Multidimensional Approach in understanding Human Behaviour

In a multidimensional approach, each person is recognised as having

unique biopsychosocial and spiritual dimensions as well as structural and
cultural dimensions. The term biopsychosocialspiritual dimensions is used
to reflect the idea that an individual occupies more than any one
dimension at any time—experience is continuously and simultaneously
influenced by individual (biological, psychological, and spiritual) and
environmental (social, including structural and cultural) factors. The
interdependence of these dimensions is considered so fundamental in
determining our lived experience. Germain (1991) use the term, ‘person
in environment’ configuration or ‘person in situation’ configuration.
Another way of thinking about these dimensions is to think of the inner
world we occupy. This typically refers to our biological, psychological and
spiritual experiences—which both influence and are influenced by the
outer world we occupy—the relational, social, structural and cultural
contexts. By referring to them as inner and outer worlds, the intention is
not to see them as two different dimensions. Rather, they are interrelated
and fluid in their reciprocal interactions.
An individual’s inner world is multidimensional
Each of us has a unique sense of our own inner world. No one else can
ever experience what goes on in another person’s thoughts and emotions,
or know what it is like to live in someone else’s body or to experience
their sense of spirituality. This is the subjective experience, sometimes
referred to as the lived experience. Three dimensions are central to the
inner world—the biological, psychological and spiritual dimensions. Each
one of us has unique biological, psychological and spiritual experiences.
Biological dimensions: Biological dimensions can be thought of as
including ‘all those processes necessary for the physical functioning’ of
the human body. These include the genetic, skeletal, sensory, motor,
respiratory, endocrine, circulatory, waste elimination, sexual-reproductive,
digestive and nervous systems (Newman & Newman 2003 p. 6). These
systems change as a human matures throughout their life. They change
also as a result of influences in the outer world, such as the impact of the
physical environment, diet, social interactions and exposure to stress, to
name a few. Proponents of a lifespan approach argue that there are
certain tasks and transitions associated with ages across the lifespan that
are typically predictable and normative. In addition, social inequalities can
be identified and addressed when there are key indicators of risk or lost
opportunity.
Psychological dimensions: In addition to our bodily experiences, how
we think and how we feel emotionally influences every aspect of our daily
experience—our psychological dimensions are central to our sense of well-
being. Our capacities for thought and memory, for emotion and for
anticipating the future reflect some of our most uniquely human qualities.
These aspects are all part of the psychological dimension. Gender is also
part of the psychological dimension, as the classification of someone as
masculine, feminine or androgynous arises not necessarily directly from a
person’s physical status as male or female, but from both innate
characteristics and the social environment. A key aspect of the
psychological dimension is the cognitive aspect. This includes our
conscious cognitive capacity—our capacity for thought, for memory, and
for the appraisal of events and ourselves. Across the lifespan, we
experience changes in our cognitive capacity. With the successful
acquisition of each stage of cognitive development, higher levels of
cognitive functioning are reached, to the point where individuals are
capable of complex, abstract thought in adulthood. Another aspect of the
psychological dimension is the emotional aspect—the feeling or mood
responses a person has to their circumstances. Our distress, sadness,
depression and anger are part of this emotional aspect, as is our capacity
for the positive emotions of happiness, excitement and enthusiasm.
Ultimately, these dimensions also influence our moral reasoning,
embedding our psychological responses in social attitudes and
behaviours.
Spiritual dimensions: Spirituality relates to our search for meaning and
purpose in our own existence. Tacey (2003 p. 38) describes spirituality as:
concerned with connectedness and relatedness to other realities and
existences, including other people, society, the world, the stars, the
universe and the holy. It is typically intensely inward, and most often
involves an exploration of the so called inner or true self, in which divinity
is felt to reside. Spirituality has the capacity to connect people through
fostering a sense of identity and purpose, creating ritual and building a
sense of community and connectedness. Spirituality is somewhat different
from religion (Tacey 2003. Religion is considered to be the formal
structures and doctrines of a faith tradition whereas spirituality is defined
as a more uniquely personal experience of a divine, spiritual or
transcendent force. Spirituality is increasingly recognised for its
significance across the lifespan, particularly in the aftermath of
experiences of adversity.
An individual’s outer world is multidimensional
four dimensions—relational, social, structural and cultural
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) highlighted that an individual’s experience
was always occurring in a context of both direct and indirect social
influence. He proposed four systems of major influence in individual
behaviour, as part of an ecological approach—the microsystem,
mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. Each system of the model is
both influenced by and influences the others. It is not just about the
person in their context and the influences the context has on an
individual, family or group’s experience; it is also about the ways in which
individuals, families and groups change and influence contexts. Both are
changed by each other. This way of thinking about the person and the
environment informs interventions profoundly—intervention in any part of
the complexity of factors will typically bring about change in others. Each
one of us has unique relationships and connections with a variety of
individuals and groups of people—with intimate partners, family members
and friends, with peers and colleagues in the workplace or in educational
settings, with health professionals or front-line staff in many
organisations, and with many others in our world. We rely on these
interpersonal relationships within our relational dimensions or context for
our sense of well-being and identity, and, indeed, in many phases of our
life, for our survival. They are the worlds, or settings, in which we live,
work and play in some direct way, even if not on a daily or regular basis.
Bronfenbrenner referred to these interpersonal relationships as our
microsystem. As a person moves from infancy into later stages of the
lifespan, microsystems change too, as a result of the developing person
and their changing contexts (Figure 1.4), and as a result of external
influences on the microsystem. For example, in recent decades, the use of
technology has enabled interaction beyond the face-to-face context. Our
adaptations do not rely only on our direct relationships and what goes on
between them. Mesosystem is the next layer in Bronfenbrenner’s model.
This is a layer of social connectedness, the layer of our social dimensions
or networks. Each one of us also exists in broader structural dimensions or
contexts called the exosystem. We do not have direct, face-to-face
relationships with the structural context. Rather, our individual experience
and interpersonal and social contexts are all profoundly and indirectly
shaped by these factors. Some key systems within our structural context
include our political and legal systems. Resources such as the labour
market, the transport system, income-maintenance structures,
educational, religious and health service systems are part of our structural
context. The structural context, like social networks, can be either a
source of adversity or a vital resource in the face of adversity. Giving
shape to the experiences in our various relational contexts is the cultural
dimension or context in which we live. Bronfenbrenner called this the
macrosystem, the social ‘blueprint’ (Bronfenbrenner 1979 p. 26). Our
cultural context refers to the norms, principles or mores of a culture. The
cultural context in which we live relates to our implicit assumptions about
gender, generational cohorts, ethnicity, sexuality and sexual preference,
religious and political beliefs. The dominant beliefs of a particular nation
or community in relation to these issues, and many others, will profoundly
influence an individual, family and community, as will the availability,
beliefs and resources of subcultures. With global mobility and
technological developments, it is impossible to think of culture as a
singular phenomenon, as we tend to be influenced by many different
cultural contexts—both subcultures and dominant cultures.
Time is multidimensional
Influencing all of the other dimensions discussed are the dimensions of
time. Five significant time dimensions exist—biological, biographical,
historical/ social, cyclical and future time—forming what can be called the
chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner 1979). The biological time dimension is
the chronological experience of being born and moving through various
biological transitions and milestones across the lifespan until our death. It
is a linear process. Closely associated with our biological time is the
development of our own meaning structures or biography. Over time, we
develop our own repertoire of coping methods and our understanding of
who we are. Our individual sense and experience of time shapes our self-
perceptions, our opportunities and our attitudes. This can be referred to
as our biographical time. We are born into a particular generational cohort
and, as a result, are exposed to cultural and historical adversities that
shape our experience, which differ from those of people in other eras.
Bronfenbrenner also emphasised historical time—human development is
necessarily culture-bound and time-bound. These influences lead to the
development of distinctive ‘rules and expectations about how people at
various ages should behave’ (Peterson 1996 p. 14). This concept of
historical time can also be understood as social time, referring ‘to the
incidence, duration and sequence of roles, and to relevant expectations
and beliefs based on age’ (Elder 1994 p. 6). Our experience of cyclical
time is connected with both our own biography and historical time
dimensions. Cyclical time refers to the patterns, seasons and
anniversaries (Hutchison 1999 p. 22) that recur throughout our lives,
which are unique to our own family, community, or religious context.
Human experience is multidimensional
Human experience is a combination of an individual’s unique
developmental trajectory and unique life events. An understanding of both
the more normative tasks of development (eg. Normal events that are
common to everyone like going to school, getting married etc) and the
non-normative tasks (eg. Adversities like accidents, trauma, divorce etc)
provides a more holistic understanding of a person’s adaptive capacities
and resources.
Adaptation and coping are multidimensional
Adaptation is the vital task for each person, in the context of our family,
the groups to which we belong and our wider community. Yet, just as the
causes of adversity are multidimensional, so too are the consequences—
an understanding of the consequences of adversity for individuals,
families and communities needs to incorporate the possibilities of both
adaptation and maladaptation, and the range of experiences in between.
In any adaptation, all dimensions of our experience are involved—the
biopsychospiritual dimensions of our inner world and the socio-cultural
dimensions of our outer world.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

