Introduction To Psy

Introduction to Psychology
Part II
A TEXTBOOK
.OR
CLASS XII
AUTHORS
GIRISHWAR MISRA K.D. BROOTA AJIT K. DALAL ANAND PRAKASH Y.S. VAGRECHA ASHOK K. SRIVASTAVA ANJUM SIBIA
EDITOR
GIRISHWAR MISRA
A NOTE
.OR
THE TEACHERS
The total organisation of the text and its contents are intended to be responsive to major developments in the field and show sensitivity to the interests and needs of students. The content is participatory, drawing examples from everyday life, including topics of current interest to students, and contain new developments in the field. The aim is to engage students, interest and their involvement. To help students organise and remember important ideas, each chapter has Recapitulation at the end of each major section. Review questions in the form of Learning Checks are interspersed throughout the chapters to help students check their understanding of each sections main ideas immediately after finishing the section instead of waiting until the end of the chapter. Activities are experiential in nature which would help to translate concepts in practical and behavioural terms. Chapter Summary would help in revising the main ideas of each chapter. Illustrations and figures are some other aids which would help in transaction of the contents and make the text appealing to the students. The Glossary given at the end would help to acquaint students with psychologys technical language which is important in any introductory text. Enrichment material given in Boxes have information on higher level concepts, newer developments in the field, and the Indian view point. These descriptions may go beyond the contents of the syllabus. Students may be encouraged to read the matter presented in boxes, but it should not be imposed on every student. The material presented in BOXES is NOT for evaluation.
A NOTE
.OR
THE STUDENTS
This textbook contains information and learning aids to help you in understanding the contents. The content outline at the beginning of each chapter provides an overview of the topics covered in the chapter. This would help you know the organisation of the chapter. The learning outcomes would enable you to know how you would gain after reading the chapter. Learning Checks interspersed throughout the chapter are self check exercises. Experiential exercises are given under activities which are for self growth. Recapitulation given at the end of major sections, are interim summaries that would permit you to check your understanding of sections main ideas immediately after finishing the section. Some illustrations provide examples of complicated concepts; tables and figures will also help you understand the material discussed in the text. The chapter Summary at the end of the chapter provides a summary of the chapters main ideas to help you review the materials read in the chapter. Key Terms are important vocabulary terms and are listed at the end of the chapter. The Glossary given at the end of the textbook should assist you in this learning process. Enrichment materials presented in the BOXES throughout the chapter are to acquaint you with newer developments in the field. These are, however supplementary reading materials which are not for evaluation. In preparing this textbook efforts have been made to make the presentation of the contents interesting to read, challenging to think and easy to learn.
CONTENTS
A Note for the Teachers A Note for the Students Chapter 1 Intelligence Chapter 2 Self and Personality Chapter 3 Social Influence and Group Processes Chapter 4 Attitude and Social Cognition Chapter 5 Coping with Life Challenges Chapter 6 Psychological Disorders Chapter 7 Therapeutic Approaches Chapter 8 Environment and Behaviour Chapter 9 Psychology in Organisational Setting Chapter 10 Psychology and Social Problems Chapter 11 Skills Needed for an Effective Psychologist Chapter 12 Statistics in Psychology Practicals in Psychology Glossary Suggested Readings vii viii 1 29 62 82 106 126 147 165 180 197 220 239 263 267 274
1
THIS
INTELLIGENCE
CHAPTER COVERS
CONTENTS
Introduction What is Intelligence? Beginnings of Intelligence Testing (Box 1.1) Definitions of Intelligence Intelligence: The Interplay of Nature and Nurture Intelligence: Some Classical Approaches (Box1.2) Contemporary Approaches to Intelligence Theory of Multiple Intelligences Triarchic Theory of Intelligence PASS Model of Intelligence Samples of PASS Measures (Box 1.3) Creativity and Intelligence Culture and Intelligence Intelligence in Non-Western Traditions Intelligence in the Indian Context Assessment of Intelligence Distribution of IQ Scores Types of Intelligence Test Alternatives to IQ Testing (Box 1.4) Intelligence Testing in India Variations in the Level of Intelligence Giftedness: Nature and Identification Identification of Talent in the Indian Context (Box 1.5) Intellectual Deficiency: Nature and Types New Directions: Emotional, Practical, and Spiritual Intelligences (BOX 1.6) Special Abilities or Aptitudes: Nature and Measurement Key Terms Summary Review Questions Answers to Learning Checks
Nature of intelligence and approaches to its understanding Culture and conceptualisation of intelligence Methods of assessing intelligence Range and variations in intelligence Nature and measurement of aptitude BY
THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WOULD
BE ABLE TO
describe the concept of intelligence, explain the multiple facets of intelligence, discuss cultural differences in conceptualising intelligence, acquaint yourself with different methods of assessing intelligence, explain the nature of intellectual deficiency and giftedness, understand some emerging notions of intelligence, and describe the concept of aptitude and its measurement procedure.
INTRODUCTION
Intelligence is probably one of the most popular psychological terms used in everyday life. And it is rightly so, because it is due to the intellectual development that humans have been able to transcend the physical frailties and gain dominance over the more powerful and numerous animals. Every parent wishes his/her child to be intelligent. However, you must have noticed individual differences in this highly valued trait. People differ from each other in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles. We often make judgements about the intellectual competence of people on the basis of these and related characteristics and label them as being more intelligent or less intelligent. You too must have encountered people showing different levels of intelligence. The expression of intelligence is not limited to any particular activity, domain, or context; rather, it is manifested in every human activity, may it be in school, during social interaction, at work, and so on. You must have heard about tests that are used to measure intelligence in different settings including school, industry, defence organisations, bureaucratic set-ups and so on. These tests are useful in selection, training, placement, and providing educational and vocational guidance and counselling to the students. For long, the study of intelligence was confined to the cognitive domain. In recent years, however, understanding about the nature of intelligence has changed drastically. It is now believed that intelligence is not a single entity or unidimensional, rather has multiple dimensions or facets. The notion of intelligence has expanded to encompass affective, and social domains also. The emphasis on one or the other aspects of intelligence varies across cultures. In this chapter you will study the nature of intelligence, changing definitions of intelligence, cultural differences in its conceptualisation, its assessment, range and variations in the intellectual competencies of people, and the nature of special abilities or aptitudes.
Intelligence
WHAT
IS
INTELLIGENCE?
ACTIVITY 1.1 Understanding the Concept of Intelligence Find out the synonyms of intelligence and analyse the similarities and differences among them. On the basis of the analysis of synonyms make three or four statements about the nature of intelligence. Discuss your observations with your classmates and teacher.
The term intelligence has not only been used more popularly in daily life, it has also received maximum attention of the researchers in the fields of psychology, education, and child development. A perusal of dictionaries will reveal that the term intelligence has been taken in a broad sense. For example, the following terms have been listed as the meaning of intelligence: ability to understand, reason, and perceive; quickness in learning; mental alertness; ability to grasp relationships etc. The words such as capacity, shrewdness, acumen, discrimination, talent, aptitude, etc. are used as synonyms of intelligence. In the Indian context, words such as Buddhi Pratibha, Prajna, Medha, Dhi, Chaturya, etc., are used for intelligence.
BOX 1.1
DEFINITIONS
OF
INTELLIGENCE
Broadly speaking, intelligence is a capacity to profit from experience and to go beyond the given. Psychologists have proposed a number of definitions of intelligence. Binet and Simon in 1905 defined intelligence as the ability to judge well, to
BEGINNINGS OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING The first systematic attempt to develop a test of intelligence was made by Alfred Binet, a Frenchman. At the request of the French Ministry of Education, in 1904, Binet attempted to devise a method to identify children who did not benefit from regular classroom teaching and needed to be placed in special schools. Binet with his student T. Simon developed the first test of intelligence in 1905. The test consisted of 30 items ranging from the ability to touch ones nose or ear when asked, to the ability to draw designs from Binet memory and define abstract concepts. Unlike Galton who reduced intelligence to sensory, perceptual, and motor processes, Binet argued that the core of intelligence consists of more complex mental processes such as memory, imagery, comprehension, and judgement.
The development of the concept of intelligence in modern psychology is closely related to the efforts in the direction of assessing intelligence. Historically, the work of a Frenchman, J. Esquirol, in 1838, on mental disorders is considered to be the beginning of modern mental testing. However, Sir Francis Galton, an Englishman, is considered to be the father of mental tests. In 1884, Galton attempted to measure intelligence by administering a battery of tests which measured such characteristics as head size, strength of hand grip, breathing capacity, reaction time, visual acuity, and memory for visual forms. Galton Alfred believed that simple sensory, perceptual, and motor responses were key aspects of intelligence. J.M. Cattell is credited with introducing the term mental test. The works of Galton and Cattell together paved the way for further studies on intelligence.
understand well, and to reason well. There were four elements that were believed to be important for intelligence: (1) Direction or ability to set up a goal and work towards it, (2) Adaptability or ability to make the necessary adjustments to solve a problem, (3) Comprehension or ability to have a basic understanding of exactly what the problem is, and (4) Self evaluation or persons idea of whether he or she has been able to solve the problem correctly. The definition proposed by Wechsler in 1939 has been very popular. He defined it as the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment. According to Howard Gardner (1986), intelligence is the ability or skill to solve problems or to fashion products which are valued within one or more cultural settings. An analysis of the above and other definitions indicates that intelligence consists of three general classes of skills or abilities: l Adapting to new situations and changing task demands. l Learning or profiting optimally from experience or training. l Thinking abstractly using symbols and concepts. More recently Robert Sternberg (1997), a pioneer in the field of intelligence research, has defined intelligence as follows: Intelligence comprises the mental abilities necessary for adaptation to, as well as shaping and selection of, any environmental context. This definition goes beyond the adaptive nature of intelligence. Thus, intelligence is not just reacting (in the form of adaptation) to the demands of the environment, but also involves actively shaping and selecting the environment. When a person is not able to adapt to an environment, he/she may try to bring changes in the environmental context (shaping) according to his or her own likings. For example, when you visit a relative on holidays, first of all you try to behave according to their expectations. Slowly, you begin to suggest them changes according to your taste. However, bringing out change in
the environmental context may not always be possible due to various reasons. In that case an intelligent person tries to find another suitable environment (selection). For example, when you find it difficult to adapt or bring about changes in the relatives house, you may go to another relatives house or go back to your home. It should be noted that intelligence does not simply mean possessing certain abilities per se; rather the use of these abilities in real life situations is important. The second important point, according to Sternberg, is that the landscape of an environmental context changes over time. Thus, adequate adaptation, shaping, and selection involve a process of life-long learning, one that starts during infancy and continues throughout the life span.
ACTIVITY 1.2 Processes Involved in Intelligence Find two examples each from everyday activities that relate to shaping, selection, and adaptation. Discuss these examples with classmates and teacher.
INTELLIGENCE: THE INTERPLAY NATURE AND NURTURE
OF
There is no end to the debate as to whether intelligence is innate or acquired. The controversy has aroused fierce passions, become politicised, and is notable for the dogmatic nature of the opinions. The evidence for the innateness comes from studies on twins. As you know monozygotic twins result from the fertilisation of a single ovum by a single sperm and they are genetically identical. Therefore, it may be assumed that their intelligence (genetic) level should be similar and any difference would be due to non-genetic (environmental) factors. On rare occasions, such as death or illness of the mother, some of these monozygotic (identical) twins were reared apart. Studies have shown high level of similarity between the intelligence levels of such monozygotic twins. It has also been reported in some studies that identical twins separated very early in life share considerable degree of
Intelligence
similarity in intelligence, personality, and mannerisms when they were identified later. The limitation of these studies is that the samples have been generally very small. Adoption studies lend support to the nurture side of the debate. In these studies childrens intelligence levels were compared with their biological and adopting mothers. Some studies have reported that IQ of the adopted children tends to move toward that of their adopting parents. Other studies have shown greater closeness with the IQ of biological mothers. Generally, the presence of adoptive parents of higher IQ level raises a disadvantaged childs IQ. There is evidence to show that deprived environments may result in lowering of IQ scores. A range of environmental factors, such as nutrition, family background, and quality of schooling, are found to be related to IQ scores. The most accepted view today is that intelligence is a product of a complex
interaction of genetic factors and environmental conditions. Probably, the maximum limit is drawn by the genetic factors, within which the actual development depends upon the support from environmental conditions. Recapitulation The systematic attempt to define and assess intelligence in modern period began with the work of Binet in 1904. Since then many definitions of intelligence have been proposed. In all these definitions, intelligence is defined in terms of adaptation to new situations, learning from past experiences, and abstract thinking. However, contemporary view of intelligence goes beyond adaptation skillswhere adaptation is not possible, an intelligent person either attempts to shape and bring changes in the environment, or carve out another environment of his/her liking.
BOX 1.2
INTELLIGENCE: SOME CLASSICAL APPROACHES
Charles Spearman (1927) proposed a Two Factor theory of intelligence. According to him, intelligence consists of General (g) and Specific (s) factors. This theory maintained that all intellectual activities share a single common factor, called g. Characterised as mental energy, g is considered responsible for relationships between different human activities. Positive correlations between any two factors were attributed to g factor. In addition to g, this theory also postulates a number of specific factors s, each being strictly specific to a single activity Fig 1.1 shows this pattern. Louis Thurstone (1938) advanced the Theory of Primary Mental Abilities which states that intelligence consists of seven major factors, each of which is relatively independent of the others. These factors are: Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Fluency, Inductive Reasoning, Spatial Visualisation, Number, Memory, and Perceptual Speed.
Raymond Cattell (1971) proposed that there are two g factors, gf (for fluid
g
SI
S2 S3
Fig. 1.1 Relationship between g and s conceptualised by Spearman

contd...
intelligence) and gc (for crystallised intelligence). Fluid intelligence includes the ability to think creatively, to reason abstractly, to make inferences from data, and to understand relationships. It can be measured by analogy and classification problems. It is strongly influenced by heredity. In contrast, crystallised intelligence includes what a person learns and retains from experience; so, it is strongly influenced by environment. Tests of vocabulary and general information can be used to measure crystallised intelligence. It has been found that fluid intelligence tends to decline at an early age than crystallised intelligence though both show rapid decline starting in the late seventies.
l
stimulus input prior to the outcome or response. Level II refers to a general class of abilities involving effective transformation or manipulation of stimuli, as evinced in higher order learning, such as reasoning and problem-solving.
l
Arthur Jensen has advanced a theory of two levels of intelligence: Level I and Level II. Level I denotes associative learning (e.g. rote learning and memory). These activities involve minimal mental transformation of the
On the basis of more than two decades of factor analytic research, J. P. Guilford proposed a box-like model, which is known as Structure-of-Intellect Model. This theory organises intellectual traits along three dimensions: Operationswhat the respondent does, Contentsthe nature of the materials or information on which operations are performed, and Products the form in which information is processed by the respondents. Guilfords classification includes 6 x 5 x 5 categories, resulting into 150 cells in the model. In each cell at least one factor or ability is expected; some cells may contain more than one factor. The model is shown in Fig.1.2.
Operations Co nv er Di ge ve Ev nt alu rg pr en at od tp ion uc ro tio du n Me ct ion m Co or y gn itio n
Vis
ua
l Au o dit ry bo lic ma nti
Contents
Sym Se
c h io av ura l
Be
Units Classes Products Relations Systems Transformation Implications
Fig. 1.2 Guilfords Structure of Intellect
Intelligence
LEARNING CHECKS I
1. The speed with which one accomplishes a task refers to ones intellectual capacity. T/F 2. Binet developed a test of intelligence to discriminate amongst normal students of a class. T/F 3. Learning from past experiences is a characteristic of an intelligent person. T/F 4. Selection strictly refers to leaving a task, which cannot be accomplished, and selecting a task, which is easy to perform. T/F
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO INTELLIGENCE The classical notion of intelligence, which defined it in terms of a single index of cognitive abilities, has undergone major changes. It is now believed that intelligence is not one or unitary ability, rather there are many intelligences, which people display while solving problems in everyday life. In this section you will study about three such theories. THEORY
OF
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
Howard Gardner (1983) proposed this theory. It is based on three principles. First, intelligence is not a single entity; rather, there exist multiple intelligences, each distinct from others. Second, these intelligences are independent of each other. In other words, if a person is good in one type of intelligence, it does not give any indication about how good or bad the person may be on Howard Gardner other types of intelligences. Third, different types of intelligences interact. That is, different intelligences work together to provide a solution of a problem. Gardner has so far proposed eight intelligences. However, all the individuals do not possess them in equal proportion. The particular situation or the context decides the
prominence of one type of intelligence over the others. The eight intelligences are as follows: l Linguistic : This is related to reading, writing, listening, talking, understanding, etc. Poets exhibit this ability better than others. l Logical-mathematical : This type of intelligence deals with abstract reasoning and manipulation of symbols involved in numerical problems. It is exhibited in scientific work. l Spatial : Intelligence of this kind is used while navigating in space, forming, transforming, and using mental images. Sailors, engineers, surgeons, pilots, car drivers, sculptors, and painters have highly developed spatial intelligence. l Musical :Persons with musical intelligence show sensitivity to pitch and tone required for singing, playing an instrument, composing and appreciating music, etc. l Bodily-kinesthetic : It requires the skills and dexterity for fine coordinated motor movements, such as those required for dancing, athletics, surgery, craft making, and the like. l Interpersonal : It requires understanding motives, feelings, and behaviours of other people. Sales people, politicians, teachers, clinicians, and religious leaders have high degree of interpersonal intelligence. l Intrapersonal : It is related to understanding ones self and developing a sense of identity. l Naturalistic : It is related to recognising the flora and fauna and making a distinction in the natural world. It is more possessed by hunters, farmers, tourists, students of biological sciences, and the like.
ACTIVITY 1.3 Application of the View of Multiple Intelligences Prepare a list of about 20 vocations. Analyse these vocations in terms of the type of intelligence required for success in those vocations. Discuss the results of your analysis with your teacher.
TRIARCHIC THEORY
OF
INTELLIGENCE
Robert J. Sternberg (1985) proposed this theory. It attempts to understand the cognitive processes involved in solving problems. According to this theory, there are three l subtheories of intelligence: Componential, Experiential, and Contextual as shown in Fig. 1.3. Robert J. Sternberg l Componential Sub theory: It consists of internal mental mechanisms that are responsible for intelligent behaviour. The components of intelligence serve three different functions. Metacomponents are the executive processes that are involved in planning strategies, monitoring progress, and allocating internal and external resources to problem solving. Performance components ACTIVITY 1.4 are the processes that are used to perform a Application of Triarchic Theory task or solve a problem. This component Read the following problem statements and is the one that is measured best by identify the type of intelligence that would be existing intelligence tests. Knowledge required to solve those problems: acquisition components are the processes l You see a novel word embedded in a used in learning. paragraph and have to infer its meaning l Experiential Subtheory : It focuses on from the context. the relationship between the persons l You have to solve everyday problems inner, mental world and the outer, faced by an adolescent. external world. This aspect is concerned (For answers see Learning Checks on p.11) with the effect of intelligence on ones experiences as well as the effect of Contextual persons interaction Subtheory with the environment Metacomponents Specifies the Control, monitor, and evaluate on intelligence. This behaviours cognitive processing considered intelligent view adds creativity in a particular (or novelty and culture Performance Components originality) to the Execute strategies assembled Experiential overall conception by metacomponents Componential Subtheory of intelligence. A Subtheory Specifies how Knowledge-acquisition creat-ively intelligent Specifies the experiences affect Components cognitive processes person may not intelligence and how Encode, combine, and that underlie all particularly perform intelligence affects a compare information intelligent behavior persons experiences well on a test of intelligence but is Fig. 1.3 Elements of Triarchic Theory of Intelligence able to combine
different experiences in uniquely original ways. A second aspect of experiential intelligence is the ability to automatise or make routine tasks that are encountered repeatedly. An example of automatising is reading, which is carried out largely without conscious thought. Playing music is another example of this type of activity. Contextual Subtheory : It deals with the ways people effectively shape their environments, adapt to different contexts, and make the most of their available resources. Contextual intelligence refers to street smarts or situationally smart. It is the effective management of self and the practical management of the business of everyday life. People high on contextual remain practical or down-to-earth in life. Such people remain involved in activities such as implementing, using, applying, and seeking relevance.
Intelligence
PASS MODEL
OF
INTELLIGENCE
Serial
Concurrent
Serial
Concurrent
Extending the information processing approach, J.P. Das, Naglieri, and Kirby (1994) proposed this theory. The basic statement of the model is that intelligence can be understood as a result of interdependent functioning of three neurological systems: those responsible for arousal (and attention), coding (or processing), and planning. The two coding processes are simultaneous and successive. Thus the theory is known as PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive) Theory. The three components of PASS theory are shown in Fig. 1.4. l Arousal and Attention: Suppose a young lady goes to market with her 3-year-old child. After some time the child becomes restless and also occasionally cries. This arouses J.P. Das the mother to attend to the childs needs. Arousal is basic for initiating an activity. It forces one to focus attention in a particular direction. You have read earlier that attention is selective: You do not pay attention to each and everything that comes on your way; rather, you attend to a few selected objects/events/persons which may be helpful in achieving the desired goal or are related to the motivational state. l Simultaneous and Successive Processing : The mother realises that her child is hungry and decides to take her to a restaurant. She looks at the shops around her. The shops have displayed different types of signboards. The mother attends to those signboards to find out a restaurant and tries to grasp their meaning. Here she uses simultaneous and successive processes to grasp the meaning out of the signboards. Simultaneous processes help you in grasping the meaning out of the pictures. This involves the integration of different stimuli at a time in groups and is holistic
KNOWLEDGE BASE
First Functional Unit AROUSAL/ ATTENTION Third Functional Unit PLANNING
KNOWLEDGE BASE
KNOWLEDGE BASE
Conceptual
Conceptual
Perceptual
Brain Stem
Frontal
Second Functional Unit
Occipital, Parietal and Temporal (Posterior) Memory Conceptual Perceptual
SIMULTANEOUS AND SUCCESSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE
Fig. 1.4. The PASS Model of Ability
in nature. On the other hand, the mother reads the letters and words one after another written on the boards, integrating the stimuli in series. In this case she is using successive processing to grasp the meaning. Learning of digits and alphabets is another example of successive processing. Simultaneous and successive processes can be applied to the tasks of various modalities (auditory, visual, kinesthetic etc.) involving different kinds of stimuli (verbal or nonverbal), and may take place during direct perception, retention of information, and at higher cognitive levels. Planning : After the attention and processing of information, you decide that this is a restaurant where you can get something to eat. If there are more than one, you select one of your choice. Thus, planning refers to generation of plans or
Perceptual
Memory
Memory
10
problems as well as to goal setting, strategy selection, and performance monitoring. Planning is responsible for activities such as asking questions, problem solving, and the capacity for self-monitoring. Based on the PASS theory, Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) was developed. The system employs verbal and non-verbal tests presented through visual and auditory sensory channels. It is appropriate for use with individuals between ages 5 to 11, and has been specially designed for use with intervention purposes. Some measures are given in Box 1.3. The system is considered an appropriate and innovative tool for the assessment of cognitive status.
Creativity and Intelligence Highly intelligent people may or may not be creative but highly creative persons are without doubt highly intelligent. Sternberg talks about three types of intelligence: Analytic, Creative , and Practical. Creativity is a process that requires the balance and application of various aspects of intelligence. The creative intelligence is the ability to go beyond the given data to generate novel and interesting ideas. A creative person is a good synthetic thinker, sees the connections and relationships others dont see. In addition, creative people also have the ability to analyse and evaluate ideas. The practical intelligence is the third aspect of creativity, which refers to the ability to translate theory into practice and transfer abstract ideas
BOX 1.3
SAMPLES OF PASS MEASURES
Planned Connections ( for Planning): It requires children to develop some effective way of connecting sequential stimuli (e.g., the numbers 1-2-3-4-5), which appears in a diverse manner on a page. For the first five trials a child is required to connect the series of numbers in their proper numerical sequence (1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc.). On the last two trials the child is required to alternatively connect numbers and letters in their proper sequence (1 to A, A to 2, 2 to B, B to 3, and so on). The test score is the time in seconds taken by the child in each trial separately as well as on all the trials. Expressive Attention ( for Attention):It consists of three pages, although only the last page is used as a measure of attention. The first and second pages contain the words Red, Blue, and Green written in the respective colours (page 1) or coloured rectangle of these colours in varying orders (page 2) arranged in eight rows and five columns. The task before the child is to read all the words on page 1 or say the names of the colours on page 2 as fast as possible. The selective attention component of this task is apparent on page 3 through the use of an interference paradigm. Page 3 contains the words red, blue, and green printed in
colours different than the words (e.g. word GREEN printed in red colour). The childs task is to name the colour used to print the word, rather than read the word, as fast as possible. Time needed to complete is recorded. Ravens Progressive Matrices ( for Simultaneous Processes): These matrices are used to assess the simultaneous processes. In this test, the task involves the completion of figural analogies using a progressive matrix format. The child is required to choose one of the six options that best completes the abstract analogy. The requirement that each component of the matrix must be interrelated to the others makes this task congruent with the simultaneous paradigm. The scores for this test are the total number of correct choices and the time taken by the child to complete the task. Digit Span (for Successive Processes): You present, for example, the following series of digits to the child 4-7-9 2-5-8-9 3-5-6-9-11 After each presentation the child is required to recall the digits. The total number of digits recalled (maximum) is the digit span.
Intelligence
11
into practical accomplishments. Thus, while an intelligent person is high only on analytical intelligence, a creative person is high on all the three aspects. Recapitulation In this section you read about the three important contemporary theories of intelligence. These theories assume that intelligence is not one or a unitary ability rather, a composite of many intelligences. Gardner proposed eight types of intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic intelligences. Sternberg proposed componential, experiential, and contextual subtheories of intelligence. Componential intelligence is concerned with the components of mental functioning involved in cognitive tasks that underlie vocabulary, knowledge, insight, and analogies. Experiential and contextual intelligences add creativity and practicality, respectively, to the understanding of intelligence. J.P. Das considered intelligence in terms of planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive processes (PASS model). An Intelligent person is high on analytical intelligence, a creative person is high on all three aspects of intelligence analytic, creative and practical.
LEARNING CHECKS II
CULTURE
AND
INTELLIGENCE
It is increasingly recognised that intellectual processes and skills are determined by the socio-cultural context in which people live and grow. Since successful adaptation to ones own socio-cultural environment is considered a sign of intelligence, it is reasonable to assume that different behaviours may represent intelligence in different cultures, as one would observe variations in what a particular society views as worthwhile, meaningful and valuable. In certain places, for example, the skills needed to be an excellent farmer are far more important than the skills needed to be a lawyer. Thus, intelligence is considered a cultural genre or product of culture. Cultural groups differ in their notions of what constitutes intelligence. Such an understanding depends upon peoples experiences, which is shared by majority of the persons in the group, is passed on from one generation to the next in written or oral form, and is imposed upon each of us without our conscious intent. The salient features of Western culture are urbanisation, high use of technology and schooling. It emphasises the development of following factors in children: l generalisation (or going beyond the information given),
l l
speed (faster performance is superior), minimal moves (the best performance calls for reaching the solution in fewest steps), no hands (a preference for mental rather than physical manipulations), and something of ones own (a preference for originality or creativity).
1. Gardner has proposed seven kinds of interrelated intelligences. T/F 2. Solving logical puzzles requires bodilykinesthetic intelligence. T/F 3. Sailors are high on spatial intelligence. T/F 4. Componential intelligence covers the aspects of intelligence measured by standard intelligence tests. T/F 5. You require componential intelligence when you see a novel word embedded in a paragraph and have to infer its meaning from the context. T/F 6. Contextual intelligence is required to solve everyday problems faced by an adolescent. T/F 7. Street-smart persons are high on experiential intelligence. T/F 8. In the PASS model, the most basic aspect is coding of information. T/F
l l
This type of culture gives rise to a kind of intelligence, called technological intelligence, characterised by attention, observation, speed, and higher achievement in school. Thus, intelligence tests developed in the West look for these qualities among people. Intelligence in Non-Western Traditions In contrast to technological intelligence, many Asian and African cultures consider a person
12
intelligent on the basis of social and emotional attributes as well as his or her ability to perform a task. Table 1.1 summarises the salient features of intelligence emphasised in some non-western cultures. Intelligence in the Indian Context The Indian thought has shown deep concern for human potential and explored its nature in the context of self, society, the universe, and also beyond all these. The Indian view is holistic and emphasises mental abilities, both in the cognitive and non-cognitive domains, and their integration. Buddhi , the word often used to translate the word intelligence, has been used in a broader sense as compared to the scope of intelligence in modern western psychology. The terms that are used for buddhi in Sanskrit, in general, refer to the followings: l The mental vigour or power of forming and retaining conceptions and general notions; l Reason, intellect, mind, discernment, and judgment;
l l l
Perception, comprehension, apprehension, and understanding; Knowledge of ones own self, conscience, will and desire;
Presence of mind, ready wit, and skill. The notion of buddhi not only includes cognitive but also affective and motivational
aspects of life. According to J.P. Das, Buddhi refers to waking up, noticing, recognising, understanding, and comprehending. It includes such things as determination, mental effort, and even feelings and opinions in addition to such intellectual processes as knowledge, discrimination, and decision-making. According to the Indian view, an intelligent person shows the following four competencies: l Cognitive Competence (such as sensitivity to context, comprehension, discrimination, problem-solving, and effective communication), l Social Competence (such as following social norms, service to elders, obedience, helping the needy, showing concern for the environment), l Entrepreneurial Competence (such as hard work, commitment, vigilance, goaldirected behaviour), and l Emotional Competence (such as control of emotions, honesty, politeness, realistic self-appraisal, good conduct). Thus, unlike the IQ notion of intelligence, the Indian view is not limited to the cognitive domain alone. Rather, it encompasses the social and emotional domains, as well as task performance. The Indian concept is more inclusive, which emphasises on the connectivity with the social and work
Table 1.1 Characterisation of Intelligence in Different Cultures

Africa Baoule China Japan Capability in specific situations, and social responsibility (such as cooperativeness and obedience). Service to the family and community, politeness and respect for elders, and speaking well in public. Non-verbal reasoning (or silent thinking). (a) Sociable, humorous, and effective speaker, (b) ability to take anothers point of view, and admitting mistakes, (c) task efficiency, (d) originality, and (e) reading and writing. Ability to judge and perform tasks that are required to be done at homestead. Slow, careful and active. More listening than talking, understanding the problem in the proper perspective and constructive intelligence.
Kenya Uganda Yoruba
Intelligence
13
environment. This type of intelligence is termed as integral intelligence.

ACTIVITY 1.5 Understanding Laypersons conception of intelligence Interview children of different age groups as well as some adults, across various sections of society and find what they think are the characteristics of an intelligent person? Try to understand the concept of intelligence of these groups. Discuss the similarities and differences in their definitions with other students and the teachers.
but good at non-veral reasoning abilities; cooperates with group members; respectful; and willing to share responsibilities. Indian view of intelligence encompasses social and emotional components together with the cognitive and activity related components. Thus, it may not be appropriate to label people as intelligent or not intelligent in these cultures on the basis of intelligence tests developed in Western countries. Culturespecific definitions of intelligence need to be explored and appropriate measures need to be developed. ASSESSMENT
OF
INTELLIGENCE
Recapitulation
The western concept of intelligence is not valid in all the societies. In the West, the emphasis is on technological intelligence, which is characterised by generalisation, speed of work, achievement, etc. On the other hand, in non-western societies, such as Asian and African, a person is considered intelligent more on the basis of social and emotional qualities than on the cognitive attributes alone. In these societies, an intelligent person may not work at a high speed. He/she may be slow but careful; poor in verbal abilities
LEARNING CHECKS III
1. Different behaviours in different cultures are characterised as intelligent. T/F 2. A preference for mental manipulation rather than physical manipulation is the characteristics of intelligent behaviour in non-Western societies. T/F 3. Among Japanese, admitting mistakes is not considered an intelligent behaviour. T/F 4. Willingness to cooperate with group members is considered intelligent in the African societies. T/F 5. The notion of integral intelligence emphasises interconnectivity between cognitive, emotional, and social worlds. T/F
You have read earlier that the first attempt to measure intelligence was made by Binet. He also gave the concept of Mental Age (MA), which refers to an individuals level of mental development relative to the environment in which he/she lives. Binet argued that a mentally retarded child would perform like a normal child of a younger age. He compared MA with Chronological Age (CA) or the biological age or age from birth. A bright child has an MA above CA; a dull child has an MA below CA. The term Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was devised in 1912 by William Stern. IQ refers to a childs mental age divided by chronological age, and multiplied by 100: MA IQ = x 100 CA If the mental age is the same as the Chronological age, then the individuals IQ is 100 (normal); if mental age is above CA, then the IQ is more than 100; if mental age is less than the CA, then the IQ is less than 100. For example, a 6-year old child with a mental age of 8 would have an IQ of 133, (8/6 x 100) whereas a 6-year old child with a mental age of 5 ( 5/6 x 100) would have an IQ of 83.
ACTIVITY 1.6 Computing the IQ
l l
Find out the mental age of a 16-year old student who has an IQ of 125. Calculate the IQ of a 12-year old child whose mental age is 9 years.
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Stanford Binet Test The intelligence test developed by Binet in 1905 was revised in 1909 and 1911. Table 1.2 contains some items included in 1911 Binets test. Lewis Terman, a Professor at the University of Stanford, introduced Binets test in the United States of America, where the test underwent many revisions. The first
Table 1.2 Some Items from Binets Test of Intelligence (1911 Version) at Three Different Age Levels.
Year 3 l Point to eyes, nose, and mouth l Repeat 2 digits l Identify objects in a picture l Repeat a sequence of 6 syllables Year 7 Show right hand and left ear l Describe a picture l Carryout 3 commands given simultaneously l Count the value of 6 coins
l
revision appeared in 1916, which is known as Stanford-Binet Test. This was further revised in 1936 and 1961. The fourth and latest revision of Stanford-Binet test was published in 1986. In the earlier revisions, only a general composite score was computed to reflect ones IQ. In the last revision, in addition to a composite score, the individuals responses in four content areas, namely verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, and short-term memory are also obtained. The Wechsler Scales Besides the Stanford-Binet Test, the other most widely used individual intelligence tests are the Wechsler Scales, developed by David Wechsler. These are known as: the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS); the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) for use with children between the ages of 6 and 16; and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) for use with children from the ages of 4 to 6 years. In addition to providing an overall IQ score, separate scores for 11 subscales (6 of which are verbal and 5 non-verbals) are also obtained. Table 1.3 conta ins sample items from WAIS.
Year 15 l Repeat 7 digits l Find 3 rhymes for a given word in 1 minute l Repeat a sentence of 26 syllables l Interpret a set of given facts
Table 1.3 Sample items from Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
Verbal Scale Information: Comprehension: Arithmetic: What is steam made of? What is pepper? Why is copper often used in electric wires? Why do some people save sales receipts? It takes 3 people 9 days to paint a house. How many would it take to do it in 3 days? An automobile goes 25 miles in 45 minutes. How far would it go in 20 minutes? Repeat the following numbers in order: 1, 3, 7, 2, 5, 4 Repeat the following digits in reverse order: 5, 8, 2, 4, 9, 6 In what way are a circle and a triangle alike? In what way are an egg and a seed alike? What is a hippopotamus? What does resemble mean?
Digit Repetition:
Similarities: Vocabulary:
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15
Distribution of IQ Scores The IQ scores between 90 and 110 are labelled as normal, above 120 superior and below 70 as evidence of mental retardation or mentally challenged (see Table 1.4).
Table 1.4 Descriptive Labels for IQ Scores
IQ Score Above 130 120-130 110-119 90-109 80-89 70-79 Below 70
the correct alternative. Separate answer sheets are provided to write the answers. As regards administration, examiner plays a minimal role that is restricted to reading the instructions of the test and getting the test completed within the stipulated time limit.
Descriptive Label Very Superior Superior Bright normal Average Dull normal Borderline Mentally Challenged
Percent of Population 2.2 6.7 16.1 50.0 16.1 6.7 2.2
TYPES
OF
INTELLIGENCE TEST
Intelligence tests are available in different forms. You can select an appropriate type of test depending upon the purpose of its use. Some of the types of tests available are described below. Individual or Group Tests : These tests may be classified into different types depending upon their mode of administration and content. They may either be administered to one person at a time (Individual Test) or to a number of persons simultaneously (Group Test). The individual tests are administered to one person at a time. A trained psychologist generally administers such tests to one student or one client at a time. Individual tests allow people to answer orally or in written form and performance tasks require manipulation of objects or forms. Stanford-Binet and Wechsler scales are individually administered tests. The collection of data using individual tests from a larger sample is time consuming. However, individual tests allow the test administrators to establish proper rapport and give personal attention to testees, and also maintain their interest by providing necessary help when needed. Group tests generally employ a multiplechoice format: A question that is followed by four alternatives and a person has to answer
There is only a negligible opportunity for oneto-one interaction between the tester and the testee. It may, however be noted that, a group test can also be administered to a single individual. A group test is not defined by the number of examinees but by the mode of administration. There is further difference between an individual and a group test. The former helps in the diagnosis and remediation of individual learning difficulties, and the latter is more commonly used for mass screening. Finally, the group tests are standardised on ultra large samples, while the individual tests are standardised on relatively small samples. Though group tests are easy to administer, putting testees at ease and maintaining their interest is generally found to be difficult. Verbal, Non-Verbal, and Performance Tests: A Verbal test demands understanding of written words. Therefore, such tests can only be administered to literates. Also, it is difficult to express spatial relationships between objects through written communication. Non-Verbal tests use pictures or illustrations as items. For example, Ravens Progressive Matrices (RPM) is one such test. In RPM, one incomplete pattern is given. Testees have to find, one out of six available alternative figures, which will complete the pattern (see Fig. 1.5 for an example).
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with these cultures in view and the intent or activities in many of these items do not find place in other cultures, particularly Asian and African cultures. The norms for these tests were almost entirely based upon these cultural groups. To overcome these problems, NonVerbal and performance tests have been developed. These tests are considered culturefair tests because people of any culture could take them. However, it has been noticed that these tests too show cultural bias. Intelligence Testing in India The development of intelligence tests in India has for long remained one of the popular academic pursuits. The first systematic attempt to standardise a test of intelligence (Binets test) was made by Dr. Rice in Urdu and Punjabi in 1930s. At about the same time, Mahalanobis attempted to standardise Binets test of intelligence in Bengali. Up to 1950, the work on Binets test was done at Chennai, Dacca, Jabalpur, and Lahore. Work was also done on the development of Indian norms for some other foreign tests like the WAIS, RPM, Minnesota Paper Forms Board, Alexanders Passalong, Cube Construction, Kohs Block Design Test, and others. It was only since 1950s that published evidence points towards the development of Indian tests. The first doctorate on Test Construction was awarded to K.G. Desai in 1954, for the development of a group test of intelligence in Gujarati. Subsequently a number of intelligence tests were either developed originally or were adaptations of tests developed in the West. Some tests developed in India are given in Table 1.5.
