system Association context Behaviour and experience
test and right hemisphere functions
BLOCK 2 : ASSESSMENT, PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOUR

UNIT 4: Methods of Assessment In Psychology Unit 4: Methods of Assessment
Goals of Psychological Enquiry, Introspective method Observation method in Psychology-I
Experimental method and correlation method (Pages 37-55)
UNIT 5: Methods of Assessment In Psychology Unit 5: Methods of Assessment
Case Study Method, Clinical Method, Genetic Method, Interview Method, in Psychology-II
Survey Method, Rating Scales, Checklists, Questionnaires, Psychological (Pages 56-72)
Tests, Cross-cultural Method. Unit 6: Sensory Process and
UNIT 6: Sensory Process and perception Perception
Sensory channels sensory processes vision learning smell taste skin (Pages 73-90)
sense from sensory process the perception process: Attending from Unit 7: Foundations of Behaviour
perception visual depth perception constancy movement perception (Pages 91-105)
individual differences
UNIT 7: Foundations of Behaviour
(Nervous system The neuron the neural impulse the central nervous system
the brain location of the brain functions Peripheral nervous system The
endocrine system Impart of the functions of endoergic glands and summary
9Ref SK Mangal)
BLOCK 3 : BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR AND

CONSCIOUSNESS
UNIT 8: Heredity and environment behaviour Unit 8: Heredity and Environment
Biological bases behaviour (heredity) nature environment behaviour Behaviour
(environment), Hormones on behaviour Genetics and behaviour (Pages 106-116)
sociological bass of behaviour Environment Behaviour Natural internal Unit 9: Principles of Learning
behaviour (Physical or material environment) and behaviour Man made (Pages 117-148)
environment subjective environment How these two affect behaviour Unit 10: States of
Heredity Vs Environment Consciousness
UNIT 9: Principle of learning (Pages 149-157)
Classical Conditioning Instrumental conditioning cognitive Learning and
learning some things are easier to learn than others
UNIT 10: States of consciousness
Nature of Consciousness Brain and consciousness nature of
Consciousness normal walking consciousness directed consciousness
Flowing consciousness divide consciousness Fantasy and Day dreaming
Sleep stages of sleep renoland Non REM Sleep dreams The content of
dreams functions and meaning of dreams circadian Rhythms
UNIT 11: Nature of consciousness Unit 11: Nature of
Altered states of consciousness characteristics of Altered states Consciousness
consciousness Hypothesis, Depersonalization and near death experiences (Pages 158-175)
Meditation Altering consciousness with drugs
BLOCK 4 : PROCESS OF INFORMATION AND APTITUDE

UNIT 12: Attention in psychology Unit 12: Attention in Psychology
Attention definition types of attention Overt and covert attention factors (Pages 176-186)
influencing attention neural correlates of attention characteristics of Unit 13: Perception in
attention Assessment of attention, determinants of Attention Psychology
UNIT 13: Perception in psychology (Pages 187-200)
Principles of perceptual organization constancies in perception size Unit 14: Aptitudes
shape form space movement etc depth perception psychologists life span (Pages 201-230)
changes in perception extra sensory perception (ESP) illusion Plasticity of
perception
UNIT 14: Aptitudes
meaning and nature of aptitudes - Aptitude ability and achievement -
Intelligence - aptitude and Interest measurement of aptitudes and Utility of
Aptitudes – Aptitudes tests (ref Sk Mangal)
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
BLOCK I: PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT 1 PSYCHOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW 1-15
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Nature, Scope and Relationship with other Disciplines
1.2.1 Definition of Psychology
1.2.2 Nature of Psychology
1.2.3 Psychology as a Science
1.2.4 Scope of Contemporary Psychology and its Specialities
1.2.5 Fields of Psychology
1.2.6 Psychology and Other Disciplines
1.2.7 Applications and Perspectives of Psychology
1.3 Answers to Check Your Progress Questions
1.4 Summary
1.5 Key Words
1.6 Self Assessment Questions and Exercises
1.7 Further Readings
UNIT 2 BIOLOGY OF BEHAVIOUR 16-24

2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Behavioural, Humanistic, Biological and Cognitive Approaches
2.3 Psychodynamic, Evolutionary and Socio-cultural Perspectives
2.3.1 Evolutionary
2.3.2 Psychodynamics
2.3.3 Socio-cultural
2.5 Summary
2.6 Key Words
UNIT 3 WORK OF PSYCHOLOGISTS 25-36

3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Typical Behaviour Patterns and the Nervous System
3.2.1 The Brain and The Nervous System: A Guide
3.2.2 Central Nervous System
3.2.3 The Lobe of Cerebral Cortex
3.2.4 Peripheral Nervous System
3.4 Summary
3.5 Key Words
BLOCK II: ASSESSMENT, PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOUR
UNIT 4 METHODS OF ASSESSMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY-I 37-55

4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Introspective Method
4.2.1 Merits of Introspection
4.2.2 Limitations of Introspection
4.3 Observation Method
4.3.1 Limitations of Observation
4.3.2 Suggestions for Improvement
4.4 Experimental Method: An Overview
4.4.1 Merits of Experimental Method
4.4.2 Weaknesses of Experimental Method
4.5 Correlation Method
4.5.1 Goals of Psychological Enquiry
4.7 Summary
4.8 Key Words
UNIT 5 METHODS OF ASSESSMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY-II 56-72

5.0 Introduction
5.1 Objectives
5.2 Case Study Method
5.3 Clinical Method
5.3.1 Genetic Method
5.4 Interview Method
5.5 Survey Method
5.5.1 Possible Sources of Errors
5.6 Rating Scales
5.7 Checklists/Questionnaires and Psychological Tests
5.8 Cross-cultural Method
5.10 Summary
5.11 Key Words
5.12 Self Assessment Questions snd Exercises
UNIT 6 SENSORY PROCESS AND PERCEPTION 73-90

6.0 Introduction
6.1 Objectives
6.2 Sensory Channels and Processes
6.2.1 Sensation: An Overview
6.2.2 Structure of the Eye: Vision
6.2.3 How We See
6.2.4 How We Hear
6.2.5 Thresholds
6.2.6 Subliminal Perception
6.2.7 Perception
6.2.8 Characteristics of Perception
6.3 Answers to Ch eck Your Progress Questions
6.4 Summary
6.5 Key Words
UNIT 7 FOUNDATIONS OF BEHAVIOUR 91-105

7.0 Introduction
7.1 Objectives
7.2 The Central and Peripheral Nervous System
7.3 Impact of the Functions of Endoergic Glands and Summary
7.3.1 Endocrine Glands and their Hormones
7.5 Summary
7.6 Key Words
BLOCK III: BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR AND CONSCIOUSNESS
UNIT 8 HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT BEHAVIOUR 106-116

8.0 Introduction
8.1 Objectives
8.2 Biological Basis of Behaviour: Heridity vs. Enviornment
8.2.1 Behaviour Genetics
8.2.2 Experiment with Twin Study
8.2.3 Evolutionary Perspective
8.2.4 Biological and Cultural Root
8.2.5 Socio-Cultural Shaping of Behaviour
8.4 Summary
8.5 Key Words
UNIT 9 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING 117-148

9.0 Introduction
9.1 Objectives
9.2 Factors Influencing Learning and Memory
9.2.1 Learner-Related Factors
9.2.2 Environmental Factors
9.2.3 Resources Available and the Environmental Settings
9.2.4 Transfer of Learning
9.2.5 Learning Curve
9.2.6 Memory
9.2.7 Process of Memory
9.2.8 Models of Memory
9.2.9 Types of Memory
9.2.10 Factors Influencing Memory
9.2.11 Methods and Techniques of Memorization
9.2.12 Forgetting
9.2.13 Methods to Improve Memory
9.2.14 Characteristics of Sharp Memory
9.3 Classical Conditioning
9.3.1 Working of Classical Conditioning
9.3.2 Application of Classical Conditioning
9.4 Instrumental/Operant Conditioning
9.5 Cognitive Learning
9.5.1 Purposive Theory
9.5.2 Seligman’s Learned Helplessness
9.5.3 Insight Theory of Learning
9.7 Summary
9.8 Key Words
UNIT 10 STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS 149-157

10.0 Introduction
10.1 Objectives
10.2 Nature of Consciousness: Brain and Consciousness
10.2.1 Historical Development of the Study of Consciousness
10.2.2 Normal Waking Consciousness
10.3 Fantasy and Daydreaming
10.3.1 Sigmund Freud and Daydreams
10.4 Stages of Sleep: Rem and Non-Rem
10.4.1 Circadian Rhythm
10.4.2 What are Biological Clocks?
10.6 Summary
10.7 Key Words
UNIT 11 NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 158-175

11.0 Introduction
11.1 Objectives
11.2 Altered States of Consciousness
11.2.1 Sleep and Dream
11.2.2 Unconscious Thought
11.2.3 Sleep: A Biological Rhythm
11.2.4 Importance of Sleep
11.2.5 Effects of Chronic Sleep Deprivation
11.2.6 Stages of Sleep
11.2.7 Sleep Disorders
11.2.8 Dreams and Freud’s Theory
11.2.9 Hypnosis and Meditation
11.2.10 Bio-Feedback
11.3 Altering Consciousness with Drugs
11.3.1 Altered States: Psychoactive Drugs
11.3.2 Physical Dependence
11.3.3 Psychological Dependence
11.3.4 Stimulants and the Users
11.5 Summary
11.6 Key Words
BLOCK IV: PROCESS OF INFORMATION AND APTITUDE
UNIT 12 ATTENTION IN PSYCHOLOGY 176-186
12.0 Introduction
12.1 Objectives
12.2 Attention: Types, Factors and Characteristics
12.2.1 Types of Attention: Overt and Covert
12.2.2 Factors Influencing Attention
12.2.3 Characteristics of Attention
12.2.4 Spotlight of Attention
12.2.5 Assessment and Determinants of Attention
12.4 Summary
12.5 Key Words
UNIT 13 PERCEPTION IN PSYCHOLOGY 187-200

13.0 Introduction
13.1 Objectives
13.2 Perception
13.2.1 Perceptual Illusion
13.2.2 Determinants of Perception
13.2.3 Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)
13.4 Summary
13.5 Key Words
UNIT 14 APTITUDES 201-230

14.0 Introduction
14.1 Objectives
14.2 Intelligence Testing
14.2.1 Group Test of Intelligence
14.2.2 Performance Tests of Intelligence
14.3 Measuring Aptitude and Interest
14.3.1 Tests of Interest
14.5 Summary
14.6 Key Words
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Understanding human mind and behaviour has always been one of the most intriguing
NOTES subject matters for scholars of all times. The emotional constructs of human mind
are extremely elusive and require an all-encompassing approach to study them.
Psychology is such a field that integrates research from all other scientific fields,
broadly categorized as social sciences, natural sciences and humanities, to form a
most comprehensive approach to understand human mind. Psychology deals with
mental functions and behaviour of humans and animals. It has contributed greatly
to the society as a whole.
The present wealth of psychological knowledge is applied to various human
activities such as family, education, health, etc. There are various schools of thought
in psychology, each proposing a model that can explain all, or most, human
behaviours. Various approaches to study mental processes lead to various sub-
fields of psychology, such as biological psychology, clinical psychology, cognitive
psychology, etc.
The book, Introduction to Psychology acquaints you with the concepts
and scope of contemporary psychology so as to equip you with the knowledge
that will go a long way in resolving your day-to-day professional as well as personal
issues.
The book follows the SIM format or the self-instructional mode wherein
each Unit begins with an Introduction to the topic followed by an outline of the
Objectives. The detailed content is then presented in a simple and organized manner,
interspersed with Check Your Progress questions to test the understanding of the
students. A Summary along with a list of Key Terms and a set of Self-Assessment
Questions and Exercises is also provided at the end of each unit for effective
recapitulation.
Self-Instructional
Material
Psychology: An Overview
BLOCK - I
PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY
NOTES
UNIT 1 PSYCHOLOGY: AN
OVERVIEW
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Nature, Scope and Relationship with other Disciplines
1.4 Summary
1.5 Key Words
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Psychology is commonly used as the study of the mind. Many authors today define
psychology as the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. As a subject it
is concerned with the understanding of the human mind and its activities. It is a widely
held belief that psychologists can read the minds of others and understand what is
going on in their minds. However, scientists in the field of psychology, however, do
not accept this definition. Today scientific psychology is generally defined as the
science of behaviour which is employed in a very inclusive and comprehensive
sense. There are many psychologists who express that psychology should concern
itself with the actual behaviour of organisms, both human and animals, because
behaviour is something concrete, factual and observable, unlike the mind. Yet another
group of psychologists hold the view that the term ‘behaviour’ should include not
only observable behaviour but also the unobservable inner activities and processes.
It is now an accepted reality that the nature of the subject psychology is
quite scientific. This fact has been properly recognized by the eminent psychologists
and thinkers. They are trying to prove why the subject psychology should be
called as science. The field of applications of the subject psychology is expansive.
Both normal, abnormal belonging to different walk of human life all are studied in
Self-Instructional
Material 1
Psychology: An Overview the subject psychology. That’s why and for the shake of specialized study, the
subject matter of psychology has been grouped into different branches. Also there
are various approaches to the study of the subject of psychology.
This unit aims at enumerating the nature and scope of the subject of
NOTES
psychology in a comprehensive way and elaborates how psychology possessed
several characteristics of science and other disciplines.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:

Understand the meaning of psychology
Enumerate the nature of psychology
Explain the subject as a science
Understand the scope of psychology
Enumerate the various branches of psychology
Get an insight into the relationship of psychology with other sciences
Explain the importance and applications of psychology
1.2 NATURE, SCOPE AND RELATIONSHIP WITH

OTHER DISCIPLINES
Let us begin by defining and discussing the nature of psychology.

For the behaviourist John. B. Watson, psychology is that division of natural science
which has human behaviour—the doing and saying, both learned and unlearned-
as its subject matter.
William James— ‘Psychology is the science of mental life, both of its
phenomenon and of their conditions…. The phenomenon are such things as we
call feelings desires, cognitions, reasoning, decision and the like.’
Kenneth Clark and George Miller— ‘Psychology is usually defined as
the scientific study of behaviour. Its subject matter includes behavioural processes
that are observable such as gestures, speech and physiological changes and
processes that can only be inferred such as thoughts and dreams.’
R.S Woodworth— ‘Psychology is the scientific study of the activities of
the individual in relation to his environment.’
R.H. Thouless— ‘Psychology is the positive science of experience and
behaviour.’
Jalota— ‘Psychology is defined as the study of mental processes as
Self-Instructional
experienced in bodily behaviour or observed in direct behaviour.’
2 Material
Gardener Murphy— ‘Psychology is the science that studies the responses Psychology: An Overview
which living individuals make to their environment.’

The major problems of our world relate to human behaviour. Psychologists are NOTES
basically concerned with studying and attempting to understand human behaviour.
Psychology is relatively recent science and has evolved from philosophy and biology.
In reality, modern psychology deals specifically with physiology (chemistry of brain,
neurology, and genetics) and the behaviour of the biological organism (stimulus-
response) connection.
Several attempts have been made to analyse and understand human mind and
behaviour. The first theory that was put forward to explain human nature was an
effort to understand man’s consciousness as an inner spirit. Later thinkers like
Aristotle and Plato talked about psyche or soul as the centre of experience.
Philosophers were interested in studying human experience and behaviour. John
Locke believed that human knowledge is acquired during life and is not inherited
or based on innate ideas. It is often believed by people that Psychology is nothing
but the use of common sense.
It is a common belief that psychologists can read the minds of people but
scientists do not accept this fact. The scientific definition of psychology states that
it is the science of behaviour. The earlier definitions of psychology stated that it is
a study of mind which is a very abstract word and cannot be scientifically studied.
Behaviour is factual and concrete in nature and can be easily measured. The late
19th century marks the start of psychology as a scientific discipline.
In 1879 Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory to conduct various
psychological experiments in Leipzig Germany. His main motive was to show that
for every physical activity there is a mental activity. He was of the opinion that
psychologists should find about feelings, insight, and sentiments.
Wilhelm Wundt and William James are considered as the fathers of
psychology. Psychology is considered a scientific discipline because psychologists
use scientific methods to describe behaviours and explain why these behaviours
occur. They also strive to conduct research which can be used for predicting and
even changing human behaviour.
Psychology has certain characteristics which make it a science. These
characteristics are:
1. Psychology uses scientific methods: Psychologists conduct experiments
in strictly controlled conditions. Psychological laboratories are used to
observe any phenomenon to establish cause and effect relationship.
2. Psychology is factual: It is not based on values but facts. Psychological
information is based on observations and experiments.
Self-Instructional
Material 3
Psychology: An Overview 3. Psychology is verifiable: Most of the psychological principles can be
verified by researchers by using scientific methods.
4. Cause effect relationship: It is a characteristic of science to establish
cause-effect relationship and derive universal principles for generalization.
NOTES
Psychology also tries to develop cause and effect relationship between
different variables under study and then formulate theories based on the
findings.
5. Laws of psychology are universal: The laws of psychology are considered
to be universal in their application. These laws are applicable to all organisms
at all times under similar conditions.
6. Psychology can predict human behaviour: By discovering the cause
effect relationship psychologist can predict human behaviour. Many
psychological tests are conducted to predict the behaviour.
Psychology has mainly been interpreted as ‘the study of behaviour’ from last many
centuries, but scholars are interested in knowing what are the various fields which
psychologists like to explore. Some of these areas are as follows:
1. Physiological psychologists
Physiological psychology is that science which studies the biological bases of
behaviour Physiological psychologist wants to explore the relationship between
body processes and behaviour for example what is the effect of certain drugs on
memory? This means that the physiological psychologist undertakes the study of
the biological factors (as opposed to economic, social, or cultural factors) which
cause or constitute behaviour.
2. Developmental psychologists
Developmental psychologists can study human growth, they lay stress on factors
that shape human behaviour from birth to old age. Psychologists try to study how
development occurs when there is a gradual accumulation of knowledge. Language
acquisition and emotional development are also topics which are covered by
developmental psychologists.
The developmental psychologists are also interested in studying a particular
stage of life like infancy or adolescence.
3. Experimental psychologists
Experimental psychologists use experimental method to study behaviour.
Experimental psychology involves the collection of reliable and quantifiable
behavioural data.
Often empirical tests are conducted under controlled conditions in order to
study a particular psychological phenomenon or to test hypotheses concerning
that phenomenon.
Self-Instructional
4 Material
The subjects for such experiments can be human beings, animals and birds. Psychology: An Overview
4. Clinical and counselling psychologists

Clinical and counselling psychologists deal with diagnosis and treatment of mental
and emotional problems like drug addiction, juvenile delinquency and criminal NOTES
behaviour.
Clinical psychologists work in mental hospitals and clinics in close association
with psychiatrists to diagnose and treat mental problems.
A counsellor generally addresses problems like giving advice on career
matters to students and solving family conflicts.
5. Industrial psychologists
Industrial psychologists are broadly concerned with human factors in industry.
They try to improve quality of work life by addressing issues like justice, at
workplace balancing roles at work and at home.
Industrial psychologists generally assist employers in finding the best person
for a job, evaluating job performance, and training employees.
6. Personality and social psychologists
Social psychologists are concerned with the behaviour of people in groups.
Personality and social psychology emphasizes to concentrate on basic questions
regarding people and their sensations, perceptions and attitude.
Social psychologists use scientific methods to analyse social interactions
and how thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of individuals are influenced by other
people. They work on topics like intergroup conflict, aggressive tendencies, and
propaganda. They also conduct opinion polls, surveys and other type of market
research.
7. School and Educational psychologists
These days most of the schools offer students the facilities of a trained educational
psychologist because the adolescents come across many types of emotional and
career problems during this phase of their life.
Educational psychologists conduct various types of personality, aptitude
and intelligence tests on school students which help them in solving the individual
problems which students face.
Let us discuss the different fields of psychology.
1. General psychology
This branch of psychology deals with theories and principles related to the behaviour
of normal human beings. General Psychology studies different aspects of mind as
perception, cognition, emotion, and behaviour.
Self-Instructional
Material 5
Psychology: An Overview 2. Abnormal psychology
The subject matter of this branch of psychology is the study of various forms of
abnormal behaviour and its treatment through various psychological techniques.
NOTES Abnormal psychology is scientific study of many psychological disorders. These
disorders affect people in the manner in which they feel, think, speak, and behave.
3. Child psychology
This branch of psychology studies the growth and development of a child from
birth to adolescence. It studies the behaviour of children with special needs. Child
psychologists deal with knowledge on development of child which includes physical,
mental and emotional growth. Anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder that
includes creativity, giftedness, temperament diversity, allergies and nutrition are
some of the other areas of interest for a child psychologist.
4. Animal psychology
In this branch of psychology the animal behaviour is studied under controlled
conditions. Some common examples of such behaviour is experiments conducted
by Pavlov to test learning and experiments conducted by Skinner on rats. By
conducting such experiments many types of inferences can be drawn and
generalizations can be made.
5. Environmental psychology
This branch of psychology refers to role of environment on behaviour. The
psychologists lays emphasis on modifying and restructuring environment for social
well-being. Thus an environmental psychologist tries to solve personal and social
problems by working on environmental barriers.
6. Sports psychology
This branch of psychology studies the behaviour of players and sport persons.
The psychologists also studies the activities, experiences, situations and the
environment which is present in the world of sports. The main aim of sports
psychologists is to improve the performance of players by minimizing the
psychological effects of injury and poor performance and by managing their
emotions. Training is given to improve their mental and physical health.
7. Aerospace psychology
Aerospace psychology deals with the behaviour of astronauts who go in space.
They face problems related to new environment because of which there are many
physiological and psychological problems. Aerospace psychologists try to design
training programs for the astronauts so that they can adapt to their behaviour
according to the new environmental settings and are in sound mental health.
8. Military psychology
This branch of psychology is related to the behaviour of soldiers working in the
armed forces. The main area of concern for the military psychologists is how the
Self-Instructional
6 Material
stress level of the soldiers can be reduced and their morale can be kept high. Psychology: An Overview
Psychologists also work for recruitment in the services.

9. Consumer psychology
This branch of psychology deals with the behaviour of consumers in their present NOTES
economic situation and social status. The area of interest is to find out the needs of
the customers and their expectations from the product. This information is required
by shopkeepers and sales persons. This branch of psychology is designed to benefit
the sales persons in context of how the customers should be approached, influenced
or motivated to buy a particular brand of the product.
10. Psychometrics
This branch of psychology is concerned with the construction of psychological
tests for measuring and analysing different aspects of behaviour. The psychologists
construct various psychological tests like adjustment scales, aptitude tests,
personality inventories and intelligence tests for the assessment of various dimensions
of behaviour. Various statistical tools are needed in construction and analysis so
these statistical methods are also a part of this branch of psychology.
11. Folk psychology
It is the branch of psychology which aims to study the culture, art, religion,
superstitions and other such aspects. This branch of psychology is gaining more
prominence in the developed countries.
12. Organizational and managerial psychology
This branch of psychology studies the behaviour of human resources in the
organization. By studying this branch psychologists can help the managers working
in the organizations in maintaining their zeal and enthusiasm for exercising their
duties properly and cooperatively by seeking proper satisfaction and adjustment
in their work environment. Important areas in this branch are organizational culture,
motivation, job satisfaction etc.
Let us analyse the relationship of psychology with other disciplines.
1. Psychology and Economics
According to Marshal, ‘Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business
of life. It studies that part of the individual and social action which is most closely
connected with the attainment and use of material requisites of well-being.’
Economics is the study of man’s activities devoted to obtaining the material
means for satisfaction of his wants. Thus it can easily be concluded from the above
definitions that economics studies some activities of human beings on the other
hand psychology also studies human activities. The difference is in the approach.
Economics studies the economic functions of man but psychology is only concerned
with the social interactions of man.
Self-Instructional
Material 7
Psychology: An Overview There is a mutual relationship of economic conditions and social interactions.
It is a fact that economic conditions do influence social interactions and social
interactions also influence economic circumstances and conditions.
NOTES Many economic problems have a psychological aspect, for example
problems of strikes, lockouts, advertisements and propaganda, working conditions
can be solved by psychological interventions.
Principles of demand and supply and law of marginal utility are also related
to human interactions which form an important part of psychology.
2. Psychology and Political Science
Political science studies political institutions, working of government laws etc. Social
psychology studies the behaviour of individuals in society. Political science studies
the laws formed for the people living in the society. The laws cannot be made
without understanding the psychology of people.
Political institutions exert pressure and influence social behaviour of the
individuals. Thus psychology and political science are closely related.
3. Psychology and Sociology
Sociology is scientific study of society. Sociology studies man in the context of
society and as a part of it. According to MacIver sociology gives aid to psychology.
In order to understand group behaviour in sociology it is important to study
individual behaviour.
4. Psychology and Biology
Behaviour is related to man’s interaction with environment. Darwin’s theory of
evolution is based on biological theories. Behaviour is related to external as well
as internal feelings. The human and animal behaviour cannot be explained without
the help of biological principles. Watson who is considered the founder of
behaviourism laid stress on animal psychology and he also tried to explain human
behaviour in terms of stimulus response relationship.
5. Psychology and Philosophy
History of psychology reveals that psychology was considered the study of mind.
Mind is a philosophical term. Mental concepts like deep sleep, dreams are all a
part of philosophical discussions but its logical explanations are based on the
psychological theories given by Freud.
1. Education
Psychology has a very important role to play in the field of education. Psychologists
work in schools and universities to guide students in their educational and vocational
problems. They also work to solve problems of adjustment. Conducting aptitude,
intelligence and personality tests is a part of their counselling sessions.
Self-Instructional
8 Material
The psychologists working in schools also help teachers in developing skills Psychology: An Overview
in solving class room problems and develop and improve teaching methods to
increase class effectiveness.
Some students are unique and require special teaching assistance.
NOTES
Psychologists also help in designing programs for such special children.
2. Criminology
Forensic Psychology–deal, with a lot of practices mostly including medical
evaluations of defendants, statements given to judges and courtroom testimony.
Rehabilitation of criminals also involve psychologists.
3. Therapy
Psychology has been proved to be very useful in treatment of diseases. The cause
of many diseases is psychological and hence requires psychological treatment. It
has been found by many studies that 10% of the American population at one time
or another suffer from some mental problem.
It is commonly said that every human being at some point of time requires
the guidance of a clinical psychologist.
Psychologists conduct many type of therapeutic sessions on the patients
suffering from psychological problems like neurosis, anxiety, phobia. This branch
of psychology is called as Abnormal Psychology.
4. Trade
One important area related to industry is advertisement. Psychology has made
selling an art. Psychologist understand the interest and perception of customers
and helps in creating the advertisements while keeping in mind the needs of buyers.
5. Recruitment
Psychology has helped the organizations in finding out suitable men for different
kinds of work. Psychologists are also a part of interview boards to judge the
different aspects of the personality of the candidates appearing for the interview.
6. Self-understanding
Psychology helps in understanding self – the more you know, and find out about
yourself, your personality and your faults the more are the chances of self-
improvement. Self-understanding is the way to self-control and thus a person
becomes more self-confident. Understanding hidden self, unconscious part of
personality, Freud’s analysis of dreams is another important contribution of
psychologists in this direction.
7. Politics
Psychology has been widely used in political science. It has become very important
for the politicians to understand the psychology of public to remain in power.
Leadership is also very crucial discipline of psychology. Various theories and
practices of leaders are discussed in psychology.
Self-Instructional
Material 9
Psychology: An Overview 8. Communication
Psychology not only helps in improving communication skills but also improves
relationship by understanding others. Psychology also emphasizes the importance
of nonverbal communication by understanding gestures, posture and body language
NOTES
to communicate better.
9. Military Science
Psychology helps in selection, training, promotion and classification of military
personnel. Psychology also helps in knowing the current level of mental status. It
also tries to bring modifications and corrections in the environmental situations
and work conditions of the defence personnel after analysing the needs.
Psychology also helps in the time of war by designing techniques to keep
the morale of the soldiers high.
Psychologists also tries to make the defence personnel capable of handling
the stress.
10. World Peace and Brotherhood
The reasons for war, conflict and fights is that the people fail to understand the
behaviour of other people. Psychology helps in understanding the different aspects
of behaviour and analyse the causes of different types of peculiar behaviour and
the situations that lead to this behaviour. Psychological techniques can also be
helpful in building mutual trust and a feeling of brotherhood.
Check Your Progress

1. What do you mean by psychology?
2. List some characteristics which make psychology a science.
3. Write about the behavioural approach to psychology.
4. Enumerate the methods adopted by experimental psychologists.
5. List the applications of psychology.
1.3 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

QUESTIONS
1. For the behaviourist John. B. Watson, psychology is that division of natural

science which has human behaviour—the doing and saying, both learned
and unlearned-as its subject matter.
William James defines it this way: ‘Psychology is the science of mental life,
both of its phenomenon and of their conditions…. The phenomenon are
such things as we call feelings desires, cognitions, reasoning, decision and
the like.’ For Kenneth Clark and George Miller, ‘Psychology is usually
defined as the scientific study of behaviour. Its subject matter includes
Self-Instructional
10 Material
behavioural processes that are observable such as gestures, speech and Psychology: An Overview
physiological changes and processes that can only be inferred such as

thoughts and dreams.’
2. Psychology has certain characteristics which make it a science. These
NOTES
characteristics are:
i. Psychology uses scientific methods: Psychologists conduct experiments
in strictly controlled conditions. Psychological laboratories are used
to observe any phenomenon to establish cause and effect relationship.
ii. Psychology is factual: It is not based on values but facts. Psychological
information is based on observations and experiments.
iii. Psychology is verifiable: Most of the psychological principles can be
verified by researchers by using scientific methods.
iv. Cause effect relationship: It is a characteristic of science to establish
cause-effect relationship and derive universal principles for
generalization. Psychology also tries to develop cause and effect
relationship between different variables under study and then formulate
theories based on the findings.
v. Laws of psychology are universal: The laws of psychology are
considered to be universal in their application. These laws are applicable
to all organisms at all times under similar conditions.
vi. Psychology can predict human behaviour: By discovering the cause
effect relationship psychologist can predict human behaviour. Many
psychological tests are conducted to predict the behaviour.
3. The behavioural approach to psychology is based on the works of John B.
Watson in the early 1900s, whose initial interest had been animal
experimentation in which the traditional approaches of the early psychologists
through consciousness, introspection and the unconscious were of no
practical value. What the animal experimenters could observe was primarily
behaviour. To the behaviourists this was the greatest virtue because it was
objective and eliminated the subjectivity of the studies of consciousness,
introspective report and the free association from the unconscious. This
technique of studying animal behaviour was transferred to human behaviour.
The behavioural psychologists assume that you can understand human by
observing their behaviour rather than by studying the internal working of
their brain.
4. Experimental psychologists use experimental method to study behaviour.
behavioural data. Often empirical tests are conducted under controlled
conditions in order to study a particular psychological phenomenon or to
test hypotheses concerning that phenomenon. The subjects for such
experiments can be human beings, animals and birds.
Self-Instructional
Material 11
Psychology: An Overview 5. Psychology plays a very important role in various fields of life. These are as
follows:
i. Education: Psychology has a very important role to play in the field of
education. Psychologists work in schools and universities to guide
NOTES students in their educational and vocational problems. The psychologists
working in schools also help teachers in developing skills in solving
class room problems and develop and improve teaching methods to
increase class effectiveness. Psychologists also help in designing
programs for special children.
ii. Criminology: Forensic Psychology deals with a lot of practices mostly
including medical evaluations of defendants, statements given to judges
and courtroom testimony.
iii. Therapy: Psychology has been proved to be very useful in treatment
of diseases. The cause of many diseases is psychological and hence
requires psychological treatment. Psychologists conduct many type
of therapeutic sessions on the patients suffering from psychological
problems like neurosis, anxiety, phobia. This branch of psychology is
called as Abnormal Psychology.
iv. Trade: One important area related to industry is advertisement.
Psychology has made selling an art. Psychologist understand the interest
and perception of customers and helps in creating the advertisements
while keeping in mind the needs of buyers.
v. Recruitment: Psychology has helped the organizations in finding out
suitable men for different kinds of work.
vi. Self-understanding: Psychology helps in understanding self – the more
you know, and find out about yourself, your personality and your
faults the more are the chances of self-improvement.
vii. Politics: It has become very important for the politicians to understand
the psychology of public to remain in power.
viii. Communication: Psychology not only helps in improving communication
skills but also improves relationship by understanding others.
ix. Military science: Psychology helps in selection, training, promotion
and classification of military personnel. It also helps in the time of war
by designing techniques to keep the morale of the soldiers high.
Psychologists also tries to make the defence personnel capable of
handling the stress.
1.4 SUMMARY
For the behaviourist John. B. Watson, psychology is that division of natural

science which has human behaviour—the doing and saying, both learned
and unlearned-as its subject matter.
Self-Instructional
12 Material
The major problems of our world relate to human behaviour. Psychologists Psychology: An Overview
are basically concerned with studying and attempting to understand human

behaviour. Psychology is relatively recent science and has evolved from
philosophy and biology.
NOTES
It is a common belief that psychologists can read the minds of people but
scientists do not accept this fact. The scientific definition of psychology
states that it is the science of behaviour. The earlier definitions of psychology
stated that it is a study of mind which is a very abstract word and cannot be
scientifically studied.
Wilhelm Wundt and William James are considered as the fathers of
psychology. Psychology is considered a scientific discipline because
psychologists use scientific methods to describe behaviours and explain
why these behaviours occur. They also strive to conduct research which
can be used for predicting and even changing human behaviour.
The behavioural approach to psychology is based on the works of John B.
Watson in the early 1900s, whose initial interest had been animal
experimentation in which the traditional approaches of the early psychologists
through consciousness, introspection and the unconscious were of no
practical value.
The founder of psychoanalytic theory was Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud
is considered as the father of modern psychology. Freud was from the
medical field, he was a psychiatrist and a neurologist who was only interested
in understanding the mental disorders. Freud was not very keen to study
issues like perception, sensation, thinking and intelligence. He developed
psychoanalysis which is considered to be the first systematic approach to
therapy.
Psychology has mainly been interpreted as ‘the study of behaviour’ from
last many centuries, but scholars are interested in knowing what are the
various fields which psychologists like to explore.
Experimental psychologists use experimental method to study behaviour.
behavioural data. Often empirical tests are conducted under controlled
conditions in order to study a particular psychological phenomenon or to
test hypotheses concerning that phenomenon.
Social psychologists use scientific methods to analyse social interactions
and how thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of individuals are influenced by
other people. They work on topics like intergroup conflict, aggressive
tendencies, and propaganda. They also conduct opinion polls, surveys and
other type of market research.
The subject matter of this branch of psychology is the study of various
forms of abnormal behaviour and its treatment through various psychological
Self-Instructional
Material 13
Psychology: An Overview techniques. Abnormal psychology is scientific study of many psychological
disorders. These disorders affect people in the manner in which they feel,
think, speak, and behave.
The psychologists also studies the activities, experiences, situations and the
NOTES
environment which is present in the world of sports. The main aim of sports
psychologists is to improve the performance of players by minimizing the
psychological effects of injury and poor performance and by managing their
emotions. Training is given to improve their mental and physical health.
Political science studies political institutions, working of government laws
etc. Social psychology studies the behaviour of individuals in society. Political
science studies the laws formed for the people living in the society. The
laws cannot be made without understanding the psychology of people.
Psychology has been proved to be very useful in treatment of diseases. The
cause of many diseases is psychological and hence requires psychological
treatment. It has been found by many studies that 10% of the American
population at one time or another suffer from some mental problem. It is
commonly said that every human being at some point of time requires the
guidance of a clinical psychologist.
The reasons for war, conflict and fights is that the people fail to understand
the behaviour of other people. Psychology helps in understanding the different
aspects of behaviour and analyse the causes of different types of peculiar
behaviour and the situations that lead to this behaviour. Psychological
techniques can also be helpful in building mutual trust and a feeling of
brotherhood.
1.5 KEY WORDS
Genetics: It is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living

organisms. It is generally considered a field of biology, but intersects
frequently with many other life sciences.
Cognitive approach: Cognition refers to those processes which transforms
the stimulus input in different ways, encodes it stores it and then retrieves it
later when needed. Cognitive approach stresses on the fact that the brain
actively processes the information it receives and transforms it into different
forms.
Abnormal psychology: This is the scientific study of many psychological
disorders.
Psychometrics: This branch of psychology is concerned with the
construction of psychological tests for measuring and analysing different
aspects of behaviour. The psychologists construct various psychological
tests like adjustment scales, aptitude tests, personality inventories and
intelligence tests for the assessment of various dimensions of behaviour.
Self-Instructional
14 Material
Psychology: An Overview
1.6 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS AND
EXERCISES
Short Answer Questions NOTES
1. Enumerate the definition of psychology by Kenneth Clark and George Miller.

2. Write a short note on the nature of psychology.
3. Write a brief note on the cognitive approach to study the subject matter of
psychology.
4. Analyse in brief the role played by Experimental psychologists.
5. Enumerate the various fields of psychology.
6. Write a note on the relationship between Psychology and Biology.
7. What role does psychology play in the field of education?
Long Answer Questions
1. Discuss the scientific interpretation of psychology.
2. Analyse the humanistic approach to the study of psychology.
3. Write a comprehensive note on psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud.
4. Enumerate the scope of contemporary psychology.
5. Analyse the role of Industrial psychologists.
6. Elaborate the significance of Child psychology.
7. Discuss the relationship of psychology with other sciences.
1.7 FURTHER READINGS
Osgood, C.E. 1953. Method and Theory in Experimental Psychology. London:

University Press. Oxford.
Anastasi, A. 1964. Fields of Applied Psychology. New York: McGraw Hill.
Andrews, T.G. (ed). 1958. Methods of Psychology. New York: John Wiley.
Self-Instructional
Material 15
Biology of Behaviour
UNIT 2 BIOLOGY OF BEHAVIOUR

NOTES Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Behavioural, Humanistic, Biological and Cognitive Approaches
2.3 Psychodynamic, Evolutionary and Socio-cultural Perspectives
2.3.1 Evolutionary
2.5 Summary
2.6 Key Words
2.0 INTRODUCTION
In addition to five approaches to the study of the subject matter of psychology,

important perspectives like evolutionary, psychodynamics and socio-cultural play
a key role in understanding the biology of behaviour. Evolutionary perspective of
psychology seeks to bring in ways of expanding connection between individuals
and the natural world. This helps people develop sustainable lifestyles and avoid
alienation from nature. The main concept of evolutionary psychology is that while
today the human mind is shaped by the modern social world, it is adapted to the
natural environment in which it evolved. Evolutionary psychologists differs from
many cognitive psychologists on the premise that the relevant internal mechanisms
are adaptations. According to this psychological perspective, traits developed in
the past are passed down in the process of evolution. Adaptations developed
from the need of survival or propagation evolve into traits that shape our behaviour.
The concept of psychodynamics proposed by Sigmund Freud is another
important perspective of psychology. Freud suggested that psychological processes
are actually the flows of psychological energy in the brain. This perspective studies
how psychological processes drive our feelings and behaviour. Catherine A.
Sanderson defines the socio-cultural perspective as a perspective describing
people’s behaviour and mental processes as shaped in part by their social and/or
cultural contact, including race, gender, and nationality. This perspective of
psychology believes that our behaviour is influenced by the society, our culture,
and our environment.
This unit aims at enumerating the various perspectives in the study of
psychology in a comprehensive way and elaborates how these play a key role in
understanding the biology of behaviour.
Self-Instructional
16 Material
Biology of Behaviour
2.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand various approaches to the study of psychology NOTES
Explain the psychoanalytic theory of Freud
Enumerate the problems of consciousness
Analyse the evolutionary perspective of psychology
Understand the concept of psychodynamics in psychology
Explain the socio-cultural perspective in people’s behaviour.
2.2 BEHAVIOURAL, HUMANISTIC, BIOLOGICAL

AND COGNITIVE APPROACHES
There are five approaches to study the subject matter of psychology:

Biological approach
Behavioural approach
Cognitive approach
Humanistic approach
Psychoanalytical approach
1. Biological Approach
The biological approach to study human behaviour tries to relate the actions of
human beings with the events taking place within the brain and nervous system.
All psychological events are represented in the nervous system in close association
with other body parts. This approach emphasizes the relationship between mind
and body and the influence of heredity on behaviour, these interactions act both
ways, mind can affect body and body can affect mind.
Biological approaches emphasize the role of heredity in various psychological
disorders. It assumes that if parents are suffering from some disorder then there
are chances that the children also get affected by it. Psychologists do believe that
these disorders can be because of combination of a number of factors which can
be social, psychological and biological.
2. Behavioural Approach
The behavioural approach to psychology is based on the works of John B. Watson
in the early 1900s, whose initial interest had been animal experimentation in which
the traditional approaches of the early psychologists through consciousness,
introspection and the unconscious were of no practical value. What the animal
experimenters could observe was primarily behaviour. To the behaviourists this
was the greatest virtue because it was objective and eliminated the subjectivity of
Self-Instructional
Material 17
Biology of Behaviour the studies of consciousness, introspective report and the free association from
the unconscious. This technique of studying animal behaviour was transferred to
human behaviour. The behavioural psychologists assume that you can understand
human by observing their behaviour rather than by studying the internal working of
NOTES their brain. According to this behavioural approach the cause of human behaviour
is the reaction to some stimulus present in the environment.
It is the environmental factor rather than genetic or biological differences
that makes us behave differently. According to the behaviourists the stimulus –
response theory is the basis of understanding the process of conditioning. An
individual learns a particular response to a stimulus and becomes conditioned to it.
This is how learning takes place in humans.
3. Cognitive Approach
Cognition refers to those processes which transforms the stimulus input in different
ways, encodes it stores it and then retrieves it later when needed.
Cognitive approach stresses on the fact that the brain actively processes
the information it receives and transforms it into different forms.
Cognitive psychologists explain the process of human behaviour on the basis
of the assumption that behaviour is controlled by our own thought process, as
opposed to genetic factors. Thus each individual processes the information in a
different manner and behaves differently.
Development of language, Problem solving, reasoning, heuristics and
algorithms (step by step solution to solve the problems) are all part of cognitive
psychology.
Different moods also have great impact on individuals’ reactions in different
circumstances.
4. Humanistic Approach
Carl Rogers was the founder of Humanistic Approach.
This approach answers that every individual has freedom of creating his/her
own future, a huge capacity for attaining growth at personal level, a huge amount
of intrinsic worth, and a lot of potential for self-fulfilment. Every individual has a
fundamental need to grow and attain the state of self-actualization.
Maslow has also discussed the humanistic approach in which the holistic
view of the individual is elaborated.
Humanistic view places importance on improving interpersonal relationships
and providing conditions that promote the development of a man’s potential for
constructive and cooperative actions.
Humanistic psychologists emphasize the individual approach therapy.
According to this school of thought an individual can improve his mental state by
his own efforts. They can recognize their own potential and abilities.
Self-Instructional
18 Material
5. Psychoanalytical Approach Biology of Behaviour
The advances in medical psychology and the theories of hypnosis prompted the
development of psychoanalysis.
The founder of psychoanalytic theory was Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud NOTES
is considered as the father of modern psychology. Freud was from the medical
field, he was a psychiatrist and a neurologist who was only interested in
understanding the mental disorders. Freud was not very keen to study issues like
perception, sensation, thinking and intelligence. He developed psychoanalysis which
is considered to be the first systematic approach to therapy. Freud believed that
mind had three sections – the conscious, the pre-conscious and the unconscious.
Freud concentrated on problems of consciousness. He interpreted that the primary
source of mental conflicts and disorders was the unconscious. In order to study
the unconscious he founded the technique of psychoanalysis. This theory of
psychoanalysis is based on stream of thoughts and dream analysis. He believed
that 90% of human mind is the unconscious mind. He made three parts of
personality – Id, Ego, Superego. Among these, Id follows pleasure and so is
thought to be governed by pleasure principle. Ego is the rational part of Id and is
determined by the reality principle. Superego is related to morals and ethics.
Freud was of the view that every action of a man has a cause which is most
often some unconscious motive. Unconscious processes are those thoughts and
wishes about which the person is unaware but which influences his behaviour.
Check Your Progress

1. List the various approaches to the study of psychology.
2. What do you understand by cognitive approach to psychology?
3. Why is Sigmund Freud known as the father of modern psychology?
4. Define Id, Ego and Superego.
2.3 PSYCHODYNAMIC, EVOLUTIONARY AND

SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
Let us discuss the evolutionary, psychodynamic and socio-cultural perspectives of

psychology.
2.3.1 Evolutionary
The evolutionary perspective of psychology focuses on the relation between
evolution and psychology. According to this perspective, mental processes exist
because they enable evolution and help survival. This approach also considers the
evolutionary changes that have led to changes in behavioural patterns. It studies
the natural and sexual selection of behaviours.
Self-Instructional
Material 19
Biology of Behaviour According to this psychological perspective, traits developed in the past are passed
down in the process of evolution. Adaptations developed from the need of survival
or propagation evolve into traits that shape our behaviour.
NOTES
Psychodynamics is another important perspective of psychology. Sigmund Freud
proposed the concept of psychodynamics. He suggested that psychological
processes are actually the flows of psychological energy in the brain. This
perspective studies how psychological processes drive our feelings and behaviour.
It focuses on the conscious and the unconscious parts of the human mind. Our
mental forces could be emotional forces or those from interactions between the
emotional and motivational forces acting at the subconscious level.
Catherine A. Sanderson defines the socio-cultural perspective as a perspective
describing people’s behaviour and mental processes as shaped in part by their
social and/or cultural contact, including race, gender, and nationality. This
perspective of psychology believes that our behaviour is influenced by the society,
our culture, and our environment.
According to social psychologists, behaviour has a social and cultural context,
and these factors play a major role in shaping one’s perceptions and behaviour.
This approach to psychology tries to find how social norms affect behaviour and
how social groups such as race, religion, or gender can influence the way we
behave. A cross-cultural perspective studies how behaviour changes across cultures.
Check Your Progress

5. What is the evolutionary perspective of psychology?
6. What do you understand by Psychodynamics in the study of psychology?
7. List the role of socio-cultural perspective in describing people’s behaviour.
8. What is the role of social norms in shaping ones’ perception?

QUESTIONS
1. There are five approaches to study the subject matter of psychology:

i. Biological approach
ii. Behavioural approach
iii. Cognitive approach
Self-Instructional
20 Material
iv. Humanistic approach Biology of Behaviour
v. Psychoanalytical approach
2. Cognition refers to those processes which transforms the stimulus input in
different ways, encodes it stores it and then retrieves it later when needed. NOTES
Cognitive approach stresses on the fact that the brain actively processes
the information it receives and transforms it into different forms. Cognitive
psychologists explain the process of human behaviour on the basis of the
assumption that behaviour is controlled by our own thought process, as
opposed to genetic factors. Thus each individual processes the information
in a different manner and behaves differently.
3. The founder of psychoanalytic theory was Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud
is considered as the father of modern psychology. Freud was from the
medical field, he was a psychiatrist and a neurologist who was only interested
in understanding the mental disorders. Freud was not very keen to study
issues like perception, sensation, thinking and intelligence. He developed
psychoanalysis which is considered to be the first systematic approach to
therapy.
4. Sigmund Freud made three parts of personality – Id, Ego, Superego. Among
these, Id follows pleasure and so is thought to be governed by pleasure
principle. Ego is the rational part of Id and is determined by the reality
principle. Superego is related to morals and ethics. Freud was of the view
that every action of a man has a cause which is most often some unconscious
motive. Unconscious processes are those thoughts and wishes about which
the person is unaware but which influences his behaviour.
5. The evolutionary perspective of psychology focuses on the relation between
evolution and psychology. According to this perspective, mental processes
exist because they enable evolution and help survival. This approach also
considers the evolutionary changes that have led to changes in behavioural
patterns. It studies the natural and sexual selection of behaviours.
6. Psychodynamics is another important perspective of psychology. Sigmund
Freud proposed the concept of psychodynamics. He suggested that
psychological processes are actually the flows of psychological energy in
the brain. This perspective studies how psychological processes drive our
feelings and behaviour. It focuses on the conscious and the unconscious
parts of the human mind.
7. Catherine A. Sanderson defines the socio-cultural perspective as a
perspective describing people’s behaviour and mental processes as shaped
in part by their social and/or cultural contact, including race, gender, and
nationality. This perspective of psychology believes that our behaviour is
influenced by the society, our culture, and our environment.
8. According to social psychologists, behaviour has a social and cultural context,
and these factors play a major role in shaping one’s perceptions and Self-Instructional
Material 21
Biology of Behaviour behaviour. This approach to psychology tries to find how social norms affect
behaviour and how social groups such as race, religion, or gender can
influence the way we behave. A cross-cultural perspective studies how
behaviour changes across cultures.
NOTES
2.5 SUMMARY
Biological approaches emphasize the role of heredity in various psychological

disorders. It assumes that if parents are suffering from some disorder then
there are chances that the children also get affected by it. Psychologists do
believe that these disorders can be because of combination of a number of
factors which can be social, psychological and biological.
According to the behavioural approach the cause of human behaviour is
the reaction to some stimulus present in the environment.
It is the environmental factor rather than genetic or biological differences
that makes us behave differently. According to the behaviourists the stimulus–
response theory is the basis of understanding the process of conditioning.
An individual learns a particular response to a stimulus and becomes
conditioned to it. This is how learning takes place in humans.
Cognitive psychologists explain the process of human behaviour on the
basis of the assumption that behaviour is controlled by our own thought
process, as opposed to genetic factors. Thus each individual processes the
information in a different manner and behaves differently.
Carl Rogers was the founder of Humanistic Approach. This approach
answers that every individual has freedom of creating his/her own future, a
huge capacity for attaining growth at personal level, a huge amount of intrinsic
worth, and a lot of potential for self-fulfilment.
Humanistic psychologists emphasize the individual approach therapy.
According to this school of thought an individual can improve his mental
state by his own efforts. They can recognize their own potential and abilities.
The advances in medical psychology and the theories of hypnosis prompted
the development of psychoanalysis.
Freud was not very keen to study issues like perception, sensation, thinking
and intelligence. He developed psychoanalysis which is considered to be
the first systematic approach to therapy.
Freud was of the view that every action of a man has a cause which is most
often some unconscious motive. Unconscious processes are those thoughts
and wishes about which the person is unaware but which influences his
behaviour.
The evolutionary perspective of psychology focuses on the relation between
evolution and psychology. According to this perspective, mental processes
Self-Instructional
22 Material
exist because they enable evolution and help survival. This approach also Biology of Behaviour
considers the evolutionary changes that have led to changes in behavioural

patterns. It studies the natural and sexual selection of behaviours.
Psychodynamics is another important perspective of psychology. Sigmund
NOTES
Freud proposed the concept of psychodynamics. He suggested that
psychological processes are actually the flows of psychological energy in
the brain. This perspective studies how psychological processes drive our
feelings and behaviour. It focuses on the conscious and the unconscious
parts of the human mind.
According to social psychologists, behaviour has a social and cultural context,
and these factors play a major role in shaping one’s perceptions and
behaviour. This approach to psychology tries to find how social norms affect
behaviour and how social groups such as race, religion, or gender can
influence the way we behave. A cross-cultural perspective studies how
behaviour changes across cultures.
2.6 KEY WORDS
Behaviourist: A person who advocates or practices behaviourism, a school

of psychology that confines itself to the study of observable and quantifiable
aspects of behaviour.
Theory of hypnosis: Scientists and clinicians have proposed mechanisms
to explain the phenomenon associated with hypnosis.
Theory of psychoanalysis: This is based on stream of thoughts and dream
analysis.
Evolutionary psychology: This is a theoretical approach to psychology
that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits.
Psychodynamics: Also known as psychodynamic psychology is an
approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the
psychological forces that underlie human behaviour, feelings, and emotions
and how they might relate to early experience.

EXERCISES
Short Answer Questions

1. Enumerate the significance of biological approach to the study of psychology.
2. Who pioneered the works that led to behavioural approach?
3. State the role of behaviourists in the study of psychology.
Self-Instructional
Material 23
Biology of Behaviour 4. Write a brief note on humanistic approach in the study of psychology.
5. Analyse in brief the development of psychoanalysis.
6. Enumerate Freud’s view on unconscious processes.
NOTES 7. Write a note on the evolutionary perspective of psychology.
8. What role does psychodynamics play?
1. Discuss the various approaches to the study of psychology.
2. Analyse Sigmund Freud’s contribution to modern psychology.
3. Write a comprehensive note on the technique of psychoanalysis.
4. Enumerate the role of psychodynamics in the field of psychology.
5. Discuss in detail on the evolutionary perspective of psychology.
6. Elaborate with relevant references how social norms affect behaviour.