The biopsychosocial perspective is the first model which emphasized the

importance of understanding human behaviour in the context of
interrelationship among the biological, psychological and environmental
factors that influences the behaviour. This means a drug addict could be
seen not just be labelled an addict but need to be understood as a product
of the interaction of his genetic vulnerabilities, poor self-esteem, stress at
home, unhealthy peer relationships, violent neighbourhood or highly
stressful workplace. This perspective gives way to a more comprehensive
assessment of the problem and thereby developing more effective
interventions targeting the different factors that contribute to the problem
as well as using the protective factors that could enhance the intervention
effects. Pls see details of these factors in the multidimensional approach.
BRAIN: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
The brain controls all functions of the body, interprets information from
the outside world, and defines who we are as individuals and how we
experience the world. The brain receives information through our senses:
sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing. This information is processed in the
brain, allowing us to give meaning to the input it receives.
The brain is part of the central nervous system (CNS) along with the spinal
cord. It is made up of billions of neurons and it also has a number of
specialized parts that are each involved in important functions.
The brain structure is composed of three main parts: the forebrain,
midbrain and hindbrain, each with multiple parts. The forebrain is home
to sensory processing, endocrine structures, and higher reasoning and
voluntary motor activities. The midbrain plays a role in motor movement
and audio/visual processing. The hindbrain is involved with autonomic
functions such as respiratory rhythms and sleep.