Fig. 1.5 An item from Ravens Progressive Matrices (RPM)
Performance tests are made up of certain concrete tasks. For instance in Kohs Block Design Test, small boxes containing a number of wooden blocks of different sizes and shapes are given. The testees task is to arrange these blocks, in accordance with the pattern card, in an order within a given time period. C. M. Bhatia developed a performance test of intelligence, which is popularly known as Bhatia Battery. It is called battery because it is not just one test; rather it consists of a series of five performance tests. Culture-biased vs. Culture-fair Tests : Many intelligence tests show a bias towards the culture in which they are developed. They sample items from the experience of a particular culture. Majority of early tests favoured urban, middle class, white European and American people. The items were written
Table 1.5 Some Tests Developed in India
Verbal 1. Group Test of Intelligence by Prayag Mehta 2. Group Test of Mental Ability by S. Jalota 3. Indian Adaptation of Binet-Simon Scale by S.K. Kulshrestha 4. Test of General Mental Ability by M.C. Joshi 5. The Bihar Test of Intelligence by S.M. Mohsin
Performance 1. Adaptation of Wechsler Adult Performance Intelligence Scale by R. Ramalingaswamy 2. Draw-A-Man Test by Pramila Phatak 3. Performance Test of Intelligence by C.M. Bhatia 4. CIE Non-Verbal Test
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17
Recapitulation Intelligence is measured in terms of IQ, which refers to a childs mental age divided by chronological age, and multiplied by 100. Binet developed the first test of intelligence, which has undergone several modifications and has been used extensively. Wechsler scales (WAIS, WISC, & WPPSI) are the other widely used scales. Since then, many intelligence tests have been developed, some of which can be administered to a group while others can be administered individually. Intelligence tests come in three categories: Verbal, Non-Verbal, and Performance. Test contents that show bias toward a particular culture are called Culturally Biased Tests. Some tests have been developed on the assumption that they can be administered in any culture and, thus, called Culture-Fair Tests. IQ tests, providing a single index of intelligence, have in recent years been
BOX 1.4
loosing their popularity for several reasons and alternative measures such as reaction time, dynamic testing, etc, are gaining popularity. In India, after 1950, a number of tests for assessment of intelligence have been developed. VARIATIONS
IN THE
LEVEL
OF
INTELLIGENCE
You have observed in Table 1.4 that about 2 per cent of the population possess IQ scores above 130 and a similar percentage possess IQ scores below 70. The first group is termed as the intellectually gifted and the later as mentally retarded or challenged. These individuals are different from the average population for the reason that their performance is at variance from what is expected from people of their age and circumstances.
ALTERNATIVES TO IQ TESTING to an individual to make a judgement about it that meets some pre-established criteria of accuracy. The shorter the inspection time, the faster will be, presumably, the persons cognitive (mental) operations. Dynamic Testing : As you have read, the available intelligence tests measure developed abilities of the individuals. You have learnt (in chapter 12, class XI) about Vygotskys notion of Zone of Potential Development (ZPD). ZPD refers to the difference between the actual development and the developmental level which a child can attain after proper guidance. The dynamic testing is based upon the principle of ZPD. It is done in two phases. In the first phase, (also called interaction phase), an adult (usually a teacher or a parent) familiarises the child with the tasks, gives them hints about how they could be solved, motivates them, and also makes some modifications in the tasks (such as changing the order of presentation, frequency of presentation, etc.) depending upon the childs developmental level. In the second phase, the actual testing takes place, in which the child is given the tasks or the test to solve them. Piagetian Tasks: Recall Piagets theory of development (Chapter 12, class XI). There you have read about seriation, conservation, pendulum tasks, etc. These tasks are also used for the assessment of intelligence.
In recent years some alternative ways of assessing intelligence have emerged. Some of these are: Biological Measures of Intelligence: Among the biological measures, Reaction Time (RT) is considered a more valid measure of intelligence. Reaction time refers to the time gap (in seconds) between presentation of a stimulus and the beginning of a response by the individual. For example, when traffic light is red, you stop and wait for the green light. After the light turns green, you take some time to start moving. The time gap between onset of the green light and your movement is a measure of RT. It could be in visual or auditory mode. The speed and consistency with which people perform on reaction time tasks discriminate between groups of individuals expected to differ in their intellective functions. It is based on the assumption that being intelligent involves being able to process information quickly. For example, individuals with mental retardation have slower and less consistent reaction times than normal people. Similarly, gifted individuals have faster and more consistent reaction time than average persons. Inspection time is another measure of intelligence. It reflects the minimum amount of time a particular stimulus must be exposed
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LEARNING CHECKS IV
1. Mental age is obtained on the basis of the individuals performance on a test of intelligence. T/F 2. Maximum number of individuals possess an average IQ, ranging between 90 to 110. T/F 3. Professor Stanford adapted Binets tests. Therefore, these tests are called Stanford-Binet tests. T/F 4. Wechsler scales of intelligence have both verbal and performance subtests. T/F 5. Culture-fair tests can only be administered to the persons of a particular culture. T/F 6. You can also know ones intelligence on the basis of his/her reaction time. T/F
combination of general ability, specific talents, self-concept, and motivation that predisposes the gifted person to learn, to achieve, and to strive for excellence. l It is not limited to school related activities alone but also involves areas, such as sports and leadership. l Mere possession of cognitive abilities is not regarded as giftedness. Rather, it is the nature and organisation of abilities (i.e., processes) that constitute giftedness. The nature, direction, and speed of this process depends partly upon cognitive factors, but is strongly influenced by personality and motivation, and has strong social elements including an ethical dimension, and an important communication aspect. Joseph Renzulli proposes that giftedness depends on the interaction of three factors : high intelligence, high creativity, and high motivation as shown Fig. 1.6.
Giftedness
GIFTEDNESS : NATURE
AND
INDENTIFICATION
The term gifted is an adjective, which refers to a person endowed with one gift or many gifts; exceptionally talented or intelligent. The study of such gifted persons began with the work of Lewis Terman, in 1925, who developed intelligence tests for screening populations to identify individuals of superior cognitive ability. Thus, giftedness was defined as high general intelligence as measured by high score on a test of intelligence. In recent years, however, giftedness is defined as a superior ability in any worthwhile line of human endeavour including moral, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, or aesthetic life of the humanity. Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavours. It is evident from the above definition that: l Gifted individuals exhibit high levels of performance in comparison to their peers living in the same socio-cultural background. l Giftedness is not restricted to performance on a test of intelligence. Rather, it is a
High Intelligence
High Creativity
High Motivation
Fig. 1.6 Aspects of Giftedness
Characteristics of Gifted Children : Gifted children show early signs of being exceptional. During infancy such children show large attention span, good recognition memory, preference for novelty, over-reactivity to sensations, and early onset of language. Table 1.6 contains some of the salient characteristics of such children. Identifying the Gifted The tests of intelligence and achievement have been most frequently employed for the identification of the gifted children. Many
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19
Table 1.6 Characteristics of Gifted Children

l l l l l l l l
A Higher order in thinking process, problem solving and decision-making. Transferring skills to new problems and solving problems insightfully. Independent thinking and non-conformism. High on self-efficacy and internal locus of control. Preference for being solitary and introverted. High incidence of social and emotional problems. Intrinsically motivated to achieve mastery, derive pleasure from work, and having a high self-esteem about their intellectual capacities. Possibility of showing giftedness in one area and poor learning in another.
BOX 1.5
IDENTIFICATION OF TALENT IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT of India caters to the gifted children in rural areas and in the weaker sections of the society. The admission to these vidyalayas are made through an objective type test, which consists of Mental Ability, Language Proficiency and Arithmetic Ability. For promoting cultural talent, the Cultural Talent Search Programme is run by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training. Under this scheme, facilities are provided to outstanding young children in the age group of 10-14 years studying either in recognised schools or belonging to the families of practicing traditional performing or other arts for developing their talent in various cultural fields such as traditional form of music, dance, drama as well as painting, sculpture and crafts, laying emphasis on rare forms, which are in the process of becoming extinct.
The National Talent Search Scheme is run by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in which 1000 scholarships are awarded each year to the students studying in Grade 10. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of examination conducted in two phases: State and National Level examinations. The state level examination is conducted by the State Governments. The students recommended by the States appear in the national level written examination, which consists of Mental Ability and Scholastic Aptitude Tests. The candidates selected at the national level are called for interview. Awards are declared on the basis of the national level written tests and interviews. The scholarship is available for studies up to the doctorate level in the basic and social sciences and up to seconddegree level in engineering and medicine. The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, another prominent scheme of the Government
special programmes for gifted children have rather used rigid cut off points such as IQs of 130, 135, 150, or 160, or achievement at about the 95th percentile. In recent times, however, attention is given to the following types of data as indicator of giftedness: l Performance on group intelligence test l Teacher judgment l School record, including achievement test scores and teacher grades l Performance on individual intelligence test l Appraisal of social and emotional maturity and adjustment
Parent interviews l Pupil ambition and drive In addition, peer and self-nominations also do help in identification of the gifted child in certain cases. Giftedness is a multi-dimensional term. Though, differences in gifted and talented students may be observed at all levels, it is more pronounced at the secondary school level. Some gifted youngsters are just slightly above average, while others are very unusual to the extent of being extremely rare. Some are gifted in just one area, while others show
l
20
it in many areas. Also, gifted children differ in terms of motivation or interest. INTELLECTUAL DEFICIENCY: NATURE AND TYPES There are defined diagnostic schemes, as given by the American Association on Mental Retardation (1992), and American Psychiatric Association (1994), for judging the presence and degree of mental retardation. According to these criteria, mental retardation (or mentally challenged) is currently defined as intelligence test performance two or more standard deviations below the mean, accompanied by limitations in adaptive functioning such as failure to cope with
the common tasks of daily living appropriate to ones age and situation. According to this definition, persons having IQ below 70, coupled with the inability to manage their everyday activities like a normal person, are classified as intellectually deficient or mentally challenged. Table 1.7 contains the characteristics of different types of mentally challenged persons. It may be noted that the IQ ranges, as shown in Table 1.6, are not viewed rigidly. Rather, a persons ability to function in everyday life is important. The decision about the level of mental retardation is based upon the skills to perform in daily life. Two points here are worth noting. First, low performance on a test may also be due to defects in vision, hearing, and health, which
Table 1.7 Characteristics of the Mentally Challenged Level of Mental Retardation
Area of
Functioning
Mild (IQ range = 50-70)
Moderate (IQ range = 35-49)
Severe (IQ range = 20-34) and Profound (IQ = below 20) No skills to partial skills, but some can care for personal needs on limited basis Receptive language is limited to good; expressive, language is limited to poor No academic skills
Self-help Skills
Feeds and dresses self and cares for own toilet needs Receptive and expressive, language is adequate; understands communication Optimal learning environment, third to sixth grade Has friends; can learn to adjust quickly Can hold a job; competitive to semicompetitive; primarily unskilled work Usually marries, has children; needs help during stress
Has difficulties and requires training but can learn adequate self-help skills Receptive and expressive, language is adequate; has speech problems Very few academic skills; first or second grade is maximal Capable of making friends but has difficulty in many social situations Sheltered work environment; usually needs consistent supervision Usually does not marry or have children; dependent
Speech and Communication
Academics
Social Skills
Not capable of having real friends; No social interactions Generally no employment; usually needs constant care No marriage or children; always dependent on others
Vocational Adjustment
Adult Living
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21
BOX 1.6
NEW DIRECTIONS: EMOTIONAL, PRACTICAL, AND SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCES intelligence, as measured by the tests of intelligence. Spiritual Intelligence (SQ): It is the intelligence with which humans address and solve problems of meaning and value, the intelligence with which we can place our actions and our lives in a wider, richer, meaning-given context, the intelligence with which we can assess that one course of action or one life-path is more meaningful than the other. It is considered to be the Ultimate Intelligence. We have a longing to see our lives in some larger meaning-giving context, be it family, the community, the work, religious framework or the universe itself. It takes us beyond the present moment and ourselves. Spiritual intelligence allows human beings to be creative, to change the rules and to alter situations by extending the boundaries. SQ operates out of the brains centre and integrates all our intelligences. SQ makes us the fully intellectual, emotional and spiritual creatures that we are. SQ has no necessary connection with religion. Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall in their book Spiritual Intelligence: The Ultimate Intelligence (2000) have reported the indicators of a highly developed SQ. These include: l The capacity to be flexible (actively and spontaneously adaptive).
l l l l l l l l
Emotional Intelligence (EI): Salovey and Mayer first formally defined the concept of EI in 1990, which emphasises blending cognition with emotions. It gained popularity by the publication of the best selling popular book Emotional Intelligence by Goleman in 1995. EI is generally defined as a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor ones own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide ones thinking and actions. Briefly, it consists of the following four dimensions. l Perception, appraisal, and expression of emotion l Emotional facilitation of cognitive activities l Understanding and analysing emotional information and employing l Regulation of emotion Practical Intelligence: It refers to the kind of thinking people do in solving their dayto-day problems, whether at home, in social settings, or at work. It may be viewed as mind in action or the thinking that is embedded in the larger scale purposive activities of life. It serves to achieve the goals of everyday activities of daily life. In occupational settings, it is the ability to learn and then apply information that is never explicitly taught to workers nor is rarely verbalised, but is essential for success. Also called Tacit Knowledge or Procedural Knowledge, it enables the workers to meet the often unwritten or unspoken demands of their job. There are three characteristic features of tacit knowledge.
l
A high degree of self-awareness. A capacity to use and face suffering. A capacity to face and transcend pain. The quality of being inspired by value and vision. A capacity to inspire others. A reluctance to cause unnecessary harm. A tendency to see the connections between diverse things (being holistic). A marked tendency to ask why? or what if? questions and to seek fundamental answers. Being what psychologists call fieldindependentpossessing a facility for working against convention.
Tacit knowledge is procedural in nature and intimately linked to action. It takes the form of knowing how to do something rather than knowing that subject. It helps in attaining ones goals. It is acquired without direct help from others on ones own. It is the knowledge that is unspoken, under-emphasised, or poorly conveyed relative to its importance for practical success.
l l
Thus, practical intelligence seems to be of more use in concrete situations than academic
22
may erroneously lead to categorising a person as mentally challenged. You need to be certain that vision, hearing, and general health conditions of the person likely to be categorised as mentally challenged are functioning normally. Second, the persons linguistic and cultural backgrounds must also be taken into consideration. You cant expect someone to perform a task appropriately if he/she has not performed similar tasks in past or is not a part of his/her everyday activities. Children should be classified as retarded only if they exhibit both a low IQ and deficiencies in everyday skills, and only if linguistic or cultural barriers, physical handicaps, emotional disturbances, or ill health cannot explain those problems. Causes of Mental Retardation Many organic conditions can cause mental retardation. For example, Down Syndrome is associated with mild to severe retardation. Persons suffering with this syndrome show distinctive physical characteristics, such as slanted eyes, stubby limbs, and thin hair. Down syndrome is caused by the possession of an extra chromosome. Phenylketonuria is a metabolic disorder (due to an inherited enzyme deficiency) that can lead to retardation if it is not caught and treated in infancy. Hydrocephaly or excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull destroys brain tissues and causes retardation. Scientists have been able to unravel more of the genetic bases for various kinds of mental disorders. A variety of unfavourable environmental factors also cause mental retardation. A vast majority of mildly retarded children come from the lower socioeconomic classes, where a host of factors such as greater marital instability, parental neglect, inadequate nutrition and medical care, and lower quality schooling many of these factors contribute to childrens poor intellectual development. Recapitulation There are two major types of extreme variations in intellectual abilitythe giftedness and the mental retardation (or mentally challenged). Giftedness refers to
the high levels of accomplishments in comparison to ones age, experience, and environment and also with respect to the norms. Gifted children show long attention spans, good recognition memory, preference for novelty, over reactivity to sensations, and early onset of language. Multiple methods such as test, teacher judgement, school record, social and emotional maturity, etc, are used to identify these children. On the other hand, mentally retarded children score two or more standard deviations below the mean on a test of intelligence. Also, they show poor performance in comparison to the normal children in areas like self-help, speech and communication, social skills, academics, vocational adjustments, and adult living. Many organic conditions can cause mental retardation. For example, Down Syndrome is associated with mild to severe retardation. Similarly, Phenylketonuria, a metabolic disorder, can lead to retardation.
LEARNING CHECKS V 1. One can be gifted in the moral and aesthetic aspects of life as well. T/F 2. The performance of gifted people is superior to the performance of all other individuals irrespective of their age and background. T/F 3. High incidence of social and emotional problems is observed in the gifted people. T/F 4. The verbal expression of a severely retarded person is similar to that of a normal person. T/F 5. Moderately retarded persons can learn self-help skills by appropriate training. T/F
SPECIAL ABILITIES OR APTITUDES: NAURE AND MEASUREMENT An aptitude is a combination of characteristics that indicates an individuals capacity to acquire some specific knowledge, or skill, after training. It simply states that you need to
Intelligence
23
possess various qualities in different proportions to learn or become something, such as to acquire ability to speak a language, to become a musician, to do some mechanical work, and so on. These qualities can be harnessed by appropriate training. In other words, if a person does not have the special abilities required to become a musician, such as discrimination between pitch, tone, rhythm, and other aspects of musical sensitivity, he/she would not be a musician, even after sufficient training. There are salient differences between intelligence, aptitude, and achievement. Intelligence refers to the ability of a person to do certain thing at a given time. Aptitude refers to the potential ability of the individual to perform a task, which generally consists of a combination of abilities. Achievement involves performance at any given point of time in a particular subject (e.g. mathematics) with which you have been made familiar. Aptitude tests, because they are concerned with the potential of doing something, are used for prediction. Many aptitude tests, such as clerical aptitude, mechanical aptitude, musical aptitude, typing aptitude, etc. have been developed to predict success in specific professions. Each of these tests usually contains a number of sub-tests. Several multiple aptitude test batteries have been developed. In a Multiple Aptitude Test Battery the examinee is tested in several separate, homogenous aptitude areas. Prominent aptitude test batteries are: The Differential Aptitude Test (DAT), the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), etc. Salient characteristics of one of the batteries most often used in educational settings are described here. The DAT was first developed to provide a basis for the educational and vocational guidance of students for grades 8 through 12. Subsequently, it has been found useful for vocational counselling of young adults out of school and in the selection of employees. It consists of eight independent sub-tests: l Verbal Reasoning (VR) l Numerical Ability (NA)
Abstract Reasoning (AR) l Clerical Speed and Accuracy (CSA) l Mechanical Reasoning (MR) l Space Relations (SR) l Spelling (S) l Language Use (LU) J.M. Ojha has developed an Indian adaptation of the DAT. In addition, a number of aptitude tests have been developed in India for measuring scientific, teaching, clerical, engineering, scholastic, medical, literary and other aptitudes. Let us understand the nature of some of the tests, which are used for aptitude testing. Mechanical Reasoning : This test attempts to predict success in fields involving repair of autos, refrigerators, air-conditioners equipments, and the like. A typical test item is shown below in Fig. 1.7. It has two gears. If gear x is moving in the direction of the arrow, will gear y move : (a) clockwise or (b) counter clockwise?
Fig. 1.7 An Item of Mechanical Aptitude Test
Verbal Skills : This test measures a persons interest in and knowledge about words. It is assumed that a person who scores poorly in this area will not do well in occupations requiring a great deal of reading and writing. Clerical Speed and Accuracy : It attempts to measure some of the skills necessary in clerical and office jobs. This is a timed, speed test because such a job require speed with which one works. Generally, the tests measuring different aptitudes are grouped together in the form of a Test battery. The battery of tests is administered to the client for counselling.
24
ACTIVITY 1.7 Test Your Mechanical Engineering Aptitude This is a test of applied science and mechanics. Twenty items are given below, read each item carefully and mark () one answer (a,b or c) that you think is correct. In this manner complete the test without spending too much time. 1. A heavy weight is kept on a wooden plank in such a way that the weight is closer to side A and away from side B. If the plank is lifted by two persons then: a) Person on side A will have the heavier load. b) Person on side B will have the heavier load. c) The load will be equal on both sides. 2. If a heavy weight is to be lifted with the help of a rope, which person will have to pull it harder. a) The person who pulls the rope through a single pulley. b) The person who pulls the rope through a double pulley. c) The effort will be the same in both the cases. 3. If a bicycle has two unequal wheels, which wheel will turn faster. a) The smaller wheel. b) The larger wheel. c) Both will be equal. 4. If one table fan has three blades and the other five, which fan needs a more powerful motor: a) The fan with 3 blades. b) The fan with 5 blades. c) Both will need equally powerful motors. 5. Which liquid is heavier: a) One in which a piece of wood gets totally sub-merged. b) c) One in which it doesnt get submerged. Both are equal.
6. If a car turns towards the right, man sitting inside will move towards: a) b) c) Right. Left. Wont move at all.
7. If a moving train turns towards the right direction, which side of the rails will be higher: a) b) c) The outer rail. The inner rail. Both would be equal.
8. If hot liquid is poured into a glass tumbler which is likely to break: a) b) c) The tumbler with thick walls. The tumbler with thin walls. Both are equally likely to break.
9. In a moving wheel, which point moves faster a) b) c) The point on the inner side of the wheel. The point on the outer side of the wheel. Both will move at an equal pace.
10. Which stool will be steadier: a) b) c) Stool with three legs. Stool with four legs. Stool with five legs.
11. In a moving car the left hand break of the front wheel somehow gets locked, resulting in stopping the wheel. Which side will the car turn : a) Towards the right. b) Towards the left. c) It will just stop.
contd...
Intelligence
25
12. Three different weights fall from a certain height under a vacuum condition. They will reach the earth: a) At the same time. b) Time will be proportional to the weight. c) None of the above. 13. The car engine idling or in low speed operation requires: a) A rich mixture. b) A lean mixture. c) Theoretically correct mixture. 14. In a head-on collision the driver is thrown: a) Forward. b) Backwards. c) Restrained by the safety belt. 15. The apparent weight of a man in a moving lift is less than his real weight when it is moving down with: a) An acceleration. b) Uniform speed. c) Retardation. 16. Fins over engine cylinder in scooter are provided for: a) Strengthening the cylinder. b) Better cooling. c) Good appearance.
17. There are two pendulums, one has short length and the other long. Which pendulum will oscillate faster: a) Pendulum with shorter length. b) Pendulum with longer length. c) Both will oscillate with equal movement.
18. If the water in the building is coming from an overhead roof-top-tank, which floor will get the greatest pressure in the taps: a) Second floor. b) First floor. c) Ground floor. 19. If the flying plane is to be turned in the left direction, in which direction must the rudder be turned: a) Left. b) Right. c) No need to turn the rudder. 20. If we keep a silver spoon in one glass tumbler and a wooden spoon in the other, which tumbler is more likely to break, when boiling water is poured into it: a) The tumbler with the silver spoon. b) The tumbler with the wooden spoon. c) Both are equally likely.
K.D.BROOTA Note: These are sample items. They should not be used for evaluation and diagnosis. KEY Give a Score of 1 if you have marked the following answers and finally, add all the scores.
1. a, 2.b, 3.a, 4. b, 5. b, 6. b, 7. a, 8. a, 9. b, 10.a, 11. b, 12. a, 13.a, 14. a, 15. a, 16. b, 17. a, 18. c, 19. a, 20. b
INTERPRETATION Scores 15-20 10-14 Scores below 10
Level of Aptitude High, Medium Poor
26
ACTIVITY 1.8
Test Your Abstract Reasoning Out of the four figures (a), (b), (c) & (d) given in each problem, three are similar in some way, choose and mark the figure that is different from the other three.
(A) I. ODD MAN OUT (B) II. COMPLETING THE SQUARE QF AF
QF
AF
QF
AF
QF
AF
QF
AF
K.D. Broota Attention : These are sample items. They should not be used for evaluation or diagnosis KEY INTERPRETATION Scores and Abstract Reasoning 8-10 High, 5-7 Medium and Scores below 5: Poor. Assign a score of 1 for correct answers. Add all the scores in I and II
II. I. ODDMAN OUT Right Answers : 1b, 2d, 3b,4d, 5d. COMPLETING THE SQUARE Right Answers : 1a, 2b, 3d, 4c, 5b
Intelligence
27
Key Terms
Adaptation, Aptitude, Aptitude Test, Culture-fair-test, Emotional Intelligence, Group Tests, Individual Test, Integral Intelligence, Intelligence, Intelligence Quotient, Intelligence Tests, Linguistic Intelligence, Logical-mathematical Intelligence, Mental Age, Mental Retardation, Multiple Intelligences, Non-verbal Tests, PASS Theory, Performance Tests, Practical Intelligence, Shaping, Technological Intelligence.
SUMMARY
l
Intelligence is one of the highly popular psychological concepts. Traditionally, intelligence was defined in terms of ability to do abstract reasoning, ability to learn, and ability to adapt in novel situations. The recent views of intelligence recognise active role of an intelligent person in terms of shaping and selecting an environment according to his/her choice. The more recent approach to understand intelligence does not see it as a unitary ability; rather it assumes that there are many type of intelligences. Gardner proposed eight different types of intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic. Sternbergs theory distinguishes three aspects of intelligencea componential aspect, an experiential aspect, and a contextual aspect. The PASS model of J.P. Das conceptualised intelligence in terms of Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive Processing. Studies about the nature of intelligence in different cultures have shown that it is culturally variable. In the West it is more conceptualised in terms of cognitive abilities and the speed with which cognitive functions are performed. In contrast, non-Western cultures view intelligence in terms of social and emotional competence such as obedience, cooperation, fulfilling role-related obligations, and giving weightage to group goals than individual goals. In India, the conceptualisation is more integral as it includes cognitive, social, emotional, and task performance. Intelligence is assessed with the help of a specially designed test which gives an indication about the mental age of a person. The score on an intelligence test may be converted into IQ, which is obtained by dividing mental age (MA) by chronological age (CA), and multiplying by 100. IQ between 90-110 is considered average in intelligence. The first attempt to assess intelligence was made by Alfred Binet in 1905, which has undergone several revisions. Intelligence tests can be administered in groups as well as individually; can be verbal or performance types; and may be culturally biased or culturally fair. A small proportion of the population is found to possess very high level of intelligence. They are called gifted. These persons show higher order thinking, easily transfer skills to new problems and solve problems insightfully, are nonconforming, high on self efficacy, prefer to remain solitary, intrinsically motivated, and also show high incidence of social and emotional problems. The gifted children can also be identified on the basis of teachers judgement, school record, social and emotional maturity, and parental opinion. Mentally retarded children, on the other hand, score two or more standard deviations below the mean on a test of intelligence. Mental retardation can be of four types: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Such mentally challenged people have difficulty in feeding, dressing, and communicating, lack social skills, and are vocationally maladjusted. An aptitude refers to the potential of an individual to performa a task. It is used for prediction purposes. A number of aptitude tests are available for use in different areas. Generally, a battery of tests is administered to identify the potential areas.
28
Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. How can you relate intelligence to adaptation, shaping, and selection? What are the multiple intelligences identified by Gardner? How is Sternbergs theory different from that of Gardner? What is experiential intelligence? What are the components of PASS model of intelligence? What is IQ? How can you differentiate between verbal and performance tests of intelligence? What is giftedness? How can gifted children be identified? What is mental retardation? What are the salient characteristics of a mentally retarded person? What is aptitude? How is it measured? Is concept of intelligence similar across cultures? What are the different types of intelligence test?
ANSWERS
I II : : 1. 1. 6. 1. 1. 6.
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
III : IV :
V :
T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F F, 2. F, 3. T, 4. T, 5. T, T, 7.F, 8.F T, 2. F, 3. F, 4. T, 5. T T, 2. T, 3. F., 4. T, 5. F, T
1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T
2
THIS
SELF
CHAPTER COVERS
AND
PERSONALITY
CONTENTS
Introduction Concepts of Self and Personality What is Self? Self as Subject and Object Self in the Indian Tradition Facets of Self (Box 2.1) Culture and Self : Some Indigenous Ideas about Self-Thought (Box 2.2) Self-Regulation What is Personality? Distinguishing Personality Related Terms (Box 2.3) Approaches to the Study of Personality Types and Traits : Development of Taxonomy Formation of Indian Identity (Box 2.4) Colonialism and Self: The Indian Experience (Box 2.5) Consistency of Traits (Box 2.6) New Advances: Five-Factor Model (Box 2.7) Psychodynamic Approach Behaviourist Approach Humanistic Approach Who is a Healthy Person (Box 2.8) Type A, Type B, and Type C Personalities (Box 2.9) Concept of Gunas Assessment of Personality Observer Reports Projective Techniques Self-Report Measures Personality Assessment in India (Box 2.10) Key Terms Summary Review Questions Answers to Learning Checks
Concepts of self and personality The Indian notion of self Different approaches to the study of personality Assessment of personality BY
BE ABLE TO
describe the concept of self, understand meaning and some of the methods of regulating self, explain the Indian notion of self, describe the concept of personality, differentiate between various psychological approaches to the study of personality, and describe some important tools for personality assessment.
30
INTRODUCTION
If you stop for a moment and reflect on what is that which draws maximum attention from all of us then you will find nothing but the people others and yourself. You must have noticed that a considerable portion of our time during waking hours is spent in talking about our own self and others. These occupy a central place in our lives. The interest in knowing others and self appears to be a part of common human inquisitiveness. All of us are engaged in knowing, evaluating and predicting the behaviours of others, i.e., we try to make sense of a persons behaviour. Also, we look within ourselves and try to analyse our own qualities. Sometimes, we direct ourselves to undertake various activities. These activities almost always involve the notions of self and personality. While focusing on self and personality we step into a very interesting area of psychology that deals with the totality of a persons existence. It helps us to understand the uniqueness and commonality found within and across individuals. You will find in this chapter that the psychologists who specialise in this area try to measure personality, describe individual differences in personality, and assess the extent of these differences. On the basis of the study of personality they also try to predict the behaviour of people. Understanding the notions of self and personality has been the concern of thinkers for a long time. This has led to the development of different theoretical perspectives. This Chapter is intended to help you understand the concepts of self and personality. It will introduce the Indian concept of self and the concept of Gunas. The major theoretical approaches to personality and the various methods of its assessment shall also be briefly described. It is hoped that learning all this will help you understand yourself and others in a better way.
Know the Atman as the Lord and the Master of the chariot, which is the body. The intellect you should know as the charioteer. The mind should be known as (merely) the reins. The one whose mind is not harnessed properly, who is devoid of proper knowledge and wisdom, his sense organs go beyond the control of the intellect (the charioteer) as vicious horses go beyond the control of charioteer. Kathopanishad
Self and Personality
31
CONCEPTS
OF
SELF
AND
PERSONALITY
ACTIVITY 2.1 Understanding The Self Please complete the following sentences beginning with I am. You have to describe yourself. I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ............................................................... I am ...............................................................
The concepts of self and personality refer to the characteristics of our existence as experienced by us and the way they are externally manifested. We may consider self as an organised cognitive structure based on the experience of our being. The term personality is an attempt to grasp and make sense of the totality of the expressed part of our existence. It is a common observation that people differ in the patterns of behaviour, which people express in different situations. These differences are supposed to be quite stable for that person. The characteristic patterns of behaviour constitute personality for a given person. Different persons may have different personalities. The personalities are accessible to others as they are manifested in behaviours shown by a person. Each one of us has a unique personality which can be assessed by others. WHAT
IS
SELF?
Self is one of those central concepts that are frequently used in everyday life. You will agree that we spend a lot of time pondering over our own selves. We are preoccupied with the feelings, perceptions, and real or imagined ideas about ourselves. It is indeed the centre of all human activities. You too must have nurtured some ideas about your own self. In order to know these ideas you may like to complete the Activity 2.1. How did you like the activity? You must have realised that it was not very simple. While completing this activity you were referring to yourself. You were aware of yourself in the same way as you are aware of certain objects (e.g., a book, a pen, a person standing before you) in your waking life. Interestingly enough, we are not born with the notion of our own self as distinct from others self. It has been observed that children start showing some idea of self around two years of age. In the beginning they learn about own self from parents, friends, and teachers, etc. The social interaction with them provides the basis of the experience of
self. The structure of self, therefore, is open to modification in the light of our experience in the world. If you give the Activity 2.1 (commonly known as Who Am I Test) to a large number of people and analyse the responses obtained, you will end up with a long list of qualities, characteristics, interests, activities, beliefs, social identity, etc. Thus self involves the mental representations of personal experiences and includes a physical body, thought processes, and a conscious experience that one has separate existence. Taking these into consideration, it may be said that self refers to the totality of an individuals thoughts and feelings having reference to himself or herself as an object. It must be noted that self-concept is not a mirror like reflection. Instead, it is based on the integration of the information from several sources. Once formed, the self-schema influences a persons behaviour in important ways. Self as Subject and Object While talking about self we often use two expressions, i.e., I and Me. If you analyse carefully the way you responded in Activity 2.1 you will realise that while undertaking the activity you approached your own self as an object. You can say, I was thinking about me or myself . Thus, I is approaching Me.
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Self appears to have been taken in two ways namely as a subject and as an object. The I, who knows is representing the self as knower or subject. This I is an active observer. It actively processes our experiences. The self as an object is said to be represented by Me which is observed and known. In everyday life self is usually understood in terms of the meanings attached to self as an object. This is also called as empirical self. In addition, there are many other aspects of self (see Box 2.1). We always think about self and try to mentally represent what we might become or should become. In other words, we hold ideas about a possible self. Similarly, we hold ideas about some kind of ideal self, which we aspire to achieve. If the real self shows high degree of discrepancy from the ideal self, then the person may experience adjustment problems.
Self in the Indian Traditions
The notion of self develops in a cultural context. The Indian cultural context has elements of continuity and change. It is
BOX 2.1
marked both by tradition and modernity. The Vedic hymns, rituals and characters from epics still reverberate in the consciousness of the people. The contacts between various groups such as Arya, the Dravida, the Shaka, the Huna, the Muslim, and the Western people have contributed to blending of diverse cultural traditions. In the contemporary period the impact of science, technology and western education has also influenced the Indian mind. (see Box 2.4 and 2.5). From the very beginning we come across Atman and Ahamkara like concepts. The Atman represents the independent, nonmaterial realisation of a real self and the Ahamkar refers to the inflated sense of personal worth which is a consequence of ignorance (avidya) of ones true being. The duality of jiva (experiential self) and Brahman (the absolute) is there but it is also emphasised that the individual soul or Atman is a part of the absolute or Brahman. The Indian notion of self encompasses the physical, social, mental, as well as spiritual aspects of human existence (see Box 2.2 to acquaint with indigenous ideas).
FACETS OF SELF the person is considered to have self-efficacy. Another aspect of self-concept is that of selfconsciousness. While behaving we are not always self-conscious. When we are conscious of self, we pay attention to self. We are self-focused. On other occasions we are engaged in focusing on others. There is also a notion of self-monitoring. It refers to our ability to monitor our self. It has been found that some people take cues from the external environment and change their behaviour accordingly. They are known as high selfmonitoring people. In contrast, the low selfmonitoring people are guided by internal cues and awareness. Self-disclosure is another aspect of self-functioning. Some people talk freely about themselves without any problem or inhibition, while others have difficulty in talking about themselves. The former are high on self-disclosure and the latter have low self-disclosure. People also learn techniques for positive self-presentation so that they may relate to others, perform various activities and gain favours from others. Thus, we develop a whole conceptualisation or a theory of self. We construct a set of concepts about the self.
The study of self has attracted the attention of a number of psychologists. In the course of studies many aspects of self have been uncovered. For instance, we not only hold a self-concept but also value ourselves. Our judgment about our own worth is called self-esteem. It has been found that people with high self-esteem are active, successful, and optimistic. They are endowed with self-confidence. Those who have low selfesteem are often found depressed and feel discouraged. The impressions and evaluations of others about us play important role in determining our self-esteem. The sense of identity is the perception of ones self as distinct from other people and other things as related to ones self or alien to ones self. A related aspect of self-concept is that of selfefficacy. It refers to peoples perceptions about their capabilities to produce the desired effects by their own actions. It represents what a person believes he or she can do with the skills under certain circumstances. Thus, if a person believes that he or she can successfully execute the behaviour required by a particular situation, then
33
The notion of selfhood in Indian context can be appreciated in terms of the model of human being. In an interesting analysis R. C. Tripathi has drawn attention to the following features: 1. The self is viewed as a witness and non-participant. It is not the ego. 2. Self is not separate. It participates in a unity with all things. 3. Self operates within the context of greater degree of dependence. 4. The universe is viewed as possessing the same properties of life as human beings including consciousness. 5. The change and development are not linear. The most important distinction between the Indian and the western views on self is the way the boundary is drawn between self and environment. In the western mind, the boundaries appear to be relatively fixed. The Indian self, however, is governed by boundaries, which are constantly shifting. Thus, in the case of Indians, the self sometimes expands to fuse with the cosmos
BOX 2.2
but at the next moment it completely withdraws itself from it. In contrast, the western view considers the dichotomies between self and other, man and nature, subjective and objective, as complete. This is not true for the Indians who do not endorse such clear dichotomies. Fig. 2.2 illustrates the way relationships between self and own group are formed. In the West, the self and own group are taken as two different entities, each with its own fixed boundaries. The self then gets related to the own group by forming links with the group. In the case of the Indians, the self and own group are seen as having variable boundaries. The self does not relate to the own group but is included in it. However, the fact that the self is included within the group does not imply that the Indian mind differs from the western mind in terms of individualistic versus collective orientations. Indians show coexistence of both the tendencies.
CULTURE AND SELF : SOME INDIGENOUS IDEAS ABOUT SELFTHOUGHT with the gross (sthool) and progressing to subtle (sukshma). Also there is essential continuity between the self and non-self. This implies that the line demarcating self and non-self is not a fixed one. The self may be more or less inclusive on different occasions.
Figure 2.1 Panchkosas : The Multilayered Hierarchy of Selves.