Self-Instructional
24 Material
Work of Psychologists
UNIT 3 WORK OF
PSYCHOLOGISTS
NOTES
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Typical Behaviour Patterns and the Nervous System
3.4 Summary
3.5 Key Words
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The nervous system is a complex collection of nerves and specialized cells. Nervous
system is made up of extensive network of cells that are interconnected and transmit
signals between different parts of the body. The brain itself is composed of billions
of nerves cells. Interconnected nerves cells relay information through the nervous
system in a very orderly fashion to the highest level of the brain. Brain and the
nervous system receive and transmit sensory input, integrate the information received
from environment and direct the body’s motor activities. Neurons are the nerve
cells that actually process information. Glial cell provide support and nutritional
benefits to neurons. They are specialized to handle different information processing
functions. Each of Neurochemical messengers plays a specific role and function in
specific pathway.
More than 99 per cent of cells in the body are located in the central nervous
system (CNS). Brain consists of three major regions of the brain—the hind brain,
mid brain and forebrain. The system in midbrain consists of small group of neurons
that use the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. The
cerebral cortex, divided into two halves, is the highest region of the fore brain.
Highest mental functions, such as thinking and planning take place in cerebral
cortex. The cortex consists of a thick layer of dimly packed neurones.
Peripheral nervous system consists of the group of neurones which transmit
information between the CNS and rest of the body. The system senses and acts
upon the external world. It consists of both sensory and motor neurons. Sensory
neuron transmits incoming signals to the CNS.
Self-Instructional
Material 25
Work of Psychologists This unit aims at enumerating the composition and function of nervous system
in an a comprehensive way and analyses how it works to control the life sustaining
functions of the body as well as thoughts, emotions and behaviour.
NOTES
3.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand the composition of nervous system
Know the characteristics that allow it to direct our behaviour
Explain the types of cells in the nervous system
Analyse the function of neurons
Understand the central nervous system (CNS)
Enumerate the major regions of the brain
Analyse the lobes in the cerebral cortex
Understand the functioning and composition of peripheral nervous system
3.2 TYPICAL BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS AND THE

NERVOUS SYSTEM
Let us discuss the brain and the nervous system first.

Nervous system: It is an extensive of billions network of specialized cells
that are interconnected and carry information to and from all parts of the
body. Four extraordinary characteristics allow the nervous system to direct
our behaviour, which are as follows:
1. Complexity: The brain itself is composed of billions of nerves cells.
The orchestration of all these cells allows people to sing, dance, write,
talk and think.
2. Integration: The brain does a wonderful job of putting information
together, such as sound, sight, touch, taste and environment. Each nerve
cell communicates on average with 10,000 others, making up miles and
miles of collection (F.E. Bloom, C.A. Nelson and A. Lazerson, 2001;
M.H. Johnson, 2003). Interconnected nerves cells relay information
through the nervous system in a very orderly fashion to the highest level
of the brain (C. Blair, 2002).
3. Adaptability: Our brain and nervous systems together help in adapting
to the world. Although nerve cells reside in certain brain regions, they
are not fixed and immutable structures. They have a hereditary, biological
Self-Instructional
26 Material
foundation, but they are constantly adapting to changes in the body and Work of Psychologists
the environment (Wilson, 2003).

4. Electrochemical transmission: Brain and nervous system function
essentially as an information processing system, powered by electrical
NOTES
impulse and chemical messengers, when people speak to each other,
they use word. Brain and the nervous system receive and transmit sensory
input, integrate the information received from environment and direct
the body’s motor activities. Information flows into the brain through
sensory input, becomes integrated within the brain and then moves out
of the brain to be connected with motor output (S.M. Enger and R.K.
Ross, 2003).
Figure 3.1 shows the division of nervous system into central and
peripheral nervous system (PNS).
Fig. 3.1 The Nervous System
Decision-making in the nervous system occurs in specialized pathways and

the network that carried different functions. Sensory nerves carry information
to the brain. Then sensory pathways communicate information about external
and bodily environment from sensory receptors into and throughout the
brain.
There are two types of cells in the nervous system i.e. neurone and glial
cells. Neurons are the nerve cells that actually process information. Glial
cell provide support and nutritional benefits to neurons (Greg Lemke, 2001;
T.D. Raabe and others, 2004).
Neurons: Not all neurons are alike. They are specialized to handle different
information processing functions that are as follows:
i. Motor neuron: Motor neurons carry the brain’s output. Thus, motor
pathways communicate information from the brain to the hands, feet,
and other areas of the body.
Self-Instructional
Material 27
Work of Psychologists ii. Neural network: It is the central nervous system (CNS) and network
of nerve cell that integrate sensory input and motor output (Kimoto and
Okada, 2004; Mingolla, 2002).
Every neuron has the following three main parts:
NOTES
1. The cell body: It contains the nucleus which directs the manufacture
of substance for the growth and maintenance of neuron.
2. Dendrites: They receive and orient information towards the cell body.
The dendrites are attached to the cell body or soma, which is the part
of the cell that contains nucleus and keep the entire cell alive and
functioning.
3. The axon: It is a fibre attached to the soma, and its job is to carry
messages out other cells.
Neurons are very thin cellular membranes that are much like the surface of
a bubble. It has a semi-permeable membrane which contains tiny holes,
channels that allow only certain substance to pass into and out of the neurone.
Myelin Sheath, a layer of fat cell, encases and insulates most axon. By
insulating axon, myelin sheath speeds up the transmission of nerve impulses
(Mattson, 2002; Paus and others 2001).
iii. The neural impulse: A neuron sends information through its axon in
the form of brief impulse, or waves of electricity. The term action potential
is used to describe the wave of positive electrical change that sweeps
down. It is abided by the all or none principle.
iv. The synapses: The nerve impulse reaches the synaptic knob, triggering
the release of neurotransmitter from the synaptic vesicles, the molecules
of neurotransmitter cross the synaptic gap to fit into the receptor sites
that fit the shape of the molecule.
v. Axon: Branches out into numerous fibres that store substances called
neurotransmitters transmit, or carry, information across the synaptic gap
to the next neuron.
vi. Neurochemical messengers: There are many neurotransmitters. Each
play a specific role and function in specific pathway. Following are the
most important and have major effect on our behaviour:
a. Acetylcholine (ACH): Found throughout the central and peripheral
nervous systems.
b. GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid): It is found throughout the
CNS. It is important as it keeps neuron from firing.
c. Nor epinephrine: It inhibits the firing of neurons in the CNS, but it
excites the heart muscle.
d. Dopamine: It helps to control voluntary movement. It also affects
sleep, mood, attention and learning. (A. Razmy, A.E. Lang, C.M.
Self-Instructional Shapiro, 2004)
28 Material
e. Serotonin: It primarily inhibits and regulates sleep, mood, attention Work of Psychologists
and learning.
f. Endorphins: They are natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing
of neurons (Speten and others, 2002).
NOTES
g. Neural networks: They work together to integrate incoming
information and coordinate outgoing information.
The central nervous system (CNS) is composed of the brain and the spinal cord
both the brain and spinal cord are composed of neurons and glial cells that control
the life sustaining functions of the body as well as thoughts, emotions and behaviour.
More than 99 per cent of cells in the body are located in the CNS. Brain consists
of three major regions of the brain—the hind brain, mid brain and forebrain. Another
important part is the spinal cord.
Hind brain: It is located at the lowest portion of the brain. Three main
parts of the hind brain are the medulla, cerebellum and pons.
1. Medulla: It is located at the top of the spinal column. It helps in
controlling our breathing and regulates reflexes that allow us to maintain
an upright posture.
2. Cerebellum: The cerebellum extends from the rear of the hind brain,
just above the medulla. It plays an important role in motor coordinations.
3. Pons: It is a bridge in the hind brain that consists of several cluster of
fibre involved in sleep and arousal.
Midbrain: It is located between the hindbrain and forebrain in which many
nerve fibre systems ascend and descend to connect the higher and lower
portion of the brain. Midbrains relay information between the brain, eyes
and ears. Parkinson disease, a deterioration of movement that produces
rigidity and tremors, is due to the damage of the bottom of the midbrain.
The important system in the midbrain are reticular formation, a diffuse
collection of neuron involved in walking or turning to attend to a sudden
noise (Sasaki, Yoshimura and Naito, 2004; Soja and others, 2001). The
system consists of small group of neurons that use the neurotransmitters
serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Although these groups contain
relatively few cells, they send their axon to a remarkable variety of brain
regions, perhaps explaining their involvement in high level, integrative functions
(David Shier, Jackie Butler and Ricki Lewis, 1999).
o Brain stem: A region including much of the hind brain (it does not
include the cerebellum) and the mid brain and is so called because it
looks like a stem (N.R. Carlson, 2001).
The brain stem evolved more than 500 million years ago (Rita
Carter, 1998). Clumps of cells in the brain stem determine alertness and
Self-Instructional
Material 29
Work of Psychologists regulate basic survival function, such as breathing, heartbeat and
blood pressure.
Forebrain: The human hindbrain and midbrain are similar to other animals,
it is the forebrain structure that mainly differentiate the human brain. It consists
NOTES
of the following:
i. Limbic system: It is a loosely connected network of structures under
the cerebral cortex which is important in both memory and emotion. It
has two principal structures, viz., the amygdala and hippocampus.
The amygdala is individual in the discrimination of objects that is necessary
for the organism’s survival. It has special role in the storage of memory
(D. Bannerman and other, 2002; P. Ryan and C. Cohen, 2004)
ii. Thalamus: The thalamus is in the forebrain at the top of the brain stem
in the central case of the brain. It functions as a relay station to sort input
and direct it to different areas of the cerebral cortex. It also has ties with
the reticular formation.
iii. Basal ganglia: It is a large cluster of neurons under the cerebral cortex
that control and coordinate voluntary movements.
iv. Hypothalamus: It is the forebrain structure involved in regulating,
drinking, eating and sex. It directs the endocrine system through the
pituitary gland, and monitors stress, emotion and reward. The left and
right hemispheres resemble the halves of walnut. Each hemisphere
processes information about the opposite side of the body.
Certain areas of the hypothalamus are electrically stimulated, for example,
a feeling of pleasure. Researchers agree that the hypothalamus is involved
in pleasurable feeling, but limbic system and bundle of fibres in the
forebrain are also important in the link between brain and pleasure.
The cerebral cortex, divided into two halves, is the highest region of the
fore brain. Highest mental functions, such as thinking and planning take
place in cerebral cortex. The cortex consists of a thick layer of dimly
packed neurones. It has a large area that is to be fitted into the skull
cavity and therefore it has a large number of turns and twists. The twists
and turns make the structure look like hills and valleys, called gyri (Singular
gyrus) and suki (singular sulcus)
The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes—frontal, occipital, parietal and
temporal. The four lobes are defined as follows:
a. Occipital lobe: It is present at the back of the head and responds to visual
stimuli. Different areas of the two occipital lobes are connected to process,
like information as colour, shape and motion. A stroke in occipital lobe can
cause blindness.
Self-Instructional
30 Material
b. Temporal lobe: The portion of the cerebral cortex just above the ears. It is Work of Psychologists
involved in hearing, language processing and memory.

c. Frontal lobe: The portion of the cerebral cortex behind the forehead is
involved in the cortex of voluntary muscles, intelligence and personality.
NOTES
d. Parietal lobe: It is located at the top and towards the rear of each
hemisphere. It is involved in registering spatial location, attention and motor
control.
Spinal cord: The CNS is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. Spinal
cord is a long bundle of neurons that serves two vital functions for the nervous
system. The outer section is composed mainly of axon and nerves that appear
white, whereas the inner section is mainly composed of cell bodies of neurons
that appear grey. The purpose of the outer section is to carry message from
the brain down to the body. It has the shape of a pipe.
This system consists of the group of neurones which transmit information between
the CNS and rest of the body. The system senses and acts upon the external
world. It consists of both sensory and motor neurons. Sensory neuron transmits
incoming signals to the CNS. These signals originate in the receptor cells and are
located in the sense organs like eyes and ears. Motor neurons that are found
inside the spinal cord transmit outgoing signals from the spinal cord. The peripheral
nervous system has two major divisions that are as follows:
(i) Somatic nervous system: It consists of sensory nerves, which convey
information from the skin and muscles to the CNS about pain and
temperature, and motor nerves directs muscles for different functions.
(ii) Autonomous nervous system: It takes messages to and from the body’s
internal organs, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate and
digestion. The autonomies nervous system is divided into two parts. These
are as follows:
a. Sympathetic division: The sympathetic division of the autonomic
nervous system is located on the middle of the spinal column—running
from near the top of the ribcage to the waist area. It allows people to
deal with all kind of stressful events.
b. Parasympathetic division: The neurons of this division are located
at the top and bottom of the spinal column on either side of the
sympathetic division neurons. It is responsible for most of the day-to-
day bodily functions. It is responsible for involuntary functions like,
beating of the heart, breathing and normal functioning of the digestive
system.
Self-Instructional
Material 31
Work of Psychologists
Check Your Progress

1. What is nervous system?
NOTES 2. List some characteristics which allow the nervous system to direct our
behaviour.
3. List the functions of neurons.
4. State the role and function of neurochemical messengers.
5. What is the central nervous system (CNS)?
6. Where is midbrain located?
7. Write a brief note on forebrain.
8. What does peripheral nervous system consist of?

QUESTIONS
1. Nervous system is an extensive of billions network of specialized cells that

are interconnected and carry information to and from all parts of the body
2. Four extraordinary characteristics allow the nervous system to direct our
behaviour, which are as follows:
i. Complexity: The brain itself is composed of billions of nerves cells.
The orchestration of all these cells allows people to sing, dance, write,
talk and think.
ii. Integration: The brain does a wonderful job of putting
information together, such as sound, sight, touch, taste and environment.
Each nerve cell communicates on average with 10,000 others, making
up miles and miles of collection. Interconnected nerves cells relay
information through the nervous system in a very orderly fashion to
the highest level of the brain.
iii. Adaptability: Our brain and nervous systems together help in adapting
to the world. Although nerve cells reside in certain brain regions, they
are not fixed and immutable structures. They have a hereditary,
biological foundation, but they are constantly adapting to changes in
the body andthe environment.
iv. Electrochemical transmission: Brain and nervous system function
essentially as an information processing system, powered by electrical
impulse and chemical messengers, when people speak to each other,
they use word. Brain and the nervous system receive and transmit
sensory input, integrate the information received from environment
and direct the body’s motor activities.
Self-Instructional
32 Material
3. Not all neurons are alike. They are specialized to handle different information Work of Psychologists
processing functions that are as follows:

i. Motor neuron: Motor neurons carry the brain’s output. Thus, motor
pathways communicate information from the brain to the hands, feet,
NOTES
and other areas of the body.
ii. Neural network: It is the central nervous system (CNS) and network
of nerve cell that integrate sensory input and motor output.
4. There are many neurotransmitters. Each play a specific role and function in
specific pathway. Following are the most important and have major effect
on our behaviour:
a. Acetylcholine (ACH): Found throughout the central and peripheral
nervous systems.
b. GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid): It is found throughout the CNS.
It is important as it keeps neuron from firing.
c. Nor epinephrine: It inhibits the firing of neurons in the CNS, but it
excites the heart muscle.
d. Dopamine: It helps to control voluntary movement. It also affects sleep,
mood, attention and learning.
e. Serotonin: It primarily inhibits and regulates sleep, mood, attention
and learning.
f. Endorphins: They are natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing
of neurons.
g. Neural networks: They work together to integrate incoming information
and coordinate outgoing information.
5. The central nervous system (CNS) is composed of the brain and the spinal
cord both the brain and spinal cord are composed of neurons and glial cells
that control the life sustaining functions of the body as well as thoughts,
emotions and behaviour. More than 99 per cent of cells in the body are
located in the CNS. Brain consists of three major regions of the brain—the
hind brain, mid brain and forebrain. Another important part is the spinal
cord.
6. It is located between the hindbrain and forebrain in which many nerve fibre
systems ascend and descend to connect the higher and lower portion of the
brain. Midbrains relay information between the brain, eyes and ears.
Parkinson disease, a deterioration of movement that produces rigidity and
tremors, is due to the damage of the bottom of the midbrain. The important
system in the midbrain are reticular formation, a diffuse collection of neuron
involved in walking or turning to attend to a sudden noise.
7. The human hindbrain and midbrain are similar to other animals, it is the
forebrain structure that mainly differentiate the human brain.
Self-Instructional
Material 33
Work of Psychologists 8. This system consists of the group of neurones which transmit information
between the CNS and rest of the body. The system senses and acts upon
the external world. It consists of both sensory and motor neurons. Sensory
neuron transmits incoming signals to the CNS. These signals originate in the
NOTES receptor cells and are located in the sense organs like eyes and ears. Motor
neurons that are found inside the spinal cord transmit outgoing signals from
the spinal cord.
3.4 SUMMARY
Nervous system is an extensive of billions network of specialized cells that

are interconnected and carry information to and from all parts of the body.
There are two types of cells in the nervous system i.e. neurone and glial
cells. Neurons are the nerve cells that actually process information. Glial
cell provide support and nutritional benefits to neurons
Neurons are very thin cellular membranes that are much like the surface of
a bubble. It has a semi-permeable membrane which contains tiny holes,
channels that allow only certain substance to pass into and out of the neurone.
Myelin Sheath, a layer of fat cell, encases and insulates most axon. By
insulating axon, myelin sheath speeds up the transmission of nerve impulses.
The central nervous system (CNS) is composed of the brain and the spinal
cord both the brain and spinal cord are composed of neurons and glial cells
that control the life sustaining functions of the body as well as thoughts,
emotions and behaviour. More than 99 per cent of cells in the body are
located in the CNS.
Midbrain is located between the hindbrain and forebrain in which many
nerve fibre systems ascend and descend to connect the higher and lower
portion of the brain. Midbrains relay information between the brain, eyes
and ears. Parkinson disease, a deterioration of movement that produces
rigidity and tremors, is due to the damage of the bottom of the midbrain.
Brain stem is a region including much of the hind brain (it does not include
the cerebellum) and the mid brain and is so called because it looks like a
stem.The brain stem evolved more than 500 million years ago. Clumps of
cells in the brain stem determine alertness and regulate basic survival function,
such as breathing, heartbeat and blood pressure.
Certain areas of the hypothalamus are electrically stimulated, for example,
a feeling of pleasure. Researchers agree that the hypothalamus is involved
in pleasurable feeling, but limbic system and bundle of fibres in the forebrain
are also important in the link between brain and pleasure.
The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes—frontal, occipital, parietal
and temporal.
Self-Instructional
34 Material
Spinal cord is a long bundle of neurons that serves two vital functions for Work of Psychologists
the nervous system. The outer section is composed mainly of axon and
nerves that appear white, whereas the inner section is mainly composed of
cell bodies of neurons that appear grey. The purpose of the outer section is
to carry message from the brain down to the body. It has the shape of a NOTES
pipe.
Peripheral nervous system consists of the group of neurones which transmit
information between the CNS and rest of the body. The system senses and
acts upon the external world. It consists of both sensory and motor neurons.
Sensory neuron transmits incoming signals to the CNS. These signals originate
in the receptor cells and are located in the sense organs like eyes and ears.
Autonomous nervous system takes messages to and from the body’s internal
organs, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate and digestion.
3.5 KEY WORDS
The axon: It is a fibre attached to the soma, and its job is to carry messages
out other cells.
Endorphins: They are natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing of
neurons
Cerebellum: The cerebellum extends from the rear of the hind brain, just
above the medulla.
Limbic system: It is a loosely connected network of structures under the
cerebral cortex which is important in both memory and emotion. It has two
principal structures, viz., the amygdala and hippocampus.
Cerebral cortex: The outer layer of the cerebrum composed of folded
grey matter and playing an important role in consciousness.
Lobes: The cerebellum is comprised of small lobes and receives information
from the balance system of the inner ear, sensory nerves, and the auditory
and visual systems.
Somatic nervous system: It consists of sensory nerves, which convey
information from the skin and muscles to the CNS about pain and
temperature, and motor nerves directs muscles for different functions.

EXERCISES

1. Comment on the structure of nervous system in the brain.
2. State the electrochemical transmission process in nervous system. Self-Instructional
Material 35
Work of Psychologists 3. State the role of neurons to handle different information processing functions.
4. Write a brief note on neurochemical messengers.
5. Analyse in brief the composition of central nervous system (CNS).
NOTES 6. Enumerate thalamus’ function in the brain.
7. Write a note on the role of occipital lobe.
8. What role does autonomous nervous system play?
1. Discuss the main characteristics that allow the nervous system to direct our
behaviour.
2. Analyse the function of neurons.
3. Write a comprehensive note on the central nervous system (CNS).
4. Enumerate the role of hypothalamus.
5. Discuss in detail the function of four lobes in the cerebral cortex.
6. Elaborate in detail the composition of peripheral nervous system.

Self-Instructional
36 Material
Methods of Assessment in
BLOCK - II Psychology-I
ASSESSMENT, PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOUR
NOTES
UNIT 4 METHODS OF
ASSESSMENT IN
PSYCHOLOGY-I
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Introspective Method
4.3 Observation Method
4.4 Experimental Method: An Overview
4.4.1 Merits of Experimental Method
4.5 Correlation Method
4.7 Summary
4.8 Key Words
4.0 INTRODUCTION
While analysing the various methods of assessment in psychology, it is incumbent

to look into merits and limitations of those methods. Introspective, observation,
experimental and correlation methods are universally applied in psychology to
assess the processes. Introspection may also be called as looking within oneself to
experience one’s own mental state. This method was developed by structuralists
in psychology who defined psychology as the study of conscious experiences of
the individual. William James, emphasizing the importance of introspection as a
method of collecting data, said, “Introspective observation is what we have to rely
on first and foremost and always. The word introspection needs hardly to be
defined—it means, of course, looking into our own minds and reporting what we
discover there. Everyone agrees that we there discover states of consciousness.
So far as I know, the existence of such states has never been doubted by any
critic, however skeptical in other respects he may have been.” However, Gestalt
Self-Instructional
Material 37
Methods of Assessment in psychologists have raised a very valid objection against introspection that it analyses
Psychology-I
experience into images, sensation and feelings.
With the development of psychology as an objective science of behaviour,
the method of introspection was replaced by careful observation of human and
NOTES
animal behaviour to collect data by research workers. But subjectivity of
interpretation is a limitation of observation. The observer may interpret his sensations
of external stimulus on the basis of his past experiences. At the same time, one
should note that observation is not a haphazard activity. It is a systematic and
scientific method which requires skills, competencies, aptitude, and proper training
for observers. Then one of the major contributions of behaviourism is the
development of experimental method to understand, control and predict behaviour.
The experimental method is considered to be method par excellence for use in
certain areas of educational psychology. It is the most precise, planned, systematic
and controlled observation. However, the experimental method sets its own limit
by setting the experimental situation to study behaviour. Last but not the least is
correlation method. If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with an
increase in the other then this is known as a positive correlation.
This unit aims at enumerating the various methods of assessment in
psychology in a comprehensive way and analyses how these methods works.
4.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand the meaning of introspection
Enumerate the efficacy of introspective method
Explain the limitations of introspective method
Discuss the observation method
Understand the types of observation method
Discuss ways to eradicate errors in observation method
Analyse the significance of experimental method
Understand correlation method
4.2 INTROSPECTIVE METHOD
Historically, introspection is the oldest method which was formerly used in

philosophy, and then in psychology to collect data about the conscious experiences
of the subject. Introspection means self-observation. It may also be called as
looking within oneself to experience one’s own mental state. This method was
developed by structuralists in psychology who defined psychology as the study of
conscious experiences of the individual. For them it was a process of examining
Self-Instructional
38 Material
one’s own mental process of thought, feelings and motives. The individual Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-I
introspects, observes, analyses and reports his own feelings. Let us explain the
process with the help of an example. Suppose you are angry and in this state of
anger you introspect your own mental feelings and examine what is going on in the
mental process in the state of anger. NOTES

1. William James, emphasizing the importance of introspection as a method of
collecting data, said, “Introspective observation is what we have to rely on
first and foremost and always. The word introspection needs hardly to be
defined—it means, of course, looking into our own minds and reporting
what we discover there. Everyone agrees that we there discover states of
consciousness. So far as I know, the existence of such states has never
been doubted by any critic, however skeptical in other respects he may
have been.” Thus we see that introspection is an important method of
collecting data that has been used from the beginning of psychology as a
separate subject.
2. This is the easiest method and is readily available to the individual. An
individual can at any time introspect about his mental state without involving
the use of any apparatus and without incurring any expenditure.
3. According to Stout, in introspection we are concerned with the nature of
experience itself and with the laws of mental process. The observer in
introspection is directed towards the answering of questions of theoretical
importance for the advancement of our systematic knowledge of the laws
and conditions of mental process.
4. Introspection has its historical importance. It generated research which
resulted gradually in the development of more objective methods.
Introspection is still used in all experimental studies.
1. The most serious objection against introspection is that human beings are
not static like inanimate objects such as stone or chairs, etc. Our mental
process is under constant change. So, when one attempts to introspect, the
state of mental process disappears and it becomes a retrospect. It is difficult
to introspect perpetually changing psychological experiences.
2. The subject of experience is divided into two halves in the process of
introspection. The mind is directed inward towards its own workings and is
required to attend to them. The attention is divided into two parts. One is
the mental operation itself which is to be observed and the other is the
object to which this mental operation is directed. To expect any individual
to attend the workings of his own mind during a mental process, especially
in a complex or emotional state such as anger or fear, is a mistaken idea.
Self-Instructional
Material 39
Methods of Assessment in Ross, commenting on the limitation of introspection, said, “The observer
Psychology-I
and the observed are the same, the mind is both the field and the instrument
of observation.”
3. The data collected by introspection is highly subjective. There is no way to
NOTES
prove the reliability of the data. It is practically impossible to explore the
mental process of others. There is no independent way of checking the
contents of another person’s mind.
4. There are conflicting reports, as regards the findings collected from different
introspectionists on the same experience under the same conditions.
5. Influence of preconceptions is always there in introspection. It has the danger
of being biased and rendered unreliable even in adults, when they are at
such a level of mental development that they would unconsciously put in
personal knowledge in introspection. The reporter can deliberately lie and
hide the facts to mislead the experimenter.
6. Introspection cannot be applied to children, animal and abnormal people.
It requires highly trained and skilled workers to introspect.
7. Gestalt psychologists have raised a very valid objection against introspection
that it analyses experience into images, sensation and feelings. It does not
yield adequate representation of the unitary experience in its totality which,
if reported strictly in terms of these elements, would not convey a clear idea
of the experience to another person. It is an elementalistic approach to
study human thought process.
8. Qualitative estimates are hard enough to handle, but when it comes to
subjective data for the purpose of analysis and statistical treatment, the
types of scales available are severely restricted and it is doubtful whether
any genuine measurement for the verification of introspective reports is
possible at all.
9. Kant, a famous philosopher, pointed out a major methodological barrier in
introspection that it was not possible to accept conscious experience as the
subject matter of psychology and at the same time to accept introspection
as its proper method. For him the difficulty was that introspection could not
introspect the introspective activity, that is, be the subject, action, and object
all at the same time.
Check Your Progress

1. What do you mean by introspective method?
2. List some of the merits of introspective methods.
3. What are the limitations of introspective method?
Self-Instructional
40 Material
4.3 OBSERVATION METHOD Psychology-I
With the development of psychology as an objective science of behaviour, the

method of introspection was replaced by careful observation of human and animal NOTES
behaviour to collect data by research workers. Observation literally means looking
outside oneself. It is one of the important and basic method for collecting data in
almost all types of research studies. It produces one of the basic elements of
science—facts which are collected by observing overt behaviour of the organism
in order to locate underlying problem and to study developmental trends of different
types. The overt behaviour is the manifestation of covert conditions within the
organism. The study of overt behaviour gives indirectly the clue to the mental
condition of the organism. The development of systematic observation as a method
of collecting data generated interest in developmental psychology and many studies
on developmental characteristics of children were conducted which made great
contribution to the field of child psychology. Observation may be of different types,
direct and indirect, natural and artificial, scheduled and unscheduled, participant
and non-participant. We will describe only two types of observations here:
1. Natural observation: In natural observation we observe the specific
behavioural characteristics of children or adults in natural settings. Subjects
do not become conscious of the fact that their behaviour is being observed
by someone. The teacher can observe the behaviour of his students on the
playground or in any other social situation when students may not be conscious
of his presence. In child clinic, one-way screen is used to observe the
behaviour of deviant children. The observer can observe the behaviour of
children but they cannot see the observer.
2. Participant observation: It is the kind of observation in which the observer
becomes the part of the group which he wants to observe. He establishes
perfect rapport with the group of children or adolescents so that they may
not become conscious of his presence and may not hide their actual behaviour.
Observational studies are particularly very important and yield significant
results on developmental characteristics of children. No doubt, observation is a
scientific technique of collecting data whose results can be verified and relied upon
to locate behavioural problems of different types but it suffers from the following
limitations.
1. Observation is useful only for collecting data about overt behaviour which
is manifested in a number of activities. This overt behaviour does not provide
reliable information regarding the internal mental process. We can only guess
about the mental state of the individual on the basis of overt behaviour
which may or may not be true. It becomes very difficult to draw any
conclusion in case of adults who can hide their actual behaviour in the
Self-Instructional
Material 41
Methods of Assessment in presence of the observer. In such cases observation fails and yields no
Psychology-I
tangible results which may throw light on the actual behaviour of the subjects.
2. Subjectivity of interpretation is another limitation of observation. The
observer may interpret his sensations of external stimulus on the basis of his
NOTES
past experiences. He may be biased in his interpretation by his likings,
dislikings and values, etc. His observation may be influenced by his
perception of the situation when he makes inferences on the basis of scanty
sensory cues. It also suffers from impressionism, prejudice and distraction,
etc. It has also been found in some studies that strong personal interests
tend to make the researcher see only those things which he wants to see.
3. The method of observation leaves the matter of accounting for the facts
“How and why” side of interpretation of data.
4. Observation is subjected to two kinds of errors, sampling error and
observer’s error. The first error occurs because of inadequacies of selecting
the situation to be observed. Observer’s error may be due to the knowledge
and background of the situation to be observed. Sometimes, the observer
is not familiar with the total situation and hence he may commit errors.
In recent years improvements have been made in the method of observation to
make it a more objective and reliable instrument of collecting data for research
purposes. Following suggestions are given in order to eliminate types of errors:
1. Use of mechanical devices: Generally observers do not record their
observations immediately on the spot. It is a wrong practice. The
observations should be immediately recorded. They should not be left on
memory for future because there is every possibility of their being
contaminated by personal prejudices and biases of the observers. Sometimes
important incidents are left out by failure of recall. The use of mechanical
devices such as movie camera or tape recorder may be made to improve
the reliability of observation. Use of a system of notation or shorthand may
be used for recording purposes.
2. Definite objectives: The investigator must in advance specify in clear and
definite terms the objectives of the observation. A detailed analysis should
be made of behavioural characteristics which are to be observed.
3. Schedule: The investigators must decide the time and hour of observation
and the schedule should be honestly followed. A detailed schedule in the
form of questions or statements should be prepared in advance to note
down the observations. The method of recording observation should be
made clear. It will be more reliable and objective data if numerical value is
assigned to various aspects of behaviour. Detailed instructions should be
spelt out to minimize variations in recording observations by different
investigators.
Self-Instructional
42 Material
4. Training: Observation is not a haphazard activity. It is a systematic and Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-I
scientific method which requires skills, competencies, aptitude, and proper
training for observers. The investigator before starting observation, must
acquire the broad background in the field of his problem. He should train
himself to counteract his emotional and intellectual biases in order to report NOTES
accurate observation. For this purpose he may get rigorous training on similar
problems. He should develop keenness and alertness to identify minor
incidents in observation. He should make comprehensive and complete notes
of all pertinent incidents.
5. Preciseness: He should make his observation in precise, concrete and
unambiguous form. His description should mean the same thing to other
investigators which they mean to him. It will be more reliable if the investigator
describes his data quantitatively because numerical measures are more precise
than word descriptions which make possible further treatment of the problem
by statistical analysis.
Check Your Progress

4. Enumerate the role and function of observation method.
5. List the types of observation.
6. Enumerate some of the limitations of observation method.
4.4 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD: AN OVERVIEW
Now we will discuss the most important method of scientific enquiry: experimental
method which has been developed in psychology by the continuous efforts of
psychologists to make an objective and scientific study of human behaviour. One
of the major contributions of behaviourism is the development of experimental
method to understand, control and predict behaviour. The experimental method is
considered to be method par excellence for use in certain areas of educational
psychology. It is the most precise, planned, systematic and controlled observation.
According to some psychologists, only experiments make possible controlled
observation, variation of factors, perfect quantification and rigorous objective
checking of hypotheses. The experimental method uses a systematic procedure
called experimental design. The term experimental design has two different
meanings. One is that experimental design represents the six basic steps referred
above which are generally followed in an experiment. The second meaning of
experimental design is more restrictive. It is a procedure for assigning subjects to
experimental conditions and selecting an appropriate statistical procedure.
Experimental design provides important guidelines to the researcher to carry out
his research systematically. On the soundness of the design depends findings of
the research study. The layout of a design depends on the type of the problem the
Self-Instructional
Material 43
Methods of Assessment in investigator wants to investigate. Readers should know that no one design solves
Psychology-I
all the problems of a research study.
There are many problems in educational psychology on which research
cannot be conducted in laboratory set-up. Such problems are studied in actual
NOTES
classroom situations. A variety of experimental designs have been developed by
researchers in recent years. To acquaint the readers with the basic structure of
experimental design we will give an example of laboratory experiment and then
few experimental designs which can be used in actual classroom situations, will be
briefly mentioned.
1. Laboratory Experiment
Some problems can be conveniently studied in the laboratory where the
experimenter can control all variables except the one under study. The experiments
can be conducted on individuals or a group of subjects. Thorndike’s experiments
on cats, Ebbinghaus’ experiments on memory, mirror drawing, attention, perception
and learning are all examples of laboratory experiments. A sample of laboratory
experiment is given below:
1. Name. Maneesh Age. 10 years. Sex. Male.
2. Date. 6.2.83. Time. 10 a.m.
3. Physical and mental condition. Normal.
4. Problem. To study the problem of bilateral transfer of training.
5. Apparatus and material. Mirror drawing experiment apparatus, stop-
watch, paper, pencil and stylus.
Instruction. Detailed instructions are given to the subject to perform the
task.
6. Experimental design and data
S. No. Trial Time Error
1. Right hand
2. -do-
3. -do-
4. -do-
5. -do-
6. -do-
S. No. Trial Time Error

1. Left hand
2. -do-
3. -do-
4. -do-
5. -do-
6. -do-
Self-Instructional
44 Material
7. Analysing the results. The investigator analyses the Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-I
data obtained from the subject.
8. Conclusions. The investigator on the basis of his
analysis of data draws certain conclusions.
NOTES
2. Experimental Designs Outside the Laboratory
Experimental designs can be divided on the basis of two important factors: the
control procedure and the number of groups involved in an experiment. The type
of control employed in an experiment plays an important role in determining the
reliability and validity of the conclusions drawn from the experiment. The number
of groups involved in an experiment is important to determine the control procedure
and the type of research problems an investigation may answer. The number of
groups may vary from one, two, three to an infinite number of groups depending
on the type of problem and nature of control procedure employed by the
experimenter. Following are the samples of experimental designs:
A. One Group Design
1. One group post-test design: This type of design is the simplest one. It is
commonly called pre-experimental design. In such type of experiment no formal
comparison is possible, for there is no second group with which comparison can
be made. Let us illustrate with an example: suppose a teacher treats 10 students
who are addicted to smoking in a period of three months. At the end of the period
six students give up smoking. Such type of designs do not control any of the
sources of invalidity.
2. One group pre-test-post-test design: This is also a simple design and is
considered to be a rather poor design though better than one group post-test
design. In this design the experimenter first tests a group on some aspects of
behaviour and then gives special treatment (X) to the same group. He tests the
performance of the group after the special treatment. He statistically analyses the
data and calculates the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the
group.
The paradigm of the design is as follows:
Pre-test Independent variable Post-test
T1 X T2
Example: Suppose in the beginning of the semester, we administer test of

educational psychology to students of M.Ed. and then we teach them the subject
throughout the semester. At the end of the semester we administer post-test (T2),
and find out the difference between the scores on the initial and final tests.
B. Two Group Designs
Researches in education and psychology have often been criticised of being loosely
controlled. In recent years more rigorous designs have been evolved by using
statistics to make researches more scientific and objective. Self-Instructional
Material 45
Methods of Assessment in Generally researchers use two parallel group techniques to see the effects
Psychology-I
of an independent variable on some dependent variable. Two groups are equated
on the basis of significant variable. One group is called experimental and the other
is called control group. The experimental group is subjected to a certain experience
NOTES or to a specific treatment whereas the control group is not given any type of special
treatment. After providing special treatment to the experimental group, both the
groups are administered the same final test. The scores are statistically compared
and conclusions are drawn as regards the effect of special treatment on the
experimental group.
1. Pre-test-post-test design: In this design both experimental and control group
are administered pre-test and then the experimental group is given special treatment
(X) whereas the control group is not given any type of treatment. After the special
treatment post-test is administered to both the groups. The paradigm is as follows:
S.No. Group Pre-test Treatment Post-test
1. Experimental T1 E X T2 E
2. Control T 1C No training T2C
2. Randomized control-group pre-test post-test design: The researcher in this

design follows the procedure as given here:
(i) He selects a subject by random method.
(ii) Assigns subjects to group and X (Treatment) to groups by random method.
(iii) Tests the Ss on the dependent variable.
(iv) Keeps all conditions the same for both the groups except for exposing
the experimental S but not the control group to the independent variable for
a specific time.
(v) Test the ‘Ss’ on the dependent variable.
(vi) Finds the difference between the two.
(vii) Compares the results to see whether the application of X (treatment) caused
a change in the experimental group.
(viii) Applies an appropriate statistical procedure.
3. Matched two group design. A matched two group design is a modification of
the totally randomized two group design described above. In this design, both
groups are matched in terms of some variable. The experimenter feels he would
influence the dependent variable. Suppose we want to test the retention of two
types of words closely associated and disassociated. We believe that I.Q. will
influence how well a person can retain words, so we match the two groups on
I.Q. Let us be more concrete to understand this point. Suppose there are ten
subjects with I.Q. as follows:
Self-Instructional
46 Material
Subjects I.Q. Psychology-I
1. 110
2. 110
3. 90 NOTES
4. 90
5. 80
6. 80
7. 80
8. 80
9. 70
10. 70
In order to divide the ten subjects into two matched groups of 5 subjects
each, we first divide the ten subjects into five pairs by going down the list making
1 and 2, 3 and 4 and so on. We then randomly assign one of each pair to either
group A or B by flipping a coin.
C. Multigroup Design with One Independent Variable (ANOVA)
Two group paradigms are most common in education and psychology but events
in nature do not always conveniently order into two groups. Some-times the
investigator has to compare the effect of different values of some variable or has to
see the effect of several alternative variables on more than two groups. The
procedure for carrying out one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is the same as
for two group designs. The distinguishing feature between the two types of
investigation is the type of statistical analysis used.
D. Factorial Design
Factorial design is employed where more than one independent variables are
involved in the investigation. Factorial designs may involve several factors which
are symbolically represented in the following way:
Design Symbolic
Two factors A×B
Three factors A×B×C
Four factors A×B×C×D
N factors A×B×C×D×N
E. Small N Design
We have briefly mentioned various experimental designs which are termed as large
N group designs. In all large N group designs, the number of subject is large who
are divided into two groups. The large N group design is not always applicable in
classroom situation. In many instances, the psychologist or teacher is faced with
Self-Instructional
Material 47
Methods of Assessment in situations in which large N is not possible, for example delinquency, problem of
Psychology-I
indiscipline, etc. With the introduction of statistics in psychology, it is possible to
conduct scientific research on small N group.
NOTES 4.4.1 Merits of Experimental Method

1. Experimental method is the most systematic procedure of solving problems.
It provides reliable information. Research is conducted under rigorously
controlled conditions. The major advantage is the ability of the experimenter
to control the application and withdrawal of independent variables.
2. The findings of experimental method are verifiable by other investigators
under identical conditions in which the initial experiment was conducted.
3. It provides objective and precise information about the problems.
4. Use of computers in data analysis in recent years has opened new frontiers
of possibilities for the study of complex problems.
5. It advances our stock of knowledge of cause-effect relationship in the
behaviour of students and provides guidelines to solve teaching-learning
problems.
6. It tests the traditional beliefs and throws new light on the problems and
opens avenues for future progress.
7. It provides innovative ideas for further experimentation.
8. The experimenter can apply controlled procedure more precisely in
laboratory experimentation. The experimenter can record the dependent
variables more precisely.
1. The main objection raised against experimental method is that an experiment
is an observation of an artificially determined pattern of behaviour as
Thorndike’s cat experiments or Skinner’s rat experiments. Thus, we can
say that the experimental method sets its own limit by setting the experimental
situation to study behaviour.
2. Experimental data do not provide insight into the total behaviour of the
subject. We know that behaviour is, for all practical purposes, an interaction
between the organism and its environment. Obviously there is more than
one way for such interaction to take place. G.S. Klein criticising the
experimental method remarked that the appearance of significant relations
was often prevented by the rigorous experimental procedure of keeping
variables constant. Instead of grasping the process as whole the
experimentalists often omit important factors by their tendency to eliminate
and isolate experimental variables or to keep them constant.
3. Another limitation of experimental method in educational psychology stems
from the fact that experiments cannot handle too well the patterns of covert
Self-Instructional
48 Material
behaviour of children in laboratory. Overt violent types of actions (riots) do Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-I
not fit into a laboratory setting and moreover experimental method cannot
accurately test the entire gamut of human drives and feelings.
4. Psychologists have criticized the fact that mostly the experiments have been
NOTES
conducted on rats, cats and dogs. Principles have been deduced on the
basis of experiments on animals. How far it is justifiable to generalize those
principles and laws for human beings has not yet been conclusively decided.
5. The experimental method is time-consuming and costly. Every teacher cannot
be expected to conduct experiments as it requires specialized knowledge
and skills.
6. All problems of educational psychology cannot be studied by experimental
method. No doubt the method of research employs the scientific procedure
of acquiring knowledge but due to complexity and tremendous variability of
human mind and human phenomena, experiments in social sciences are not
possible in the same sense as they are in physical sciences where we can
repeat experiments a number of times under controlled and practically
identical conditions.
7. In recent years psychologists and religious leaders have raised ethical
questions in connection with administration of some psychological tests which
encroach upon the privacy of the subjects. Certain situations may not be
created because they are not socially acceptable as it is not possible to
purchase human infants and raise them in extreme deprivation.
8. The Gestalt psychologists criticise the experimental method because of its
quantification aspect. They criticise the inappropriate, imprecise and faulty
apparatus of psychologists. It is not possible to construct tools that will
make accurate and sufficiently discriminating measurements of individual
differences.
9. In many cases investigators cannot manipulate human beings and cannot
adjust class schedules to meet the requirements of the research designs that
are most theoretically desirable.
10. Social scientists cannot generalise their findings to all human beings.
Experiments only produce statements of probability. Certainty cannot be
achieved through experimentation.
4.5 CORRELATION METHOD
Correlation means association - more precisely it is a measure of the extent to

which two variables are related. If an increase in one variable tends to be associated
with an increase in the other then this is known as a positive correlation. An example
would be height and weight. Taller people tend to be heavier.
Self-Instructional
Material 49
Methods of Assessment in If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with a decrease in the
Psychology-I
other then this is known as a negative correlation. An example would be height
above sea level and temperature. As you climb the mountain (increase in height) it
gets colder (decrease in temperature).
NOTES
When there is no relationship between two variables this is known as a zero
correlation. For example there is no relationship between the amount of tea drunk
and level of intelligence.
Briefly speaking, psychological enquiry has four goals. These are:
To Describe: One of the first goals of psychology is simply to describe
behaviour.
To Explain: Psychologists are also interested in explaining behaviour in
addition to merely describing it.
To Predict: Another primary goal of psychology is to make predictions
about how we think and act. Once we understand more about what happens
and why it happens, we can use that information to make predictions about
when, why, and how it might happen again in the future.
To Change: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, psychology strives to
change, influence, or control behaviour to make constructive and lasting
changes in people’s lives.
Check Your Progress

7. What is the significance of experimental method?
8. What does correlation method stand for?

QUESTIONS
1. Historically, introspection is the oldest method which was formerly used in

philosophy, and then in psychology to collect data about the conscious
experiences of the subject. Introspection means self-observation. It may
also be called as looking within oneself to experience one’s own mental
state. This method was developed by structuralists in psychology who defined
psychology as the study of conscious experiences of the individual.
2. Some of the merits of introspection method are:
a. Introspection is an important method of collecting data that has
been used from the beginning of psychology as a separate subject.
b. This is the easiest method and is readily available to the individual. An
Self-Instructional
50 Material
individual can at any time introspect about his mental state without Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-I
involving the use of any apparatus and without incurring any
expenditure.
c. According to Stout, in introspection we are concerned with the nature
NOTES
of experience itself and with the laws of mental process. The observer
in introspection is directed towards the answering of questions of
theoretical importance for the advancement of our systematic
knowledge of the laws and conditions of mental process.
d. Introspection has its historical importance. It generated research which
resulted gradually in the development of more objective methods.
3. Some limitations of introspection method are as follows:
The most serious objection against introspection is that human beings
are not static like inanimate objects such as stone or chairs, etc. Our
mental process is under constant change. So, when one attempts to
introspect, the state of mental process disappears and it becomes a
retrospect.
The subject of experience is divided into two halves in the process of
introspection. The mind is directed inward towards its own workings
and is required to attend to them. Ross, commenting on the limitation
of introspection, said, “The observer and the observed are the same,
the mind is both the field and the instrument of observation.”
The data collected by introspection is highly subjective. There is no
way to prove the reliability of the data.
4. With the development of psychology as an objective science of behaviour,
the method of introspection was replaced by careful observation of human
and animal behaviour to collect data by research workers. Observation
literally means looking outside oneself. It is one of the important and basic
method for collecting data in almost all types of research studies. It produces
one of the basic elements of science—facts which are collected by observing
overt behaviour of the organism in order to locate underlying problem and
to study developmental trends of different types.
5. The two types of observations here:
a. Natural observation: In natural observation we observe the specific
behavioural characteristics of children or adults in natural settings. The
observer can observe the behaviour of children but they cannot see
the observer.
b. Participant observation: It is the kind of observation in which the
observer becomes the part of the group which he wants to observe.
He establishes perfect rapport with the group of children or adolescents
so that they may not become conscious of his presence and may not
hide their actual behaviour.
Self-Instructional
Material 51
Methods of Assessment in 6. Some of the limitations of observation method are:
Psychology-I
o Observation is useful only for collecting data about overt behaviour
which is manifested in a number of activities. This overt behaviour
does not provide reliable information regarding the internal mental
NOTES
process.
o Subjectivity of interpretation is another limitation of observation. The
observer may interpret his sensations of external stimulus on the basis
of his past experiences. He may be biased in his interpretation by his
likings, dislikings and values, etc. It also suffers from impressionism,
prejudice and distraction, etc. It has also been found in some studies
that strong personal interests tend to make the researcher see only
those things which he wants to see.
o The method of observation leaves the matter of accounting for the
facts “How and why” side of interpretation of data.
o Observation is subjected to two kinds of errors, sampling error and
observer’s error. The first error occurs because of inadequacies of
selecting the situation to be observed. Observer’s error may be due
to the knowledge and background of the situation to be observed.
7. Experimental method has been developed in psychology by the continuous
efforts of psychologists to make an objective and scientific study of human
behaviour. One of the major contributions of behaviourism is the
development of experimental method to understand, control and predict
behaviour. The experimental method is considered to be method par
excellence for use in certain areas of educational psychology. It is the most
precise, planned, systematic and controlled observation. According to some
psychologists, only experiments make possible controlled observation,
variation of factors, perfect quantification and rigorous objective checking
of hypotheses.
8. Correlation means association - more precisely it is a measure of the extent
to which two variables are related. If an increase in one variable tends to be
associated with an increase in the other then this is known as a positive
correlation. An example would be height and weight. Taller people tend to
be heavier.
4.7 SUMMARY
Introspection is an important method of collecting data that has been used

from the beginning of psychology as a separate subject. This is the easiest
method and is readily available to the individual.
Influence of preconceptions is always there in introspection. It has the danger
of being biased and rendered unreliable even in adults, when they are at
Self-Instructional
52 Material
such a level of mental development that they would unconsciously put in Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-I
personal knowledge in introspection.
With the development of psychology as an objective science of behaviour,
the method of introspection was replaced by careful observation of human NOTES
and animal behaviour to collect data by research workers. Observation
literally means looking outside oneself.
Observational studies are particularly very important and yield significant
results on developmental characteristics of children. No doubt, observation
is a scientific technique of collecting data whose results can be verified and
relied upon to locate behavioural problems of different types but it suffers
from some limitations.
In recent years improvements have been made in the method of observation
to make it a more objective and reliable instrument of collecting data for
research purposes.
Observation is not a haphazard activity. It is a systematic and scientific
method which requires skills, competencies, aptitude, and proper training
for observers. The investigator before starting observation, must acquire
the broad background in the field of his problem.
Experimental method has been developed in psychology by the continuous
efforts of psychologists to make an objective and scientific study of human
behaviour. One of the major contributions of behaviourism is the
development of experimental method to understand, control and predict
behaviour. The experimental method is considered to be method par
excellence for use in certain areas of educational psychology.
There are many problems in educational psychology on which research
cannot be conducted in laboratory set-up. Such problems are studied in
actual classroom situations. A variety of experimental designs have been
developed by researchers in recent years.
Experimental designs can be divided on the basis of two important factors:
the control procedure and the number of groups involved in an experiment.
The type of control employed in an experiment plays an important role in
determining the reliability and validity of the conclusions drawn from the
experiment.
Experimental method is the most systematic procedure of solving problems.
It provides reliable information. Research is conducted under rigorously
controlled conditions. The major advantage is the ability of the experimenter
to control the application and withdrawal of independent variables.
The Gestalt psychologists criticise the experimental method because of its
quantification aspect. They criticise the inappropriate, imprecise and faulty
apparatus of psychologists. It is not possible to construct tools that will
Self-Instructional
Material 53
Methods of Assessment in make accurate and sufficiently discriminating measurements of individual
Psychology-I
differences.
If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with a decrease in the
other then this is known as a negative correlation. An example would be
NOTES
height above sea level and temperature. As you climb the mountain (increase
in height) it gets colder (decrease in temperature).
4.8 KEY WORDS
Ebbinghaus’ experiments: Hermann Ebbinghaus was a German

psychologist who pioneered the experimental study of memory, and is known
for his discovery of the forgetting curve and the spacing effect.
Gestalt psychology: Founded in the 20th century, it provided the
foundation for the modern study of perception. Gestalt theory emphasizes
that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. The word Gestalt is used
in modern German to mean the way a thing has been “placed,” or “put
together.”