Forebrain consists of three parts – cerebrum, thalamus and

hypothalamus.
The Cerebrum: Also known as the cerebral cortex, the cerebrum is the
largest part of the human brain, and it is associated with higher brain
function such as thought and action. It is divided into four sections, called
“lobes”. They are; the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe and

the temporal lobe.

Functions of The Lobes:
Frontal Lobe – The frontal lobe lies just beneath our forehead and is
associated with our brain’s ability to reason, organize, plan, speak, move,
make facial expressions, serial task, problem solve, control inhibition,
spontaneity, initiate and self-regulate behaviors, pay attention, remember
and control emotions.
Parietal Lobe – The parietal lobe is located at the upper rear of our
brain, and controls our complex behaviors, including senses such as
vision, touch, body awareness and spatial orientation. It plays important
roles in integrating sensory information from various parts of our body,
knowledge of numbers and their relations, and in the manipulation of
objects.
Occipital Lobe – The occipital lobe is located at the back of our brain,
and is associated with our visual processing.
Temporal Lobe – The temporal lobe is located near our ears, and is
associated with processing our perception and recognition of auditory
stimuli, comprehending spoken language, verbal memory, visual memory
and language production, general knowledge and autobiographical
memories.
A deep furrow divides the cerebrum into two halves, known as the left and
right hemispheres. The right hemisphere is considered our creative side,
and the left hemisphere is considered our logical side. A bundle of axons,
called the corpus callosum, connects the two hemispheres.
Under the cortex are a number of other structures including the thalamus,
hypothalamus, pituitary gland, basal ganglia, hippocampus and amygdala,
some of which form the limbic system (involved in emotional behavior,
motivation and learning). The limbic system is often referred to as our
“emotional brain”, or ‘childish brain’.
The thalamus is a sensory relay for the brain. All of our senses, with the
exception of smell, are routed through the thalamus before being directed
to other areas of the brain for processing.
The hypothalamus is located at the base of the brain near the pituitary
gland, and it is involved with pleasure, food, body temperature, and sex. If
the body temperature gets too high, the hypothalamus instructs the body
to sweat. If the body is cold, the hypothalamus will cause shivers. The
hypothalamus also regulates the pituitary gland and regulates the other
hormone-releasing glands in the body. For this reason, it is often referred
to as the “master gland” of the endocrine system.
Amygdala – the primary role of the amygdala is to be a critical processor
for the senses. Connected to the hippocampus, it plays a role in
emotionally laden memories and contains a huge number of opiate
receptor sites that are implicated in rage, fear and sexual feelings.
Hippocampus – the primary role of the hippocampus is memory forming,
organizing and storing information. It is particularly important in forming
new memories, and connecting emotions and senses, such as smell and
sound, to memories.
Pituitary Gland – the primary role of the pituitary gland is an important
link between the nervous system and the endocrine system. It releases
many hormones which affect growth, metabolism, sexual development
and the reproduction system. It is connected to the hypothalamus and is
about the size of a pea. It is located in the center of the skull, just behind
the bridge of the nose.