contd...
ve gniti sheath Co s shea th
al sheath Ment
Jo
y ou
Food
Life
Self as a Multilayered Hierarchy: The description of self shall remain incomplete unless we refer to the hierarchy of selves. Given in Taittiriyopanishad it states that the Jiva is a multilayered entity. There are five layers of Jiva consisting of five kosas or sheaths. Nested in one another as shown in Figure 2.1. It is like the concentric sheaths of an onion. The gross physical body is said to be the product of food (Annamaya kosa). Within it is the self that consists of the life (Pranmaya kosa). It involves breathing and other metabolic processes that activate the organs and keep them functioning. The third layer is called the mental sheath (Manomaya kosa), which involves the sense organs. It may be noted that it is through sensing that one seeks the objects of desire. This sheath is supposed to be the seat of ego striving and manifests itself in the form of personal involvements. The next layer is that of cognitive sheath (Vigyanamaya kosa). It involves ideas, constructs etc. that are employed in knowing the world. The innermost layer is called joyous sheath (Anandamaya kosa) as it reflects the bliss which is the basic characteristic of the true self. As can be seen the conceptualisation of kosas maintains a hierarchy of factors beginning
Annamaya Pranamaya Manomaya Vigyanmaya Anandamaya Atman
34
The Sufi View : Sufism is the mystical or inward aspect of Islam. The term Sufi is like yogi and refers to some one who has reached the goal. Sufism teaches people to live simple, harmonious lives. It teaches that egoism and the inevitably ensuing strife are folly and that the essence of this universe is spiritual. It views human beings as religio-psychological beings who began life in the unconscious union with nature. In the process of evolutions humans separated from nature, experienced pain, time and space;
or as some say we were cast from paradise. Since then we have been seeking a new union. Sufism is a process of regaining ones naturalness. It is loyalty to life and cosmic laws, and harmonisation with true nature. It is an inner experience that leads to identification with ones object of desire, the so-called beloved, the ideal ego. It emphasises the purity of heart and intention. It is held that when I becomes Thou, the duality turns into unity.
Self-Regulation Meeting the diverse needs and challenges of life often demands that we are able to resist situational pressures and show control over ourselves. The role of human will or volition is very crucial in this regard. We can intentionally control or interrupt our behaviour. We can choose to delay or defer the gratification of our needs. Learning to defer gratification is self-control. We do it in view of attaining the long-term distant goals. In Indian context vrata, upvas , Roza, and austerity have been emphasised. The notions of jitendriya (a person who has control over his receptors and effectors) and aparigrah (keeping limited things that can satisfy the minimum needs) also draw attention to it. The control of internal states is possible with the help of biofeedback, zen, yoga, meditation, autosuggestion etc. Some of the techniques used in promoting self-regulation are given below.
Western Perspective
Some Techniques for Self-Regulation : Self-control can be enhanced using the following psychological techniques. 1. Observation of own behaviour : One can organise understanding of self by systematically noting down the details about own behaviour. These details may furnish the necessary information to change, modify or strengthen certain aspects of self. 2. Stimulus control : This involves attempt to learn to do a set of activities under the presence of certain stimuli and not to perform certain activities in the presence of other stimuli. 3. Self-reinforcement : People often find certain behaviours pleasant or unpleasant. They often reward the pleasant ones and increase their probability. This leads to change in the self-concept. 4. Self-instruction : We often talk to ourselves. This has been systematically used in changing ones ideas about self and behaviour pattern. By giving instructions to
Indian Perspective
Individual
Group Individual
I : Individual G : Group
Group
Figure 2.2 Self and Group Boundaries in Indian and Western Cultural Perspectives
35
oneself one asserts and moves to behave in that direction.

LEARNING CHECKS I
WHAT
IS
PERSONALITY?
1. Self refers to the totality of beliefs and feelings about oneself. T/F 2. Self as the knower refers to Me and self as the known refers to I. T/F 3. Delay of gratification is an example of self-control. T/F 4. Stimulus control is not related to self-regulation. T/F 5. The Indian self includes the ideas of familial self and spiritual self. T/F 6. In western cultures people often hold an interdependent notion of self. T/F 7. The Indian notion of self is contextsensitive. T/F
Recapitulation The study of self and personality tries to understand human beings in totality. In everyday life we devote a lot of time to understand self and other persons. The notion of self is learned in the course of social interaction with significant others. The notion of self changes in the course of ones life. The Self is often viewed as a structure consisting of an organised collection, a schema, of beliefs and feelings about oneself. As a process, the self is a dialogue between the self as an object (Me) and the self as a subject (I). We try to regulate our self through various mechanisms like vrata, upwas, yam, niyam, or using the biofeedback, zen, yoga. The psychological techniques include: systematic observation of behaviour, stimulus control, selfreinforcement, and self-instruction.
BOX 2.3
In everyday life we use the term personality to refer to physical or outward appearance of a person encountered in some situation. Thus, when we see someone and find him or her attractive we say that the person has charming or impressive personality. This kind of common sense view of personality is impressionistic and often found erroneous. Interestingly enough the literal meaning of the term personality is derived from the term persona- the mask used in make-up by actors in the Roman theatre. In that setting the mask led the audience to expect a consistent pattern of behaviour from the person enacting a particular role. In psychology personality refers to a persons unique and relatively stable qualities that characterise behaviour patterns across different situations and over a period of time. People often show consistency in behaviour, thought, and emotion across situations and across time periods. For instance, an honest person remains honest for a longer period of time and in different situations. Understanding uniqueness and commonality within and across individuals is a great challenge for psychologists. It is a common observation that different people respond to the same situation in different ways. Also, underlying the behaviour of each individual, there seems to be some coherence, order and consistency. Personality is used to characterise these aspects of an individual. We need to distinguish personality from other related terms which are often used interchangeably or synonymously (see Box 2.3].
DISTINGUISHING PERSONALITY RELATED TERMS Disposition: Tendency in the person to react to a given situation in a characteristic way. Character: Total pattern of regularly occurring behaviour. Habit: Learned mode of behaving. Values: Goals that are considered worthwhile.
Temperament: Biologically based characteristic way of reacting. Trait: Constant, persistent and specific way of behaving. Type: Distinct category to which people with a pattern of traits are assigned.
36
ACTIVITY 2.2 Introduce Yourself Write a letter about yourself to a total stranger. You do not know that person but there is a possibility that you are going to meet and work with him or her in future. He or she wants to know about you.
APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF PERSONALITY The psychologists studying personality try to answer certain questions about the nature and origins of individual differences in personality. Stated simply, they join you in dealing with common curiosities such as : When some people encounter the same situation, why do they react differently? Why some people like to enjoy dangerous activities, while others like to spend time reading, watching television or playing cards? Are these differences stable throughout ones life? The study of personality is an effort to understand, explain and predict the similarities and differences in the totality of a persons behaviour. The behavioural differences between the individuals and the consistency within each individual is the main concern of personality theories. However, as you will notice these theories subscribe to different models of human being. Each of them throws light on some aspects of personality but not all aspects. Since personality theories are so many we will examine only the major approaches and theories. TYPES AND TRAITS: DEVELOPMENT OF TAXONOMY Using labels and classifying personality characteristics help us to organise the diversity noticed in human behaviour. If you are asked to describe your closest friend, it is almost certain that you will say that he or she is good natured, dependable, loyal, calm, sociable etc. You are using traits to describe your friend. In psychological literature we come across many trait and type theories of personality. These theories categorise human personality by systematised observed
behaviour in terms of a pattern. They refer to certain basic types in which people are classified. The types are categories. They are exclusive and do not overlap. They are discontinuous dimensions Thus, people are grouped according to their personality types. In this approach people are put in categories on the basis of certain similarities. In contrast, the term trait refers to, specific dimension along which individuals differ in consistent and stable ways. Personality Types The personality types are used to communicate certain expected behaviours based on similarities. Such efforts have been made since ancient times. Charak Samhita of Ayurveda or the Indian science of medicine, the original treatise classifies people on the basis of three elements called doshas i.e., vata, pitta and kapha. Vata is produced by an interaction of akasha (ether) and vayu (air), pitta emerges out of an interaction of Vayu and agni (fire), while kapha is produced by the joint action of jala ( water ) and prithvi (earth). They are biophysical components, which are charged with some intrinsic forces. In terms of properties the vata is dry, cold, light, subtle, clear and rough. The pitta is slightly unctuous, hot, acute, fluid, acid, mobile, and poignant. The kapha is heavy, cold, soft, unctuous, sweet, stable and viscid. Each of these refers to a type of temperament referred to as prakriti (nature) of the person. The Greek physician Hippocrates also proposed a typology based on fluid or humour. Thus, the dominance of blood leads to sanguine temperament. Such a person is cheerful and active. Those with the dominance of phlegm are called phlegmatic. Those with black bile are called melancholic. Those with yellow bile are called choleric. They are irritable and excitable. Within psychology the works of Sheldon and Krestschmer are famous. Using body build as the main basis Sheldon proposed the Endomorphic, Mesomorphic, and Ectomorphic categories. The endomorphs are fat, soft and round. They are relaxed and sociable by temperament. The mesomorphs have strong musculature, are rectangular and strong in body build. They are energetic
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and courageous. The ectomorphs are thin, long, and fragile in body build. They are brainy, artistic, and introverts. These typologies were simple but could not help in predicting behaviour of individuals. They are more like stereotypes about people and it is very difficult to categorise people clearly in different categories. As a result they are not used in contemporary personality research. Jung grouped all people into introverts or extroverts. According to this typology, the introverts withdraw into themselves, particularly when encountering emotional conflicts, prefer to be alone, tend to avoid others, and are shy. The extroverts, on the other hand, react to stress by trying to lose themselves among people and social activity. They are drawn to occupations that allow dealing directly with many people and are apt to be conventional, sociable, and outgoing. Typologies are simple and appealing. However, human behaviour is complex and quite variable. It is, therefore, very difficult to assign people to a particular type. People usually defy such simple categorisations.
Trait Theories
as a combination of a smaller number of personality traits. Trait approach is quite similar to what you experience in everyday life. For instance when you know that a particular person is dependable you tend to assume that he/she will be cooperative, friendly, and engage in a predictable pattern of behaviour. This kind of thinking has made identifying primary characteristics of people as the major goal of trait theories. A trait is considered as a relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from another. Traits are attributes that function as generalised action tendencies. They suggest ranges of possible behaviours that are activated within a range according to the demands of situation. The traits are: (a) relatively stable over time, (b) consistent over situations, and (c) variation in the strength and combination of traits leading to individual differences in personality. The use of traits for the description and analysis of personality has been very popular and a number of theories have been proposed. Let us learn about some of the major trait theories of personality.
Allport : Characterising the Attributes
These theories are concerned with the basic components of personality. They try to answer the question: what are the building blocks of personality? It is held that while human beings display a very wide range of variation in personality, yet it is possible to see them
BOX 2.4
Gordon Allport is considered as the champion of trait approach. He proposed that traits exist within the person and constitute the ultimate reality of psychological organisation. They are more generalised than habits. They are dynamic and determine the behaviour causing that person to approach
FORMATION OF INDIAN IDENTITY
The primary themes of Indian identity, condemning aggression and idealising Kakar argues, emerge from the infants non-violence. Bankim Chandra ambivalent relationship with his mother. Chatterjees Anandmath that This relationship is shaped and coloured contributed to the growth of Indian by the Hindu world image. In Hindu nationalism during its early phases cosmology, mother-goddesses are concentres around the ideas of sons sidered as the reservoir of both construcfailing, defying or fighting for the tive and destructive energy. The very triad of mother, cosmic mother and word for energy is Shakti, the name motherland. As for the motherfo r the supreme mother goddess. daughter relationship, Kakar Second, there is a continuous attempt observers that despite having cultural to handle deep ambivalence towards the and social preference for sons over Sudhir Kakar various symbols of motherhood and daughters, there is special maternal femininity in the culture. The moral anxiety and affection reserved for daughters. Perhaps, in fears of retribution generated by the aggressive her daughter, the mother can re-experience elements in his ambivalence are countered by herself as a cared-for girl.
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different situations with similar goals or plans. The traits integrate what would otherwise appear as dissimilar stimuli and responses. Allport thought that the words people use to describe themselves and others provide a window on the human personality. He analysed the words in English language and found that when people are asked to describe a person these words fall into certain general categories (e.g., honest, gregarious, independent). Allport distinguished between cardinal, central and secondary traits. All these traits form a hierarchy. The cardinal traits are highly generalised dispositions. For instance, if a persons whole life seems to be organised around the goal of achievement, it becomes a
BOX 2.5
cardinal trait of his or her personality. Mahatma Gandhis nonviolence, Mother Teressas humanitarianism and Hitlers hatred are examples of cardinal traits. Less pervasive in effect but still quite generalised dispoGordon Allport sitions are central traits. Finally, more specific and narrow traits are called secondary traits. While Allport acknowledged that situations do influence the behaviour, he also posited that the way a person reacts in situations depends
COLONIALISM AND SELF : THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE
attributed the formers superiority to these Analysing self under the colonial period in India, Ashis Nandy remarks that colonialism, differences. Throughout their lives they kept on apart from being many other things, is also a exhorting Hindus to emulate the westerners. Nandy considers it as the defeat of Indian psychological state rooted in earlier forms of social consciousness in both the colonisers and selfhood in the hands of the West and the the colonised. This implies that colonialism is a result of this defeat is the loss of Indian self. Mahatma Gandhi, on the other hand, tried shared culture which may not always begin with the establishment of the alien rule in a to organise people as Indians not as Hindus. society and end with the departure of the alien He also granted Hinduism the right to maintain its character as an unorganised, anarchic, openfrom the colony. It includes codes which both the rulers and the ruled can share. The main ended faith. Interestingly, he unhesitatingly function of these codes is to alter the declared that the Britishers were worse victims of its colonial policy than the original cultural priorities on both sides. As a consequence of this, the Indians. In this sense Gandhi wanted to previously recessive or subordinate liberate the British as much as he wanted to liberate the Indians. He sub-cultures are brought to the centre of the two confronting cultures. In a rejected the ideas spread by colonialism way, colonialism as a state of mind is that masculine power is superior to femininity. He emphasised that naritva an indigenous process released by the external forces. The second feature of (the essence of femininity) is superior to Ashis Nandy colonialism is that it perpetuates itself purusatva (the essence of masculinity). Further, he rejected history and affirmed the by creating a culture in which the ruled are constantly tempted to fight against their rulers primacy of myths over historical chronicles. within the psychological limits set by the latter. Gandhi ji believed that uniqueness of Indian culture lies not so much in having faith in Both the features of colonialism influence the self definition of the colonised. unique ideology but in the societys Colonialism tried to consolidate its position traditional ability to live cultural ambiguities and to use them to build defence against by glorifying certain cultural beliefs. These were superiority of masculinity, adulthood, sense of cultural invasion. Probably, the culture itself historicity, rationality over femininity, childhood, demands that a certain permeability of boundaries be maintained in ones self image mythic consciousness, and nonrationality. In response to this many Indian social reformers and self should not be defined too tightly or such as Madhusudan Dutt, Raja Rammohan separated mechanically from the non-self. Nandy thinks that under the leadership of Roy, Bankim Chandra Chaterjee, Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekanand etc. tried to list Gandhi ji Indians could recover their selves the differences between the West and India and which had been lost under colonial culture.
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on his or her traits. However, people sharing the same trait may express it in different ways. Allport proposed that ones pattern of traits determines ones behaviour. The traits were like intervening variables. In this way they mediated between the stimulus situation and response of the person. If trait varies the response of the person to the situation also varies. The traits operate in unique ways in each person. This view is reflected in Allports famous definition of personality as a dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought. Cattell : Factorial Analysis of Personality Raymond B. Cattell believed that there is a common structure across personalities, which must be determined empirically. In order to identify the basic or primary traits that underlie the huge array of descriptive adjectives found in language, Cattell applied factor analysis (a statistical technique) to subjective peer ratings. Cattell, on the basis of factor analysis, concluded that personality consists of 16 primary or source traits. The source traits are building blocks of personality. There are also a number of surface traits that are caused by the Raymond Cattell interaction of source traits. They are obvious aspects of personality. The source traits are stable. Cattell described the source traits in terms of opposing tendencies. He could identify 16 source traits and developed the Sixteen-Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) for the assessment of personality. Eysenck : The Dimensions of Personality H. J. Eysenck proposed that personality could be reduced to two dimensions. These dimensions are presumed to be biologically and genetically based. These dimensions subsume numerous specific traits (See Fig. 2.3). These dimensions are briefly described below: (1) Neuroticism VS. emotional stability : It refers to the degree to which people have control over their
feelings. At one extreme of this dimension we find people who are highly neurotic. They are anxious, moody, touchy, restless, and quickly loose control. People who are calm, even-tempered, reliable, and remain under control occupy the other extreme. (2) Extraversion VS. introversion : It refers to the extent to which people are socially outgoing or socially withdrawn. At one extreme are those who are active, gregarious, impulsive, and thrill-seeking, and at the other extreme are people who are passive, quiet, cautious, and reserved. In his subsequent work Eysenck has proposed a third dimension, namely, Psychotism, which he believes interacts with the above mentioned two dimensions. A person who scores high on psychotism dimension tend to be hostile, egocentric, and anti-social. Others often treat him or her as peculiar. Eysenck is also considered a type theorist. He has argued that while people do show a large number of traits, their traits are clustered into two main personality types i.e., extravert and introvert. The extroverts are outgoing, active, sociable and impulsive. They are tough-minded people.
Unstable Touchy Restless Aggressive Excitable Changeable Impulsive Optimistic Melancholic Choleric Phlegmatic Sanguine Active Extravert Sociable Outgoing Talkative Responsive Easy-going Lively Carefree Calm Leadership Stable
Moody Anxious Rigid Sober Pessimistic Reserved Unsociable Quiet Introvert Passive Careful Thoughtful Peaceful Controlled Reliable
Even-tempered
Fig. 2.3 Eysencks Structure of Persnality
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The introverts are withdrawn, cautious, reflective and passive. They are tenderminded. The extroverts are found to be more alert and have more attention-seeking tendency. They learn better when aroused. They have higher level of brain chemical dopamine. They are more suggestible. The introvert students prefer to study in quiet places, with few interruptions, and are cautious. They do better in schools. They learn faster under low arousal. They have low threshold for pain. The trait approach is very popular and many interesting questions have been raised. Many advances are taking place, which are beyond the scope of your present studies. Some glimpses of these developments are given in the boxes that follow. The consistency of traits (Box 2.6) have been investigated and a new formulation has been advanced that provides a new way to organise the traits (Box 2.7). Recapitulation The typological approach to personality provides description of personality in terms
of types and traits and relating them to behaviours. Early attempts in India, and in the western world provide examples of typology that were used in the context of medicine. Sheldon used body build as the basis of personality types and tried to link these types with temperament and behaviour. These approaches are simplistic and have lost their appeal. The trait approaches put forward by Allport, Cattell, and Eysenck use traits of various kinds as attributes or dispositions which function as generalised action tendencies. The traits are supposed to be responsible for individual differences and uniqueness observed in the behaviour of the people. They function as building blocks of personality. Following empirical approach Cattell and Eysenck have developed measures for the assessment of personality. The relationship between trait scores and behaviours are found low and cross-situational consistency is not very high. Behaviour appears to be specific to the demands of specific situation.
BOX 2.6
CONSISTENCY OF TRAITS characteristics of the person. Thus, what we do or what role we play depends not on who we are, but the situation in which we find ourselves. However, there are observations that support the influence of traits on behaviour. It is mentioned that even if there is little personal consistency across situations, there is impressive consistency in the behaviour of people over time. Many psychologists think that explaining behaviour on the basis of either traits or situations is inadequate. Rather, it is the interaction of the two that is of importance. The interactional approach to personality assumes that it is the inseparable complex interplay of situation and person factors, which determines the behaviour. The actual behaviour is a function of a continuous multidirectional interaction between the individual and the situation. The individual is an intentional and active agent in the interaction process. Also, the psychological meaning of the situation is more important.
Walter Mischel has drawn attention to the fact that consistency in trait-related behaviours varies across situations. Thus, people are not equally honest, or domineering in all the situations. All of us want to predict behaviour on the basis of traits but one cannot tell what a particular person will do in a particular situation. At best they may indicate only an average tendency to behave in certain ways over several situations. Thus, the traits of a person do not tell the whole story. Situational characteristics also play an important role in determining our behaviour. Thus, people are dependent or independent not because of their internal personality trait but because of external rewards or threats in the situation. The cross-situational consistency with respect to traits is found to be quite low. The power of situations can be seen by looking at the behaviour of people in market, courtroom and a place of worship. The view known as situationism asserts that human behaviour is largely determined by the characteristics of situation itself rather than the
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BOX 2.7
NEW ADVANCES : FIVE-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY fearful, distressed, irritable, hypertensive. Its opposite is well adjusted. 5. Conscientiousness: Those who display high degree of this factor are achievement-oriented, dependable, responsible, prudent, hardworking, self-controlled. Its opposite is impulsive. This model has been considered as an important theoretical development. It is also found useful in understanding the personality profile of people in many cultures. Also, it is consistent with the analysis of personality traits found in different languages and supported by the studies of personality through different methods. It is now considered to be the most promising empirical approach to the study of personality. The NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) was developed by Costa and McCrae. It provides scores on the five factors of personality. It has been developed on the basis of extensive research that uses lexical data describing personality in various languages in different parts of the world.
In recent years the controversy regarding the number of basic personality traits has taken an interesting turn. The new picture that emerges consists of five-factors. Paul Costa and Robert MacCrae have done extensive research on all the possible personality traits. They found that all the findings indicate a set of five-factors. They are often called Big Five. These factors are described below. 1. Openness to experience: Those who score high on this factor are imaginative, curious, open to new ideas and interested in cultural pursuits. In contrast, the low scoring people are rigid. 2. Extroversion: It characterises people who are socially active, assertive, outgoing, talkative, and fun loving. It is opposite of shy. 3. Agreeableness: This factor represents the traits of people who are helpful, cooperative, friendly, caring, and nurturing. It is the opposite of hostile and being self-centered. 4. Neuroticism: People scoring high on this factor are emotionally unstable, anxious, worried,
LEARNING CHECKS II
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH This is one of the most popular approaches to personality. It focuses on change, development and conflicts in peoples lives. As you have learned earlier, this view owes largely to the contributions of Sigmund Freud. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular theories that have influenced equally the minds of common men as well as scholars from other disciplines. Freud was a physician and he developed the theory in the course of his clinical practice. Freud is famous for his innovative use of free association (a method in which a person is asked to openly share all the thoughts, feeling and ideas that come to his/her mind), dream analysis and analysis of errors to decipher the internal functioning of mind. The theory visualises human mind in terms of different levels of consciousness. Thus, we are aware of the current thoughts, which are in the consciousness. Beyond the conscious is the preconscious, which is immediately not accessible but can be accessed. Beyond the preconscious lies the unconscious, of which we are not aware. It contains the repressed desires and impulses.
1. Endomorphic people are relaxed and sociable. T/F 2. Allport proposed that traits are generalised behavioural tendencies.T/F 3. Cardinal traits are those dispositions around which life is organised. T/F 4. Introverts are more suggestible. T/F
5. Extroverts learn better when more aroused. T/F 6. The definition of personality is related to the theory of personality. T/F 7. Surface traits are caused by the interaction of behaviours. T/F 8. Personality refers to enduring dispositions that ensure consistency in behaviour. T/F 9. Personality traits are discrete and personality types are continuous. T/F 10. Trait theorists are interested in knowing how people differ and to what extent they differ. T/F
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Freud believed that the unconscious was a reservoir of instinctive drives. Also, it stores all the ideas and wishes that are concealed from conscious awareness, perhaps, because they cause psychological conflicts. We are constantly engaged in the struggle to either find some socially acceptable way to express unconscious impulses or in effort to keep those impulses from being expressed. Thus, forgetfulness, mispronunciations, making jokes, dreams, etc., provide a way to approach the unconscious. The goal of psychoanalytic therapy is to bring repressed unconscious material to consciousness and to thereby aid us in living our lives in a more self aware and integrated manner. (Refer to Chapter VII on Therapeutic Approaches). Personality Structure: The personality consists of three structures i.e. Id, Ego, and Superego. They however, should not be treated like three distinct entities. They are used as strong psychological forces and not physical locations in the brain. Freud was able to infer these forces from the ways people behave (see Fig. 2.4). Let us understand these terms in some detail. Id: Desire : It is that part of personality that deals with immediate gratification of primitive needs, sexual desires, and aggressive impulses. It is totally unconscious. It follows the pleasure principle. Thus, the Id seeks one thing only and that is the discharge of tension arising out of biological drives. Need gratification in any manner is its main concern. Reflexes and primary processes are its mechanisms of functioning. Ego: Reason : It develops out of Id. It works on reality principle. It tries to maximise pleasure and minimise the pain. It follows the secondary processes. Super Ego: Conscience : It deals with the ideals. It represents the societal demands and ideals. It also creates the feelings of guilt and punishes the person if he or she falls short of the societal norms and ideals. Stages of Personality Development : Freud gave emphasis on the childhood traumas as key to neurotic disorder during adulthood. He believed that people normally progress through five stages of psychosexual development. During the first five years of life pleasure is successively focused on three
zones of the body as the oral, anal and phallic stages unfold. Then comes a quiet period of latency. This occurs about five or six years of age. Finally there is a genital stage that occurs after puberty. Problems encountered at any stage may retard or arrestdevelopment and have long term effect on the life of a person. A brief description of these stages is given below. Oral stage : It is observed during the first year of life. The newborn baby is completely dependent on others for the satisfaction of all needs. During this stage body pleasure is centered on the mouth. The baby gets satisfaction from sucking, eating, and biting in the course of feeding.
Conscious External Reality
External Reality
Superego
Ego Preconscious
Unconscious
Id
Fig. 2.4 Structure of Personality in Freudian Theory
Anal stage : It is found in the second year of life. It is characterised by a shift in body pleasure to the anus. It is reflected by a concern with the retention and expulsion of faeces. This is why Freud felt that it is during toilet training a child has the first experience with externally imposed control. The pattern of toilet training, therefore, may influence later personal qualities and conflicts experienced by the person. Thus, if a person is subjected to very harsh, repressive kind of training during this period, it may make the person in his adult life preoccupied with cleanliness. Phallic stage : In this stage the child observes the difference between male and female and experiences what Freud called the Oedipus
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Complex. This occurs at about five years of age. Freud proposed that children develop a desire for the opposite sex parent and a wish to displace the same sex parent. This kind of attraction leads to serious conflict, which he termed as Oedipus and Electra Complexes in boys and girls, respectively. These complexes were named after two Greek characters. King Oedipus unknowingly killed his father and then married his mother and Electra induced her brother to kill their mother. The fear of punishment brings about resolution of the complexes and identification with the same sex parent. In other words, boys give up sexual feelings for their mothers and begin to see their fathers as models rather than as rivals; girls give up their sexual desires for their father and identify with their mother. Latency stage : This stage follows the phallic stage, there is very little explicit or overt concern with sexuality. The child represses his or her memories of infantile sexuality and forbidden sexual activity. Since the time of Freud, many feminist psychoanalysts have argued that Freuds ideas on the development of girls reflect a male-oriented perspective. Instead, some of them have framed theories that chart the emotional growth of young girls across a model of continuity as opposed to rivalry with the mother. Genital stage : During this stage the person attains maturity in psychosexual development. The person becomes capable of genuine love for other people and can achieve adult sexual satisfaction. He or she may relate to others in a heterosexual fashion. However, if journey towards this stage is marked by excessive stress or overindulgence, it may cause fixation to an earlier stage of development. Table 2.1 summarises the main features of the five stages of psychosexual development. Fixation and Regression : These concepts are important in understanding psychosexual development. Fixation refers to a situation when a sexual impulse is arrested at an early stage. Regression occurs when someone goes back or reverts to an earlier stage. It has been found that fixation occurs when conflict at any stage of psychosexual development is very high. Also, deprivation or overindulgence at
a given stage or inconsistent alterations between indulgence and deprivation may lead to fixation. When a persons resolution of problems at any stage of psychosexual development is less than adequate, subsequent stress may lead to regression to that earlier stage. When such regression takes place people display a behaviour which it typical of that less mature stage of development. When Ids impulses are very strong unpleasant feelings of nervousness, tension and worry take place. Ego may use defence mechanisms to manage them. There are three types of anxiety: Neurotic anxiety which is due to the Id ego conflict, moral anxiety which is due to the conflict of id and super ego, and objective anxiety, which is due to real external threat. Defence Mechanisms : Freud thought that there is some kind of psychic energy, which is transformed in different ways. This energy called libido is attached (cathected) to aspects of external and internal environment. Using a hydraulic model it was thought that Id is a kind of dynamo, and the total mind (or psyche) was a closed system directed towards maintaining equilibrium. Any forces that were building up required discharge. The discharge may be indirect also. Thus, the instinctive impulses could be displaced from one another. The defences transform the wishes of Id into an acceptable form. When defences fail neurotic anxiety takes place. The psychodynamic theories emphasise that if an external danger leads to anxiety then people try to cope with it realistically and when realistic methods fail or are not available unrealistic defence mechanisms may be tried unconsciously. These defences serve as disguises through which people hide their motives and conflicts from themselves as well as from others. People take recourse to a variety of defences. They use denial when the person can neither escape nor attack the threat. If the panic is very high, the only possible alternative may be to deny it. A young child often does that but a mature person cannot deny objective facts. For him denial becomes less plausible. This is often replaced by repression. Repression is forgetting or rejection from consciousness, of memories of threat. In other words it involves inhibition
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Table 2.1 Stages of Sexual Development according to Freud

Stage Oral Anal Phallic Latency Genital Approximate Age in Years) 0 to 1 1 to 3 3to 6 6to 12 12 to adult Erogenous Zone Mouth Anus Genitals None Genitals Developmental Task Weaning Toilet Training Overcoming Oedipal or Electra Complex Expanding interests Establishing intimate relationships
of a threatening impulse or event by rendering it unconscious. This defence mechanism has been central to the theory propounded by Freud. Another important defence mechanism is Projection. The persons own unacceptable impulses are inhibited and the source of the anxiety is attributed to another person. Projection is helpful because it reduces anxiety. In reaction formation, the anxiety provoking impulse is replaced in consciousness by its opposite. In Rationalisation people make excuses. People often create false reasons to manage an interpersonal interaction in trouble. This reduces disappointment and saves the person. Sublimation is used to displace or redirect the impulses from an object that is sexual, to one that is social in character. Dream : Dreams are considered as the royal road to unconscious. They have manifest contentthe dream that we remember and latent content the hidden meaning that can be deciphered from the manifest content. Dreams serve three purposes. They work as wish fulfilment device, release of unconscious tension, and work as guardians of sleep. According to Freud symbols in dreams represent different things, wishes, desires, etc. For instance viewing a house has reference to ones body, clothes means nakedness, bath means birth, and beginning a journey means death. The traditional psychoanalytic approach is criticised on many grounds. It is said that its concepts are vaguely defined; logical distinctions are not made, the case studies are biased, the theory is not testable, the
techniques have low reliability and validity, and the efficacy of psychoanalytic therapy is questionable.
LEARNING CHECKS III
1. The sexual attachment of a boy to his mother and his desire to replace his father is termed as 2. The sexual attachment of a girl to his father and her desire to replace her mother is . 3. The blocking of unacceptable impulses to keep them from awareness is . 4. The part of personality that incorporates parental and societal standards for morality is . 5. The conscious ego operates according to principle. 6. The thoughts, motives, impulses, desire that lie beyond a persons normal awareness constitute the part of personality.
7. The dream represents a wish fulfillment and is a censored version of the dream that lies underneath. 8. In the person interprets some of his own feelings or actions in more acceptable terms. 9. When repressed urges tend to find new and often disguised outlets, it is called . 10. Various forbidden acts become associated with as the child is scolded or disciplined for performing them.
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POST FREUDIAN DEVELOPMENT Subsequent theorists called Neo-Freudians have given attention to social determinants, and conscious reality. In fact, psychoanalytic thought has grown in many directions. Diverse emphasis have appeared and it is not possible to present all the perspectives. So, a general perspective is presented. These theories present a definite shift in focus. They are characterised by less prominent roles to sexual and aggressive tendencies of Id, and expansion of the concept of ego. The trend is towards an ego-psychology. The human qualities of creativity, competence and problem-solving abilities are emphasised. With a view to develop familiarity with post-Freudian developments in psychodynamic perspective some of the major theories are briefly described here: Carl Jung : Understanding the Collective Unconscious Jung was an early admirer of Freud but later developed his own theory known as analytical psychology. He claimed that there is collective unconscious also. Its contents are archetypes or primordial images. They are not individually acquired. They are due to heredity. Some examples of archetypes include God, the Earth Mother, and the young potent hero. They are found in myths, dreams and art of all mankind. Jung proposed that the human psyche includes conscious as well as a covert or shadow aspect, that is unconscious. An individuals personal growth involves an unfolding of this shadow and its gradual integration with the rest of the personality into a meaningful coherent life pattern. The unconscious of every female includes a masculine, assertive element (the animus). The unconscious of every male includes a feminine, passive element (the anima). To be constructively masculine or feminine, individuals of each sex must recognise and integrate these opposite sex elements within themselves. Jung describes four ways of contact or experience of the world. They include sensing, intuition, feeling, and thinking.
Jung is also famous for his distinction of extraversionintroversion. Jung held that self strives for unity and oneness. It is an archetype that is expressed in many ways. One of the Carl Jung expressions of the striving for wholeness includes the mandala. He devoted much of the time to the study of such expressions in various traditions. According to him achieving unity and wholeness a person must become increasingly aware of the wisdom available in ones personal and collective unconscious and must learn to live in harmony with it. He also visited India in 1930s. Erich Fromm: The Human Concerns Fromm viewed human beings as basically social beings. They can be understood in terms of their relationship with others. Fromm argued that psychological qualities of the people such as growth, and realising potentials are Erich Fromm outcomes of a desire for freedom and a striving for justice and truth. In contrast to Freuds biological orientation, Fromm had a social orientation. For him character traits develop from experiences with other individuals. Thus, culture is moulded by the mode of existence of a given society. In turn, the dominant character traits of the people in a society become forces shaping the social process and the culture itself. The ideals of truth, justice, freedom, etc. can be genuine strivings and not merely rationalisations. His work recognises the value of positive qualities such as tenderness and love. Alfred Adler : Life style and Social Interest In his theory known as individual psychology Adler believed that behaviour is purposeful and goal directed. He thought that everyone of us has the capacity to choose and
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create. Our goals are the sources of motivation. The goals that provide security and help to overcome inferiority are very important. He thought that everyone suffers from an inferiority complex or feelings of inadequacy that arise from childhood. Karen Horney : Social Foundations of Personality She argued that the differences between females and males were largely the results of social factors, not because of any innate inferiority among the females. According to her each sex has attributes admired by the other and neither should be viewed as superior or inferior. The psychological disorders were not caused by the fixation of psychic energy but from disturbed interpersonal relationship during childhood. When parents behaviour toward a child is indifferent, disparaging, and erratic, the child feels insecurea feeling termed by Horney as basic anxiety. Deep resentment toward parents or basic hostility occurs due to basic anxiety. The parents generate feelings of isolation and helplessness in their children that interfere with healthy development by being too dominant, by showing indifference), or by providing too much approval and admiration or too little. These styles are described as moving toward people (affection and acceptance from others), moving against people (others are hostile), and moving away from people (striving for independence). These patterns lead to unhappiness. Only by overcoming them through appropriate therapy the person can recover. The theoretical developments in psychoanalysis are still taking place. Erik Erikson: In Search of Identity Erikson developed a theory of personality development with a focus on social adaptation. His theory was discussed in your textbook for Class XI. Here it may be mentioned that he considered each stage involving a crisis. He calls attention to the problems of social adaptation. With advancing age we face a wider range of human relationships. The solution of problems faced during the eight psycho-social stages
determines adult development. His emphasis on social and cultural forces is crucial as it distinguishes him from Freud. He also viewed development as a life-long process. In this process ego identity is central. His concept of identity crisis of adolescent has drawn considerable attention. Erikson believed that human personality in principle develops according to steps pre-determined in the growing persons readiness to be driven toward, to be aware of, and to interact with, a widening social radius. On the other hand, the society in principle, tends to be so constituted as to meet and invite this succession of potentialities for interaction and attempts to safeguard and to encourage the proper rate and the proper sequence of their enfolding. Thus young people must generate for themselves some central perspective and direction that gives them a meaningful sense of unity and purpose. Erikson is also famous for his psycho-history of Gandhi ji, which was published as Gandhis Truth. Psychodynamic theories face strong criticism from many quarters. The theories are largely based on case studies and no rigorous scientific basis is available. The accounts prepared by the therapists are subject to various kinds of distortions. The use of small and atypical individuals as samples for generalisation is another limitation of this approach. The concepts are not defined properly and it is difficult to submit them to scientific testing. Freud is also accused of gender discrimination. He has used males as the prototype of all human personality development. He overlooked female experiences and perspectives and implied that females should strive to be like males. Freud, however, has profound impact on literature and social success. The originality and comprehensiveness of his theory is remarkable. Subsequent theoretical developments have expanded the scope of psychodynamic theory by incorporating aspects of ego functioning and reality. Recapitulation The psychodynamic perspective is rooted in Freuds psychoanalysis. He distinguished three systems of personality i.e., Id, ego, and
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superego. Id strives towards biological satisfaction following pleasure principle. The ego makes effort to reconcileId with the actualities of world. It follows the reality principle. The superego is the representation of the internalised rules of the society and punishes the deviations by feelings of guilt. People experience internal conflicts due to anxiety that becomes associated with forbidden thoughts and wishes. The person represses these and sends them to the unconscious. However, repressed materials generally surface again. To cope with them people take recourse to various defence mechanisms such as displacement, reaction formation, rationalisation, and projection etc. Freud believed that unconscious conflicts are located in the psychosexual development. He proposed that children pass through the stages of oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. These stages have different erogenous zones through which gratification is obtained. During the phallic stage the male child develops Oedipus complex. Freud considered dreams as wish fulfilment. The Neo-Freudians disputed many of the views of Freud. They shifted the focus towards interpersonal, social, and cultural forces and the contemporary circumstances of the person. Theorists like Carl Jung, Fromm, Adler, Horney and Erikson, paid less attention to Id and more to the ego. The ego is the seat of creativity, planning, and the formation of self-fulfilling goals. This approach is criticised for its limited database and the ambiguity of concepts.
LEARNING CHECKS IV
5. A defence mechanism is a mental strategy that blocks the harmful Id impulse while reducing anxiety. T/F 6. Ego operates according to pleasure principle. T/F 7. Reaction formation is the attribution of ones own objectionable impulses to others. T/F 8. The Id is like a child who is demanding, impulsive, and selfish. T/F 9. According to Jung unconscious holds only the individuals repressed urges or desires and not the collective memories of the entire human race. T/F 10. Psychodynamic theories are based on scientific evidences. T/F
BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH The behaviourists did not give importance to the internal causes of behaviour. For them the only thing that matters is the external conditions that determine the pattern of reinforcement. The behaviour is considered to be a product of complex stimulusresponse combinations. They advocate that the complex learning, which is stored in human brain in the form of S-R connections, should be the chief concern. Learning is based on certain observable manipulations of stimuli and responses. The classical conditioning of Pavlov emphasised learning as a product of the pairing of responses with stimuli. As you know a neutral stimulus and a potent stimulus (UCS), if paired together change the situation in such a manner that the previously neutral event (now CS) alone evokes the same response that was produced by the potent stimulus. This approach has been extended to explain and treat many abnormal behaviours including irrational fears. Skinner emphasised on the operant conditioning, which focuses on responses and reinforcements. Operant conditioning is a process of learning in which behaviour that leads to satisfying consequences or rewards is likely to be repeated. Skinner refused to accept internal motivational forces or traits. Analysis of stimulus conditions controlling
1. According to psychodynamic view the events that we no longer consciously remember may still influence our behaviour. T/F 2. Unconscious is the main motivating force behind human behaviour. T/F 3. Id, ego, and superego can be located in human brain. T/F 4. The superego is roughly equivalent to conscience. T/F
contd...