EXERCISES

1. Enumerate the efficacy of introspective method.
2. What was Gestalt psychologists’ objection on introspective method?
3. State the significance of participant observation in observation method.
4. Write a brief note on affecting improvement in the method of observation.
5. What is experimental design in experimental method?
6. State the limitations of experimental method in educational psychology.
7. Write a note on the role of correlation method.
1. Discuss the main characteristics introspective method.
2. Analyse some serious objections against introspection.
3. Write a comprehensive note on the study of overt behaviour.
4. Enumerate the role of natural observation to gauge the behaviour of students.
5. Discuss in detail the application of laboratory experiment for studying some
problems.
Self-Instructional
54 Material
6. Elaborate in detail the limitation of experimental method in educational Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-I
psychology.
7. Discuss correlation method with the relevant references.
NOTES

Self-Instructional
Material 55
Psychology-II
UNIT 5 METHODS OF
ASSESSMENT IN
NOTES
PSYCHOLOGY-II
Structure
5.0 Introduction
5.1 Objectives
5.2 Case Study Method
5.3 Clinical Method
5.4 Interview Method
5.5 Survey Method
5.6 Rating Scales
5.7 Checklists/Questionnaires and Psychological Tests
5.8 Cross-cultural Method
5.10 Summary
5.11 Key Words
5.12 Self Assessment Questions snd Exercises
5.0 INTRODUCTION
Collecting detailed information on the behaviour problems is an integral part in

making assessment in psychology. In the case history method the environmental
and heredity factors which effect the personality of the subject under study are
minutely analysed. However, the case history method requires experienced handling
by experts. The main objective of clinical method is to study individual case or
cases of group to detect and diagnose their specific problems and to suggest
therapeutic measures to rehabilitate them in their environment. To collect complete
data pertaining to a case it utilizes various techniques to compile relevant information
which has some direct or indirect bearing on the specific problems of the case.
Although there are various sources of information in preparing a clinical
case study, there are limitations of clinical case study. Both longitudinal and cross-
sectional approach are used in developmental case study. The field of genetic
psychology may apply to the living world as a whole, to the human species, or to
the individual human being.
One important method to collect information about the various factors about
personality by face to face contact with the subject whose personality is being
Self-Instructional
56 Material
assessed. It gives an opportunity for mutual exchange of ideas and information Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-II
between the subject and the interviewer. There are three broad categories of survey
method which share the common feature of carrying out their observations on
samples of individuals which are regarded as representative of the larger population
to which they belong. However, there is a possibility of committing errors in this NOTES
method.
The rating scales is yet another personality assessment technique. In rating
scales the subjects are given an item and then they are asked to select from a
number of choices. The rating scale has multiple choices which represent degrees
of a particular characteristic. Then there is the role of questionnaires which are
used to gain information about traits like introversion, extroversion, sociability,
etc. The advantage of the questionnaire method is that it can be simultaneously
used on a number of subjects.
This unit aims at analysing the various methods of assessment in psychology
a comprehensive way and analyses how these methods works.
5.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand various methods of assessment in psychology
Explain the role of case study method
Enumerate sources of information in preparing a clinical case study
Discuss the various approaches in developmental case study
Explain the genetic method
Analyse the broad categories of survey
Understand the role of rating scales
Analyse the use of questionnaires and checklists
Enumerate cross-cultural method
5.2 CASE STUDY METHOD
In the case history method the facts about the life of the individual whose personality
is to be studied are collected. In the case history method the environmental and
heredity factors which effect the personality of the subject under study are minutely
analysed. This method is used for studying abnormal people because the information
about all the facts helps in analysing the factors which are responsible for abnormal
behaviour. The case history method requires experienced handling by experts.
Self-Instructional
Material 57
Psychology-II 5.3 CLINICAL METHOD
The clinical method is primarily used to collect detailed information on the behaviour
NOTES problems of maladjusted and deviant cases. The maladjustment may be in the
form of anti-social behaviour, emotional disturbances or in the area of learning and
backwardness in school subjects. The main objective of clinical method is to study
individual case or cases of group to detect and diagnose their specific problems
and to suggest therapeutic measures to rehabilitate them in their environment. To
collect complete data pertaining to a case it utilizes various techniques to compile
relevant information which has some direct or indirect bearing on the specific
problems of the case. The case is studied intensively in temporal sequence from
birth of the individual to the present manifestation of the behavioural problems in
overt activities. The objective of the clinician is to delve deep into the unconscious
of the individual to pinpointedly locate the underlying causes of maladjustment and
to suggest remedial measures. The complete and detailed study of a case may
involve the use of observation, interview, medical examination and use of various
tests of intelligence, personality, aptitude and interest, etc. The clinician collects
the material about the case in totality. Past and present experiences, conditions in
home, school and society are given due importance. Information from all sources
is pooled together in a sequential order to prepare a comprehensive case history
and locate the causes of maladjustment. Clinicians generally use two different
procedures to develop a case study which are described in brief as follows:
A. The Clinical Case Study or Case History
This method is specifically followed in learning difficulties, emotional disturbances,
delinquency and other behaviour problems. This technique has been borrowed
from medical science in social science. The psychologist or the teacher collects
detailed information on the problems of a maladjusted or deviant case and analyses
and interprets the data to find out the causes of the problem. The complete
information of past history and present condition is collected. The developmental
history is reconstructed from the memories of the case (individual), his family and
friends. The preparation of a case study is not the work of a single individual but
the combined venture of social worker, teacher, parents, medical man and
psychologist. In preparing a clinical case study the information is collected from
the following sources:
1. Preliminary information: Name, age, sex, parents' age, education, occupation,
income, number of children, social status.
2. Past history: Condition of mother during pregnancy, any incident-child's
development after birth-physical, mental, emotional, social-illness, relation
between parents and other members of the family, achievement of the child,
parents' death, birth order, etc.
Self-Instructional
58 Material
3. Present condition: The information may be collected under the following Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-II
heads:
(i) Physical. Results of medical examination of any diseases.
(ii) Mental. I.Q., special abilities, general intelligence. NOTES
(iii) Social. Home environment, friends and their types, social environment
in school, home and neighbourhood.
(iv) Emotional. Anxiety, fear, temperament, attitude, etc.
(v) Interest. Personal, social, vocational and special aptitude.
(vi) School achievement. Position in school, failure, special achievement,
etc.
We have given above a tentative list of various sources from which information
may be collected to prepare a case history. The sources of information can vary in
individual cases depending upon the type of behaviour problems of the case. Briefly
we can summarize that case study method helps to understand the root causes of
maladjustment and is a very valuable method in suggesting remedial measures for
the rehabilitation of maladjusted cases.
Limitations of Clinical Case Study
1. In the preparation of a case study, the clinician collects descriptive account
of the individual from his past lift and present experiences. The accounts
given by the individual, parents and friends may or may not be true since all
the disadvantages of crude observation and anecdotal report are involved.
The information is not verifiable and is highly subjective. In India, parents,
particularly illiterate, hide the defects and problems of their children and
exaggerate their qualities if there is any. Information supplied by them may
hardly be relied upon to reach some definite conclusions. The veracity of
the subject, his memory, embellishments of vivid details and so on can
influence the case history.
2. Complex behaviours are observed under complex conditions, some of them
in the past, and in spite of his clinical insight the observer has no guarantee
from his procedure that the events and the uniformities observed are relevant
and crucial ones. Some striking aspect of the case may distract his attention
away from others that may be more critical but less spectacular and there is
nothing inherent in the method to prevent this error.
3. The third limitation involves the question of theoretical interpretation of the
data. The clinician sets the stage for his investigation according to the
theoretical position he espouses (Freudian vs Rogerian) and often has to
make his interpretation after the event of observing. Since his observation is
likely to be coloured by his theoretical preference, so, too are the conclusions.
4. The procedure is largely intuitive and impressionistic. Interpretations may
depend on the aspects of the case that make a bigger impact on the observer
Self-Instructional
Material 59
Methods of Assessment in as positive instances. There is nothing about the method to minimize the
Psychology-II
common sources of errors.
B. Developmental Case Study
NOTES In developmental case study or genetic method, as it is usually called, two
approaches are generally followed to collect the data:
1. Longitudinal approach: In this approach we select a sample of children
(from birth to maturity or of any specific age level) and observe their
developmental characteristics continually from year to year. Ideally it would
necessitate observation for 24 hours a day, year in and year out, but in
practice this is not possible for the clinician to devote so much time to
record observation. Developmental studies on animals have been conducted
but their results cannot be generalized for human beings. Continuous
developmental studies are time-consuming; so psychologists record
substantial segments or sampling of behaviour throughout the principal
developmental periods of the child. Tests are applied and assessment is
made at regular intervals. This technique can be used to study physical,
mental, language, interest, emotional, and social developmental
characteristics of children.
2. Cross-sectional approach: The second approach is cross-sectional in which
we select sample from different age levels to study specific aspects of
development. For example, we can study reading interests, play activities
or emotional and social characteristics of children of different ages. Both
approaches have their advantages and disadvantages.
The field of genetic psychology is the study of the formation and transformation of
the psyche. It may apply to the living world as a whole, to the human species, or
to the individual human being. When applied to the entire living world, one of the
basic problems of genetic psychology is to discover or to define the origins of
mental life - for to accept the thesis of an initial and continuous coexistence of
mental life and life in general is impossible. The psyche's contribution to the living
organism's behaviour is what enables it to transcend the limiting conditions of the
immediate moment by introducing new factors-including the record or trace of
earlier experiences. Thus the faculty which retains experience has sometimes been
looked upon as the starting point in the development of the psyche. However, the
modification of living matter or of its reactions by its own past is a phenomenon of
biological plasticity so common that it cannot be said to be of a psychical nature
per se. This phenomenon may occur at levels no higher than those of ordinary
adaptation, routine, passive behaviour and fixed capacity with no intrinsic potential
for development. The mental faculty of memory must be a more complex one; it
must be able to be enriched by evocative associations that lend a greater power of
discrimination in the face of varied situations.
Self-Instructional
60 Material
Psychology-II
Check Your Progress
1. When is the clinical method used?
2. List the various sources of information which we need in clinical case study. NOTES
3. What are the two approaches needed in developmental case study?
4. What do you mean by genetic method?
5.4 INTERVIEW METHOD
Interview method is collecting information about the various factors about

personality by face to face contact with the subject whose personality is being
assessed. It gives an opportunity for mutual exchange of ideas and information
between the subject and the interviewer. The interviewer tries to have an
appointment with the person who is to be assessed.
The interview can either be structured or unstructured. The structured
interview is that when the interviewer clearly plans the questions that have to be
asked. The limitations of this method of collecting information is that it may have
the subjective bias of the interviewer. It is also very time consuming. The advantage
of this method is all the questions are answered by the subject.
Check Your Progress

5. Explain the usage of interview method.
5.5 SURVEY METHOD
Differential method is used to study individual differences among students. Studies

in the field of educational psychology make extensive use of the statistical survey
which is based on the sampling by direct observation. This method makes use of
various techniques of collecting data such as tests, questionnaire, observation,
interview and use of statistics in analysing the data.
There are three broad categories of survey method which share the common
feature of carrying out their observations on samples of individuals which are
regarded as representative of the larger population to which they belong. The
three categories are as follows:
1. The field study: A field experiment may be defined as a scientific
investigation carried out in the field which involves the direct manipulation
of some independent variables. The field study is conducted in natural class-
room teaching-learning situations spread over a wide area. Developing
programmed material can be cited here as an example. The programmed
material at its initial stage is tested on an individual and a small group of
Self-Instructional
Material 61
Methods of Assessment in students for whom it is developed. After two initial try-outs it is tried out in
Psychology-II
actual classroom situation for final validation which is generally called field
try-out. Generally in a field experiment steps are the same as those used in
laboratory experiments.
NOTES
2. Developmental survey: The developmental survey and developmental
clinical case-study though appear to be alike but they differ in their purpose.
Clinical method (case study) does it for the individual whereas developmental
survey studies do it for the typical patterns of change in the growth and
decline of behaviour over a specific period of life-span of a group or whole
population. Developmental surveys may be longitudinal or cross-sectional.
We can study the development of intelligence in culturally disadvantaged
children from birth to five years using either longitudinal or cross-sectional
methods of study.
3. Differential survey: O'Neil refers two examples of differential surveys
which he describes as: "Those concerned with establishing typical differences
between individuals and between classes of individuals." The study
conducted by Klineberg into differences in intelligence between racial and
national groups in Europe comes under differential survey.
1. Sample error: Sometimes samples are not true representatives of the
population. When the samples are biased, the results of the sample measured
would not be true for the whole population.
2. Inadequacy of test content: The sample of items and behaviour may also
be inadequate. This is particularly true of mental and personality tests. If the
psychometric criteria of a reliable measuring instrument are not fulfilled,
reliable results can scarcely be expected.
3. Non-cooperation of subjects: The most significant source of error is lack
of co-operation of the subjects. Sometimes answers to the questions are
not honestly given.
Check Your Progress

6. Enumerate the role of survey method.
7. List the broad categories of survey method.
5.6 RATING SCALES
The other personality assessment technique is rating scales. In rating scales the
subjects are given an item and then they are asked to select from a number of
choices. The rating scale has multiple choices which represent degrees of a particular
characteristic.
Self-Instructional
62 Material
The individuals do self-reporting. A manager, for example, might be asked Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-II
to rate his supervisors on the degree to which the behaviour of each reflects
leadership capacity, shyness, or creativity. Peers might rate each other along
dimensions such as friendliness, trustworthiness and social skills.
NOTES
For example, if we want to rate the members of a group on the basis of
leadership qualities. We can have divisions of this quality into degrees such as very
good, good, average, poor, very poor, etc. If these divisions are arranged in equal
intervals from high to low or from low to high, it will be termed as rating scale.
Rating can be on five or seven point scale. The individuals are rated on this scale
according to the degree of leadership they possess. The rating scales may have
some type of subjective bias. An individual may be rated on the basis of first
impression than his actual potentials.
An example of a five point scale is
5 4 3 2 1
Excellent good average below average poor
Another example is to find social adaptability for this different measures are taken
like On 5 it fully at ease in group that means excellent on social adaptability, on 4
it is usually at ease that is above average in social adaptability, average score of 3
means just able to adjust in a group, the score of 2 is below average and means
not at ease, score of 1 is poor which means unable to adjust to a group.
Fig. 5.1 Rating Scale for Social Adaptability
The rater, in a rating scale, has to have a complete knowledge of all members of
the group so that he can make more or less accurate comparative judgements.
The rater then constructs the rating scale in such a way that he can make a fair
valuation of the subject that indicates possession of different degrees of a particular
trait.
Numbers from 3 to 1, 5 to 1, 7 to 1, or 10 to 1, are used to indicate these
degrees. Further, the rater assigns a descriptive phrases below all numerical value.
More frequently, a 5-point scale (5 to 1) is adopted since it facilitates a
considerable discrimination between the ratees in a group. This scale is relatively
simple to administer and rate. The 3-point scale is turns out to be quite rough since
it does not allow accurate rating whereas a scale that has points in excess of 5
demands fine discrimination. Usually making an accurate and fine discrimination of
this degree becomes difficult for the rater. Self-Instructional
Material 63
Methods of Assessment in The value of the appraisal of a respondent's traits by qualified raters is
Psychology-II
dependent on the unambiguity and certainty of statement of the items listed. This is
important because many times the items are too ambiguous or too comprehensive.
Rating scales includes qualitative description of limited aspects of an
NOTES individual's traits. It is not always easy to ensure objective rating. On encouraging
the rater to rate an individual objectively, honestly, accurately and strictly in relation
to other members of the group to which the individual belongs, it can be ascertained
to some degree. A rating scale includes rating an individual on the traits which
others (especially the raters) are in the know of.
To put it in simple terms, as a technique of personality assessment, the
rating scale must be used for traits that are distinctly social.
The following precautions need to be taken so that rating scales are reliable:
1. Rating should be done by qualified and trained raters under controlled
conditions.
2. The rater should ensure trait acquaintance. In that he/she should not restrict
the observation to merely knowing the ratee but should observe the ratee
under situations related to the trait to be rated.
3. For ruling out the raters' individual bias, an average of ratings by two or
more observers should be adopted.
4. To ensure that the rater is clear about his task, the instructions to the raters
must be precise and the definitions of the traits must be clearly stated on the
rating scale.
5. The 'halo effect' associated with the rater should be done away with.
6. The rater should try and overcome the 'generosity error'. Simply put, the rater
should not assign an average rating to the ratee even though he finds the latter
to be poor, or conversely, if the rater is impressed by the ratee, the former
need not give the latter an excellent if he/she really doesn't deserve it.
The rating scale suffers from many drawbacks and weaknesses, which cannot
be completely eradicated. Therefore, psychologists suggest that the use of the
rating scale should be done to supplement other techniques rather than using them
as an independent tool.
Check Your Progress

8. Explain the function of rating scales.
9. List some of precautions which we need to take to make rating scales reliable.
5.7 CHECKLISTS/QUESTIONNAIRES AND

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
Questionnaire is widely used to collect the information about the personality of a
person. According to Goode and Hatt, 'in general the word questionnaire refers
Self-Instructional
64 Material
to a device for securing answers to questions by using a form which the respondent Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-II
fills in himself'.
It is a list of selected questions which have to be answered as yes or no or
not sure or cannot say. Questionnaires are used to gain information about traits
NOTES
like introversion, extroversion, sociability etc. The advantage of the questionnaire
method is that it can be simultaneously used on a number of subjects. It is less time
consuming and less costly method for collecting information.
The Woodworth personal data sheet is relied upon as a prominent
questionnaire. It was used extensively in processing world War- I recruits. It is a
set of questions relating to symptoms assumed important by psychiatrists for
diagnosing enuresis, daydreaming, etc. This tool was appreciated for its effectiveness
in detecting maladjusted soldiers. Moreover, adequate individual interviews were
found totally impracticable in war time therefore this tool was all the more
appreciated. Among the traits examined more often were neurotic introversion-
extroversion and dominance. Items were selected on the basis of the measurement
of each trait. 'Do you worry for neurotic tendency' 'Do you lead a group for
dominance', and so on. The subject was asked to record the answer that was the
most nearly correct in his case.
However, answering a question simply with a 'yes' or a 'no' may not always
be easy; it is, more often than not, difficult. This difficulty is obviated to some
extent by the method adopted in the Bernreuter personality inventory in which the
subject is given three choices: Yes, No and Sometimes.
Do you often feel just miserable? Yes/No
Do you usually prefer to work with others? Yes/No.
Such questions are asked.
Where the subject is unable to decide, he has to tick the third choice.
Psychological Tests
Psychological tests are designed to be 'an objective and standardized measure of
a sample of behaviour'. Some of these tests are discussed below.
In the Pressey X-O test, the aim of the study is hidden from the subject. The
test consists of 25 questions. Each question further has five words or phrases. The
subject is required to strike off certain words (Crow and Crow, 1964).
Two sample items are given here:
1. Cross out everything you think is wrong: begging, smoking, flirting, spitting
and giggling.
2. Cross out everything you like or are interested in: fortune-telling, boating,
beaches, mountains and vaudeville.
The subject's answers or the way he or she reacts to these words helps
make definite conclusions regarding his or her traits.
Self-Instructional
Material 65
Methods of Assessment in Another test is the Allport and Allport A-S reaction study that aims at
Psychology-II
measuring the extent of an individual's ascendance or submission. The questions in
this test appear as follows:
NOTES Have you ever turned your face away from something to avoid seeing it?
Frequently/occasionally/never.
One of the given three answers is to be ticked.
The Downey will-temperament test takes handwriting as a determining
factor. It is a type of performance test. In this test, the subject needs to tell about
his customary modes of behaviour by the manner in which he responds to the
instructions provided. For example, the subject may be asked to write 'United
States of America' on a given line, few inches long. Conclusion is based on the
following factors: the number of letters that extend beyond the line, or the letters
or words omitted. These factors are studied to determine a specific personality
trait. Further, individual is made to write a sentence at his own normal speed
and then at a faster rate. The difference between the two speeds shows freedom
from inhibitions. The subject's ability to change writing speed as per requirement
indicates how flexible he is. His ability to write several words on a line measuring
about an inch long indicates his ability to control and manage his instincts.
This test is appreciated as being innovative but complex. Scoring is also
difficult. No one quality like hand-writing can show personality trends adequately
and hence the inadequacy of this test (Crow and Crow, 1964, p. 202).
In most of the questionnaires, the individuals may be aware of the desired
response and give it, however, the given response may not conform to the subject's
behaviour in real life situations. For instance, a probe that is part of the Thurstone
personality schedule is 'Are your feelings easily hurt?'
This can be called a good question if the individual answers it honestly. Not
everyone wishes to reveal his emotional character to others. Further, many
individuals are emotional about criticism but they do not accept the truth that they
have this quality. On the contrary, they are keen on believing that unfavourable
comments by others are unjust and are lies.
5.8 CROSS-CULTURAL METHOD
Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how cultural

factors influence human behavior. While many aspects of human thought and
behavior are universal, cultural differences can lead to often surprising differences
in how people think, feel, and act. Some cultures, for example, might stress
individualism and the importance of personal autonomy. Other cultures, however,
may place a higher value on collectivism and cooperation among members of
the group. Such differences can play a powerful role in many aspects of life.
Self-Instructional
66 Material
Cross-cultural psychology is also emerging as an increasingly important topic Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-II
as researchers strive to understand both the differences and similarities among
people of various cultures throughout the world. The International Association of
Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) was established in 1972, and this branch of
psychology has continued to grow and develop since that time. Today, increasing NOTES
numbers of psychologists investigate how behavior differs among various cultures
throughout the world.
Check Your Progress

10. Enumerate the use of questionnaires.
11. What is the function of the Pressey X-O test?
12. What is the significance of cross-cultural psychology?

QUESTIONS
1. The clinical method is primarily used to collect detailed information on the

behaviour problems of maladjusted and deviant cases. The maladjustment
may be in the form of anti-social behaviour, emotional disturbances or in the
area of learning and backwardness in school subjects. The main objective
of clinical method is to study individual case or cases of group to detect and
diagnose their specific problems and to suggest therapeutic measures to
rehabilitate them in their environment.
2. In preparing a clinical case study the information is collected from the following
sources:
Preliminary information: Name, age, sex, parents' age, education,
occupation, income, number of children, social status.
Past history: Condition of mother during pregnancy, any incident-child's
development after birth-physical, mental, emotional, social-illness, relation
between parents and other members of the family, achievement of the
child, parents' death, birth order, etc.
Present condition: The information may be collected under the following
heads:
o Physical. Results of medical examination of any diseases.
o Mental. I.Q., special abilities, general intelligence.
o Social. Home environment, friends and their types, social environment
in school, home and neighbourhood.
o Emotional: Anxiety, fear, temperament, attitude, etc.
o Interest: Personal, social, vocational and special aptitude.
Self-Instructional
Material 67
Methods of Assessment in (vi) School achievement: Position in school, failure, special achievement,
Psychology-II
etc.
3. In developmental case study or genetic method, as it is usually called, two
approaches are generally followed to collect the data:
NOTES
Longitudinal approach: In this approach we select a sample of children
(from birth to maturity or of any specific age level) and observe their
developmental characteristics continually from year to year. Tests are
applied and assessment is made at regular intervals. This technique
can be used to study physical, mental, language, interest, emotional,
and social developmental characteristics of children.
Cross-sectional approach: The second approach is cross-sectional
in which we select sample from different age levels to study specific
aspects of development. For example, we can study reading interests,
play activities or emotional and social characteristics of children of
different ages.
4. The field of genetic psychology is the study of the formation and
transformation of the psyche. It may apply to the living world as a whole, to
the human species, or to the individual human being. When applied to the
entire living world, one of the basic problems of genetic psychology is to
discover or to define the origins of mental life - for to accept the thesis of an
initial and continuous coexistence of mental life and life in general is
impossible.
5. Interview method is collecting information about the various factors about
personality by face to face contact with the subject whose personality is
being assessed. It gives an opportunity for mutual exchange of ideas and
information between the subject and the interviewer.
6. Studies in the field of educational psychology make extensive use of the
statistical survey which is based on the sampling by direct observation. This
method makes use of various techniques of collecting data such as tests,
questionnaire, observation, interview and use of statistics in analysing the
data.
7. There are three broad categories of survey method which share the common
feature of carrying out their observations on samples of individuals which
are regarded as representative of the larger population to which they belong.
The three categories are as follows:
The field study: A field experiment may be defined as a scientific
investigation carried out in the field which involves the direct
manipulation of some independent variables. The field study is
conducted in natural class-room teaching-learning situations spread
over a wide area.
Developmental survey: The developmental survey and developmental
Self-Instructional clinical case-study though appear to be alike but they differ in their
68 Material
purpose. Clinical method (case study) does it for the individual whereas Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-II
developmental survey studies do it for the typical patterns of change
in the growth and decline of behaviour over a specific period of life-
span of a group or whole population.
NOTES
Differential survey: The study conducted by Klineberg into differences
in intelligence between racial and national groups in Europe comes
under differential survey.
8. The other personality assessment technique is rating scales. In rating scales
the subjects are given an item and then they are asked to select from a
number of choices. The rating scale has multiple choices which represent
degrees of a particular characteristic.
9. The following precautions need to be taken so that rating scales are reliable:
Rating should be done by qualified and trained raters under controlled
conditions.
The rater should ensure trait acquaintance. In that he/she should not
restrict the observation to merely knowing the ratee but should observe
the ratee under situations related to the trait to be rated.
For ruling out the raters' individual bias, an average of ratings by two
or more observers should be adopted.
To ensure that the rater is clear about his task, the instructions to the
raters must be precise and the definitions of the traits must be clearly
stated on the rating scale.
The 'halo effect' associated with the rater should be done away with.
The rater should try and overcome the 'generosity error'. Simply put,
the rater should not assign an average rating to the ratee even though
he finds the latter to be poor, or conversely, if the rater is impressed
by the ratee, the former need not give the latter an excellent without
him/her really deserving it.
10. Questionnaires are used to gain information about traits like introversion,
extroversion, sociability etc. The advantage of the questionnaire method is
that it can be simultaneously used on a number of subjects. It is less time
consuming and less costly method for collecting information.
11. In the Pressey X-O test, the aim of the study is hidden from the subject.
The test consists of 25 questions. Each question further has five words or
phrases. The subject is required to strike off certain words.
12. Cross-cultural psychology is also emerging as an increasingly important topic
as researchers strive to understand both the differences and similarities among
people of various cultures throughout the world. The International
Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) was established in
1972, and this branch of psychology has continued to grow and develop
since that time.
Self-Instructional
Material 69
Psychology-II 5.10 SUMMARY
In the case history method the environmental and heredity factors which
NOTES effect the personality of the subject under study are minutely analysed. This
method is used for studying abnormal people because the information about
all the facts helps in analysing the factors which are responsible for abnormal
behaviour. The case history method requires experienced handling by
experts.
The objective of the clinician is to delve deep into the unconscious of the
individual to pinpointedly locate the underlying causes of maladjustment
and to suggest remedial measures. The clinician collects the material about
the case in totality.
The developmental history is reconstructed from the memories of the case
(individual), his family and friends. The preparation of a case study is not
the work of a single individual but the combined venture of social worker,
teacher, parents, medical man and psychologist.
Complex behaviours are observed under complex conditions, some of them
in the past, and in spite of his clinical insight the observer has no guarantee
from his procedure that the events and the uniformities observed are relevant
and crucial ones.
The field of genetic psychology is the study of the formation and
transformation of the psyche. It may apply to the living world as a whole, to
the human species, or to the individual human being.
The interview can either be structured or unstructured. The structured
interview is that when the interviewer clearly plans the questions that have
to be asked. The limitations of this method of collecting information is that it
may have the subjective bias of the interviewer. It is also very time consuming.
Differential method is used to study individual differences among students.
Studies in the field of educational psychology make extensive use of the
statistical survey which is based on the sampling by direct observation. This
method makes use of various techniques of collecting data such as tests,
questionnaire, observation, interview and use of statistics in analysing the data.
The other personality assessment technique is rating scales. In rating scales
the subjects are given an item and then they are asked to select from a
number of choices. The rating scale has multiple choices which represent
degrees of a particular characteristic.
Rating scales includes qualitative description of limited aspects of an
individual's traits. It is not always easy to ensure objective rating. On
encouraging the rater to rate an individual objectively, honestly, accurately
and strictly in relation to other members of the group to which the individual
belongs, it can be ascertained to some degree.
Self-Instructional
70 Material
The Woodworth personal data sheet is relied upon as a prominent Methods of Assessment in
Psychology-II
questionnaire. It was used extensively in processing world War- I recruits.
It is a set of questions relating to symptoms assumed important by
psychiatrists for diagnosing enuresis, daydreaming, etc.
NOTES
The Downey will-temperament test takes handwriting as a determining factor.
It is a type of performance test. In this test, the subject needs to tell about
his customary modes of behaviour by the manner in which he responds to
the instructions provided. For example, the subject may be asked to write
'United States of America' on a given line, few inches long.
Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how
cultural factors influence human behavior. While many aspects of human
thought and behaviour are universal, cultural differences can lead to often
surprising differences in how people think, feel, and act.
5.11 KEY WORDS
The Woodworth Personal Data Sheet: It is commonly cited as the first

personality test, developed by Robert S. Woodworth during World War I
for the United States Army. It became widely used in psychological research
and led to the development of many other personality tests.
The Bernreuter Personality Inventory: This is a personality test
developed by Robert G. Bernreuter in 1931 measuring general personality.
It is sometimes cited as the first multi-scale personality questionnaire.
The Pressey X-O test: It was a psychological test created in 1921 by
Sidney L. Pressey. The test consisted of a list of words. A subject was
instructed to cross out the words on this list that they felt had unpleasant
meanings. It was meant to measure strength and content of emotional
responses.
Downey Will-Temperament Tests: The use of handwriting tasks to
measure differences in temperament and/or personality.
5.12 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS AND

EXERCISES

1. Enumerate the use of the case history method.
2. State the main objective of clinical method.
3. Give a brief insight into the technique in the clinical history case study.
4. Write a brief note on limitations of clinical case study.
Self-Instructional
Material 71
Methods of Assessment in 5. What is cross-sectional approach in developmental case study?
Psychology-II
6. Enumerate the limitation of interview method.
7. Write a note on the usage of Pressey X-O test.
NOTES 8. State the role of cross-cultural psychology.
1. Discuss the scope of the Clinical Case Study.
2. Analyse the various sources of information in preparing a clinical case study.
3. Write a comprehensive note on Developmental Case Study.
4. Enumerate the role of genetic method.
5. Discuss in detail the broad categories of survey.
6. Elaborate the functioning of rating scales.
7. Discuss the efficacy of the Downey will-temperament test.

Self-Instructional
72 Material
Sensory Process and
UNIT 6 SENSORY PROCESS AND Perception
PERCEPTION
NOTES
Structure
6.0 Introduction
6.1 Objectives
6.2 Sensory Channels and Processes
6.2.3 How We See
6.2.4 How We Hear
6.2.5 Thresholds
6.2.7 Perception
6.4 Summary
6.5 Key Words
6.0 INTRODUCTION
In psychology, measurement means converting the variables into quantitative values

for interpreting the data collected. Psychologists often use correlation to establish
relationships between variables. It is now scientifically acknowledged that our
experience is drawn from our sense organs. We receive sensation from the eyes,
ears, nose, tongue and the skin, which are our five sense organs. The sensations
are divided into three types, organic sensation, motor sensation and special
sensation. The sense organs collect the information from the stimulus around and
send it to brain, the brain processes this information and tries to give it some
meaning.
Every object which comes in front of the eye reflects special kind of light.
The object brings about a chemical change in the eyes which is carried to a special
part of the brain for information. Sensations includes the physical changes as well
as changes in the mental processes. The light waves from the object enter into the
eye through the pupil and pass through the lens. Many people are not able to see
properly during the night. This condition is known as Night blindness. Such type of
people suffer from a visual problem to adapt to the conditions of low illumination.
They have acute problem with the rod cells in the eye.
The ear is a mechanical receptor of sensations. The ear can be divided into
three parts, the external ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The external ear is
Self-Instructional
Material 73
Sensory Process and that part of the ear which can be seen from outside. A very thin membrane separates
Perception
the external ear from the middle ear. There are many theories about hearing. Piano
theory was developed by Helmholtz. He postulated that each element or hair cell
of the organ of corti responded to a specific vibration to which it is tuned much lie
NOTES the string of a piano.
Perception is a process by which organisms select, organize and interpret
the stimulus in order to give meaning to the world around them. Perception is a
complex process because it is a combination of a number of sub processes. The
principles by which people organize isolated parts of a visual stimulus into groups
or whole objects are governed by laws of grouping.
This unit aims at discussing the sensory process and perception in psychology
in a comprehensive way and analyses how sensations work.
6.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand the measurement in psychology
Analyse the meaning and significance of sensation
Enumerate the parts of the structure of the eye
Understand the hearing process
Enumerate the various types of sensations: vision, taste, skin, smell, etc.
Know the function of thresholds
Understand perception and its sub-processes
Analyse the main characteristics of perception
6.2 SENSORY CHANNELS AND PROCESSES
Measurement in psychology means converting the variables into quantitative values

for interpreting the data collected.
A researcher needs to plan his experiments as to know how he will collect
the data, treat the data and then discover the relationship between two types of
variables. One simple experimental design is when the researcher manipulates
independent variable and studies its effect on dependent variable.
Many statistical tools are used to understand the results of psychological
studies. Statistical analysis supports (or refutes) the researcher’s hypothesis; it can
also be used to determine if the findings are statistically significant. When results
are said to be statistically significant, it means that it is unlikely that these results are
due to chance. Sometimes psychologist use correlation to establish relationships
between variables. Whatever you experience is drawn from your sense organs. A
Self-Instructional
74 Material
sense organ is also sometimes called as receptor. It is a specialized part of the Sensory Process and
Perception
body which is selectively sensitive to some types of changes in its environment and
not to others. For example the eye is a receptor for sensation of light but it does
not respond to sound. Similarly the person who cannot hear because of physical
impairment will not respond to a loud sound. NOTES
According to Woodworth, ‘in general when you speak of sensation you are
thinking of stimuli and investigating the relationship of the individual’s experience
to various stimuli which reach his receptors and when you speak of perception
you are thinking of objects how the individual’s experiences correspond with the
objective facts.’
A stimulus is a mechanical, physical or chemical change that acts upon a
sense organ. The reaction to the stimulus is called as response.
Sensations can be defined as the passive process of bringing information from the
outside world into the body and to the brain. The process is passive in the sense
that you do not have to be consciously engaging in a ‘sensing’ process. If a person
is unable to organize or interpret the sensations then everything around will be
jumbled.
So the sense organs collect the information from the stimulus around and
send it to brain, the brain processes this information and tries to give it some
meaning. There is not much difference between sensation and perception.
The process of detecting a stimulus, such as light waves (vision), sound
waves (hearing), chemical molecules (smell and taste), heat or pressure (touch) is
called as sensation. It is the first response of the organism to the stimuli. Different
type of sensations have different traits. For example the motor, organic and spatial
sensations have different characteristics which actually distinguishes them from
each other. These different sensations have got different degree of strength and
intensity. The intensity depends upon two factors the objective strength of the
stimulus and the mental state of the individual.
We receive sensation from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and the skin, which
are our five sense organs. The sensation can be divided into three types, organic
sensation, motor sensation and special sensation.
1. Organic sensations are those sensations which are because of internal
organs. These sensations are not because of any external stimulation. Hunger
is considered to be an organic sensation which occurs because of the
contradiction of walls of the stomach. Thus these type of sensations indicate
that the internal condition of the body do not relate to the external stimulus
present around us. Some type of organic sensations can be located, for
example the burning sensation or cutting sensation, in which case the exact
location of the sensation is known.
Self-Instructional
Material 75
Sensory Process and Sometimes one feels tired or restless or there is some amount of discomfort.
Perception
In such conditions it becomes difficult to know the exact location of the
sensation but it is assumed that the sensation is spread over the entire body.
2. Special sensations are those which are caused by the specific sense organs
NOTES
like eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin. These special sensations can be
differentiated from each other. The source of the special sensations is
external. They give information about the outside environment. It becomes
easy to locate the special sensations but most of the times it becomes difficult
to locate organic sensations. These special sensations are more intense in
both the quality and the quantity than the motor or the organic sensations.
3. Visual sensations are only activated or stimulated because of the light
waves. These type of sensations are experienced through the sense organ
of eye. The visual sensations can further be classified into two types. These
two types of visual sensations are sensation of brightness and sensation of
colour. Colour sensation means identifying and differentiating four types of
basic colours.
A colour blind person does not identify these four basic colours which are
blue, red, yellow and green.
Every object which comes in front of the eye reflects special kind of light.
The object brings about a chemical change in the eyes which is carried to a special
part of the brain for information. Sensations includes the physical changes as well
as changes in the mental processes.
The structure of the eye includes the following:
i. Cornea – the cornea is a round and transparent area in the eye which
allows light to pass into the eye. The amount of light is regulated by the
pupil.
ii. Lens – the lens is a transparent structure in the eye that focuses light on the
retina.
iii. Retina – the retina is another important part in the eye which is actually a
inner membrane of the eye that receives information about light using rods
and cones. The retina carries the information.
iv. Fovea – it is the most sensitive part of the eye in the daylight.
v. Pupil – pupil is the opening at the center of the iris which controls the
amount of light entering the eye. It dilates and constricts. Constriction and
dilation is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. The parasympathetic
division of the brain controls the change in pupil size as a function of change
in illumination.
vi. Rods and Cones – Rods are the visual receptors which help in the vision
during the night. Rods are more than the cones. Rods are considered to be
Self-Instructional
76 Material
good for peripheral vision because there are more on the periphery of Sensory Process and
Perception
the retina
vii. Cones - Cones are the visual receptor cells that are important in daylight
vision and color vision. The cones are not effective in dim lighting. This is
NOTES
why it is more difficult to see colors in low light. The cones are mostly in and
around the fovea but decrease as you go out rods - visual receptor cells
that are important for night vision and peripheral vision. The rods are better
for night vision because they are much more sensitive than cones.
6.2.3 How We See
The light waves from the object enter into the eye through the pupil and pass
through the lens. The true receptor of the visual stimuli is the retina. The optic
nerve is attached to the retina and serves as a medium for carrying the visual
impulses to the nervous system. The retina has two kinds of receiving cells the
rods and the cones. They are so named because of their shape. The cones are
concentrated in the centre of the retina and the rod cells on the outer margin. The
proportion of cone cells to rod cells decreases as you proceed from the centre to
the outer edge of the retina. In the centre of the retina, there is a small depression
which is referred to as fovea. This part is considered to be the point of greatest
concentration and therefore the area of sharpest vision during the day light.
The rods are used for twilight vision or light of low intensity and can be used
to make only the colourless discriminations. The cones are meant for day vision
which are meant for low intensity and it also helps in viewing the colours.
Fig. 6.1 The structure of the eye
i. Night vision and the Purkinje phenomenon

As discussed earlier for daylight vision humans rely on cone cells and for the night
vision on rod cells. At twilight when day and night meet both the cone vision and
rod vision function together. The eye adapts to discriminate colours as the day and
night merge. At the first part of twilight one can still distinguish red , yellow green
Self-Instructional
Material 77
Sensory Process and and blue although they are not very bright. Then at a particular point of diminished
Perception
light the colours start becoming bright. This change is called as Purkinje
phenomenon.
ii. Night blindness
NOTES
It is a common fact that many people are not able to see properly during the night.
This condition is known as Night blindness. Such type of people suffer from a
visual problem to adapt to the conditions of low illumination. They have acute
problem with the rod cells in the eye. They have deficiency in the pigment layer of
the retina which supplies a very important substance known as visual purple. This
substance which is actually a chemical compound decomposes in the presence of
light and recombines in darkness. Various types of chemical analyses have shown
that the visual purple is dependent upon vitamin A for nutrition.
iii. Blind spot and after images
There is one point in the retina where there are neither cones nor rods. This spot
is not sensitive to any light stimulation and is referred to as blind spot. This is the
point where the optic nerve is attached to the retina. Another phenomenon related
to visual sensation is known as after images. If a person keeps looking at a bright
object and then it is suddenly removed then the person will continue to see images
of the object. A person is apt to feel he is seeing things which are not there. Thus
after image is the visual sensory experience which persists after the external stimulus
has been removed. The longer the original stimulus, the stronger will be the after
image. The explanation of after images is that the nerve impulses set up in the
retina by a stimulus outlast the stimulus. This is because of the time gap between
the period when the stimulus is removed and the time it takes to travel along the
paths of the nervous system or conscious mental processes.
There can be two types of after images, positive after images and negative
after images. In the positive after images the same kind of detail, brightness and
colour of the original impression is experienced after the object is removed.
In the negative after images the colour or pattern which is complimentary to
that of the original image is seen. The example of negative after image is, if you
look at a pure black surface for some time then the negative after image will be
white or grey.
iv. Colour blindness
The inability of some people to distinguish certain colours is called as colour
blindness. The people who are colour blind cannot see red and green colour.
They only see five colours. These five colours which colour blind people can
actually see are yellow, blue, black, white and grey. All the green and red objects
appear grey to them. The person who has a normal vision is referred to as trichromat
because he can distinguish the three systems of colours light-dark, yellow-blue
and red-green. An individual who cannot distinguish one of these systems is called
as dichromat. A person who can only distinguish light and dark system is called as
Self-Instructional monochromat or totally colour blind.
78 Material
It is believed that the colour blindness is because of some defect in the Sensory Process and
Perception
fovea.
v. Visual constancy: Visual depth perception
Perception is always oriented towards an object and not the sensory features NOTES
which describe the object. When they receive things they are perceived as stable
and permanent. So people start identifying things irrespective of the change in their
colour, size or shape.
vi. Colour constancy: Constancy movement perception
The colour constancy refers to the tendency to see the colour of a familiar or
known object as the same irrespective of the change in the actual light conditions.
This means that the familiar objects retain their colour under a variety of lighting
conditions. For example an individual having a white dog sees his dog as white
whether in the bright sunlight, in very dim light or in yellow light. This person has in
his memory the colour of his dog as white which contributes to colour constancy.
vii. Shape constancy
This refers to humans’ ability to see the shape of a familiar or known object as
same irrespective of the change in the angle from which it is viewed.
viii. Auditory sensations are received through the ears. They are the reactions
of the ear to the sound vibrations.
three parts, the external ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The external ear is
that part of the ear which can be seen from outside. A very thin membrane separates
the external ear from the middle ear.
The middle ear also has smaller parts which are known as the hammer, anvil
and the stirrup. The middle ear is linked to the throat through the Eustachian tube.
The inner ear is internal cavity of the ear.
Fig. 6.2 The Structure of the Ear

Self-Instructional
Material 79
Sensory Process and 6.2.4 How We Hear
Perception
Hearing occurs when sound acts as a stimulus to the auditory sense. Sound consists
of alternative waves of condensation and rare fraction in the form of vibrations in
NOTES the air. These are known as sound waves. Sound waves generally strike the tympanic
membrane or eardrum. Just beside the eardrum is the middle ear which has three
parts, hammer, anvil and stirrup. The inner ear connects with the middle ear by an
oval shaped window into which is fitted the stirrup. The inner ear is filled with
lymph fluids and contains a small snail like structure called the cochlea. This structure
is very important for hearing. Just above the cochlea is a section called as the
organ of corti which contains the minutely sensitive hair cells. These hair cells are
considered to be the fundamental units of the auditory receptors like the cones or
rods in vision.
There are many theories about hearing. Piano theory was developed by
Helmholtz. He postulated that each element or hair cell of the organ of corti
responded to a specific vibration to which it is tuned much lie the string of a piano.
Because of this fixed tuning different vibrations are distinguished as different sounds.
Other theory is called as wave pattern theory. According to this theory
variable sounds qualities of pitch result from the combined action of many nerve
fibres rather than any single element.
All the sound waves are not heard by the ear. The ear only responds to
sound waves having a vibration frequency from 25 per second to 20,000 vibrations
per second.
i. Taste sensations can be felt by the tongue. The tongue is equipped with
taste cells grouped into taste buds and these are the receptors that receive
the gustatory stimulus.
There are five basic taste sensations that can be distinguished by tongue
alone. These are sweet, sour, bitter and salty plus the taste of metallic
substances. There are different areas on the tongue for different types of
tastes. Receptor cells for sweetness are concentrated near the tip of the
tongue while those sensitive to bitter are towards the back. Sensitivity to
sour occurs mostly along the sides of the tongue and salt seems to be uniform
over the entire tongue. It is believed that if a person is having a bitter pill
then he should place on the tip of the tongue so that it feels less bitter in
comparison to when the pill is placed at the back of the tongue.
The taste receptors are microscopic hair cells within the taste buds. These
taste receptors are situated in the papillae of the tongue, epiglottis and soft
palate.
Taste is considered a chemical sense and requires a liquid solution for
stimulation. Solids will not give any sensation of taste until the fluids of the
mouth have dissolved them.
Self-Instructional
80 Material
ii. Olfactory sensations are located in the nose. The nose detects the smell Sensory Process and
Perception
and sends it to the brain and odour is then perceived. Smell is also a chemical
sense. The sense of smell gets activated when gaseous particles of a substance
come in contact with the nasal fluids. The receptors of smell are spindle
shaped cells embedded in the olfactory tissues, which are connected to the NOTES
olfactory nerve. Smell is directly connected to the brain. The receptors in
the nose which are present in the olfactory epithelium of each nasal cavity
are directly connected to the olfactory bulbs of the brain which are positioned
just below the frontal lobes in the brain. The olfactory bulbs are also
connected to the olfactory cortex on the inside of the temporal lobes and
are there till the neighbouring cortex.
One important characteristic of the sense of smell is that it is adaptable. For
example if you come across a very unpleasant smell, this smell seems
unbearable at first but the nose adjust to it after some time. It has been
found that after a brief period of intense stimulation most of our sense organs
does not show much response. This characteristic of adaptability of the
olfactory sensation is a natural protective mechanism.
iii. Skin sensations: The skin detects the sensation of pressure, warmth, cold
and pain. There are specialized nerve endings which react to a specific type
of stimuli for each type of cutaneous or skin sensation. Different parts of the
body have different degrees of sensitivity for the various stimuli. Some parts
are more responsive to touch, others to pain, some to heat and some to
cold. The fingertips and the lips are the two most responsive parts to touch
or pressure. The fingertips are also responsive to pain. One square
centimeter on the tip off the finger is reported to have sixty pain spots. In a
similar manner it is found that the cornea of the eye has many pain spots but
no touch spots.
The specialized receptor nerve endings are located deeper in the skin tissue.
When the skin feels the sensation of pain because of pinching, pricking or
cutting then the stimulation goes below the general protective layer of skin.
When the skin is exposed to extreme heat or cold then it penetrates into the
skin and there is sensation of pain.
The internal organs inside the body are also more or less insensitive to pain.
iv. Motor sensations: These sensations are related to motion. Pulling and
contractions are types of motor sensations. They are caused by the muscles,
tendons and joints. The brain receives the information from these sensations
through the sensory nerves. Motor sensation cause pressure on the skin.
The sensory impulses from muscles, tendons and joints which control the
coordination of body movements is called as kinaesthetic sense. Thus it
may be referred to as the awareness of body movements. Nerve endings
from the muscles, tendons and joints connect with the nerve pathways to
Self-Instructional
Material 81
Sensory Process and various parts of the brain for registering kinaesthetic sensations. These
Perception
sensations are used from muscles and tendons as cues for performing many
activities. These type of sensations usually give conscious attention to the
responses of our muscle and tendon senses.
NOTES
The kinaesthetic sense mechanism helps in maintaining muscle control.
The process of integrating, organizing and interpreting sensations is called
as perception. There can be no differentiating point between sensation and
perception. But sensation is a physical process and perception is a
psychological process. Psychologically, sensation is the act of receiving a
stimulus by a sense organ. Perception is the act of interpreting a stimulus
registered in the brain by one or sense mechanism.
Psychophysics can be defined as the study of how physical stimuli are
translated into psychological experience.
In order to measure these events, psychologists use thresholds.
6.2.5 Thresholds
Threshold is a dividing line between what has detectable energy and what does
not.
There can be two types of thresholds:
Absolute Threshold
Differential threshold
Absolute Threshold
The absolute threshold is the smallest possible strength that can be detected. Each
sense receptor like eye, ear or nose requires some minimum level of energy to
exist before perception is organized, this minimum level of energy is called as
absolute threshold. For example the absolute threshold for vision is the smallest
amount of light that can be detected which is estimated to be a single candle flame
about 30 miles (48 km.) away on a perfectly dark night.
For hearing the absolute threshold value is the sound of tick of a watch
under quiet conditions at 20 feet. For taste it is one teaspoon of sugar in two
gallons of water. For smell it is one drop of perfume diffused into the entire volume
of s six room apartment. For touch the absolute threshold is a wing of a fly falling
on your cheek from a distance of 1 centimeter.
Differential Threshold
Differential threshold is also a statistical quantity, it is the smallest amount by which
two stimuli must be different so that they can be perceived differently. It is the
smallest difference, which can be discriminated between two stimuli. The more
intense the stimulus the more amount of change is required for noticeable difference.
The minimum difference. Threshold is computed by Weber’s law, which states
Self-Instructional
that each sense varies according to a constant. For example, the constant for
82 Material
hearing is 5 decibels; in order to notice the difference between two sounds one Sensory Process and
Perception
has to be higher or lower by 5 decibels. Weber’s constant for vision is 8 percent,
so to notice any change in the light of 100 candles, 8 more candles have to be
added. The difference threshold is also called the just noticeable difference (Jnd).
NOTES
Subliminal Perception refers to any situation in which the unnoticed stimuli are
perceived. Subliminal perception is said to occur when stimuli presented below
the threshold or line of awareness and influence thoughts, feelings or actions.
For example, evidence suggests that surgical patients who undergo general
anaesthesia may have some memory for events which occurred during the surgery if
their memory is assessed via indirect methods. Subliminal perception is supposed to
occur when a stimulus is too weak to be perceived, yet a person is influenced by it.
6.2.7 Perception
Perception is a process by which organisms select, organize and interpret the
stimulus (People, places, objects and situations) in order to give meaning to the
world around them. When you see a flower sensation of colour, smell, touch are
aroused and meaning is given to this and the object is perceived as a flower.
Perception is a complex process because it is a combination of a number of
sub processes. These are as follows:
i. Receptor process- the first process involved in the process of reception is
the receptor process. For example the rose stimulates three receptor cells
and three different receptor processes of eye, nose and touch.
ii. Unification process – for perceiving rose, unification of all the three
sensations are required.
iii. Symbolic process- every object reminds of something, and so a symbol is
attached to it. Every time the rose is perceived the symbol gets associated
with it.
iv. Affective process- every object also represents some emotions, pleasant
or unpleasant. Thus it is concluded that perception is a complex process
and involves sensations and past experience.
It is important to understand that how the selection of stimulus takes place.
The principles by which people organize isolated parts of a visual stimulus into
groups or whole objects are governed by laws of grouping.
The main characteristics of perception are as follows:
1. Unity and continuity
2. Attention
3. Persistency with varied efforts
Self-Instructional
Material 83
Sensory Process and 4. Adapting to varying circumstances
Perception
5. Learning by experience
6. Reproduction in perception
NOTES 1. Unity and continuity: If the sensations are scattered then perception is not
possible because in that case it will lack meaning. Take the example of an apple as
an object which includes the sensation of color, taste, smell which are not separated,
there is unity and continuity in the sensations which helps us to perceive an apple.
2. Attention: Perception means giving meaning to the sensations. Closeness of
the sense organs and the objects may not result in perception because no attention
was given to it.
3. Persistency with varied efforts: For understanding complex things the
perceiver has to constantly change his efforts. If for example some new or unfamiliar
thing is perceived by the subject then he would like to know more about that. He
would like to touch it, smell it and sometimes taste it in order to understand it
better. These changing perceptions have a unity and persistency.
4. Adapting to varying circumstances: In some cases of perception the
sensations keep on changing. For example a football player has to keep track of
his opponent and also adapt himself according to the strategies of his opponent.
5. Learning by experience: A person learns to perceive unfamiliar or new things
by learning. A person who has never seen a plane in the sky cannot perceive it. If
he once sees it, then he will be able to recognize the sensation and identify it as a
plane.
6. Reproduction in perception: Reproduction of past experience and connecting
with present sensations result in perception.
Check Your Progress

1. What do you mean by measurement in psychology?
2. Enumerate the meaning of sensation.
3. List the type of the sensation.
4. List the various parts of the structure of eye.
5. State the process which leads us to see things.
6. Enumerate the meaning of night blindness.
7. What do you mean by colour blindness?
8. How does hearing occur?
9. Explain the various sensations.
10. What is the role of thresholds?
11. Enumerate the process of perception.
12. List the sub processes which form the perception.
Self-Instructional
84 Material
Sensory Process and
6.3 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Perception
QUESTIONS
1. Measurement in psychology means converting the variables into quantitative NOTES

values for interpreting the data collected. A researcher needs to plan his
experiments as to know how he will collect the data, treat the data and then
discover the relationship between two types of variables. One simple
experimental design is when the researcher manipulates independent variable
and studies its effect on dependent variable.
2. Sensations can be defined as the passive process of bringing information
from the outside world into the body and to the brain. The process is passive
in the sense that you do not have to be consciously engaging in a ‘sensing’
process. If a person is unable to organize or interpret the sensations then
everything around will be jumbled.
3. The sensation can be divided into three types: organic sensation, motor
sensation and special sensation. Organic sensations are those sensations
which are because of internal organs. These sensations are not because of
any external stimulation. Hunger is considered to be an organic sensation
which occurs because of the contradiction of walls of the stomach. Special
sensations are those which are caused by the specific sense organs like eye,
ear, nose, tongue and skin. These special sensations can be differentiated
from each other. The source of the special sensations is external. Visual
sensations are only activated or stimulated because of the light waves. These
type of sensations are experienced through the sense organ of eye. The
visual sensations can further be classified into two types. These two types
of visual sensations are sensation of brightness and sensation of colour.
4. The various parts of the structure of eye are:
i. Cornea – the cornea is a round and transparent area in the eye which
allows light to pass into the eye. The amount of light is regulated by
the pupil.
ii. Lens – the lens is a transparent structure in the eye that focuses light
on the retina.
iii. Retina – the retina is another important part in the eye which is actually
a inner membrane of the eye that receives information about light using
rods and cones. The retina carries the information.
iv. Fovea – it is the most sensitive part of the eye in the daylight.
v. Pupil – pupil is the opening at the center of the iris which controls the
amount of light entering the eye.
vi. Rods and Cones – Rods are the visual receptors which help in the
vision during the night.
Self-Instructional
Material 85
Sensory Process and vii. Cones - Cones are the visual receptor cells that are important in daylight
Perception
vision and color vision. The cones are not effective in dim lighting. The
rods are better for night vision because they are much more sensitive
than cones.
NOTES
5. The light waves from the object enter into the eye through the pupil and
pass through the lens. The true receptor of the visual stimuli is the retina.
The optic nerve is attached to the retina and serves as a medium for carrying
the visual impulses to the nervous system. In the centre of the retina, there is
a small depression which is referred to as fovea. This part is considered to
be the point of greatest concentration and therefore the area of sharpest
vision during the day light.
6. It is a common fact that many people are not able to see properly during the
night. This condition is known as Night blindness. Such type of people
suffer from a visual problem to adapt to the conditions of low illumination.
They have acute problem with the rod cells in the eye.
7. The inability of some people to distinguish certain colours is called as colour
They only see five colours. These five colours which colour blind people
can actually see are yellow, blue, black, white and grey.
8. Hearing occurs when sound acts as a stimulus to the auditory sense. Sound
consists of alternative waves of condensation and rare fraction in the form
of vibrations in the air. These are known as sound waves. Sound waves
generally strikes the tympanic membrane or eardrum. Just beside the eardrum
is the middle ear which has three parts, hammer, anvil and stirrup.
9. The various sensations are as follows:
i. Taste sensations: These can be felt by the tongue. The tongue is
equipped with taste cells grouped into taste buds and these are the
receptors that receive the gustatory stimulus.
ii. Olfactory sensations: These are located in the nose. The nose detects
the smell and sends it to the brain and odour is then perceived. Smell
is also a chemical sense. The sense of smell gets activated when gaseous
particles of a substance come in contact with the nasal fluids.
iii. Skin sensations: The skin detects the sensation of pressure, warmth,
cold and pain. There are specialized nerve endings which react to a
specific type of stimuli for each type of cutaneous or skin sensation.
iv. Motor sensations: These sensations are related to motion. Pulling and
contractions are types of motor sensations. They are caused by the
muscles, tendons and joints.
10. Threshold is a dividing line between what has detectable energy and what
does not.
Self-Instructional
86 Material
11. Perception is a process by which organisms select, organize and interpret Sensory Process and
Perception
the stimulus (People, places, objects and situations) in order to give meaning
to the world around them. When you see a flower sensation of colour,
smell, touch are aroused and meaning is given to this and the object is
perceived as a flower. NOTES
12. Perception is a complex process because it is a combination of a number of
sub processes. These are as follows:
i. Receptor process - the first process involved in the process of reception
is the receptor process. For example the rose stimulates three receptor
cells and three different receptor processes of eye, nose and touch.
ii. Unification process – for perceiving rose, unification of all the three
sensations are required.
iii. Symbolic process - every object reminds of something, and so a symbol
is attached to it. Every time the rose is perceived the symbol gets
associated with it.
iv. Affective process - every object also represents some emotions,
pleasant or unpleasant. Thus it is concluded that perception is a complex
process and involves sensations and past experience.
6.4 SUMMARY
Many statistical tools are used to understand the results of psychological

studies. Statistical analysis supports (or refutes) the researcher’s hypothesis;
it can also be used to determine if the findings are statistically significant.
When results are said to be statistically significant, it means that it is unlikely
that these results are due to chance.
Sensations can be defined as the passive process of bringing information
from the outside world into the body and to the brain. The process is passive
in the sense that you do not have to be consciously engaging in a ‘sensing’
process. If a person is unable to organize or interpret the sensations then
everything around will be jumbled.
Visual sensations are only activated or stimulated because of the light waves.
These type of sensations are experienced through the sense organ of eye.
The visual sensations can further be classified into two types. These two
types of visual sensations are sensation of brightness and sensation of colour.
Rods are the visual receptors which help in the vision during the night. Rods
are more than the cones. Rods are considered to be good for peripheral
vision because there are more on the periphery of the retina
The retina has two kinds of receiving cells the rods and the cones. They are
so named because of their shape. The cones are concentrated in the centre
of the retina and the rod cells on the outer margin.
Self-Instructional
Material 87
Sensory Process and The eye adapts to discriminate colours as the day and night merge. At the
Perception
first part of twilight one can still distinguish red, yellow green and blue
although they are not very bright. Then at a particular point of diminished
light the colours start becoming bright. This change is called as Purkinje
NOTES phenomenon.
The inability of some people to distinguish certain colours is called as colour
They only see five colours. These five colours which colour blind people
can actually see are yellow, blue, black, white and grey
three parts, the external ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The external
ear is that part of the ear which can be seen from outside. A very thin
membrane separates the external ear from the middle ear.
Hearing occurs when sound acts as a stimulus to the auditory sense. Sound
consists of alternative waves of condensation and rare fraction in the form
of vibrations in the air. These are known as sound waves. Sound waves
generally strikes the tympanic membrane or eardrum.
There are five basic taste sensations that can be distinguished by tongue
alone. These are sweet, sour, bitter and salty plus the taste of metallic
substances. There are different areas on the tongue for different types of
tastes.
One important characteristic of the sense of smell is that it is adaptable. For
example if you come across a very unpleasant smell, this smell seems
unbearable at first but the nose adjusts to it after some time.
The sensory impulses from muscles, tendons and joints which control the
coordination of body movements is called as kinaesthetic sense. Thus it
may be referred to as the awareness of body movements.
Differential threshold is also a statistical quantity, it is the smallest amount by
which two stimuli must be different so that they can be perceived differently.
It is the smallest difference, which can be discriminated between two stimuli.
The more intense the stimulus the more amount of change is required for
noticeable difference.
Subliminal perception refers to any situation in which the unnoticed stimuli
are perceived. Subliminal perception is said to occur when stimuli presented
below the threshold or line of awareness and influence thoughts, feelings or
actions.
It is important to understand that how the selection of stimulus takes place.
The principles by which people organize isolated parts of a visual stimulus
into groups or whole objects are governed by laws of grouping.
Self-Instructional
88 Material
Sensory Process and
6.5 KEY WORDS Perception
The sclera: Also known as the white of the eye, it is the opaque, fibrous,
protective, outer layer of the human eye containing mainly collagen and NOTES
some elastic fibre.
The vitreous humour: Also known simply as the vitreous is a clear,
colourless fluid that fills the space between the lens and the retina of our
eye.
The aqueous humour: This is a transparent, watery fluid similar to plasma,
but containing low protein concentrations. It is secreted from the ciliary
epithelium, a structure supporting the lens.
The Purkinje phenomenon: It is named after the Czech anatomist Jan
Evangelista Purkynje. It is the tendency for the peak luminance sensitivity of
the human eye to shift toward the blue end of the colour spectrum at low
illumination levels as part of dark adaptation.
Piano Theory: Hermann von Helmholtz, drawing upon his knowledge of
the physiology of the inner ear, in particular the basilar membrane, put forward
a version of place theory known as the resonance theory or the piano theory.