Midbrain
The midbrain is located below the cerebral cortex, and above the
hindbrain placing it near the center of the brain. The primary role of the
midbrain is to act as a sort of relay station for our visual and auditory
systems. The degeneration of neurons in the midbrain is associated with
Parkinson’s disease. The midbrain is the smallest region of the brain. It is
also responsible for eye movement. The tectum is a small portion of
the midbrain. It serves as a relay centre for the sensory information from
the ears to the cerebrum. It also controls the reflex movements of the
head, eye and neck muscles. Tegmentum is a region within the midbrain.
It is a complex structure with various components, which is mainly
involved in body movements, sleep, arousal, attention, and different
necessary reflexes.
Hindbrain
The hindbrain is located at the back of the head and looks like an
extension of the spinal cord. It contains the medulla oblongata, pons, and
cerebellum (collectively known as the brainstem). he hindbrain mostly
coordinates autonomic functions that are essential to survival.
The medulla oblongata, also simply known as the medulla, is the lowest
part of the brainstem and the primary connection to the nervous system.
It is primarily involved in breathing, heart rate, digestion, swallowing,
heart rhythms, and sneezing. The medulla controls the automatic
processes of the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing, blood
pressure, and heart rate.
The pons (“bridge”), is located just beneath the midbrain and just above
the medulla. It is a group of nerves that is involved in arousal, sleep,
motor control, and muscle tone.
The cerebellum (“little brain”) receives messages from muscles,
tendons, joints, and structures in our ear to control balance, coordination,
and movement, and facilitate motor learning. The cerebellum is also
thought to be an important area for processing procedural memory. Most
disorders of the cerebellum are associated with serious motor impairment.
Three layers of protective covering called meninges surround the brain
and the spinal cord.
SENSORY PROCESSES
We have five primary senses: vision (sight), auditory (hearing), gustatory
(taste), olfactory (smell), and tactual (touch), the elements of the sensory
process. In addition, we have three more somatosensations such as
kinaesthetic (movement/sense of limb position), vestibular (sense of
spatial orientation and balance), and proprioception (position of bones,
joints and muscles). Our sense organs provide us with first-hand
information about our external or internal world. The initial experience of
a stimulus or an object registered by a particular sense organ is called
sensation. It is a process through which we detect and encode a variety of
physical stimuli. The body receives signals through the sense organs.
Different sense organs deal with different forms of stimuli and serve
different purposes. Each sense organ is highly specialised for dealing with
a particular kind of information. The five classical attributes of
sensation are
a) Quality: Sensations differ in quality. Sensation of colours, sounds,
tastes, smells, heat and cold; differ from one another in
quality. Sensations of sounds are produced by the action of air
waves on the auditory organ. Red, green, blue, yellow, etc., differ
from one another within the same genus of colour. There is a
specific difference among them. Red differs from blue specifically,
and from heat and cold generically.
b) Intensity: Sensations of the same quality may differ in intensity. A
light may be dim or bright, a sound faint or loud, a smell mild or
strong, a taste weak or strong, a pressure light or heavy - all vary
from very weak to very intense. Greater the intensity, the stronger
is the sensation.
c) Extensity (volume): Extensity is the attribute of a sensation which
is due to the area of the sensitive surface which is stimulated by a
stimulus. Visual and tactual sensation have extensity. A sensation
which is larger in area, is different from a sensation that involves a
small area.
d) Duration (Protensity): Every sensation has a sensible duration. A
sensation may linger in the mind for a certain duration. A sound
sensation may last for a shorter or longer duration. The sound which
lasts five seconds feels differently when it ceases from a sound
which lasts twenty seconds. This is a difference in duration. The
longer the duration of its stay, the stronger the sensation.
Sensations alike in quality and intensity may differ in duration.
e) Clearness: A stimulus which is in the centre is more clear than one
which is in the fringe or ground. The more clear the stimulus, the
better is the senation of an object.
Absolute Threshold
In order to be noticed a stimulus has to carry a minimum value or weight.
The minimum value of a stimulus required to activate a given sensory
system is called absolute threshold or absolute limen (AL). For example, if
you add a granule of sugar to a glass of water, you may not experience
any sweetness in that water. Addition of a second granule to water may
also not make it taste sweet. But if you go on adding sugar granules one
after another, there will come a point when you will say that the water is
now sweet. The minimum number of sugar granules required to say that
the water is sweet will be the AL of sweetness. Absolute Threshold varies
considerably across individuals and situations depending on the people’s
organic conditions and their motivational states.
Examples
Taste: Johnny is baking a Mexican chocolate cake and wants to make
sure he adds enough spices so it can be tasted through the chocolate. His
sensory threshold is the point at which he begins to taste the cinnamon in
the chocolate.
Touch: Camilla tried to startle Annie by rubbing a feather on the back of
her neck. Her prank, however, didn't work because Annie did not feel the
feather, suggesting the touch did not reach Annie's sensory threshold.
Sight: From far away, Zach can't see the little spider on his bedroom
ceiling. However, as the spider crawls down the wall next to his bed, he
can see it clear as day.
Sensory Process
a) Reception: The first step in sensation is reception, which is the
activation of sensory receptors by stimuli such as mechanical
stimuli, chemicals, or temperature. The receptor can then respond
to the stimuli.
b) Transduction: The most fundamental function of a sensory system
is the translation of a sensory signal to an electrical signal in the
nervous system. This takes place at the sensory receptor, and the
change in electrical potential that is produced is called the receptor
potential, resulting in what we experience as sensations. Sensations
allow organisms to sense a face and smell smoke when there is a
fire.
c) Encoding and Transmission of Sensory Information: Four
aspects of sensory information are encoded by sensory systems: the
type of stimulus, the location of the stimulus in the receptive field,
the duration of the stimulus, and the relative intensity of the
stimulus. Integration of sensory information begins as soon as the
information is received in the CNS, and the brain will further process
incoming signals.
PERCEPTION
Perception is an individual’s interpretation of a sensation. Perception is
the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information
in order to represent and understand the presented information or
environment. Although perception relies on the activation of sensory
receptors, perception happens, not at the level of the sensory receptor,
but at the brain level. All perception involves signals that go through the
nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation
of the sensory system.
Perception relies on the cognitive functions we use to process information,
such as utilizing memory to recognize the face of a friend or detect a
familiar scent. Through the perception process, we are able to both
identify and respond to environmental stimuli. We use perception in
behavior to decide what we think about individuals and groups.
Perception Process
The perception process varies somewhat for every sense but generally it
involves the following processes.
1. Attended stimulus: Environmental stimulus is everything in the
environment that has the potential to be perceived. The attended
stimulus is the specific object in the environment on which
our attention is focused.
2. Reception
3. Transduction
4. Neural processing: After transduction, the electrical signals undergo
neural processing. The path followed by a particular signal depends
on what type of signal it is.
5. Perception: In this step of the perception process, you perceive the
stimulus object in the environment. It is at this point that you
become consciously aware of the stimulus.
6. Recognition: Perception doesn't just involve becoming consciously
aware of the stimuli. It is also necessary for the brain to categorize
and interpret what you are sensing. The ability to interpret and give
meaning to the object is the next step, known as recognition.
7. Action: The action phase of the perception process involves some
type of motor activity that occurs in response to the perceived
stimulus. This might involve a major action, like running toward a
person in distress. It can also involve doing something as subtle as
blinking your eyes in response to a puff of dust blowing through the
air.

Principles of Perceptual Organisation

The Gestalt psychologists believe that the brain creates a coherent
perceptual experience by perceiving a stimulus as a whole than
perceiving discrete entities.