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behaviour is crucial for explaining behavioural phenomena. People also learn by observing others. Much of our social learning is based on observation without any direct reward or reinforcement administered to the learner. This kind of learning is also called modeling or observational learning. You may recall the pioneering studies by Bandura, which show that observational learning can account for the learning of many novel responses. The incentives and reinforcers are important in determining what a person does in a particular situation. Social learning approach of Bandura does not propose traits or dispositions. It uses the conditions of learning and the cues in the situation for determining the pattern of behaviour. The causes of behaviour are located in the current conditions that control present behaviour. The emphasis is on what people are doing in the current situation rather than motives, drives or conflicts in ones personal history. Recapitulation The behaviourist view is opposed to any internal or subjective entity as a determinant of behaviour. Using the process of learning and environmental factors such as reward, punishment and environmental cues, this view provides an analysis of behaviour. In this way the approach does not find a need to have a strong concept of personality. It is simplistic and neglects the subjective and psychodynamic processes that are important in human life. HUMANISTIC APPROACH This approach puts forward a positive and optimistic view of human nature. It is held that human beings are largely responsible for what happens to them. The theories following this approach recognise the role of personal responsibility and growth and emphasise on the present rather than the past. Out of many such theories we
shall discuss the theories of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Rogers Self Theory The most important idea proposed by Rogers is that of fully functioning person. People want to become such persons and move in this direction. Such persons are sensitive to the needs and rights of Carl Rogers others, but do not allow societys standards to shape their feelings or actions to an excessive degree. Their actions become increasingly constructive. They always remain in touch with their own values and feelings and experience life more deeply. It is clear, however, that everybody does not get success. When life experiences are inconsistent with our ideas about us we experience anxiety. A gap between selfconcept and reality is the main cause of maladjustment. Rogers believed that ones mental health is related to the degree of congruence or match between our selfconcept and life experiences. If our selfconcept is consistent with actual life experiences, we ourselves will be congruent and we will be well adjusted. The opposite is true when there is little or no overlap between the two (See Fig. 2.5). Thus, we learn that significant others will approve of us only when we behave in certain ways and express certain feelings. This situation needs creation of an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard. Thus a person is accepted irrespective of what they say or do. Such a condition is created in client-centered therapy.
Incongruence
Congruence
Self-concept
Experience
Self-concept
Experience
Well-adjusted individual
Poorly adjusted individual
Fig. 2.5 Pattern of Adjustment and Self-Concept
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Maslows Theory of Self-Actualisation
You have already read about the need hierarchy of Maslow in the chapter on motivation in your textbook of XI grade. Maslow has given a detailed account of psychologically healthy people who have attained self-actualisation a state in which people have reached their own fullest potential. Maslow had an optimistic and positive view of man who has the potentials for love, joy, and creative work. Human beings are considered free to shape their lives and to self-actualise. Thus, personality is a persons perceptual orientation and the level of needs on which he or she focuses attention and energy. On the hierarchy of needs a preoccupation with meeting lower order needs may lead to a deficiency orientation. Such persons are bothered about meeting the needs for the material things they do not have. They are likely to behave in disordered ways. Maslow used the term Meta needs for higher order needs (e.g. justice, goodness, beauty, order, unity). The frustration of meta needs results in alienation, apathy, and cynicism. Maslow studied a number of self actualised people and found that they were more open to experiences, were in tune with their inner world, were spontaneous, autonomous, independent, devoted to goals, had fresh appreciation of people and events, resisted conformity, dedicated to some cause outside themselves. They see the world more accurately because objects are seen in relation to themselves, not as a means of fulfilling a deficiency. The satisfaction of needs is also influenced by cultural factors. In the
BOX 2.8
western societies people are trained to focus on material satisfaction of needs. The lower order needs are considered more important than higher order needs. While fully self-actualised persons are rare, people do experience moments of selfactualisation (peak experiences) when a feeling of richness and bliss is found. The humanistic approach emphasises the significance of positive aspects of life (see Box 2.8). Recapitulation The Humanistic approach is rooted in two assumptions i.e., the focus on subjective experience and the importance of individual choice. Among the humanistic theorists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are the most significant.
LEARNING CHECKS V
1. Positive behaviour shown to a person with no contingencies attached is . 2. is the inborn drive to develop ones talents and capacities.
3. From the humanistic perspective people are . 4. Self actualisation is like a than a . 5. According to Rogers parents must create a setting in which children are . 6. Healthy humans want to feel free to and their own lives. 7. Peak experiences are and moments in a persons life.
WHO IS A HEALTHY PERSON? own responsibility; have the courage to be. 2. They experience the here-and-now; are not trapped 3. They do not live in the past or dwell in the future through anxious expectations and distorted defences. 4. They realise their potentialities; have autonomy and are not trapped by their own self-concepts or the expectations of others and the society. How do you think about yourself?
The humanistic theorists have indicated that healthy personality lies in not merely adjustment to society. It involves a quest to know oneself deeply and to be true to ones own feelings without disguise, to be oneself in the here and now. According to them the healthy people share the following characteristics. 1. They become aware of themselves, their feelings, and their limits; accept themselves, and what they make of their lives as their
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BOX 2.9
TYPE A, TYPE B AND TYPE C PERSONALITIES Studies have suggested a type of personality which is prone to cancer. Morris has termed it as Type C ( Cancer prone) personality. Such an individual is cooperative, unassertive and patient. This type of person suppresses his or her negative emotion (e.g. anger, hostility). The person complies with those in authority. The blocking of emotions releases certain neuropeptides in the brain. This disrupts the homeostatic mechanism and weaken the bodys capacity to defend itself from cancer cells. Some researchers have tried to correlate this personality type with the severity of the disease. People with Type C personality are more likely to suffer cancer, particularly lung cancer. It may be noted that personality characteristics can influence the person directly by altering the immune system or indirectly by affecting the healthy-related behaviours. The results of researchers are not conclusive. Friedman has now identified a selfhealing personality. It can be described in terms of enthusiasm. The self healing emotionallybalanced people are alert, responsive, and energetic, although they may be calm and conscientious. They are spontaneous, and creative, are good problem solvers, have close relationships with other people, and have a playful sense of humour. They develop a sense of humour that is philosophical than hostile.
In an interesting research two cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman noticed that many of their patients possessed similar personality traits. They were found to be highpowered, ambitious, competitive workaholics who seemed unable to slow down and relax. This kind of personality was termed Type A personality. It refers to an action-emotion complex. It is found in people who are aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time. Based on a survey these researchers identified people who were type A and those who were type B. Type B personality is defined as absence of Type A traits. These persons were followed up for eight and a half years. It was found that Type A people were twice as likely to as Type B to develop some form of coronary heart disease (CHD). It has been found that the risks of Type A personality were equal to or greater than the risks of high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or smoking. More recent research has shown that the critical factor that predisposes Type A personality to health risks is hostility or a tendency to become angry, irritable, and resentful in response to everyday frustrations, and/or a tendency to be antagonistic, rude, surly, and uncooperative in everyday interactions.
Rogers developed a theoretical model which emphasised on the relationship between what we feel we are (the real self) and what we feel we should be (the ideal self). When these two are similar the situation is congruent and a person is fully functioning. Being congruent, which happens to be the goal of development, depends on the availability of people who provide the conditions for growth i.e., empathy, openness and unconditional positive regard. Rogers was very optimistic about human nature. His ideas have been influential in counselling and therapy. He is the founder of client-centered therapy. Abraham Maslow approached human behaviour in terms of needs that motivate people. The needs encompass a wide
spectrumfrom basic needs to selfactualisation. Self-actualisation is the need to grow. Maslow believed that self-actualisation is experienced in peak experiences that are deep, intense, and momentary. The humanistic approach is unique in its scope to attend to the role of meaning and spirituality in human life. In scientific terms the humanistic theories need further development and analysis. However, they tell us what personality should be rather than what it is. CONCEPT
OF
GUNAS
In prevalent Indian thought the notion of personality as an entity or totality of dispositions is not
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popular. The person is considered as made of dynamic and context sensitive qualities. According to one of the major perspectives of Indian thought namely Samkhya Yoga all material elements are infused with the modes of nature or three Gunas namely Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Bhagvadgita states that Sattva guna includes the following attributes: cleanliness, truthfulness, gravity, dutifulness, detachment, discipline, mental equilibrium, respect for superiors, sharp intelligence, sense control, and staunch determination. The Attributes of Rajas include intensive activity, desire for sense gratification, and little interest in spiritual elevation, dissatisfaction with ones position, envy for others, and a materialistic mentality. Tamas guna characterises mental imbalance, anger, arrogance, depression, laziness, procrastination, and a feeling of helplessness. It may be noted that all the three gunas are present in each and every person in different degrees. The dominance of one or the other guna may lead to a particular type of behaviour. Perhaps the balance of the gunas is the right state of being.
ACTIVITY 2.3 Are you a Type A person? Answer the following questions yes or no.
l l l l
ASSESSMENT
OF
PERSONALITY
Do you give yourself harder than most of the people you know? Do you tend to complete sentences for people who speak too slowly? Do you eat, speak, and walk rapidly? Do you overemphasise some of your words and add dramatic gestures while speaking? Do you become very annoyed when you have to wait in line? Do you constantly schedule more activities than time allows? Do you feel a sense of guilt if you try to relax? Do you try to move the topic of conversation to your own interests? Do you believe that your success is due to the fast pace that you maintain?
Getting to know and understand people and describe them is a task in which everybody is involved. You will agree that in order to meaningfully interact with people we need to understand them and to predict what they will do. In our personal life we use expectations based on past experience, observation, conversation, information from other persons etc. They, however, are influenced by hearsay, stereotypes, mood, needs, personal biases, etc. The formal efforts to analyse and measure personalities are termed as personality assessment. Assessment refers to the procedures to evaluate or differentiate people on the basis of certain characteristics. The goal of assessment is to predict behaviour with minimum error and maximum accuracy. It tries to study the typical responses or what the person most often does in a situation. It is used for a variety of purposes. It is used in the study of diversity in the people, finding relationships among variables, studying developmental changes, diagnosis, placement, counselling etc. There are various ways in which personality has been assessed by psychologists. These are: Observer Report, Projective Techniques, and Self Report Measures. It must be noted that these assessment approaches throw light on different aspects of personality as they have access to different aspects of personality. Also, they are rooted in different theoretical orientations. Let us try to learn about these assessment approaches. OBSERVER REPORTS Observation of behaviour is helpful in appraising personality of a person in a variety of settings. Interview, observation, rating, and nomination are some frequently used techniques that utilise observational data for personality assessment. Let us examine them in some detail. Interview : Interviewing and observing are frequently used to know the personality of individuals. All of us frequently talk to others and watch their behaviours. As you have read
l l l l l
(Note: The more items answered yes, the higher your degree of Type A behaviour.)
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in class XI textbook, interviews may be structured or unstructured. You must have seen people going for interview for job, admission to schools or while solving problems. Most of the interviews are usually unstructured. In the unstructured mode of interviewing interviewers get impressions and use their hunches or let the person expand on the information that has potential to unravel the personality of the interviewee. The structured interviews have specific questions and follow a set procedure. This is done to obtain objective comparison of the persons being interviewed. Rating scales are also used to standardise the evaluations. Observation : Behavioural observation is also used to assess personality. Everybody watches people and form impressions about personality. However, using observation for personality assessment is more than just observation and is a sophisticated procedure. A very detailed guideline is prepared to see examples of specific behaviours for identifying personality traits under consideration. For instance, a clinical psychologist may like to observe his clients interactions with family members and visitors to his or her home. Using carefully designed observation the clinical psychologist may understand and gain insight into the personality of the client. It is obvious that while the use of interview and observation is useful they do have several limitations. The kind of professional training required for obtaining useful data through these methods is quite demanding and time consuming. It requires certain degree of maturity on the part of a psychologist to be able to obtain valid data through these techniques. The biggest problem is that the presence of observer may vitiate the results since mere presence of a stranger may influence the observation process and the behaviour of the person being observed. Despite these limitations interviews are frequently used as personality test for employment purposes. Ratings : Ratings are frequently used in educational and industrial settings. In order to use ratings effectively the traits should be clearly defined in specific terms. It has been
found that rather than using numbers or general descriptive adjectives that may convey different meanings to different raters a trait may be more clearly identified in terms of carefully stated behavioural anchors. The ratings suffer from several kinds of errors. For instance, raters are found to be unduly influenced by a single favourable or unfavourable trait, which colours their judgment of other traits. Psychologists call this halo effect. Also, raters have a tendency
ACTIVITY 2.4 Using Ratings While Observing Children Discuss in small groups of classmates and identify a set of adjectives describing certain attributes prevalent in children. Use this set of rating scales in observing children of a primary school in playground. Discuss your observations with classmates and your teacher.
to place persons in the middle of the scale and avoid extreme positions. The rating procedure can be improved by training the raters. Nomination : It is frequently used in obtaining peer assessment. It is used with a group of persons who know each other very well through long-term interaction. In using nomination each group member is asked to choose one or more group members with whom he or she would like to work, study, play or undertake any other significant activity. The nominations received by a person can be analysed in many ways to understand personality and behavioural qualities of the person. A nomination technique has been found to be one of the most dependable techniques but it can also be affected by personal biases. Situational Tests : A variety of situational tests have been devised to provide assessment of personality. A commonly used test of this kind is situational stress test. It provides sample of the behaviour of a person under stressful situations. For instance the person may be asked to perform some task with the help of two persons who are obstructive or
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non-cooperative. Role-playing may be used. The person is clearly and explicitly instructed to play a part, either reporting verbally or overtly what he or she is asked to do. The situation may be presented realistically or through videotape etc. Recapitulation Personality assessment refers to the procedures to evaluate or differentiate people on the basis of certain characteristics. The goal of assessment is to predict behaviour with minimum error and maximum accuracy. Psychologists have developed a number of approaches and procedures. In the present section three main approaches are described. They are: observer reports, projective techniques, and self-report measures. Observer reports include techniques such as interview, obse rvation, rating, nomination, and situational tests.
LEARNING CHECKS VI
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES You have learned while studying psychoanalytic theory that behaviour is also determined by unconscious forces. Also, because of motivational involvement and social desirability reasons people do not like to share about themselves in direct ways. Therefore, indirect methods of assessment are required. The projective techniques were developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings. These techniques are based on the assumption that weakening the stimulus structure will allow the individual to project his/her feelings, desires, and need which can be interpreted by experts. Researchers have developed a variety of projective techniques using various kinds of stimulus materials and responses for assessing personality. Some of them require the examinee to make associations to stimuli such as words or inkblots (e.g. Rorschach ink blot test). Some involve the writing of stories around pictures e.g. TAT, (situations which are open to different interpretations). Other techniques require the person to complete sentences (e.g. sentence completion test). In other kinds of techniques one may be required to express himself or herself through drawings (e.g. Draw-A-Man-test). In some other techniques the person may be asked to choose among a variety of stimuli indicating those they like best and least. While stimulus material and nature of responses elicited vary, all of them share the following features. 1. The stimulus material is relatively or fully unstructured and poorly defined. 2. The person being assessed is usually not told the purpose and the method of scoring and interpretation. 3. The person is informed that there are no right or wrong responses. 4. Each response is considered to reveal a true and significant aspect of personality. 5. The scoring and interpretation in projective assessment are lengthy and subjective. The projective techniques are different from the psychometric tests in many ways. They cannot be scored in any objective manner. Instead they are based on
1. is the name of the formal procedure used to analyse and measure personalities. 2. The goal of assessment is to predict behaviour with and . 3. In unstructured interviewing interviewers get and use their . 4. In interview the person or candidate has chance to explain his or her qualities in his or her . 5. In observation the presence of may vitiate the results.
6. Personal interviews may be toward certain applicants. 7. effect refers to undue influence of a single favourable or unfavourable trait, which colours the judgment of other traits. 8. During each group member is asked to choose one group member with whom he or she would like to undertake any significant activity. 9. Role-playing is an example of a .
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assumptions of the dynamic theories. They are generally qualitative in nature and require rigorous training in interpreting the different kinds of responses. Let us try to understand the nature and use of some of the well-known projective techniques. The Rorschach Inkblots : A Swiss psychiatrist named Hermann Rorschach developed this technique. The Rorschach Inkblots test consists of 10 symmetrical inkblots (see Fig. 2.6). Five of them are black and white and five have same color. The blots are printed and centered on pieces of white cardboard of about 7x10 size. The blots were originally made by dropping ink on a piece of paper and then folding the paper in half. The cards are usually administered to a person individually. There are two phases of administration: performance proper and inquiry. In the first phase the person is instructed as follows: I am going to show you a number of inkblots, and want you to tell me what you see in each of them. The person being tested gives the responses, which are recorded. Once the responding to all the 10
boys (B), girls (G), or some combination (e.g. BM). Twenty cards are appropriate for every subject. However, lesser number of cards (even five) have been successfully used. The cards are presented one at a time. If you take this test you will be instructed as follows: Tell what has led up to the event shown in the picture, describe what is happening at the moment, what the characters are feeling and thinking, and then give the outcome. The person is encouraged to imagine and say whatever comes to mind. It is expected that people will interpret an ambiguous stimulus according to their individual readiness to perceive in a certain way. The themes that recur in these imaginative productions are thought to have significance. Researchers have developed special scoring keys for use with the TAT. In India many adaptations of this test have been done. An example of a TAT card is given in Fig. 2.7.
Fig. 2. 6. An example of the Rorschach type Inkblots
cards is over the inquiry phase begins. Starting with the first card the person is reminded about the response and is required to tell where and how the response was seen by him or her. The use and interpretation of this technique requires training. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) : This test was developed by Morgan and Murray in 1935. It consists of a series of 30 pictures and one blank card. Some cards are used for adult males (M), adult females (F),
Fig. 2.7 An illustration showing the drawing of a card of TAT
Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study (The P-F Study) : This test was developed by Rosenzweig. Using frustration and aggression as the main focus it presents a series of cartoons in which one person frustrates another or calls attention to a frustrating condition. The analysis of responses is based on type and direction of aggression. They are obstacle dominance (emphasis on the frustrating object), ego defence (emphasis on
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protection of the frustrated person), and need persistence (emphasis on the constructive solution of the problem). The direction of aggression may be towards the environment (extragressive) or toward oneself (intraggressive) or inaggressive or tuned off in an attempt to gloss over or evade the situation. Uday Pareek and Rosenzweig have adapted this test for Indian population. Sentence Completion Test: In this test a number of stems consisting of a few words are presented. The task is to provide an ending. It is held that the type of ending used reflects the motivation, conflicts, and attitudes of the person. Thus the examinee has many opportunities to reveal underlying motivations about each topic. A sample of items used in sentence completion test is given below. 1. My father--. 2. My greatest fear is . 3. The best thing about my mother was . 4. I am proud of . The Draw-A-Person Test: It is a simple test in which the examinee is presented with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and an eraser. He or she is asked to draw a person. When the drawing is complete the examinee is normally asked to draw the figure of another person of the opposite sex. Finally, the examinee is required to make up a story about the person as if he or she were a character in a novel or play. Machover has used it for personality assessment. She used the psychodynamic approach to analyse the drawings. Some of the interpretations included the following: omission of facial features means that person is evasive about highly conflictual interpersonal relationship, graphic emphasis of the neck means disturbance about the lack of control over
ACTIVITY 2.5 Using A Sentence Completion Test With the help of your teacher prepare a set of sentence blanks. Use it on five persons. Try to find out the similarities and differences in the obtained responses. Discuss your findings with your teacher.
impulses, disproportionably large head means organic brain disease, and pre-occupation with headaches. The analysis of personality with the help of projective techniques is rooted in one or the other kind of psychodynamic theory. They are very interesting and provide a variety of materials. The interpretation of the responses or products is a skilled job for which specialised training is required. In their use the interscorer agreement (scorer reliability) is considered more important. Their reliability and validity in traditional sense is low. These techniques present a paradox. While validity of the findings using these techniques is considerably low the practitioners are very fond of using it. Perhaps we cling to certain stereotypes even when the findings or observations are contradictory. People often tend to note the confirming instances and ignore the contradictory data. This kind of illusory validation partly explains the popularity of projective techniques. Recapitulation Projective techniques appraise personality in an indirect manner. They are based on the assumption that when a person is forced to impose meaning on relatively structured, unclear, or incomplete stimulus, the responses will be projections or reflections of his or her feelings, desires and needs, etc. These tests may demand association, construction, completion, arrangement, selection, and expression with drawings. Some of the frequently used projective tests are Rorschach Inkblot Test consists of 10 inkblot cards: five of them are black and white and five have the same color. The examinee has to respond to the question what this might be? The part of the blot is clarified. Each response is scored for location, form, movement, content etc. The scores help to understand personality functioning. The Holtzman Inkblots Test has
ACTIVITY 2.6 Using Draw-A-Person Test Ask a boy and a girl of 10 years to draw two human figures a male and a female. Try to figure out the differences. Discuss the results with your teacher.
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45 cards and one response is required for each. This test has been found to be more reliable and overcome the limitations of Rorschach test. The TAT has 30 pictures and one blank card. The examinee is asked to write a story for each card referring to the past, present and the future of the main characters. The theme of the story thus produced is analysed. Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study has 24 cartoon drawings depicting two persons in frustrating situations. The examinee has to provide a verbal response to that situation. The mode of reaction is analysed. In the sentence completion test a number of stems consisting of a few words are given. The examinee has to complete the sentence. The type of ending used by the examinee reflects his or her motivation. The Draw-APerson test has also been used for the assessment of personality. The examinee is required to draw male and female figures. The details of various features are analysed and interpreted in the light of certain assumptions of the psychodynamic theory. On the whole, the projective tests try to understand the dynamic and unconscious aspects of personality.
LEARNING CHECKS VII
SELFREPORT MEASURES These are structured measures in which the examinee is required to give verbal responses on some kind of rating scale. They are called selfreport because the examinee has to respond objectively to the items of the measure and his or her reports are accepted as they are. They are not treated as projections to be interpreted by the investigator. The scores on these measures are quantitative. They are interpreted on the basis of norms developed by the author of the test. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI):Hathaway and McKinley, as an aid in the process of psychiatric diagnosis, conceived this test in 1940. In subsequent research this test has been found very effective in detecting psycho-pathology. It has been used in many diverse types of populations. The revised test known as MMPI 2 was published in 1989. It has 567 items in the form of affirmative statements to which the test taker gives the responses: true or false. The MMPI-2 provides scores for 10 subscales: Hypochondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, Masculinity-femininity, Paranoia, Psychesthenia, Schizophrenia, Mania, and Social Intervention. In India an effort has been made by Mallick and Joshi as they developed a test similar to MMPI the test is known as Jodhpur Multiphasic Personality Inventory (JMPI). Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) : This test was developed by Eysenck to assess two basic dimensions of personality namely introverted-extroverted and emotionally stableemotionally unstable. These dimensions subsume 32 personality traits. In subsequent work he also identified a third dimension named psychotism. It refers to psychopathology and represents a lack of feeling for others, a tough manner of interacting with people, and a tendency to defy the social conventions. A person scoring high on this dimension tends to be hostile, egocentric, and antisocial. Sixteen Factors Personality Inventory (16 PF) : This test was developed by Cattell
1. Projective assessment is based on the assumption that personal of stimuli reflect the unconscious contents. 2. Projective tests assume that ambiguous stimulus is viewed by an examinee according to his or her in a certain way. 3. Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study presents a series of cartoons in which one person another. 4. In a sentence completion test an examinee has many opportunities to reveal about each topic. 5. The Rorschach scoring criteria include location, determinant, and . 6. In TAT stories produced by the examinee the hero is .
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on the basis of a large set of empirical data about personality descriptions. He used the technique of factor analysis to identify the basic personality structure. Factor analyses is a statistical technique in which correlations among the items are used to find out the clusters of items that are correlated or go together. The test has declarative statements and the examinee has to respond to a specific situation by choosing from among given alternatives.
The test is currently available in 5 separate forms and in one form of the test there are 105 items. It is used for high school students to adults. In addition to 16 basic scales there are 4 second order indices of personality. This test is frequently used in career guidance, vocational exploration, and occupational testing. Apart from the above-mentioned measures there is a huge number of measures that assess specific personality dimensions and needs.
ACTIVITY 2.7 Where do you stand on the dimension of Introversion-Extraversion? Ten statements are given below, each followed by 3 alternative responses (a, b & c). Read each statement carefully and mark the alternative (encircle the corresponding letter a, b, or c ) that is close to your experience/thinking/or way of life. (a) agree 1. You like more of those people who are sociable and mixing type. 2. On holidays, you like to be to yourself, listening music and reading. 3. If given opportunity, you would like to have a large circle of friends. That makes you feel more secure. 4. In parties, you would like to have a cup of tea and sit in some secluded corner enjoying the tea alone. 5. You do not like to share your experiences with others, you like a very personal life. 6. You think, meeting people and attending parties is a waste of time. 7. You do not get bored when alone, you are capable of keeping yourself occupied. 8. On holidays, you do not like to stay at home. You like to meet friends and relatives. 9. You are a thinking type, like seclusion, and enjoy the company of nature. 10. You hesitate to talk to strangers, even on phone. (b) undecided (c) disagree
Interpretation Scores between 10-14: Introvert Scores between 15-25: Ambivert Scores between 26-30: Extravert K.D. Broota, Attention: These are sample items and should not be used for clinical evaluation or for diagnosis.
After marking all the 10 statements give a score of 1 each to all statements marked a 2 each to b and 3 each to c except statements 1, 3, and 8. For these three statements, the scoring is in reversed order, i.e., 3 for a, 2 for b and 1 for c. Add all the scores across 10 statements and that is your score on the test.
Key
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BOX 2.10
PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT IN INDIA 50 minutes to complete the testing. The responses are given on a response sheet. Multivariable Personality Inventory (MPI): Developed by B.C. Muthayya, this test measures personality variables, i.e., dominance, dogmatism, self-confidence, empathy, need achievement, introversion, neuroticism, ego-ideal and pessimism. There are 50 items and Yes or No are the response categories. It is for adults. Dependence Proneness Scale (DPS) : Developed by J.B.P. Sinha, this test measures dependency as a response disposition. A dependence prone person is anxious, fatalist, unpractical, traditional and resists change. The test has 50 items. The responses are given on a 5 point scale ranging from quite true (5) to not at all true (1) with undecided (3) in the middle. It involves four components, i.e., affection affiliation, lack of internal control, evading responsibility, and conformity. The scores could range between 20 to 100, the larger the score, the greater is the degree of dependence proneness.
The Indian psychologists have taken interest in the adptatation of foreign tests as the well as development of new tests to assess various traits and dimensions of personality. This work has been undertaken in different Indian languages as well as in English. Many of these tests are published in journals and some of them are commercially available. A brief description of the sample Indian personality tests is given below: Tripathi Personal Preference Schedule (TPPS) : Developed by R. R. Tripathi, this schedule is a multitrait scale of 15 personality variables with a control of social desirability. There are 225 items. Each item has pair of statements and the student has to choose one alternative. Percentile norms and scores for male and female college students are provided. The personality variables include Achievement, Difference, Order, Exhibition, Autonomy, Affiliation, Interception, Succoraver, Dominance, Abasement, Nurturance, Change, Endurance, Heterosexuality and Aggression. It takes about
They are used for assessing specific attributes, like authoritarianism, locus of control, optimism, approval motive, affiliation motive, competence, hope, nishkama karma and so on. The self-report measures suffer from response sets. Examples of these sets are social desirability. It is a tendency on the part of the respondent to endorse socially desirable. Another is yessaying or acquiescence. This is the tendency to agree with items/questions regardless of their contents. The response sets make it difficult for true assessment of personality. Recapitulation Self-report measures of personality involve verbal items of different types. The responses are considered, as they are to provide a quantitative index of the trait being measured. They are also called structured measures because they are standardised according to psychometric criteria. Some of the frequently used measures are as follows.
Q Sort is a measure to study a persons traits through rating scales. It can be used for a variety of purposes. In particular it is used to provide self description and description of relationships. The examinee is asked to sort hundred or so statements into nine piles, putting a prescribed number of cards into each. The cards most descriptive of the person are put at one end and the least descriptive at the opposite end, and undecided around the middle. Hathaway and McKinley developed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for the purpose of psychiatric diagnosis. In subsequent research this test has been found very effective in detecting psychopathology. Now it is also used in other settings for counselling and employment purposes. It has been used in many diverse types of populations. Its revised version, MMPI 2 has 10 sub scales. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) assesses two basic dimensions of personality: introverted-extroverted and
59
emotionally stable-emotionally unstable. These dimensions subsume 32 personality traits. In subsequent work Eysenck also identified a third dimension named Psychotism. It refers to psychopathology. It involves a lack of feeling for others, a tough manner of interacting with people, and a tendency to defy the social conventions. Cattells 16 Factors Personality Inventory (16 PF) is another very popular
tool. It is a forced choice test in which the examinee has to respond to a specific situation by choosing from among given alternatives. It is used from high school students to adults. In addition to 16 basic scales that measure source traits of personality there are four second order indices. The test is frequently used in career guidance, vocational exploration, and occupational testing.
LEARNING CHECKS VIII
1. Self-report measures provide and assessment of personality. 2. The responses of examinee on self-report measures are to be interpreted. 3. Q Sort procedures involve of statements in different piles. 4. MMPI was initially developed for . 5. Lie score in MMPI provides . 6. The three dimensions of EPQ are introverted-extrovertedetc., and . 7. CPI is used on . 8. Warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive emotions constitute . 9. The personality test 16 PF is an based on factor analysis.
Key Terms
Anal Stage, Archetypes, Biofeedback, Cardinal Traits, Central Traits, Client centered Therapy, Collective Unconscious, Defence Mechanisms, Displacement, Ego Psychology, Ego Identity, Id, Identification, Impulses, Intellectualisation, Introversion Extroversion, Latency Period, Libido, Neuroticism, Personal Constructs, Phallic Stage, Phlegmatic, Psychodynamic Approach, Projection, Rationalisation, Regression, Repression, Sanguine, Sublimation, Surface Traits, Typology, Unconscious.
SUMMARY
l
The study of the self and the personality is an effort to appraise the totality of a persons existence. Human beings acquire the notion of the self during social interaction with significant others. As a structure the self represents an organised collection or a schema of beliefs and the feelings about oneself. As a process, the self represents a dialogue between an object (Me) and a subject (I). We try to regulate the self by using a variety of strategies such as vrata, upwas (fasting), following the rules of conduct ( yam and niyam), biofeedback, Zen, Yoga etc. The psychological techniques include systematic observation of behaviour, stimulus control, self-reinforcement, and self-instruction. The Self and culture are mutually related. The studies show that while the people in western cultural settings emphasise on the uniqueness and the separateness of the self, the people in many non-western cultures including India, conceptualise the self in a relational manner with shifting boundaries between the self and the non-self. Contemporary empirical studies of Indian self tend to suggest that it is context
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sensitive, collectivist, and interdependent. It however, maintains individuality and autonomy a situation that depicts coexistence of opposites. Personality refers to characteristics of a person that are stable across situations and over time and make him or her unique. Personality has been studied through many approaches in which typological, psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive are prominent. The typological approach aims at describing personality in terms of types and traits and relating them to behaviours. Early attempts illustrate the use of typology in the context of medicine. Thus dhatus and humours present in the body are linked to temperament and behaviour. Sheldon used body build as the basis of personality types and related them to temperament and behaviour. These approaches are very simplistic and have lost their appeal. Allport, Cattell and Eysenck have developed trait theories that offer unified view of person. The traits as generalised behavioural tendencies are assumed to be responsible for individual differences and uniqueness observed in behaviour of the people. The relationship between trait scores and behaviours, however, is low and cross-situational consistency is not very high. The psychodynamic perspective originated from Freuds psychoanalysis. He identified three systems of personality i.e., Id, ego, and superego. Id strives towards biological satisfaction following pleasure principle. The ego makes effort to reconcile the needs of Id with the actualities of world following reality principle. The superego is the representation of internalised rules of the society. It punishes the deviations by creating the feelings of guilt. People experience internal conflicts due to the anxiety that becomes associated with forbidden thoughts and wishes. The person represses them and sends to the unconscious. However, the repressed materials generally surface again. To cope with them people take recourse to various defence mechanisms such as displacement, reaction formation, rationalisation, and projection etc. Freud believed that unconscious conflicts are located in the process of psychosexual development. He proposed that children pass through the stages of oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. The erogenous zones through which gratification is obtained characterise these stages. During the phallic stage the male child develops the Oedipus complex and the female child experiences Electra complex. Freud considered dreams as wish fulfillment and utilise symbolism. The Freudian concepts are criticised for lack of scientific support. The Post-Freudians disputed many of the views of Freud. They shifted the focus towards interpersonal forces and the contemporary circumstances of life of the person. Theorists like Carl Jung, Fromm, Adler, Horney and Erikson paid less attention to Id and more to the ego and social forces. The ego is viewed as the seat of creativity, planning, and the formation of self-fulfilling goals. The Humanistic approach is rooted in two assumptions i.e., focus on subjective experience and importance of individuals choice. Among the humanistic theorists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are the most significant. Rogers emphasised on the relationship between what we feel we are (the real self), and what we feel we should be (the ideal self). When these two are similar, the situation is congruent and a person is fully functioning. The state of being congruent, which happens to be the goal of development, depends on availability of people who provide empathy, openness and unconditional positive regard. Abraham Maslow approached human behaviour in terms of needs that motivate people. The needs encompass a wide spectrumfrom the basic needs to selfactualisation. Personality assessment refers to the procedures to evaluate people on the basis of certain characteristics. The goal of assessment is to predict behaviour with minimum error and maximum accuracy. It provides dependable information about other individuals needed for a variety of purposes including research, counselling, selection, training, and placement. Three main approaches to personality assessment are: observer reports, projective techniques, and self-report measures. Observer reports include techniques such as interview, observation, rating, nomination, and situational tests.
Self and Personality l
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Projective techniques are based on the assumption that when a person is forced to impose meaning on an ambiguous stimulus, the responses will be the projections or reflections of his or her feelings, desires, needs etc. The projections are located in the association, construction, completion, arrangement, selection, and expression made by the examinee. The frequently used projective test include Rorschach Inkblots, Thematic Apperception Test, Sentence Completion Test, Roenzwiegs Picture Frustration test, and Draw-a-Person Test. The structured measures of personality include a number of self-report measures that are developed psychometrically. They provide objective and quantitative assessment of personality. They are of various types and use different format of verbal items. Most of them are based on specific theories of personality. Hathaway and McKinley developed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for the purpose of psychiatric diagnosis in 1030s. In subsequent research this test has proved useful in detecting psychopathology. Its recent revision MMPI 2 has 10 sub-scales. Cattells Sixteen Factors Personality Inventory (16 PF) is a forced choice test in which the examinee has to respond to a specific situation by choosing from among given alternatives. It is popular in career guidance, vocational exploration, and occupational testing. It has versions suitable for samples from high school students to adults. In addition to the 16 basic scales that measure the source traits of personality, there are four second order indices.
Review Questions
1. What is self? What is the Indian notion of self? 2. What is delay of gratification? Why the ability to cope with it is important for adult development? 3. What is personality? What are the main approaches for its study? 4. What is the trait approach to personality? 5. What is Freuds threefold conception of personality? What functions do they serve? 6. How do the Post-Freudians differ from Freud? 7. What is the humanistic approach to personality? What did Maslow mean by self-actualisation? 8. What are the main observational ways to assess personality? 9. What are the structured personality tests? What are the two most widely used tests? 10. What are the two projective tests that are famous? How are they administered and interpreted?
ANSWERS
I II : :
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
1. T, 2. F , 3. T, 4. F, 5. T, 6. F, 7. T. 1. T, 2. T, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T, 6. T, 7. F, 8. T, 9. F, 10. T. 1. Oedipus complex, 2. Electra complex, 3. repression, 4. super-ego, 5. reality, 6. unconscious, 7. manifest, latent, 8. rationalisation, 9. displacement, 10. anxiety. 1.T, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5.T, 6. F, 7. T, 8.T, 9. F, 10. F. 1. positive self regard, 2. Self-actualisation, 3. basically good, 4. journey, goal 5. accepted, 6. choose, determine, 7. profound, deeply felt 1. Personality assessment, 2. minimum error and maximum accuracy, 3. impressions, hunches, 4. own words, 5. observer, 6. unfairly biased, 7. halo effect, 8. nomination, 9. situational test 1. interpretation, ambiguous, 2. readiness to perceive, 3. frustrates, 4. underlying motivations, 5. content, popular vs. original, 6. the protagonist. 1. objective, quantitative, 2. not the projections, 3. sorting, self related, 4. clinical diagnosis, 5. validity check , 6. emotionally stable, emotionally unstable, Psychotism., 7. normal people, 8. extraversion, 9. empirically developed test
III : IV : V :
VI :
VII : VIII:
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3
THIS
SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND GROUP PROCESSES

CHAPTER COVERS
CONTENTS
Introduction Nature and Formation of Groups What is a Group? Functions of a Group Factors Facilitating Group Formation Understanding Group Structure through Sociometry (Box 3.1) Groupthink : Adverse Effects of Cohesiveness (Box 3.2) Types of Group Primary-Secondary Groups, Formal-Informal Groups, In group-Out group Influence of Group on Individual Behaviour Social Facilitation, Social Loafing, and Risk Taking Conformity, Compliance and Obedience Experimental Demonstration of Conformity (Box 3.3) Minority Influence (Box 3.4) Obedience: Milgrams Experiment (Box 3.5) Cooperation and Competition Leadership: Nature and Functions What makes a Leader? The Functions of Leaders. Leadership Styles: How Leaders Operate
Nature, types, and formation of groups Influence of groups on individuals behaviours Processes of conformity, compliance, and obedience Nature, functions, and styles of leadership BY
BE ABLE TO
appreciate the nature and importance of groups, understand the functions, and formation of groups, differentiate between various types of groups, know how individual behaviours are shaped by group influences, and define leadership and explain its styles and functions.