EXERCISES

1. Define the terms stimulus, receptor and response with reference to our eye.
2. State how different types of sensations have different traits.
3. Draw a structure of eye with a detailed description of its various parts that
make it.
4. Write a brief note on night vision and the Purkinje phenomenon.
5. Enumerate the role of skin sensations.
6. What is the significance of different threshold?
7. Write a brief note on the process of perception.
1. Discuss the scope of measurement in psychology.
2. Analyse the various types of sensations.
3. Write a comprehensive note on blind spot and after images.
4. ‘The ear is a mechanical receptor of sensations.’ Explain this statement.
Self-Instructional
Material 89
Sensory Process and 5. Discuss in detail the two types of thresholds.
Perception
6. Elaborate the sub-processes which form the perception.
7. Discuss the characteristics of perception.
NOTES

Self-Instructional
90 Material
Foundations of
UNIT 7 FOUNDATIONS OF Behaviour
BEHAVIOUR
NOTES
Structure
7.0 Introduction
7.1 Objectives
7.2 The Central and Peripheral Nervous System
7.3 Impact of the Functions of Endoergic Glands and Summary
7.5 Summary
7.6 Key Words
7.0 INTRODUCTION
Nervous system plays a centralized role in biological organisms namely primates

and humans. The nervous system of a human plays a fundamental role in every
function of body. The brain receives signals in both internal and external information,
extracted as stimuli, by different human nerves and then communicates the proper
responses. Human brain has been structurally divided into the forebrain, midbrain
and hindbrain. The forebrain is further divided into the telencephalon and the
diencephalon. The telencephalon consists of the cerebrum, basal ganglia and the
limbic system which consists of amygdala, septum and the hippocampus. The
diencephalon consists of the thalamus and the hypothalamus.
The nerves which arise from brain are called cranial nerves, while the nerves
which originate from the spinal cord are termed as spinal nerves. The PNS has
both sensory and motor fibres which are spread over the entire body. Mixed
nerves are nerves that contain both sensory and motor nerve fibres and thus perform
sensory and motor functions. In contrast to the cranial nerves, the spinal nerves
originate from the spinal cord. These nerves are bilaterally symmetrical and hence
occur in pairs.
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body during emergencies
like states of stress and arousal, whereas, the parasympathetic nervous system
orients the body towards internal maintenance. The sympathetic nervous system
dominates during muscle activity and helps in spending energy. The spinal cord
consists of a central pia mater which is also known as the grey matter. The
surrounding white matter is the dura mater. The dura mater has a myelin sheath
covering it. Because of the presence of the myelin sheath, the white matter becomes
tough. The descending pathways are motor nerves carrying information from the
Self-Instructional
Material 91
Foundations of brain to the PNS, for motor responses of the body. They consist of pyramidal and
Behaviour
extra pyramidal pathways.
Glands are of two types: endocrine and exocrine. Endocrine glands are
known as ductless glands because their products are secreted directly into the
NOTES
circulatory system (blood), without intermediate ‘passageways’. The endocrine
glands which secrete only hormones are known as holocrine glands.
This unit aims at discussing the structure of central and peripheral nervous
system and analyses the function of endocrine glands in a comprehensive way.
7.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand the structure of nervous system and its various parts
Examine the functioning of the peripheral nervous system
Enumerate the role of cranial nerves
Know the formation of plexuses by spinal nerves
Understand the function of the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Describe sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system
Enumerate the role of reflex in neural circuits
Enhance knowledge about pyramidal pathways
Understand the functioning of endocrine glands
7.2 THE CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS

SYSTEM
We have already discussed the central and peripheral nervous system in Unit 3.
Let us do a quick recapitulation.
The nervous system can be divided into the Central Nervous System (CNS)
and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). The central nervous system is divided
into the brain and the spinal cord. The brain has been structurally divided into the
forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. The forebrain is further divided into the
telencephalon and the diencephalon. The telencephalon consists of the cerebrum,
basal ganglia and the limbic system. The cerebrum is divided into the right and the
left hemisphere. Each hemisphere is further divided into four lobes, namely, frontal,
temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. The limbic system consists of amygdala,
septum and the hippocampus. The diencephalon consists of the thalamus and the
hypothalamus.
The midbrain is divided into tegmentum and tectum. The tectum consists of
the superior and the inferior colliculus. The hindbrain consists of the medulla, the
Self-Instructional
92 Material
pons and the cerebellum. The spinal cord consists of three nerve pathways, namely, Foundations of
Behaviour
the ascending, the descending and the transverse pathways. The ascending pathways
are further divided into the cuneate gracile (lemniscal system) and the spinothalamic
system, whereas, the descending pathways are divided into the pyramidal motor
system and the extrapyramidal motor system. NOTES
The peripheral nervous system consists of cranial nerves and spinal nerves.
Each cranial and spinal nerve has sensory and motor fibres. These motor fibres
are somatic and autonomic in nature. The autonomic nervous system further consists
of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. After
this brief review of the major divisions of the nervous system, we now read about
them in further detail.
The PNS (peripheral nervous system) consists of nerves which originate
from the CNS and connect either receptors or efferent organs. The nerves which
arise from brain are called cranial nerves, while the nerves which originate from
the spinal cord are termed as spinal nerves. The PNS has both sensory and motor
fibres which are spread over the entire body. Mixed nerves are nerves that contain
both sensory and motor nerve fibres and thus perform sensory and motor
functions.
The parasympathetic nervous system consists of one set of motor fibres.
These nerve fibres originate from the brain and the spinal cord. They are seen to
exert inhibitory and excitatory control. The parasympathetic nervous system is
further controlled by the central nervous system. Its motor fibres directly reach the
target organ. In humans, cranial nerves are present in twelve pairs. These are as
follows:
Olfactory nerve: It is connected to the brain and different parts of the
body, through the olfactory epithelium of the nasal chamber. It is sensory in
nature and its main function is to regulate the sense of smell.
Optic nerve: It is connected to the side of the diencephalon. The optic
nerve is connected to the retina of the eye. It is sensory in nature and its
main function is to regulate the sense of sight.
Oculomotor nerve: It is connected to the floor of the midbrain and also to
the inferior oblique, superior and inferior rectus and medial and rectus eye
muscles. It is motor in nature and its main function is to control the movement
of the eye ball.
Pathetic nerve: It is connected to the floor of the midbrain and the superior
oblique eye muscles. It is motor in nature and its main function is to control
the movement of the eye ball.
Trigeminal nerve: It is connected to the ventral side of the pons varolii. It
is a mixed nerve and regulates the sensation of taste, touch and jaw
movements (that are largely involved in chewing).
Self-Instructional
Material 93
Foundations of Abducens nerve: It is connected to the ventral side of the medulla oblongata
Behaviour
and the lateral rectus eye muscle. It is a motor nerve and is involved in the
regulation of the sensation of taste, touch and jaw movements.
Facial nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the pons varolii and also
NOTES to the taste buds of the tongue, muscles of the face and salivary glands. It is
a mixed nerve and is involved in the regulation of the sensation of taste,
facial expressions and salivary secretions.
Auditory nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the medulla oblongata
and the internal ear. It is a sensory nerve which regulates the sense of hearing
and balance.
Glucco-pharyngeal nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the medulla
oblongata and to the tongue, pharyngeal mixed muscles and the parotid
salivary glands. It is a mixed nerve and is involved in the regulation of taste,
movement of pharynx and salivary secretions.
Vagus nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the medulla oblongata and
to the larynx, pharynx, oesophagus, lungs, heart, intestine and
stomach. It is a mixed nerve and is involved in the regulation of speech,
swallowing, decrease of heart rate, stimulus for peristalsis and respiratory
movement.
Spinal accessory nerve: it is connected to the lateral side of the medulla
oblongata and to the larynx, pharynx, neck and the shoulder. It is a motor
nerve and it regulates the movement of the larynx, pharynx, neck and
shoulders.
Hypoglossal nerve: it is connected to the ventral side of the medulla
oblongata and to the muscles of the tongue. It is a motor nerve and it regulates
the movement of the tongue.
In contrast to the cranial nerves, the spinal nerves originate from the spinal
cord. These nerves are bilaterally symmetrical and hence occur in pairs. There are
31 pairs of spinal nerves and they are numbered and named according to the
vertebrae with which they are associated. These consist of 8 pairs of cervical
nerves, 12 pairs of thoracic nerves, 5 pairs of lumber nerves, 5 pairs of sacral
nerves and 1 pair of coccygeal nerve. Spinal nerves are formed by the union of the
dorsal and ventral roots shortly after they leave the spinal cord. Each spinal nerve
has afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) fibres. Motor fibres come from the
ventral root and the sensory fibres go into the dorsal root. Thus all spinal nerves
are mixed nerves because they carry both, sensory and motor impulses. Some of
the spinal nerves are connected to the autonomic nervous system. Motor nerves
of this system stimulate the skeletal muscles whereas ANS stimulates the cardiac
muscles.
Certain spinal nerves combine to form the following plexuses:
Cervical plexus: innervates the neck and diaphragm
Brachial plexus: connects the chest and the arm
Self-Instructional
94 Material
Lumber plexus: innervates the legs Foundations of
Behaviour
Sacral plexus: connects the pelvic region
Coccygeal plexus: also innervates the pelvic region
After getting an understanding of cranial and spinal nerves, we look at the NOTES
various functions performed by the PNS. The parasympathetic nervous system
carries sensory information from receptors to CNS, through the cranial and spinal
segments. It also carries information from the CNS. PNS forms the core for stimulus
response associations.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is called so because it controls and
coordinates the involuntary activities of various organs. It is also known as the
visceral motor system because it consists of motor fibre of PNS, which in turn,
stimulate the smooth muscles and glands. ANS consists of the sympathetic nervous
system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
In contrast to the parasympathetic nervous system, the autonomic nervous
system has two sets of motor fibres, namely sympathetic and parasympathetic. Its
nerve fibres originate from the spinal cord. Both, the sympathetic and the
parasympathetic fibres are seen to have opposite effects on the smooth muscles
and fibres. For instance, if the sympathetic nerve excites a particular muscle then
the parasympathetic nerve inhibits the same muscle and vice versa. The motor
pathways consist of preganglionic and postganglionic fibres. Preganglionic fibres
originate from the spinal cord, whereas postganglionic fibres connect preganglionic
fibres with smooth muscles and glands.
Sympathetic and the parasympathetic fibres have certain similarities and
certain differences. The similarities are that both are parts of ANS; both are motor
fibres and both contain preganglionic and postganglionic fibres. But the two are
structurally and chemically different. The preganglionic fibres of the sympathetic
nervous system originate from the thoracic and the lumber region of spinal cord,
whereas, the preganglionic fibres of the parasympathetic nervous system originate
from the brain stem and the sacral region of spinal cord. The preganglionic fibres
and the postganglionic fibres of the sympathetic nervous system are short and long
respectively. The preganglionic fibres enter into the ganglia, which lies outside the
spinal cord and from there postganglionic fibres originate. These reach the target
organ. The preganglionic fibres and the postganglionic fibres of the parasympathetic
nervous system are long and short respectively.
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body during emergencies
like states of stress and arousal, whereas, the parasympathetic nervous system
orients the body towards internal maintenance. The sympathetic nervous system
dominates during muscle activity and helps in spending energy. The parasympathetic
nervous system, in contrast, acts during conservation of energy. In addition, both
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems have opposing effects on several
Self-Instructional
Material 95
Foundations of parts of the body. For example, the sympathetic nervous system dilates the pupil,
Behaviour
inhibits salivary flow, increase heart rate; dilates bronchi, inactivates the intestines,
constricts blood vessels, has no effect on the tear glands and causes the adrenal
medulla to release hormones. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous
NOTES system constricts the pupils, stimulates the tear glands, stimulates salivary flow,
decrease heart rate, constrict bronchi, activates intestines, dilate blood vessels
and has no reaction of the adrenal medulla.
The autonomic nervous system performs several functions. It shifts the flow
of blood from one part of the body to another, so as to control its supply according
to the needs. It also regulates the internal environment whenever the homeostasis
is upset, in order to restore the balance and facilitate normal functioning.
Both sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system are influenced
largely by the hypothalamus, which is often known as the ‘head ganglion’ of the
autonomic nervous system. Earlier, it was thought that the peripheral nervous system
controls and coordinates voluntary activities of the body and the autonomic nervous
system controls and coordinates involuntary activities of our body. However, a
research by Miller (1969) showed that lower animals and humans can be trained
to control some ANS responses. Since blood pressure can be controlled voluntarily,
so this functional difference is questionable.
The central nervous system (CNS) is a hollow, dorsally placed structure,
lying along the mid-dorsal axis of the body. It comprises of the brain and the spinal
cord. The brain is lodged in the skull while spinal cord is enclosed by the vertebral
column. The spinal cord is a posterior part of the CNS. It is a conical structure
which is surrounded by three protective membranes, namely, the pia mater, the
arachnoid mater and the dura mater. The pia mater consists largely of grey matter.
It is a thin innermost layer. It is surrounded by the arachnoids membrane, which
forms the middle layer. The outermost tough membrane is the dura mater, which
largely consists of white matter. Certain spaces are present in between these
membranes. The subarachnoid and subdural spaces are filled with cerebrospinal
fluid. The epidural space above the dura mater contains fatty and connective tissues
and veins.
The spinal cord runs mid-dorsally within the vertebral column and lies in its
neural canal. It is protected by the vertebral column and passes through a hole in
each vertebra. The vertebral column is composed of 24 individual vertebrae. It
consists of 7 cervical vertebrae; 12 thoracic vertebrae and 5 lumbar vertebrae.
The 7 cervical vertebrae are present in the neck, the 12 thoracic vertebrae are
present in the chest and the 5 lumbar vertebrae are present in the lower back
region. The fused vertebrae that make the sacral and coccygeal portion of the
column are located in the pelvic region. The 5 sacral vertebrae are fused in the
adult. These form one structure known as the sacrum and the 4 coccygeal vertebrae
are fused to form a curved triangular bone known as the coccyx.
Self-Instructional
96 Material
The diameter of the spinal cord is lies than 3/4th of an inch. It is only about Foundations of
Behaviour
2/3 times as long as the vertebral column, the rest of the space is filled by a mass
of spinal roots. These compose of the cauda equina. A root is bundle of axons
running in and out of the spinal cord, surrounded by connective tissues. The spinal
roots consist of the ventral and the dorsal roots. The dorsal root of the spinal cord NOTES
consists of incoming afferent or sensory fibres and the ventral root contains the
outgoing efferent or motor fibres. They join together, outside the spinal cord and
merge to form the spinal nerves. The sensory fibres, with their cell bodies outside
the cord, form a bundle which constitutes the dorsal root ganglion. No such ganglion
formation is seen in the ventral root.
The spinal cord consists of a central pia mater which is also known as the
grey matter. The surrounding white matter is the dura mater. The dura mater has a
myelin sheath covering it. Because of the presence of the myelin sheath, the white
matter becomes tough. The grey or pia mater has no myelin sheath and it is hence
fragile. The white matter consists of ascending and the descending myelinated
nerve axons. On the contrary, the grey matter consists of nerve endings, neural cell
bodies and non-myelinated axons which form the synapse.
The structure of the spinal cord also consists of nerve pathways connecting
the brain on one hand and PNS on the other. The spinal cord acts as a relay
station between the brain and the PNS, through these ascending and descending
pathways. It is involved in all behaviours below the neck, that is, behaviours relating
to skeletal autonomic sections and voluntary behaviours with brain involvement. It
helps in coordinating behaviours with environmental stimuli as it connects information
from receptors and responding muscles. The spinal cord is also acts as a centre
for reflex actions.
A reflex is a rapid automatic response made to a particular stimulus. There
are two types of reflexes namely, skeletal reflex (for example, the knee jerk) and
the autonomic reflex (for example, salivation, eyelid movement, sneezing, etc.).
A reflex behaviour is rooted in simple neural circuits called reflex arcs. One such
arc is a two neuron circuit known as the monosynaptic reflexes. It is so called as it
involves only one synapse between a sensory and a motor neuron. The knee jerk
reflex is controlled by monosynaptic reflexes.
All behaviours are not simple. Some behaviours are complex, which involve
other sides of the body and other organs. These behaviours are executed through
polysynaptic reflexes. These reflexes involve more than one synapse between a
sensory and a motor neuron. For example, when reflex involves both sides of the
body requiring balance, the neural activity passes in two directions once it reaches
the spinal cord. The two directions involve the ipsilateral reflex and the contralateral
reflex. The ipsilateral reflex activates the same side of the body. The contralateral
reflex activates the other side of the body. These are done by crossing through the
grey matter.
Self-Instructional
Material 97
Foundations of All reflex actions are triggered purely by the spinal cord. Some reflexes also
Behaviour
take place with the involvement of the brain. For example, we can consciously
stop knee jerks that occur as the circuits of the spinal reflex are lined to nerve
pathways. These nerve pathways ascend and descend from the brain. Hence, it is
NOTES possible for the brain to control the autonomy of the spinal nerves.
Ascending pathways are sensory and they carry the sensory information
from the body to the brain. Most of the information entering at the spinal level of
CNS originates from the body’s skin. This information is known as somatosensory.
Ascending pathways consist of the lemniscal and the spinothalamic pathways.
The lemniscal pathway is situated in the dorsal and medical section of the
spinal cord. It consists of the gracile tract, which covers the lower torso and lower
limbs and the cuneate tract, which covers the upper torso and upper limbs. In
these portions of the spinal cord, the cuneate and gracile tracts lie adjacent to
each other, with each on both sides of the spinal cord. These tracts carry information
arising from the sensations of light touch on the skin, kinesthetic movement cues,
and limb position. Most of this sort of information crosses through the brain to the
contralateral side and eventually reaches the right side of the neo cortex.
In contrast to the lemniscal pathway, the spinothalamic pathway is situated
in the ventral and lateral portion of the spinal cord. It carries information arising
from the sensations on the skin related to deep pressure, temperature changes
and pain. These tracts are divided into about 50 per cent contralateral (opposite
sided) and 50 per cent ipsilateral (same sided) systems. It means that half of the
ascending spinothalamic fibres cross the midline of the CNS while the other half
do not cross the midline, but rather stay on the same side of the midline of the
CNS.
The descending pathways are motor nerves carrying information from the
brain to the PNS, for motor responses of the body. They consist of pyramidal and
extra pyramidal pathways. Both these pathways are seen to differ functionally and
structurally in primates and humans. For example, the pyramidal pathways control
the capacity to perform discrete movements, whereas, the extra pyramidal
pathways control the capacity to execute smooth and integrated movements.
Pyramidal fibres originate from specific sites on the neocortex, whereas, extra
pyramidal fibres originate in widespread sites on the neocortex as well as in several
areas of the brain, underneath the neocortex. These areas are known as sub-
cortical areas.
Around 80 per cent of the descending pyramidal fibres form the neocortex.
They cross over the middle of the CNS at the base of the brain and continue along
the lateral corticospinal tract in the spinal cord; the remaining 20 per cent continue
without crossing through the ventral corticospinal tract. Extra pyramidal fibres
either cross or do not cross the midline as they descend from cortical and sub-
cortical areas.
Self-Instructional
98 Material
Foundations of
Behaviour
Check Your Progress
1. What do you mean by the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)?
2. What is the parasympathetic nervous system? NOTES
3. List the pairs of cranial nerve.
4. List the plexuses formed by certain spinal nerves.
5. Explain the function of autonomic nervous system (ANS).
6. Enumerate the preganglionic and the postganglionic fibres.
7. How is the vertebral column composed?
8. How does the spinal cord act?
9. Explain the functions of reflexes.
10. What is the role of the pyramidal pathways?
7.3 IMPACT OF THE FUNCTIONS OF

ENDOERGIC GLANDS AND SUMMARY
Let us discuss the endocrine glands and their hormones.

On the basis of secretion, glands are of two types: endocrine and exocrine.
Endocrine glands are known as ductless glands because their products are secreted
directly into the circulatory system (blood), without intermediate ‘passageways’.
Examples of endocrine glands are thyroid, adrenalin, etc. Exocrine glands secrete
their products through specific ducts. Examples of exocrine glands are salivary
glands, tear glands, sweat glands, etc.
The endocrine glands which secrete only hormones are known as holocrine
glands. Examples of holocrine glands are thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, adrenal
gland and pituitary gland. However, endocrine glands that perform the dual function
of secreting both hormones and performing some other function are known as
heterocrine glands. Examples of holocrine glands are pancreas, testes and ovaries.
The study of endocrine glands and hormones secreted by them is known as
endocrinology.
Features of Endocrine Glands
Endocrine glands are characterized by the following features:
Endocrine glands contain chemicals which are known as hormones. These
control behaviours.
Some glands (for example, parathyroid), secrete only one hormone while
others (like anterior pituitary), secrete several hormones.
Self-Instructional
Material 99
Foundations of Glands are under neural control. For example, hypothalamus is responsible
Behaviour
for hormonal secretion.
Each hormone modulates the functioning of a target tissue or target organ,
which is located somewhere in the body. The effects of the hormones may
NOTES
be specific to a localized region. Whereas, many of the anterior pituitary
hormones act on the target organ, which itself can be a gland.
The endocrine glands have balanced secretion that depends on the need of
the body, thereby maintaining homeostasis. This implies that these behaviours
are associated with stress, growth and development in general and
reproduction.
Features of Exocrine Glands
Some of the features of exocrine glands include:
These glands that produce and secrete substances onto an epithelial surface
by way of a duct.
Some examples of exocrine glands include salivary glands that secrete saliva
into the mouth, bile-producing glands of the liver, prostate gland, gastric
glands, sweat glands, etc.
Exocrine glands can be classified on the basis of structure, by method of
secretion, and by the product secreted.
Check Your Progress

11. Enumerate the function of glands.
12. List the features of endocrine glands.

QUESTIONS
1. The PNS (peripheral nervous system) consists of nerves which originate

from the CNS and connect either receptors or efferent organs. The nerves
which arise from brain are called cranial nerves, while the nerves which
originate from the spinal cord are termed as spinal nerves.
2. The parasympathetic nervous system consists of one set of motor fibres.
These nerve fibres originate from the brain and the spinal cord. They are
seen to exert inhibitory and excitatory control. The parasympathetic nervous
system is further controlled by the central nervous system.
3. These are as follows:
Olfactory nerve: It is connected to the brain and different parts of the
body, through the olfactory epithelium of the nasal chamber.
Optic nerve: It is connected to the side of the diencephalon.
Self-Instructional
100 Material
Oculomotor nerve: It is connected to the floor of the midbrain and also Foundations of
Behaviour
to the inferior oblique, superior and inferior rectus and medial and rectus
eye muscles.
Pathetic nerve: It is connected to the floor of the midbrain and the superior
NOTES
oblique eye muscles.
Trigeminal nerve: It is connected to the ventral side of the pons varolii. It
is a mixed nerve and regulates the sensation of taste, touch and jaw
movements.
Abducens nerve: It is connected to the ventral side of the medulla
oblongata and the lateral rectus eye muscle.
Facial nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the pons varolii and
also to the taste buds of the tongue, muscles of the face and salivary
glands.
Auditory nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the medulla oblongata
and the internal ear.
Glucco-pharyngeal nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the medulla
oblongata and to the tongue, pharyngeal mixed muscles and the parotid
salivary glands.
Vagus nerve: It is connected to the lateral side of the medulla oblongata
and to the larynx, pharynx, oesophagus, lungs, heart, intestine and
stomach.
Spinal accessory nerve: it is connected to the lateral side of the medulla
oblongata and to the larynx, pharynx, neck and the shoulder.
Hypoglossal nerve: it is connected to the ventral side of the medulla
oblongata and to the muscles of the tongue.
4. Certain spinal nerves combine to form the following plexuses.
Cervical plexus: innervates the neck and diaphragm
Brachial plexus: connects the chest and the arm
Lumber plexus: innervates the legs
Sacral plexus: connects the pelvic region
Coccygeal plexus: also innervates the pelvic region
5. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is called so because it controls and
coordinates the involuntary activities of various organs. It is also known as
the visceral motor system because it consists of motor fibre of PNS, which
in turn, stimulate the smooth muscles and glands. ANS consists of the
sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
6. The preganglionic fibres of the sympathetic nervous system originate from
the thoracic and the lumber region of spinal cord, whereas, the preganglionic
fibres of the parasympathetic nervous system originate from the brain stem
Self-Instructional
Material 101
Foundations of and the sacral region of spinal cord. The preganglionic fibres and the
Behaviour
postganglionic fibres of the sympathetic nervous system are short and long
respectively. The preganglionic fibres enter into the ganglia, which lies outside
the spinal cord and from there postganglionic fibres originate.
NOTES
7. The vertebral column is composed of 24 individual vertebrae. It consists of
7 cervical vertebrae; 12 thoracic vertebrae and 5 lumbar vertebrae. The 7
cervical vertebrae are present in the neck, the 12 thoracic vertebrae are
present in the chest and the 5 lumbar vertebrae are present in the lower
back region.
8. The spinal cord acts as a relay station between the brain and the PNS,
through these ascending and descending pathways. It is involved in all
behaviours below the neck, that is, behaviours relating to skeletal autonomic
sections and voluntary behaviours with brain involvement. It helps in
coordinating behaviours with environmental stimuli as it connects information
from receptors and responding muscles. The spinal cord is also acts as a
centre for reflex actions.
9. A reflex is a rapid automatic response made to a particular stimulus. There
are two types of reflexes namely, skeletal reflex (for example, the knee
jerk) and the autonomic reflex (for example, salivation, eyelid movement,
sneezing, etc.). A reflex behaviour is rooted in simple neural circuits called
reflex arcs. One such arc is a two neuron circuit known as the monosynaptic
reflexes. It is so called as it involves only one synapse between a sensory
and a motor neuron. The knee jerk reflex is controlled by monosynaptic
reflexes.
10. The pyramidal pathways control the capacity to perform discrete movements,
whereas, the extra pyramidal pathways control the capacity to execute
smooth and integrated movements.
11. On the basis of secretion, glands are of two types: endocrine and exocrine.
Endocrine glands are known as ductless glands because their products are
secreted directly into the circulatory system (blood), without intermediate
‘passageways’. Examples of endocrine glands are thyroid, adrenalin, etc.
Exocrine glands secrete their products through specific ducts. Examples of
exocrine glands are salivary glands, tear glands, sweat glands, etc.
12. Endocrine glands are characterized by the following features:
Endocrine glands contain chemicals which are known as hormones. These
control behaviours.
Some glands (for example, parathyroid), secrete only one hormone while
others (like anterior pituitary), secrete several hormones.
Glands are under neural control. For example, hypothalamus is
responsible for hormonal secretion.
Self-Instructional
102 Material
Each hormone modulates the functioning of a target tissue or target organ, Foundations of
Behaviour
which is located somewhere in the body. The effects of the hormones
may be specific to a localized region. Whereas, many of the anterior
pituitary hormones act on the target organ, which itself can be a gland.
NOTES
The endocrine glands have balanced secretion that depends on the need
of the body, thereby maintaining homeostasis. This implies that these
behaviours are associated with stress, growth and development in general
and reproduction.
7.5 SUMMARY
The nervous system can be divided into the Central Nervous System (CNS)
and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). The central nervous system is
divided into the brain and the spinal cord. The brain has been structurally
divided into the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.
The midbrain is divided into tegmentum and tectum. The tectum consists of
the superior and the inferior colliculus. The hindbrain consists of the medulla,
the pons and the cerebellum.
The parasympathetic nervous system consists of one set of motor fibres.
These nerve fibres originate from the brain and the spinal cord. They are
seen to exert inhibitory and excitatory control.
In contrast to the cranial nerves, the spinal nerves originate from the spinal
cord. These nerves are bilaterally symmetrical and hence occur in pairs.
There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves and they are numbered and named
according to the vertebrae with which they are associated.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is called so because it controls and
coordinates the involuntary activities of various organs. It is also known as
the visceral motor system because it consists of motor fibre of PNS, which
in turn, stimulate the smooth muscles and glands.
Sympathetic and the parasympathetic fibres have certain similarities and
certain differences. The similarities are that both are parts of ANS; both are
motor fibres and both contain preganglionic and postganglionic fibres.
The sympathetic nervous system dominates during muscle activity and helps
in spending energy. The parasympathetic nervous system, in contrast, acts
during conservation of energy. In addition, both sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems have opposing effects on several parts of
the body.
The central nervous system (CNS) is a hollow, dorsally placed structure,
lying along the mid-dorsal axis of the body. It comprises of the brain and the
spinal cord. The brain is lodged in the skull while spinal cord is enclosed by
the vertebral column.
Self-Instructional
Material 103
Foundations of The spinal cord runs mid-dorsally within the vertebral column and lies in its
Behaviour
neural canal. It is protected by the vertebral column and passes through a
hole in each vertebra. The vertebral column is composed of 24 individual
vertebrae.
NOTES
The spinal cord consists of a central pia mater which is also known as the
grey matter. The surrounding white matter is the dura mater. The dura mater
has a myelin sheath covering it.
All behaviours are not simple. Some behaviours are complex, which involve
other sides of the body and other organs. These behaviours are executed
through polysynaptic reflexes. These reflexes involve more than one synapse
between a sensory and a motor neuron.
The lemniscal pathway is situated in the dorsal and medical section of the
spinal cord. It consists of the gracile tract, which covers the lower torso and
lower limbs and the cuneate tract, which covers the upper torso and upper
limbs.
Pyramidal fibres originate from specific sites on the neocortex, whereas,
extra pyramidal fibres originate in widespread sites on the neocortex as
well as in several areas of the brain, underneath the neocortex. These areas
are known as sub-cortical areas.
The endocrine glands which secrete only hormones are known as holocrine
glands. Examples of holocrine glands are thyroid gland, parathyroid gland,
adrenal gland and pituitary gland. However, endocrine glands that perform
the dual function of secreting both hormones and performing some other
function are known as heterocrine glands.
7.6 KEY WORDS
The cauda equina: This is a bundle of spinal nerves and spinal nerve rootlets.
These nerves are located at the lower end of the spinal cord in the
lumbosacral spine.
The somatosensory system: This is a complex system of sensory neurons
and pathways that responds to changes at the surface or inside the body.
Primates: A member of the most developed and intelligent group of
mammals, including humans, monkeys, and apes.
Neocortex: This is a part of the cerebral cortex concerned with sight and
hearing in mammals, regarded as the most recently evolved part of the
cortex.
Endocrinology: The study of endocrine glands and hormones secreted by
them is known as endocrinology.
Self-Instructional
104 Material
Foundations of
7.7 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS AND Behaviour
EXERCISES
Short Answer Questions NOTES
1. Write a brief note on the peripheral nervous system (PNS).

2. State the functions of the spinal nerves.
3. Enumerate the role of the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
4. What is the function of the sympathetic nervous system?
5. Enumerate the structure of spinal cord.
6. State the significance of reflex in neural circuits.
7. Write a brief note on the function of the endocrine glands.
1. Discuss in detail the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral
Nervous System (PNS).
2. Analyse the structure and functions of cranial nerves.
3. Write a comprehensive note on plexuses formed by spinal nerves.
4. Discuss the autonomic nervous system (ANS) response in lower animals
and humans.
5. Discuss in detail the spinal cord’s structure and function in nervous system.
6. Elaborate the role of the pyramidal pathways.
7. Discuss the main characteristics of endocrine glands.

Self-Instructional
Material 105
Heredity and
Environment Behaviour BLOCK - III
BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR AND
CONSCIOUSNESS
NOTES
UNIT 8 HEREDITY AND

ENVIRONMENT
BEHAVIOUR
Structure
8.0 Introduction
8.1 Objectives
8.2 Biological Basis of Behaviour: Heridity vs. Enviornment
8.4 Summary
8.5 Key Words
8.0 INTRODUCTION
British scientist Sir Francis Galton coined the phrase “nature and nurture.” Galton’s
study was about the relationship between behaviour and heredity. He studied the
families of outstanding men of his day and concluded that mental powers run in
families. Galton became the first to use twins in genetic research and pioneered
many of the statistical methods of analysis that are in use today. Genetic methods
are now used to estimate the impact of genetic and environmental factors on
individual differences in any complex trait, including behavioural traits.
The twin study relies on nature that results in identical twins or fraternal. The
adoption study is an experimental design that relies on a social accident in which
children are adopted away from their biological parents early in life. Because of
the stronger genetic link between the adopted children and their biological parents,
the implication is that heredity plays an important role in intelligence. There are
instances of behavioural disorders which are much more difficult because multiple
genes are involved and each gene has a relatively small effect. Some genes that are
more active in influencing the trait are called dominant. A dominant gene will always
be expressed in the actual trait. A person with a dominant brown hair colour gene
Self-Instructional will have brown hair, no matter what the other gene is.
106 Material
This unit aims at discussing how heredity and environment operate together Heredity and
Environment Behaviour
in the development of human behaviour and mind.
8.1 OBJECTIVES NOTES

Understand the concept of heredity
Explain the role of environment in shaping human development
Understand how heredity and environment operate together
Understand the causes behind the complex behaviour
Discuss the role of social and physical surrounding on the behaviour
Analyse the significance of behaviour genetics
Understand the use of adoption studies to determine the behaviour
Analyse the role of genes in influencing traits in humans
Enumerate the biological and cultural root
8.2 BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR:

HERIDITY VS. ENVIORNMENT
Nature refers to heredity, the influence of inherited characteristics on personality,

physical growth, intellectual growth and social interaction. Nurturing refers to an
organism’s environmental experiences that include parenting styles, physical
surroundings social conditions, etc. The interaction of nature and nurture influences
every aspect of mind and behaviour to a degree. Neither of the two factors operates
alone (Sylvia S. Mader, 2003). Heredity and environment operate together to
produce temperament, height, weight, ability to pitch a baseball, reading ability
and so on. Now a question before us is that if Zhang Liyin becomes an Olympic
champion in gymnastics, will it be because of her heredity or environment. The
answer is both. According to William Greenough (2001) the interaction of heredity
and environment is so extensive that to ask, which is more important—nature or
nurture—is like asking which is more important to a rectangle, height or width.
People who are more successful at constructing optimal life experiences then others
are the ones who looked for and found meaningful life theme as they developed.
Their lives were not restricted to simple biological survival and passive acceptance
of environmental dictates. Psychologists agreed that much complex behaviours
have some genetic loading that makes people likely to develop in a particular way.
However, our actual development also depends on what we experience in our
environment (J. Gottlieb, 2004). The influence of the environment ranges from the
things that are lumped together under nurture (like peer relations, family dynamics,
neighbourhood quality, parenting and schooling) to biological encounters (like
cellular activities, complications in birth, and viruses). Self-Instructional
Material 107
Heredity and Some psychologists, however, believe that we can develop beyond what
our genetic inheritance and our environment give us. They argue that a key aspect
of development involves seeking optimal experiences in life (M. Massimini and A.
Delle Fave, 2000). They cite examples of people who go beyond simple biological
NOTES adaptation to actively choose from the environment the things that serve their
purposes. These individuals build and construct their own lives, authoring a unique
developmental path.
The social and the physical surrounding in which a person lives, conducts
himself or herself, grows, is called the environment. Environment also includes the
context of school, family and community within which a person lives and interacts
with the genetic characterization. By studying the identical and fraternal twins, the
influence of environment heredity can be sorted out. Identical twins have more
similarity in intelligence than fraternal twins, even when they are separated at birth
and reared in different homes. They are also similar when it comes to susceptibility
to schizophrenia and some personality characteristic. Recent studies shows that
intelligence as well as the amount of grey matter is more correlated in identical
twins than in fraternal twins (Thompson et al, 2001). Intelligent people have more
grey matter and the amount of grey matter appears to be strongly related to genetic
factors.
Behaviour genetics is the study of the degree and nature of heredity’s influence on
behaviour. Twin studies and behaviour genetics examine the extent to which
individuals are shaped by their heredity and their environmental experiences (D.
Wahlsten, 2000). The behavioural similarities of identical twin are compared with
fraternal.
In a twin study, 7000 paired identical and fraternal twins were compared on the
personality test of extraversion and neuroticism (Rose and others, 1988). The
identical twins had more similarity than the fraternal twins on both the personality
traits, suggesting that gene influences both traits.
In another type of twin study, researchers evaluate identical twins that have
been reared in separate environments. If their behaviour is similar, the assumption
is that heredity has played an important role in shaping their behaviour. This strategy
is based on the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, directed by Thomas
Bouchard and his colleagues (1996). They bring identical twins who have been
reared apart to Minneapolis from all over the world to study their behaviour. They
ask many questions about their vocational orientation, childhood environment and
family, values and personal interests. Also, their medical history along with
information about their exercise habits, diet and smoking are obtained.
Critics argue that some of the separated twins in the Minnesota study had
been together several months prior to their adoption, that some had been reunited
Self-Instructional
108 Material
prior to their testing (in some cases, for a number of years), that adoption agencies Heredity and
often put identical twins in similar homes, and that even strangers who spend several
hours together are likely to come up with some coincidental similarities (L.E. Adler,
1991).
NOTES
Behaviour genetics also use adoption studies to try to determine whether
the behaviour of adopted children is more like that of their biological parents or
their adopted parents. Another type of adoption study compares biological and
adopted siblings. In one study, the educational levels attend by biological parents
were better predictors of the adopted children’s IQ scores than were the IQs of
the children’s adoptive parents (Scarr and Weinberg, 1983). Because of the stronger
genetic link between the adopted children and their biological parents, the
implication is that heredity plays an important role in intelligence. However,
numerous studies document the critical role of environment in intelligence as well
(R.J. Sternberg and E.L. Grigorenko, 2001).
Behaviour genetics is the science of heredity which studies the origins of
behaviour that determine how much of the behaviour is the result of genetic
inheritance and how much due to person’s experience. DNA (deoxyribonucleic
acid) is a very special kind of molecule (the smallest particle of a substance) that
still has all the properties of the substances. DNA consist of two strands, each
composed of certain sugars and phosphates. Due to the unique shapes of DNA
each molecule of DNA is linked end to end with the others, forming a very long
strand, sections of this DNA strand are linked by the amines, which are usually
referred to by letters A, T, G and C. Amines are organic structures that contain the
genetic codes for building the proteins that make up organic life chain colouring,
muscles and skin. It controls the life of each cell. Each section of DNA containing
a certain sequence of these amines is called a gene. Genes are located on rod-
shaped structures called chromosomes, which are found in the nucleolus of a cell.
Humans have a total of forty-six chromosomes in each cell of their bodies (with
the exception of the egg and the sperm). Twenty-three of these chromosomes
come from the mother’s egg and the other 23 from the father’s sperm. Most
characteristics are determined by twenty-two such pairs, called the autosomes.
The last pair determines the sex of the person. These two chromosomes are called
the sex chromosomes. There is a gene for hair colour on each chromosome. The
actual colour of the person’s hair will be determined by those two genes, one gene
from each parent. Some genes that are more active in influencing the trait are
called dominant. A dominant gene will always be expressed in the actual trait. A
person with a dominant brown hair colour gene will have brown hair, no matter
what the other gene is.
Some genes are less active in influencing the trait and will only be expressed
in the actual trait if they are paired with another less active gene. These genes tend
to recede, or fade into the background when paired with a more dominant gene.
These are called recessive. Several genetic disorders are carried by recessive
genes. Diseases carried by recessive genes are inherited when a child inherits two
Self-Instructional
Material 109
Heredity and recessive genes, one from each parent. Disorders inherited in this manner are
cystic fibrosis (a disease of the respiratory and digestive tracts, sickle cell anaemia
(a blood disorder), etc. Each cell and each sperm are supposed to have twenty-
three chromosomes. In the creation of these cells a chromosome can end up in the
NOTES wrong cell, leaving one cell with only twenty-two and the other with twenty-four.
If either of these cells survives to mate, the missing or extra chromosome can
cause mild to severe problems in development (American Academy of Paediatrics,
1995; Barnes and Carey, 2002; Gardner and Sutherland, 1996). Down syndrome
is a disorder in which there is an extra chromosome in what would normally be the
twenty-first pair. Symptoms include almond-shaped, wide-set eyes and mental
retardation (Baren and Carey, 2002; Hernandez and Fisher, 1996). Klinefelter’s
syndrome is a disorder in which the twenty-three set of sex chromosomes is XXY
with the extra X producing a male with reduced masculine characteristics enlarge
breast, obesity and excessive height (Bock, 1993) and Turner’s Syndrome is a
disorder in females in which the twenty-third pair is actually missing on X, so that
the result is a lone X chromosome (Rauke and W. Saenger, 2001). These females
tend to be very short infertile and sexually under developed (American Academy
of Paediatrics, 1995; Rover 1993).
Natural selection, the process described by Charles Darwin to account for
evolutionary change, plays an important role in shaping both behaviour and brain.
Evolutionary psychology is focussed on the study of how evolution explains
physiological processes. Psychologists and researchers take the basic principles
of evolution, including natural selection, and apply them to psychological
phenomena. This perspective suggests that these mental processes exist because
they serve an evolutionary purpose—they aid in survival and reproduction.
In the evolutionary scheme, some individuals are more successful at solving
problems and adapting effectively than others (Crawford and Salmon, 2004;
Goldsmith and Zimmerman, 2001). Those who are successful pass on their genes
to the next generation; those who are less successful do not.
In this evolutionary psychology view, psychological functions have become
more specialized over human history (David Buss, 2000, 2004; L. Cosmides and
others, 2003). Following are among the specialized psychological functions that
evolutionary psychologists study:
Development of a fear of strangers between 3 and 24 months of age, as
well as very common fears of snakes, spiders, heights, open spaces and
darkness (Marks, 1987).
Perceptual adaptations for tracking motion (Ashida, Seiffert, and Osaka,
2001).
Self-Instructional
110 Material
Children imitate high-status models and not low-status models (A. Bandura, Heredity and
1977).
Throughout the world, kind, intelligent, and dependable mates are preferred
(David Buss and others, 1990). Evolutionary psychologists believe that these
NOTES
specialized functions developed because they helped humans adapt and solve
problems in past environments (S.J.C. Gaulin and D.H. McBurney, 2004). Some
critics caution that evolutionary psychology places too much emphasis on the
biological foundations of behaviour. For example, Albert Bandura (1998), whose
social cognitive theory acknowledges the importance of human adaptation and
change, rejects what he calls ‘one-sided evolutionism’, in which social behaviour
is considered to be solely the product of evolved biology. Bandura recommends a
bidirectional view: Evolutionary pressures created changes in biological structures
facilitating the use of tools, which enabled organisms to manipulate, alter and
construct new environmental conditions. Environmental innovations of increasing
complexity, in turn, produced new pressures for the evolution of specialized
biological systems facilitating consciousness, thought, and language.
Scientists such as Steven Jay Gould (1981) agree that human evolution
gave us body structure and biological potentialities, not behavioural dictates. The
advanced biological capacities that evolved can be instrumental in producing diverse
cultures; for example, aggressive or peaceful. Russian-American scientist Theodore
Dobzhansky (1977) reminds us that the human species has evolved the capacity
for learnability and plasticity, which allows us to adapt to diverse contexts. Most
psychologists would agree that the interaction of biology and environment is the
basis for own development as human beings (C.G. Coll, E.L. Bearer and R.M.
Lerner, 2004).
The behaviour of human beings is meaningful in its cultural context. In terms of
shared practices and meaning, different cultures guide us in choosing our goals.
Different patterns of behaviour are found in different cultures which emerge in the
context of interaction of the people which are encoded in different forms. Various
customs, traditions and cultural artefacts display these codes. It has both material
and subjective aspects. Culture flows from one generation to another. The subjective
part includes roles, norms, values, etc.; whereas the material part includes different
artefacts, sculptures, tools, etc. Culture works in different ways, on one side it
provides us with opportunities and on the other side it constrains us. Different
skills and behaviour patterns are discouraged and encouraged depending on the
particular cultural context. Different demands are put by an extended family and a
nuclear family. In the same way, schools in remote villages and cities differ in their
functioning; for example, interaction pattern, classroom organization, etc. Every
culture tries to maintain its identity.
Self-Instructional
Material 111
Heredity and
Check Your Progress
1. How do nature and nurture impact the mind and behaviour?
NOTES 2. What do you mean by the environment?
3. How do heredity and environment operate together?
4. What is behaviour genetics?
5. State the outcome of the twin study.
6. Enumerate the findings of adoption studies by behaviour genetics.
7. State the role of DNA in determining the origins of behaviour.
8. What do you mean by recessive gene?
9. What is Down syndrome?