Figure-ground Relationship:
According to this principle any figure can be perceived more meaningfully
in a background and that figure cannot be separated from that
background.

Grouping of Stimuli in Perceptual Organisation

According to Gestalt principle, the objects can be perceived meaningfully
when they are grouped together. There are some principles which are
followed by us in order to make our perception more meaningful.

a. Proximity: The objects which are nearer to each other can be

perceived meaningfully by grouping them.

b. Similarity: If there is similarity in these objects, they are grouped

together and perceived, even if they are away.

c. Continuity: Any stimulus which extends in the same direction or shape

will be perceived as a whole

d. Closure: When a stimulus is presented with gaps, the human tendency

is to perceive that figure as complete one by filling the gaps
psychologically.
e. Symmetry: Objects which are having symmetrical shape are
perceived as groups.

Errors in Perception:
It may be due to defect in our sense organs or defective functioning of the
brain. There are two kinds of errors:

a. Illusion: Illusion is a false perception. Here the person will mistake a

stimulus and perceive it wrongly. Most of our illusions are visual and
auditory. But illusions pertaining to other senses are also possible.
b. Hallucination: Here the individual perceives some stimulus, even
when it is not present. This phenomenon is known as hallucination. The
person may see an object, person, etc. or he may listen to some voice
though there are no objects and sounds in reality. Hallucinations pertain
to all the sensations appear in people, but visual and auditory
hallucinations are more common. Usually persons with severe mental
health issues experience hallucinations.

Factors Influencing Perception

Our perceptions of people and things are shaped by our prior experiences,
our interests, and how carefully we process information. This can cause
one person to perceive the exact same person or situation differently than
someone else.
According to Alan Saks and Gary Johns, factors relating to the following
three components can affect perception.
1. The Perceiver: a person whose awareness is focused on the
stimulus, and thus begins to perceive it. There are many factors that
may influence the perceptions of the perceiver, while the three
major ones include (1) motivational state, (2) emotional state, and
(3) experience. All of these factors, especially the first two, greatly
contribute to how the person perceives a situation. Oftentimes, the
perceiver may employ what is called a "perceptual defense," where
 the person will only see what they want to see. Other factors include
attitude towards the target, interest and expectations.
2. The Target: the object of perception; something or someone who is
being perceived. The amount of information gathered by the
sensory organs of the perceiver affects the interpretation and
understanding about the target. Influencing factors include novelty
(innovative and different), motion, sound, size, background,
proximity and similarity.
3. The Situation: the environmental factors, timing, and degree of
stimulation that affect the process of perception. These factors may
render a single stimulus to be left as merely a stimulus, not a
percept that is subject for brain interpretation.
Other factors that influence perception are,
a. Perceptual Learning: Based on past experiences or any
special training that we get, every one of us learns to
emphasise some sensory inputs and to ignore others.
b. Cognitive styles: People are said to differ in the ways they
characteristically process the information. Every individual will
have his or her own way of understanding the situation. It is
said that the people who are flexible will have good attention
and they are less affected by interfering influences and to be
less dominated by internal needs and motives than or people
at the constricted end.
MEMORY
Memory refers to the psychological processes of acquiring, storing,
retaining, and later retrieving information. There are three major
processes involved in memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Human
memory involves the ability to both preserve and recover information.
Types of Memory
1. Procedural memory refers to our knowledge of skills and how to
perform tasks, and is something we mostly remember
automatically. We generally don’t need to consciously think about
how to ride a bike or play an instrument: we simply go through the
motions once we’ve learned how to do it. Multiple parts of the brain
are involved in the formation of procedural memories. Procedural
memories are implicit memories in that we are typically unable to
consciously recall them.
2. Declarative memories are facts or memories of past events that
can be ‘declared’ rather than performed. Examples might include an
important life event, who came to dinner last night, or the date of
your mother’s birthday, as well as information about the world.
 Declarative memories can be further broken down into other sub-
types of memories:
a) Episodic memory: refers to any events that can be reported
from a person’s life. This covers information such as any times,
and places involved. It is a type of ‘declarative’ memory, i.e. it
can be explicitly inspected and recalled consciously. Episodic
memory can be split further into autobiographical episodic
memory (memories of specific episodes of one’s life) and
experimental episodic memory (where learning a fact [a
semantic memory, below] has been associated with memory of
the specific life episode when it was learned). Flashbulb
memories are detailed autobiographical episodic memories that
are stored permanently in LTM when they are first learned,
often because they were of emotional or historical importance in
that person’s life (e.g. a birth or a death).
b) Semantic memory: a type of ‘declarative’ memory. However,
the conscious recall here is of facts that have meaning, as
opposed to the recall of past life events associated with episodic
memory.
Systems of Memory
Memory is stored by means of three memory systems: sensory memory,
short‐term memory, and long‐term memory.
a) Sensory memory: Sensory memory preserves incoming sensory
information (in its original sensory form) for only a fraction of a
second. (A visual memory trace is called an icon; an auditory
memory trace is called an echo.) Sensory memory extends the
duration of the perception of stimuli long enough that they can be
recognized, transformed (encoded), and relayed to conscious
awareness.
b) Short‐term memory. Short‐term memory (STM) has a limited
duration (15 to 30 seconds) and a limited capacity, believed to be
about seven pieces of information.
c) Long‐term memory. Long‐term memory (LTM) has an unlimited
capacity and a very long duration; it is virtually
limitless. Repetition and elaborative rehearsal (manipulation of
information by giving it meaning) are helpful techniques in storing
information in LTM. Long-Term Memory (LTM) includes any
memories that are held for durations upwards of 30 seconds. LTM
can be split up into declarative memories and procedural memories.
Declarative memory can be sub-categorised further into episodic
and semantic memories.
Memory Process
There are three main processes that characterize how memory works.
These processes are encoding, storage, and retrieval (or recall).
1. Encoding. Encoding refers to the process through which
information is learned. That is, how information is taken in,
understood, and altered to better support storage. Information is
usually encoded through one (or more) of four methods: (1) Visual
encoding (how something looks); (2) acoustic encoding (how
something sounds); (3) semantic encoding (what something
means); and (4) tactile encoding (how something feels).
2. Storage. Storage refers to how, where, how much, and how long
encoded information is retained within the memory system. The
modal model of memory (storage) highlights the existence of two
types of memory: short-term and long-term memory. Encoded
information is first stored in short-term memory and then, if need
be, is stored in long-term memory
3. Retrieval. As indicated above, retrieval is the process through
which individuals access stored information. Due to their
differences, information stored in STM and LTM are retrieved
differently. While STM is retrieved in the order in which it is stored
(for example, a sequential list of numbers), LTM is retrieved through
association (for example, remembering where you parked your car
by returning to the entrance through which you accessed a
shopping mall).
Memory Enhancing Techniques
1. Mnemonic devices are learning strategies used to boost memory.
Some of the most common mnemonic devices are,
a) Acronyms and acrostics: creating a new word or group of
words by taking the first letter of each word and putting them
together. Example: To remember the names of the planets in
our solar system, you might use this acrostic
mnemonic: my very educated mother just served us noodles.
In this example, the first letter of each word corresponds with
the first letter of each planet, respectively.
b) Music mnemonics: pairing information with a familiar tune
c) Rhyming mnemonics: taking advantage of catchy beats and
patterns created by ending each line with a rhyme to help
retain information.
d) Chunking: Another mnemonic device where information is
organized into manageable bits or chunks. Involves grouping
individual pieces of information—like long strings of numbers
—into larger, more memorable groups. Chunking isn't just
limited to aiding the memorization of numbers. Another
 practical application of chunking would be grouping items,
grouping new vocabulary words together by category etc.
2. Create a memory palace (Method of Loci): involves mentally
mapping out a familiar physical space (a memory palace) and
"placing" images representing the information you're memorizing in
various spots or loci (location). When recalling that information, a
person just need to simply visualize the memory palace and retrieve
it.
3. Write it down: generative note taking encourages students to
reframe the information into their own words, which aids in
encoding.
4. Rehearsal: The conscious repetition of information to be
remembered
5. Elaborative rehearsal: Elaborative rehearsal involves both linking
the information to knowledge already stored and repeating the
information.
6. Use spaced repetition: involves reviewing the same information
at increasing intervals until that information is embedded into the
long-term memory. Write down/sketch an image of the word in flash
cards and review it daily at first, which can be changed to longer
intervals to weekly or monthly later.
7. Make visual connections
8. Animate the images: Doing this creates stronger connections in
your brain between the word and the image.
9. Share what you're learning: While explaining, the acts—
paraphrasing and adding meaning to information—all help with
encoding.
10. Adequate sleep and exercise