Key Terms Summary Review Questions Answers to Learning Checks
Social Influence and Group Processes
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INTRODUCTION
Imagine yourself present in three situations: in the company of your friends in the market, with your parents, and in your classroom. If you closely analyse these situations, you will find wide differences in your own behaviours in these settings. You will notice that your thoughts and behaviours are to a large extent shaped by the interaction and contacts with other persons. Such interactions, also called social interaction, provide us support by shaping and strengthening our ideas and views, and also by serving as a source of information. The group serves as a framework against which one can compare ones own behaviour and thought. Interaction with the group members can be of different kinds, such as: two friends talking to each other, a shopkeeper talking to a customer, a teacher talking to a class of students, a political leader addressing a gathering of people, or a group of people attending a lecture. In all these group situations, our behaviour will be affected to a great extent by the nature of the group. It is, therefore, important to know how people deal with others, influence one-another, and behave in groups. Also, groups are necessary for survival and development of human beings. A newborn baby needs the care and warmth of its mother and in its subsequent development too, the support from the family and other groups continue to play an important role. To a large extent we, therefore, are shaped by the various kinds of groups with whom we interact. To understand human behaviour with respect to the social surroundings, it is important to understand the nature of groups: what they are and how they influence the individual behaviour. In this chapter you will read about the nature of group, how our performance is influenced by working with others or by the mere presence of others, how group can affect decision-making, why certain individuals become leaders, and how leaders influence the behaviours of group members.
Leaders dont create followers, they create more leaders. Tom Peters
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NATURE
AND
FORMATION
OF
GROUPS
What is a Group?
part of a group. While all these conditions are necessary for describing a group, it is important to know that groups vary depending on the time spent together by the member.
ACTIVITY 3.1 Understanding The Nature of a Group Identify the groups of which you are a member. How do the abovementioned conditions apply to your group? What are the salient features of these groups? How are they different from other groups? Discuss your observations with classmates.
Do people standing in a queue waiting to catch a bus or watching a cricket match in the stadium constitute a group? These people may share certain common characteristics, but can only be called a physical assembly of people or a mere collection of people. In such situations people are together but do not have defined status, role, and expectation towards each other. Thus, physical proximity alone does not make a group. A group is an organised system of two or more persons who are interrelated to perform a function, has a structured set of role relationships among its members, and has a set of norms that regulate their behaviours. Thus, how many individuals are required for the emergence of a group? Even two individuals may develop an organised mode of relationship, as in the case of husband and wife. A two-person group is called a dyad. According to the definition, the main characteristics of a group are as follows: l Individuals must interact with each other, either directly or indirectly. l Individuals must be interdependent what one is doing must have some consequence for the other. l The members of a group have common motives and goals. Group functions as a unitary system, either working towards a given goal or away from certain threats. All members work towards the same goal. l Interactions among the individuals in a group must be structured in some manner. This means that the functions performed by each member are same every time the group meets. The roles to be carried out by each member of the group are specified in advance. l Individuals adhere to the group norms. These norms tell how individuals should behave in relation to others in the group and in other matters of importance. The expected modes of behaviour guide the functions of a group and its members. Thus, a group consists of two or more interacting persons who share common goals, are interdependent, and perceive that they are
Functions of a Group You must have realised that every person belongs to a number of groups at any given time. Thus, a young boy or a girl may be a member of student associations, cricket or football team, clubs (theatre, art, music), religious groups, and informal groups consisting of neighbours or others. This brings us to the question: why do we join groups? As mentioned earlier, being a part or member of a group may help an individual in the following ways: l Groups satisfy important psychological or social needs of individuals such as attaining a sense of belongingness, and giving and receiving attention and affection. l Groups help in achieving such goals which cannot be attained individually. We are often able to do certain jobs with the help of others, which we cannot do alone. l Group membership provides us knowledge and information and broadens our view. l Groups fulfil our need for security and safety. Being with people gives a sense of protection from real or imagined enemy, or from other potential hazards. l Group membership helps to establish a positive social identity and self-concept. Being a member of prestigious groups enhances the individuals self-concept. Factors Facilitating Group Formation There are a number of factors, which influence the formation of groups. All of these
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assume that interaction is basic to group formation. Let us analyse the conditions, which influence the formation of groups. 1. Proximity : Individuals with similar background, living in the same complex and going to the same school may form groups on the basis of proximity. For instance, repeated encounters with the same set of individuals give a chance to discover similarity in their interest, values and opinions. These are important determiners of liking for other persons. Usually, when people are put in new situations or conditions, there is a feeling of strangeness and they may initially react indifferently or negatively. Gradually, as they become familiar with the new situation, they become more positively disposed toward each other. Being exposed to someone or something several times may lead towards the development of greater liking for that person which increases the likelihood of spending more time together or the need to be together. 2. Similarity : It has been observed that more the similarity in the attitudes of two persons, there is greater likelihood that they would form a group. One possible explanation is that
BOX 3.1
people prefer consistency and like the relationships that are consistent and balanced. Therefore, if we are very similar to another person, it seems sensible to like that person. Another reason why we like similar persons is that they reinforce and validate our opinions and values. It is always reassuring and rewarding to know that people agree with you or have similar values. Your best friend or the persons you like to sit with in the class would have quite similar ideas, likes, dislikes, ways of behaving etc. This similarity leads to the formation of groups. Such similarities are highlighted at times, by wearing similar clothes (school uniform), accessories or symbols (flags) to show a groups distinctiveness from others. 3. Common Goals : When a number of people have common objectives or goals, they tend to get together and form a group, which may facilitate goal attainment. For example, commuters in trains may form a group, which can work towards facilitating their travel in the trains. Such goals may be externally set leading to the creation or formation of groups with specified people. For instance, teams,
UNDERSTANDING GROUP STRUCTURE THROUGH SOCIOMETRY You can see that person G is a star. He has received maximum number of choices. He has the highest popularity status followed by C and F. Three members i.e., D, A and I are isolates. We also find mutual choices (B-C, F-J, F-H). There is a cleavage in a group resulting in two subgroups; (1) A, B, C, D, E and G and (2) I, J, F, H. There are no choice lines connecting these two sets of individuals. Thus, group structure can be studied with the help of a sociogram. There are many ways to analyse sociometric data.
J
Sociometry (social measurement) was introduced by J.L. Moreno in early 1930s. It is used to understand the liking of group members for each other. For example, each member of a group may be asked to tell about A person with whom he or she would like to work. All the group members nominate some group member in response to it. The responses thus obtained are used to prepare a sociogram. A sociogram representing the sociometric choices of the people in a group is shown in Fig.3.1
G C
E B A
Fig. 3.1 A Sociogram based on the choices made by hypothetical group of ten persons
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task forces, committees and work groups are sometimes formed to meet specific objectives. 4. Group Cohesiveness : Cohesiveness characterises the degree of we feeling present in a group. Cohesiveness tells the affect structure of a group. There can be a strong bondage among the members or weak relationship. In a group, some people are much liked while some are disliked. The study of group structure is usually done with the help of sociometry (see for details Box 3.1). It works as a source of motivation and morale of the group. The factors influencing cohesiveness are as follows: l Attractiveness : It includes dimensions of individual attraction to a group, such as (a) attraction of the members to each other, (b) attraction of the individual members towards the activities and functions of the group, or (c) the extent to which the individual is attracted to the group as a means of satisfying his/her own needs. l Amount of Effort : It is seen that the amount of effort required to gain entry into the group influences group cohesiveness. More the effort made for joining the group; higher would be attraction of members towards the group. This reduces the chances of leaving the group and increases cohesiveness. For example, if you make efforts to become a member of a school team, the chances are that you would continue to remain in the team rather than leave it. l External Threats and Severe Competition: It has been observed that group cohesiveness increases in face of threats from outside the group such as loss of privileges, violence, etc. Natural calamities such as earthquake, war, floods, etc., also bring people together. At times, political leaders do use the threat of war to generate national cohesiveness. Even competition with others such as in sports, quizzes, in which one group is compared to another creates a we feeling among the team members and develops high level of cohesiveness. l Group Belongingness : It implies the emotional attachment among the group members. The interpersonal ties between group members lead to cohesiveness. It is observed that greater the cohesiveness of a
group, clearer is its boundaries and sharper the distinction between members and nonmembers. Cohesive groups are difficult to enter and leave than non-cohesive groups. Usually group cohesiveness increases by the attractions that a group provides and decreases by the costs a group imposes. However, the costs of being in a group may enhance cohesiveness if a member is committed to the group. Group cohesiveness leads to uniformity in the attitude of group members. At times, this leads to inadequate decisions. Such a situation is found in the phenomenon of group think described in Box 3.2. In brief, a group becomes more cohesive when its members like each other. Being part of the group enhances prestige of the person and provides rewards. The costs involved in group membership are small, particularly when people find that no alternative sources for rewards are present. Finally, if the group members have incurred high costs and now find that they cannot get out of it, they prefer to remain associated with the group. Recapitulation Social interaction helps us understand others and ourselves. To understand human behaviour, it is important to know how individuals participate in groups. The term group refers to an organised system of two or more individuals. Groups have common goals of its members, a structure defining the role and status, and certain norms and
LEARNING CHECKS I
1. Students taking the Board Examinations in Delhi would be referred to as a group. T/F 2. Members of a group have common motives and goals. T/F 3. Norms guide the behaviour of group members. T/F 4. Proximity is a necessary condition for group formation. T/F 5. People sharing same opinions and values are likely to form groups. T/F 6. Cohesive groups have rigid structures. T/F
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BOX 3.2
GROUPTHINK : ADVERSE EFFECTS OF COHESIVENESS shown that such a group has an exaggerated sense of its own power to control events, and tends to ignore or minimise cues from the real world that suggest danger to its plan. In order to preserve the groups internal harmony and collective wellbeing, it becomes increasingly out of touch with reality. Groupthink is likely to occur in socially homogenous, cohesive groups that are isolated from outsiders, that have no tradition of considering alternatives, and that face a decision with high costs or failure. Some ways to counteract or prevent group think are: encouraging and rewarding critical thinking and even disagreement among group members, group should be encouraged to present alternative courses of action, inviting outside experts to evaluate the groups decision and encouraging members to seek feedback from trusted others.
Generally, teamwork in groups leads to beneficial results. However, Irving Janis suggests that cohesion can interfere with effective leadership and can lead to disastrous decisions. Janis discovered a process named groupthink, in which a cohesive group allows its concerns for unanimity override the motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. It is the tendency of decision-makers to make irrational and uncritical decisions. Groupthink is characterised by the appearance of consensus or unanimous agreement within a group. Each member believes that all members agree upon a particular decision or policy. No one expresses dissenting opinions because each person believes it would undermine the cohesion of the group and would be unpopular. Consequently, the number of alternatives considered by the group goes down. Studies have
values, which guide the activities of its members. Some of the factors facilitating group formation are: proximity, similarity, and common goals. Group cohesiveness ensures continued functioning and effectiveness of the groups. Cohesiveness depends on attractiveness, amount of effort, external threats, and belongingness. TYPES
OF
GROUP
As we have seen, an individual may belong to different kinds of groups. The affiliation to different types of groups may be transitory or permanent. The groups we belong to changes or may take various forms during the course of their existence. A group, such as a family, may further be subdivided into other groups for various purposes and its members may be part of other groups as well. For example, husband-wife, husband and his co-workers, wife and her colleagues, daughter and her basket-ball team, son and his cricket team, and so on. In other words, a group may emerge whenever two or more persons are involved in a common activity and there is interaction among the individuals. You have read earlier that individuals may enter into groups for different purposes.
Groups may differ in terms of the functions performed or the manner in which they are organised. Social groups can be characterised in many ways based on different dimensions such as: (i) size (group of two persons (dyad) to millions of citizens of a country); (ii) permanence (lasting for few minutes to a relatively longer duration); (iii) geographical distribution (plains, hills, tribal, coastal, etc.) and (iv) determinants (blood relationships, cultural interests, etc.). Broadly, the groups are categorised in the following types: 1. Primary and Secondary Groups, 2. Formal and Informal Groups, 3.In-group and Out-group. A brief description of these groups is given below: Primary and Secondary Groups Primary groups are pre-existing formations, which are usually given to the individual, whereas secondary groups are the ones, which an individual joins by choice. Thus, family is a primary group whereas a political party is a secondary group. Primary groups are characterised by intimate, face-to-face interaction. Its members have close physical proximity and share warm emotional bonds. Family, playmates, and neighbours are examples of primary groups. Primary groups are more central to individuals functioning
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and, usually, they are instrumental in forming the social nature, values and ideals of the individuals during early stages of development. In contrast, secondary groups are those where relations among members are more impersonal, indirect, less frequent, or removed in space or time (e.g., a hobby group, political party or ones nation). The members usually come together for a common goal and work according to the agreed rules. It is observed that large groups by nature are ordinarily secondary groups, while only small groups tend to have the properties of primary groups. Formal and Informal Groups These groups differ in the degree to which the functions of the group are stated explicitly and formally. With changes in size and type of relationship, groups need to have rigidly defined roles and status difference. The functions of a formal group are explicitly stated, as in an office organisation, or social work club. The roles to be performed by group members are stated in explicit and formal manner (as in a job or in military service). Formal groups are generally secondary groups. They have rigidly stated functions and the roles of the members are well defined or imposed. Formal groups have a chain of command for decision-making, although in many formal groups (such as military or bureaucracy) informal decision making processes may exist as parallel mechanisms. Primary groups like family are informal groups. Members of primary groups usually feel more comfortable to take decisions in informal settings (like tea time, lunch) than through the formal channels of communications. In-group and Out-group People generally think of the social world in terms of categories such as they and we. They view other persons as belonging either to their own group (usually called the ingroup) or to another group (the outgroup). Such distinctions are based on race, religion, age, occupation, and many other features. Dividing people into us and them creates contrasting feelings and beliefs for members
of ones ingroup and members of other outgroups. Persons in the ingroup are generally viewed favourably, having desirable behaviour, and admirable traits. The members of the outgroups are often perceived negatively compared to the ingroup members. As individuals identify with a specific group, feelings of loyalty and commitment to ones own group makes them perceive their group as superior to other groups. Such perceptions contribute to the self-esteem of the person and may lead to biases, and prejudices against Out-group members. The students belonging to a particular school (In-group) perceive students of other schools (Out-group) differently. Each one feels somewhat superior to the other. However, what may be In-group in one culture or subculture, may be an Outgroup in another. For example, an artist will consider a group of artists to be In-group, and a group of scientists to be Out-group, whereas for a scientist, artists would constitute an Out-group and scientists an Ingroup. Perception of In-groups and Outgroups affects social life, and the personality of individuals. However, changes in the society have resulted in wider acceptance of diversity including ethnic and cultural variations and have blurred the In-group and Out-group demarcations in many areas of our social functioning. Recapitulation Groups have been classified in many ways like: primary and secondary groups, formal
LEARNING CHECKS II
1. Groups differ with regard to their function and organisation. T/F 2. Social organisations have distinctive symbols, dress or signs. T/F 3. Primary groups have close intimate interaction. T/F 4. Formal and Informal groups differ in terms of the relationship among the members. T/F 5. Perceptions of in-group and out-group affect our feelings and behaviours. T/F
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and informal groups, and In-groups and Outgroups. Various types of groups influence behaviour and shape the pattern of interaction of individuals and society. Our behaviours are affected by the nature of groups and by our perception of such groups. INFLUENCE OF GROUP ON INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR You must have noticed that people perform a large number of tasks with the co-operation of others or at least in their presence. What impact does the presence of others has on our performance? We will discuss in this section the manner in which working with others affects our performance. Social Facilitation Think of the situations when you are running alone trying to compete with your own standard, or when you are running a race competing with others. In which situation will you run faster? Probably you will run faster when you are competing with others. We all are affected in different ways by other people. Do you know that even the mere presence of the other person affects our behaviour? It is a common observation that we tend to eat more when in a group than when we are alone. Individual behaviour is facilitated in several ways while performing in the presence of others. Floyd H. Allport conducted a series of studies in which the performance of individuals was compared on a variety of tasks when they performed alone, and when they were doing the same in the presence of others. In one study, the participants were asked to write down on paper as many associations for the given words as they could think of. The participants were allowed to work alone and in the presence of two other persons. The results showed that participants produced more associations when working in the presence of other people than when working alone. This positive effect on performance due to the presence of others is known as Social-Facilitation. In general, it is observed that performance is facilitated in the presence of others. However, this is not true in all cases neither for all individuals.
Sometimes, peoples performance is adversely affected by others presence. People sometimes tend to make greater number of errors in the presence of others. Such adverse effects on performance due to others presence are called Social Inhibition. Stutterers, for example, stutter more when reading a passage aloud in front of an audience than when they do the same alone. Facilitation effect is found in case of simple, automatic, over learned behaviours, such as running, copying text, etc., and is not observed for complex tasks. Why does the presence of others sometimes enhances and sometimes impairs performance? There are different reasons for this type of behaviour. (i) The presence of others seems to energise people or generate feelings of increased arousal, which enhances performance. (ii) The second reason for social facilitation is apprehension of evaluation or concern of being judged by others, which is often arousing. The fear of negative evaluation can arouse people to do well, especially on simple tasks. On complex tasks, when a performer makes mistakes and assumes a negative reaction, she/he gets flustered, and then makes more mistakes. (iii) Another reason contributing to social facilitation is the concern over self-presentationlooking or performing well in front of others. Try to recall how you had felt when you were on stage in front of the school assembly or audience. Were you more tense or excited? In general, the social facilitation stems from evaluation apprehensionconcerns over being judged by others (which is often arousing), or from concerns over self-presentationlooking good in front of others, and not only due to the mere presence of others. Social Loafing Suppose you and your class-fellows were asked to shift a heavy table to the next room. All of you try to push the table. Do you think all the people will be putting equal effort? May be or may not be. A few persons will be putting in all their efforts, while some others would only appear to be helping, or pretending to do more than they really are. This pattern is commonly observed when a group is required
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to make efforts together for completing a task. On such tasks, some persons work hard while the others pretend to be working, doing less than their share, and less than what they might do if they were working alone. Such effects are referred to as social loafing reductions in motivation and effort when individuals work collectively in a group compared to when they work individually. In an interesting experiment, Latane and his associates asked groups of male students to clap or cheer as loudly as possible at specific times, either alone or in groups of two, four or six. It was observed that the magnitude of the sound made by each person decreased sharply as the group size increased. In other words, each participant put less effort as the group size increased. Social loafing is a quite common phenomenon. Studies have revealed that social loafing may occur due to several reasons: (i) group members may feel less responsible for the task being performed and exert less effort, (ii) motivation of members may decrease because they realise that their contributions cannot be evaluated on individual basis so why work hard, and (iii) when they find the task monotonous particularly in such situations where they work with people whom they do not know well or do not respect. Social loafing can be reduced by: (i) making the effort of each person identifiable, (ii) by increasing group members commitment to successful task performance (pressures towards working hard), (iii) increasing the apparent importance or value of a task, (iv) making people feel that their contribution to the task is unique, and (v) by strengthening group cohesiveness which increases the concern for group outcomes. Risk Taking Groups perform a variety of tasks including decision-making. As you know, decisionmaking involves combining and integrating the available information in order to choose one course of action out of the several available ones. Today most of the decisions are taken by groups. Decisions like choosing
sports team, enforcing laws, government policies, political actions, and making educational and career choices are some examples. It is generally believed that groups, by pooling the knowledge and expertise of their members, provide opportunities for sharing different viewpoints. In case of complicated problems, the chance is greater, that someone in the group would have the skills to solve the problem and thereby reach better decisions than the individuals. Is this true? Do groups actually approach and solve problems more effectively and accurately than individuals making decisions alone? Contrary to the popular belief, research has shown that groups are actually more likely to adopt extreme positions than individuals making decisions alone. The groups lead to polarisation of the position taken in decisionmaking. How many times you alone have gathered courage to ask the teacher for a free period? Maybe never. However, as a class you might have done it several times. Similarly, students in a group may take the risk of bunking classes, which normally as individuals they may not. A number of studies have demonstrated that groups have a tendency to take greater risks than individuals do. The standard method for studying this effect consists of two steps. A group of participants is first asked to make individual decisions on a series of problems in which it is possible to take greater or lesser risk. They are then placed in a group situation, and are required to discuss and make group decisions on the same problems. In an experiment, participants were asked to read a series of problems and make choices among the recommendations that differed in the degree of the risk of failure they carried. Initially the participants made decisions on their own. Later these were discussed in a group after which the group gave its decision. It has been observed that after discussing the alternatives with other group members, the group decisions were more polarised than the decision of the individual group members before the discussion. This shows that groups make decisions that are more risky (or non risky) than the individuals do.
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CONFORMITY, COMPLIANCE
AND
OBEDIENCE
You have read earlier about social facilitation (and inhibition) which is the simplest form of social influence. Throughout the day you may encounter a number of incidents when others have tried to influence you in different ways, i.e., to make you think, feel and act in ways they want. The radio and television commercials, advertisements in newspapers, magazines, requests from parents, teachers, and friends, frequently create one or the other kind of social influence. Others may try to influence you by flattery or by threats also. Such processes of influence go on throughout our social life. Attempts at social influence are efforts made by others to change our attitudes, beliefs, perceptions or behaviours. Try to think of the ways in which different people try to influence you from morning till night. In fact, you will realise that social influence is a part of our life. In some forms of social influence what others do matter a lot and we do things of being influenced by others, which otherwise we might not have done. On other occasions, we defy their influence and may even influence them to adopt our viewpoints. You have read earlier that social influence plays a key role in group decision making. This section describes three important group processes such as conformity, compliance, and obedience. Conformity Going to the school in uniform, following a time schedule, adhering to the rules of the game in playground, or making attempts towards going along with societys expectations about how one should behave in various situations are all examples of conformity. People conform in several ways: adhering to traffic conventions while driving, performing a ritualistic act on entering a place of worship, or following school norms, are all ways of conforming. Thus, conformity is a type of social influence in which individuals change their behaviour or belief to correspond more closely to the behaviour of others in the group. Conformity essentially involves yielding to group pressures. The pressures from the
group may be explicit or implicit. In reality, the conformity response under group pressure may take the form of overt behaviour. Thus, a student may join his/her classmates to watch a cricket match. The pressure for conformity may also lead to prevention of action. Thus, a person may refuse to help another person because the group members have declared him or her as an undesirable person. An experimental study demonstrating conformity is given in Box 3.3. Conformity takes place because of informational influence (influence that results from accepting evidence rather than reality). This kind of rational conformity can be thought of as learning about the world from the actions of others. We learn by observing people, who are the best source of information about many social conventions. New group members learn about its customs by observing the actions of other group members. People provide information about the world, and the information dependence leads to conformity. Conformity may also occur because of normative influence (influence based on a persons desire to be accepted or admired by others). In such cases, people conform because deviation from the group may lead to rejection or at least, nonacceptance of some form of punishment. It is generally observed that the group majority determines the final decision, but in certain conditions, a minority may be more influential. This occurs when the minority takes a firm and uncompromising stand, thereby creating a doubt on the correctness of the majoritys viewpoint. This creates a conflict within the group (see Box 3.4). A number of explanations have been given for conformity behaviour. One is that people conform when they are not sure of themselves and because they feel that, the information provided by others is the right and most important information. Second, in ambiguous situations where we do not know what is right, we look for the opinions and behaviours of people who are similar to us before deciding what to do. For example, when attending a wedding (of a different community) where rituals are unfamiliar, we look around at other people to see what to do and follow
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BOX 3.3
EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATION OF CONFORMITY line A and three other lines of different length, only one of which was of the same length as the standard line. The participants had to indicate which of the three comparison lines matched the standard line in length. Several other persons (usually six to eight) were also present during the session, but unknown to the real participant, all were accomplices of the experimenter. On certain occasions, known as the critical trials (twelve out of the eighteen problems), the accomplices gave wrong answers, i.e., they all chose the wrong line as a match for the standard line. In addition, they stated their answers before the participant responded. Thus, the target person was in a situation on critical trials where the correct answer would be the opposite of that given by the majority. It was observed that most of the participants in Aschs study conformed to the wrong judgements given by the majority. The Control group while judging alone made no errors. This demonstrates the influence of group behaviour on the behaviour of an individual.
A number of experiments in laboratory setting have demonstrated that individuals can be influenced by the group members to conform. A classic experiment by Solomon Asch has shown that group pressure can induce conformity of judgement in an individual.
Fig.3.2 Task Utilised in Conformity Study Asch asked the participants to respond to a series of simple perceptual problems such as the one shown in Fig 3.2. It consisted of one standard
them. Third, people who do not conform at times become the target of social disapproval. To avoid the possibility of social ridicule, people do not deviate from consensus and, therefore, conform. Also, by going along with people or by behaving like others, people meet their needs to be liked and accepted by others. Compliance Have you ever thought how people make you do certain things they want to be done by you? Alternatively how do you make people do things for you? Each one of us must be using different techniques for gaining compliance for inducing others to say yes to your requests. You have also read that people tend to conform to the judgements of others even though there is no external pressure to do so. This shows that unspoken pressure has powerful influence on the behaviour of people. Compliance is a form of social influence involving direct requests from one person to another. There are many techniques, which are used for gaining compliance. Some of these are briefly described below. l Friendship/liking : We willingly comply to requests from friends or from people
we like than those we do not like or those who are strangers. It has been found that increasing others liking for us by improving ones appearance, using positive non-verbal cues (e.g. smiling, eye contact, etc.), agreeing with significant people, showing interest in them, doing favours, giving gifts, etc., results in greater compliance. Commitment/Consistency : Once we commit to an action or take a stand we tend to comply with requests for behaviours that are consistent with that stand. For example, door salesmen often use this strategy making people comply by answering a small non-committal question (like naming the brand used by them) and then making them accept a greater demand (such as buying a new brand or accepting special offer on a particular brand). Scarcity : Things that are viewed as scarce, rare or difficult are generally viewed as more valuable than those, which are readily available. This also serves as a basis for gaining compliance. This tactic is often used by employers
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BOX 3.4
MINORITY INFLUENCE current social context. A number of social movements began with small numbers of people who challenged the existing assumptions of the majority. Serge Mosocovici, a French social psychologist has shown that under certain circumstances the minority exerts greater influences. He experimentally demonstrated that when the minority is consistent it causes the participants to change their overt responses as well as the way they look at the stimulus situation.
We often come across people who dissent from the views held by the group to which they belong. They remain in minority and protest the decisions taken by the group to which they belong. The majority may disregard their views. However, this is not always the case. There are examples of people who were in minority but have influenced the majority. Influence of the minority occur when people in the minority 1. are consistent in opposing the majority opinions 2. do not appear as rigid and dogmatic. 3. are consistent with the
by not readily agreeing (hard to get) to give the job and thereby increasing their worth to the potential employee. This is an effective way of gaining compliance. Reciprocity : We generally comply more with a request from someone who has previously provided a favour than from someone who has not. Obligation to return others favour makes us comply. You might have helped your classmates keeping in mind that they too had helped you in the time of need. Authority : People usually comply with requests from someone who is an authority figure or looks like one. In school, you often agree to the requests from head boy or head girl, teachers and principal.
Obedience The tendency to agree to requests from persons who have authority; also underlies the most direct and explicit social influence called obedience. Obedience occurs when people obey commands or orders from others to do something. Obedience is obtained through power that an authority figure possesses. If a person has the power over another, obedience can be demanded; such a person usually has the means to enforce his/her orders (e.g. negative sanctions, fines, demotions,). Therefore, obedience to the commands of the person who has authority can be expected but often persons lacking in such power can also induce submissiveness in others. Social psychological experiments provide evidence
for occurrence of such effects. (See Box 3.5 for an interesting experiment by Stanley Milgram). Milgrams studies seem to suggest that the ordinary people are willing, may be with some reluctance, to harm an innocent person if ordered by someone in authority. The obedience phenomenon demonstrated by Milgram can be viewed as an instance of the more general human tendency to conform to the group norms when under social pressure. This also shows how in real life the group influence can lead to acts of violence against innocent people (for example, the willingness of The Chinese troops to fire on the unarmed civilians during Tiananmen Square in 1989). It is important to know why do such cases of destructive obedience occur. What makes people yield to this powerful form of social influence?
ACTIVITY 3.2 Understanding Obedience to Authority Think of one situation when obedience to an authority figure had made you follow harsh directions. How do you feel now about your act? Discuss in class with the teacher.
It has been found that obedience to authority relieves the individual of responsibility for his/her action. Authority usually is enforced with symbols of status (e.g. uniforms, titles) which people find difficult to resist. Further, authority commands for destructive obedience are gradually increased from lesser to greater levels of violence and initial obedience binds
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BOX 3.5
OBEDIENCE : MILGRAMS EXPERIMENT shocks. However, even when the teacher was asked to forcibly push the learners hand on the shock device 35 per cent did so. Later these participants were paired with two other pairs who did not obey the experimenter and had discontinued to deliver the shocks. It was found that 90 percent of the teachers joined this group and refused to obey the experimenter. In another instance, when the experimenter left the place of experiment and another participant ordered the subjects to continue giving the shocks, it was observed, that they generally refused. If this person himself/herself tried to administer the shock, the other teacher tried to stop him. The findings of Milgrams experiment reveal that l The Presence of authority alone is not as critical as the presence of expert authority. l Saying, Please continue, implies I am the expert and I know that the learner will not be harmed so the shocks can be administered. Such implied assurance was an important determinant of the subjects attempts to continue giving the shocks. l When there is a convincing rationale for giving shock on another person, the subjects continued to participate in spite of the other person being in pain.
Milgram conducted an experiment on obedience in which participants from varied socio-economic and educational levels participated. They were grouped into pairs and one was the teacher and the other the learner. The learner had to learn a list of associations and the teacher was to present the stimuli, record answers and administer shocks of increasing intensity to the learner for every incorrect response. The teachers believed that they were administering shock to the learners. In reality, no shock was given to the learners. In reality, the learners were experimental confederates. During the experiment, the learner was in a cubicle and the communication between the learner and the teacher was over the intercom. Every time the shock was given to the learner, he or she shouted to stop giving him/her the shocks. The teacher would turn to the experimenter for instruction and if the experimenter said, Please continue the teacher would continue giving the shocks. (In reality, no shock was administered since all learners were confederates, acting their role). About 65% of Milgrams participants continued to obey the experimenter. In order to reduce the likelihood that the participants would deliver the shock. Milgram brought the teachers physically closer to the learners receiving the
the followers to commitment. For example, police may first be ordered to arrest, threaten the demonstrators and gradually they maybe asked to beat, torture or even shoot at the unarmed people. Finally, sometimes events involving destructive obedience move so quickly, that the people obeying orders have little time for reflection. COOPERATION
AND
COMPETITION
Tie five small corks to five long strings and lower each of the corks down the neck of a bottle. Ask your five friends to hold each of the strings. If you ask them to compete, so as to be the first one to pull the cork out, you will find that they will all try to pull the five corks simultaneously and get all of them jammed at the neck of the bottle. However, if you ask them to demonstrate how quickly the corks can be pulled out of the bottle, they will probably organise themselves and pull
the corks one by one in quick succession. This shows the role of cooperation and competition within a group. While shared goals are usually adopted by the members of a group, not all members many commit to the same extent. The way shared goals are defined is important for the structure of the group. The goals may be cooperative or competitive. Technically the behaviour that yields maximal joint profit for all the parties involved is called cooperation. In contrast, the behaviour that yielded maximal relative gain is labelled competition. Thus cooperative goal are those, which are defined in such a way that each individual can attain his goal if other members also attain their goals. There is interdependence in goal attainment. Usually situations where team effort is needed, characterise cooperative goals (e.g., relay race). The competitive goals involve situations where all members of the group aspire, but the goals are defined in such a manner that each member can attain his or
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her goal only if others do not attain the goal. There is only one winner and the others will have to remain unsatisfied. Studies have shown that cooperative goals increase interpersonal relations among the members of a group, since each contributes to the others progress toward the goal. It allows substituting activities for each other, since the activity of each member is seen as contributing towards fulfilling the group goals. In a cooperative situation, individuals are more willing to accept each others views and ideas since each individual is considered as helping the other. Cooperative goals, therefore, contribute directly to the emergence of mutually interrelated roles. Although competition among individual members within a group, tends to produce disharmony of conflict that threatens the organisation of the group, competition between two or more groups tends to increase cohesiveness within a group. It may be noted that organised groups, which adopt super ordinate cooperative goals may tolerate certain degree of competition without destroying the overall organisation of the group. Recapitulation We have seen that the mere presence of people affects our behaviour. Social facilitation makes people perform better in the presence of other people than when alone. Social loafing refers to the reduction in motivation and effort when individuals work collectively in a group compared to a situation when they work individually. Groups have shown to influence the decisions of individual members. It has been observed that groups make decisions that are polarised. They may become more (or less) risky than as individuals. Conformity occurs when people change their attitudes and behaviour to comply with expectations about how they should behave in various social situations. We tend to conform because of two basic social motives: need to be liked by others whose approval we desire (normative social influence) and the need to be right in our judgements or action (informational social influence). Compliance involves efforts to change the behaviour of others. The basic
principles underlying compliance are: friendship/liking, commitment/consistency, scarcity, reciprocity, and authority. Obedience is the most direct form of social behaviour. It involves yielding to orders from another person usually with power and authority. Power accrues to persons from various sources so that they can make other people behave or do things, which they may not otherwise do. Finally, we have seen how cooperation and competition affect group members.
LEARNING CHECKS III
1. Social facilitation effect refers to improvement in performance occurring due to the ____________ of people. 2. ____________ is change in behaviour or belief to correspond more closely to the behaviour of others in the group. 3. Normative influence is based on the desire to be ____________ by others. 4. Influence that results from accepting group behaviour as correct behaviour is ________________________________. 5. Conformity that results from external rewards or punishments is ______________________.
LEADERSHIP: NATURE
AND
FUNCTIONS
What Makes a Leader?
If you study the life history of great leaders such as Alexander the Great, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and many others, you will notice that leaders differ from ordinary people in various aspects. Such observations lead to formulation of a view of leadership known as the Great Man Theory. It assumes that leaders are unique or have unique background that makes them different from followers. The second approach, called Trait Theory, assumes that leadership is a general attitude that gives an individual the ability to lead in all situations. Leaders have certain traits, which are associated with the tendency to lead, such as: drive, self-confidence, creativity, flexibility, self-confidence, honesty
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and integrity. However, the trait theory does not fully explain the relationship between traits and leadership. Since leaders operate in a social context, leadership can be best understood in terms of complex interactions between social situations and individual characteristics. Different tasks and problems require different types of leaders and leadership. In fact depending on the situation you maybe a leader or a follower. No one is always a leader or a follower. Leadership is a social process: it depends on fulfilling a certain role in a pattern of relationships in a group of people. This role will vary in different groups, and in different situations, and thus the quality of relationships in the group varies. In this section, you would read about the nature and functions of leadership and the styles of leadership. You may have observed that whenever two or more people gather together to form a group, some people take a more active role than others do. They are also more preferred by others, command more respect and dominate others. The first type of person is known as leader and others as followers. Leadership is a process through which one member of a group (the leader) influences other group members toward the attainment of specific group goals. In other words, leadership is concerned with influence who is able to influence whom in different groups. Leadership defines a particular type of relationship between people. It is reciprocal in nature. Leaders are influenced by, as well as exert influence over their followers.
ACTIVITY 3.3 Understanding Leadership Think of your teachers in school. Think of one teacher who exercised most influence on you. List down the characteristics in him/her because of which she/he was able to influence you. Which appealed to you the most?
Defining and Identifying the Leader The criterion important in identifying leaders is influence, which an individual exerts on his/her fellow beings. We therefore may
define leaders as those members of the group who influence the activities of the group. According to this definition: l All members of a group (at least to some degree) are leaders, since every member, to some degree, influences the activities of other members. However, the amount of leadership vested in different persons varies. The members who influence the group largely may be termed as leaders. l Like all forms of interaction, leadership works in two ways: the leader influences the follower and the follower, in turn, influences the leader. l There is a need to differentiate between the leader as an individual who has significant influence and the official head of a group who may have very little influence. In other words, not all formal, official leaders are actual leaders. Leaders by virtue of their central position in the group, play important roles in shaping and directing the group goals, ideology, organisation and activities of the group members. In general, the influence in a group tends to become lodged in one or relatively few persons, rather than being spread evenly among all members of the group. Leadership emerges as a function of the organisation, situation, and tasks of the group. Some of the factors influencing the emergence of leadership are briefly described in the following section. 1. Group Complexity : As the group becomes larger, or when it acquires more functions, a hierarchy of leadership emerges. At the top of the hierarchy are Primary leaders, then Secondary and Tertiary leaders, and so on. At the bottom of the hierarchy are followers. Development of such a hierarchy involves spreading or delegation of leadership. You may have observed this in school activities such as Annual Day Celebrations, Sports Day etc., when some students assign work to others or those who volunteer for some work and others who do as they are asked to. 2. Crisis : In certain situations a group may suffer a set back towards achieving its goal or there may be some threat to its security. To handle such situations, an individual in the group is perceived by its members
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as someone who because of his/her personal characteristics (e.g., knowledge, skill, expertise, self-confidence) is potentially more capable in handling the problem. This person is likely to emerge as a leader. History has shown that dictatorship arises in crises, which require sudden changes in the government. 3. Group Instability : When group members hold divergent views about the goals or activities of the group or the ways for achieving them, such situations give rise to the emergence of informal leaders. This may not be the case in groups where members agree upon the group goals and means to achieve them. External or internal threat, both offer opportunities for the emergence of leadership.
ACTIVITY 3.5 Observing Leadership Behaviour Think of a situation when in crisis, some student had taken the lead role to solve the problem in your class.
more of such members leadership role may be shared by two or more individuals. If there are no such members, no leader will emerge and the group may disintegrate. THE FUNCTIONS
OF
LEADERS
4. Inadequate Leadership : When the formal leader of a group or official head is unable to perform the role and functions of leadership, new leaders are likely to emerge. You may recollect instances when Governments are thrown out of power because of weak or non-performing leaders. 5. Personal Needs : Leaders besides seeking fulfilment of group goals also desire power, prestige etc. Therefore, a leader will emerge only if a group has members who have such needs in sufficient degree. In case the group has
ACTIVITY 3.4 Identifying The Leader of a Group Write down separately the names of those students of your class who help in taking decisions, are liked by you and by the teacher, volunteer to undertake responsibilities, and are chosen by the teachers for assigning work. Collate the information of the class discuss the pattern of preferences and its implications with your teacher.