QUESTIONS
1. Nature refers to heredity, the influence of inherited characteristics on

personality, physical growth, intellectual growth and social interaction.
Nurturing refers to an organism’s environmental experiences that include
parenting styles, physical surroundings social conditions, etc. The interaction
of nature and nurture influences every aspect of mind and behaviour to a
degree. Neither of the two factors operates alone.
2. The social and the physical surrounding in which a person lives, conducts
himself or herself, grows, is called the environment. Environment also includes
the context of school, family and community within which a person lives
and interacts with the genetic characterization.
3. Heredity and environment operate together to produce temperament, height,
weight, ability to pitch a baseball, reading ability and so on. Psychologists
agreed that much complex behaviours have some genetic loading that makes
people likely to develop in a particular way. However, our actual
development also depends on what we experience in our environment.
4. Behaviour genetics is the science of heredity which studies the origins of
inheritance and how much due to person’s experience.
5. In a twin study, 7000 paired identical and fraternal twins were compared
on the personality test of extraversion and neuroticism. The identical twins
had more similarity than the fraternal twins on both the personality traits,
suggesting that gene influences both traits.
6. Behaviour genetics also use adoption studies to try to determine whether
the behaviour of adopted children is more like that of their biological parents
Self-Instructional
112 Material
or their adopted parents. Another type of adoption study compares biological Heredity and
and adopted siblings. In one study, the educational levels attend by biological
parents were better predictors of the adopted children’s IQ scores than
were the IQs of the children’s adoptive parents.
NOTES
7. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a very special kind of molecule (the smallest
particle of a substance) that still has all the properties of the substances.
DNA consist of two strands, each composed of certain sugars and
phosphates. Due to the unique shapes of DNA each molecule of DNA is
linked end to end with the others, forming a very long strand, sections of
this DNA strand are linked by the amines, which are usually referred to by
letters A, T, G and C. Amines are organic structures that contain the genetic
codes for building the proteins that make up organic life chain colouring,
muscles and skin.
8. Some genes are less active in influencing the trait and will only be expressed
in the actual trait if they are paired with another less active gene. These
genes tend to recede, or fade into the background when paired with a more
dominant gene. These are called recessive. Several genetic disorders are
carried by recessive genes. Diseases carried by recessive genes are inherited
when a child inherits two recessive genes, one from each parent.
9. Down syndrome is a disorder in which there is an extra chromosome in
what would normally be the twenty-first pair. Symptoms include almond-
shaped, wide-set eyes and mental retardation.
8.4 SUMMARY
Nature refers to heredity, the influence of inherited characteristics on

personality, physical growth, intellectual growth and social interaction.
Nurturing refers to an organism’s environmental experiences that include
parenting styles, physical surroundings social conditions, etc. The interaction
of nature and nurture influences every aspect of mind and behaviour to a
degree.
According to William Greenough (2001) the interaction of heredity and
environment is so extensive that to ask, which is more important—nature or
nurture—is like asking which is more important to a rectangle, height or
width. People who are more successful at constructing optimal life
experiences then others are the ones who looked for and found meaningful
life theme as they developed.
Psychologists agreed that much complex behaviours have some genetic
loading that makes people likely to develop in a particular way. However,
our actual development also depends on what we experience in our
environment.
Self-Instructional
Material 113
Heredity and Some psychologists, however, believe that we can develop beyond what
our genetic inheritance and our environment give us. They argue that a key
aspect of development involves seeking optimal experiences in life.
The social and the physical surrounding in which a person lives, conducts
NOTES
himself or herself, grows, is called the environment. Environment also includes
the context of school, family and community within which a person lives
and interacts with the genetic characterization.
Recent studies shows that intelligence as well as the amount of grey matter
is more correlated in identical twins than in fraternal twins. Intelligent people
have more grey matter and the amount of grey matter appears to be strongly
related to genetic factors.
In a twin study, 7000 paired identical and fraternal twins were compared
on the personality test of extraversion and neuroticism (Rose and others,
1988). The identical twins had more similarity than the fraternal twins on
both the personality traits, suggesting that gene influences both traits.
Behaviour genetics is the science of heredity which studies the origins of
inheritance and how much due to person’s experience.
Humans have a total of forty-six chromosomes in each cell of their bodies
(with the exception of the egg and the sperm). Twenty-three of these
chromosomes come from the mother’s egg and the other 23 from the father’s
sperm. Most characteristics are determined by twenty-two such pairs, called
the autosomes. The last pair determines the sex of the person.
Some genes are less active in influencing the trait and will only be expressed
in the actual trait if they are paired with another less active gene. These
genes tend to recede, or fade into the background when paired with a more
dominant gene. These are called recessive.
Natural selection, the process described by Charles Darwin to account for
evolutionary change, plays an important role in shaping both behaviour and
brain.
Scientists such as Steven Jay Gould (1981) agree that human evolution
gave us body structure and biological potentialities, not behavioural dictates.
The advanced biological capacities that evolved can be instrumental in
producing diverse cultures.
Culture works in different ways, on one side it provides us with
opportunities and on the other side it constrains us. Different skills and
behaviour patterns are discouraged and encouraged depending on the
particular cultural context.
Self-Instructional
114 Material
Heredity and
8.5 KEY WORDS Environment Behaviour
Genetics: This is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living
organisms. It is generally considered a field of biology, but intersects NOTES
frequently with many other life sciences and is strongly linked with the study
of information systems.
Adoption studies: These are one form of clinical genetic study designed to
evaluate genetic and environmental influences on phenotype.
Klinefelter syndrome: Also known as 47, XXY or XXY, this is the set of
symptoms that result from two or more X chromosomes in males. Often,
symptoms may be subtle and many people do not realize they are affected.
Klinefelter syndrome usually occurs randomly.
Down syndrome: Also known as trisomy 21, this is a genetic disorder.
Down syndrome is a genetic condition that results when there is an extra
copy of a specific chromosome, chromosome 21. It causes a distinct facial
appearance, intellectual disability and developmental delays.
Social cognitive theory: This is used in psychology, education, and
communication. It holds that portions of an individual’s knowledge acquisition
can be directly related to observing others within the context of social
interactions.

EXERCISES

1. State the role of heredity in influencing behaviour and mind.
2. Write a brief note on behaviour genetics.
3. State the outcomes that emerge after the experiment with twin study.
4. What is the role of DNA in analysing the genes’ activity?
5. Enumerate the significance of a dominant gene.
6. State how missing or extra chromosome causes problem in development.
7. Write a brief note on the influence of cultural interactions on human behaviour.
1. Discuss in detail the genetic and environment behaviour.
2. Analyse the role of heredity in shaping the development.
3. Write a comprehensive note on the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart.
Self-Instructional
Material 115
Heredity and 4. Discuss the role of adoption studies to determine the behaviour of adopted
children.
5. Analyse in detail the significance of gene in influencing the traits.
NOTES 6. Elaborate the incidence of Turner’s syndrome.
7. Discuss how evolutionary psychology places too much emphasis on the
biological foundations of behaviour?

Self-Instructional
116 Material
Principles of Learning
UNIT 9 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

Structure NOTES
9.0 Introduction
9.1 Objectives
9.2 Factors Influencing Learning and Memory
9.2.1 Learner-Related Factors
9.2.6 Memory
9.2.12 Forgetting
9.2.13 Methods to Improve Memory
9.3 Classical Conditioning
9.4 Instrumental/Operant Conditioning
9.5 Cognitive Learning
9.5.1 Purposive Theory
9.7 Summary
9.8 Key Words
9.0 INTRODUCTION
As is universally acknowledged, a good memory and an efficient retentive function
are of great help in everyday life to all of us who heavily lean on their facility in
acquiring and retaining information. For psychologists to scientifically study human
learning, retention has been defined as remembering now what has been learned
before. It entails the process of preserving and maintaining effects of earlier learning
experience and later using them. Memory is a comprehensive process which include
learning, retention, recall and recognition. It is the habit states of a subject that give
the capability for correct occurrences of a criterion response. There is an initial
acquisition session in which the subject makes a discriminative response to a stimulus,
followed by a period of time. Rehearsal is used both to maintain short-term store
and to transfer information about the items to a semi-permanent long-term store. Self-Instructional
Material 117
Principles of Learning The problem of improvement in learning has been experimentally studied
and the results have invariably shown wide individual differences in the rate of
improvement. This is true in the acquirement of both knowledge and skill. Forgetting
occurs because the information stored in the memory cannot be brought to the
NOTES conscious mind. There can be a number of reasons because of which the information
cannot be recalled. Failure of recollection can be partial or temporary forgetting;
the failure of retention is complete or permanent forgetting.
The study of classical conditioning began in the 20th century with the work
of the Noble Prize winner Russian Physiologist, Ivon Pavlov. In his experiment on
a dog, Pavlov observed that just prior to being fed, the dog secreted saliva from
its mouth. The dog salivated in response to a number of stimuli associated with the
food. Pavlov identified many key elements that must be responsible for conditioning
to take place. Seligman and his colleagues accidentally discovered an unexpected
phenomenon while experimenting on dogs using classical conditioning.
This unit aims at discussing the process of learning, memory and forgetting
while analysing the various theories and experiments conducted by psychologists
and behaviourists.
9.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand the meaning and concept of learning
Analyse the various factors of learning
Describe into transfer of learning
Understand the meaning of memory
Analyse processes and models of memory
Enumerate the various types of memory
Understand factors influencing memory
Discuss the various techniques and methods of memory
Decode the meaning and concept of forgetting
Understand the application of classical conditioning
Explain the role of cognitive learning
Analyse various theories on learning
9.2 FACTORS INFLUENCING LEARNING AND

MEMORY
Learning is a process rather than a product. Learning involves a learner whose

behaviour is changed or modified because of learning and the type of experience
Self-Instructional
and training available for modifying the behaviour.’
118 Material
Therefore, there are two types of factors that influence the process of learning: Principles of Learning
1. Learner-related factors
2. Environment-related factors
9.2.1 Learner-Related Factors NOTES
These factors are explained as follow:

1. Health of the learner: The health of the learner has a powerful effect on
the learning process. Health includes both the physical and mental health.
For example, if the individual is having a headache then it is very difficult for
him to learn. Similarly, if a person is emotionally disturbed, then he can
never concentrate and ultimately he cannot learn. Thus, it can be concluded
that in order to see positive results of learning the subject has to be both
physically and mentally fit.
2. Potential of the learner: The innate capacities and abilities of the learner
also affect the process of learning. The potential also includes the interest,
attitude and aptitude of the learner. If the individual has more interest in a
particular field, then his learning will be better than a person who has no
interest. The attitude that is both positive and negative also has an effect on
the learning activity. If the individual has a positive attitude then he will be
able to learn better. Thus, the basic skills do affect the learning process.
3. Motivation of the learner: The amount of motivation the individual has
will decide the learning outcome. If the individual does not have high
aspirations, then he will not be motivated to learn. The aspiration should not
be too high also because there can be a feeling of frustration. So both
aspirations and motivation can contribute significantly to learning.
4. Learner’s objectives: The objectives of the learner also affect the learning
process. If he has a definite aim, then he will work hard in a particular
direction and so learning will be more in that particular area.
5. Readiness of the learner: The other important factor that contributes to
learning is the learner’s readiness. There will be no learning if the learner is
not ready to receive it mentally and physically. Thus, if the learner has a
strong will to learn something, then the learning will be very effective.
Trainer-related factors
Content-related factors
Process-related factors
A. Trainer-related factors
1. Personality of the Trainer: Trainer has a very important role to play in
the process of learning. The trainer sometimes becomes the ideal role model
Self-Instructional
Material 119
Principles of Learning for the learners. The learning activity cannot be fruitful unless there is
interaction with the trainer and the learners. How well the trainer
communicates the matter, which has to be learned in order that the learner
achieves the goal, depends upon the personality of the trainer. Personality
NOTES also affects the behaviour of the person and that is why the activities related
to learning are differently carried out by different people.
2. Knowledge of the subject: The teachers must be thorough about the
subject matter. That means they must know the subject really well. They
must be able to handle all types of queries. The trainer must also have good
presentation and oratory skills.
3. Health of the trainer: If the trainer is not in a sound mental or physical
health, then it becomes difficult for him to convince and influence the learners.
Poor mental health may also lead to adjustment problems, whereas a sound
mental health of the trainer ensures that he properly adjusts to the environment
and influences the learning process.
4. Presentation skills of the trainer: Presentation is at the heart of training.
A good presentations makes it easy for students to learn.
B. Content-related factors
1. Nature of content: The learning process is also influenced by the nature
of content. Learning is affected by factors like whether the content is direct
or indirect, formal or informal or whether the content is organized or
unstructured.
2. Selection of content: The selection of content also influences the learning
process. The selection of content should depend upon the needs of the
learners.
3. Organization of the content: In order to make the learning more effective,
the content should be structured and must be organized. Selected content
or learning experiences need better organization for effective sharing among
the learners and teachers.
C. Process-related factors
1. Learning methods: Learning depends upon the methods and approaches
used, like there should be linking of the new learning with the past learning.
Past information helps the learner to understand the new information. For
better learning, maximum senses should be used in a given situation. The
learner who uses the sense of hearing, seeing, smell and touch will learn the
things better. For example, if a small child wants to learn information about
the computer, then if he is able to see the computer and feel its parts by
touching then he will be able to learn it better than a child who has to learn
the information without seeing.
Self-Instructional
120 Material
2. Feedback: The learning results are also dependent upon what kind of Principles of Learning
reinforcement and feedback is given to the learner. If the learner exactly

knows the progress of his learning and knows how well he is doing, it may
work as an immediate reinforcement. He will be motivated to perform better.
Feedback can be negative also; if the learner has problems, then remedial NOTES
actions can be taken to improve the process of learning. Reinforcement
must result from students’ practice. If the student shows firm understanding
of the presented information, reinforcement should admire the success.
However, if practice brings forth a student’s lack of understanding,
reinforcement should come as repeated presentations, reviews and more
practice, ensuring that the student eventually grasps the information.
The learning process also depends upon the available resources like good learning
material, proper illumination and appropriate learning environment like calm and
peaceful settings. Some important factors contributing to learning environment are
motivating climate, correct aptitude for learning, laboratory and library facilities to
conduct research and project work for better learning of concepts. A good and
conducive learning environment ensures that the learner is comfortable; for example,
proper seating arrangement is there, the environment is calm, there are no
distractions and there are facilities of rest and recreation if required, for the learner.
The other important requirement is that there should be a continuous
motivation from the trainers to the learners. The trainer should also be highly
motivated to impart information. Proper reinforcement should be provided to the
learners to motivate them to learn. The trainer should make attention-holding
presentations, giving realistic examples, preparing illustrative visuals and, in general,
keeping the students interest level high will contribute in determining how quickly
and easily learners understand new concepts. All these factors can be explained
with the help of an example from a good educational institute, which provides
good facilities to the learners. The trainers motivate the learners by giving rewards.
The environment in an educational institute is calm and peaceful. There are negligible
distractions. There are competitive and cooperative group situations. There are
facilities of rest and recreation. Proper learning aids in terms of good reading
material are provided to the learners. The learners also have an opportunity for
self-expression and creativity. All these factors together enhance the learning
effectiveness.
Transfer of learning is very important for future development. When we learn to
perform a task, we sometimes feel that it is influenced by our previous learning.
The skills acquired in one activity is possibly transferred to the next situation. This
is called transfer of learning.
Self-Instructional
Material 121
Principles of Learning According to Sorenson (1948): ‘Transfer refers to the transfer of knowledge,
training and habits acquired in one situation to another situation.’
Sometimes, we feel that our previous knowledge was actually a barrier in
the present learning. Thus, transfer of learning is not always positive but can have
NOTES
negative effects also. So transfer of learning can be positive, negative or there can
be no transfer at all.
If the previous knowledge or learning helps or benefits the current learning,
then it is termed as positive transfer, if the former learning interferes or is an obstacle
in the present learning, then it is termed as negative transfer and if there is no effect
of past learning either positive or negative in performing the present activity, then it
is called zero transfer.
In some situations, there can be both positive as well as negative transfer.
When a person is introduced to new information or a new skill, it may take several
learning sessions to acquire that knowledge or skill. Psychologists refer to this
acquisition process as the learning curve. In general, this term refers to the time it
takes an individual to develop knowledge or a new skill.
The problem of improvement in learning has been experimentally studied
and the results have invariably shown wide individual differences in the rate of
improvement. This is true in the acquirement of both knowledge and skill. The
learning curve has been found to be extremely irregular, varying even in the same
individual. Figure 9.1 shows that the rate of learning is sometimes fast and
sometimes slow.
Fig. 9.1 Rate of Learning
9.2.6 Memory
Learning is of no use if we are not able to preserve our past experiences and able
to recall them in future when needed. This ability of remembering and later recalling
is called memory. It is a representation of actual past events. It has a very important
role to play in the behaviour of a person.
Self-Instructional
122 Material
According to Tulving (2000), memory is the means by which we retain and Principles of Learning
draw on our past experiences to use that information in the present. As a process
memory refers to the dynamic mechanisms associated with strong retaining and
retrieving information about past experience (Bjorklund, Schneider and Hernandez
Blasi, 2003, Crowder, 1976). NOTES
Memory involves four factors learning, retention, recall and recognition.
Thus memory is a complex process that starts with learning. Memory is also the
ability to retain past learning in the brain, and then retain it for a long time and then
recognize and recall it at a later stage according to the demand of the situation.
Bentley was of the view that experience acquired by a person leaves
impression on the brain in the form of memory traces. These forms the basis of
memory as a functional tendency, because retention ends when these traces are
wiped off.
According to Woodworth (1945), ‘In defining memory, we should first
repeat what has been said before, that this noun is properly a verb. The real fact is
remembering.’
According to Stout (1938), ‘Memory is the ideal revival so far as Ideal
revival is merely reproductive…this productive aspect of ideal revival requires the
object of past experiences to be reinstated as far as possible in the order and
manner of their original occurrence.
According to Ryburn (1956), ‘The power that we have to store our
experiences and to the field of consciousness sometime after the experiences have
occurred, is termed memory.’
Memory starts with learning. The four stages of memory are:
Learning
Retention
Recognition
Recalling
i. Learning
Learning starts with encoding. The process of encoding is to translate the sensory
information or simply the stimulus around into codes so that they can be stored
and later retrieved when needed. The information in the memory can be done by
two coding systems verbal and non-verbal i.e. use of imagery. The information in
the short-term memory is stored in the forms of chunks. A chunk may be a letter or
digit or a combination of letters and digits each combination being a chunk.
ii. Retention
The next step in memory is called retention. Retention means storage of the
information, retaining the residues of experiences. The retention may be at the
Self-Instructional
Material 123
Principles of Learning conscious or sub-conscious level. Sometimes, we are able to recall things very
easily without any effort this is the conscious state but sometimes somebody else
reminds us of certain things this is sub conscious level and at the unconscious level
the things cannot be recalled.
NOTES
iii. Recognition
Sometimes recall comes after recognition as, for example, when we recognize an
old friend the moment we see him and then we are reminded of good things about
him. On other occasions, it is recall which precedes recognition. Sometimes, it
happens we are going somewhere and someone asks us whether we have
recognized him or not, and when he describes about himself we recognize the
person. This shows that recognition sometimes follows a recall.
iv. Recalling
Recalling the information also depends upon how the information is encoded in
the long-term memory. The meaningful information is recalled better than the
meaningless information. Sometimes recalls come after recognition; for example,
we see our old house and we are reminded of many pleasant memories related to
that house. But sometimes we do not recognize a person who approaches us and
asks us whether we have recognized or not and then we realize and recall that he
was our old neighbour.
Tip of the tongue phenomenon in recall or retrieval is an important part in
the process of memorization.
Sometimes we have a feeling that we know something for sure but are
unable to recall it immediately. This is referred to as tip of the tongue state. The
individual feels that he has all the relevant information but the exact word does not
come to the tip of the tongue. The words which come to mind are quite similar in
meaning and sound to the ‘target word’ which the individual wants to recall.
Thus recall is not an all or none process the subject may forget some
characteristics of the word but may be able to retrieve some information related to
the word.
Waugh and Norman (1965) proposed the model of memory which had two
structures, primary memory which holds temporary information currently in use
and secondary memory which stores information for a very long period of time or
permanently.
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed the memory model in terms of three
stores (Figure 9.2).
Sensory store
Short term store
Long term store
Self-Instructional
124 Material
NOTES
Fig. 9.2 Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Memory Model

Based on the Atkinson and Shriffin, model memory are basically three types:
immediate or sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory.
1. Sensory memory
This type of memory helps the individual to recall immediately those events or
things which have just occurred. The information stored in this type of memory is
lost after a very short period of time or after the information is used by the individual.
Like the number of the seat of the bus we forget after we occupy it, we remember
it till we have not occupied the seat.
The new information takes the place of the old information and the new
information is erased.
2. Short-term memory
This type of memory is also for a very short period of time, but it is not as short as
in the case of immediate memory. The impressions do not erase very easily. The
sensory impressions retained in the immediate memory are either immediately erased
or transferred to the short term memory. The sensory information stored in the
short term memory is lost in a very short period of time, if that information is not
rehearsed or is transferred to long-term memory. The duration of the information
in short-term memory last from 3 to 20 seconds The sensory information in short
term memory is encoded in the forms of visual and auditory impressions, signs
words etc. the encoding in the short-term memory is not systematic. There are no
rules or principles followed in the encoding process.
It has been proved by many experiments that only five to nine items can be
stored in the short-term memory. Some information from sensory memory is
transferred into short-term memory. In short-term memory 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: An active process to keep it until it is put to use.
Self-Instructional
Material 125
Principles of Learning Conard (1964) by his experiments proved the importance of acoustic code
rather than a visual code. Thus the encoding of visually presented letters in by the
subjects in the experiment was based on how they sound not by how they look.
Baddeley (1966) compared recall performance for lists of acoustically
NOTES
confusable words such as map, cab, man, mad and cap with that for lists of
acoustically distinct words such as cow, pit, day, rig and bun. He concluded from
this experiment that the recall performance was bad for the visual presentation of
words. He also compared performance for lists of semantically similar words
such as big, long, large, wide and broad with performance for lists of semantically
dissimilar words such as old, foul, late, hot and strong. There was little difference
in recall between the two lists.
Shulman (1970) Wickens, Dalezman and Eggmeier (1976) also studied as
how the information is encoded in short-term memory. Their study concluded that
there is some semantic encoding in short term memory.
Though primarily the encoding in short-term memory is acoustic, but there
is a clear indication from the studies carried by different researchers that there is at
least some semantic encoding in short-term memory.
Difference between sensory memory and short-term memory
The retention time is less than one second in sensory memory sometimes the retention
time goes up to five seconds to auditory stimulus. This means that if the stimulus is
in form of a sound then it remains for a longer period of time than other types of
stimulus whereas in short-term memory the information last up to thirty seconds
even if the information is not rehearsed or practiced in the short-term memory.
Span of memory that means how much information can be retained at a point of
time is more in sensory memory than the short-term memory. Span of retention in
sensory memory is generally eleven to sixteen items for a half a second in short-
term memory this span is five to nine items. The information stored in the sensory
memory is deleted or completely erased or sometimes it gets transferred to the
short-term memory whereas the information in short-term memory is lost if it is
not practiced or rehearsed. If the learner makes an attempt than the information
after many repetitions gets transferred to long-term memory. Forgetting is almost
immediate in sensory memory whereas in the short-term memory the forgetting is
considered to be purposive and deliberate. The old information is erased to give
place to new information.
3. Long-term memory
Long-term memory has a limitless capacity to store information. The information
stored in the long-term memory is permanently retained and does not gets erased
and that is why it is also called as permanent memory. The duration of the information
is up to lifetime. Though the individual may face problems in recollecting the
information from the long-term memory because the cues needed to retrieve the
information are not complete, but forgetting is minimal from long-term memory
store. The encoding process is very structured, planned and organized. Encoding
Self-Instructional
126 Material
is done on the basis of meanings and other important characteristics related to the Principles of Learning
piece of information.
Long-term memory involves the information you make an effort (conscious
or unconscious) to retain, because it’s personally meaningful to you (for example,
NOTES
data about family and friends); you need it (such as job procedures or material
you’re studying for a test); or it made an emotional impression (a movie that had
you riveted, the first time you ever caught a fish, the day your uncle died). Some
information that you store in long-term memory requires a conscious effort to
recall: episodic memories, which are personal memories about experiences you’ve
had at specific times; and semantic memories (factual data not bound to time or
place), which can be everything from the names of the planets to the color of your
child’s hair. Another type of long-term memory is procedural memory, which involves
skills and routines you perform so often that they don’t require conscious recall.
The information stored in long-term memory affects the process of
perception, and influences what information the individual will attend to from the
environment around. The information is stored in the form of schemas in the long-
term memory.
Schemas are the mental models of different objects in the world in the
mind. These schemas are the detailed knowledge structures present in the long-
term memory. The schemas are organized in the long-term memory and the schemas
of similar information are connected to each other. All the schemas related to one
type of information gets activated and all the information related to a concept is
recalled and all irrelevant information is not perceived this is how the individuals
interprets the objects and situations around them.
According to Mander and Parker (1976), a schemata is an internal structure,
developed through experience that organizes incoming information in relation to
previous experience. Schemata is related to scripts. Gleitman (1995) describes a
scenario of behaviour applicable to a particular setting such as a restaurant script,
the sequence includes being seated, looking at the menu, ordering food, paying
the bill and leaving.
The sensory impressions encoded in the long-term memory are of two types:
episodic and semantic. Thus long-term memory can be explained in terms of
episodic memory and semantic memory.
i. Episodic memory: This type of memory is related with the episodes in the
life of a person. These episodes are the events and experiences associated
with one’s life. For example, for a married person some important episodes
of his life will be his marriage, birth of a child, which will be a part of his
long-term memory which he will never forget during his entire life span.
Similarly, a person who has witnessed a major accident will never be able
to forget throughout his life and it will be permanently stored in his long-
term memory and he will be able to recall it at any later stage of his life and
narrate all the experiences related to this episode.
Self-Instructional
Material 127
Principles of Learning ii. Semantic memory: Semantic memory is not related to events or episodes
in the life of person but it is related to the ideas, meanings and concepts.
This semantic memory is concerned with the knowledge of concepts which
are more general in nature than the individual events in the life of a person.
NOTES
This type of memory is helpful during the childhood stage when the concepts
are being formed. Semantic memory helps in forming a generalized picture
of the world. Semantic memory is important in doing new and learning
about new situations.
This type of memory is based on generalized rules, principles and formulae.
In the long-term memory all the experiences and events are encoded in the
form of language and can be retrieved when needed. All the information stored in
the long-term memory does not get erased from our memory and remains permanent
like the name of our parents, our relatives. General chemical formulae, name of
capital cities are also stored in semantic memory.
Difference between short-term memory and long-term memory
The duration of information in short-term is only for thirty seconds or less. The
duration of information in long-term memory can be for the entire life. Not more
than five to nine items can be stored in long-term memory whereas long-term
information has a limitless capacity to store different types of information. The
information in the short-term memory is not organized and structured. There are
no rules to store the information, but in long-term memory the encoding process is
planned, organized and structured. In semantic memory the information is organized
on the basis of the meanings of the words. Information in short-term memory is
very short lived and decays after a very short period of time, whereas the information
in long-term memory is not completely erased though there may be difficulty in
retrieving the information but the information is not completely forgotten.
Various factors are responsible for affecting the process of memory. The factors
can be both external which cannot be controlled by the individual as well as internal
which lie within the individual. The other factors which influence the process of
memory are the nature of the information and resources used in the process of
memory.
1. Nature of the information
The nature of the information to be learned influences the process of memory. The
information which is meaningful and the material which fulfils the needs of the
learner is better recalled by the learner and it remains stored for a longer period of
time. In an experiment conducted the subjects were shown.
Related paired words like Delhi–capital, apple–fruit, toys–children and some
unrelated pair words like banana–rain, dance–wheat. It was found from this study
that the subjects were able to recall the meaningful paired words better and the
Self-Instructional
128 Material
meaningless words and non-paired words were not memorized. The intensity of Principles of Learning
the stimulus also effect the retention. Weak and not very clear sensations do not
stay in the memory for a very long period of time. Clear pictures can remain in the
memory for a long time. Distinct sensations like strong light, very bright picture is
retained for long time. Recency also has an effect on retention. Recent events and NOTES
experiences are retained longer. Duration or the time interval of the sensation also
has an effect on the memory. A sensation which is present for a longer duration
remains in the memory for a considerable time whereas the sensation for a shorter
period of time vanishes quickly from the memory
Events that are surprising and inconsistent with our expectations will be
retained the most in the memory.
The amount of material also has an effect on the process of memory. If the
material to be memorized is short and within reasonable limits then it is easy to
memorize, but if the information is quite lengthy then there are more chances of
failure.
Mental inclination of the learner also effects memory. If the learner is mentally
inclined towards a piece of information then the retention will be for a longer
period of time. For example, a sports lover will retain more of sports related
events. A religious person will remember sacred things better.
2. Resources used in the process of memory
How much information is stored in the memory also depends upon the methods
and techniques followed by the learner. For example, in the recitation method, the
learner keeps on reciting the information that has to be learned. The other method
of memorizing is sometimes the learner learns all the information as a whole and
sometimes the information is learned in parts.
Freud was of the view that unpleasant things cannot be retained for long.
The person becomes totally ignorant to the unpleasant experiences with the passage
of time.
A person retains those things for a longer period which relate with his mental
inclinations.
Intention also plays an important part in memory. If a person has an intention
to learn then the retention will be better. All these methods and techniques are
discussed in detail.
The person chooses the method and techniques according to the demands of the
situation. Some of these methods used for memorizing are as follows:
1. Whole and part method
There are two methods of remembering a piece of information. For example, a
student wants to learn one whole chapter. One method is to learn the chapter as a
whole. This is the whole method of memorization. The other method is to divide
Self-Instructional
Material 129
Principles of Learning the poem into different parts and each part is memorized as a separate unit. The
whole method is useful and the success rate of memorization is more if the piece of
information is short. This method is less time taking also. Part method is useful
when the information to be learned is quite lengthy and detailed.
NOTES
2. Method of distributed and massed practice
In the distributed or space method, the complete information is not remembered
in one go rather after memorizing some part of the information for some time, the
rest is given to the learner after repeated intervals of time. In massed or un-spaced
method of memorizing no break is given to the learner. The whole information is
memorized without any rest in one go. For memorizing long detailed information,
spaced or distributed method is better. This method breaks the monotony of the
work and proper rest again motivates the learner to put in extra efforts to memorize
the detailed piece of information. In spacing at each learning session, the context
of encoding may differ. The individuals may use alternative strategies and cues for
encoding. It is difficult to say which method is better because both has a set of
advantages and disadvantages and depends upon the skills of the learner and also
the environmental conditions.
9.2.12 Forgetting
Forgetting occurs because the information stored in the memory cannot be brought
to the conscious mind. There can be a number of reasons because of which the
information cannot be recalled. Failure of recollection can be partial or temporary
forgetting; the failure of retention is complete or permanent forgetting.
Forgetting is important for us also as unless we forget the incorrect responses
we cannot learn the correct ones. Thus, forgetting can be considered to be a boon
for us.
Munn (1967): ‘Forgetting is the loss, permanent or temporary, of the ability
to recall or recognize something learned earlier.’
Drever (1952): ‘Forgetting means failure at any time to recall an experience
when attempting to do so or to perform an action previously learned.’
Does quick learning also contribute to forgetting? There is an old saying:
‘Quick learners are quick forgetters also.’ This is not always true. If a learner fully
understands and grasps the information quickly, then it cannot be forgotten. Slow
learning, on the other hand, may create monotony and it is a sign of unsystematic
learning.
According to Ebbinghaus, forgetting is a passive mental process.
On the basis of many researches conducted, the following can be the causes
of forgetting.
i. Disuse
According to the theory of disuse, any learnt material if not rehearsed or practiced
regularly will decay due to disuse. This theory is also called as natural decay
Self-Instructional
130 Material
theory. Thus, decay theory asserts that information is forgotten because of the Principles of Learning
gradual disappearance rather than displacement of the memory trace unless some
effort is made to keep it intact. Forgetting is considered to be a natural and universal
phenomenon. Some psychologists also agree that with the passage of time there is
a decay of the memory. The rate of decay increases with the passage of time. NOTES
Ebbinghaus (1885) studied the phenomenon of forgetting. He conducted many
experiments to describe the process of forgetting and plotted a curve of forgetting.
Ebbinghaus concluded that after twenty minutes of time forty seven percent
information is forgotten. After one day sixty six per cent information is lost; after
two days, seventy two percent information is forgotten; after six days, seventy five
percent information decays and after thirty one days, seventy nine percent
information is forgotten. Ebbinghaus plotted these results on a graph paper.
There are many arguments against the decay theory of forgetting because
many psychologists assert that forgetting is not only due to disuse but also other
activities after learning.
ii. Interference effects
According to the interference theory of forgetting the information cannot be retrieved
not just because of the passage of time but also because there has been a new
learning. New learning has a negative effect on recalling past learning. This is called
as retroactive inhibition. Retroactive inhibition is effected by the similarity between
past learning and interpolated activities.
Retroactive inhibition is also effected by the amount of past learning and
interpolated activity.
If the amount of interpolated activity is more than the past learning, the
hindrance to recall will be more.
A second kind of interference is proactive interference or proactive inhibition.
Proactive inhibition occurs before meaning of the-to-be remembered material.
According to underwood (1957), the amount of proactive interference generally
climbs with increase in the length of time between when the information is retrieved.
The recency effect mean the subject’s ability to recall words at and near the
end of a list. The primacy effect is the superior recall of words at and near the
beginning of a list. Both the recency effect and the primacy effect influence the
process of recall.
iii. Motivated forgetting
Another facet to forgetting is the aspect of the motives of the person. The principle
of repression is applicable when some memories cannot be retrieved because
they cause personal discomfort. The psychoanalysts emphasizes that the major
cause of forgetting is repression. Repression means pushing of the experiences
and thoughts into the unconscious. According to Freud, it is natural for human
beings to repress sorrowful thoughts because of the pain of the cause if
remembered.
Self-Instructional
Material 131
Principles of Learning The memories are not lost but can be traced under appropriate conditions.
For example, the individual forgets all personal references because of some severe
emotional shock.
NOTES 9.2.13 Methods to Improve Memory

Some parts of the brain have very important role to play in memory. The three
areas of the brain which contribute to memory are hippocampus, amygdale and
cerebral cortex. The most important part is the hippocampus, which helps in
processing the information. The amygdala is another area near the hippocampus
which processes emotions and stores memories that involve emotion and the third
area called cerebral cortex, forms the outer layer of the brain, and it stores the
information present in the long-term memory in different zones, depending on the
factors as to how the information is processed like language formation or sensory
input, problem-solving, etc.
There are three stages that the brain goes through in forming and retaining
memories.
Stages of memory foundation and maintenance are acquisition, consolidation
and retrieval.
i. Acquisition
Acquisition means the information enters the brain through nerve cells and gets
encoded. Encoding is only successful if attention is concentrated intentionally. If
the learner is not focused then the information does not get encoded and is lost.
That is the reason why we have to pay attention to memorize any piece of
information. Distractions can cause loss of attention and ultimately no acquisition.
ii. Consolidation
The acquisition of any information leads to the next stage of consolidation. If the
information is encoded then the hippocampus processes the information and it is
stored in the long term memory. If the subject is able to relate the current information
with the past learning then the consolidation will be better. Emotional responses
are also consolidated easily.
iii. Retrieval
In recalling the information, the brain has to activate the same pattern of nerve
cells it has used to store it. The more frequently you need the information, the
easier it is to retrieve it along healthy nerve cell connections.
Mnemonics is a method of remembering items by imposing a structure of
organisation on the material to be memorized. This method serves as a set of clues
to remember pieces of information by associating the information with a visual
image, a sentence, or a word. The three basic principles of mnemonics are
imagination, association and location.
Self-Instructional
132 Material
a. Imagination Principles of Learning
We all tend to learn verbal material better when we connect them with some visual
image. The images strengthen the associations needed to create effective
mnemonics. For example, all manufacturers use imagery in brand name of their
NOTES
products so that their brands are easily remembered by people. Charlie Chaplin’s
image is associated with shoe polish. Pleasant images are stored and recalled
easily than the unpleasant ones. Unpleasant images are blocked by the brain and
cannot be recollected.
b. Association
By association, people link a thing to be remembered to a way of remembering it.
Associations can be created by merging two images together or by relating two
things with same colour, shape or smell or placing things on top of each other.
c. Location
With location the things to be remembered can be linked. Different locations may
be related with different things. For example, linking Delhi with few things and
relating Mumbai with the other things.
According to Koriat and Goldsmith (1996), to preserve or enhance the
integrity of memories during consolidation we may use various metamemory
strategies. Metamemory strategies involve reflecting on our own memory processes
with a view to improving our memory. Some of the metamemory strategies are
discussed as follows:
1. Rehearsal: Rehearsal means the repeated recitation of the information to be
learned. Rehearsal can be overt or covert. Overt means when the rehearsal can
be observed by others. Covert means when the rehearsal is silent and cannot be
observed by others. The effects of such rehearsal is called as practice effects. A
learner must transfer the information by rehearsal to long term memory. There can
be two types of rehearsal, elaborative rehearsal and maintenance rehearsal. In
elaborative rehearsal, the individual tries to elaborate the meaning of information
to be remembered and also tries to connect with the information which is known
to him. Maintenance rehearsal means repeating the information without elaborating.
Such information is not passed to long term memory because it was not related
with already known information.
2. Organization of the information: According to Best (2003), mnemonic
devices are specific techniques to help you memorize lists of words. There are a
number of techniques to memorize, which are discussed in the followings:
i. Categorical clustering: One organizes a list of items into a set of categories.
For example, if you want to remember a list of words of different types then
the items can be clustered into different categories like colours, fruits,
vegetables, etc.
ii. Interactive images: This technique focuses on association of each new
word with a word on a previously memorized list and forms an interactive
Self-Instructional
Material 133
Principles of Learning image between the two words. Interactive images can be created to relate
the isolated words in a list. For example, if the unrelated words like road,
shop, pencil, table are to be remembered then these words can be memorized
by generating interactive images. For example, you can imagine you are
NOTES going on a road which has many shops the shop sells pencil and table.
iii. Peg word system: Associate each new word with a word on a previously
memorized list and form an interactive image between the two. For example,
in one of the experiments cited one list of words was from a nursery rhyme,
one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree , four is a door and so on . To
learn new words containing socks, apples and a pair of scissors the list was
memorized by visualizing an apple between buns, a sock stuffed inside a
shoe and a pair of scissors cutting a tree.
iv. Method of loci: In the method of loci, one visualizes walking around an
area with distinctive landmarks that one knows well. One then links the
various landmarks to specific items to be remembered. For example you
have four landmarks on your way to office — the old house, a big tree, tall
building and a small bridge. The list of words to be remembered is an apple,
a pair of socks, a bun and a pair of scissors. Then you might imagine an
apple on top of the old house, a pair of socks hanging from the tree, a bun
lying in front of the tall building and a pair of scissors in between the bridge.
v. Acronym: In using acronym, one devises a word or expression in which
each of its letter stands for a certain other word or concept. An example is
IQ or USA. The following techniques may be used to improve the memory:
Choosing correct method to memorize: Some people tend to learn
better if the information is in terms of visuals; they are called as visual
learners. They prefer to see to memorize the information. Other prefers
listening; they are termed as auditory learners. They remember the
information better if they hear the recorded information.
Strong determination: The learner must have a sense of strong will
and determination in order to memorize the information and later recall
it when needed. If the learner lacks will then he will not be motivated to
retain the information and reproduce it later.
Using as many senses as possible: Learning is always better if more
than one sense organs are used to obtain the information like the
information about a particular object can be collected by knowing its
color, touching its texture, smelling it and tasting it. Likewise audio-
visual information is better received by the learner.
Repetition and practice: Continuous rehearsal and practice of the
information learned helps in easy recall. The things repeated and practiced
frequently are remembered for a long time. As goes the saying ‘practice
makes a man perfect.’
Self-Instructional
134 Material
Organize information: The new information should be related with Principles of Learning
what is already known. Grouping and rhyming the information also

facilitates the learning process. For example, if a number 267875432
has to be memorized then if we group them as 267 875 432 then it can
easily be retained and recalled. Children learn the material easily if it is NOTES
arranged in the form of a rhyme like 30 days hath September, April,
June, and November.’
Positive attitude: A positive frame of mind increases the learning
effectiveness. Sometimes, if we have a negative attitude and we feel that
the information is quite lengthy or difficult to learn, then with this attitude,
the information is not stored and retained and becomes difficult to recall.
A person having a sharp memory displays some distinct characteristics:
1. Acquisition is quick if the learner is able to acquire the information quickly
then his memory is considered to be good. If the acquisition is slow then the
memory is not considered to be sharp.
2. Retention is long, the quick power of acquisition is not the only condition
which characterizes a good memory. There should be long retention of the
information also. Some people learn very fast but they also tend to forget
very quickly. Thus a person having a good memory power is the one who
can store and retain information for long duration.
3. Retrieval is accurate and prompt memory can only be considered to be
good if the individual can quickly recollect the correct information when
required. Many times it happens that in an interview a question is asked, we
might be knowing the answer but we cannot recall it at that very moment.
The solution strikes us when the interview is over. This is not the sign of
good memory.
4. Relevancy of the information: Sometimes the person is able to recall a lot of
information but it is not relevant. For example, the students write all irrelevant
matter in response to a question. This is also not a sign of good and sharp
memory.
Check Your Progress

1. What do you understand by learning?
2. List the various factors that influence learning.
3. Why is transfer of learning important?
4. State the concept of memory.
5. List the various stages of memory.
6. Enumerate the different types of memory.
Self-Instructional
Material 135
9.3 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Classical conditioning is a learning process in which a neutral stimulus associates

NOTES with another stimulus through repeated pairing with that stimulus. The study of
classical conditioning began in the 20th century with the work of the Noble Prize
winner Russian Physiologist, Ivon Pavlov. In his experiment on a dog, Pavlov
observed that just prior to being fed, the dog secreted saliva from its mouth. In his
experiment Pavlov daily placed meat powder in the dog’s mouth, causing it to
salivate. Pavlov noticed that meat powder was not the only stimulus that causes
salivation. The dog salivated in response to a number of stimuli associated with the
food. Pavlov identified many key elements that must be responsible for conditioning
to take place. They are mentioned as follows:
Unconditional stimulus: Unconditioned denotes unlearned or the naturally
occurring stimulus, which leads to the reflex, involuntary response. Food is
the unconditioned stimulus here.
Unconditioned response: It is unlearned and occurs because of genetic
wiring in nervous system. Salivation of the dog is an example of an
unconditioned response.
Conditioned stimulus: Stimulus that is able to produce a learned reflex
response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned stimulus means learned.
Conditioned response: It is a learned reflex response to a condition
stimulus. In his experiment, Pavlov used meat powered as the original
unconditioned stimulus, which produced salivation in his dog. Pavlov placed
the meat powder in the dog’s mouth and rang the bell. Later on, he first
rang the bell and little after that he placed the food. He increased the time
interval between the sound stimulus (the bell) and the food stimulus (meat
powder), and noticed that the sound stimulus produced salivation. After a
certain number of such paired administrations of two stimuli, Pavlov
presented only the sound stimulus and every time the sound stimulus
produced salivation (saliva from the dog’s mouth). He called the original
stimulus the unconditioned stimulus (USC) and its response the
unconditioned response (UR). He called the new stimulus the conditioned
stimulus (CS) and the old response, when attached to the CS, was called
conditioned response (CR).
The connection between the CS and CR—the sound stimulus and the
salivary response—could be established only when the UCS—the food stimulus—
was also subsequently applied. The UCS was therefore called the reinforcement
stimulus. CS gained the strength or force from the UCS, which was paired with
it, to produce the conditioned response. The paired presentation of the two stimuli
could alone establish the new connection. The conditioned reflex principle, when
Self-Instructional
136 Material
applied to learning of new responses, came to be called the Conditioning Theory Principles of Learning
of Learning.
The findings of Pavlov have been tabulated in Table 9.3.
Table 9.3 Conditioning Theory of Learning NOTES
Before Conditioning
CS No response or/irrelevant
(Sound) response.
UCS UCR
(Food) Salivation
After Conditioning
CS CR
(Sound) Salivation

Classical conditioning works in the following manner:
Stimulus generalization: Generalization in classical conditioning is the
tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original stimulus to elicit a
response that is similar to the conditioned response (Nicholas Jones, Ildiko
Kemenes and Paul Benjamin, 2001). Pavlov found that the dog not only
salivated to the tone of the bell, but also to other sounds that are similar to
the original sound of the bell. The similar the bell sounded, the more the dog
salivated.
Discrimination: Stimulus generalization cannot continue for a long period
of time. When the dog did not receive only food on hearing the similar bell,
real CS was followed. With food appearing only after the real bell, the dog
started to differentiate between the fake bells and the real one. This process
is called stimulus discrimination; the process of learning to response to a
particular stimuli and not to others (R.A. Murphy, A.G. Baker and N.A.
Fouquet, 2001).
Acquisition: The time interval between the CS and UCS is one of the most
important aspects of classical conditioning (S. Kotani, S. Kawahara and Y.
Kirino, 2002; G. Weidemann, A. Georgilas and E.J. Kehoe, 1999).
Conditioned responses develop when the CS and UCS occur close together;
often optimal spacing is a fraction of a second (G.A. Kimble, 1961). In
Pavlov experiment, the bell rang 15 minutes before the presentation of food.
The dog probably would not have associated the ringing of the bell with the
food.
Extinction: It means learning that the CS no longer predicts the UCS; it is
not unlearning like original learning. It involves formation of a new CS-no
UCS memory that inhibits expression of the CS-UCS association. Hence,
the dog gradually stopped salivating to the sound of the bell. When the CS
Self-Instructional
Material 137
Principles of Learning (bell) was repeatedly presented in the absence of UCS (food), the salivation
(CR) died out
Spontaneous recovery: It refers to the reappearance of a learned response
NOTES after extinction has occurred. If Pavlov had followed the ringing of the bell
with the food—after the dog had stopped salivating to the sound of the
bell—the dog’s spontaneous salivation would have reoccurred. This is called
retraining. Retraining is made simpler by the fact that the extinguished
response is not gone, just suppressed.
Higher order conditioning: This occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus
is paired with a neural stimulus. The stronger CS can actually play the part
of a UCS, and the previous neutral stimulus becomes a second conditioned
stimulus. For example, previously the dog was conditioned to salivate at
the sound of the bell. If the dog is put in a situation wherein it is exposed to
a light followed by the bell on each trial, the light alone will eventually elicit
a CR, even though it has never been paired with food. The existence of
second-order conditioning greatly increases the scope of classical
conditioning especially in human beings, for whom biological significant UCS
occurs relatively infrequently.
The following are the applications of classical conditioning:
Survival value: Classical conditioning has a great deal of survival value
(Vernoy, 1995). Due to classical conditioning, we jerk our hands away
before they are burned by fire. Pavlov conducted his experiments and
concluded that individuals have been conditioned to respond to the sound
of a buzzer, a glimpse of light, a puff of air or the touch of a hand (Woodruff-
Pak, 1999).
Health problems and mental disorders can be attributed to classical
conditioning: B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) brought to light the
role of classical conditioning in phobias (irrational fear). They conducted
the ‘Little Albert’ that included a white rat. They concluded that if we can
produce fears through classical conditioning we can eliminate them using
conditioning procedure. Counter conditioning is a classical conditioning
procedure for weakening a CR by associating a fear-provoking stimulus
with a new response incompatible with the fear. Classical conditioning is
not restricted to unpleasant emotions. We become conditioned with the
pleasure moment of our life. Certain physical complaints can also be partly
the products of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning can be involved
in certain aspects of drug use.
Classical conditioning used by contemporary advertisers: Many
contemporary advertisers use classical conditioning (J. Perner, 2001). For
Self-Instructional
138 Material
example, whenever males see a beautiful woman (UCS) their emotion or Principles of Learning
the UCR is arousal. Therefore, many times a beautiful woman (UCS) is

paired with an automobile (not yet a CS). In such a case, the automobile
becomes the CS that results in arousal (CR).
NOTES
Recent research has shown that if the CS is encountered outside the ads, it
does not predict the UCS (J.R. Bettman, 2001). Thus, classical conditioning may
work best for infrequently encountered products and cases in which the UCS is
associated with only one brand. Classical conditioning may work best for
infrequently encountered products and cases in which the UCS is associated with
only one brand. It also works best when the CS precedes the UCS in ads.
Check Your Progress

7. What is the meaning of classical learning?
8. List the key elements of classical learning.
9. Enumerate the various applications of classical learning.
9.4 INSTRUMENTAL/OPERANT CONDITIONING
Classical conditioning occurs with reflexive, involuntary behaviour. Learning which

is due to voluntary behaviour is called operant conditioning. The concept of operant
conditioning was developed by the American psychologist B. F. Skinner (1938).
Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, is a form associative
learning in which consequences of behaviour change the probability of occurrence
of behaviour. Skinner described the term operant as the behaviour of the organism—
the behaviour operates in the environment, and the environment in turn operates
on the behaviour. Operant conditioning consists of voluntary behaviour that acts
or operates on the environment and produces rewarding or punishing stimuli.
Contingency is an important aspect of classical conditioning, the occurrence of
one stimulus is dependent on the presence of another one.
9.5 COGNITIVE LEARNING
Cognitive learning is a powerful mechanism that provides the means of knowledge

and goes well beyond simple imitation of others. Conditioning can never explain
what we are learning at any given time. This learning illustrates the importance of
cognitive learning. Cognitive learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge
and skill by mental or cognitive processes—the procedures we have for
manipulating information ‘in our heads’. Cognitive processes include creating mental
representations of physical objects and events, and other forms of information
processing.
Self-Instructional
Material 139
Principles of Learning 9.5.1 Purposive Theory
Edward Tolman (1932) emphasized on the purposiveness of behaviour, in other
words, much behaviour is goal directed. Tolman (1948) believed that an organism’s
NOTES expectations about which actions are needed to attain a goal, take the form of
cognitive maps. A cognitive map is an organism’s mental representation of the
structure of physical space. His experiments with rats in maze led him to conclude
that rat developed mental awareness of physical space and the elements in it and
then used these cognitive maps to find the food at the end of the maze, which is
their goal.
By conducting experiment in latent learning, cognitive map in learning was
obtained. Latent learning is unreinforced learning that is not immediately reflected
in behaviour. In one study, three groups of rats in the same maze—one at a time—
were studied. In the first group, each rat was placed in the maze and rewarded
with food for making its way out the other side. The rat was then placed back in
the maze, rewarded every time the maze was solved, until the rat could successfully
solve the maze with no errors. The second group of rats was treated exactly like
the first, except that they never received any reinforcement upon exiting the maze.
They were simply put back in repeatedly, until the tenth day of the experiment. On
the tenth day, the rats in the second group began to receive reinforcement for
getting out of the maze. The third group of rats, serving as a control group, was
also not reinforced and was not given reinforcement for the entire duration of the
experiment. A strict Skinnerian behaviourist would predict that only the first group
of rats would learn the maze successfully because learning depends on reinforcing
consequences. At first, this seemed to be the case. The first group of rats did
indeed solve the maze after a certain number of trials, whereas the second and
third groups seemed to wander aimlessly around the maze until accidentally finding
their way out.
On the tenth day, however, something happened that would be difficult to
explain using only Skinner’s basic principles. The second group of rats, upon
receiving the reinforcement for the first time, should have then taken as long as the
first group to solve the maze. Instead, they began to solve the maze almost
immediately. Tolman concluded that the rats in the second group, while wandering
around in the first nine days of the experiment, had indeed learned where all the
blind alleys, wrong turns, and correct paths were in the maze. They had simply not
demonstrated this learning because there was no reason to do so. The learning
had remained hidden, or latent, until the rats had a reason to demonstrate their
learning by getting to the food. Tolman called this latent learning.
In the mid- to late 1960s, M.E.P. Seligman and his colleagues accidentally
discovered an unexpected phenomenon while experimenting on dogs using classical
conditioning (M.E.P. Seligman, 1975). Their original intention was to study escape
Self-Instructional
140 Material
and avoidance learning. Seligman and colleagues presented a tone followed by a Principles of Learning
harmless but painful electric shock to one group of dogs. The dogs in this group
were harnessed so that they could not escape the shock. The researchers assumed
that the dogs would learn to fear the sound of the tone and later try to escape from
the tone before being shocked. These dogs, along with another group of dogs that NOTES
had not been conditioned to fear the tone, were placed into a special box with a
low fence that divided the box into two compartments. The dogs, which were
now unharnessed, could easily see over the fence and jump over. In fact, these
dogs showed distress but did not try to jump over the fence even when the shock
began.
Why would the conditioned dogs refuse to move when shocked? The dogs
that had been harnessed and then provided the shocks were conditioned and had
apparently learned—in the original tone/shock situation—that there was nothing
they could do to escape the shock. So when placed in a situation where an escape
was possible, the dogs still did nothing because they had learned to be ‘helpless’.
They believed they could not escape, so they did not even try. Seligman extended
this theory of learned helplessness, the tendency to fail to escape from a situation
because of a history of repeated failure in the past, to explain depression. Depressed
people seem to lack normal emotions and become somewhat apathetic, often
staying in unpleasant work environments or bad marriages or relationships rather
than trying to escape or better their situation. Seligman proposed that this depressive
behaviour is a form of learned helplessness. Depressed people may have learned
in the past that they seem to have no control over what happens to them (L.B.
Alloy and C.M. Clements, 1998). A sense of powerlessness and hopelessness is
common to depressed people, and certainly this would seem to apply to Seligman’s
dogs as well.
Wolfgang Kohler (1887–1967) was a Gestalt psychologist. In one of his more
famous studies (Kohler, 1925), he set up a problem for one of the chimpanzees.
Sultan, the chimp was faced with the problem of how to get to a banana that was
placed just out of his reach outside his cage. Sultan solved this problem relatively
easily, first trying to reach through the bars with his arm, then using a stick that was
lying in the cage to rake the banana into the cage. As chimpanzees are natural tool
users, this behaviour is not surprising and is still nothing more than simple trial-
and-error learning.
Then, the problem was made more difficult. The banana was placed just
out of reach of Sultan’s extended arm with the stick in his hand. At this point there
were two sticks lying around in the cage, which could be fitted together to make a
single pole that would be long enough to reach the banana. Sultan first tried one
stick, then the other (simple trial-and-error). After about an hour of trying, Sultan
seemed to have a sudden flash of inspiration. He pushed one stick out of the cage
as far as it would go toward the banana and then pushed the other stick behind the
Self-Instructional
Material 141
Principles of Learning first one. Of course, when he tried to draw the sticks back, only the one in his
hand came. He jumped up and down and was very excited. When Kohler gave
him the second stick, he sat on the floor of the cage and looked at them carefully.
He then fitted one stick into the other and retrieved his banana. Kohler called this
NOTES Sultan’s rapid ‘perception of relationships’ insight and determined that insight could
not be gained through trial-and-error learning alone (Kohler, 1925). Although
Thorndike and other early learning theories believed that animals could not
demonstrate insight, Kohler’s work seems to demonstrate that insight requires a
sudden ‘coming together’ of all elements of a problem in a kind of ‘aha’ moment
that is not predicted by traditional animal learning studies. More recent research
has also found support for the concept of animal insight (B. Heinrich, 2000; C.
Heyes, 1998; T.R. Zentall, 2000), but there is still controversy over how to interpret
the results of those studies (Wynne, 1999).
Check Your Progress

10. What is the significance of operant conditioning?
11. What is the meaning of cognitive learning?
12. Enumerate the Purposive Theory.