EMOTION
Emotions are reactions that human beings experience in response to
events or situations. The type of emotion a person experiences is
determined by the circumstance that triggers the emotion. For instance, a
person experiences joy when they receive good news and fear when they
are threatened.

Don Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury suggest that emotions are

complex psychological states that involve three distinct components: a
subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or
expressive response.
In addition to trying to define what emotions are, researchers have also
tried to identify and classify the different types of emotions. The
descriptions and insights have changed over time.

 In 1972, psychologist Paul Ekman suggested that there are six basic
emotions that are universal throughout human cultures: fear,
disgust, anger, surprise, joy, and sadness.
 In the 1980s, Robert Plutchik introduced another emotion
classification system known as the wheel of emotions.4 This model
demonstrated how different emotions can be combined or mixed
together, like how an artist mixes primary colors to create other
colors.
 In 1999, Ekman expanded his list to include a number of other basic
emotions, including embarrassment, excitement, contempt, shame,
pride, satisfaction, and amusement.
 Plutchik proposed eight primary emotional dimensions: joy vs.
sadness, anger vs. fear, trust vs. disgust, and surprise vs.
anticipation. These emotions can then be combined to create
others, such as happiness + anticipation = excitement.

Theories of Emotion
Psychologists have proposed a number of theories about the origins and
function of emotions. The theorists agree on one thing that emotion has a
biological basis, which is evidenced by the fact that the amygdala (part of
the limbic system of the brain), which plays a large role in emotion, is
activated before any direct involvement of the cerebral cortex (where
memory, awareness, and conscious “thinking” take place).
Three categories of theories of Emotion
1. Physiological theories suggest that responses within the body are
responsible for emotions.
2. Neurological theories propose that activity within the brain leads to
emotional responses.
3. Cognitive theories argue that thoughts and other mental activities
play an essential role in forming emotions.