Leaders perform several functions. Let us examine briefly the main functions performed by the leader. 1. Executive : A leader in his/her executive capacity does not carry out work or activities but assigns it to other group members. Sometimes the leader is not able to delegate responsibility and authority and feels necessity to be personally involved in each group activity. Such situation may prevent members from taking or sharing responsibility, affecting their involvement in the work of the group. 2. Planner : A leader decides the ways and means by which the group shall achieve its goals. She/he plans for the entire work, the immediate steps to be taken and the long range planning for future steps. The members are apprised of the different aspects of the plan-often not the entire plan. 3. Expert : Leaders are generally viewed as sources of readily available information and skills or expertise. In many informal groups, often the person demonstrating greatest technical knowledge and skills becomes the leader. For example during camping or trekking, the guide may play the role of the group leader because of his/her familiarity and knowledge about the area. 4. Group Representative : In case of large groups it is not possible for all members to directly deal with other groups. The leader assumes the role of representative of the group in its external relations. He becomes the official representative for the group. All communicationsoutgoing and incomingare channelled through the leader. 5. Purveyor of Rewards and Punishments: Group members perceive the leader as having power to apply rewards and
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punishments. This enables the leader to exercise control over group members. Rewards and punishments may relate to being promoted to a higher position, giving special honours, or taking away the responsibility assigned or lowering of the status. 6. Exemplar : In certain groups the leader may serve as a role model to the group members. The Commanding Officer in the Armed Forces who leads his troops into a battle serves as an Exemplar; likewise, a religious leader should exemplify all the moral virtues he would expect the disciples to imbibe. Sometimes the leader provides the ideology of the group. He serves as the source of the beliefs, values, and norms of the individual members. 7. Father Figure : The leader may also play the emotional role of father figure for the individual members of the group. The leader is the ideal object for identification, for transferring feelings, and providing a focus for positive feelings. This role may form the basis of power of a leader in certain circumstances.
ACTIVITY 3.5 Identifying Leaders Write the names of leaders whom you admire. Identify the qualities, which made them different from others. Discuss the observations with your teacher.
LEADERSHIP STYLES: HOW LEADERS OPERATE? Leaders do not function in the same way. They differ in terms of personal style or approach to leadership. You too must have observed that there are people in school who take all the decisions, give orders, or simply assign work without any consideration for personal likes and dislikes. On the other hand, there would also be people who allow the class to arrive at a decision, and participate in activities, and have a democratic way of handling situation. It is obvious that these
two types of leaders have contrasting styles of functioning. Some of the major dimensions along which leaders differ in terms of their style are as follows. l Task orientation. It refers to the extent to which the leader focuses on getting the work done and gives primacy to task achievement. l Relational dimension. It refers to the leaders interest in creating friendly relations and satisfying group members. Nurturant leaders value nurturing the members through a personal relationship. Leaders can be high or low on any of these dimensions. The distinction between different styles of leadership is largely in terms of the kind of relationship that exists between the leader and the group members and the degree of emphasis on task accomplishment. However, no single style is the best; it depends on the specific circumstances. Let us have a look at some of the major styles of leadership. 1. Authoritarian/Autocratic Leadership: An authoritarian leader tends to yield absolute power. Such a leader alone takes decisions for the group, makes major plans, dictates activities of group members and determines the pattern of relationship among them. The authoritarian leader deliberately develops these absolute functions and resists changes in them. Individual members are often discouraged to set personal goals. The goals are imposed on them. The autocratic leader guarantees that his guidance is indispensable for proper functioning of the group. Such a leader tries to establish a structure where intercommunication among the members is minimum, is through the leader or is under his supervision. 2. Democratic Leadership : A democratic leader may have the same amount of power as an autocratic leader, but differs greatly in the way power is used. The democratic leader encourages greater involvement and participation of group members in the activities and in setting up of group goals. The leader seeks the distribution of responsibility, encourages and reinforces interpersonal relations among the group
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nurturance. He cares for his subordinates, members, reduces intergroup conflict and shows affection, takes a personal interest tension, and prevents development of a in their well-being and above all, is hierarchical group structure. committed to their growth. The major difference in the two styles of A leader, in order to be effective, has to leadership is that the authoritarian leader be nurturant and task oriented to the tends to be the group dictator, while the subordinates who prefer to maintain democratic leader acts as the facilitator dependency and personalised relationship of group activities. An authoritarian leader is the keystone of the group, without with him and accept his authority. The whom the group may collapse whereas; same leader gradually adopts participative the success of a democratic leader lies in style as the subordinates gain expertise how well the group can function without and experience, and thereby want him. freedom and autonomy to work. The work 3. Nurturant Task Leadership : The is performed diligently as a part of a snehauthoritarian style is self-centred shardha (affection-deference) and is oriented towards status relationship between a dependent/ maintenance, rigidity, and subordinate and his nurturant domineering posture whereas the superior. In Indian organisations, democratic or participative style is nurturant task leadership is found to people oriented and directed be effective. towards sharing, trusting, etc. 4. Laissez-faire : As the name Leaders, as we have seen, vary in suggests (laissez-faire in French the extent of their emphasis on mean let the people do what they task achievement and their chose) such a leader does not Jai B.P. Sinha relationship with members. In actively guide the group and may not western cultures, task achievement participate in group activities. He also assumes more significance in group does not intervene in any way in the group functioning, whereas in many nonfunctioning. His role is of a passive western cultures a nurturant relationship observer or provider of information if of the leader with group members is required by some group member. considered important. In between the two 5. Charismatic Leader : Personalities like styles, is the nurturant task style. It is John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, task oriented, having structured Mahatma Gandhi, Churchill, Indira expectations from the subordinates, Gandhi, and many such leaders have draws on the cultural values such as shaped the course of world events. affection, dependency, and the need for There is something special about these personalised relationships. It has been leaders. They are often termed proposed by Jai B.P. Sinha. charismatic leaders (charisma means Nurturant task leadership has two main gift in Greek). What personal components: concern for task and characteristics make certain leaders nurturant orientation. Such a leader charismatic? According to the great defines his and his subordinates role man theory certain traits, personal clearly so that communications strengths and motives of individuals are explicit, structured and task-relevant. make some people charismatic leaders. He initiates, guides and directs Besides possessing certain traits, his subordinates to work hard. charismatic leadership involves a Responsibilities are pinpointed and areas special type of relationship between the of decision-making are synchronised with leaders and their followers. In other them. He thus creates a climate of words, there seem to be certain types purposiveness and goal orientation. His of personalities who become charismatic task orientation, however, has the mix of leaders. The situation must also be
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appropriate, so that the followers readily accept the leadership of a person who possesses those particular traits. (1) Charismatic leaders are capable of evoking high levels of devotion, loyalty and reverence towards the leader; (2) willingness to sacrifice their personal interests for the group goals; and (3) performance beyond the expected level. Charismatic leaders prefer to maintain direct personal contact with the group members. They are able to communicate emotion and get emotional responses from their followers. They are leaders of mass movements. Charismatic leadership involves a special kind of leader-follower relationship in which the leader inspires the followers to make personal sacrifices in their devotion to causes. 6. Transformational Leadership: These leaders exert considerable influence over the followers by proposing an inspiring vision. They describe in clear, emotionprovoking manner, an image of what the group can become. Also, they provide a route for attaining the vision. They have a high level of confidence, high degree of concern for the followers, excellent communication skills. Also, they are very capable in impression management that enhances their appeal to others. In sum, there is no single leadership style, which is effective in all situations. There are individual differences in leadership styles. The contexts of group functioning also vary. A rigid leadership style is not always the best. The effectiveness of any style of leadership is contingent on the demands of the situation. Some of historys most successful leaders had varied their leadership style to fit the circumstances. The optimal leadership style is the one that suits the situation. Recapitulation The leaders of a group are those members who exert relatively greater influence on the group. The emergence of leaders is facilitated by: (a) an increase in the size and complexity of the group; (b) blockage to the achievement of group goals; (c) external and internal threats
faced by the group, and (d) failure of the official head and availability of potential leaders in the group. Leaders serve several functions. They work as executives, planners, policy makers, experts, external group representatives etc. to varying degrees. Authoritarian, Democratic, Charismatic, Laissez-faire, Transformational and Nurturant-task leadership are some typical styles of leadership.
LEARNING CHECKS IV
1. Leadership involves exercising influence by one group member over the other members. T/F 2. Traits of leaders are different from those of the followers. T/F 3. Transformational leader motivates the followers to accomplish more than they originally expect. T/F 4. Democratic leaders do not yield as much power as do the autocratic leaders. T/F 5. Authoritarian leader encourages hierarchy among the group members. T/F 6. Laissez-faire leadership promotes healthy inter-personal relationship among the group members. T/F 7. Leadership always emerges at a result of situational factors. T/F 8. A goal leader has a fixed style which does not change over time. T/F
Key Terms
Conformity, Primary Group, Compliance, Obedience, Proximity, Leadership, Cohesiveness, In-group, Out-group, SocialFacilitation effect, Evaluation Apprehension, Groupthink, Minority influence, Normative Influence, Risk Taking, Social Loafing, Informational influence.
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SUMMARY
l
Group refers to two or more persons who interact with each other, have common goals, share a stable relationship, perform expected behaviours and recognise that they belong to a group. Individuals join groups to satisfy their social needs: to enjoy recognition and affection, to acquire information, to feel secure and safe and to bolster their self-esteem. Group formation is facilitated by factors such as: proximity, similarity, cohesiveness, belongingness, etc. Groups differ in terms of their function and organisation. A number of dimensions are used to characterise various types of groups: primary and secondary groups, formal and informal groups, in-group and out-groups. Social influence or efforts by one or more persons to change the attitudes, behaviours, or perceptions of others is a very common form of social behaviour. Conformity, compliance and obedience are important examples of social influence. Leadership involves exercising of influence by one group member over the other members. Factors such as group complexity, crises, group instability, inadequate leadership, personal qualities etc. influence the emergence of leadership. Leaders perform different functions, as: executives, planners, experts, group representatives, purveyors of rewards and punishments, exemplars and father figures. Leaders appear to differ from their followers in terms of several traits, but not all leaders are alike. They adopt very different styles, which are distinct in terms of the kind of relationship that exists between the leader and the group members. Some of the leadership styles are: Authoritarian/Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez-faire, Transformational, Charismatic and Nurturant-task Leadership. There is no single leadership style which is most effective in all situations. The optimum leadership style is the one that suits the situation.
l l
l l
Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. What is a group? State its functions? Which factors facilitate the formation of a group? Describe the different types of groups with examples? What is social facilitation effect? Explain with the help of examples? What is conformity? Why do people conform? How do people obtain obedience? Who are leaders? What factors lead to the emergence of leadership? What are the different styles of leadership? What is compliance? How does it differ from social loafing?
ANSWERS
I II III : : :
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
IV
(1) F, (2) T, (3) T, (4) F, (5) T, (6) F (1) T, (2) T, (3) T, (4) T, (5) T (1) presence, (2) conformity, (3) accepted, (4) informational influence, (5) compliance, (1) T, (2) F, (3) T, (4) F, (5) T, (6) F, (7) F, (8) F.
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4
THIS
ATTITUDE
CHAPTER COVERS
AND
SOCIAL COGNITION
CONTENTS
Introduction Nature and Components of Attitudes What is an Attitude? Components of Attitude Measurement of Attitudes Methods of Attitude Scaling (Box 4.1) Formation, Maintenance and Change of Attitudes A Two-step Concept of Attitude Change (Box 4.2) Attitude and Behaviour Attitude-Behaviour Consistency: A Classic Study (Box 4.3) Prejudice and Discrimination Sources of Prejudice Intergroup Conflicts Strategies to Overcome Prejudices Beliefs and their Functions Social Cognition Causal Attributions Pro-social Behaviour : Nature and Determinants Bystander Behaviour, Altruism and Empathy (Box 4.4) Aggression and Violence: Its Causes and Remedies (Box 4.5)
The concept and measurement of attitude The formation, maintenance and change of attitudes The factors influencing intergroup relations The nature and function of beliefs The nature of pro-social behaviour and its determinants BY
BE ABLE TO
understand what is attitude and how it can be measured, learn what are the determinants of maintenance, formation, and change in attitudes, understand the difference between prejudice and discrimination and to acquaint with some measures to overcome them, learn about the nature of beliefs and their functions including causal beliefs, and understand the concept of pro-social behaviour and what factors promote it
Attitude and Social Cognition
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INTRODUCTION
Attitudes refer to the way one thinks, feels and acts toward others in any social situation. One has attitudes about friends, parents, political leaders, and organisations. One has attitudes even about the strangers one meets casually, or about the places visited, or about the objects seen. Think about your attitude towards your close friend. You would think that your friend is trustworthy, helpful and intelligent; would feel positively about him or her, and would be ready to spend time together. You would also realise that you think, feel and act differently toward a bully in your class. Your attitude about a bully is probably negative, whereas it is likely to be positive in the case of a close friend. Did you realise that these attitudes largely determine the way you deal with these people in everyday life? Attitudes influence your daily behaviour in a much more significant manner than you generally realise. Did you know that you have attitudes about almost everything that matters to you? As human beings, we cognise and try to make sense of the different aspects of our social world. The study of these efforts is social cognition. We try to find the causes of various events. We also relate to other persons present in our environment in different ways. We not only help others and cooperate with, but also try to harm others, when we are angry. Expressions of anger and conflict are also found at group level. The relations between groups may be cordial, but at times we notice intergroup conflicts that may result in social disturbances, terrorism or even war. The roots of all these are found in our attitudes and cognitions. This chapter will help you to understand the meaning and components of attitudes. You will learn about many other questions such as: How can the attitudes be measured? How attitudes are formed and maintained? What leads to the changes in attitudes? What is the relationship of attitude with behaviour? Also, you will learn about attitudes toward groups, prejudices and the strategies to reduce them. You will also learn about the ways we cognise the social world and how attributions and beliefs work and shape our behaviour. Finally, you will learn about the nature and factors underlying a pro-social behaviour.
Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong. Peter T. Mc Intyre
MULTIPLE IDENTITIES OF A CHILD
84
NATURE
AND
COMPONENTS
OF
ATTITUDES
What is an Attitude? In social psychology the term attitude is defined as a predisposition involving beliefs, feelings, and dispositions to act towards some object. The object may be anything a person, a group, an idea or an object. In recent years psychologists are moving toward a conception of attitude as evaluation. Evaluations are related in complex ways to beliefs, feelings, and actions. Thus attitudes are simply evaluations of (attitude) objects. The attitudes have two main characteristics. They are stable and dispositional. 1. Attitudes are relatively stable. Temporary mood states and one-time actions cannot be considered as an attitude. Your mother may get angry with you for coming home late but it is not indicative of her attitude. Attitudes refer to the set of thoughts, feelings and actions that people hold on relatively long-term basis. Once formed, attitudes have a tendency to persist over time and across situations. It, however, does not mean that attitudes do not change. They do change in the light of new experiences and informations. 2. Attitudes are dispositional. By dispositional we mean that the attitudes are the characteristics of an individual and people differ in their strength from one another depending on their socialisation and social interaction. Functions of Attitudes Attitudes serve four important functions as given below: 1. Attitudes provide basis for defining social groups : Members of a group often share similar attitudes and this binds them together. The shared attitude towards environmental protection, for example, is all that holds a proenvironmental organisation together. Similarly, it is the shared attitude towards secularism and social tolerance that binds the Indian people. In this way attitudes are central in maintaining a group.
2. Attitudes help to establish our identities : Attitudes provide self-definition. Just as a crucial element of some social groups is a set of attitudes, so too are attitudes central elements in peoples notion of themselves. Who were Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi without their attitudes toward India? Who is Sunderlal Bahuguna without his attitudes toward environment and ecology? What we think about ourselves is shaped by our attitudes. 3. Attitudes guide thinking and behaviour : Attitudes are important elements of peoples cognition. They guide the way people think, feel, and act. The influences of attitudes are found on many aspects of social behaviour. The positive attitudes toward others may bring you closer to them and you may be favourably disposed to comply with their requests. You may imitate or model such people. On the other hand, negative attitudes create interpersonal distance, and lead to less friendly interaction with others. In extreme cases, we may even harm or damage the interests of those who are categorised as others. The choices of friends, school, doctor, occupation, etc. are often guided by the kind of attitudes we have about them. 4. Attitudes play an important role at the societal level : Think of a situation when all your friends have the same attitude about your school, and compare it with a situation when some of your friends have positive and others have a negative attitude towards the same. The second situation creates tension and conflict. In the same way, if people have negative attitudes about those who belong to another religion, we have more communal conflicts in the society. On the contrary, if the attitudes about other religious groups are positive, there is peace and harmony in the society. COMPONENTS
OF
ATTITUDE
As indicated earlier an attitude comprises of three components namely, cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling) and behavioural
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(action). The cognitive component represents the belief that one has about an attitude object, implying thereby how we evaluate the characteristics of a person, object or place. This evaluation could be positive or negative. For example, one may think that the ideology of a particular political party is good (or not good) for the country. The second component is that of affect. It deals with the way one feels about the attitudinal object. When one thinks about, interacts or communicates with any person, for example, one may have a pleasant or an unpleasant feeling. Our liking or disliking for some person refers to the affective component of an attitude. The third component of attitude refers to the actual behaviour. If one has a positive attitude about someone his or her actual behaviour would be favourable. One approves the behaviour, defends it before others, and helps and supports them. The three components are interlinked. This may be understood when we analyse attitude towards something. Let us take an example. Suppose you love swimming, and jumping into the pool brings a smile to your face. For you, there is no greater fun than swimming. You also know that swimming is an excellent exercise and a great way to stay in shape. You have a positive attitude about swimming. The above description of swimming illustrates the three components of an attitude: affect, cognition and behaviour. You love swimming. It is a great fun. These feelings highlight the affective component. The knowledge about the activity constitutes the cognitive component of an attitude. You understand the health benefits that swimming can bring. Finally, attitudes have a behavioural component. Our attitudes prompt us to do or say something. You change into a costume and jump into the swimming pool. The Relationship among the Components of Attitude You may be ready to dispute by now that why do you have to think, feel and behave positively when you have a positive attitude about a person. It is possible that you may
evaluate someone positively (for example, very intelligent) but, at the same time, may not like him or her as a person and would like to keep a distance because of his or her antics. On the other hand, you may not like someone but may want to help him anyway. You are not wrong. Normally it is seen that if you have a very strong attitude, all the three components of attitude are closely related, i.e., they are in the same direction. However, in a large number of cases it may not hold true. Then what is the point in talking about these three components of attitude? Those who propose that an attitude is a consistent system of beliefs, emotions and actions, argue that inconsistency among the three components may cause tension and anxiety and the person would try to bring changes in these components in such a manner that consistency or balance is restored. In fact, it is possible to change those attitudes, where the three components are inconsistent than in the cases where they are consistent. When all components of attitude are in the same direction the attitude will be more resistant to change.
ACTIVITY 4.1 Understanding the Nature of Attitudes
l Describe your best friend and a person
whom you dont like in terms of the three components of attitude.

l Compare these two attitudes. l Share your observations with your
teacher and classmates.
Recapitulation Attitudes refer to the way one thinks, feels, and acts toward objects in any social situation. It is a product of interaction and experience. It is defined as a relatively stable disposition of human beings to think, feel and act in a particular manner. Attitude is not a single entity. It comprises of three components namely cognitive, affective, and behavioural. People try to maintain consistency across these three components.
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LEARNING CHECKS I
Read the following statements and indicate whether they refer to an attitude or not. 1. Feeling depressed about failing in the examination. Yes/No 2. Did not like the classmate for his her insincerity. Yes/No 3. Never skips the psychology classes. Yes/No 4. Thinks very highly about Sachin Tendulkar. Yes/No 5. Takes bath before going to school every morning. Yes/No 6. Likes to be praised by others. Yes/No 7. Uses only Colgate toothpaste. Yes/No
to be the Chief Minister of a State? The answer may be given by using one of the four categories, i.e., Yes, No, Maybe, Do not know. This type of question, however, forces the respondents into making limited number of choices. Rating Scales : In these scales respondents indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with a statement. One of the frequently used scales is Likert Scale. The items in this kind of scale ask the person to agree or disagree with attitude statements on a 5-point scale as shown below :
I believe children should not be punished. Strongly Disagree 1 Disagree Neutral Agree 2 3 4 Strongly Agree 5
MEASUREMENT
OF
ATTITUDES Likerts technique is called a summated rating scale, because individuals are given an attitude score based on the sum of their responses on all the items of the scale. Activity 4.2 shows only one kind of attitude measure and there are many other types of measures. But on examining this measure many other features of attitude measures would become clear. First, all items are based on self-reports of the respondent. The presumption is that people know their preferences and they can show them by following the instructions and choosing a response alternative. Second, attitude is not measured directly, or by asking a single question. There is always more than one statement, usually sufficiently large in number and an aggregate score is than obtained. It is the aggregate score from which the favourability of ones attitude is assessed. Third, all these measures use standard instructions, which are given to each person on whom the attitude measure is administered. The statements selected for an attitude measure are carefully chosen to meet certain criteria. These criteria ensure that the statements do in fact assess the favourable or unfavourable views held by the person in relation to the attitude object. There are several
Understanding peoples attitude towards a particular issue, such as reservation, or capital punishment or womens rights is important for many purposes. The attitudes are private; we cant directly know what a persons attitudes are just by looking at her or him. For this reason, social psychologists use certain techniques to measure peoples attitudes. Some of these techniques use direct responses, whereas others are indirect. A brief description of these techniques is given below. The Attitude Survey : This is the most commonly used technique for measuring attitudes. In an attitude survey, the investigators provide a questionnaire or ask a series of questions on the telephone. A respondent shows his or her attitude by answering a series of questions. These questions may be open or close ended. Openended questions allow the respondent to provide an answer in his/her own words. For example, a respondent might be asked: What qualifications do you think are necessary for the Prime Minister of India? Although this type of question yields in-depth information, the answers can be difficult to analyse. Consequently, most of the questions on an attitude surveys in vogue are close ended. For instance, one may ask: Are women qualified
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ACTIVITY 4.2 Attitude about Coaching Institutes Please read each statement carefully and answer by choosing one of the three alternatives: Agree, somewhat agree and disagree. Circle the appropriate number given before each statement to indicate your views. Strongly Agree 1. Coaching institutes prepare you for competition. 2. Coaching is a must in present times. 3. Coaching institutes are only for money making. 4. Coaching institutes should be banned. 5. Coaching institutes make false promises. 6. Coaching is of no good for bright students. 7. Coaching institutes provide better education. 8. Services provided by coaching institutes should be appreciated. Neither Agree Nor Disagree Strongly Disagree
ways of preparing and arranging appropriate statements. These are known as the Attitude Scaling Methods. Some of the popular scaling methods are described in Box 4.1. Behavioural Measures: The self-report measures rely on respondents verbal reports of their attitudes. Often there is no way to verify the correctness of such reports. Keeping this limitation in mind, observation of overt behaviour becomes the basis of measuring someones attitude. For example, with whom people interact in public places is a good index of their attitude toward other ethnic groups. Unobtrusive Measures: These measures assess attitudes by indirect means. The people whose attitudes are being measured are not aware of it. The lost-letter technique is a good example of this technique. If a researcher wants to measure a communitys attitude towards, say, foreigners, she might not get honest answers on a questionnaire. But, if she has some stamps and envelopes, she can try the lost-letter technique. This is what the researcher does: She addresses an envelope to someone with a foreign-sounding name at a local address. She puts a stamp on the envelope and then drops it on a crowded street near the post office so that it can be easily found and mailed. As her baseline control, she drops a stamped
envelope addressed to someone whose name does not sound foreign. The procedure is repeated to collect a sample. The envelopes that turn up are counted and compared with names sounding foreign with those names that dont. This reflects the attitude towards foreigners. Recapitulation Attitude survey is one of the most common ways to assess attitudes. It involves asking questions. Rating scales require the person to respond to certain statements in a standard format and an aggregate score is obtained by calculating the persons responses. Apart from the Self-report method, there are behavioural and unobtrusive measures that are used to assess attitudes.
LEARNING CHECKS II
1. Attitudes are closed ended questionnaires. T/F 2. Rating scales measure the extent to which the respondent agrees or disagrees with the statement. T/F 3. Likerts technique is called summated rating scale. T/F 4. Unobstrusive measures assess attitudes of people without making them aware of it. T/F
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BOX 4.1
METHODS OF ATTITUDE SCALING
Likert Method : This was developed by Rensis Likert in 1932. To develop a Likert Scale, the researcher first prepares a large number of statements that are relevant to the attitude object. These statements or items should be as diverse as possible covering all aspects of the attitude object. For example, if one wants to measure the attitude towards coaching institutes, the statements should cover all aspects from teaching techniques to learning environment to monetary matters. These items are prepared in such a manner that the person given this measure would be able to use the following five categories: strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, and strongly disagree. These categories are assigned scores from 5 to 1, in that order, i.e., strongly agree (5) and strongly disagree (1). These numbers are assigned in this manner so that a high score indicates a favourable attitude and a low score indicates an unfavourable attitude. The person whose attitude we want to measure responds to each statement by choosing one of the five categories. The aggregate score is obtained by adding the numerical values of the categories checked by a respondent. Thurstone Method : This method was named after Louis Thurstone who developed it in 1928. Thurstone, indeed, was the first one to suggest that attitudes can be measured by finding the view that a person holds about attitude objects. Thurstone viewed attitudes as varying along an evaluative continuum ranging from favourable to unfavourable. To prepare a Thurstone scale, a researcher first collects a large number of opinion statements expressing favourable or unfavourable attitudes about the attitude object. Judges are then given these statements to categorise them in 11 categories ranging from showing very unfavourable attitude to very favourable attitudes. Each statement is evaluated by many judges in terms of the degree of negativity of the view expressed, or degree of favourableness (about child marriage) of the statement. If the statement is put in the first category, it implies that the judge considers that statement as showing very unfavourable attitude toward child marriage, if the statement is put in category 6, it would mean that the statement is considered
showing neither favourable nor unfavourable attitude about child marriage. The mean of the ratings of all judges is taken as the scale value of that item, as shown below. A set of items is then selected from the pool of such statements, which are then presented to the participant who are asked to indicate the statements with which they agree. The Sum total of the scale values of those selected items is the attitude score of that participant. Attitude toward Child Marriage Scale Value 1. Child marriage should be a cognisable offence. 2. Child marriage should be seen as one of the many social ills. 3. There is nothing wrong in child marriage. 4. Many times child marriages do not work. 5. People responsible for child marriage should be put behind the bars. 8.3 4.2 1.4 3.2
9.8
Bogardus Method : Another attempt to develop an attitude measure was made by Emory Bogardus. Also known as the Social Distance scale, Bogardus developed this measure to find the attitude, which people have toward different ethnic groups, in terms of how much social distance people wish to maintain between themselves and various ethnic groups. Bogardus Social Distance Measure first names an ethnic group and then asks the respondent to check which one of the seven relationships they would be willing to engage in with members of this group. For example, if a respondent is willing to accept a person into the closest relationship (by marriage), a score of 1 would be assigned, a score of 2 would be given if the respondent is ready to admit the members of other ethnic groups in their fold, and so on. A score of 7 is given to the respondent who wants the members of other ethnic groups entirely excluded from their social life.
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FORMATION, MAINTENANCE CHANGE OF ATTITUDES Formation of Attitudes
AND
As mentioned earlier, we are not born with attitudes. A newborn baby has no attitude towards a snake. If not stopped by elders, it will have no problem in playing with a snake. Only when it grows little older than a child it learns to fear and avoid a snake. We can also ask a question, how do people acquire an attitude toward the Chinese food? Can we acquire an attitude about something we are not exposed to? Why do people have different attitudes? The term attitude formation refers to the movement we make from having no attitude toward an attitude object to having a positive or negative attitude. Lets examine what factors contribute to the formation of attitudes. The attitudes are acquired through different types of learning. You have already studied about the basic processes of learning in Class XI. Therefore, the relevance of learning process in relation to attitude formation is only briefly indicated. The three basic learning procedures involved in the acquisition of attitudes are as follows. Classical conditioning : As you know this kind of learning shows how a neutral object gets associated with an already established stimulus-response connection. Any attitude object, which is repeatedly associated with a stimuli capable of evoking positive or negative feelings, will acquire the ability to evoke a similar response. For example, you may develop a positive attitude about a person who was present whenever you won a match. Players often develop a strong liking for the bat by which they made good runs. Instrumental conditioning : It applies to the situations when people learn attitudes which are systematically rewarded by significant others, such as parents, teachers or friends. In fact, children are taught certain attitudes and behaviours by controlling reward and punishment and systematically reinforcing certain kinds of attitudes. While the specific form of such rewards may vary greatly, ranging from praise, affection, approval to
offering monetary rewards, jobs and positions. It has been observed that people quickly come to express specific point of views when they are rewarded for their expression. Observational learning : It suggests that human beings are capable of acquiring new responses simply by observing the actions and their outcomes. Children are keen observers and learn a whole lot of things from their parents and other family members. They learn many of their attitudes about other ethnic groups, neighbours, and ideologies simply by observing the behaviours of adults. Factors Influencing Formation of Attitudes The formation of attitudes takes place in our social environment. The different aspects of environment shape the development of attitudes. Some of the important aspects of environment, relevant to the formation of attitudes are described below. Family : Parents have an all-encompassing influence on the way their children come to form attitudes. Children get their first exposure to the social world through their parents and other family members. They acquire initial knowledge about the people and places from their parents and very often imbibe their values and observations. The young children learn by observing and imitating their elders in the family. Parents provide categories, which their children pick up to form attitudes. Children often learn to categorise other children as good or bad based on the categories supplied by their parents. They form attitudes about other social and religious groups on the basis of such categories defined by their parents. Thus, families constitute the primary source of information for children. Imagine how much young children learn about the world from the stories told by their grand parents! Reference Groups : As the children grow older the diversity of influences on their lives increases. They form opinion about many more people and objects. They come in contact with teachers, policemen, vendors, and more importantly with peers. These groups constitute the reference groups for children. The children learn a great deal from these reference groups. They imbibe attitudes about
90
occupations, social and religious groups, consumer products, national leaders, etc., which are endorsed by such reference groups. If their reference group is biased about some religious group, probability is high that the child will also show similar kind of bias.
ETHNIC lCaste and Social
lAttitudes of family l Patterns of Socialisation
MULTIPLE IDENTITIES OF A CHILD
lInteractions with Peer Group lRules traditionally defined lInequality in status lSocialisation GENDER
be positive in their judgement of the groups to which the perpetrators belong. Media Exposure : Todays life media has assumed a prominent place. Think how many hours you and your friends watch the T.V. On an average, urban middle school children watch T.V. for at least 4-5 hours and this exposure has become a potent way to learn about the world. T.V commercials tell us which products we should buy. Since children are more impressionable, they tend to believe what they see on the T.V screen. They rarely question what they see on the T.V. Several studies have reported that high-school children rate the mass media as their most important source of information. Figure 4.1 presents the range of factors that may influence attitude formation. MAINTENANCE
OF
DEMOGRAPHIC
lSocial Group Affiliations
lStructure of Population
lGenetic Inheritance
lChanging Social Trends
ECONOMIC
ATTITUDES
Fig.4.1 Influences on Attitude Formation
Direct Personal Experience : How do you form an attitude about an army personnel? It largely depends on your personal encounter with such a man in the past. If he was very kind and helpful to you, you tend to have a favourable attitude towards the army men. If an army man has roughed you up for trespassing, your attitude may not be favourable toward all army men. We tend to generalise. Apart from day-to-day life experiences, there are other unique significant life events and situations. Meeting Ramkrishna Paramhans changed Narendra and his whole attitude toward life and people. From a skeptic, he became a believer and went on to address the World Religions Congress and became a legend as Swami Vivekananda. We all have such turning points, which significantly shape our attitudes in a particular direction. It is understandable that those who are born in extreme poverty conditions and have had many bitter experiences, their attitudes about others are not likely to be positive. The victims of criminal assault and social discrimination can hardly
Once formed, attitudes persist. The social environment including people, the pattern of interaction, and the distribution of reward and punishment, remains stable to a large extent. They help to maintain attitudes. People like to have consistency in their attitudes and they do this in many ways. 1. We discount the contradictory information. If they are confronted with information, which is against their present attitude, they either consider that information as not very relevant or important, or believe that it is coming from a dubious source. One can thus ignore such information. 2. Our reference group may be exerting influence to maintain the attitude, which is important for the smooth functioning of the group. The reference group resists any change and people succumb to the group pressure. If the membership of the reference group is important to the person, he or she is more likely to retain his/her former attitude even in the face of contradictory information. 3. Maintaining a particular attitude may be beneficial for the person. For instance, if someone is very helpful to you in achieving your goals, even if you come to know about his negative qualities you justify his actions and maintain your existing attitude.
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4. Once we make a public commitment, or take a position, it becomes very difficult to change that. For example, if someone has participated in a protest march against the reservation policy, it will be very difficult to take a favourable position about it. If one changes ones attitude in such a situation, he or she may find it difficult to justify it. 5. Attitudes greatly shape our identity. Ones identity is largely determined by the attitude one holds about people, issues, and objects that matter. Changing attitudes would, therefore, amount to changing ones notion of self and identity. ATTITUDE CHANGE Once formed, attitudes are difficult to change. Yet, people do undergo substantial changes in their attitudes during their lifetime. These shifts in attitudes are not very sudden or dramatic but are usually so gradual that we fail to take notice of them. For example the advertisers try to change our attitudes all the time. Some attitudes are more resistant to change, while others are more amenable to change. Our family, friends, well-wishers, and seniors keep telling us what is good and what we should do. A five thousand crore
BOX 4.2
advertising industry all over the world keeps telling people what product they should buy. You switch on your television and your auditory and visual senses are bombarded with all kinds of advertisements. Go to any public place and you cannot escape seeing the hoardings inviting you to join a particular coaching, or buy some particular brand of a product. Political parties want you to change your attitude in their favour. New and innovative techniques are constantly devised to catch the attention of people and bring about the desired change in attitudes. Attitudes can change in the positive or negative direction. This change in attitude can be congruent or incongruent. The congruent change is the direction in which your present attitude is. In contrast, the incongruent change is a change in the reverse direction. Generally, the incongruent change in attitude is difficult to achieve. Of course, whether our attitude will change or not, depends on several factors. Here we will discuss some important factors, which contribute to the changes in attitudes. These factors can be broadly put into two categories (i) characteristics of attitude (ii) communication factors. Let us now examine these factors :
A TWOSTEP CONCEPT OF ATTITUDE CHANGE into motion the agent being attracted to the target will attract target to himself. To foster a positive attitude towards the target, the agent has to undergo a process of self-correction through sincere heart searching. After having been through the first step without faltering, the second step calls upon the agent to enact the attitude relevant behaviour. Later, this behaviour will serve as a model for its imitation by the target person. The two-step concept of attitude change is grounded on a synthesis of the view point of Banduras social learning theory and the principles of inter-personal attraction.
S.M. Mohsin, one of the pioneers of scientific psychology in India, was a Professor and the Head of the Psychology Department, Patna University, Patna. He proposed a twostep concept of attitude change. The first step is the identification of the target of attitude change with the agent or source of change. Identification implies generation in the target a liking for agent. It amounts to investing the agent with the potential to release agreeable thoughts and pleasurable feelings in the target with regard to the agent. To achieve this, the agent himself has to be inspired by a genuinely positive regard for the target. This will set the reciprocated attraction process
S.M. Mohsin
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ACTIVITY 4.3 Understanding the Dynamic Nature of Attitudes Following is a list of attitudes. Please read them carefully and indicate which attitude is difficult to change and why?
l Attitude toward a teacher whom you like
5. Functionality : If the attitude serves a useful function for the individual, he is less likely to change it. For example, if the membership of a particular club enhances your self-esteem, you would like to maintain a positive attitude about that club. Communication Factors You have read about the basic ideas of communications process in Class XI. Suppose you are given a task to change the attitude of your classmates in favour of peer learning, how will you go about doing it? What will persuade them to change their attitude? The task is not as easy as it may appear to many people. Simply telling them good things about peer learning may not work. You have to present that information in an effective manner. Even then some people will change and others will not. Let us see when and how people change their attitudes in the light of a new information. The first thing you may need is to have convincing ground for the position that you want to advance. Thus, based on available information you have to build a very forceful argument in favour of peer learning. In this context, the source of information plays an important role. If the information comes from some very credible source, e.g., a researcher or educationist, it is likely to be more effective. If something is said by an expert or a trustworthy person, it is more persuasive. Sometimes attractiveness or likeableness of the communicator makes a difference. You must have noticed that if your favourite actor comes in the advertisement of a particular product, it is supposed to have a greater appeal. The way or mode in which a message or information is presented to the students, whose attitude you want to change will also be important. In general, face-to-face communication is found to be more effective than indirect communication. This enables you to modify your argument to fit the motive and characteristics of the student you want to persuade. It is, though, not always, possible to engage in face-to-face communication, if the group is very large and you are not sure of your persuasive
and attend regularly.
his/her
classes
very
l Attitude toward a friend whom you
consider very good at studies but do not like his/her work habits.
l Attitude toward parents who are strict
disciplinarians.
l Attitude toward a profession, which you
want to take up as a career.

l Attitude toward a writer whose novels
your friends have read.

l Attitude
toward a group whose membership was very restricted and hard to get. Discuss your answers with the teacher.
Characteristics of Attitude
The following characteristics of attitude play important role in the change of attitude. 1. Strength : Attitudes, which are extreme in nature, are less likely to change. For example, if you have a strong opinion that India should make nuclear bombs, you are less likely to pay attention to the information, which is contrary to your attitude. 2. Complexity : It refers to multiple factors, which constitute an attitude. For example, the attitude toward parents is much more complex than attitude toward a particular brand of soap. 3. Importance : If an attitude is the basis of our relationship with friends or life goals, these attitudes become more stable, because changing such attitudes will change many other aspects of our lives. 4. Interconnectedness : If the attitude is closely connected with several other attitudes and if they are in a state of balance, these attitudes mutually reinforce each other.
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skills. People more often use print and visual media to reach the larger audience. Recapitulation Attitudes are acquired through the processes of Classical conditioning, Operant conditioning and Social learning. The factors affecting attitude formation include Family, Reference groups, Personal experience, and Media exposure. Reward and punishment meted by the family and the community play important role in reinforcing the acquisition of attitudes. The various reference groups as teachers, policemen, vendors etc. affect our attitudes toward occupations, social and religious groups. Personal experiences, significant life events, and situations also contribute towards attitude formation. In recent times, mass media has emerged as the most important factor in affecting opinions and attitudes. Once formed, attitudes are quite resistant to change. People like to be consistent in their attitudes. However, attitudes can be changed, though this change may be slow and unnoticeable. The factors that lead to attitude change are related to the characteristics of attitude and communication process.
ACTIVITY 4.4 Understanding the Dynamics of Attitude Change How can you resist the influence of T.V. advertisements? Suggest a strategy and discuss it with your friends and teachers.