QUESTIONS
1. Learning is a process rather than a product. Learning involves a learner

whose behaviour is changed or modified because of learning and the type
of experience and training available for modifying the behaviour.’
2. There are two types of factors that influence the process of learning: Learner-
related factors and Environment-related factors.
3. Transfer of learning is very important for future development. When we
learn to perform a task, we sometimes feel that it is influenced by our previous
learning. The skills acquired in one activity is possibly transferred to the
next situation. This is called transfer of learning. According to Sorenson,
‘Transfer refers to the transfer of knowledge, training and habits acquired in
one situation to another situation.’
4. Learning is of no use if we are not able to preserve our past experiences
and able to recall them in future when needed. This ability of remembering
and later recalling is called memory. It is a representation of actual past
events. It has a very important role to play in the behaviour of a person.
5. The four stages of memory are:
Learning
Retention
Self-Instructional
142 Material
Recognition Principles of Learning
Recalling
6. Based on the Atkinson and Shriffin, model memory are basically three types:
immediate or sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. NOTES
a. Sensory memory: This type of memory helps the individual to recall
immediately those events or things which have just occurred. The
information stored in this type of memory is lost after a very short
period of time or after the information is used by the individual.
b. Short-term memory: This type of memory is also for a very short
period of time, but it is not as short as in the case of immediate memory.
The impressions do not erase very easily. The sensory impressions
retained in the immediate memory are either immediately erased or
transferred to the short-term memory.
c. Long-term memory: Long-term memory has a limitless capacity to
store information. The information stored in the long-term memory is
permanently retained and does not gets erased and that is why it is
also called as permanent memory. The duration of the information is
up to lifetime.
7. Classical conditioning is a learning process in which a neutral stimulus
associates with another stimulus through repeated pairing with that stimulus.
The study of classical conditioning began in the 20th century with the work
of the Noble Prize winner Russian Physiologist, Ivon Pavlov. In his
experiment on a dog, Pavlov observed that just prior to being fed, the dog
secreted saliva from its mouth.
8. Key elements that must be responsible for conditioning to take place are
mentioned as follows:
Unconditional stimulus: Unconditioned denotes unlearned or the naturally
occurring stimulus, which leads to the reflex, involuntary response. Food
is the unconditioned stimulus here.
Unconditioned response: It is unlearned and occurs because of genetic
wiring in nervous system. Salivation of the dog is an example of an
unconditioned response.
Conditioned stimulus: Stimulus that is able to produce a learned reflex
response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned stimulus means learned.
Conditioned response: It is a learned reflex response to a condition
stimulus. In his experiment, Pavlov used meat powered as the original
unconditioned stimulus, which produced salivation in his dog.
9. The following are the applications of classical conditioning:
Survival value: Classical conditioning has a great deal of survival value.
Pavlov conducted his experiments and concluded that individuals have
Self-Instructional
Material 143
Principles of Learning been conditioned to respond to the sound of a buzzer, a glimpse of light,
a puff of air or the touch of a hand.
Health problems and mental disorders can be attributed to classical
conditioning: B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner brought to light the role of
NOTES
classical conditioning in phobias (irrational fear). They conducted the
‘Little Albert’ that included a white rat. They concluded that if we can
produce fears through classical conditioning we can eliminate them
using conditioning procedure.
Classical conditioning used by contemporary advertisers: Many
contemporary advertisers use classical conditioning. For example,
whenever males see a beautiful woman (UCS) their emotion or the UCR
is arousal. Therefore, many times a beautiful woman (UCS) is paired
with an automobile (not yet a CS). In such a case, the automobile
becomes the CS that results in arousal (CR).
10. Operant conditioning consists of voluntary behaviour that acts or operates
on the environment and produces rewarding or punishing stimuli. Contingency
is an important aspect of classical conditioning, the occurrence of one
stimulus is dependent on the presence of another one.
11. Cognitive learning is a powerful mechanism that provides the means of
knowledge and goes well beyond simple imitation of others. Cognitive
learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge and skill by mental
or cognitive processes—the procedures we have for manipulating
information ‘in our heads’. Cognitive processes include creating mental
representations of physical objects and events, and other forms of information
processing.
12. Edward Tolman emphasized on the purposiveness of behaviour, in other
words, much behaviour is goal directed. Tolman believed that an organism’s
expectations about which actions are needed to attain a goal, take the form
of cognitive maps. A cognitive map is an organism’s mental representation
of the structure of physical space. His experiments with rats in maze led him
to conclude that rat developed mental awareness of physical space and the
elements in it and then used these cognitive maps to find the food at the end
of the maze, which is their goal.
9.7 SUMMARY
The learning process is also influenced by the nature of content. Learning is

affected by factors like whether the content is direct or indirect, formal or
informal or whether the content is organized or unstructured.
Learning depends upon the methods and approaches used, like there should
be linking of the new learning with the past learning. Past information helps
Self-Instructional
144 Material
the learner to understand the new information. For better learning, maximum Principles of Learning
senses should be used in a given situation.

Transfer of learning is very important for future development. When we
learn to perform a task, we sometimes feel that it is influenced by our previous
NOTES
learning. The skills acquired in one activity is possibly transferred to the
next situation.
Learning is of no use if we are not able to preserve our past experiences
and able to recall them in future when needed. This ability of remembering
and later recalling is called memory. It is a representation of actual past
events. It has a very important role to play in the behaviour of a person.
Waugh and Norman proposed the model of memory which had two
structures, primary memory which holds temporary information currently in
use and secondary memory which stores information for a very long period
of time or permanently.
Span of retention in sensory memory is generally eleven to sixteen items for
a half a second in short-term memory this span is five to nine items. The
information stored in the sensory memory is deleted or completely erased
or sometimes it gets transferred to the short- term memory
Long-term memory has a limitless capacity to store information. The
information stored in the long-term memory is permanently retained and
does not gets erased and that is why it is also called as permanent memory.
Schemas are the mental models of different objects in the world in the mind.
These schemas are the detailed knowledge structures present in the long-
term memory. The schemas are organized in the long-term memory and the
schemas of similar information are connected to each other.
Forgetting occurs because the information stored in the memory cannot be
brought to the conscious mind. There can be a number of reasons because
of which the information cannot be recalled. Failure of recollection can be
partial or temporary forgetting; the failure of retention is complete or
permanent forgetting.
Some parts of the brain have very important role to play in memory. The
three areas of the brain which contribute to memory are hippocampus,
amygdale and cerebral cortex. The most important part is the hippocampus,
which helps in processing the information.
Mnemonics is a method of remembering items by imposing a structure of
organisation on the material to be memorized. This method serves as a set
of clues to remember pieces of information by associating the information
with a visual image, a sentence, or a word. The three basic principles of
mnemonics are imagination, association and location.
Classical conditioning is a learning process in which a neutral stimulus
associates with another stimulus through repeated pairing with that stimulus.
Self-Instructional
Material 145
Principles of Learning The study of classical conditioning began in the 20th century with the work
of the Noble Prize winner Russian Physiologist, Ivon Pavlov.
Classical conditioning has a great deal of survival value (Vernoy, 1995).
Due to classical conditioning, we jerk our hands away before they are burned
NOTES
by fire. Pavlov conducted his experiments and concluded that individuals
have been conditioned to respond to the sound of a buzzer, a glimpse of
light, a puff of air or the touch of a hand.
Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, is a form
associative learning in which consequences of behaviour change the
probability of occurrence of behaviour. Skinner described the term operant
as the behaviour of the organism—the behaviour operates in the environment,
and the environment in turn operates on the behaviour.
Cognitive learning is a powerful mechanism that provides the means of
knowledge and goes well beyond simple imitation of others. Conditioning
can never explain what we are learning at any given time. This learning
illustrates the importance of cognitive learning.
Edward Tolman emphasized on the purposiveness of behaviour, in other
words, much behaviour is goal directed. Tolman believed that an organism’s
expectations about which actions are needed to attain a goal, take the form
of cognitive maps. A cognitive map is an organism’s mental representation
of the structure of physical space
In the mid- to late 1960s, M.E.P. Seligman and his colleagues accidentally
discovered an unexpected phenomenon while experimenting on dogs using
classical conditioning. Their original intention was to study escape and
avoidance learning.
Wolfgang Kohler was a Gestalt psychologist. In one of his more famous
studies, he set up a problem for one of the chimpanzees. Kohler’s work
seems to demonstrate that insight requires a sudden ‘coming together’ of all
elements of a problem in a kind of ‘aha’ moment that is not predicted by
traditional animal learning studies.
9.8 KEY WORDS
Metamemory strategy: High level strategic learning often requires constant

self-regulation and error monitoring strategies, metacognition, sometimes
specific memory techniques.
The ‘Little Albert’ experiment: This was a famous psychology experiment
conducted by behaviorist John B. Watson and graduate student Rosalie
Rayner. Watson was interested in taking Pavlov’s research further to show
that emotional reactions could be classically conditioned in people.
Self-Instructional
146 Material
Latent learning: This is a form of learning that is not immediately expressed Principles of Learning
in an overt response. It occurs without any obvious reinforcement of the

behaviour or associations that are learned.
Skinnerian behaviourist: Follower of B.F. Skinner, a leading American
NOTES
psychologist, Harvard professor and proponent of the behaviourist theory
of learning in which learning is a process of ‘conditioning’ in an environment
of stimulus, reward and punishment.

EXERCISES

1. Write a short note on environment-related factors influencing the process of
learning.
2. State how the learning process also depends upon the available resources.
3. Write a brief note on the significance of transfer of learning in the learning
process.
4. What are the various stages of memory?
5. State the differences between short-term memory and long-term memory.
6. Analyse the role of interference effects on forgetting.
7. Write a brief note on Pavlov’s experiment on his dog to understand the
classical conditioning.
8. What is the role of operant conditioning in the process of learning?
9. Write a brief note on Tolman’s Purposive Theory.
1. Discuss in detail the various factors which influence the process of learning.
2. Analyse the concept and meaning of memory.
3. Write a comprehensive note on various models of memory.
4. Discuss the difference between sensory memory and short-term memory.
5. Analyse in detail the methods and techniques of memorization.
6. Discuss when does forgetting occur and what causes it.
7. Enumerate the various methods to improve memory.
8. Discuss the application of classical conditioning.
9. Write a comprehensive analysis on the experiment with dog by Seligman
and his colleagues to understand classical conditioning.
Self-Instructional
Material 147

NOTES University Press. Oxford.
Self-Instructional
148 Material
States of Consciousness
UNIT 10 STATES OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
NOTES
Structure
10.0 Introduction
10.1 Objectives
10.2 Nature of Consciousness: Brain and Consciousness
10.2.2 Normal Waking Consciousness
10.3 Fantasy and Daydreaming
10.4 Stages of Sleep: Rem and Non-Rem
10.6 Summary
10.7 Key Words
10.0 INTRODUCTION
As is commonly explained, consciousness is a state of mind. However, the term is
difficult to be defined due to various constraints. It is used with reference to various
mental activities as well as the substratum of these activities, some may be absent
in certain instances of conscious experience. So, as a phenomenon consciousness
is not a definite indication of any particular form or a particular set of forms of
manifested experience. Rather it is a collective abstraction of a variety of
manifestations. This dichotomy raises the differences in approach towards the
concept of mind in various schools of psychology and philosophy and brings forth
the difficulties in defining the term consciousness. There are numerous theories
and approaches to the phenomenon of consciousness.
The study of consciousness began in the 19th century from the ideas of
Sigmund Freud and William James. While Sigmund Freud, in his psychoanalytic
theory, likens the mind to an iceberg, William James describes the mind as freely
and continuously flowing, referring to it as the stream of consciousness. The conflict
between these two fundamental theories on consciousness sparked controversies
and interest in consciousness was shunned away in the 20th century when
behaviourism dominated the scene of psychological research.
Freud was the first who interpreted dreams and recognized the same as the
messages from the unconscious regions of the mind. He says that psychoanalysis
is based on the premise that largely unconscious psychological forces determine
Self-Instructional
Material 149
States of Consciousness human behaviour. It assumes that psychological problems are a result of unsolved
emotional difficulties that occurred in early childhood. A similarly positive view of
fantasy was taken by Sigmund Freud who considered fantasy a defence mechanism.
Daydreams for Freud were a valuable resource.
NOTES
This unit aims at discussing the consciousness as a state of mind and analysing
the various theories and approaches to the phenomenon of consciousness.
9.1 OBJECTIVES

Define the meaning of consciousness
Understand the historical development of the study of consciousness
Analyse Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
Understand normal waking consciousness (NWC)
Enumerate fantasy and day dream
Analyse the stages of sleep
Explain circadian rhythm
10.2 NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: BRAIN AND

CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness is defined differently among psychologists. No particular definition

of consciousness stands out or is widely accepted in the field of Psychology.
However, for the purpose of briefly introducing and explaining a complex
phenomenon like consciousness, here is Santrock’s simple and easy-to-understand
definition of consciousness: Consciousness is the awareness of external events,
internal sensations, the self, and thoughts about experiences. Consequently, the
different states of consciousness, as discussed below, correspond to differing
qualities of awareness and information-processing.
The study of consciousness began in the 19th century from the ideas of Sigmund
Freud and William James. Sigmund Freud, in his psychoanalytic theory, likens the
mind to an iceberg, where a significant portion of the ice is hidden from
consciousness. On the other hand, William James describes the mind as freely and
continuously flowing, referring to it as the stream of consciousness. Although the
conflict between these two fundamental theories on consciousness should have
sparked controversies and debates similar to the early scientific approaches to
psychology, interest in consciousness was shunned away in the 20th century when
behaviourism dominated the scene of psychological research. It was only in the
Self-Instructional
150 Material
21st century when psychologists developed renewed interest on the subject of States of Consciousness
consciousness, particularly sub-consciousness. Today, large bodies of research

have been made detailing the complex nature of consciousness.
10.2.2 Normal Waking Consciousness NOTES
Normal waking consciousness (NWC) can be loosely defined as the states of
consciousness you experience when you are awake and aware of your thoughts,
feelings and perceptions from internal events and the surrounding environment.
During normal waking consciousness, you experience a real sense of time and
place.
10.2.3 Flow of Consciousness/Stream of Consciousness
Stream of consciousness refers to the flow of thoughts in the conscious mind.
Research studies have shown that we only experience one mental event at a time
as a fast-moving mind stream. William James, often considered to be the father of
American psychology, first coined the phrase “stream of consciousness”. The full
range of thoughts—that one can be aware of—can form the content of this stream.
Check Your Progress

1. What do you understand by consciousness?
2. When did the study of consciousness begun?
3. What is Normal Waking Consciousness (NWC)?
10.3 FANTASY AND DAYDREAMING
A fantasy is a situation imagined by an individual that expresses certain desires or

aims on the part of its creator. Fantasies sometimes involve situations that are
highly unlikely; or they may be quite realistic. Fantasies can also be sexual in nature.
Another, more basic meaning of fantasy is something which is not ‘real,’ as in
perceived explicitly by any of the senses, but exists as an imagined situation of
object to subject.
In everyday life, individuals often find their thoughts pursue a series of
fantasies concerning things they wish they could do or wish they had done...fantasies
of control or of sovereign choice...daydreams’.
George Eman Vaillant in his study of defence mechanisms took as a central
example of ‘an immature defence...fantasy — living in a “Walter Mitty” dream
world where you imagine you are successful and popular, instead of making real
efforts to make friends and succeed at a job’. Fantasy, when pushed to the extreme,
is a common trait of narcissistic personality disorder; and certainly ‘Vaillant found
that not one person who used fantasy a lot had any close friends’.
Self-Instructional
Material 151
States of Consciousness Other researchers and theorists find that fantasy has beneficial elements —
providing ‘small regressions and compensatory wish fulfilments which are
recuperative in effect’. Research by Deirdre Barrett reports that people differ
radically in the vividness, as well as frequency of fantasy, and that those who have
NOTES the most elaborately developed fantasy life are often the people who make
productive use of their imaginations in art, literature, or by being especially creative
and innovative in more traditional professions.
A similarly positive view of fantasy was taken by Sigmund Freud who considered
fantasy (German: Fantasie) a defence mechanism. He considered that men and
women “cannot subsist on the scanty satisfaction which they can extort from reality.
‘We simply cannot do without auxiliary constructions,’ as Theodor Fontane once
said ... [without] dwelling on imaginary wish fulfillments.” As childhood adaptation
to the reality principle developed, so too ‘one species of thought activity was split
off; it was kept free from reality-testing and remained subordinated to the pleasure
principle alone. This activity is fantasying...continued as day-dreaming. He compared
such phantasising to the way a ‘nature reserve preserves its original state where
everything...including what is useless and even what is noxious, can grow and
proliferate there as it pleases’.
Daydreams for Freud were thus a valuable resource. “These day-dreams
are cathected with a large amount of interest; they are carefully cherished by the
subject and usually concealed with a great deal of sensitivity ... such phantasies
may be unconscious just as well as conscious.” He considered “These phantasies
include a great deal of the true constitutional essence of the subject’s personality”
and that the energetic man “is one who succeeds by his efforts in turning his wishful
phantasies into reality,” whereas the artist “can transform his phantasies into artistic
creations instead of into symptoms ... the doom of neurosis.
Check Your Progress

4. Enumerate the meaning of fantasy.
5. How were daydream a valuable source for Freud?
10.4 STAGES OF SLEEP: REM AND NON-REM
There are two basic types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-
REM sleep (which has three different stages). Each is linked to specific brain
waves and neuronal activity. You cycle through all stages of non-REM and REM
sleep several times during a typical night, with increasingly longer, deeper REM
periods occurring toward morning.
Stage 1 non-REM sleep is the changeover from wakefulness to sleep. During this
Self-Instructional
short period (lasting several minutes) of relatively light sleep, your heartbeat,
152 Material
breathing, and eye movements slow, and your muscles relax with occasional twitches. States of Consciousness
Your brain waves begin to slow from their daytime wakefulness patterns.
Stage 2 non-REM sleep is a period of light sleep before you enter deeper sleep.
Your heartbeat and breathing slow, and muscles relax even further. Your body
NOTES
temperature drops and eye movements stop. Brain wave activity slows but is
marked by brief bursts of electrical activity. You spend more of your repeated
sleep cycles in stage 2 sleep than in other sleep stages.
Stage 3 non-REM sleep is the period of deep sleep that you need to feel
refreshed in the morning. It occurs in longer periods during the first half of the
night. Your heartbeat and breathing slow to their lowest levels during sleep. Your
muscles are relaxed and it may be difficult to awaken you. Brain waves become
even slower.
REM sleep first occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep. Your eyes
move rapidly from side to side behind closed eyelids. Mixed frequency brain
wave activity becomes closer to that seen in wakefulness. Your breathing becomes
faster and irregular, and your heart rate and blood pressure increase to near waking
levels. Most of your dreaming occurs during REM sleep, although some can also
occur in non-REM sleep. Your arm and leg muscles become temporarily paralyzed,
which prevents you from acting out your dreams. As you age, you sleep less of
your time in REM sleep. Memory consolidation most likely requires both non-
REM and REM sleep.
Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow a
daily cycle. They respond primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s
environment. Sleeping at night and being awake during the day is an example of a
light-related circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are found in most living things,
including animals, plants, and many tiny microbes. The study of circadian rhythms
is called chronobiology.
Biological clocks are an organism’s innate timing device. They’re composed of
specific molecules (proteins) that interact in cells throughout the body. Biological
clocks are found in nearly every tissue and organ. Researchers have identified
similar genes in people, fruit flies, mice, fungi, and several other organisms that are
responsible for making the clock’s components.
Check Your Progress

6. List the various stages of sleep.
7. Explain the meaning of Circadian Rhythm.
Self-Instructional
Material 153
States of Consciousness
QUESTIONS
NOTES 1. Santrock’s simple and easy-to-understand definition of consciousness is:

Consciousness is the awareness of external events, internal sensations, the
self, and thoughts about experiences. Consequently, the different states of
consciousness, as discussed below, correspond to differing qualities of
awareness and information-processing.
2. The study of consciousness began in the 19th century from the ideas of
Sigmund Freud and William James. Sigmund Freud, in his psychoanalytic
theory, likens the mind to an iceberg, where a significant portion of the ice is
hidden from consciousness.
3. Normal waking consciousness (NWC) can be loosely defined as the states
of consciousness you experience when you are awake and aware of your
thoughts, feelings and perceptions from internal events and the surrounding
environment. During normal waking consciousness, you experience a real
sense of time and place.
4. A fantasy is a situation imagined by an individual that expresses certain
desires or aims on the part of its creator. Fantasies sometimes involve
situations that are highly unlikely; or they may be quite realistic. Fantasies
can also be sexual in nature. Another, more basic meaning of fantasy is
something which is not ‘real,’ as in perceived explicitly by any of the senses,
but exists as an imagined situation of object to subject.
5. Daydreams for Freud were thus a valuable resource. “These day-dreams
are cathected with a large amount of interest; they are carefully cherished
by the subject and usually concealed with a great deal of sensitivity ... such
phantasies may be unconscious just as well as conscious.”
6. Various stages of sleep are:
Stage 1- non-REM sleep is the changeover from wakefulness to sleep.
During this short period (lasting several minutes) of relatively light sleep,
your heartbeat, breathing, and eye movements slow, and your muscles relax
with occasional twitches. Your brain waves begin to slow from their daytime
wakefulness patterns.
Stage 2- non-REM sleep is a period of light sleep before you enter deeper
sleep. Your heartbeat and breathing slow, and muscles relax even
further. Your body temperature drops and eye movements stop. You spend
more of your repeated sleep cycles in stage 2 sleep than in other sleep
stages.
Stage 3- non-REM sleep is the period of deep sleep that you need to feel
refreshed in the morning. It occurs in longer periods during the first half of
the night.
Self-Instructional
154 Material
7. Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow States of Consciousness
a daily cycle. They respond primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s

environment. Sleeping at night and being awake during the day is an example
of a light-related circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are found in most
living things, including animals, plants, and many tiny microbes. The study of NOTES
circadian rhythms is called chronobiology.
10.6 SUMMARY
According to Santrock, ‘Consciousness is the awareness of external events,

internal sensations, the self, and thoughts about experiences. Consequently,
the different states of consciousness, as discussed below, correspond to
differing qualities of awareness and information-processing.’
It was only in the 21st century when psychologists developed renewed
interest on the subject of consciousness, particularly sub-consciousness.
Today, large bodies of research have been made detailing the complex nature
of consciousness.
Stream of consciousness refers to the flow of thoughts in the conscious
mind. Research studies have shown that we only experience one mental
event at a time as a fast-moving mind stream.
A fantasy is a situation imagined by an individual that expresses certain
desires or aims on the part of its creator. Fantasies sometimes involve
situations that are highly unlikely; or they may be quite realistic. Fantasies
can also be sexual in nature. Another, more basic meaning of fantasy is
something which is not ‘real,’ as in perceived explicitly by any of the senses,
but exists as an imagined situation of object to subject.
Other researchers and theorists find that fantasy has beneficial elements —
providing ‘small regressions and compensatory wish fulfilments which are
recuperative in effect’. Research by Deirdre Barrett reports that people
differ radically in the vividness, as well as frequency of fantasy, and that
those who have the most elaborately developed fantasy life are often the
people who make productive use of their imaginations in art, literature, or
by being especially creative and innovative in more traditional professions.
Daydreams for Freud were thus a valuable resource. “These day-dreams
are cathected with a large amount of interest; they are carefully cherished
by the subject and usually concealed with a great deal of sensitivity ... such
phantasies may be unconscious just as well as conscious.”
There are two basic types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and
non-REM sleep (which has three different stages). Each is linked to specific
brain waves and neuronal activity. You cycle through all stages of non-
REM and REM sleep several times during a typical night, with increasingly
longer, deeper REM periods occurring toward morning.
Self-Instructional
Material 155
States of Consciousness Most of your dreaming occurs during REM sleep, although some can also
occur in non-REM sleep. Your arm and leg muscles become temporarily
paralyzed, which prevents you from acting out your dreams. As you age,
you sleep less of your time in REM sleep. Memory consolidation most
NOTES likely requires both non-REM and REM sleep.
Sleeping at night and being awake during the day is an example of a light-
related circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are found in most living things,
including animals, plants, and many tiny microbes. The study of circadian
rhythms is called chronobiology.
10.7 KEY WORDS
Behaviourism: This is the theory that human and animal behaviour can be
explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings,
and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behaviour
patterns.
Normal waking consciousness (NWC): This can be loosely defined as
the states of consciousness you experience when you are awake and aware
of your thoughts, feelings and perceptions from internal events and the
surrounding environment.
Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep): This is a unique phase of
sleep in mammals and birds, distinguishable by movement of the eyes,
accompanied with low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity
of the sleeper to dream vividly.
Circadian rhythm: This is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological
processes of living beings. Circadian rhythms are endogenously generated,
although they can be modulated by external cues such as sunlight and
temperature.

EXERCISES

1. Write a short note on the nature of consciousness.
2. Enumerate the development of the study of consciousness.
3. Write a brief note on normal waking consciousness (NWC).
4. State the concept of stream of consciousness.
5. Enumerate the meaning of fantasy.
6. State the significance of Freud’s daydreams.
Self-Instructional
156 Material
Long Answer Questions States of Consciousness
1. Discuss the contribution of Freud and James in the study of consciousness.

2. Analyse the dominance of behaviourism on the scene of psychological
research. NOTES
3. Write a comprehensive note on the phenomena of fantasy and daydreams.
4. Discuss the basic types of sleep while explaining the state of consciousness
5. Analyse the significance of circadian rhythm.

Self-Instructional
Material 157
Nature of Consciousness
UNIT 11 NATURE OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
NOTES
Structure
11.0 Introduction
11.1 Objectives
11.2 Altered States of Consciousness
11.2.10 Bio-Feedback
11.3 Altering Consciousness with Drugs
11.3.2 Physical Dependence
11.5 Summary
11.6 Key Words
11.0 INTRODUCTION
Consciousness is a fascinating but elusive phenomenon. As the state or quality

of awareness, it has been defined as ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness,
having a sense of selfhood and the executive control system of the mind.
Classifications of consciousness into waking, dream and sleep states have been
discussed in various books and throw much light on problems of human
psychology.
Sigmund Freud defined nature of conscious experience as - thinking, feeling,
sensation, discrimination memory etc. are of trivial importance on human personality.
He stated that the unconscious determines the human behaviour.
Altered states of consciousness include various mental states in which the
mind can be aware but is not in its usual wakeful condition, such as during hypnosis,
meditation, hallucination, trance, and the dream stage. Although significantly different
from a normal waking state, these are relevant to enhancing human performance.
Self-Instructional
158 Material
The ensuing social change led to a change of the scientific perspective and recognised Nature of Consciousness
altered states of consciousness as valid realms of experience. Various scientists

and psychologists focused on seemingly beneficial aspects of altered states of
consciousness.
NOTES
This unit aims at discussing the altered states of consciousness and analyses
the various theories associated with different levels of consciousness like sleep
stages, dreams, hypnosis, meditation, psychoactive drugs and stimulants’ use.
11.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand altered and different levels of the state of consciousness
Discuss the concept of subconscious awareness
Explain sleep and dream in the process of consciousness
Understand biological rhythm
Explain the effects of chronic sleep deprivation
Describe the concept of sleep disorders
Understand the application of meditation
Explain the drug use and abuse
Understand various stimulants and their users
11.2 ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness is an awareness of external events and internal sensations, including

awareness of the self and the thoughts about various experiences. The content of
our awareness change from moment to moment. Information moves rapidly in and
out of consciousness. William James (1890–1950) described the mind as a stream
of consciousness, a continuous flow of changing sensation, images, thoughts and
feelings. Our mind can jump from a topic to another.
The flow of sensation, images, thoughts and feelings can occur at different
levels of awareness as explained:
High-level consciousness: It represents the most alter states of human
consciousness in which individuals actively focus their efforts towards a
goal (Cooper and others, 2002; S. Monsell and J. Driver, 2000). Controlled
processes require selective attention, the ability to focus on a specific aspect
of experience while ignoring others.
Low-level consciousness: It includes automatic processing that requires
little attention, as well as day dreaming and does not interfere with other
Self-Instructional
Material 159
Nature of Consciousness ongoing activities. Automatic processes require less conscious effort then
controlled processes (L.J. Trainor, K.L. McDonald and C. Alain, 2002).
Another state of lower-level awareness is daydreaming, which lies
somewhere between active consciousness and dreaming while asleep.
NOTES
Altered states of consciousness: Altered states of consciousness are
mental states which can be produced by drugs, trauma, fatigue, hypnosis
and sensory deprivation. In some cases, the drug used may create a higher
level of awareness. It is believed that caffeine increases alertness. Awareness
may also be altered to a lower level.
Subconscious awareness: It can take place while we are awake or while
we are asleep (A.R. Damasio, 2001). Csikszentmihalyi, (1995) believes
that creative ideas often incubate for some time below the threshold of
conscious awareness before they emerge. When an idea is incubating, our
mind may be processing information even though we are not aware of it.
Subconscious information processing can occur simultaneously along many
parallel tracks, e.g., when a man is running down the street we are consciously
aware of the event, but not of the subconscious processing of object identity
(a man), its height, colour, weight, etc.; whereas, conscious processing is
serial.
Sleep and dream could also be viewed as low levels of consciousness, even though
our level of awareness is lower than when we day dream (M. Schredl and R.
Hoffman, 2003).
Research has also found that when people are clearly asleep (as determined
by physiological monitoring devices), they are able to respond to faint tones by
pressing a handheld button (Ogilvy and Wilkinson, 1988). The presentation of
pure auditory tones to sleeping individuals activated auditory processing regions
of the brain, whereas participants’ names activated language areas, the Amy data,
the prefrontal cortex (R. Stickgold, 2001).
Unconscious thought is a reservoir of unacceptable wishes, feeling and thoughts
that are beyond conscious awareness, said S. Freud (1917). According to Freud,
unconscious thoughts are too laden with anxiety and other negative emotions for
consciousness to admit them. Freud’s concept of unconscious mind was not
accepted by all.
Sleep is the periodic physiological fluctuation in the body. Most of the time we are
unaware of most biological rhythms, but they can influence our behaviour. The
rhythms are controlled by biological clocks, which includes the following:
Self-Instructional
160 Material
Seasonal cycle: Examples of seasonal cycles are migration of birds, the Nature of Consciousness
hibernation of bears and seasonal fluctuation of humans eating habit. Other

examples are as follows:
i. Twenty-eight-day cycle, such as moment menstrual cycle.
NOTES
ii. Circadian rhythms: Twenty-four-hour cycles, sleep/walk cycle and
change in body temperature, blood pressure, etc.
Desynchronizing the biological clock: Biological clock can throw off
their regular schedules (Jensen and others, 2003). Circadian rhythms may
also become desynchronized when shift workers change their work hours
(Ahasan and others, 2001). Problems related to shift work most often affect
night shift workers who never fully adjust to sleeping in the day time.
Resetting the biological clock: Strategies for shift workers who need to
reset their biological clocks include splintery sleep between after-works
morning naps and a nap before they have to work late. Afternoon naps
increase the number of hours of sleep, increasing the amount of light in the
work place and going to sleep in complete darkness.
When we do not get proper sleep, we are not able to function physically or mentally.
Following are the important functions of sleep:
Restoration: Sleep is a fundamental mechanism for survival. Researches
prepared that sleep restores, replenishes and rebuilds our brain and body,
which can feel depleted by the day’s waking activities.
Many body cells indeed show increased production and reduced
breakdown of proteins during deep sleep (National Institute of Neurological
Disorder and Stroke, 2001). Protein molecules are the building blocks
needed for cell growth and for repair of damages from factors such as
stress. Some scientists believe that sleep is essential as it gives neurons used
while we are awake a chance to shut down and repair themselves (NINDS,
2001).
Adaptation: In order to protect themselves, animals need to develop sleep
when it is dark.
Growth: Sleep is beneficial to physical growth and brain development in
infant and children. Deep sleep coincides with the release of growth hormone
in children (NINDS, 2001).
Memory: It plays an important role in the storage and maintenance of
long-term memory—REM phase of sleep (active). Sleep has been linked
with the formation of emotional memories in humans (U. Wagner, S. Gais
and J. Born, 2001).
Self-Instructional
Material 161
Nature of Consciousness In one study, a good night’s sleep helped the brain to store the memory of
what had been learned during the day (R. Stickgold and A. Hobson, 2000).
NOTES In a national survey of more than 1,000 American adults, conducted by the National
Sleep Foundation (2001), 63 per cent said that they get less than eight hours of
sleep a night, and 31 per cent said that they get less than seven hours of sleep a
night. Many said they try to catch up on their sleep on the weekend, but they still
reported getting less than eight hours on weekend nights. 40 per cent of those
surveyed said that they become sleepy during the day per month, and 22 per cent
said their work suffer a few days each week; 7 percent said sleepiness in the job
is a daily problem for them.
Sleep expert James Mass (1998) argues that the quality of our lives, if not
life itself, is jeopardized by sleep deprivation. An increasing number of research
studies underscores that optimal performance is enhanced by sleeping more than
eight hours a night and reduce by sleeping less. At one sleep-disorder research
centre, the alertness of eight-hour sleepers who claimed to be well rested increased
when they added two hours to their sleep (T. Roehrs and T. Roth, 1998). In
another study, brain scans revealed that sleep deprivation decreased brain activity
in the thalamus and the prefrontal cortex (Thomas and others, 2001). Alertness
and cognitive performance also declined. In another study, sleep deprivation was
linked with an inability to sustain attention (Doran, Van Dongen, and Dinges, 2001).
In yet another study, brain scans of individuals who experienced total sleep
deprivation for twenty-four hours revealed a decline in the complexity of brain
activity (Jeong and others, 2001). Sleep deprivation can also affect decision-
making. A review of studies concluded that sleep deprivation adversely affects
aspects of decision-making, such as being able to deal with the unexpected,
innovate, and revise plans, and communicate (Harrison and Horne, 2000).
The five stages of sleep are differentiated by the depth of sleep and the wave
patterns detected with an EEG. They are as follows:
Stage 1 sleep: This stage is characterized by theta waves, which are
slower in frequency and greater in amplitude than alpha waves. The transition
from just being relaxed to entering Stage 1 sleep is gradual.
Stage 2 sleep: Theta waves continue, but are interspersed with a defining
characteristic of stage 2 sleep, sleep spindles or sudden increases in wave
frequency (Gottselig, Bassetti, and Ackermann, 2002). Stages 1 and 2 are
both relatively light stages of sleep, and if people awaken during one of
these stages, they often report not having been asleep at all.
Stage 3 and 4 sleep: These stages are characterized by delta waves, the
slowest and highest-amplitude brain waves during sleep. These two stages
Self-Instructional
162 Material
are often referred to as delta sleep. Distinguishing between stage 3 and Nature of Consciousness
stage 4 is difficult. Typically, stage 3 is characterized by delta waves occurring

less than 50 per cent of the time and stage 4 by delta waves occurring more
than 50 per cent of the time. Delta sleep is our deepest sleep, the time when
brain waves are least like waking brain waves. Sleepers are most difficult to NOTES
wake during delta sleep. If awakened during this stage, they usually are
disoriented.
State 5 sleep: After going through stages 1 through 4, sleepers drift up
through the sleep stages toward wakefulness. However, instead of re-entering
stage 1, they enter stage 5, a different form of sleep called REM (rapid-
eye-movement) sleep.
Each year, at least 40 million Americans suffer from chronic, long-term sleep
disorders, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleep problems
(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2001). Many people
suffer from undiagnosed and untreated sleep disorders (National Commission of
Sleep Disorders Research, 1993). Following are some of the major sleep
problems:
Insomnia: The inability to sleep can involve having trouble falling asleep,
waking up during the night, or waking up too early (Harvey, 2001;
Mahendran, 2001). Behavioural changes can help insomniacs to increase
their sleep time, as well as to awaken less frequently in the night. Sleepwalking
or somnambulism occurs during the deepest stages of sleep. For many years,
experts believed that somnambulists were just acting out their dreams.
However, somnambulism occurs during stages 3 and 4, usually early in the
night, at the time when a person is unlikely to be dreaming (Stein and Ferber,
2001).
Sleep talking: It is another night behaviour (Hublin and others, 2001).
Although sleep talkers will talk and make fairly coherent statements, they
are soundly asleep.
Nightmares: They are frightening dreams that awaken a dreamer from
REM sleep. The nightmare’s content invariably involves danger—the dreamer
is chased, robbed, raped, murdered, or thrown off a cliff. Nightmares peak
at 3 to 6 years of age and then decline.
Night terrors: Night terrors are characterized by sudden arousal from
sleep and intense fear. Night terrors are accompanied by a number of
physiological reactions, such as rapid heart rate and breathing, loud screams,
heavy perspiration, and movement (Thiedke, 2001). Night terrors occur
during slow-wave, non-REM sleep. Night terrors peak at 5 to 7 years of
age and decline thereafter.
Self-Instructional
Material 163
Nature of Consciousness Narcolepsy: It is the overpowering urge to sleep. The urge is so strong
that the person may fall asleep while talking or standing up. Narcoleptics
immediately enter REM sleep rather than progressing through the first four
sleep stages (Mignot, 2001; Mignot and Thorsby, 2001).
NOTES
Sleep apnea: It is a sleep disorder in which individuals stop breathing
because the windpipe fails to open or because brain processes involved in
respiration fail to work properly. Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high
blood pressure, strokes, and impotence.
Wish fulfilment: Freud’s concept of dreaming is an unconscious attempt
to fulfil needs (especially for sex and aggression) that cannot be expressed
or that go ungratified while awake.
Manifest content: In Freud’s view, a dream’s surface content contains
symbols that distort and disguise the dream’s true meaning.
Latent content: In Freud’s view, a dream has hidden content (unconscious).
Freud’s theory has largely given way to newer theories of dreams, such as
the cognitive theory of dreaming. It proposed that dreaming can be understood by
relying on the same cognitive concepts that are used in studying the waking mind.
That is, dreaming involves information processing, memory and problem solving.
The cognitive theory of dreaming involves little or no search for the hidden, symbolic
content of dreams that Freud sought (Foulkes, 1993, 1999).
Neuroscientists address this shortcoming with the view that dreams reflect
the brain’s effort to make sense out of neural activity that takes place during sleep
(Hobson, 1999). When we are awake and alert, the contents of our conscious
experience tend to be driven by external stimuli that result in specific motor behaviour.
During sleep, however, conscious experience is driven by internally generated
stimuli that have no apparent behavioural consequence. A key source of this internal
stimulation is spontaneous neural activity in the reticular formation of the limbic
system, at the base of the brain (Hobson, 2000).
i. Hypnosis
Hypnosis and meditation are psychological states, or possibly a state of altered
attention and awareness, in which the individual is unusually receptive to suggestions.
Basic hypnotic techniques have been used since the beginning of recorded history
in association with various religious ceremonies, magic, the supernatural, and many
erroneous psychological theories.
ii. The Nature of hypnosis
A common misconception is that the hypnotic state is much like a sleep state.
Unlike sleepers, hypnotized individuals are aware of what is happening and
Self-Instructional
164 Material
remember the experience later, unless they are instructed to forget what happened. Nature of Consciousness
EEG studies document that individuals in a hypnotic state show a predominance

of alpha and beta waves, characteristic of person in a relaxed waking state (De
Benedittis and Sironi, 1985; Graffin, Ray and Lundy, 1995; Williams and Gruzelier,
2001). However, during hypnosis, individuals show different patterns of brain NOTES
activity that they do when they are not under hypnosis (Isotani and others, 2001;
Jensen and others, 2001).
iv. Explanations of hypnosis
Ernest Hilgard (1977, 1992) proposed that hypnosis involves a special divided
state of consciousness, a sort of splitting of consciousness into separate components.
One component follows the hypnotist’s commands, while another component acts
as a ‘hidden observer’. Some experts are sceptical that hypnosis is truly an altered
state of consciousness (Chaves, 2000). They believe that hypnosis is a normal
state in which the hypnotized person behaves the way he or she believes a hypnotized
person should behave. In this view, the important questions about hypnosis focus
on cognitive factors like the attitude, expectations, and beliefs of good hypnotic
participants, and on the social context in which hypnosis occurs (Barber, 1969;
Spanos and Chaves, 1989).
v. Applications of hypnosis
Hypnosis is widely used in medicine and dentistry, in criminal investigations, and in
sports. Hypnosis has also been used in psychotherapy to treat alcoholism,
somnambulism, suicidal tendencies, overeating, and smoking (Eimer, 2000; Yapko,
2001). Hypnosis is most effective when combined with psychotherapy (Borckardt,
2002). A long history of research and practice clearly has demonstrated that hypnosis
can reduce the experience of pain (Crasilneck, 1995; Langenfeld, Cipani and
Borckardt, 2002; Patterson and Jensen, 2003). Hypnosis has sometimes been
used in attempts to enhance people’s ability to accurately recall forgotten events
(Coleman, Stevens and Reeder, 2001). For example, police departments sometimes
eyewitnesses to crimes hypnotize in the hope that their recall of the crime will
significantly improve.
vi. Meditation
Meditation refers to achieving an altered state of consciousness by performing
certain exercises like regulating breathing, restricting one’s field of attention,
eliminating external stimuli, assuming yogi body position, etc. These lead a pleasant,
mildly altered subjective state in which the individual feels mentally and physically
relaxed. Extensive practice resulted in mystical experiences in which they lose
self-awareness and gain a sense of being involved in a wider consciousness. The
common techniques of meditation are opening up meditation, in which the person
cleans his mind in order to receive new experiences. Another is concentrative
mediation, in which the benefits are obtained by actively attending to source object,
word or idea.
Self-Instructional
Material 165
Nature of Consciousness Opening up meditation: To relax completely and let go of one’s mind and
body—stepping out of the stream of ever-changing ideas and feelings in
which your mind is indulged.
Concentrative meditation: The aims of this method are to learn about
NOTES
concentration. The aim is to concentrate on any object. Concentration does
not mean analyzing the different parts of the objects; rather, trying to see the
object as it exists in itself, without connecting to other things.
After a few session of concentrative meditation, people typically report a
number of effects—an altered, more intense perception of the object,
sometimes shortening, particularly in retrospect, conflicting perceptions, as
if the object fills the visual field and does not fill it, decreasing effect of
external stimuli (less distraction eventually less conscious registration) and
an impression of the meditative state as pleasant and rewarding.
In his study of a centuries old Tibetan Buddhist text, Brown (1977) has
described the complex training required to master the technique. He had also
mentioned that cognitive changes can be expected at different levels of meditation.
(In this type of meditation people proceed through five levels until they reach a
thoughtless, perception-less, selfless state known as concentrative Samadhi.)
Meditation may reduce arousal (especially in easily stressed individuals) for people
suffering from anxiety and tension. Some researches argued that the benefits of
meditation come largely from the relaxation of the body (Holmes, 1984).
vi. Deep muscle relaxation
An individual is thought to experience both tension and relaxation alternatively in
each and every group of muscles in the body. Experience of relaxation and
appreciation of difference between tension and relaxation immensely help the
individual in maximizing the feelings of calmness. It is also progressive, muscles
relaxation follows muscular relaxation.
11.2.10Bio-Feedback
Bio-feedback is based on skin response (GSR), feedback on brain waves (EEG)
and feedback in any other physiological parameter. The individual is made to
study the internal reactions to stress and relaxation. By giving the individual
feedback whether he/she is in a state of stress or relaxation, the individual can
be made to alter the reaction in favour of relation which one can maintain as
much as possible. Visual or auditory feedback is given. In the visual feedback,
when the individual experiences stress, red-light will switch on. The individual
then will have to relax and the state of relaxation will be indicated by green light.
Hence, the goal is always to keep the green light on when the individual undergo
treatment of management of stress through bio-feedback. Once, the individual
masters the art of relaxation to any other situation he can gain perfect control
over all the situations.
Self-Instructional
166 Material
In case of auditory feedback ‘beep’ sound will come whenever the individual Nature of Consciousness
is tense. Focus is given by the individual to successfully pull off the beep sound. As
the very sound may at times prevent the individual from relaxation, visual feedback
is preferred more than the auditory one.
NOTES
Check Your Progress
1. What do you understand by altered states of consciousness?
2. List the various levels of awareness.
3. What do you mean by unconscious thought?
4. State the concept of biological rhythm.
5. List the important functions of sleep.
6. Enumerate the different stages of sleep.
11.3 ALTERING CONSCIOUSNESS WITH DRUGS
Drugs often make people feel powerful. Drugs endow a user with a false sense
of power that, of course, recedes when the artificial high ends. Addiction occurs
when a person compulsively attempts to continue that high by taking a drug over
and over again. People use drugs for many reasons; for example, adolescents
have reported that they experimented with marijuana to enhance sexuality; to feel
more confident; for pleasure and relaxation; to make them more comfortable in
social situations; to understand themselves better; for acceptance by their peers
or to achieve elevated social status, etc. All drugs are dangerous; however, crack
cocaine is considered to be one of the most dangerous drugs. Many drug experts
suggest that the initial experience of using crack cocaine is so intense that it takes
only one use to kick-start an addiction. Furthermore, over time, addicts’ bodies
develop a tolerance for a drug, meaning they will eventually have to take more
and more of their drug of choice each time they use in order to achieve the same
high.
Drugs that alter thinking, perception, memory, or some combination of those
abilities called psychoactive drugs. Although some of these drugs can be useful
under certain circumstances, they all pose risks as well. One of the dangers of
such drugs is their potential to create either a physical or psychological
dependence, both of which can lead to a life-long pattern of abuse as well as
the risk of talking increasingly larger doses, leading to one of the clearest dangers
of dependence (a drug overdose). Drug overdoses do not have to happen only
with illegal drugs, even certain additives in so called natural supplements can have
a deadly effect.
Self-Instructional
Material 167
Nature of Consciousness 11.3.2 Physical Dependence
Drugs that people can become physically dependent on cause the user’s body to
crave for the drug (Abadinsky, 1989; Fleming and Barry, 1992; Pratt, 1991).
NOTES After using the drug for some time, the body becomes unable to function normally
without the drug and the person is said to be dependent or addicted. Following
are the signs of drug dependence or addiction:
Drug tolerance: One sign of physical dependence is the development of a
drug tolerance (Part, 1991). As the person continues to use the drug, larger
and larger doses of the drug are needed to achieve the same initial effects of
the drug.
Withdrawal: Another sign of a physical dependence is that the user
experiences symptoms of withdrawal when deprived of the drug. Depending
on the drug, these symptoms can range from headaches, nausea, and
irritability to severe pain, cramping, shaking, and dangerously elevated blood
pressure. These physical sensations occur because the body is trying to
adjust to the absence of the drug. Many users will take more of the drug to
alleviate the symptoms of withdrawal, which worsens the entire situation.
Psychological dependencies can last forever. Some people who gave up smoking
pot decades ago still say that the craving returns every now and then (Roffman et
al., 1988).
Amphetamines: Amphetamines are stimulants that are synthesized (made)
in laboratories rather than being found in nature. Among the amphetamines
are drugs like Benzedrine, Methedrine, and Dexedrine. Truck drivers use
amphetamines to stay awake while driving long hours, and many doctors
used to prescribe these drugs as diet pills for overweight people.
Nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, and strokes are possible, as is a
condition called amphetamine psychosis. This condition causes addicts to
become delusional (losing contact with what is real) and paranoid. They
think people are out to ‘get’ them. Violence is a likely outcome, both against
the self and others (Kratofil, Baberg, and Dimsdale, 1996).
Cocaine: Cocaine is a natural drug found in coca plant leaves. It produces
feelings of euphoria (a feeling of great happiness), energy, power, and
pleasure. It also deadens pain and suppresses the appetite. Cocaine is a
highly dangerous drug, not just for its addictive properties. Some people
suffer convulsions and may even die when using cocaine for the first time
(Lacayo, 1995). The brain is the part of the body that develops the craving
for cocaine because of chemical changes caused by the drug (Hurley, 1989).
There are three basic signs of physical dependency that are as follows:
Self-Instructional
168 Material
(i) Compulsive use: If cocaine is available, the person has to use it. He Nature of Consciousness
or she cannot say no to it.