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion

The James-Lange theory is one of the best-known examples of a

physiological theory of emotion. Independently proposed by
psychologist William James and physiologist Carl Lange, the James-Lange
theory of emotion suggests that emotions occur as a result of
physiological reactions to events.

According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, an external stimulus

leads to a physiological reaction. One’s emotional reaction depends upon
how he/she interpret those physical reactions.
For example, suppose you are walking in the woods and see a grizzly
bear. You begin to tremble, and your heart begins to race. According to
this theory of emotion, you are not trembling because you are frightened.
Instead, you feel frightened because you are trembling.

The Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

Another well-known physiological theory is the Cannon-Bard theory of

emotion. Walter Cannon disagreed with the James-Lange theory of
emotion on several different grounds. First, he suggested, people can
experience physiological reactions linked to emotions without actually
feeling those emotions. For example, your heart might race because you
have been exercising, not because you are afraid.

Cannon also suggested that emotional responses occur much too quickly
to be simply products of physical states. When you encounter a danger in
the environment, you will often feel afraid before you start to experience
the physical symptoms associated with fear, such as shaking hands, rapid
breathing, and a racing heart.

According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, we feel emotions and

experience physiological reactions such as sweating, trembling, and
muscle tension simultaneously.

Cannon first proposed his theory in the 1920s, and his work was later
expanded on by physiologist Philip Bard during the 1930s.

More specifically, the theory proposes that emotions result when

the thalamus sends a message to the brain in response to a stimulus,
resulting in a physiological reaction. At the same time, the brain also
receives signals triggering the emotional experience. Cannon and Bard’s
theory suggests that the physical and psychological experience of
emotion happen at the same time and that one does not cause the other.

Schachter-Singer Theory (Two Factor theory of Emotion)

Also known as the two-factor theory of emotion, the Schachter-Singer

theory is an example of a cognitive theory of emotion. This theory
suggests that the physiological arousal occurs first, and then the
individual must identify the reason for this arousal to experience and label
it as an emotion. A stimulus leads to a physiological response that is then
cognitively interpreted and labeled, resulting in an emotion.

Schachter and Singer’s theory draws on both the James-Lange theory and
the Cannon-Bard theory. Like the James-Lange theory, the Schachter-
Singer theory proposes that people infer emotions based on physiological
responses. The critical factor is the situation and the cognitive
interpretation that people use to label that emotion.
The Schachter-Singer theory is a cognitive theory of emotion that
suggests our thoughts are responsible for emotions.

Like the Cannon-Bard theory, the Schachter-Singer theory also suggests

that similar physiological responses can produce varying emotions. For
example, if you experience a racing heart and sweating palms during an
important exam, you will probably identify the emotion as anxiety. If you
experience the same physical responses on a date, you might interpret
those responses as love, affection, or arousal.

Physiological arousal + Environment circumstances = Attributed emotions

e.g. 1. I am tense and sweating + a gun is being pointed at me = I am
afraid.
e.g.2. I am tense and sweating + Sheela is looking at me and smiling = I
am in love.

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

According to appraisal theories of emotion, thinking must occur first

before experiencing emotion. Richard Lazarus was a pioneer in this area
of emotion, and this theory is often referred to as the Lazarus theory of
emotion.

The cognitive appraisal theory asserts that your brain first appraises a
situation, and the resulting response is an emotion.

According to this theory, the sequence of events first involves a stimulus,

followed by thought, which then leads to the simultaneous experience of a
physiological response and the emotion. For example, if you encounter a
bear in the woods, you might immediately begin to think that you are in
great danger. This then leads to the emotional experience of fear and the
physical reactions associated with the fight-or-flight response.
Learning as a learned Behaviour
All human behaviours are learned. Learned behaviour is behaviour that
occurs only after experience or practice. Learned behaviour has an
advantage over innate behaviour: it is more flexible. It enables people to
learn from experiences and to apply such learned skills to other situations.
Learned behaviour can be changed if conditions change. Learning
generally occurs through:
1. Habituation (forming a habit): Habituation is learning to get used
to something after being exposed to it for a while. Habituation
usually involves getting used to something that is annoying or
 frightening, but not dangerous. Habituation is one of the simplest
ways of learning.
2. Observational learning: learning by watching and copying the
behaviour of someone else. Human children learn many behaviours
this way.
3. Conditioning: a learning method involving a reward or
punishment.
4. Learning by doing/playing
5. Insight learning: learning from past experiences and reasoning. It
usually involves coming up with new ways to solve problems. One
type of insight learning is making tools to solve problems.
LEARNING THEORIES: CLASSICAL & OPERANT CONDITIONING

Classical Conditioning by Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849 – 1936):

While investigating the gastric function of dogs Pavlov noticed that the
dogs tend to salivate before food was actually delivered to their mouths,
and set out to investigate this. He manipulated the stimuli occurring
before the presentation of food. He thereby established the basic laws for
the establishment and extinction of what he called "conditional
reflexes" — i.e., reflex responses, like salivation, that only occurred
conditionally upon specific previous experiences of the animal.

The concept for which Pavlov is famous is the "conditioned reflex". The
phrase "Pavlov's dog" is often used to describe someone who merely
reacts to a situation rather than using critical thinking. It is popularly
believed that Pavlov always signaled the occurrence of food by ringing a
bell.