ATTITUDE
AND
BEHAVIOUR
LEARNING CHECKS III
1. Learning helps to acquire attitudes. T/F 2. Family has a major influence in the formation of attitudes. T/F 3. Attitudes shape our identity. T/F
4. Attitudes can be easily changed by explaining and talking. T/F 5. Effective communication plays a significant role in changing attitudes. T/F
We often believe that if we know something about a persons attitude we should be able to predict his or her behaviour. Do we, in fact, behave in accordance with our attitudes? Early researchers assumed that a close link did exist between attitude and behaviour. However, a review of attitude behaviour research shows that attitudes, at best, are only weak predictors of behaviour. The main reason why attitudes became a popular area of research was that, attitudes were seen as determinants of behaviour. Thus, persons with a positive attitude toward nuclear bomb, for example, shall praise the government for its decision to become a nuclear power. When in conversation with friends, they celebrate this idea, and do other things to show their approval. On the contrary, those who have a negative attitude about nuclear bomb will protest in some or the other way. Imagine a situation in which a new student joins your class. You find him very casual in his studies and you do not think very positively about him. One day he approaches you to borrow your class notes. What will you do? The chances are very high that you may refuse to lend your notes. This may not happen in the case of a student whom you like and consider very studious. For many decades psychologists kept studying attitudes to predict behaviour. They undertook investigations to predict actual cheating on the basis of attitude toward cheating; Church attendance on the basis of attitude toward the church; Racial discrimination on the basis of attitude toward race, etc. The findings were not very encouraging, as no clear and consistent relationship between attitude and behaviour has been found. Whether or not attitude and behaviour will be associated in the same direction (congruent) is influenced by several conditions discussed below. 1. When external influences are minimal : Attitudes influence actual behaviour when external pressures to behave in a particular manner are minimal. One acts under many social pressures, which may have greater influence on behaviour than the attitudes. When such pressures are
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minimal, the chances are high that attitude and behaviour will be closely linked. For example, a person may have a negative attitude toward exercise. But peer group pressure may compel the person to exercise. Had the external influence not been so strong, the attitude and behaviour may have been more consistently related with each other. 2. When behaviour is observed by others : When people are placed in situations where their behaviour is under close observation, they tend to behave as others might expect them to. The behaviours might not reflect their actual attitudes. 3. When attitude is strongly held : When attitudes are strong they are more accessible, and are more likely to be reflected in behaviour. On the other hand, if the attitude is weak and not so important to the person, or if person is unclear or ambiguous, the attitude is less likely to be tied to behaviour. 4. When one is conscious of ones attitude : If the attitude is strongly held, by a person, he/she is more likely to be conscious of his/her attitude. When one is conscious or aware of an attitude, it is also easily accessible and so there is greater tendency to behave consistently with attitude.
BOX 4.3
PREJUDICE
AND
DISCRIMINATION
Prejudice refers to a biased, often negative attitude, formed about a group of people. People express prejudice about some person, group, nationality or race. It is a pre-judged opinion about others. Thus, to say that an individual is prejudiced against the members of some group, implies that, such persons are evaluated in a negative manner, not on the basis of their individual characteristics or behaviours, but simply because they belong to a particular group. In this sense prejudices represent a general rejection or dislike, a tendency to evaluate them negatively. We can also understand prejudice in terms of the three components of attitudes mentioned earlier. The cognitive component of prejudice refers to generalised beliefs and expectations regarding members of a group. It relates to the way we think about others. It refers to stereotypes. Stereotypes are clusters of preconceived notions regarding various groups. All members of a particular group are perceived very much in the same manner, regardless of their unique traits and characteristics. Stereotyping is frequently
ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOUR CONSISTENCY : A CLASSIC STUDY clear that these written replies did not correspond with the actual behaviour of the respondents. After LaPieres controversial study, many studies were conducted to test the correspondence between attitude and behaviour in the areas of voting behaviour, family planning, higher education, etc. The findings are mixed. Attitude and behaviour are found to relate most when researchers define them similarly, in terms of specific aspects of an attitude. For example, we can have an attitude about psychology in general and about this paper in particular. In the same vein, behaviour can also be examined in terms of psychology in general, or in terms of behaviour related to this course. Clearly, if we have measured the attitude about this course only then it may yield a good correspondence with the behaviour related to this course. This controversy has not yet subsided in psychology.
It seems logical to assume that attitude and behaviour are closely related. This question has been raised from time to time that how accurately can attitude predict the behaviour. An early study conducted by LaPiere in 1934 suggested that the relation between attitudes and behaviour is weak. LaPiere travelled twice with a Chinese couple across the United States of America a total of 10 thousand miles and stayed in 66 hotels and tourist homes and ate in 184 restaurants. They were refused service only once. Six months after their return, Lapiere sent copies of a questionnaire to all those places where they stayed and ate. The questionnaire asked, Will you accept members of the Chinese race as a guest in your establishment? Of the 81 restaurants and 47 hotels that replied, 92% said that they would not accept Chinese customers, and the remainder checked uncertain, depends upon circumstances. It is
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automatic and saves on the time and effort required to evaluate people individually. It simplifies our social world. It ignores the diversity within social groups and fosters inaccurate perceptions of people. The affective component of prejudice refers to negative emotional state and dislike towards the members of a particular race, religion, caste, region or community. These emotions are based on some preconceived beliefs and unpleasant personal experiences. The behavioural component refers to the specific practices toward that group. People keep a distance, decide things, which go against that group, or in extreme cases engage in violence against them. The expression of prejudice in overt behaviour is called discrimination. Discrimination against women, for example, may imply denying them jobs because of their gender, paying them low wages, giving them a status of secondary citizens, and denying them public facilities. It may be noted that while concepts of prejudice and discrimination are closely tied, they are different and can be independent of one another. An individual may have prejudiced notions about a group such as people suffering from AIDS yet not overtly discriminate against members of that group. And just because a person does not discriminate, it does not necessarily mean that he or she is not prejudiced. Discrimination can emerge from institutional policies that have nothing to do with hatred of members belonging to a particular group. Sources of Prejudice Prejudice is an experience common to all the societies. The researchers have identified many factors, which work as motivational and cognitive sources of prejudice. 1. Motivational Sources Self-serving biases that justify ones own status by downgrading others. Often those who are underprivileged, are viewed as lazy, irresponsible, and lacking ambitions as having those traits, which justify their status, and ones own privileged status. It justifies the economic and social superiority of those who have wealth and power. Such
discriminations have some effect on the victims, who may accept such negative traits as true and see themselves as inferior to the privileged. For example, underprivileged people may conform to the expectations of the rich and thus a prejudiced view is maintained. Ingroup-bias : Often people are divided into we (in-group) and they (out-group) categories and treated accordingly. Ask children which school is better - their own or the other one in the town. The probability is very high that they will mention their own school. Considering our own group better than the other one is important to maintain a sense of belonging, as well as, to have a positive self-esteem. The more strongly one identifies with own group the greater is the strength of negative stereotypes about the other group or groups. Then, there are situational factors that contribute to the prejudices which one has. When people are frustrated and there is no clear cause for it, people have a tendency to find someone to blame. This is known as scapegoating. People feel that they have been victimised because they belong to a particular group. It is a common experience that people who fail to qualify for a job attribute it to caste, class, or religious factors and harbour negative attitudes for people associated with them. Belief in a just world : It is a belief that people get what they deserve. Thus, if someone is underprivileged in the society, people often tend to attribute negative characteristics to them to justify their status in the society. They perceive the world as a fair and predictable place in which good behaviour is rewarded and bad behaviour is punished. People get what they deserve. 2. Cognitive Sources Prejudice is also considered as a matter of beliefs about people, race, and other things. It has been argued that the root of prejudice is the fact that our memories are fallible and therefore we are prey to beliefs about groups of people that are not in accord with our experience with them. There is no country or society in the world where there is no prejudice and discrimination. In some or the other disguise
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they operate in societies and shape intergroup relationships in all societies. The prejudices which people harbour for other significant groups (minority or majority groups) are primarily responsible for intergroup conflicts. In a country like India, which has so much diversity in terms of religion, custom, languages, and ethnicity and where all groups are competing for scarce resources, intergroup conflicts, and social tensions have become major challenges. Social Categorisation : We are all members of a variety of social groups or categories, some of which are more important and others are less important in our lives. There is no escape from category memberships, many of which, such as gender, caste, nationality, and religion operate as organising principles in society. Emphasis on category membership underestimates the differences within a category and overestimates the differences across categories. We develop stereotypes for the members of each category. Many people, for example, think that men are aggressive and women are sensitive. Search for Positive Identity : Henry Tajfel has proposed that people in the process of forming positive social identity make favourable group comparison. They consider their own group as better than the out-group with which they are competing. The stronger these social identities are greater will be the intensity of intergroup conflicts. Fig.4.1 shows the linkages of self esteem identity and intergroup conflict. Another consequence of group comparison is a sense of relative deprivation. It is a feeling that the other group is unjustifiably more A person join group A to enhance self-esteem
privileged than their own group. This sense of deprivation makes the underprivileged group hostile toward the privileged group. Conflict of interest occurs when groups are in competition with each other over valued commodities or opportunities. This results in intergroup tension and violence because competing groups consider each other as rivals. Intergroup Conflicts People join groups for various reasons and when they work together, there is always the potential for conflict. Such conflict can take place between a group and an individual or it can occur between two or more groups. It has been found that conflicts have negative effect but it does not mean that conflict is always bad. Interestingly enough moderate conflict may enhance group performance. It can stimulate new ideas, increase friendly competition and increase team effectiveness. Individual group conflict occurs when the individuals needs are different from the groups needs, goals or norms. Intergroup conflict refers to the situation of conflict between two groups. In each and every society diverse groups exist. The groups are often organised around religion, language, profession, region etc. The conflicts among such groups often occurs to maintain the identity of the groups different and stronger than other groups. Unfortunately in todays world the number of the conflicts is increasing. In the worst circumstances they take the form of war. The relations between ethnic groups, between religious groups and
Identifying with group A and thinks it is the best
Intergroup Conflict-prejudices A person join group B to enhance self-esteem Identifying with group B and thinks it is the best
Fig. 4.2 Relationship of self-esteem and identity with conflict
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between groups following different ideologies often appear strenuous and indicate different degrees of conflict. In todays world groups cannot exist in isolation. The interdependence among groups makes intergroup relations an important topic. Muzafer Sherif did an interesting experiment, on the emergence of group conflict. In a group of adolescents, he examined the process of the development of intergroup relations. He found that when individuals interact with one another toward some common goals, gradually a group structure emerges. The group develops norms to regulate the activities within the group. Intergroup conflicts occur when two or more groups come in contact in competitive and frustrating situations. They develop negative attitudes and stereotypes toward one another. However, when these groups interact with one another toward super-ordinate goals, they tend to cooperate. Studies of intergroup relations indicate various factors, which shape the course of such relationships. Many of them are discussed in the context of prejudice. Here we may briefly refer to some of the strategies of conflict resolution. While some of them are more effective than others, each of them is found useful in specific situations. The main modes of conflict resolution are as follows : 1. Withdrawal from the situation. 2. Winning at all costs. 3. Persuading the other party with the help of evidence. 4. Use of smoothing and conciliation. 5. Use of negotiations and bargaining. 6. Jointly arriving at a solution. 7. Inviting a third party to intervene. This neutral third party can use arbitration or mediation to settle the matter. In arbitration, the third party listens to both the groups arguments and then makes the decision. In mediation, a mutually agreeable solution is sought.
STRATEGIES
TO
OVERCOME PREJUDICE
A question, which is of great significance, is, how to reduce prejudice and discrimination in any society. Racial prejudice has played great havoc and caused major tragedies in the history of mankind. The racial prejudice against the Jews in the Second World War resulted in the killing of 60,00,000 Jews by the Nazis. It was a strong religious prejudice, which was responsible for communal violence and the killing of several lakhs of Hindus and Muslims during the partition. Even after 50 years of Independence, ethnic prejudices are still rupturing the fabric of Indian society. Since groups are bound to exist, it is utopian to think that there can be a society free of any kind of prejudice, where everyone will be treated equally, irrespective of caste, creed, race and nationality. For psychologists it is a big challenge to work for that kind of a society, or at least device the ways to reduce prejudices in the society. Some possible interventions in this regard are as follows : Providing Intergroup Contact : An important technique to reduce intergroup conflict is to provide greater opportunities to different groups to come in direct contact with each other. When people have to work together it is very difficult to maintain negative stereotypes about each other. However, simply increased contact will not decrease intergroup relations. It is essential that increased contact takes place under the conditions of equal social and economic status. Unless this happens, communication will be difficult between groups, and mistrust and suspicion may enhance intergroup prejudices. It is also necessary that when two groups come in contact they should equally share power. That means each group should have equal opportunity to influence the rewards of the other group. When one group has more power than the other group, the less powerful group may resent or feel threatened. Only when these conditions are met, social contacts between competing groups will lessen the prejudices. Reorganising Learning in the Family and School : Early socialisation plays a major role in developing prejudices. Children who are
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brought up in an authoritarian style are found to be more prejudiced than those who are brought up in a liberal atmosphere. Children often internalise the attitudes and stereotypes of their parents and the other family members. If parents and teachers deemphasise social categories in dealing with the members of other groups, and see them as persons, prejudices may not take their toll. Another factor that may play a crucial role in reducing prejudice is Mass media. The Newspaper, Radio, Television etc. have become powerful tools in the pubic education and opinion formation. Fair, free and balanced reporting can reduce social tension and help in maintaining communal and ethnic harmony. In todays work, social diversity is increasing and we do need greater tolerance for people from different groups. Also, having prejudice is not healthy. The prejudiced people often suffer from anxiety, anger, and fear. This makes life less enjoyable. Since the parents and teachers want to enhance the well-being of their children they should discourage transmitting prejudiced views to them. Recategorisation : It has been found that when people hailing from different groups view themselves as members of one single social identity, their attitudes toward the former outgroup members change. The favourable attitudes promote positive contact that reduces intergroup bias. Thus the weakening of group boundaries by recategorisation helps to reduce prejudice. Cognitive Interventions : Stereotypes may be reduced promoting attribute driven thinking instead of category driven processing. People may be encouraged to pay attention to the characteristics of people rather than to their membership of various groups. This may reduce prejudice. Developing Positive Attitudes : Some strategies, which help in reduction in prejudices focus on learning appropriate positive attitudes. This can be achieved through a variety of activities such as exposure to additional information, changing in-group affiliations, enforcing behavioural modifications, face-to-face persuasion, group discussions, and role-play.
BELIEFS
AND THEIR
FUNCTIONS
We have beliefs about our selves, about the world we live in, about the other world, about the causes of various happenings, etc. Here one can ask a more general question: Why do people have beliefs? Why does one have to have beliefs about objects, people, groups and events? To take a concrete example, why do you believe that Indians are religious people? Or that, all our success and failure depends on luck. On the basis of what one has been told, or has experienced, one forms ideas about the general properties of objects, events, and groups of people. It is not necessary that whatever one believes in, is true, but ones actions are predominantly guided by these beliefs. Beliefs summarise previous experiences and make future interactions with the world more predictable and meaningful. Once a belief is formed, ones thinks one knows what to expect from certain objects, events and groups, and how to interpret and make sense of what one sees. Without beliefs, all of us would be overwhelmed by the complexity of our environment. Beliefs simplify and organise what one sees. Further, beliefs provide a context for experience and, to some extent, determine what information one will seek out. The term belief has been used in different ways by people. Sometimes this word has been used to convey opinion, sureness, feeling, other times, to reflect faith, and at conviction and so on. Therefore, it is essential that we define the term belief before proceeding to study the relevance of belief in human behaviour. Beliefs are relatively stable cognitive structures that represent what exists for an individual in a domain beyond the direct perception or logical inference from the observed facts. In other words, the beliefs we hold are not verifiable: For example, our beliefs in God, spirits, soul, etc., are not verifiable through legitimate scientific procedures. Nevertheless, our belief structure is enduring, internally consistent and exerts profound influence on our behaviour. The study of human history leaves little doubt about the importance of beliefs in the
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affairs of human species. In modern life too, beliefs exert profound influence on the personal and social lives of individuals and groups. Beliefs are norms shared by the members of a society (e.g., Karma among the Hindus). The certain beliefs are universally shared (e.g., some form of religion, magic, etc.). Similarly, there is a large and complex universe of human belief systems e.g., the religious beliefs, belief about God, holy spirits, angels, soul, fate, luck, chance, superstitious, life after death, etc. Individuals subscribe to such and other beliefs, which are internally consistent. The Functionality of Beliefs Beliefs do exist and influence our behaviour immensely. Beacause they are functional in nature. Besides, they serve a very important role in human life and behaviour and fulfil certain needs. Pepitone has proposed four functions performed by beliefs: Let us examine these four functions briefly. (a) Emotional : Beliefs serve to manage emotions such as fear, anger, uncertainty, frustration, etc. For example, the belief in life after death and the indestructibility of the soul helps in reducing death anxiety. (b) Cognitive : Beliefs provide cognitive structures and help in understanding the why of the life events. For example, human beings hold strong beliefs about the supernatural forces that maintain and sustain life and nature in this universe. (c) Moral : Beliefs function to regulate the allocation of moral responsibility between the self and others. For example, religious beliefs mark the boundaries between right and wrong actions, between virtues (Punaya) and sin (Paap). (d) Group : Beliefs serve to enhance group solidarity by providing people with common identify, hence enhance group solidarity. For example, in-group, feelings among members can be based on religious beliefs. Social Cognition The study of social cognition deals with the mental process by which we make sense of our social world comprising of people and social
situations. The mental processes involved are often automatic and occur without conscious awareness or intention. You will remember that people evaluate others and social objects spontaneously. We try to explain the motives and traits of others. In fact the field of social cognition deals with the ways in which we interpret, analyse, retain and utilise information about the various aspects of our social world. We use heuristics or rules to make social judgements quickly and with reduced effort. One of the most important processes of social cognition is causal attribution. Let us try to understand it in detail. Causal Attributions Do you remember the day when your examination result was declared last time? Some of your friends had done well and others had not done so well, or had failed. You and your friends must have talked about the causes of good or poor performance. Some would have said that they did poorly because the examination papers were tough, or that they did not study hard. Those who had done well might have thought that they were lucky or had a high ability. The process of thinking and perceiving the causes of your own or others success and failure is an example of causal attribution. (You have already read about it in the chapter on Motivation and Emotion in Class XI). All of us are interested in understanding the causes of all those events or outcomes that affect us. We normally tend to believe that nothing happens in this world without a cause. Or in other words, anything that happens must have a cause. The search for causes is an ongoing mental activity, particularly when something unexpected happens. Causal attribution in this sense is an integral part of our everyday thinking. All of us are nave scientists in this respect, trying to establish cause and effect relationships, as you did in the case of examination results. It should be remembered that the perceived causes of success and failure are not necessarily the actual causes of success and failure. For example, you may think that your poor examination performance was because
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the marking was not done properly, whereas the fact may be that you had no interest in the subject and did not put in much effort. Fritz Heider, who is credited as the founder of attribution theory, suggested that human beings function as nave scientists. As such we try to think in terms of causes and effects. We try to find out the causes of all personal and social events. We blame or give credit to the people depending on the perception of their intentions and abilities. For example, we attribute responsibility to a person when we think that he or she had both the ability and the intention to attain the outcome. For example, if someone stole, because he had no money to pay someones fee, people will not blame the person for stealing. The other situation is where someone has a habit of stealing. Here the blame will go to the person. Heider categorised all causes into two categories: internal and external. The internal causes include peoples attributes while external causes include anything
outside a person. Causal attribution plays an important role in regulating our social life. Not only does the blame depends on the perception of causality, but rewards too. If a person does a good deed and the action seems to be voluntary, or intentional, the person will receive far more reward from others than would be the case if he or she had been paid to do the deed. If the person is paid the causal responsibility lies outside the person. Many psychologists have tried to categorise the causes as internal and external. In the situation of success and failure in the examination, for example, the ability and the effort are internal causes, and the chance and the question paper are external causes. Research work has shown that people attribute their success more to internal factors and failure more to external factors than vice versa. You will recollect from the chapter on Motivation and Emotion in Class XI that Weiner added another dimension to causal attribution, known as
ACTIVITY 4.5 Understanding Causal Attribution-I Suppose you have just failed in an exam, and you think the failure was due to a certain factor. The responsible cause will be indicated below. You expect to take a similar exam in the near future. Indicate your subjective expectation of succeeding at the next exam. 1 Very low (1) The prior failure occurred because you do not have the ability in the subject matter (for example, you think you are poor at math, art, etc.). Likelihood of future success: (2) The prior failure occurred because you did not study enough. Likelihood of future success: (3) The prior failure occurred because this teacher makes up difficult exams and the class is very difficult for you. Likelihood of future success: (4) The prior failure occurred because of bad luck (unlucky guessing, happened to study the wrong material, etc.). Likelihood of future success: 2 3 4 Intermediate 5 6 7 Very high
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stability. It refers to whether the cause is stable it does not change over a long period (memory, family), or is unstable it may change over a short time (interest, luck). To take some examples: ability is both internal and stable; effort is internal and unstable (you may not make efforts tomorrow); chance is both external and unstable. Weiner suggested that when you attribute your success to internal factors you have a sense of pride. Also, attributing success to stable factors gives you high expectations of success in future. Many studies have supported these predictions. Another dimension along which our causal attributions differ is actor-observer dimension. That is, whether we are making attribution for our own behaviour (actor), or for the behaviour of others (observer). Think of a situation when one of your classmates tripped and fell and got injured. You may tend to think that he must be walking carelessly and attribute the responsibility for injury to him. Now let us presume that the same thing happens to you. You would put the blame on the condition of the road, or on another person or some other external factor. The tendency to blame external factors for our own behaviour and internal factors for others behaviour is known as the fundamental attributional error.
ACTIVITY 4.6 Understanding Attribution-II Take a paper and a pencil, sit in a quiet corner and visualise the following scenario : You had taken an important examination and expected to do well. When the result was declared you found that you did very poorly. Think when it happened to you in the past, and on the basis of that experience, answer the following questions. To what causes would you attribute your poor result? What were your feelings at that time? Conduct the same experiment on your friends and list the causes and feelings they have mentioned. On the basis of these data try to establish the linkages between causal attributions and the feelings associated with them.
You can easily find the evidence of fundamental attributional error from personal experience. Do you remember how many times you were blamed for misplacing or loosing things, or forgetting an appointment? You might have felt hurt because you thought it was not your mistake, that you were careless. There may be many instances when you did the same to your friends or family members. Think of the situation when you hear that one of your acquaintances met an accident. A general tendency is to blame the injured person his or her careless driving, poor traffic sense, or poor maintenance of the vehicle. People blame the person because it is assuring for them that if they are more vigilant they will not meet such an accident. Studies have shown that such an attributional error is also seen in perceiving the causes of poverty, unemployment, communal riots, etc. The blame is often placed on the people who are the sufferers. Even in the cases of natural disasters, such as earthquake, cyclone, floods, there is a pervasive belief that it is because of the sins, which people have committed. This phenomenon is known as blaming the victim.
LEARNING CHECKS IV
1. Preconceived notions regarding various groups are called ________________. 2. _________________ are biased negative attitudes formed about a group or people. 3. ______________influence our behaviour by making our interactions more meaningful and predictable. 4. _____________________ is a behavioural manifestation of prejudice. 5. _____________ can serve as an important tool to reduce prejudice and intergroup conflict.
Recapitulation Prejudices are negative attitudes, which represent a general rejection or dislike toward the attitude object. Stereotypes are clusters of these preconceived notions regarding various groups. Discrimination is the behavioural manifestation of prejudice. The various sources of prejudice are
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motivational, emotional and cognitive. Prejudices which people harbour for other significant groups as minority or caste group are responsible for intergroup conflicts. Some of the important techniques to reduce prejudices and intergroup conflicts are greater contact between different groups, early socialisation and using mass media as an important tool. PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR : NATURE AND DETERMINANTS Humans are social beings. Most of their activities are organised with the help of others. We cannot live and grow unless there is support from others. We often engage in helping others. Such efforts are considered as pro-social behaviours. Suppose you are boarding a train to visit a relative in the summer vacation. There is a big crowd and confusion in the coach and you find that a very old man is sitting on your reserved seat. What will you do? Will you ask the old man to vacate your seat or will you try to accommodate him? There could be another example. Suppose you are walking on a busy street and are in a rush to meet your friend for some important work. Suddenly you find that someone has snatched the purse of an old lady and is running away. Many are just watching and shouting but nobody is doing anything. What will you do? Will you run after the thief and try to catch him, or would you just ignore the event and go on your way? If you leave your seat for the old man or set out to chase the thief, you are engaging in prosocial behaviour. Most of us experience such situations in our everyday life. Sometimes we help, but most often we dont. There are others who always go out of their way to help others even if there is a risk involved. Some people sacrifice their own interests while engaging in prosocial behaviour. Pro-social behaviour can be defined as a behaviour that is positively valued by society and is generally beneficial to other people and the society at large. This definition emphasises that pro-social behaviour involves social judgement, which depends on time and place. For example, a violent act against
the informers of an enemy country may be considered pro-social behaviour. The most common pro-social behaviour is, however, helping others. For any behaviour to be prosocial it should fulfil the following conditions. 1. There has to be an intention to benefit the other person. Any-prosocial act, which one accomplishes by compulsion or as a requirement of a job, does not merit to be called prosocial. 2. The behaviour should be considered socially desirable by the other members of the society. Obviously, helping a thief in stealing is not a prosocial behaviour. 3. If an act intended to benefit others is also expected to benefit the helper, it cannot be termed as pro-social. One thing should be clear that though prosocial behaviour is intended to benefit others, it is not necessary that it should actually be so. You may offer to drop your friend to the station, but because of the breakdown of your vehicle your friend misses the train. Should your behaviour be still considered pro-social? The answer is yes. The intentions and the consequent positive behaviour are more important considerations of pro-social behaviour than the actual benefits. The other terms, which are used interchangeably with pro-social behaviour, is altruism and helping. The literal meaning of altruism is doing things or acting for the interest of others, without any ulterior motive. All charitable, humanitarian, philanthropic activities, which people do without any selfinterest, come under the category of altruistic behaviour. Helping others is only one, but the most important kind of altruistic behaviour. Pro-social behaviours are, of course a much broader category, which would include all the activities for the interest of individual, society, and humanity. Determinants of Pro-social Behaviour The pro-social behaviour depends on many factors. 1. The Feeling State : Suppose you have done very well in the examination, much better than what you had expected. You have just got your report card and are feeling great
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BOX 4.4
BYSTANDER BEHAVIOUR, ALTRUISM AND EMPATHY bystanders effect; that is, the tendency of a person to be less likely to help in the presence of others than when alone. Why does the presence of more people result in delayed help? On the basis of further inquiry from the participants many plausible explanations were obtained. The most plausible one is what researchers call diffusion of responsibility. According to this hypothesis, people feel inhibited to help in the presence of others because they fail to see themselves as being personally responsible for helping. Each person believes that the responsibility for helping is spread (diffused) equally among all bystanders. As a result, all are likely to feel less responsible than they would if they were alone. Empathy refers to the tendency of responding to another persons mental state, particularly the emotional state with feelings resembling the emotions of the other person. Some researchers have used empathy to refer to taking the perspective of the other person. Empathy is considered as an important component of altruistic personality, which is more involved in pro-social behaviour. It is a source of altruistic motivation involving an other-oriented emotional reaction while seeing another person in need. The perceived welfare of the other person is quite important. Studies have shown that feeling empathy for a person in need leads to increased helping toward that person. It enhances the human capacity to care by allowing us to experience what other people are feeling, to imagine ourselves in another persons place. It allows us to feel his or her joys and sorrows as if they were our own. Empathy becomes a source of moral motivation by inducing altruistic acts to make someone else feel better. The tendency to empathise is more like in care of people who are considered to be similar to one self.
How often have you come across a road accident where someone got injured by a speeding vehicle and was lying in a pool of blood on the roadside? A big crowd must have gathered around and must be anxiously watching the injured man moaning for medical help. No help comes forward for long. The passers-by stop out of curiosity and go on their way. Such instances are plenty. Whether it is a case of eveteasing or purse snatching, there are always more passive watchers than active help providers. Why are people not forthcoming in providing help in such crisis situations? Some laboratory experiments were conducted to answer this question. In one such study, students were invited to the psychology lab to participate in a study. On arrival they were told that arranging the experiment would take a few minutes more and they were requested to wait in the lobby. From the lobby they could hear sounds of furniture being moved for the experiment in the connecting room. While waiting to be called in for the experiment, the participants heard a crashing sound, as if somebody had fallen from a height. Then they heard somebody moaning and calling for help. What would the subjects waiting in the lobby do? Will they help the person who is calling for help? If yes, how long would they take in reaching out to help? These were some of the questions, which the experimenters tried to investigate. The findings were very clear. If there were more participants sitting and waiting in the lobby, it took longer for them to provide help. If there was only one participant in the lobby, it took him or her the minimal time to rush inside to help. Of course, no body actually fell, as it was an experimental manipulation only. Nevertheless, the findings were the same, as we observe in a real life situation. This phenomenon is known as
about it. If at that time someone approaches you for donation for earthquake victims, you are likely to donate more than in the situation where you had failed and were in a bad mood. People in a positive mood are more likely to help others than those who are in a bad mood. 2. The Cost : People are less likely to help when the cost of helping is too much. For example, people are less likely to lend
money when the amount is big than in a situation where the amount is small. People are far less likely to jump in a river and save someones life at the risk of their own lives. 3. Perceived Deservingness : You will not lend your class notes to someone who is very casual about his/her studies. People like to make donations only to those charitable organisations, which they think are doing good work.
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4. Modelling : This effect is important in learning pro-social behaviour. If everyone close to you chooses to do voluntary service for the earthquake victims, you are more likely to do the same. Children observe their parents acting pro-socially and learn such behaviour from them.
BOX 4.5
5. Diffusion of Responsibility : People do not jump to help others in crisis in every time. In an ambiguous situation where people are not clear about their own role, or when they think that someone else is supposed to provide help, they may not help. This point is discussed in more detail in Box 4.4.
AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE : ITS CAUSES AND REMEDIES disposition that we share with all living beings. This view holds that nothing can be done to prevent human aggression and that we are biologically programmed to be destructive. Learning psychologists do not agree with this view and argue that people learn to be aggressive, the same way as they learn to be moral. They argue that aggression persists because it pays. The reward system of the society is such that people who are aggressive are directly or indirectly rewarded by the society. The children copy such behaviours and learn to be aggressive. It is further argued that if the reward system of the society can be appropriately changed, it will reduce aggression and violence in the society. A third viewpoint is suggested by two American psychologists Dollard and Miller, who proposed frustration-aggression hypothesis. This hypothesis states that a feeling of frustration always leads to some form of aggression. That is, whenever people experience frustration, which is defined as blocking of their goals, aggression will be a certain outcome. Of course, many situational factors will not only modify the expression of aggression but also results in the displacement of the aggression. It is contended that a society, which is open, liberal, and less competitive, will have fewer instances of violence. Dollard and Millers hypothesis was criticised by many other psychologists as too simplistic. The critics argued that aggression and violence are outcomes of complex personal and social conditions and need to be understood in a broader cultural, social, political and economic context.
Why there is so much aggression and violence all over the world. No country, or society is free from incidences of violence. Pick up any newspaper and you will find some news of murder, rape, riots, kidnapping, terrorism, etc. everyday. Violence against women, children and other weaker sections has become a cause of concern for everyone. Aggression and violence has always been there, and in a way history is a record of wars and killings. We always desired a society in which there is no place for any kind of physical, verbal and mental violence. In psychology, aggression is defined as a behaviour that is designed to deliver negative outcomes (pain and suffering) to another person. Unintended harm or injury to other person is not termed as aggression; intention is an essential aspect of aggression. It should also be noted that feeling may or may not be associated with aggression. In personal and direct aggression people may have negative feelings (of hate, anger or dislike), but in the case of war and organised crime feeling is not an essential component. It should also be understood that this definition of aggression is from the aggressors point of view. It is quite possible that the behaviour which the aggressor does not consider harmful may be considered harmful by the other person or persons. The universality of aggressive behaviour gives credence to the proposition that there is a biological basis of aggression and that it is essential for the survival. Many psychologists consider aggression as instinctive, an inborn
Key Terms
Attitude, Belief, Pro-social behaviour, Prejudice, Discrimination, Cognition, Social Attribution, Altruism, Empathy, Reference group, Stereotypes, Self-serving biases, In-group bias, Scapegoating, Intergroup conflict, Social identity, Recategorisation, Fundamental attributional error, Diffusion of responsibility, Aggression, Ingroup, Outgroup.
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SUMMARY
l
Attitudes are relatively stable dispositions to think, feel and act in a particular manner. Attitudes are not innate but people learn them in the process of socialisation. Attitudes have three components cognitive (evaluative), affective (feeling) and behavioural (expression). When all the three components of attitude are in the same direction, such an attitude is more stable and difficult to change. Measurement of attitudes is done with the help of survey (questionnaire), Rating scales and behavioural measures. The rating scales are based on different types of items and response alternatives. They are most frequently used. Unobtrusive measures are also used. Attitudes are formed through classical conditioning, operant learning and social learning. They are the products of a persons life experiences. Many factors contribute to the formation of these attitudes. Important among them are family influences, social learning, media exposure and personal experiences. There is an extensive research to show that source, medium and message are important factors in attitude change. Generally, attitudes, which are extreme, consistent, and useful, are resistant to change. Prejudices are attitudes, which are biased toward a person or group, which refers to a generalised response towards the target. These prejudices are primarily because of social categorisation, in-group bias, self-serving biases, tendency to blame the victim, etc. Family, reference groups and media can play important role in reducing prejudice and discrimination. Causal attributions constitute an important part of social cognition. They deal with the way people give causes to explain important social events. All of us try to understand success and failure in terms of the factors, which caused them. It has been found that people give internal causes for the behaviour of others and give external causes for the behaviour of own-self. This tendency is known as fundamental attributional error. Pro-social behaviour is essentially one which is intended to benefit others. Such behaviour depends on positive mood state, cost of helping, and deservingness of the help seeker and behaviour of others in similar situation. It has been discovered that more are the number of people present, the less is the help provided.
Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. What is an attitude? What functions do attitudes perform? Which are the components of attitudes? What are techniques of measuring attitudes? How are attitudes acquired? Which environmental influences affect the formation of attitudes? Which factors play an important role in the change of attitude? Differentiate between prejudice and stereotypes? What are the sources of prejudices? Discuss the strategies, which help in overcoming prejudices? What are beliefs and their functions?
ANSWERS
I :
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
II : III : IV :
1. No, 2. Yes, 3. Yes, 4. Yes, 5. No, 6. No, 7. Yes. 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. T. 1. T, 2. T, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T 1. Stereotypes 2. Prejudice 3. Beliefs 4. Discrimination 5. Mass media
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5
THIS

COPING
CHAPTER COVERS
WITH
LIFE CHALLENGES
CONTENTS
Introduction What is adjustment? Who is Socially Adjusted? (Box 5.1) Nature and Sources of Stress Concept of Stress Sources of Stress Types of Stress A Measure of Stressful Life-Events (Box 5.2) Coping with Stress Stress and Health Life Style and Health Some Stress Management Techniques (Box 5.3) Health Impairing Behaviours (Box 5.4) Positive Health and Well-Being Positive Health through Positive Attitude (Box 5.5) Learned Helplessness and Learned Resourcefulness (Box 5.6) Optimism and Thriving (Box 5.7)
The concept of adjustment The nature, sources, and types of stress Different ways of coping Explanation of healthy lifestyle The factors contributing to health and well-being BY
BE ABLE TO
know how people adjust with major life challenges, understand the type of stresses one experiences in life, appreciate how people deal with life stress, know what kinds of behaviours help people to stay fit and healthy, and understand what factors promote positive health and well-being.
Coping with Life Challenges
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INTRODUCTION
For Sunita it was her first day at the new school. Her brother dropped her at the school gate, but she did not know where to go. She felt lost in the teeming crowd of strangers. It took her some time to gather courage to approach a school employee and inquire about Class XI. After a few wrong turns, she could finally find her class. There was no familiar face in the class and she could feel many eyes staring at her and making faces. Her heartbeat went up when a girl who had just entered the room asked for her name. Sunita, in her nervousness, mistook her as the teacher and addressed her as sir, as she fumbled for words. The whole class laughed. This could be a familiar experience for many. Every one faces similar situations, which are challenging and difficult to deal with. In fact, no stage of life is free from struggles and crises, and everyone has to deal with such situations. There could be conflicts between what you want and what your parents want you to do. You could be experiencing failures in some competitive situation, be it admission in some important course, securing good marks in the examination, or making friends. At times having more choices is also problematic, where one feels the pressure to make a judicious decision. You may feel tense when someone questions your abilities or intentions, and you may go out of the way to prove yourself. You may be worried about your future, or about loosing those who are close to you. It is not only the negative events, which cause tension, but at times positive events also throw up many challenges before us. All these are considered normal life stresses with which one has to deal within everyday life. At times there are more serious problems, like the death of a near and dear one, a serious injury or illness, loosing a job, a break in relationship or a financial loss which are not only very stressful but demand major readjustment in ones life. Human beings are constantly trying to adapt themselves to the changing environmental situations both internal as well as external. The various internal and external changes demand modification of behaviour that will enable people to adapt to that situation. When the situations are not very demanding or beyond the capabilities of an individual, they result in successful adjustment. When situations are difficult and demanding the situation is termed stressful and requires the person to utilise various coping mechanisms to adjust to the situation. This chapter would help you to understand the nature of adjustment, and the nature of stress and its manifestations. You will also come to know about how people cope with stress. The effects of chronic stress on mental and physical health will also be discussed.
Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill
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WHAT
IS
ADJUSTMENT?