(ii) Loss of control: Once people start using it, they cannot stop until it is
all gone or they have exhausted themselves to the point where they
NOTES
can no longer function.
(iii) Disregard for the consequences of use: Cocaine addicts will lie,
cheat, steal, lose their jobs, damage or break up relationships, and
use rent money to buy cocaine; nothing else matters to them but the
drug.
Nicotine: Nicotine is a relatively mild but nevertheless toxic stimulant,
producing a slight ‘rush’ or sense of arousal as it raises blood pressure and
accelerates the heart, as well as providing a rush of sugar into the bloodstream
by stimulating the release of adrenalin (Rezvani and Levin, 2001). As is the
case with many stimulants, it also has a relaxing effect on most people
(remember the effect of Ritalin on hyperactivity) and seems to reduce stress
(Pormerleau and Pormerleau, 1994). Women and teenagers are actually
smoking more than before (CDC, 2002).
Caffeine: Caffeine is another natural substance, like cocaine and nicotine,
and is found in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa nuts, and at least 60 others
types of plants (Braun, 1996). It is a mild stimulant, helps maintain alertness,
and can increase the effectiveness of some pain relievers, such as aspirin.
Caffeine is often added to pain relievers for that reason and is the key
ingredient in medications meant to keep people awake.
Barbiturates or major tranquilizers: Barbiturates are drugs that have a
sedative (sleep-inducing) effect. The effects, depending on dosage levels,
range from mild sedation or sleepiness to unconsciousness or coma.
Overdoses can lead to death as breathing and heart action are stopped.
Barbiturates are highly addictive and users can quickly develop a tolerance.
Withdrawal can be as serious as convulsions, which are life threatening
(Olin, 1993).
Benzodiazepines or the minor tranquilizers: The minor tranquilizers
(drugs having a relatively mild depressant effect) are called benzodiazepines.
These drugs used to lower anxiety and reduce stress.
Narcotics: All narcotics are a derivative of a particular plant-based
substance, opium.
Opium: Opium, made from the opium poppy, has pain-relieving and
euphoria-inducing properties that have been known for at least 2,000 years.
Morphine: Morphine was created by dissolving opium in an acid and then
neutralizing the acid with ammonia.
Heroin: Heroin was even more powerfully addictive than morphine or
opium. Its use as a medicine has ceased, but it is still used by many people.
Self-Instructional
Material 169
Nature of Consciousness Hallucinogens: Hallucinogens fall under the category of psychogenic drugs.
They actually stimulate the brain into altering its interpretation of sensations
(Olin, 1993) and can produce sensory distortions very similar to the disorder
synaesthesia.
NOTES
Marijuana: One of the best known and most commonly abused
psychogenic drugs, marijuana (also call pot or weed), comes from the leaves
and flowers of the hemp plant called Cannabis sativa. (Hashish is the
substance scraped from these leaves, and both marijuana and hashish are
called cannabinoids). The active ingredient in marijuana is tetra hydro
cannabin (THC). Marijuana is best known for its ability to produce a feeling
of well-being, mild intoxication, and mild sensory distortions or hallucinations
(Olin, 1993; Tart, 1970). The effects of marijuana are relatively mild
compared to the other hallucinogens.
Check Your Progress

7. State the use of drug to enhance the false sense of power.
8. Enumerate the meaning and role of psychoactive drugs.

QUESTIONS
1. Altered states of consciousness are mental states which can be produced

by drugs, trauma, fatigue, hypnosis and sensory deprivation. In some cases,
the drug used may create a higher level of awareness. It is believed that
caffeine increases alertness. Awareness may also be altered to a lower level.
2. Different levels of awareness are:
High-level consciousness: It represents the most alter states of human
consciousness in which individuals actively focus their efforts towards a
goal.
Low-level consciousness: It includes automatic processing that requires
little attention, as well as day dreaming and does not interfere with other
ongoing activities.
Altered states of consciousness: Altered states of consciousness are
mental states which can be produced by drugs, trauma, fatigue, hypnosis
and sensory deprivation. In some cases, the drug used may create a
higher level of awareness.
Subconscious awareness: It can take place while we are awake or while
we are asleep. When an idea is incubating, our mind may be processing
information even though we are not aware of it.
Self-Instructional
170 Material
3. Unconscious thought is a reservoir of unacceptable wishes, feeling and Nature of Consciousness
thoughts that are beyond conscious awareness, said S. Freud. According

to Freud, unconscious thoughts are too laden with anxiety and other negative
emotions for consciousness to admit them. Freud’s concept of unconscious
mind was not accepted by all. NOTES
4. Sleep is the periodic physiological fluctuation in the body. Most of the time
we are unaware of most biological rhythms, but they can influence our
behaviour. The rhythms are controlled by biological clocks.
5. Following are the important functions of sleep:
Restoration: Sleep is fundamental mechanism for survival. Researches
prepared that sleep restores, replenishes and rebuilds our brain and
body, which can feel depleted by the day’s waking activities. Some
scientists believe that sleep is essential as it gives neurons used while we
are awake a chance to shut down and repair themselves.
Adaptation: In order to protect themselves, animals need to develop
sleep when it is dark.
Growth: Sleep is beneficial to physical growth and brain development in
infant and children. Deep sleep coincides with the release of growth
hormone in children.
Memory: It plays an important role in the storage and maintenance of
long-term memory—REM phase of sleep (active). Sleep has been linked
with the formation of emotional memories in humans. 6. The five stages
of sleep are differentiated by the depth of sleep and the wave patterns
detected with an EEG. They are as follows:
Stage 1 sleep: This stage is characterized by theta waves, which are
slower in frequency and greater in amplitude than alpha waves.
Stage 2 sleep: Theta waves continue, but are interspersed with a
defining characteristic of stage 2 sleep, sleep spindles or sudden
increases in wave frequency. Stages 1 and 2 are both relatively light
stages of sleep.
Stage 3 and 4 sleep: These stages are characterized by delta waves,
the slowest and highest-amplitude brain waves during sleep. These
two stages are often referred to as delta sleep. If awakened during
this stage, they usually are disoriented.
State 5 sleep: After going through stages 1 through 4, sleepers drift up
through the sleep stages toward wakefulness. However, instead of re-
entering stage 1, they enter stage 5, a different form of sleep called
REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep.
7. Drugs often make people feel powerful. Drugs endow a user with a false
sense of power that, of course, recedes when the artificial high ends. Addiction
Self-Instructional
Material 171
Nature of Consciousness occurs when a person compulsively attempts to continue that high by taking
a drug over and over again.
8. Drugs that alter thinking, perception, memory, or some combination of those
abilities called psychoactive drugs. Although some of these drugs can be
NOTES
useful under certain circumstances, they all pose risks as well. One of the
dangers of such drugs is their potential to create either a physical or
psychological dependence, both of which can lead to a life- long pattern of
abuse as well as the risk of talking increasingly larger doses, leading to one
of the clearest dangers of dependence (a drug overdose).
11.5 SUMMARY
Altered states of consciousness are mental states which can be produced

by drugs, trauma, fatigue, hypnosis and sensory deprivation. In some cases,
the drug used may create a higher level of awareness. It is believed that
caffeine increases alertness. Awareness may also be altered to a lower level.
Subconscious information processing can occur simultaneously along many
parallel tracks, e.g., when a man is running down the street we are consciously
aware of the event, but not of the subconscious processing of object identity
(a man), its height, colour, weight, etc.; whereas, conscious processing is
serial.
Sleep is the periodic physiological fluctuation in the body. Most of the time
we are unaware of most biological rhythms, but they can influence our
behaviour. The rhythms are controlled by biological clocks.
In a national survey of more than 1,000 American adults, conducted by the
National Sleep Foundation, 63 per cent said that they get less than eight
hours of sleep a night, and 31 per cent said that they get less than seven
hours of sleep a night.
The five stages of sleep are differentiated by the depth of sleep and the
wave patterns detected with an EEG.
Each year, at least 40 million Americans suffer from chronic, long-term
sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleep
problems. Many people suffer from undiagnosed and untreated sleep
disorders.
Freud’s theory has largely given way to newer theories of dreams, such as
the cognitive theory of dreaming. It proposed that dreaming can be understood
by relying on the same cognitive concepts that are used in studying the
waking mind.
Hypnosis and meditation are psychological states, or possibly a state of
altered attention and awareness, in which the individual is unusually receptive
Self-Instructional
172 Material
to suggestions. Basic hypnotic techniques have been used since the beginning Nature of Consciousness
of recorded history in association with various religious ceremonies, magic,

the supernatural, and many erroneous psychological theories.
Hypnosis is widely used in medicine and dentistry, in criminal investigations,
NOTES
and in sports. Hypnosis has also been used in psychotherapy to treat
alcoholism, somnambulism, suicidal tendencies, overeating, and smoking.
Meditation refers to achieving an altered state of consciousness by
performing certain exercises like regulating breathing, restricting one’s field
of attention, eliminating external stimuli, assuming yogi body position, etc.
These leads a pleasant, mildly altered subjective state in which the individual
feels mentally and physically relaxed.
In his study of a centuries old Tibetan Buddhist text, Brown has described
the complex training required to master the technique. He had also mentioned
that cognitive changes can be expected at different levels of meditation.
Bio-feedback is based on skin response (GSR), feedback on brain waves
(EEG) and feedback in any other physiological parameter. The individual is
made to study the internal reactions to stress and relaxation. By giving the
individual feedback whether he/she is in a state of stress or relaxation, the
individual can be made to alter the reaction in favour of relation which one
can maintain as much as possible.
Drugs often make people feel powerful. Drugs endow a user with a false
sense of power that, of course, recedes when the artificial high ends. Addiction
occurs when a person compulsively attempts to continue that high by taking
a drug over and over again.
Drugs that alter thinking, perception, memory, or some combination of those
abilities called psychoactive drugs. Although some of these drugs can be
useful under certain circumstances, they all pose risks as well. One of the
dangers of such drugs is their potential to create either a physical or
psychological dependence.
Another sign of a physical dependence is that the user experiences symptoms
of withdrawal when deprived of the drug. Depending on the drug, these
symptoms can range from headaches, nausea, and irritability to severe pain,
cramping, shaking, and dangerously elevated blood pressure.
Psychological dependencies can last forever. Some people who gave up
smoking pot decades ago still say that the craving returns every now and
then.
Cocaine is a natural drug found in coca plant leaves. It produces feelings of
euphoria (a feeling of great happiness), energy, power, and pleasure. It also
deadens pain and suppresses the appetite. Cocaine is a highly dangerous
drug, not just for its addictive properties.
Self-Instructional
Material 173
Nature of Consciousness Barbiturates are drugs that have a sedative (sleep-inducing) effect. The
effects, depending on dosage levels, range from mild sedation or sleepiness
to unconsciousness or coma. Overdoses can lead to death as breathing and
heart action are stopped.
NOTES
11.6 KEY WORDS
The Galvanic Skin Response (GSR): This is the measure of the

continuous variations in the electrical characteristics of the skin, i.e. for
instance the conductance, caused by the variation of the human body
sweating.
Cannabis sativa: This is a flowering plant indigenous to eastern Asia but
now is cultivated widely. It is used as a source of industrial fibre, seed oil,
food, recreation, religious and spiritual moods and medicine.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC): This is one of cannabinoids identified in
cannabis. THC is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and is
one of the oldest hallucinogenic drugs known.

EXERCISES

1. Write a short note on altered states of consciousness.
2. Enumerate the different levels of awareness.
3. Write a brief note on the functioning of biological clocks.
4. What is the concept of sleep and dream?
5. State the significance of hypnosis and meditation.
6. Write a short note on deep muscle relaxation.
1. Discuss the meaning and effect of low-level consciousness.
2. Analyse the importance of sleep with relevant data.
3. Write a comprehensive note on effect of chronic sleep deprivation.
4. Discuss the numerous undiagnosed and untreated sleep disorders that many
people suffer from.
5. Analyse the significance of Freud’s theory on dream.
Self-Instructional
174 Material
6. People use drugs even if all are dangerous to a great extent. Discuss it with Nature of Consciousness
relevant references.
7. Enumerate various stimulants and their uses.
NOTES

Self-Instructional
Material 175
Attention in Psychology
BLOCK - IV
PROCESS OF INFORMATION AND APTITUDE
NOTES
UNIT 12 ATTENTION IN
PSYCHOLOGY
Structure
12.0 Introduction
12.1 Objectives
12.2 Attention: Types, Factors and Characteristics
12.2.2 Factors Influencing Attention
12.4 Summary
12.5 Key Words
12.0 INTRODUCTION
Attention refers to an active processing of specific information present by an

individual. It is one of the most consequential of all the tasks human brain performs.
Perceiving, thinking, learning, deciding and acting deliberately, all depend on
attention. It is the means by which one actively processes a limited amount of
information from a vast amount of information.
There is no consensus on defining the exact meaning of attention. However,
most psychologists and researchers refer to attention as the set of processes enabling
and guiding the selection of perceptual information. It is a selective mental process
in which the person by adopting certain bodily posture is set to bring certain stimuli
into focus of consciousness. It includes both conscious and unconscious processes.
It is believed that conscious processes are relatively easy to study and unconscious
processes are harder to study simply because one is not conscious of them.
On the basis of its status, attention has been categorised as overt and covert
attention. While the former is the act of directing sense organs toward a stimulus
source, the latter is the act of mentally focusing on one of several possible sensory
stimuli. Like most psychological concepts, attention is not a unitary phenomenon,
but refers to a variety of mechanisms.
Self-Instructional
176 Material
This unit aims at discussing the interpretation of attention in Psychology, its Attention in Psychology
types and characteristics and analyses the various theories associated with the
application of attention.
NOTES
12.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand the concept of attention in Psychology
Discuss the types of attention
Expain the various factors and characteristics of attention
Understand the determinants of attention
Analyse the various aspects of external determinants
12.2 ATTENTION: TYPES, FACTORS AND

CHARACTERISTICS
Let us first discuss the types of attention.

1. Overt orienting
Overt orienting is the act of selectively attending to an item or location over others
by moving the eyes to point in that direction. Overt orienting can be directly
observed in the form of eye movements. Although overt eye movements are quite
common, there is a distinction that can be made between two types of eye
movements; reflexive and controlled. Reflexive movements are commanded by
the superior colliculus of the midbrain. These movements are fast and are activated
by the sudden appearance of stimuli. In contrast, controlled eye movements are
commanded by areas in the frontal lobe. These movements are slow and voluntary.
2. Covert orienting
Covert orienting is the act to mentally shifting one’s focus without moving one’s
eyes. Simply, it is changes in attention that are not attributable to overt eye
movements. Covert orienting has the potential to affect the output of perceptual
processes by governing attention to particular items or locations (for example, the
activity of a V4 neuron whose receptive field lies on an attended stimuli will be
enhanced by covert attention) but does not influence the information that is processed
by the senses. Researchers often use “filtering” tasks to study the role of covert
attention of selecting information. These tasks often require participants to observe
a number of stimuli, but attend to only one.
The current view is that visual covert attention is a mechanism for quickly
scanning the field of view for interesting locations. This shift in covert attention is
linked to eye movement circuitry that sets up a slower saccade to that location. Self-Instructional
Material 177
Attention in Psychology 12.2.2 Factors Influencing Attention
An object must possess certain characteristics so that it may be able to draw our
attention. The objects attended to have one or more of the following characteristics,
NOTES which increase their attention value. These characteristics are as follows:
i. Intensity: A strong or prominent object is likely to attract our attention
quickly and easily than a weak stimulus. For example, a scream or loud cry,
full beam of light, heavy rain, thundering, lightening or flashing, all are intense
stimuli, so they catch our attention easily.
ii. Extensity: Like intensive, extensive objects will also capture our attention.
Bigger stimulus is more striking than the little ones. Huge billboards, full-
page advertisement in a newspaper is more likely to be noticed than a small
one.
iii. Colour: Colourful stimuli are more attractive than the simple one. Different
beautiful colours are used in advertisements just to grasp our attention.
iv. Movement: Moving objects are more attractive than the static one.
Movement is the fundamental objective condition of attention.
v. Duration: If the duration of stimulation is longer, then it will catch our
attention. Short termed or stimuli having minimum duration will not attract
us.
vi. Contrast: It is the basic factor which is used by those companies who
want to attract the consumers. If contrast is produced in a nice manner, it
definitely will catch the attention. All advertising agencies depend on this
technique. Contrast can be of colour, size, shape or movement also.
vii. Change: It is also a form of contrast. A continuous or steady stimulus or
object may lose our attention, but a sudden change can catch it again. When
moving objects stop, static object starts moving, they definitely catch our
attention. Alarm, call bell, knocking, or sudden change in light at once catches
our attention.
viii. Novelty: A novel or unusual object attracts more easily than a familiar
one. A familiar object loses its strength of attraction. Any stimulus, to which
we become habitual, remains no more attractive to us. Unique dresses,
styles, colours and fashion grasp our attention. Striking quality of the objects
definitely capture our attention.
ix. Location: We can see its application in advertisements. Advertising agencies
select important location for the bill boards. Same strategy is adopted while
advertising in newspapers. Ads between news bulletins or just before become
more attention catching.
x. Repetition: Repeated object or incident catches our attention. The more it
stimulates us the more it will become attractive for us. The advertising
agencies give their message repeatedly on T.V. or radio so they catch our
Self-Instructional
178 Material
attention. But there is a limit for repetition. Sometimes, we become fed up Attention in Psychology
with repetition also.

Our past experiences, special interests, particular skills carry with our attention. NOTES
All these give us not just expanded knowledge base, but a greater sensitivity to
particular stimuli, events, and relationships. Students usually notice that teachers
say “attention please”, but most of the teachers are already aware that attention
occurs to unexpected stimuli and ceases to occur to repeated stimuli. Most of the
time, we are bombarded with many stimuli at once. We are unable to perceive all
of them. But some stimuli intrude on our consciousness no matter what we do, but
often we are able to select what we perceive.
We select one or some of the stimuli to attend to from the shower of sensation.
While sitting in a class, you are supposed to attend to the lecture and you are really
doing that, but you can notice many other stimuli constantly reaching you, e.g.
tightness of your shoe, whispers from the back row, odour from close by, a stiffness
of your seat and many others. You, probably, were not aware of those stimuli, until
you attended to them. In every act of attention, there are objects attended to and
the objects attended from. As attention is a selective process, without the ability to
select, we would be overwhelmed by all these stimuli. Usually what we select
depends on what is important to us at the moment, but certain salient stimuli are
always perceived. We say that they “capture our attention”.
Of all the things that happen around us, of which we could be aware of, we actually
become aware only of those on which we focus our attention. Attention is like a
spotlight that illuminates certain portions of our surroundings. When we focus our
attention on something and become conscious of it, we can begin to process it
cognitively i.e. converting sensory information or perceptions and memories or
developing ideas through analysis, judgement, reasoning and imagination. When
the spotlight of attention shifts to something else, conscious processing of the earlier
material ceases and processing of the new content begins.
When we select something to attend to because of its striking characteristics,
we inevitably ignore many other possibilities. Only a small portion of the information
constantly being taken in by our senses can be attended to. Attention has been the
focus of research because of its importance for consciousness and, thus, for higher
level mental processing. In his book, “Perception and Communication” (1958),
Broadbent outlined a number of ideas that were novel and exciting to other
researchers and provided an empirical basis for investigation of attention.
One cannot react in a similar manner to all the things that are present around one.
One focusses on only few things. This selective focus is called as attention.
Self-Instructional
Material 179
Attention in Psychology It is a fact that some stimuli affect more than other. Everyone selects certain
stimuli present in the environment based on his/her interests, needs and attitudes.
There are two types of determinants of attention:
NOTES A. External determinants and
B. Internal determinants of achieving attention.
A. External Determinants
1. Nature of stimulus: By nature of stimulus, one means the type of stimulus
that is whether the stimulus is visual, auditory, olfactory, tactual or olfactory.
Various experiments on perception have confirmed that coloured things
like pictures attract more attention than the colorless ones. Beautiful things
attract more attention.
2. Intensity of the stimulus: Intense stimulus attracts more attention of the
subject than the weak stimulus. High sounds, bright colours are more attention
seeking.
3. Size of the stimulus: Though big things attract more but sometimes very
small things also gain attention because of their background. Thus the
attraction does not only depends upon the size but the background as well.
4. Location of the stimulus: The location of the stimulus also affects attention.
In the visual stimuli the most effective location is just in front of the eyes.
Many experimental studies have reflected the fact that upper half page of
the advertisement in newspapers attracts the attention most.
5. Contrast of the stimulus: Contrast of the stimulus is also an important
determinant of attention. For example, presence of one white skinned man
in a group of blacks.
6. Change of the stimulus: No one can concentrate our attention for a long
time on a particular thing. Attention can be gained by the change in the
stimulus.
7. Isolation of stimulus: Isolation is an important determinant of attention.
This assumption is based on the fact that isolated individuals or things do
not mix with others and so they are seen in own background.
8. Duration of stimulus: The stimulus shown for a long period of time will
seek more attention from the subject.
9. Repetition of the stimulus: Another important determinant of attention is
the repetition of the stimulus. It is a common knowledge that if the teacher is
trying to draw the attention of the students towards a particular topic then
she is likely to repeat it quite a number of times.
10. Movement of stimulus: Moving stimuli attract more attention than the
static ones. That is why moving sign boards are used to attract the customers.
Self-Instructional
180 Material
B. Internal Determinants Attention in Psychology
Besides the external determinants, some internal determinants present within the
subject are also helpful in attracting attention. These are:
1. Interest: Every individual has different set of interests. People are more NOTES
attracted to things which are of their interest and would like to perceive only
those things which interest them.
2. Basic drives: The perception of an organism also depends upon his basic
drives of hunger, thirst and fear etc. Hungry people will always be looking
for food in every situation but a person who has a full belly will not like to
even look to good food. Gardner, Murphy and Chein presented eighty
different objects one at a time, behind a ground-glass screen to a group of
college students who had been deprived of food for varying periods of
time. Through the ground glass screen the students were able to see shadowy
outlines of the objects. The study showed that as hunger increased the
students tended more and more to interpret the indistinct forms as items of
food.
3. Mental set: Mental set means the attitude of the subject. Only the stimulus
which is there in the mind set will be perceived by the subject. For example
during examinations even small things related to examination attract the
attention of the students.
4. Personal values: Person perception also depends upon the values of the
perceiver. For example, it was studied by Bruner and Goodman (947) in an
experiment conducted on poor children and children from rich families that
poor children over estimated the size of coins because both had different
set of values.
5. Meaning: Meaningful objects attract more attention than the meaningless
ones. For example, if two people are talking in some other language which
is not known to you, then you are not likely to pay attention to it because it
has no meaning for you.
6. Habit: Habit is also an important determinant of attention. The attention is
diverted towards things which are habitual
7. Past experience: Past experiences also guide us in our perception. Most
of the times people attend to those things with which they associate positive
memories and would like to avoid situations which are associated with
negative experiences.
8. Emotion: Emotions also have an impact on our attention process. A person
who is very happy will find everything singing and dancing around him.
Feeling and emotions influences one’s capacity for accurate or objective
perceptions. People who are emotionally excited will never be able to
perceive the events and objects correctly. In courtroom murder trials where
emotions run high, two or more witnesses with no reason to lie have been
known to give completely contradictory testimony to same events. Self-Instructional
Material 181
Attention in Psychology 9. Suggestion: Suggestion given by others causes errors in perception. For
example, it was found that in rope trick, under the influence of the performer’s
vivid and persuasive description, the members of the audience see a rope
uncurl and stand upright unsupported in space.
NOTES
In hypnotism, our senses are deceived by what the mind is directed to see,
feel or hear in an extreme state of suggestibility. It is generally believed that
hypnotic suggestibility can distort our perception.
Neural Correlates of Attention
Attention is a cognitive selection mechanism that allocates the limited processing
resources of the brain to the sensory streams most relevant to our immediate
goals, thereby enhancing responsiveness and behavioural performance. The
underlying neural mechanisms of orienting attention are distributed across a
widespread cortical network. While aspects of this network have been extensively
studied, details about the electrophysiological dynamics of this network are scarce.
Check Your Progress

1. State the meaning of attention in Psychology.
2. List the various types of attention.
3. Explain the characteristics of attention.
4. List the features of external determinants.

QUESTIONS
1. There is no consensus on defining the exact meaning of attention. However,

most psychologists and researchers refer to attention as the set of processes
enabling and guiding the selection of perceptual information. It is a selective
mental process in which the person by adopting certain bodily posture is
set to bring certain stimuli into focus of consciousness.
2. There are two types of attention. These are:
i. Overt orienting: Overt orienting is the act of selectively attending to an
item or location over others by moving the eyes to point in that direction.
Overt orienting can be directly observed in the form of eye movements.
ii. Covert orienting: Covert orienting is the act to mentally shifting one’s
focus without moving one’s eyes. Simply, it is changes in attention that
are not attributable to overt eye movements. The current view is that
visual covert attention is a mechanism for quickly scanning the field of
view for interesting locations.
Self-Instructional
182 Material
3. These characteristics are as follows: Attention in Psychology
i. Intensity: A strong or prominent object is likely to attract our attention

quickly and easily than a weak stimulus. For example, a scream or
loud cry, full beam of light, heavy rain, thundering, lightening or flashing,
NOTES
all are intense stimuli, so they catch our attention easily.
ii. Extensity: Like intensive, extensive objects will also capture our
attention. Bigger stimulus is more striking than the little ones.
iii. Colour: Colourful stimuli are more attractive than the simple one.
Different beautiful colours are used in advertisements just to grasp our
attention.
iv. Movement: Moving objects are more attractive than the static one.
Movement is the fundamental objective condition of attention.
v. Duration: If the duration of stimulation is longer, then it will catch our
attention. Sshort termed or stimuli having minimum duration will not
attract us.
vi. Contrast: It is the basic factor which is used by those companies who
want to attract the consumers.
vii. Change: It is also a form of contrast. A continuous or steady stimulus
or object may looselose our attention, but a sudden change can catch
it again.
viii. Novelty: A novel or unusual object attracts more easily than a familiar
one. A familiar object loses its strength of attraction.
ix. Location: We can see its application in advertisements. Advertising
agencies select important location for the bill boards. Same strategy is
adopted while advertising in newspapers. Ads between news bulletins
or just before become more attention catching.
x. Repetition: Repeated object or incident catches our attention. The
more it stimulates us the more it will become attractive for us. The
advertising agencies give their message repeatedly on T.V. or radio so
they catch our attention.
4. Some of the features of external determinants are:
i. Nature of stimulus: By nature of stimulus, one means the type of
stimulus that is whether the stimulus is visual, auditory, olfactory, tactual
or olfactory. Various experiments on perception have confirmed that
coloured things like pictures attract more attention than the colourless
ones. Beautiful things attract more attention.
ii. Intensity of the stimulus: Intense stimulus attracts more attention of the
subject than the weak stimulus. High sounds, bright colours are more
attention seeking.
Self-Instructional
Material 183
Attention in Psychology iii. Size of the stimulus: Though big things attract more but sometimes
very small things also gain attention because of their background. Thus
the attraction does not only depends upon the size but the background
as well.
NOTES
iv. Location of the stimulus: The location of the stimulus also affects
attention. In the visual stimuli the most effective location is just in front
of the eyes. Many experimental studies have reflected the fact that
upper half page of the advertisement in newspapers attracts the attention
most.
vi. Contrast of the stimulus: Contrast of the stimulus is also an important
determinant of attention. For example, presence of one white skinned
man in a group of blacks.
vi. Change of the stimulus: No one can concentrate our attention for a
long time on a particular thing. Attention can be gained by the change
in the stimulus.
vii. Isolation of stimulus: Isolation is an important determinant of attention.
This assumption is based on the fact that isolated individuals or things
do not mix with others and so they are seen in own background.
viii. Duration of stimulus: The stimulus shown for a long period of time will
seek more attention from the subject.
12.4 SUMMARY
Overt orienting can be directly observed in the form of eye movements.

Although overt eye movements are quite common, there is a distinction that
can be made between two types of eye movements; reflexive and controlled.
The current view is that visual covert attention is a mechanism for quickly
scanning the field of view for interesting locations. This shift in covert attention
is linked to eye movement circuitry that sets up a slower saccade to that
location.
Like intensive, extensive objects will also capture our attention. Bigger stimulus
is more striking than the little ones. Huge billboards, full-page advertisement
in a newspaper is more likely to be noticed than a small one.
Our past experiences, special interests, particular skills carry with our
attention. All these give us not just expanded the knowledge base, but a
greater sensitivity to particular stimuli, events, and relationships. Students
usually notice that teachers say “attention please”.
Of all the things that happen around us, of which we could be aware of, we
actually become aware only of those on which we focus our attention.
Attention is like a spotlight that illuminates certain portions of our
surroundings.
Self-Instructional
184 Material
When we select something to attend to because of its striking characteristics, Attention in Psychology
we inevitably ignore many other possibilities. Only a small portion of the

information constantly being taken in by our senses can be attended to.
By nature of stimulus, one means the type of stimulus that is whether the
NOTES
stimulus is visual, auditory, olfactory, tactual or olfactory. Various experiments
on perception have confirmed that coloured things like pictures attract more
attention than the colorless ones. Beautiful things attract more attention.
Isolation is an important determinant of attention. This assumption is based
on the fact that isolated individuals or things do not mix with others and so
they are seen in own background.
The perception of an organism also depends upon his basic drives of hunger,
thirst and fear etc. Hungry people will always be looking for food in every
situation but a person who has a full belly will not like to even look to good
food.
Past experiences also guide us in our perception. Most of the times people
attend to those things with which they associate positive memories and
would like to avoid situations which are associated with negative experiences.
12.5 KEY WORDS
Reflexive movement: It occurs immediately in response to something that

happens.
Superior colliculus: This is a paired structure of the mammalian midbrain.
The superior colliculus forms a major component of the midbrain.
Hypnotism: The study or act of inducing hypnosis.

EXERCISES

1. Write a short note on the meaning of attention in Psychology.
2. What happens when we focus on attention?
3. Enumerate the role of determinants in attention.
1. Discuss the significance of overt orienting.
2. Analyse the current view of visual covert orienting.
3. Write a comprehensive notes various characteristics that influence attention.
4. Discuss the significance of external and internal determinants.
Self-Instructional
Material 185
Attention in Psychology

Self-Instructional
186 Material
Perception in Psychology
UNIT 13 PERCEPTION IN
PSYCHOLOGY
NOTES
Structure
13.0 Introduction
13.1 Objectives
13.2 Perception
13.4 Summary
13.5 Key Words
13.0 INTRODUCTION
Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to

give it meaning. Perception includes all those process by which an individual receives
information. It is the process whereby stimuli are received & interpreted by the
individual and translated into a response. It can also be defined as a process by
which individuals organize & interpret their sensory impression in order to give
meaning to their environment. Sensory information travels rapidly through the brain
because of parallel processing, the simultaneous distribution of information across
different neural path ways. Gestalt contends that a whole object cannot be predicted
simply by adding up our perceptions of the parts. The parts may become
unobservable when combined with other parts. The Gestalt theory holds that we
perceive form above all else. Gestalt psychology postulates that the whole is different
from the sum of its part.
According to figure-ground concept, perceived objects stand out as
separable from their general background. The figure seems to be well defined, at
a definite location, solid, and in front of the ground. In contrast, the ground seems
to be indefinite, shapeless and continuous behind the figure. The common outline
of the figure and the ground appears to belong to the figure rather than to the
ground. Though learning has a bearing on what will be perceived as the figure and
what as ground, the tendency to organize their perceptions into figure and ground
is inborn, natural and inherent in people. Figure-ground segregation is essential for
the perception of shape.
This unit aims at discussing the perception and principles of perceptual
organization and analyses this with figure-ground model in psychology.
Self-Instructional
Material 187
13.1 OBJECTIVES

NOTES Understand the concept of perception
Enumerate sensory information
Explain the figure-ground relationship
Understand the characteristics of visual perception
Enumerate the principles of perceptual organization
Understand factors influencing perception
Explain the role of learning in perception
Enumerate various types of illusion
Understand extra sensory perception
13.2 PERCEPTION
Most psychologists describe perception as interpretation of sensation. Perception

is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to give it meaning.
The brain automatically perceives the information it receives from the sense organs.
For this reason most psychologists refer to sensation and perception as a unified
information processing system (Goldstein, 2002). According to the expert A. David
(1982) the purpose of perception is to represent information from the outside
world internally.
Sensory information travels rapidly through the brain because of parallel
processing, the simultaneous distribution of information across different neural path
ways (Beauchamp and other, 2002). Sensory system designed to process
information about sensory qualities one at a time (such as the shapes of image,
their colours, their movements their location and soon) would be too slow to keep
us current with a rapidly changing world.
Perceiving visual stimuli means organizing and interpreting the fragments of
information that the eye send to the visual cortex. Information about the dimension
of what we see are critical to this process. Shape and form are critical to perception.
The term shape and form are often used interchangeably. There are many questions
before us related to the perception of shape such as how do we perceive shape
and form innate, or how do we segregate figure from ground.
The shape or form is defined as one of visual field that is set off from the rest
of the field by visible cortex. The figure-ground relationship is the principle by
which we organize the stand out (figure) and those that are left over (background)
(refer Figure 13.1).
Self-Instructional
188 Material
NOTES
Fig. 13.1 The Figure and the Backgrund
Reversible Figure-Ground Pattern

Some figure-ground relationships are highly ambiguous, and it may be hard to tell
between the figure and the ground. In our visual field (whatever we lookout in the
environment around us), some area is segregated to form figure and the rest is
relegated to the background. Figure ground segregation is essential for the
perception of shape. It is not only the characteristics of visual perception but comes
under sense modalities. The following are the difference between figure and
backgrounds.
The ground seems to extend behind the figure.
The figure has a shape, while the ground is relatively shapeless.
The figure is more impressive, meaningful and better remembered.
The figure usually tends to appear in front, the ground behind.
The figure has some of the characteristics of a thing, whereas the background
appears like unformed material.
Principles of Perceptual Organization
The Gestalt psychologists, Kohler, Koffka and Wertheimer (1886–1941) proposed
that the brain has the innate capacity for organizing perception. According to them,
people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns. The main
principles of Gestalt psychologist is that the whole is different from the sum of its
part, e.g., thousands of tiny dots (parts) make up an image (whole) in print or on
computer screen. Similarly, when we watch a film, the frame moves a light source
at a high rate, and we perceive the whole that is very different from the separate
frames that are the film’s part. Following are the factors that influence perception:
Proximity: Tendency to perceive objects that are close to one another as
a part of the same grouping (refer Figure 13.2).
Self-Instructional
Material 189
NOTES
Fig. 13.2 Proximity of Figures
In Figure 13.2, A is perceived as three pair of vertical lines not six vertical
lines. The set of dots in B may be perceived as a triangle.
Similarity: Similarity stimuli are more likely to be perceived as one whole
than dissimilar stimuli (refer Figure 13.3).
Fig. 13.3 Similar and Dissimilar Stimuli
In Figure 13.3, A and B have the same number and arrangements of parts.
A is perceived as one whole. B contains dissimilar parts and it is perceived
as dots and squares.
Good figure (Law of Pragnauz): This law states that a perceptual
organization will always be as good as the prevailing conditions allow. The
simplest organization requiring the least cognitive effort will always emerge.
Pragnauz means that we perceive the simplest organization that fits the
stimulus pattern (refer Figure 13.4).
Self-Instructional
190 Material
NOTES
Fig. 13.4 Understanding the Law of Pragnauzx
In Figure 13.4, A is perceived as a triangle of dots with another triangle.

However, it fails to operate in B as the system parts have no symmetry.
They do not form a good figure in B.
Closure: It is the tendency to complete figure that are incomplete as it
yields subjective contours (refer Figure 13.5)
Fig. 13.5 A Closure
In Figure 13.5, the triangle does not exist, still it is compelling to perceive a
triangle.
Continuation common direction: Stimuli that have a common direction
are organized in perception as a separate object from those stimuli that
have different direction (refer Figure 13.6).
Fig. 13.6 Continuation Common Direction

Self-Instructional
Material 191
Perception in Psychology In Figure 13.6, we perceive A as a set of dots forming an arc and another
set of dots forming a straight line with a different direction. In B, we perceive
two figures; one is superimposed on other. Each figure has different
continuation. In C, we perceive a square and a circle.
NOTES
Contiguity: It involves nearness in space and time. Contiguity is the tendency
to perceive two things that happen close together in time as being related.
Usually, the first occurring event is seen as causing the second event.
Common region: The coloured background defines a visible common
region and tendency is to perceive objects that are in common area or
region (refer Figure 13.7).
Fig. 13.7 Perception of Common Region
The stimuli sharing a common set of characteristics are likely to be organized

as one object in perception. Apart from some factors are within the perceiver
that account for organization in perception.
Past experience: Past experience plays an important part in a person’s
perception. When a person already perceived a group of stimuli as one
object, he is more likely to perceive it as the same object in future. If a child
has been bitten by a dog, he perceives all dogs as dangerous and run away
at their sight. His perception of dog becomes organized in the same way.
Another child who has no such experience has a different perception of
dogs.
Self-Instructional
192 Material
Need and motives: Need and motives are very powerful internal factors Perception in Psychology
that influence perception organization. If a man is hungry, he is more likely

to perceive the food object whereas a man having full meal is more likely to
perceive objects in the shop other than food objects.
NOTES
Depth perception: The ability to see the world in three dimensions is called
depth perception. The problem emerge from the fact that how the image of
three dimensional world is projected on the two dimensional retina. The
retina directly reflects height and width, but depth information is lost and
reconstructed on the brain of depth cues, different kind of visual information
that logically provide information about some object’s depth. There are
various cues for perceiving depth in the world, some are as follows:
Monocular Cues of changes in perception: It is known as a pictorial
depth cue because they include the kind of depth information found in the
photographs and painting. These are extensively used by the artists in their
painting. Their cues are as follows:
a. Aerial perspective: Distant mountains often look fuzzy and building
far in the distance is blurring than those that are close. However, the
further away an object is the hazier the objects will appear. This is
called aerial perspective.
b. Linear perceptive: When parallel lines appear to be converging at a
distance, it is called linear perspective. The converging line means a
great distance away from where they start.
c. Relative size: When objects that people expect to be of certain size
appear to be small and are, therefore assumed to be much farther
away.
d. Light and shadow: We are often aware of the source and direction
of light. It is generally from above, as sunlight. The shadow cast by
one object on another can indicate which object is farther away.
e. Interposition: If one object seems to be blocking another, people
assume that the blocked object is behind the first one and therefore
farther away. This is also known as overlap.
f. Texture gradient: The object lying on a surface that look fine and
smooth is texture and is perceived at a greater distance than those
objects on a rough surface. The pebbles or bricks that textured, but
as you look farther off into distance, their texture become smaller and
finer.
g. Motion parallax: The discrepancy in motion of near-far objects is
called motion parallax.
h. Accommodation: Accommodation makes use of something that
happens inside the eye. The brain can use this information about
accommodation as a cue for distance. Accommodation is also called
muscular cue. Self-Instructional
Material 193
Perception in Psychology The Role of Learning In Perception
The older question about the role of learning in perception had to do with the
nativism-empiricism problem. To what extent is perception natively given by way
NOTES of our inherited structures and capacities, and to what extent is it the result of our
experiences with the world of objects? However, a new question is now being
asked about the reciprocal relationship between learning and perception. This new
and contemporary question is: To what extent is learning, merely reorganized
perception?
Learning brings about a qualitative change in regard to adaptation, the most
generic and simple form of optimization at an individual scale. It implies the idea of
new knowledge, in the sense that the organism links what formerly appeared as an
undistinguished whole. In other words, it means the capability to change its own
codes of meaning. Finally, we outline some basic ideas for modelling an adaptive
sensor embedded in a (partially) autonomous system, which implies the former
distinction between adaptation and learning. Cognition transfers progressively the
functions of phylogenetic adaptation to the spatial and temporal scale of the lifetime
of an organism (plasticity and structural change as learning in the cognitive
subsystem). It establishes a new relation in the activity of the organism in its
environment. This process appears internally as a functional hierarchisation, where
the cognitive system operates as a function for the general regulation of the rest of
them. Both aspects—the relation of the organism with its environment and the
organization of its functions—are coupled in the development of a rich and versatile
universe.
Perpetual illusions are misconceptions resulting from misinterpretation of sensory
information. Sensory illusions are also known as false perception, e.g., in a dark
night a rope is perceived as a snake. Illusion is a normal phenomenon perceived
by all human beings.
Illusion of Motion
Sometimes pupils perceive an object as moving when it is actually still. This is
called the auto kinetic effect. A small stationary light in a darkened room will
appear to move or drift because there are no surrounding due to indicate that the
light is not moving. Another is the stroboscopes motion seen in motion picture.
Another illusion related to stroboscope motion is the phi-phenomenon, in which
light turned on and off in a sequence appear to move theatre marquee signs. For
example, the best example of movement illusion is a series of blinking lights indicating
direction.
Geometrical Illusion
There are quite a few illusions that can be demonstrated by drawing some lines,
Muller layer illusion is the most important example of that. In Figure 13.8, the two
Self-Instructional
194 Material
lines are exactly the same lengths and they are identical, but one looks longer than Perception in Psychology
the other.
NOTES
Fig. 13.8 Geometrical Illusio
Moon Illusion
The moon on the horizon looks far bigger than moon in the zenith. The retinal
image is the same for both the horizon. This happens due to size distance
relationship.
There are many different stimuli in the world which will catch our attention and
result in perceptual organization. The stimulus characteristics are important as our
own initial needs.
Content
A given stimulus may provide radically different perception because of the immediate
content. The content creates an expectation in our brain that influences our
perception at a particular movement. For example, suppose in a noisy condition
we hear a sentence, ‘eel is moving.’ We will perceive the word ‘eel’ as ‘wheel’
because of the content provided by the later part of the sentence. Similarly, verbally
provided a stimulus, ‘eel the orange’, one will perceive ‘eel’ as ‘peel’. This is
because the later word ‘orange’ provides an expectation for the perception of
earlier word.
Perceptual Set
Perceptual set refers to our mental expectancies and predisposition to perceive
one thing and not another. Our education, social and cultural experiences shape
our perception. Our learnt assumptions and beliefs help us in organizing our
perception. Similarly, stereotypes (a generalized belief about a group of people)
Self-Instructional
Material 195
Perception in Psychology help us to perceive people we meet first time. Much of our social interaction is
determined by the stereotypes we hold about individuals and groups.
Motives and Needs
NOTES Personal views matters a lot in perceiving things available in the environment.
Socio and Cultural Factors
Our perceptions reflect the effect of past learning and, therefore, if learning and
socialization takes place in a particular socio-cultural background it will be reflected
in our perception.
The perception without the involvement of series is called ESP. It is perception
without stimulation. It includes phenomena like telepathy, clairvoyance and
telekinesis, which are as follows:
Telepathy: It refers to transfer of thought between two persons at different
places.
Clairvoyance: Perceiving objects and events without the involvement of
senses.
Telekinesis: Controlling objects without touching them.
ESP is considered a para-psychological phenomenon. Psychologists with
scientific attitude are generally sceptical about the phenomena of ESP.
Check Your Progress

1. What is the meaning of perception in psychology?
2. Why does sensory information travel rapidly?
3. What is the role of learning in perception?
4. What do you mean by perceptual set?
5. What is extra sensory perception?
6. List the phenomena associated with ESP.

QUESTIONS
1. Most psychologists describe perception as interpretation of sensation.

Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information
to give it meaning. The brain automatically perceives the information it
receives from the sense organs. For this reason most psychologists refer to
sensation and perception as a unified information processing system.
Self-Instructional
196 Material
2. Sensory information travels rapidly through the brain because of parallel Perception in Psychology
processing, the simultaneous distribution of information across different neural

path ways. Sensory system designed to process information about sensory
qualities one at a time (such as the shapes of image, their colours, their
movements their location and soon) would be too slow to keep us current NOTES
with a rapidly changing world.
3. Learning brings about a qualitative change in regard to adaptation, the most
generic and simple form of optimization at an individual scale. It implies the
idea of new knowledge, in the sense that the organism links what formerly
appeared as an undistinguished whole. In other words, it means the capability
to change its own codes of meaning.
4. Perceptual set refers to our mental expectancies and predisposition to
perceive one thing and not another. Our education, social and cultural
experiences shape our perception. Our learnt assumptions and beliefs help
us in organizing our perception. Similarly, stereotypes (a generalized belief
about a group of people) help us to perceive people we meet first time.
Much of our social interaction is determined by the stereotypes we hold
about individuals and groups.
5. The perception without the involvement of series is called ESP. It is perception
without stimulation.
6. ESP includes phenomena like telepathy, clairvoyance and telekinesis, which
are as follows:
Telepathy: It refers to transfer of thought between two persons at different
places.
Clairvoyance: Perceiving objects and events without the involvement of
senses.
Telekinesis: Controlling objects without touching them.
ESP is considered a para-psychological phenomenon. Psychologists with
scientific attitude are generally sceptical about the phenomena of ESP.
13.4 SUMMARY
Most psychologists describe perception as interpretation of sensation.

Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information
to give it meaning. The brain automatically perceives the information it
receives from the sense organs.
Perceiving visual stimuli means organizing and interpreting the fragments of
information that the eye send to the visual cortex. Information about the
dimension of what we see are critical to this process. Shape and form are
Self-Instructional
Material 197
Perception in Psychology critical to perception. The term shape and form are often used
interchangeably.
Some figure-ground relationships are highly ambiguous, and it may be hard
NOTES to tell between the figure and the ground. In our visual field (whatever we
lookout in the environment around us), some area is segregated to form
figure and the rest is relegated to the background.
The main principles of Gestalt psychologist is that the whole is different
from the sum of its part, e.g., thousands of tiny dots (parts) make up an
image (whole) in print or on computer screen.
The ability to see the world in three dimensions is called depth perception.
The problem emerge from the fact that how the image of three dimensional
world is projected on the two dimensional retina.
The object lying on a surface that look fine and smooth is texture and is
perceived at a greater distance than those objects on a rough surface. The
pebbles or bricks that textured, but as you look farther off into distance,
their texture become smaller and finer.
Learning brings about a qualitative change in regard to adaptation, the most
generic and simple form of optimization at an individual scale. It implies the
idea of new knowledge, in the sense that the organism links what formerly
appeared as an undistinguished whole. In other words, it means the capability
to change its own codes of meaning.
Sometimes pupils perceive an object as moving when it is actually still. This
is called the auto kinetic effect. A small stationary light in a darkened room
will appear to move or drift because there are no surrounding due to indicate
that the light is not moving
A given stimulus may provide radically different perception because of the
immediate content. The content creates an expectation in our brain that
influences our perception at a particular movement. For example, suppose
in a noisy condition we hear a sentence, ‘eel is moving.’ We will perceive
the word ‘eel’ as ‘wheel’ because of the content provided by the later part
of the sentence.
Perceptual set refers to our mental expectancies and predisposition to
perceive one thing and not another. Our education, social and cultural
experiences shape our perception. Our learnt assumptions and beliefs help
us in organizing our perception.
Our perceptions reflect the effect of past learning and, therefore, if learning
and socialization takes place in a particular socio-cultural background it
will be reflected in our perception.
Self-Instructional
198 Material
The perception without the involvement of series is called ESP. It is Perception in Psychology
perception without stimulation. It includes phenomena like telepathy,

clairvoyance and telekinesis.
NOTES
13.5 KEY WORDS
Hierarchisation: It refers to the categorization or arrangement of a group

of people or things into such ranks or grades.
Geometrical illusion: When an illusion involves properties that fall within
the purview of geometry.
The Moon illusion: This is an optical illusion which causes the Moon to
appear larger near the horizon than it does higher up in the sky.
Parapsychological phenomenon: Any of several types of events that
cannot be accounted for by natural law or knowledge apparently acquired
by other than usual sensory abilities. The discipline concerned with
investigating such phenomena is called parapsychology.

EXERCISES

1. Enumerate the role of sensory system.
2. Analyse the figure-ground relation in a perceptual organization.
3. Write a brief note on reversible figure-ground pattern.
4. Enumerate the main principles of Gestalt psychologist.
5. What role does cognition play in learning?
6. Write a short note on illusion of moon.
1. Discuss the role of sensory information in a perceptual organization.
2. ‘People naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns.’
Analyse this statement with reference to Gestalt psychologists.
3. Write a comprehensive note on the various factors that influence perception.
4. Discuss the application of Law of Pragnauz in a perceptual organization.
5. Analyse the nativism-empiricism problem in the context of the role of learning
in perception.
6. Enumerate the phenomenon of illusion of motion.
7. Discuss the application of extra sensory perception (ESP).
Self-Instructional
Material 199

Self-Instructional
200 Material
Aptitudes
UNIT 14 APTITUDES
Structure NOTES
14.0 Introduction
14.1 Objectives
14.2 Intelligence Testing
14.3 Measuring Aptitude and Interest
14.5 Summary
14.6 Key Words
14.0 INTRODUCTION
Psychologists have defined aptitude in different ways. Its meaning varies from one
user to the other and is used loosely used by laymen, psychologists and counsellors.
Aptitude, moreover, connotes more than potential ability in performance. It seems
to be indicative of a person’s power to acquire specified behavioural pattern of
interest, knowledge and skill. In short, aptitude embraces any characteristic which
predisposes to learning – including intelligence, achievement, personality, interests
and special skills. Professionals in the testing field employ the term aptitude when
prediction of future success is the primary purpose for use in the test.The first
quarter of the twentieth century witnessed the development of the tests called as
‘aptitude tests’. One of the earliest and the best known of these tests the Stenquist
Test of General Mechanical Ability. Historical development of intelligence testing
can be classified into three distinctive periods namely pre-Binet, Binet and post-
Binet period.
The history of emergence of group tests can be traced back to the First
World War when the USA was compelled to join the war. The constancy of IQ
has received a great deal of attention from educational psychologists because of
its usefulness in modern education. Then there is the performance test in which the
subject has to perform something or to manipulate some concrete material without
much use of the language ability. In the meantime, tests of interest have been
developed by psychologists to improve vocational selection in various jobs and to
provide vocational guidance for selecting appropriate vocation keeping into
consideration the individual’s future success.
There is evidence that the development of the future is likely to be along the
line of test for specific aptitude rather than tests of general intelligence.
Self-Instructional
Material 201
Aptitudes This unit aims at discussing the nature and measurement of aptitude and
presents an in-depth analysis of various tests to gauge the level of aptitude in
individuals or groups.
NOTES
14.1 OBJECTIVES

Understand the meaning of aptitude
Enumerate the development of mental testing
Enumerate the performance test of intelligence
Understand the limitation of intelligence tests
Discuss the measurement of aptitude
Describe the different tests of interest
Understand the various forms of Kuder interest test
14.2 INTELLIGENCE TESTING
Men have always been interested in measuring the abilities and capabilities of their
fellowmen. Primitive men largely employed crude methods of measuring intelligence
by means of physical strength and solving puzzles. With the advancement of
civilization and with the development of scientific inquiry, the method of measuring
intelligence was also improved.
The emergence of mental testing in the present form is hardly seventy years
old. Historical development of intelligence testing can be classified into three
distinctive periods. These are as follows:
1. Pre-Binet period
2. Binet period
3. Post-Binet period
1. Pre-Binet Period
The development of intelligence testing may be attributed to the study of individual
differences. The first experimentation on individual differences arose from the
difference in reaction time (RT) among astronomers in 1776 in the observatory of
Greenwich. Kinner Brook. An assistant, was engaged in recording time of the
movement of stars when they crossed the field of telescope. He took more time
than his officers. His services were terminated on this account. After twenty years,
studies proved that differences in time of recording were due to individual
differences among people. Mental measurement did not really get underway until
the turn of the present century. The measurement started with psycho-physics. In
the 19th century, there was a good deal of interest in the field of psycho-physics,
Self-Instructional
202 Material
in which attempts were made to develop general rules of sensory judgement. Unlike Aptitudes
differential measurement, which is concerned with individual differences, psycho-

physics is concerned with the functioning of sensory mechanism of the typical
individual. One procedure developed was the method of limits which was intended
to measure the extent to which people were able to differentiate between degrees NOTES
of intensity of a stimulus or to notice a minimal difference between two stimuli
termed ‘just noticeable difference’ (JND). It is evident that these experiments, in
general sensory behaviour, were contaminated by individual differences. It was
not possible to draw accurate generalization on the basis of these experiments.
Interest in individual differences began to grow.
Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911) was the first psychologist who devoted his
time to study whether individual characteristics are inherited. He took great interest
in individual differences. He studied the lives of prominent Englishmen and in his
book Hereditary Genius, he demonstrated that personal characteristics are
inherited. These characteristics include mental as well as physical abilities and
other aspects of personality. He developed a series of tests to measure human
characteristics. The first laboratory of experimental psychology was established
by Wundt in 1879, in Leipzig. He mainly employed physiological method and
introspection as the major technique to study vision, hearing, reaction-time and
psycho-physical problems. He developed mental tests which measured keenness
of vision and hearing, muscular strength, reaction-time and other sensorimotor
functions.
A. Galton’s Influence on Cattell
James McKeen Cattell, an American psychologist, studied in Europe and brought
many of Galton’s ideas back to USA with him. Cattell believed, as did Galton, that
intellectual functions can best be measured through tests of reaction-time and
sensory discrimination.
Needless to mention that a certain amount of intellectual ability is required
for academic success in schools. The problem of intelligence has always been one
of importance for educators. Whereas individuals have probably always made
some type of evaluation of the intellectual ability of their fellow men, but a systematic
attempt at such an appraisal was not forthcoming until the later part of the 19th
century, when psychological laboratories came into existence and psychologists
demonstrated interest in evaluating individual differences in mental ability. Thus,
intelligence and intelligence testing received enough attention from psychologists
and educators both.
Some of these early attempts grew out of an awareness of the apparent
differences among pupils exemplified by the investigations of individual differences
in reaction time. The word mental test was first used by Cattell in 1890 but had
reference to different types of tests than those currently used. The mental tests,
which Cattell and other experimental psychologists used, were tests of sensory
discrimination, speed of motor responses and similar types. In those days intellectual
Self-Instructional
Material 203
Aptitudes ability was identified as sensory acuity of an individual. But these types of mental
functions bore little relationship to academic ability or to what most people view
today as intellectual ability. These early attempts to evaluate intelligence were
doomed to failure and it remained for Binet to come up with the first really usable
NOTES test of mental ability.
B. Weaknesses of Pre-Binet Period
1. The major weakness of pre-Binet period was that psychologists failed to
identify the nature of intelligence. Intelligence was identified as the acuity of
senses.
2. Complex functions were not measurable.
3. Tests were too simple and limited to measure intelligence.
4. Fine mental abilities were not measured with the help of physical sensory
tests.
2. Binet Period
In the beginning of present century in France, a high percentage of students failed
in the examination. Teachers blamed students and vice versa. The superintendent
of Public Instruction appointed a committee to devise some measures to screen
and select slow learners in school in Paris. Binet and Simon were appointed as the
members of the committee. They collected and developed a variety of paper-
pencil test items which they administered to children varying in age. In contrast to
the attempts of other psychologists who utilized tests of sensory reactions, Binet
experimented with tests of more complex mental functions including judgement,
reasoning, memory and arithmetic reasoning, etc.
In addition to evaluating more complex mental phenomena, Binet and
Simon decided upon a novel way of arranging or grouping their test items which
was of great practical importance. In giving their tests to children of different ages,
they were able to categorize the test items in terms of the age-level where they
seemed most appropriate. For example, a given item might correctly be
responded to by most eight years old but be incorrectly responded to by a
majority of seven years old. By arranging the items in terms of age-level, an age
scale was developed. Furthermore, if the assumption is made that the average
eight-year-old child functions intellectually at a level commensurate with his
chronological age (CA), the age scale can be viewed as a mental age scale and
judgements can be made concerning the intellectual level of an individual in terms
of his performance on the scale. By means of such a scale, one can make some
estimate of the intelligence of an individual expressed in terms of mental age. If
an individual, regardless of age, can satisfactorily pass items on the 12-year-old
level, he can be presumed to have the ability of the average 12-year-old or, in
other words, a mental age of 12 years. The mental age scale and the concept of
mental age were Binet’s great contributions to the field of intelligence testing. He
provided a means whereby some standardized appraisal of mental ability could
Self-Instructional
204 Material
be carried out. The first scale was produced by Binet and Simon in 1905. The Aptitudes
1905 scale consisted of thirty items arranged in order of increasing difficulty.