Learning can occur through associations- Classical conditioning is a

learning process that occurs through associations between an
environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. In this
technique a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a response. Next, a
previously neutral stimulus is paired with the naturally occurring stimulus.
Eventually, the previously neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response
without the presence of the naturally occurring stimulus. The two
elements are then known as the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned
response.

The Unconditioned Stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and

automatically triggers a response. For example, when you smell one of
your favorite foods, you may immediately feel very hungry. In this
example, the smell of the food is the unconditioned stimulus.
The Unconditioned Response is the unlearned response that occurs
naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus. In our example, the
feeling of hunger in response to the smell of food is the unconditioned
response.

The Conditioned Stimulus is previously neutral stimulus that, after

becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes
to trigger a conditioned response. In our earlier example, suppose that
when you smelled your favorite food, you also heard the sound of a
whistle. While the whistle is unrelated to the smell of the food, if the
sound of the whistle was paired multiple times with the smell, the sound
would eventually trigger the conditioned response. In this case, the sound
of the whistle is the conditioned stimulus.

The Conditioned Response is the learned response to the previously

neutral stimulus. In our example, the conditioned response would be
feeling hungry when you heard the sound of the whistle.

Behaviorists have described a number of different phenomena associated

with classical conditioning. Some of these elements involve the initial
establishment of the response, while others describe the disappearance of
a response.

Acquisition is the initial stage of learning when a response is first

established and gradually strengthened. For example, if you are trying to
teach a dog to shake in response to a verbal command, you can say the
response has been acquired as soon as the dog shakes in response to only
the verbal command. Once the response has been acquired, you can
gradually reinforce the shake response to make sure the behavior is well
learned.

Extinction occurs when the occurrences of a conditioned response

decrease or disappears. In classical conditioning, this happens when a
conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
For example, if the smell of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been
paired with the sound of a whistle (the conditioned stimulus), it would
eventually come to evoke the conditioned response of hunger. However, if
the unconditioned stimulus (the smell of food) were no longer paired with
the conditioned stimulus (the whistle), eventually the conditioned
response (hunger) would disappear.

Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of the conditioned response

after a rest period or period of lessened response. If the conditioned
 stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction
will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.

Stimulus Generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to

evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned. For
example, if a rat has been conditioned to fear a stuffed white rabbit, it will
exhibit fear of objects similar to the conditioned stimulus, that is, objects
similar to the stuffed white objects.

Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned

stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an
unconditioned stimulus. For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned
stimulus, discrimination would involve being able to tell the difference
between the bell tone and other similar sounds.

These techniques are also useful in the treatment of phobias or anxiety

problems. Teachers are able to apply classical conditioning in the class by
creating a positive classroom environment to help students overcome
anxiety or fear. Pairing an anxiety-provoking situation, such as performing
in front of a group, with pleasant surroundings helps the student learn
new associations. Instead of feeling anxious and tense in these situations,
the child will learn to stay relaxed and calm.

Operant conditioning by B.F.Skinner (1904-1990)

It is also known as instrumental conditioning and is a method of learning

that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior (behaviors are
influenced mainly by the consequences that follow them). Through
operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a
consequence for that behavior. As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that
internal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain behavior.
He suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of
human behavior. Skinner used the term operant to refer to any "active
behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences"
(1953). In other words, Skinner's theory explained how we acquire the
range of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day.

Some key concepts in operant conditioning:

Reinforcement processes were emphasized by Skinner, and were seen as

primary in the shaping of behavior. A reinforcer is any event that
strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. Positive reinforcers are
favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In
situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is
strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct
reward. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable
events or outcomes after the display of a behavior. In these situations, a
response is strengthened by the removal of something considered
unpleasant. Both types of reinforcement strengthen behavior, or increase
the probability of a behavior reoccurring; the difference is in whether the
reinforcing event is something applied (positive reinforcement) or
something removed or avoided (negative reinforcement). In both of these
cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.

Punishment and extinction have the effect of weakening behavior, or

decreasing the probability of a behavior reoccurring, by the application of
an aversive event (punishment) or the removal of a rewarding event
(extinction). There are two kinds of punishment:

 Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by

application, involves the presentation of an unfavorable event or
outcome in order to weaken the response it follows.
 Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal,
occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a
behavior occurs.

In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases.

Extinction
Extinction works by removing any type of reinforcement to behaviour. An
example of this would be a disruptive child who is given a time-out or told
to sit on the 'naughty step'. By removing them from the situation (and
associated attention) the behaviour should stop. This premise can be
carried across to adults too - however the 'naughty step' will probably be
given a different name.

Examples of Operant Conditioning - The case of children completing

homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher, or employees
finishing projects to receive praise or promotions. In these examples, the
promise or possibility of rewards causes an increase in behavior, but
operant conditioning can also be used to decrease a behavior. The
removal of an undesirable outcome or the use of punishment can be used
to decrease or prevent undesirable behaviors. For example, a child may
be told they will lose recess privileges if they talk out of turn in class. This
potential for punishment may lead to a decrease in disruptive behaviors.
B.F.Skinner discovered that the timing of giving the rewards and
punishments has an important influence on how quickly a new behavior is
acquired and the strength of the response.

Skinner is best known for inventing the Skinner Box- a laboratory device
for animal experimentation, designed to study responses to external
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stimuli.