Sample items of the scale are given below:
1. Visual co-ordination.
NOTES
2. Recognition of food.
3. Naming of objects designated in a picture.
4. Suggestibility.
5. Definition of familiar objects.
A. The 1908 Binet-Simon Scale
The defects of the first scale were identified and removed in the revised scale of
1908. The scale was revised on more representative sample of children. The items
have been grouped at the appropriate age levels from 3 to 13 years. Test-items of
age 3 and 8 years are given below:
Age 3 years
1. Points to nose, eyes and mouth.
2. Repeats two digits 3, 5.
3. Repeats sentences of six syllables.
4. Enumerates objects in a picture.
5. Gives family name.
Age 8 years
1. Reads a passage and remembers two items.
2. Adds up the value of five coins.
3. Names four colours.
4. Counts backward from twenty to zero.
5. Writes short sentences from dictation.
6. Gives differences between two objects.
B. The 1911 Revision of the Binet Scale
The 1908 revision created interest among psychologists of the USA, England and
Switzerland. They adopted the scale in their countries and gave valuable suggestions
for the improvement of the scale. Binet incorporated the suggestions in the revised
scale of 1911. He died the same year. Some sample items of 1911 scale are as
follows:
Age 6 years
1. Distinguishes between morning and afternoon.
2. Defines names of familiar objects in terms of their use.
3. Copies a diamond.
Self-Instructional
Material 205
Aptitudes 4. Counts thirteen.
5. Distinguishes between pictures of ugly and pretty faces.
Age 8 years
NOTES 1. Gives differences between two objects.
2. Counts backward from 20 to 0.
3. States omissions from unfinished pictures.
4. Knows the date.
5. Repeats the digits.
Age 10 years
1. Arranges five blocks in order of weight.
2. Reproduces two geometric designs from memory.
3. Criticizes absurd statements.
4. Comprehends and answers difficult problem questions.
5. Uses three given words in two sentences.
C. Distinguishing Features of Binet’s Scale
Although successive revisions differed from one another and from the original
Binet-Simon scale but there is a body of features that characterize all versions of
the revised scales of Binet-Simon scale. Following are important features:
First, they are scales. This means that the items and tasks are grouped on
the basis of their difficulty beginning with easy items. The tester asks harder and
harder items as the test proceeds. A child’s score chiefly depends on how far up
this ladder he can go rather than how fast or fluent he is.
The second feature of the revised Binet’s scales is that they yield a general
global measure of intelligence rather than an analysis of separate special abilities.
The third is that they are grouped by age-levels and measure mental growth
of the subject.
The fourth characteristic is that they are given individually by a skilled
examiner and requires high standard of proficiency, and finally, the system of scoring
in all Binet’s tests is tied to the age norms. A child’s mental age (MA) indicates the
age group for which his performance would be typical.
D. Stanford Revision of Binet’s Scale
L.M. Terman of Stanford University revised and refined the original Binet-Simon
scale in America according to the needs of American culture in 1916. This revision
had the greatest impact on the field of testing and became most widely used and
influential test of intelligence in America. No new principles were introduced except
the concept of intelligence quotient (IQ) developed by Stern. L.M. Terman and
his co-workers conducted research for a number of years on normal, defective
Self-Instructional
206 Material
and superior children and adults. The 1916 scale includes 90 items, ranging from Aptitudes
3 years to 14 years of age. Of these 90 items, 54 were adopted from 1911 Binet
scale, 5 from earlier Binet scale, 4 from other American tests, and 27 new items
were added. Some items of 1916 Stanford scale are as follows:
NOTES
Age 3 years
1. Points to parts of body.
2. Names familiar objects.
3. Enumerates objects in pictures.
4. Gives his/her sex.
5. Gives last name.
6. Repeats six to seven syllables.
A1. Repeats three digits.
Age 7 years
1. Knows number of fingers on each and both hands.
2. Describes pictures.
3. Repeats 5 digits.
4. Ties a bow-knot.
5. Gives differences between paired objects.
6. Copies a diamond.
A1. 1. Names days of week in correct order.
A1. 2. Repeats 3 digits backward.
After a few years of use, certain defects became obvious such as the weakness of
the scale at the upper and lower age levels.
Distribution of IQ on Stanford Revision
IQ Per cent Classification
160–169 .03
140–149 1.1
110–119 18.1
90–99 23
80–89 14.5 Low average
70–79 5.6 Borderline defective

Self-Instructional
Material 207
Aptitudes 60–69 .2
40–49 .2
30–39 .03
NOTES Source : Terman and Merril.
The 1937 revision offers certain refinement. The new test was developed in
two forms L and M starting from 2 years of age and provides materials designated
as “Average adult and superior adult I, II and III.” The two sets roughly measure
the same functions with an expected correlation. In the 1916 revision, there were
90 items but in 1937 revision, the number of items goes to 129 in each form. Now
the test provides contact with wider range of testing for bright children. A new
change has been introduced by a new method of computing the chronological
age. Between ages 13 and 16 years, the CA is taken to mean 13 years plus two-
thirds of the additional age, but no chronological age is assigned to exceed 16.
Krugman remarked on form of 1937 revision as: “General reaction of the
clinicians was one of almost complete disappointment. Difficulties in scoring or
interpretation were also reported by field workers.” This revision had the greatest
impact on the field and became the most widely used and influential test of
intelligence in America. The Stanford revision (1916) since then has been twice
revised in 1937 and 1960 and remains one of the most popular tests of its kind.
Mental age. The concept of mental age was developed by Binet. It is determined
by the performance of the child on the test. W. Stern suggested the idea of
introducing the term intelligence quotient (IQ) and Terman introduced the concept
to indicate the ratio of mental age to chronological age. Suppose a child’s
chronological age is five years and he successfully completes the test items of
seven years of age. His IQ will be:
MA (Mental age)
IQ=
CA (Chronological age)
7
=
5
= 140.
E. The Wechsler Scales, 1939

The 1937 Stanford-Binet scale, in spite of its merits, was not particularly well-
suited for work with adults. It was not standardized on any individual over 18
years of age in obtaining the IQ. It used the same CA as the divisor for all individuals
over 16 years, instead of having separate age norms. With an increasing use of
intelligence tests with adults, there was a great need for an individual test
standardized and constructed for adults. The Wechsler-Belleve scale was published
in 1939 for this purpose. The scale was revised in 1955 and the new version was
named as WAIS—Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test. The WAIS retains the same
Self-Instructional
208 Material
format and many of the items of the original scale but was standardized in a much Aptitudes
more careful fashion. The age ranges from 16 to 64 years.

The scale consists of the following sub-tests which fall into two broad
categories: (a) verbal tests, and (b) non-verbal performance tests.
NOTES
(a) The verbal test contains the following type of items:
(i) Vocabulary, a straight-forward vocabulary test.
(ii) Information.
(iii) Arithmetic.
(iv) Comprehension.
(v) Similarities.
(vi) Digit span.
(b) The non-verbal tests:
(i) Block design.
(ii) Picture arrangement.
(iii) Object assembly.
(iv) Mazes.
(v) Picture completion.
There are some differences between WAIS and Stanford-Binet.
1. WAIS is a point scale rather than a mental age scale. The items are not grouped
in terms of mental age. Points are given for correct responses.
Comparison Between Age-Scale and Point-Scale
Binet test Point-scale (WAIS)
1. It is multiple group, age or year, scale. 1. It is a single-graded test scale.

2. Selection is made by relation of success 2. Selection is made by function
by age. measured.
3. Test items are varied, unrelated and 3. Test items are graded as to be available
ungraded. for a wide range of ages.
4. The test is internally standardized and 4. The test is externally standardized
inflexible. and flexible.
5. All or non-adjustment. 5. More or less judgement.
6. It is qualitative evaluation. 6. It is quantitative evaluation.
7. Measurement only slightly amenable to 7. The test scores are wholly amenable
statistical treatment to statistical analysis.
8. Tests weigh equally. 8. Tests weigh unequally.
9. Implicit assumptions, that of appearing 9. Implicit assumptions that of developing
functions. functions.
10. Measurements for different ages 10. Measurements for different ages
relatively incomparable. comparable.
Self-Instructional
Material 209
Aptitudes 2. Second difference is that in Stanford-Binet scale certain types of test-items are
interspersed throughout the test, occurring on different age-levels. But items of
like kinds are grouped together on the WAIS to form sub-tests. For example, on
the Stanford-Binet test, repeating digits consists of two digits at 2½ years and
NOTES increasing in difficulty found at various age levels until 9 digits are required at the
superior adult level. In contrast, on the WAIS all the memory tests for digit are
grouped together as one sub-test.
3. The third difference is that WAIS has separate age-norms for adults. On the
SB, all individuals above the age 18 would be treated in similar manner in terms of
computing IQ. Thus people of various age-levels would be treated with 18 year
olds. If mental age reached a peak at this age and then remained constant, perhaps
no harm would be done by this procedure. But this does not seem to be the case.
Several studies have indicated some rise in mental ability at various age levels after
18.
The WAIS consists of 11 sub-tests which are grouped into two scales. The
varbal scale has 6 sub-tests. The second scale, called performance scale, consists
5 tests.
A group test is one that can be given to a number of subjects at the same time by
a single examiner. Group tests and their use were made later than individual tests.
The history of emergence of group tests can be traced back to the First World
War when the USA was compelled to join the war. A great necessity was felt to
construct and devise such measures of intelligence testing that can be given to a
large number of prospective soldiers and officers for their classification for various
jobs, consistent with their mental ability. The army asked the American psychologists
to develop tests for classifying recruits.
One of Terman’s students, Arthur O. Otis, and his colleagues began to
experiment with methods by which tests of mental ability can be given to a group
of subjects. The Army Alpha and Army Beta were developed in a short period.
Army Alpha is a verbal group test of intelligence and is meant for literate persons.
Army Beta is a non-verbal group test of intelligence and is meant for illiterate
persons. These two group tests proved remarkably successful in screening recruits.
After the World War I, several psychologists devoted themselves to develop group
tests of intelligence.
A. Characteristics of group tests
All group tests have been developed on the assumption that intelligence is a
general capacity and can be measured by sampling a variety of mental
activities.
In almost all group tests, the items are placed together in separate sub-tests
or parts, beginning with the easier and progressing by intervals to the most
difficult.
Self-Instructional
210 Material
Every group test is standardized for a special range of ages or school grades. Aptitudes
Group tests are scored more rigidly and more objectively than individually
administered tests.
Most group tests impose time limits for each of the several sub-tests or NOTES
parts. Some group tests are entirely non-verbal in content and others are
entirely verbal.
B. Representative Non-verbal Group Tests
1. Pintner Cunningham primary mental test: This is one of the earliest and
well-known group scale. It is meant for kindergarten, first and second grade
of children.
2. The Chicago non-verbal examination: This is another early and well-
known scale. It was designed for use from 6 years through adulthood. The
types of items in the scale are similar in most respects to those in other
scales.
3. The Pressey-Primer scale: This scale consists of four tests, requiring in
all four the same type of response, namely, the crossing out of some
superfluous member.
4. Lorge-Thorndike grade: This scale is meant for grades 2 and 3. The item
consists of identification of animal and human figures, classification of pictured
objects shown to the child and association of similar objects shown in the
pictures.
5. The Haggerty delta 1: This test is meant for grades 1 to 3. It consists of
12 exercises, out of which six are meant to give orientation to the infants
and the other six are the tests.
The Haggerty delta 2: This is designed for grades 3 to 9. It is an adaptation
of the army intelligence test.
6. Dearborn intelligence scale: This scale has been designed especially for
grades IV to XII. It consists of seven sub-tests.
7. The Raven progressive matrices tests: This test was developed in
England. It is a widely used test which consists of geometric figures and
designs. The subject apprehends relationship between figures and selects
appropriate part for completion of each pattern or system of relations.
C. The Cattell Culture Free Test
Some psychologists attempted to develop group scales which may not be influenced
by verbal material and form or acquired skills and experiences in the environment
of different cultures. These scales have been developed with the intention of
universal use in all cultures.
D. IPAT. This test is available for three levels: scale 1 for ages 4 to 8 and for
mentally deficient; scale 2 from 8 to 12 years and for unselected adults; and scale
3 from the range of high school through superior adults.
Self-Instructional
Material 211
Aptitudes Table 14.1 Comparison of Individual Test and Group Test of Intelligence
Individual test Group test

1. It is administered to one individual at a 1. It is administered to many individuals at
time. the same time.
NOTES 2. It is costly in terms of administration and 2. Group test is not costly in terms of
time factor. administration and time.
3. It requires a trained tester to administer. 3. No trained examiners are required to
administer the test.
4. The examiner can study the behaviour of 4. There is no face to face interaction and
the individual thoroughly as there is face behaviour of individuals cannot be
to face interaction. studied.
5. Individual test is more reliable. We can 5. Group test may be influenced by reading
provide guidance to the individual on the ability and speed of the individual.
basis of his scores on individual test.
6. Individual test is most suitable for 6. Temporary poor health, lack of
children who cannot read or write. motivation, poor vision many affect test
scores.
7. Individual test provides qualitative 7. They are suitable for older children and
performance of the individual. adults who can read, write and co-operate.
8. The examiner can adapt to the needs of 8. The examiner cannot adapt to the needs of
the individual child, finding the level at individual students. Cheating is possible.
which he can succeed. The examiner can
motivate by means of praise and
encouragement.
9. There is absence of competition in 9. There is competition in group testing
individual testing. situation. Speed and reading ability
influence the test scores.
10. There is greater informality of 10. There is formality in administration.
administration.
11. It is possible to eliminate a lot of errors as 11. A child may become bored and spend time
inattention and cheating. gazing outside.
12. Instructions are made clear before 12. Instructions may not be understood by
starting. group of students.
They are influenced by cultural environment, by schooling and to some extent by

the subject test-wise.
Constancy of IQ
The constancy of IQ has received a great deal of attention from educational
psychologists because of its usefulness in modern education. There are two opinions:
one group of psychologists holds the opinion that IQ remains relatively constant
over the years changing only very slowly. Another assumption which is generally
sustained by majority of the psychologists is that if a determined effort is made,
change in IQ can be effected. There is considerable empirical as well as theoretical
evidence to indicate that such constancy is far from absolute. They put forth
empirical evidences to prove their point of views.
Honzike (1948) conducted studies to see the change of IQ over a period of
years. He reported that between 6 to 18 years of age considerable change occurs
in IQ; 60% of the group changed 15 or more IQ points and 9% changed 30 or
more points. Dearborn (1938) also reports lack of constancy of IQ over the
years in the study conducted at Harvard University.
Self-Instructional
212 Material
The IQ does not remain constant over years. Fluctuation can be expected Aptitudes
to occur for a number of reasons, ranging from the unreliability of the tests, the
effects of practice or other factors operating from one test to another, differences
in the content of the tests in relation to the various abilities of the testee. The latter
is of particular importance when the results of the childhood tests with their NOTES
emphasis on sensorimotor tasks are compared with those of later tests where the
emphasis is on abstract reasoning.
Jones (1954) pointed out that correlation of IQ of infants and their IQ a few
years later is typically negative. It is not until the age of 12 months that this correlation
reaches 0 and then begins to become positive. It is not until the fourth year that any
degree of stability in the IQ is attained.
Bayley (1955) points out, eventually, investigators ran across the hard reality
that infants exhibit a very limited range of behaviour beyond sensorimotor
functioning upon which to base an estimate of intellectual ability. She suggests that
instead of continuing to think of intelligence as an integrated or simple capacity
which grows through childhood by steady accumulation, intelligence is better seen
as a dynamic succession of developing functions with the more advanced and
complex functions in the hierarchy on the prior maturing of the earlier and simpler
ones.
A good part of the fluctuation occurring in the IQ stems from the fact that no
test is completely reliable. Thus we would expect one-third of the testees on average
test to gain upon retest up to 5 IQ points and another third to lose up to 5 IQ
points, another 14 per cent would lose from 5 per cent to 10 per cent points and
other 2 per cent at each end would gain or lose more than 10 IQ points. These
fluctuations can be expected on the basis of chance alone and have nothing
whatsoever to do with any change, occurring as a result of an increased or decreased
rate of intellectual growth. They simply reflect fluctuations to be expected as a
result of the limitations of the measuring instruments, the carelessness of the
psychometrist, and fluctuations within the testee arising from fatigue, loss of
motivation distractibility and other personal factors. It is also possible that mental
growth, like physical growth, goes by spurts and stops.
In addition, directional shifts in IQ may result from exposure to special
environmental influences. Thus, since most IQ tests include vocabulary questions,
one might raise his IQ if he were to be subjected to intensive vocabulary drill.
Whether such directional shifts in IQ actually represent a shift in intelligence or
just an invalidation of the norms of the test is a crucial question around which the
whole controversy of the constancy of IQ revolves. To use an extreme example,
coaching on the items of the test would certainly result in increased IQ but would
not imply a corresponding increase in intelligence since we could hardly assume
its applicability to a wide variety of situations calling for intelligent behaviour.
Self-Instructional
Material 213
Aptitudes A significant study by Sontag (1958), on concomitant factors in IQ from
infancy to 10 years, reports that twice as many boys as girls were among the top
gainers in IQ while twice as many girls were in the group of greatest decline in
mental growth rate. Emotional dependence upon the parents during the age from
NOTES 3 to 6 was found to be detrimental to intellectual growth, many of the girls revealed
what Sontag called ‘slide into femininity’, an adoption of the adult female role in
which achievement is important only in the area of being more feminine and
charming. In contrast, the child who learns to meet some of his needs through
aggressive competitive problem-solving is apparently laying the ground-work for
a high need for achievement which in turn, relates to an accelerated mental growth
rate. The traits associated with gains in IQ included aggressiveness, self-initiation,
competitiveness and interest in problem-solving, all of which are masculine traits.
Of special significance is the growing belief that intellectual development can be
promoted through early stimulation. The curve showed a sharp straight line increase
in score from 10 to 16 years than an abrupt inflection and a slow, steady decline
involving a recession by the age of 55.
These findings have been confirmed in later cross-sectional studies by Raven
in 1948 and Wechsler in 1958. Psychologists are still busy in conducting studies
to know the definite nature of the curve of the growth of intelligence.
The intelligence quotient (IQ) is one of the most common expressions used
in mental testing which has been picked up and passed by all. The constancy of
IQ is an important concept which must be used with caution. Some conclusions
have been drawn by psychologists which are listed as follows:
1. A given IQ indicates the same relative ability at different ages.
2. A subject’s IQ score, ignoring errors of measurements, remains the same
from one age to all other unless there is a change in ability level.
3. A given change in IQ indicates the same amount of change in relative standing
regardless of the ability level of the subject.
A performance test is one in which the subject has to perform something or to
manipulate some concrete material without much use of the language ability. There
are some categories of people and children who cannot be tested with the help of
verbal tests of intelligence. Performance tests are similar to non-verbal tests of
intelligence. Performance tests are useful for the following categories of children
and people:
1. Deaf and dumb: Those children or people who cannot hear or speak, can
be tested with the help of performance tests. The directions can be given in
pantomime with a minimum use of language.
2. Illiterates: Illiterate adults and children who cannot write or whose language
development is deficient may be tested with the help of performance tests
of intelligence.
Self-Instructional
214 Material
3. Shy and withdrawn children: Children who are shy or fear for face to Aptitudes
face interaction with the tester may be tested.

4. Educationally deficient: Children who are educationally deficient take
interest in concrete material and its manipulation can be tested.
NOTES
5. Foreign children: Children of foreign countries who do not understand the
language may be tested with performance tests.
Generally, performance tests are used to supplement other tests of
intelligence. Performance tests provide more reliable data for an individual’s
capabilities. They are more useful in clinical work. These tests provide an
opportunity for close observation of the behaviour of testee in test situation and his
method of solving problems.
A. Some Performance Tests
1. Healy-Fernald group of tests: It was the first measuring tool to test the
intelligence by performance.
2. The Pintner-Paterson scale: This performance scale is the first organized
scale. This scale was standardized in 1917. It consists of Healy-Fernald
performance tests and several other tests developed by earlier psychologists.
The scale includes fifteen sub-tests. The tests are administered without the
use of language either by the examiner or examinee. The tests are useful for
deaf, dumb and those who lack in language ability. They have been found
very valuable supplement to verbal tests of intelligence.
3. Form boards: There are several performance tests in which form boards
are used. The Ferguson form board was developed in 1920 and revised in
1939. It consists of six form boards which increase in difficulty. These tests
were standardized on children and college seniors who had some educational
problems. They are currently used for children who come for clinical guidance.
4. The Kent-Shaknow form board series: This performance scale was
developed in 1928. It is a widely used and known scale. It has two forms.
One for clinical use and the other for industrial. Basically, the scale was
developed and standardized on clinical population. The scale provides an
insight into the analytic-synthetic and manipulative skills of the subject. It
also provides close observation of the behaviour of the subject and his
mode of tackling a problem.
5. The Goodenough drawing test: This test was developed by Florence
Goodenough in 1926. It is the most widely used test to measure the
intelligence of children from 3½ to 13½ years. The child is asked to draw a
picture of a man as best as he can, without any time limit. ‘Draw a man’ is a
very popular test of intelligence. It requires no training and no specific material
for administration. It has been adopted in Indian conditions by several
research workers. This test is a useful device as an adjunct to verbal tests
when mental retardation in children is suspected.
Self-Instructional
Material 215
Aptitudes B. Advantages of Performance Tests
i. Performance scales are most useful with older children and adults who
are mentally retarded. They have clinical significance in case of older
children.
NOTES
ii. Since the performance tests do not require use of language, individuals
do not ‘block’ as a result of feeling of inadequacy resulting from lack of
schooling.
iii. Children proceed on performance tests with confidence, since the material
is visually present in a concrete form. Performance tests provide an
opportunity to observe the qualitative aspect of behaviour of the individual
under standardized condition in a variety of test situations.
iv. Performance scales are useful and provide valuable information when
supplemented with verbal tests of intelligence.
v. They are useful for those with language handicap.
C. Weakness of Performance Tests
1. Performance scales are more susceptible to practise effect and chance
success is more frequent than in verbal tests. Hence their reliability co-
efficient is low.
2. They are limited in range of mental functioning tested. They fail to differentiate
among above-average children.
3. The conventional performance scales fail to test fine mental abilities such as
ability to make abstraction or concept formation.
D. Uses of Intelligence Tests
1. For measuring general learning readiness: We know that intelligence
tests are correlated with school achievement, so intelligence tests can be
used to indicate the level of capacity at which the pupil has arrived. Numerous
investigations have been made to discover the relationship between
intelligence tests and school marks at different levels of schooling. All
researches have proved, beyond doubt, that intelligence tests can be used
to measure the readiness for learning at different levels.
2. For indicating the extent of differences of IQ among the children of
same chronological age: There are great differences in IQ of pupils of
same age. These differences indicate the need for providing teaching materials
at differing levels of difficulty. At various levels of education, we can use the
tests for educational guidance, i.e., we can advise students to select subjects
keeping into consideration their intellectual abilities.
3. Defining more accurately the degree of mental retardation or defect:
Since the development of intelligence tests, we have been using intelligence
tests to define more accurately the levels of feeble-mindedness. Using the
intelligence tests we may define the level of feeblemindedness.
Self-Instructional
216 Material
Level IQ Aptitudes
1. Idiot 20
2. Imbecile 20 to 40
3. Moron 40 to 65 NOTES
We can classify children weak in mind so that proper arrangement can be
made for their schooling. It is intelligence test that can aid us in knowing just
which children will probably remain in the special class.
4. For identifying gifted children: Since 1921, when Terman used both
individual and group tests of intelligence to identify the gifted, intelligence
tests have been used for this purpose. Tests of intelligence have given us an
accurate definition of brightness in terms of IQ. Teacher’s judgement has
been found inaccurate in identifying gifted children as reported by Terman,
Whipple and Coy in their separate studies of gifted children.
5. For educational and vocational guidance: The essence of educational
guidance resides in providing for all children materials for instruction both
interesting in content and suitable to their level of intellectual development.
When we contemplate the magnitude of individual differences, psychological
testing can be very useful in ensuring that children’s educational progress is
in accord with their abilities and can be helpful in discovering those children
who need vocational guidance. Vocational guidance means finding the right
man for the job. Tests can be used to provide vocational guidance at different
age levels in various vocations. At present in our country vocational guidance
is not adequately provided. It is unfortunate that we have not yet developed
a system of sound vocational guidances services. We need to develop
intelligence tests, interests and aptitude tests suiting to the needs of our
country. The vocational guidance programme will have considerable social
consequences in our country which is developing socially, economically and
technologically.
For making decisions about going to college, intelligence tests can be used
to predict the subsequent success of high school or inter-college students.
Teachers can use intelligence tests to make decision for individual students
regarding their success in college or university.
6. For study of mental growth: Mental abilities develop in a sequential order
from birth onward. We can use intelligence tests for studying mental growth
and direction of individual and group curve.
Intelligence tests have made it clear that the mental development of children
is a steady consistent process from one year to the next. Use of intelligence
test in consecutive measurement has thrown the old idea that there are
periods of rapid mental growth at the time of adolescence followed by
periods of slow growth. Mental growth continues until at least 18 years of
age.
Self-Instructional
Material 217
Aptitudes 7. For homogeneous grouping: Teachers, in the past, have experienced great
difficulties inherent in attempting to teach pupils or students who are widely
different in their capacities to learn. In average classroom, bright and dull
children are the losers. As remedy to the problems of traditional classroom,
NOTES homogeneous grouping of students has been suggested and tried out in
many schools of western countries with encouraging results with the help of
intelligence tests.
8. Use in research: Intelligence tests are used for conducting research in
different areas of human abilities.
Limitations of Intelligence Tests
We know that in India very few tests have been developed or standardized.
Generally, we use tests developed in foreign countries.
An intelligence test permits a person to show what he can do at a certain
time with a certain carefully selected, but small, set taken from all the possible
items which test intelligence. No one should suppose that this small set can tell as
much about him as if 100 times as many items were available. Nonetheless, it tells
a great deal and inordinate increase in length of tests, suffer the usual consequences
of the law of diminishing return. Similarly, we know that one person may be more
fatigued than another when we take the test, possibly reducing his scores. They
tell us what a person can do right now, handicapped or favoured as he may be by
his inherited characteristics, his home and school background, better sensorimotor
or bodily states. They do not tell us how he would have done if tested ten years
ago or if tested ten years hence, with or without ideal conditions during those ten
years. Consequently, it is always possible to second-guess such a test and conclude
that it does not tell what we really want to know.
Jensen reports that he has often had cause to believe that the first intelligence
tests given to certain children underestimate their IQ after 2 to 4 days of getting
acquainted with such children. He typically found that a retest on a different form
of the same test yielded an IQ of 8 to 10 points higher. Children may be so
frightened in a testing situation with a tester they are unfamiliar with and when
confronted with tasks that are completely novel that they do not exhibit nearly the
intellectual capacity one would expect from other evidence about them. Particularly
with young children, it would be important to spend much more time-building
rapport for testing than few minutes that are sometime employed before formal
testing begins.
One of the major defects of present-day testing is that it is unable to get
below the surface of the mind. It measures what a child knows rather than how
far he can go in the pursuit and discovery of ideas. It has almost no bearing on
originality, on the mobilization of many ideas toward a single concept or on the
ability to devote his attention over a period of time to a single line of thought. A
Self-Instructional
218 Material
smattering of knowledge in many fields will lead to a score equal to that of the Aptitudes
child who could do marvellously well along certain lines, but whose accredited
performance is cut off far below his mental levels. For example, a child with a
30,000 words vocabulary can scarcely get more mental credit than a child with
10,000 words vocabulary, although the differences in mental accomplishment are NOTES
tremendous.
Some Misconceptions Regarding Use of Intelligence Tests in Education
The following are the misconceptions regarding the use of intelligence tests in
education:
1. The first misconception is the notion that intelligence tests measure something
called ‘native ability,’ something fixed and immutable within the individual
that determines his level of expectation for all time. No doubt, genetic studies
of identical twins reared separately under different conditions have proved
that an individual inherits intellectual abilities, but intelligence tests do not
measure such an entity, at least not directly. Intelligence tests measure the
individual’s performance on certain type of mental tasks. The type of mental
tasks included in intelligence tests are influenced by experiences in school
and home. The experiences depend on many factors as the education of
parents, availability of books in home, socio-economic condition and a variety
of experiences the child gets in his surroundings. Thus, the notion that
intelligence tests measure inherent ability is absurd.
2. The second misconception about intelligence tests is the notion that prediction
made from test scores is or should be perfectly accurate.
3. The third misconception is that standardized test scores are perfectly reliable.
4. The fourth misconception regarding intelligence tests is that a battery of
tests can tell all one needs to know in making a judgement about a student’s
competence, present and potential, and about his effectiveness as a human
being. The fact is otherwise that no test or battery of tests can give a total
picture of a child. No doubt, tests can illuminate many areas of a child’s
development. They can suggest something about his strengths and
weaknesses. They can show in certain respects, how he stands among his
peers. But there are many areas of learning where we must still rely upon
the observation and judgement of teachers if we want to get a complete
description of a child as functioning individual. Any evaluation of a child that
depends solely on mental test scores is bound to be misleading and
incomplete. There are subtle and supremely important human elements in
the teaching-learning situation that no combination of tests yet devised is
able to capture.
Self-Instructional
Material 219
Aptitudes
Check Your Progress

1. List the distinctive periods which witnessed the emergence of mental testing
NOTES in the present form.
2. List the weaknesses of Pre-Binet Period of mental testing.
3. What are the distinguishing features of the Binet’s Scale?
4. What is the role of the Wechsler Scales, 1939 in mental testing?
5. List the main characteristics of group tests.
14.3 MEASURING APTITUDE AND INTEREST
Let us discuss the meaning and nature of aptitude.

Meaning and nature of aptitude
Someone’s aptitude for a particular kind of work or activity is their ability to learn
it quickly and to do it well. An aptitude may be physical or mental. The innate
nature of aptitude is in contrast to skills and achievement, which represent knowledge
or ability that is gained through learning.
Bingham defines aptitude as “A condition symptomatic of a person’s fitness,
of which one essential aspect is his readiness to acquire proficiency—his potential
ability and another is his readiness to develop an interest in exercising his ability.”
Implications of Aptitude For Teachers
1. Aptitude includes both inborn capacity and the effects of environment on
the individual.
2. Learning in any area is conditioned by the learner’s readiness to learn.
3. A specific aptitude in the form of talent may show itself early and respond
readily to training in future.
Measuring Aptitude
An aptitude is a combination of characteristics indicative of an individual’s capacity
to acquire some specific knowledge, skill or set of organized responses such as
the ability to become an artist or to be a mechanic. An aptitude test may be defined
as a test which measures a person’s potential ability in an activity of a specialized
kind and within a restricted range. Aptitude means an individual’s aptitude for a
given type of activity, the capacity to acquire proficiency under appropriate
conditions, that is, his potentialities at present as revealed by his performance on
selected tests have predictive value. It reveals an individual’s promise or essential
teachability in a given area. Several aptitude tests have been developed by
psychologists in the last fifty years. Following are some tests of aptitude in different
Self-Instructional areas:
220 Material
(1) Motor and Manual Tests Aptitudes
(i) Strength of grip: One of the oldest instrument to measure strength of grip was
developed by Whipple. The instrument called dynamometer consists of an inner
and outer handle, a dial and a pointer. The subject grips the handle and presses it
NOTES
hard. The strength is measured in kilograms. It is used to measure the degree of
handedness and rate of fatigue.
(ii) Manual dexterity: This test has been designed to measure the hand movements
in terms of speed, coordination and manual rhythm. The test consists of small
metal pins or wooden pegs of different shape. The subject places them in the
wholes of a tray with the help of tweezers. This test measures the accuracy with
which a subject places the metal pins into holes of small diameter cut in metal and
electrically connected plate. The mistakes are recorded. The test is the measure of
manual dexterity of the individual.
(2) The Purdue-Pegboard Test
This test measures the gross movements of hands, fingers and arms as well as
fingertips dexterity required in small assembly jobs. The material consists pins,
collars and washers that are to be assembled using each hand separately and then
both hands in coordination.
(3) Test of Mechanical Aptitude
The assembly test of general ability: This test was devised by J.L. Stenquist.
It was the first test to measure mechanical aptitude of individuals. The material of
the test consists the various parts of mechanical devices such as bicycle bell, a
double action hinge, a door lock and a mouse trap. This test was designed to
measure the mechanical aptitude covering the age range from children in the lower
grade through adulthood. The tests developed by Stenquist have been revised
and made comprehensive at the University of Minnesota and now they are known
as the Minnesota Mechanical Assembly Test.
(4) Clerical Assembly Test
Clerical aptitude test is not a unitary function. The test consists several kinds of
items which bear relation and are significant in clerical occupation. All the clerical
tests developed so far have much in common.
(5) Detroit Clerical Aptitude Test
This test is the most comprehensive test of clerical aptitude and includes the following
items:
1. Handwriting: rate and quality.
2. Simple arithmetic.
3. Checking.
4. Motor speed and accuracy.
5. Knowledge of simple commercial terms.
Self-Instructional
Material 221
Aptitudes 6. Disarranged pictures.
7. Classification.
8. Alphabetical filing.
NOTES (6) Aptitude in Music
Psychologists in order to measure aptitude in music developed tests to measure
musical aptitude. The earliest of these tests was designed by Seashore Measures
of ‘Musical Talents’. This test is meant for Grade 4 through college level. The test
consists the following aspects of hearing:
1. Pitch discrimination.
2. Intensity of loudness discrimination.
3. Time discrimination.
4. Discrimination of timbre.
5. Judgement of rhythm.
6. Total memory.
Total scores, for the six parts of the test, are used to develop a profile of the
individuals.
(7) The Drake Musical Aptitude Test
This test measures two aspects of musical aptitude—musical memory and rhythm.
This test is used with subsets of 8 years and elders.
(8) The Meier Art Judgement Test
This test measures aesthetic judgement of the individual in a global manner. The
material of the test consists of one hundred pairs of representational pictures in
black and white. One member of each pair is a reproduction of a recognized
masterpiece, while the second member has been altered from the original in an
important aspect so as to make it inferior to the original. Subjects are informed as
regards the alteration made (shape, angles) but they are not told which one is the
original. The subject is required to indicate his preference in the pair. Meier believes
that aesthetic judgement is the most significant index to talent in art and success in
a career in art.
Aptitude tests have been developed almost in all areas of life as law, medicine,
teaching, engineering and military services in recent years.
Uses of Aptitude Tests
1. Guidance: Aptitude tests can be used for the purpose of guidance in selecting
subjects for studying in schools and colleges. They can be used for helping
the individual to select the profession of his choice. The psychologist and
the counsellor must supplement the results of aptitude tests with intelligence
tests, school records, interview and interest tests.
Self-Instructional
222 Material
2. Selection for jobs: The employer can use aptitude tests for selecting persons Aptitudes
for different jobs.

3. Admission: Aptitude tests can be used for admission of candidates into
various types of professional training as teaching, medicine, engineering,
NOTES
etc. Aptitude tests should be used only as one source of information in a
total picture.
Tests of interest have been developed by psychologists mainly for two practical
purposes: to improve vocational selection in various jobs and to provide vocational
guidance for selecting appropriate vocation keeping into consideration the
individual’s future success.
The most important and widely used test of interest is the Strong Vocational
Interest Blank (SVIB). This test has been used in selection of vocational interest
for the last forty years. The test consists of 400 items indicating various activities.
The subject has to give his preference indicating like, neutral or dislike. The test
takes an hour to complete for an average reader. The making scheme is the critical
point in this test. A subject scores are compared, in principle, with the scores of a
huge number of occupational groups: school teachers, accounts, electrical engineers
and so on. Those occupational groups whom the subject most resembled were
the ones in which he was interested. The reliability of SVIB is about as good as
can be expected from interest tests. The validity studies of SVIB are impressive.
The follow-up studies of the occupational success have been conducted and all
studies report satisfactory index of validity.
Kuder Interest Tests
There are three forms of Kuder interest tests. These are as follows:
(a) Vocational form: This form measures ten interest category of individuals
and is popularly known as Kuder General Interest Survey.
(b) The occupational form: This, like the Strong Test, is keyed against a large
number of specific occupations including occupation like teaching.
(c) The personal form: It is just like a personality test consisting of traits
considered useful in discrimination of occupations. The test consists of 100
items, each consisting of three activities to which subjects indicate by pressing
a pin through the relevant holes of an answer sheet, the most liked and least
liked. It is suitable for fourteen-year-olds and older ones. It measures ten
important interests, as outdoor, mechanical, scientific, clinical, social science,
occupational, persuasive, artistic, literary and musical. The test is very useful
for counselling purposes. The studies of reliability and validity of this test
indicate that the test can predict occupational success.
Self-Instructional
Material 223
Aptitudes
Check Your Progress

6. What is the Meier Art Judgement Test?
NOTES 7. What are the uses of aptitude tests?
8. What do you mean by tests of interest?
9. List the three forms of Kuder interest test.

QUESTIONS
1. The emergence of mental testing in the present form is hardly seventy years
old. Historical development of intelligence testing can be classified into three
distinctive periods. These are as follows:
i. Pre-Binet period
ii. Binet period
iii. Post-Binet period
2. These were the weaknesses of Pre-Binet Period:
(i) The major weakness of pre-Binet period was that psychologists failed
to identify the nature of intelligence. Intelligence was identified as the
acuity of senses.
(ii) Complex functions were not measurable.
(iii) Tests were too simple and limited to measure intelligence.
(iv) Fine mental abilities were not measured with the help of physical sensory
tests.
3. Although successive revisions differed from one another and from the original
Binet-Simon scale but there is a body of features that characterize all
versions of the revised scales of Binet-Simon scale. Following are important
features:
First, they are scales. This means that the items and tasks are grouped on
the basis of their difficulty beginning with easy items. A child’s score chiefly
depends on how far up this ladder he can go rather than how fast or fluent
he is.
The second feature of the revised Binet’s scales is that they yield a general
global measure of intelligence rather than an analysis of separate special
abilities.
The third is that they are grouped by age-levels and measure mental growth
of the subject.
Self-Instructional
224 Material
The fourth characteristic is that they are given individually by a skilled Aptitudes
examiner and requires high standard of proficiency, and finally, the system
of scoring in all Binet’s tests is tied to the age norms.
4. With an increasing use of intelligence tests with adults, there was a great NOTES
need for an individual test standardized and constructed for adults. The
Wechsler-Belleve scale was published in 1939 for this purpose. The scale
was revised in 1955 and the new version was named as WAIS—Wechsler
Adult Intelligence Test. The WAIS retains the same format and many of the
items of the original scale but was standardized in a much more careful
fashion. The age ranges from 16 to 64 years.
5. The main characteristics of group tests are:
All group tests have been developed on the assumption that intelligence
is a general capacity and can be measured by sampling a variety of
mental activities.
In almost all group tests, the items are placed together in separate sub-
tests or parts, beginning with the easier and progressing by intervals to
the most difficult.
Every group test is standardized for a special range of ages or school
grades.
Group tests are scored more rigidly and more objectively than individually
administered tests.
Most group tests impose time limits for each of the several sub-tests or
parts. Some group tests are entirely non-verbal in content and others
are entirely verbal.
6. The Meier Art Judgement test measures aesthetic judgement of the individual
in a global manner. The material of the test consists of one hundred pairs of
representational pictures in black and white. One member of each pair is a
reproduction of a recognized masterpiece, while the second member has
been altered from the original in an important aspect so as to make it inferior
to the original. Subjects are informed as regards the alteration made (shape,
angles) but they are not told which one is the original.
7. Some uses of aptitude test are:
i. Guidance: Aptitude tests can be used for the purpose of guidance in
selecting subjects for studying in schools and colleges. They can be
used for helping the individual to select the profession of his choice.
ii. Selection for jobs: The employer can use aptitude tests for selecting
persons for different jobs.
iii. Admission: Aptitude tests can be used for admission of candidates
into various types of professional training as teaching, medicine,
Self-Instructional
Material 225
Aptitudes engineering, etc. Aptitude tests should be used only as one source of
information in a total picture.
8. Tests of interest have been developed by psychologists mainly for two
NOTES practical purposes: to improve vocational selection in various jobs and to
The most important and widely used test of interest is the Strong Vocational
Interest Blank (SVIB). This test has been used in selection of vocational
interest for the last forty years. The test consists of 400 items indicating
various activities.
9. There are three forms of Kuder interest tests: These are as follows:
(a) Vocational form: This form measures ten interest category of individuals
and is popularly known as Kuder General Interest Survey.
(b) The occupational form: This, like the Strong Test, is keyed against a
large number of specific occupations including occupation like
teaching.
(c) The personal form: It is just like a personality test consisting of traits
considered useful in discrimination of occupations. The test consists
of 100 items, each consisting of three activities to which subjects
indicate by pressing a pin through the relevant holes of an answer
sheet, the most liked and least liked. It is suitable for fourteen-year-
olds and older ones. The studies of reliability and validity of this test
indicate that the test can predict occupational success.
14.5 SUMMARY
Mental measurement did not really get underway until the turn of the present
century. The measurement started with psycho-physics. In the 19th century,
there was a good deal of interest in the field of psycho-physics, in which
attempts were made to develop general rules of sensory judgement.
Sir Francis Galton was the first psychologist who devoted his time to study
whether individual characteristics are inherited. He took great interest in
individual differences. He studied the lives of prominent Englishmen and in
his book Hereditary Genius, he demonstrated that personal characteristics
are inherited.
James McKeen Cattell, an American psychologist, studied in Europe and
brought many of Galton’s ideas back to USA with him. Cattell believed, as
did Galton, that intellectual functions can best be measured through tests of
reaction-time and sensory discrimination.
Self-Instructional
226 Material
In addition to evaluating more complex mental phenomena, Binet and Simon Aptitudes
decided upon a novel way of arranging or grouping their test items which
was of great practical importance. In giving their tests to children of different
ages, they were able to categorize the test items in terms of the age-level
where they seemed most appropriate. NOTES
The defects of the first scale were identified and removed in the revised
scale of 1908. The scale was revised on more representative sample of
children. The items have been grouped at the appropriate age levels from 3
to 13 years.
The 1908 revision created interest among psychologists of the USA, England
and Switzerland. They adopted the scale in their countries and gave valuable
suggestions for the improvement of the scale. Binet incorporated the
suggestions in the revised scale of 1911.
L.M. Terman of Stanford University revised and refined the original Binet-
Simon scale in America according to the needs of American culture in 1916.
This revision had the greatest impact on the field of testing and became
most widely used and influential test of intelligence in America.
A group test is one that can be given to a number of subjects at the same
time by a single examiner. Group tests and their use were made later than
individual tests. The history of emergence of group tests can be traced back
to the First World War when the USA was compelled to join the war.
The IQ does not remain constant over years. Fluctuation can be expected
to occur for a number of reasons, ranging from the unreliability of the tests,
the effects of practice or other factors operating from one test to another,
differences in the content of the tests in relation to the various abilities of the
testee.
A significant study by Sontag, on concomitant factors in IQ from infancy to
10 years, reports that twice as many boys as girls were among the top
gainers in IQ while twice as many girls were in the group of greatest decline
in mental growth rate.
The intelligence quotient (IQ) is one of the most common expressions used
in mental testing which has been picked up and passed by all. The constancy
of IQ is an important concept which must be used with caution.
Generally, performance tests are used to supplement other tests of
intelligence. Performance tests provide more reliable data for an individual’s
capabilities. They are more useful in clinical work.
Performance scales are most useful with older children and adults who are
mentally retarded. They have clinical significance in case of older children.
One of the major defects of present-day testing is that, it is unable to get
below the surface of the mind. It measures what a child knows rather than
Self-Instructional
Material 227
Aptitudes how far he can go in the pursuit and discovery of ideas. It has almost no
bearing on originality, on the mobilization of many ideas toward a single
concept or on the ability to devote his attention over a period of time to a
single line of thought.
NOTES
Bingham defines aptitude as “A condition symptomatic of a person’s fitness,
of which one essential aspect is his readiness to acquire proficiency—his
potential ability and another is his readiness to develop an interest in
exercising his ability.”
An aptitude is a combination of characteristics indicative of an individual’s
capacity to acquire some specific knowledge, skill or set of organized
responses such as the ability to become an artist or to be a mechanic. An
aptitude test may be defined as a test which measures a person’s potential
ability in an activity of a specialized kind and within a restricted range.
One of the oldest instrument to measure strength of grip was developed by
Whipple. The instrument called dynamometer consists of an inner and outer
handle, a dial and a pointer. The subject grips the handle and presses it
hard. The strength is measured in kilograms. It is used to measure the degree
of handedness and rate of fatigue.
Clerical aptitude test is not a unitary function. The test consists several kinds
of items which bear relation and are significant in clerical occupation. All the
clerical tests developed so far have much in common.
Aptitude tests can be used for the purpose of guidance in selecting subjects
for studying in schools and colleges. They can be used for helping the
individual to select the profession of his choice.
Tests of interest have been developed by psychologists mainly for two
practical purposes: to improve vocational selection in various jobs and to
14.6 KEY WORDS
The Pressey-Primer scale: It is the primary classification test by L.W.

Pressey.
The Cattell Culture Free Test: The Culture Free Test, a perceptual test,
was published by Raymond B. Cattell in 1949 and 1950. It consists of
three levels of test.
The Goodenough drawing test: This test was developed by Florence
Goodenough in 1926. It is the most widely used test to measure the
intelligence of children from 3½ to 13½ years.
Self-Instructional
228 Material
The Purdue Pegboard Test: This is a neuropsychological test. The test Aptitudes
involves two different abilities: gross movements of arms, hands, and

fingers, and fine motor extremity, also called “fingerprint” dexterity. Poor
Pegboard performance is a sign of deficits in complex, visually guided, or
coordinated movements that are likely mediated by circuits involving the NOTES
basal ganglia.

EXERCISES

1. Write a short note on the emergence of mental testing in pre-Binet period.
2. Discuss the role of Sir Francis Galton in developing a series of tests to
measure human characteristics.
3. Discuss the contribution of Binet and Simon in evaluating complex mental
phenomenon.
4. Write a brief note on Stanford Revision of Binet’s Scale.
5. List the main differences between WAIS and Stanford-Binet.
6. Discuss the characteristics of group tests.
7. Write a brief note on constancy of IQ.
8. List some of the performance tests and their efficacy.
9. Write a brief note on limitations of intelligence test.
10. What is the significance of Kuder interest test?
1. Discuss the historical development of intelligence testing.
2. “The 1937 Stanford-Binet scale was not particularly well-suited for work
with adults.” Analyse this statement.
3. Write a comprehensive note on non-verbal group tests.
4. Discuss the various studies conducted by psychologists and scientists to
see the change of IQ over a period of years.
5. Analyse the main uses of performance test.
6. Discuss in detail the misconceptions regarding the use of intelligence tests in
education.
7. Analyse the application of test of mechanical aptitude by Stenquist.
8. Write a comprehensive analysis on the uses of aptitude test.
Self-Instructional
Material 229
Aptitudes

Self-Instructional
230 Material

Introduction To Psychology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction To Psychology

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction To Psychology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ALAGAPPA UNIVERSITY

[Accredited with ‘A+’ Grade by NAAC (CGPA:3.64) in the Third Cycle

Directorate of Distance Education

Assistant Professor in Education

Vikas® is the registered trademark of Vikas® Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.

Phone: 0120-4078900 Fax: 0120-4078999

Website: www.vikaspublishing.com Email: [email protected]

BLOCK 1 : PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY

BLOCK 2 : ASSESSMENT, PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOUR

BLOCK 3 : BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR AND

BLOCK 4 : PROCESS OF INFORMATION AND APTITUDE

UNIT 2 BIOLOGY OF BEHAVIOUR 16-24

UNIT 3 WORK OF PSYCHOLOGISTS 25-36

UNIT 4 METHODS OF ASSESSMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY-I 37-55

UNIT 5 METHODS OF ASSESSMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY-II 56-72

UNIT 6 SENSORY PROCESS AND PERCEPTION 73-90

UNIT 7 FOUNDATIONS OF BEHAVIOUR 91-105

UNIT 8 HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT BEHAVIOUR 106-116

UNIT 9 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING 117-148

UNIT 10 STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS 149-157

UNIT 11 NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 158-175

UNIT 13 PERCEPTION IN PSYCHOLOGY 187-200

UNIT 14 APTITUDES 201-230

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

1.2 NATURE, SCOPE AND RELATIONSHIP WITH

Let us begin by defining and discussing the nature of psychology.

which living individuals make to their environment.’

4. Clinical and counselling psychologists

Psychologists also work for recruitment in the services.

Check Your Progress

1.3 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. For the behaviourist John. B. Watson, psychology is that division of natural

physiological changes and processes that can only be inferred such as

For the behaviourist John. B. Watson, psychology is that division of natural

are basically concerned with studying and attempting to understand human

1.5 KEY WORDS

Genetics: It is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living

Short Answer Questions NOTES

1. Enumerate the definition of psychology by Kenneth Clark and George Miller.

1.7 FURTHER READINGS

Osgood, C.E. 1953. Method and Theory in Experimental Psychology. London:

UNIT 2 BIOLOGY OF BEHAVIOUR

In addition to five approaches to the study of the subject matter of psychology,

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

2.2 BEHAVIOURAL, HUMANISTIC, BIOLOGICAL

There are five approaches to study the subject matter of psychology:

Check Your Progress

2.3 PSYCHODYNAMIC, EVOLUTIONARY AND

Let us discuss the evolutionary, psychodynamic and socio-cultural perspectives of

Check Your Progress

2.4 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. There are five approaches to study the subject matter of psychology:

Biological approaches emphasize the role of heredity in various psychological

considers the evolutionary changes that have led to changes in behavioural

2.6 KEY WORDS

Behaviourist: A person who advocates or practices behaviourism, a school

2.7 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS AND

Short Answer Questions

2.8 FURTHER READINGS