Human beings are born and grow in a sociophysical environment. As we know, the life functioning depends on a balance or harmony between the demands made on the organism by the environment and the organisms functioning to deal with such demands. For example, as atmospheric temperature changes the balance is disturbed and our body functions in a way to restore the balance between the body temperature and the atmospheric temperature. If it is hot outside, sweating functions to maintain a balance, at least temporarily. At a psychological level, we also engage in similar activities or processes to deal with the demands from the external reality or from within ourselves. For example, your parents expect you to perform at a certain level in your studies. Many of your behaviours, thoughts, plans, feelings, and motivations are perhaps modified as you strive to meet such expectations. You also have your own goals, which create demands from within, and you know that many of your acts are directed at meeting such demands. Thus, we make efforts to deal with the environmental-biological, physical, social,
internal, and external demands. Adjustment is the outcome of such efforts. We are considered well adjusted when we deal successfully with our situations such as in home, schools, and work places without much problem. Researchers have developed tools to assess adjustment in different areas or aspects of life, such as school, marriage, work organisations etc. These tools explore or predict the relative presence or absence of problems faced by the people. Temporary or more enduring failure of adjustment is maladjustment. It disturbs our balance or harmony with the environment and/or within ourselves. Normally, we mobilise our resources for achieving adjustment. When our resources are limited or when we fail to properly harness such resources to meet effectively the environmental demands, problems of maladjustment are seen. We all have experienced situations in our lives, which have posed challenges for us. Extreme conditions in our physical environment such as cyclones, heat waves, or earthquakes, problems in our social and psychological environment such as death of a near one, personal failure, and frustrations threaten our
BOX 5.1
WHO IS SOCIALLY ADJUSTED? different groups, a person who adjusts well with different groups is regarded as well adjusted. l Positive thinking about groups and people : We need to have a positive view about people, social participation, and behaviour in group setting. l Personal happiness : When we are adjusted well we feel satisfied and happy about our role performance. While each of the above is true, we must also remember that happiness and health as well depend on our ability to find innovative and creative paths in life. Many a times such paths may be different from the rules and norms of our group. Hence, along with adjustment, the ability to acknowledge ones difference and to strive in a creative manner is also the indicator of positive mental health.
Social adjustment refers to a condition when we are able to adjust with other persons in general and the group in particular to which we belong. Socially adjusted persons are skilled in social relations. They have positive thinking about others. As children grow older, they are expected to be both adjusted to the demands of social life and behave in accordance with the social expectation for their age levels. The level of social adjustment shown by children depends on the quality of family environment, motivation, and guidance. The degree of social adjustment attained by a person can be judged on the basis of the following criteria. l Behaviour : When a persons behaviour or overt performance comes up to the expectation of the members of the group to which one belongs, we call the person adjusted. l Adjustment with diverse groups : Since a person has to work or interact with
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well-being. But such situations do not always lead to maladjustment, abnormal behaviour, or mental disorder. Faced with any challenge, we put in additional efforts and mobilise all our resources and the support system to meet the challenge. All the challenges, problems, and difficult circumstances put us to stress. We respond to stresses in many ways. Some of these ways are helpful to us in dealing with the situation so that we are able to bring things under control or tolerate the situation or, at least, reduce the negative effects of the same on our well-being. Responding to stress in such helpful ways is coping. It can be said that adjustment is an outcome of coping. THE NATURE
AND
SOURCES
OF
STRESS
The Concept of Stress However, science and technology bring improvement in the quality of human life in many ways, it also resulted in many new crises. Crowding, noise pollution, competition, social insecurity, unemployment, violence, loneliness, etc., are all accompaniments of modern living. One is also subjected to prejudice, discrimination, and exploitation because of ones belongingness to a particular social class, religion, or region. Nature also inflicts certain crises in the form of earthquakes, floods, and drought. When all these are taken into consideration, it gives an impression that there is no escape from stresses. Stress is an integral part of our lives. While stress is considered a major cause of mental and physical health problems, its effect is not always undesirable. In fact, stress is a basic ingredient of life. Our biological system is equipped with some stress alarms that are essential for survival and allows one to function effectively in many situations. Without undergoing stress, there can be no constructive and creative activity. A certain level of stress is necessary to perform better in examinations. Stress quite often increases our efficiency and makes us search for new coping resources. It improves our adaptive system and we are better able to deal with such situations in future. However, those who have not experienced any stress in their lives have a poor adaptive mechanism and may
succumb to even mild forms of stress. There are also people who thrive on stress and show greater efficiency in handling crises. The term stress has its origin in the field of engineering. To an engineer it means any external force directed at some physical object. The result of this force is strain, which refers to a change produced in the structure of the object. Many psychologists adopted this definition - stress being the external event or stimulus and strain being the resultant effect, mostly in terms of health consequences. Generally, it is found that high levels of stress lead to greater strain. They create distress. However, this is not always true. We also experience positive stress or U stress. It occurs when we have positive experiences or uplifts, which are welcome. Stress can be described as the pattern of responses an organism makes to stimulus event that disturbs the equilibrium and exceeds a persons ability to cope. The stimulus events include a large variety of external and internal conditions called stressors if they are perceived to threaten ones well-being and demand some kind of adaptive response. In the contemporary analysis the stress is considered as a process that depends on what events a person notice and the way it is appraised or comprehended. The stress process is described in Figure 5.1. Your response to a stressful situation largely depends upon what events you notice and how you interpret or appraise them. Events that are stressful for one person may be a matter of routine for the other person. It depends on the nature of stressor, the characteristics of the person and the resources available at the disposal of the person. Lazarus has distinguished between two types of appraisals : primary and secondary. Primary appraisal is an initial evaluation of whether an event is relevant, and if relevant, whether it is personally threatening or not. When you view an event as threatening or stressful, you are likely to make a secondary appraisal, which is an evaluation of your own resources and options available for dealing with the stress. These resources may be mental, physical, personal,
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or social. One who thinks that he or she has the positive attitude, health, skills, and social support to deal with the crises will feel less stressed. Often such appraisals are very subjective and will depend on many factors. One such factor is the past experience of dealing with such a stressful condition. If one has handled similar situations very successfully in the past, they are less threatening. Another factor is, whether the stressful event is perceived as controllable or uncontrollable. A person, who believes that he/she can control the onset of a negative situation, or its adverse consequences, will experience less amount of stress than those who have no such sense of personal control. Thus, the experience and the outcome of a stressor may vary from individual to individual. As indicated earlier, stress, in a broad sense, includes all those environmental and
personal events, which threaten or challenge the well-being of a person. The stressors can be external, such as environmental (e.g., noise, air pollution), social (e.g., loneliness, break in relationship), or psychological (e.g., guilt frustration, conflict, pressure shock). Very often, these stressors result in a variety of stress reactions, which may be physiological, behavioural, emotional, and cognitive. At the physiological level, arousal plays a key role in stress-related behaviours. Hypothalamus initiates action along two pathways. The first pathway involves autonomic nervous system. You will recollect from your study of nervous system in Class XI that the adrenal gland releases large amount of catecholamines into the blood stream. This leads to physiological changes seen in fight-or-flight response. The second pathway involves pituitary gland which secretes the corticosteroid which provides
STRESSORS
Types Environmental Psychological Social Dimensions Intensity Duration Complexity Predictability
RESOURCES
Physical Money Medical Care, etc. Personal Skills Coping style Social Support Networks Professional Help
PERSON CHARACTERISTICS
Physiological Physical Health Constitutional Vulnerabilities Psychological Mental Health Temperament Self-Concept Cultural Cultural Definitions and Meanings Expected Response Style
STRESS APPRAISAL
Physiological response
Behavioural response
Emotional response
Cognitive response
Fig. 5.1 A Theoretical Model of the Stress Process
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energy. The emotional reactions to the experience of stress include fear, sadness, and anger. The emotional arousal may interfere our dealings with stresses. The behavioural and cognitive responses involve coping or active effort to master, reduce or tolerate the demands created by stress. The stresses which people experience also vary in terms of intensity (low intensity vs. high intensity), duration, (short-term vs. long term), complexity (less complex vs. more complex) and predictability (unexpected vs. predictable). The outcome of stress depends on the position of particular stressful experience along these dimensions. Usually more intense, prolonged (or chronic), complex, and unanticipated stresses have more negative consequences than less intense, shortterm, less complex and expected stresses. A persons experiences of stress depend importantly on the physiological strength of the person. Thus, people with poor physical health and weak constitution would be more vulnerable than those who enjoy good health and strong constitution. Psychological characteristics like mental health, temperament, and self-concept are also relevant to the experience of stress. The cultural context in which people live determines the meaning of any event and defines the nature of response that is expected under various conditions. Finally, the stress experience will be determined by the resources of the person. These resources can be physical like money, medical facilities, and personal like social skills and the particular style of coping used by people to deal with stress. All these factors determine the appraisal of a given stressful situation.
ACTIVITY 5.1 Appraising Stressful Events Identify the stressful events, which your three friends have experienced in the past one year. List these stressful events and select those that are common for all three of your friends. Find out how much ability, skill, and family support your friends have to deal with each of those stresses. Examine the differences in the stress experienced by your friends in the light of their coping resources. Discuss these results with your teacher.
Sources of Stress Studies in medical science are increasingly showing the role of stress in various disorders. In fact, many health professionals recognise that the concept of a single cause for an illness is no longer suitable. Many different sources of stress are known to precipitate illness like heart disease. Some of the important sources of stress are given below. Traumatic Events : These include a variety of extreme situations such as fire, being a hostage, witnessing a gory crime, etc. In fact, the effects of such events may occur after the lapse of some time, may be months after the traumatic event has occurred. A victim may start feeling depressed or have flashbacks and relive the horror of the earlier experiences. Some victims also report nightmares. These kinds of traumatic events, however, are rare. Recent Life Events : It has been found that the effects of life changes cumulate and contribute to stress. Events in family (e.g., death of a spouse, divorce, marriage), personal life (e.g., change in residence, change in eating habits, personal injury), work (e.g., retirement, trouble with ones boss) and financial matters (e.g., mortgage, major change in financial condition) generate stress. The exact effect of such events is not known but it is certain that they do contribute to stress in different degrees. Hassles : These involve the happenings in everyday life. Thus preparing children for schools, looking after their home work, care of family and attending to various emergencies are daily hassles, experienced by a housewife. There are jobs in which such daily hassles are very frequent. Such stresses make life full of desperation. These stresses may not be known to an outsider. TYPES
OF
STRESS
Looking at the range of stressful experiences that are faced by people one may divide the stresses with reference to their domain. In this way, we find three major types of stresses, i.e., environmental, social, and psychological. It may, however, be noted that this division is for analytical purpose and all
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these types of stress are interrelated. Let us try to learn about these different types of stresses. Environmental Stress These stresses could be of very high intensity, like earthquake, flood, fire, etc. that are sudden and have a powerful impact, and are more or less universal in terms of initial response. These are known as catastrophic events or disasters. These events may affect a large number of people at the same time and require a great deal of effort for effective coping. A second group of environmental stressors could be events, which impinge on all people uniformly, but there are large individual differences in the way people react to them. These could be environmental pollution, crowding, industrial noise, etc., which have known and predictable health impairing consequences. You will read more about environmental stressors in Chapter 8 on Environment and Human Behaviour. Social Stress Social events or conditions, like death and illness in the family, divorce, strained relationships, separation, and hostile neighbours are some of the examples of social stressors. Many of these are major life stresses, which affect individuals at various times in their lives. People vary widely in their life experiences. Some go through more hardships and personal tragedies than others do. Some suffer from a chronic health problem and have to think in terms of long-term adjustment. For others, these life events could be one-time happenings. Some of these stressors involve minor irritating events, called daily hassles, which occur in the course of everyday life. These events or conditions are perceived as stressful by the individual experiencing them, but not necessarily by others. When these continue to persist daily over a long period in a persons life and he/she can in no way avoid them, then these hassles take their toll. Psychological Stress These are personal and unique to the person experiencing them and are considered as
internal sources of stress. The internal sources of stress are many. Some of the important ones are: frustration, conflict, and tension. Let us try to understand the nature of these stressors. Frustration : It results from the blocking of needs and motives by something that prevents or hinders us from achieving a desired goal. For an adolescent who wants to attend a college party, over-restrictive parents would be a source of frustration, while lack of water would be a source of frustration for someone living in the desert. Frustration may be minor and inconsequential, or may be a serious threat to our well-being and survival. There could be a wide range of environmental obstacles, which can lead to frustration. These include accidents, interpersonal hurt, death of the loved ones, and the like. Furthermore, there could be social discrimination and barriers impeding the efforts of the weaker sections of the society. Conflict : Stress may originate from a conflict between interests and motives (see Chapter 11 of Class XI textbook). You may be in conflict regarding whether to study psychology or music. You may want to take up a job offered to you and at the same time may want to continue your studies. The conflicts could be of approach-avoidance, approach-approach, or avoidance-avoidance type, causing tension when one has to decide. You may be in conflict with the other people, inside or outside the family network for material and non-material rewards. There could be value conflicts when you are forced to take action that is against the values held by you. There could be conflicts because of your membership of a particular group. For example, as a member of a social group one may experience a sense of insecurity and deprivation. Pressure : The third source of stress, which we experience in everyday life, is social and other types of pressures. Like frustration, pressure may stem from inner and outer sources, and typically centres on our aspirations and life goals. Many of us drive ourselves ruthlessly towards achieving goals, and try to live up to unrealistically high
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standards. In todays competitive world, everyone is under pressure to produce more and work for extra hours. The world in which we live today is flooded with opportunities and choices, and one is constantly under pressure to optimise the gains. In the rapidly changing world of today, one is constantly under pressure to adapt to the newer reality and challenges. These often cause many emotional and interpersonal upheavals. It should also be made clear in this context, that stress need not be very severe
BOX 5.2
to affect physical health. Even if a stress is of the low intensity but continues over a longer period (chronic stress), it can be at times more damaging for health. Poverty, unemployment, strained relationships, unfriendly co-workers, and arthritis are some causes of chronic stress. Again, it is also not always true that minor stresses will result in minor strain. Research has shown that everyday hassles may have significant harmful effects on the mental and physical health of a person. Daily hassles, like missing
A MEASURE OF STRESSFUL LIFE-EVENTS weighted sum of all the items checked. Some of the sample items of their measure are: Life Events Death of close family members Marriage Change in health of family member Change in responsibility at work Trouble with the Boss Change in sleeping habits Vacation Value 100 63 44 29 20 16 13
The question, which is of much significance in stress research, is: how to find out the level of stress which people are experiencing like the body temperature, blood pressure? Is it possible to know the stress level by using an appropriate psychological measure? For quite some time psychologists have been trying to develop, such measures which can tell us about the stress level of a person. An attempt was made in this direction by two psychologists named Holmes and Rahe. They developed a life-events measure of stress. They developed a self-rating questionnaire made up of forty-three life changes, which a person may have experienced. Each of these life changes is assigned a numerical value in terms of their severity. For example, the death of ones spouse is assigned 100, divorce 73, personal illness or injury 53 life-change units. Both positive and negative events are taken, believing that both kinds of changes cause stress. The respondent is asked to check how many of these life changes they have experienced in the recent past (a year or so). The stress score of that person is the
This measure developed by Holmes and Rahe became very popular and more than 400 similar measures were developed in later years. It was found to be of great practical use to be able to find out the stress level of a person. This data can be used to predict the work efficiency and mental health problems of a person. It may be noted that mental health does not depend merely on the stress level experienced, but more importantly on the coping resources available to the person.
ACTIVITY 5.2 Understanding Various Types of Stress Following is a list of certain situations that are encountered in our life. Read them carefully and analyse their nature. Try to find out what is the nature of underlying psychological stress. It may be conflict, frustration, pressure, or change in life circumstances.
l l l l
Laxman is late for an appointment but is stuck in traffic. Manisha feels that she will not be happy unless she stands first in the Annual Examination. Akhil has cleared a course in communication and has joined a company. Gurmeet has lost his job and needs to find another. Discuss your interpretations with teacher.
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the school bus, someone not acknowledging or returning your greetings, noise at night may be minor irritants but their cumulative effect is found to have more harmful consequences than the major stressful events. Recapitulation In order to survive and grow we need to adjust with the demands of our environment. This, however, is not always possible. We find that stress is very common in our daily life. It refers to the pattern of responses you make to stimuli that disturb your physiological and psychological equilibrium, and exceed your ability to cope. Stressors are stimulus situations that cause stress. Three major types of stressors are: environmental, social, and psychological. These stressors vary in intensity, duration and in frequency of their occurrence. The responses to stress are physiological, emotional, behavioural, and cognitive. The type of response made by the person depends on the nature of stress, characteristics of the person and the availability of resources. The role of appraisal in this process is very important because the way we appraise the situation changes the pattern of our responses.
LEARNING CHECKS I
1. All stressful events have negative effects on health. T/F 2. Tragic events are more injurious than everyday life hassles. T/F 3. Not all stressors have long-term consequences. T/F 4. Moderate stress is necessary for good performance. T/F 5. Those outcomes, which people can control, are less stressful. T/F 6. Those who know why they are suffering are less miserable. T/F 7. The relationship between stress and physical health is not direct. T/F
COPING
WITH
STRESS
Coping refers to the process of dealing with the stress experienced by an individual. People cope with the stress that they experience in everyday life in a number of
ways. As you can guess, the response to a given stress may vary across persons. How do people react to all those stresses that they experience in everyday life? It is surprising that despite all the stresses one goes through, of high and low severity, one generally does not succumb or shows signs of breakdown. To cope effectively with the stresses people continually scan their environment both external and internal, to see what opportunities or dangers may be present and learn new skills to adapt to the changes. In addition, various personality dimensions like optimism, hardiness and detachment, moderate the responses to stress. Generally, when we become aware of a new demand, the first task is to define it and evaluate the degree of threat. It is important that one makes a realistic evaluation of the problem. Having defined the problem and its degree of threat, the next step is to decide what to do about it. This involves formulating new courses of action that might solve the problem by identifying the best alternative. Some of the coping reactions come into operation automatically rather than as a result of deliberate effort of the individual. They are a part of the survival mechanism and can be termed as built-in reactions, which come into action whenever there is a threat to survival. Some of these built-in reactions are physiological and psychological changes to restore the state of equilibrium. One such built-in mechanism is crying. It is useful in relieving emotional tension and pain. Though more common in children, crying is not uncommon in adults and may serve, an important purpose of relieving tension and hurt. Some other such mechanisms are falling asleep in the face of highly traumatic events. Coping reactions can be broadly divided into three broad categories: task-oriented, emotion focused and ego-defensive. A brief description of the reactions in these categories is given below. Task-oriented Coping : These reactions aim at realistically coping with the adjustive demands. They tend to be based on an objective assessment of the stress situation and on a deliberate, logical, and constructive course of action. These actions may entail making changes in ones self, or in the
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surrounding, or both, depending upon the situation. The action may be overt, as in improving ones study habits, or covert, as in lowering ones level of aspiration, or changing ones attitude. The action may involve confronting the problem, withdrawing from it, or finding a workable compromise. Dealing with the problem headlong may amount to appraising the threat emanating from the stress, appraising ones coping resources, and accordingly, trying to remove the obstacles, or the source of the problem. People seek social support and use planful problem solving. Such coping behaviour when appropriate to the individuals resources and the stress situation is often found effective in dealing with the stress. When confronting, the problem does not seem to be working, a better option could be to escape or withdraw from a stressful situation that we cannot handle or prefer not to deal with. In that situation, we either escape or avoid facing the problem. For example, we may handle a monotonous and unrewarding job by changing to more suitable one. Of course, the situation may be much more complicated, as in the case of a breakdown in a love relationship in which one is deeply involved. In other instances, we may try to anticipate and avoid many situations that we view as potentially dangerous or threatening. Such behaviour is often shown by students who avoid taking courses that they think are very difficult. Compromise involves bringing change in us and is resorted to when the stress situation cannot be changed. We often have to live as best we can with what cannot be changed. Two common compromise reactions are substitution and accommodation. In substitution, we tend to reduce the stress by accepting whatever goals we can meet. For example, the man who is consistently denied a job may finally accept one, which is less attractive. Accommodation here refers to a kind of compromise in which we settle for a part of what we wanted. It is like accepting whatever is available in the given situation. Emotion-focused Coping : The emphasis here is on self-control and emotion regulation, i.e., controlling anxiety, frustration, anger,
and other emotional reactions, or trying to change these emotions. Often people think about the potentially harmful consequences of stressful events in order to make anticipatory preparations. It is a remedial rather than a problem-solving approach. The emotion focused coping aims at relieving the emotional impact of stress to make one feel better, even when the threatening stressor is present. To relieve tension, people may take alcohol or tranquilisers which may provide temporary relief. People use the strategies of distancing or disengagement by going to a party or movie, or watch TV when feeling distressed. Many people whistle or laugh when they are afraid or over eat when anxious, and engage in daydreaming when they feel helpless. Such emotion-focused coping may not solve the problem, but helps people in managing the adverse outcomes. Reappraisal of the stressful situation and accepting the responsibility also help to cope with the stresses. Ego-defensive Coping : In this kind of coping, the person primarily tries to protect oneself
ACTIVITY 5.3 Understanding Problem Focused Coping Which of these are problem-centred coping behaviours? And why? l Trying to find out environmental stressors for poor health. l Feeling sorry for failing in the examination. l Discussing his/her problem with a friend. l Hiding poor examination performance from parents. l Making efforts to anticipate when the problem will recur. l Going for an eye test after hitting a pole while driving a scooter. l Reading literature to find out negative consequences of stress. l Finding fault with the teacher for doing poorly in the examination. l Eating a lot during the examinations. l Trying to remember what one did in a similar crisis last time. Discuss the answers with your teacher.
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psychologically from emotional hurt and selfdevaluation. In general, these mechanisms are learned responses, but they tend to operate on habitual and unconscious levels. They (e.g., rationalisation, projection, repression, displacement, fantasy, denial of reality) have the component of self-deception and reality distortion. Thus, they are not adaptive, in the sense of realistically coping with the stress situation. The primary aim of most of the ego-defencive responses is to cushion failure, reduce anxiety, repair emotional hurt, and maintain feelings of adequacy and worth. You have read about various defence mechanisms in Chapter 2 on Self and Personality. Recapitulation People use three different types of coping strategies. These are: confronting the problem or task orientated coping, which refers to examining the problem objectively and then working on strategies to remove it. The other is emotion focused copying, which aims at controlling and managing emotions. The third is ego-defence mechanism, to protect the ego against the impending dangers of hurt and self-devaluations.
LEARNING CHECKS II
Match the defence mechanism in the following examples. 1. An overweight boy indulges in binging when he feels neglected by his classmates. 2. An incompetent person imagines himself chosen by an organisation as a manager. 3. A chain smoker draws the conclusion that the evidence of linking cigarette use to illness is worthless on scientific grounds. a. Fantasy, b. Denial of reality, c. Over compensations
STRESS
AND
HEALTH
Did you ever realise that many of your friends (if not you) fall sick during the examination time. As examinations approach, these people frequently suffer from stomach upsets, fever, body aches, cramps, and the like. You might
have also observed that people who are unhappy in their personal lives fall sick more often than those who are happy and enjoy life. Because of the close connection between the mind and the body, when the stress is prolonged, it affects the physical health, and impairs the psychological functioning as well. Chronic stress takes its toll on ones ability to think and perform effectively even in ones routine activities. People experience exhaustion and attitudinal problems when demands at the work place are very high. The physical exhaustion includes chronic fatigue, weakness, and low energy. The mental exhaustion includes irritability and the feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and being in a blind alley. This state of physical and psychological exhaustion is technically called burnout. It is chiefly caused by intense and prolonged workrelated stress. It may also be caused by many other life experiences, for instance, looking after a severely ill family member may as well lead to an experience of burnout. Similarly, caretakers in families which have physically, mentally, or neurologically ill or challenged member(s) too frequently express the feelings of extreme exhaustion or burnout. Research in this area has also established that tragic life events, like natural disasters (flood, earthquake, etc.), death in the family, unemployment, failure in examinations, etc. make people more vulnerable to all kinds of mental, physical, and psychosomatic diseases. When people have to live in an undesirable, uncertain, and threatening situation for a long period of time, and when all efforts to change such a situation fail, the consequences are bad for physical and mental health. Why does this happen? Various explanations are provided to answer this question. Hans Selye proposed General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) to explain the bodily consequences of stress. The GAS is a three-stage model of reactions to stress. First is the alarm reaction. It is the experience of a stressor, or the presence of a noxious stimulus. Here a person prepares to resist the stressor. The adrenal activity and cardiovascular and respiratory functions are
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heightened as the body makes its preparation to face the threat. The second stage is that of resistance. This is the stage when bodys reserves are ready to deal with the stressor and typically achieve suitable adaptation. At this stage, there is relatively constant resistance to the stressor, but a decrease in response to other stimuli. For example, when you are preparing for an exam you fail to pay attention to what is happening around you. When these reactions are repeated many times, or when they are prolonged because of recurring problems, the person may be at the risk of irreversible physiological damage. This is the third stage of exhaustion. This is the stage when the bodys entire reserves are exhausted and the person is no longer in a position to resist the stressor. This could lead to the onset of physical symptoms, and in many cases, a major illness may occur. The GAS Model is shown in Fig. 5.2. and its details are given in Table 5.1. The ongoing stress experience causes many bodily changes and over secretion of glandular chemicals. Imagine an acute stress situation of seeing a snake crossing your path. What happens? Your blood pressure goes up,
Level of Normal Resistance
Alarm Reaction
Stage of Resistance
Stage of Exhaustion
Figure 5.2 The General Adaptation Syndrome
heart beat increases, sympathetic nervous system gets aroused, and breathing becomes faster. All this prepares you to defend yourself from the danger. Your body mobilises all its resources, as you get emotionally aroused on seeing danger. In stress situations, the secretion of endocrine glands also increases to manage bodily activities. Emotions, such as anger, fear, sadness, lead to bodily activation in which stored energy is converted into usable resources. Long-term depletion of such stored energy inhibits growth and repair functions. This is the reason why prolonged stress consumes all bodily energy and impairs the efficiency of different systems. There is also increasing evidence that stress related negative emotions (such as grief, depression) affect the bodys immune system, rendering the person vulnerable to a host of diseases. The immune system protects the body from foreign invaders (known as antigens) bacteria, virus, fungi, and parasites. The basic functions of the immune system are, detecting and identifying antigens, neutralising them and removing them from the body. The cells that perform these functions are produced in the lymph organs and bone marrow. They are known as lymphocytes. These are special white blood cells (medically called T-cells, B-cells, and NK-cells), which produce their own antigens to mobilise the bodys defence system to kill the invading microorganisms in the blood stream. The effectiveness of the immune system is called immunocompetence. Only when the immune system is suppressed and weakened, an individual becomes susceptible
Table 5.1. Stages of Selyes General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Stage Alarm Description In response to a stressor, the body prepares for immediate physical action. The sympathetic nervous system is activated, and stress hormones (cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine) are released in greater amounts. If the stressor continues, the body maintains a moderate level of physiological arousal. The organism has increased its ability to withstand the original stressor, which brought about the alarm reaction. With added stressors or depletion of the ability to continue resisting, the body enters a stage in which a variety of illnesses or even death may occur.
Resistance
Exhaustion
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to all kinds of diseases. At present, this is one of the most exciting fields of research to establish the linkages between stress and illness. However, as Lazarus pointed out, much depends upon how an individual evaluates a stressor. Unless one perceives a situation as threatening, one would not experience stress. There are many other factors, which determine how stress would affect the bodys immune functioning. The stressors, which are uncontrollable, cause more adverse effects than those stressors, which are controllable. Again, depressed people are found to be more susceptible to infectious diseases and show a slower recovery rate once they fall sick. Social and emotional support also makes a major difference. Those people who have friends and relatives to care in case of an illness take less time in recovering. As mentioned earlier, some characteristics of personality moderate the impact of stressful events. One is optimism. It is a general tendency to expect good or positive outcomes. Optimists are more likely to engage in actionoriented and problem-focused coping. They are more willing to seek social support and more likely to emphasise the positive aspects of any stressful event. In comparison, pessimists are more likely to deal with stress by giving up or engaging in denial. The other personality characteristic known as hardiness also buffers the adverse impact of stress. Hardiness is a personality disposition that is marked by commitment, challenge, and control. It is associated with strong stress resistance. It was found that people high on hardiness are less prone to illnesses. The third personality dimension is anaskti or detachment. This is a kind of mental attitude of not being overly concerned about the outcomes. It is a mindset in which a person does not emotionally respond to stressful events but rather maintains equanimity. Studies have shown that people who are not outcome-oriented (detached), experience less strain, and less mental and physical health problems. Management of stress is receiving considerable attention in different walks of life. Some of the stress management techniques are given in Box 5.3. You may like to study these techniques.
LIFE STYLE
AND
HEALTH
As we have seen, stress has direct implications for our health. In fact, according to medical experts, the link between stress and personal health is very strong. To list a few, stress has been implicated in the occurrence of heart disease, high blood pressure, and other diseases. Keeping these effects of stress in view, one wonders why some individuals live life for more than hundreds years. Factors like diet, genetic influences, regular exercise, family stability and personality characteristics play an important role in longevity and good health. A growing body of evidence suggests that people may be able to extend their lives significantly by adhering to a lifestyle that includes balanced, low fat diet, regular exercise, and continued activity during later years. People develop different styles and habits, many of which are health impairing. Many people are their own enemies and do precisely those things that are bad for their health. For example, some people drink heavily, even when they know that they are damaging their liver. Others eat all wrong food. Smoking is another health impairing habit. It is found that lung cancer and heart diseases kill the largest number of smokers. The increased prevalence of diseases among smokers may not be due to their smoking alone, but smokers are prone to other habits injurious to health. They exercise less and eat more. Alcohol and drug abuse are very common health-impairing habits. These habits can kill people directly and immediately when taken in an overdose. The addiction to alcohol and narcotics damage the liver, respiratory system, intestine and can cause neurological and infectious diseases as secondary complications. Many of these drugs can also damage ones ability to think logically and coherently. Curiously, most of the people who engage in such harmful habits have a tendency to underestimate the risk of damaging their health. The modern lifestyle has led to violation of many basic principles of health and paid little attention to what do we eat, where do we live and how do we think.
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BOX 5.3
SOME STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES Biofeedback : It is a procedure to monitor and control the physiological aspects of stress. By providing feedback about bodys functioning, a person is trained to recognise and control it. This mechanism helps to reduce stress. Relaxation Techniques : The state of relaxation is opposed to stress. Thus by reducing muscle tension the feelings of stress and anxiety can be reduced. Usually relaxation starts from the lower body, and progresses up to the facial muscles and the whole body is relaxed. Controlled breathing is another technique in which deep long breaths are used. Exercise : Aerobic, swimming, walking, running, asanas, cycling, dancing, and skipping help to reduce stress. One must practice these exercises at least three times a week for at least fifteen minutes at a time. Each session must have warm-up, exercise, and cool-down phases. Exercise helps to improve endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, and stress tolerance.
Stress is called a silent killer. It has been estimated that stress plays some role in 50 to 70 per cent of the total of physical illness. Heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, and diabetes are closely related to stress. In view of increasing incidence of stress, schools, offices, and communities are taking interest in evolving stress management techniques. Some of these techniques are as follows. Cognitive Behavioural Techniques : These techniques try to inoculate people against stress. Most of the programmes involving these techniques have three stages, i.e., education, training, and practice. In the education stage, the participants come to know the nature and effects of stress, and are helped in recognising stress symptoms. In training, they learn time management, social skills, use of relaxation techniques, positive self-talk, setting realistic goals, and rewarding goal achievement. In the practice stage, the participants rehearse the skills learned in real life situation.
The fundamental principles of life style described in Ayurveda are Ahara (food), Vihara (Recreation) Achara, (routine) and Vichara (thinking). These are briefly discussed here: Ahara (food) is the most important of all the four basic principles for a healthy and happy life. Vegetarian food is considered safe and healthy for the body. Food should contain fresh fruits, enough fibre content, and very small quantity of spices and oils. Affirmative eating can keep the body free from diseases and can delay the ageing process. Garlic,
BOX 5.4
onion, spinach, salty meal, citrus fruits, tomatoes, carrots and almonds provide vitamins, minerals, iron, antioxidants, betacarotene and fibre. Achara (routine) comprises of Ritucharya, Dincharya, and Ratricharya. Ritu (season) charya means to eat and act according to the six seasons of a year. Din (day) charya (routine) and Ratri (night) charya means to eat and act according to the time of day (morning, noon, evening and night). According to the principles of din charya one should wake up early in the morning and exercise.
HEALTH IMPAIRING BEHAVIOURS

l l
People do not take health as a serious matter until they fall ill. They do things that are injurious to health. Such self-destructive behaviours are many. Some of these are:
l l l l
Smoking Use of tobacco Poor nutritional habit Lack of exercise
Alcohol and drug use Behaviours involving risk of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome): Person-to-person contact involving the exchange of bodily fluids, primarily semen and blood. The above listed health-impairing behaviours develop gradually and are often accompanied by pleasant experiences. People tend to ignore the risk that lie in future and also underestimate the risk.
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The Ratri charya advises to take dinner 2-3 hours before sleep. Vihara (recreation) refers partially to psycho -physiological and partially to physical aspects. Vichara refers to mental or psychological aspects. Positive thinking, impulse control, and realistic goals are important for healthy life. Recapitulation This section dealt with the interrelationships between stress and physical health. General Adaptation Syndrome as proposed by Selye explains how the ongoing stress causes depletion of the bodily resources and results in physical illness. Another view posits that stress lowers the bodys immunity and secretion of harmful chemicals in the body. Social support and positive aspects of personality like hardiness, optimism, and detachment reduce the harmful impacts of stressors. People can have good health by adhering to a life style, which includes balanced diet and regular exercise. Certain styles and habits such as smoking, alcohol, drugs, wrong foods can be injurious to health. The fundamental principles of Life Style described in Ayurveda are Ahara, Vihara, Achara and Vichara.
LEARNING CHECKS III
considered healthy. In medical practices, this is a well-accepted definition of health. Here virus or organic malfunctioning is considered the main cause of illness. If one is suffering from fever, diarrhoea, or heart disease, proper medication is believed to bring the person back to good health. This definition of health is, however, very restricted, and does not do justice to psychological health, which is as important as physical health. It is now realised that health is more than a medical problem and that medical doctors alone cannot deal with all kinds of health problems, nor can they be entirely responsible for maintaining good health. Good health is more than just good physical health and includes social and mental health also. Such a broad concept of health is now well accepted in all health care programmes of the government and other health organisations. How can health be defined in a broader sense? In recent times, one definition of health, which is widely acceptable and sufficiently broad, has been proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to this definition health is the state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being, and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. This is a definition of positive health. It goes beyond the mere absence of a disease, the focus being on maintaining good health, rather than on
ACTIVITY 5.4 Are you in Good Physical Health? A simple way to determine physical health is to find out the Body/Mass/Index (BMI). You can compute the BMI for yourself using the following formula: Body weight (kg) BMI = [height (m)]2 You can interpret the score according to the following chart: BMI RANGE 20 25 25 30 30 35 35 40 Above 40 Obesity/Health Risk Not obese, no risk Low risk Moderate risk High risk Very high risk
1. Prolonged stress affects a person physically as well as psychologically. T/F 2. Burnout is a state of physical exhaustion T/F 3. Stress affects the bodys immune system T/F 4. A persons life style is unrelated to his health and longevity T/F 5. Optimism is tendency to expect good or positive outcomes T/F
POSITIVE HEALTH
AND
WELL-BEING
Health is often defined as the absence of physical illness. If one is not suffering from any disease or other bodily affliction, which needs some treatment, then that person is
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treatment of different diseases. This definition views health as a multidimensional concept: the four dimensions and components of health being physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. Interestingly, the WHO definition of health is very close to the concept of health as given in Ayurveda, the Indian medicinal system. Ayurveda literally means the science of life and longevity. This system of medicine was developed and practiced for thousands of years in India and other neighbouring countries and is given in the Charak Samhita and Sushrut Samhita. It defines health in terms of balance and harmony of the body, the mind, and the soul (swasthya). The literal meaning of swasthya is the state of being located in itself, in a state of harmony. Illness, in this sense, is a state of imbalance. Ayurveda deals with both internal and external causes of illness and views health in a very wide sense, as the total well-being and happiness of a person. It lays emphasis on the cultivation of certain positive attitudes,
ACTIVITY 5.5 Identifying the Indicators of Positive Health Which of the following should not be included in the definition of positive health?
l l l l l l l l l l
personality characteristics, intellectual and moral standards, freedom from anxieties, inner conflicts and truthfulness - all considered as essential conditions for maintaining good health. According to Ayurveda, only a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted person can attain the state of well-being. Factors Facilitating Positive Health and Well-being Diet : Diet can affect health independently or may enhance or modify the effects of stress in combination with other factors. A healthy diet appears to directly reduce the risk of disease, but the maintenance of good nutrition is based on motivation and social practices. Poor diet, conversely, appears to contribute to disease. How much nutrition one needs depends on ones activity level, genetic structure, climate, and health history. In fact, there is no one diet, which is ideal for everyone, in all situations. What people eat and how much they weigh involve behavioural processes. Some people are able to maintain a healthy diet and normal weight, and others become obese. Obesity is very much dependent on psychological factors, which interact with genetic and metabolic characteristics. Weight management and nutritional risk management have become part of the health promotion programmes of modern societies. Being overweight is not only a health risk factor but is also socially stigmatised. Stress is supposed to affect diet and weight in many ways. People who are under stress or in a negative mood are often seen eating more. They seek, comfort foods or foods that make them feel better. Most of these foods are relatively high in fat and salt or sugar, meaning that stress may increase consumption of less healthy foods. Such people gain weight and loose stamina to fight stress. In some cases, increased metabolic demand during stress may increase the consumption of food without necessarily affecting weight. Whereas obesity and weight gain is a problem for a section of the society, a much larger section of the society, which is below the poverty line, suffer from malnutrition.
Good health is a matter of self-perception. Culture decides what we should call good health. Positive health is accompanied by a general feeling of wellness. A sound and logical mind is essential for positive health. The socially maladjusted can still have good health. People who are self-centred and egoist cannot have sound health status. Those who have not visited a doctor can be considered as having sound health. Faith and trust are essential ingredients of positive health. People can depart from social norms and still be healthy. Ill health is a part of health. Discuss your answers with your teacher.
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While good nutrition enables one to lead a socially and economically active life, malnutrition has an adverse impact on health and life expectancy, and increases mortality. It retards physical growth and leads to functional impairment, disability, and diminished productivity, and reduces resistance to diseases. People who are most vulnerable to malnutrition are those below the poverty line, infants, pre-school children, and pregnant women. The problem of malnutrition is a resultant of unavailability of food, purchasing power of the people, and population growth. In conditions of poverty, women are the ones who are most malnourished. Studies have shown that in India diets of female children and women are inadequate due to discriminatory practices. Women are discriminated in terms of both quantity and quality of food available to them. The low dietary intake and maternal malnutrition is a major cause of low birth-weight children. Malnutrition of the mothers again causes child mortality and mental retardation. The Low status of women in the society and social practices are greatly responsible for this sorry state of affairs. Exercise : Exercise, is directly related to promoting positive health. Moderate and
ACTIVITY 5.6 Try Relaxation
l l l
regular physical exercise play an important role in managing weight, stress, as well as, in keeping oneself physically and mentally fit. Two kinds of physical exercises essential for good health are stretching exercises, such as yogic asanas , and aerobic exercises, such as jogging, swimming, and cycling. These two kinds of exercises have opposite effects. Whereas stretching exercises have a calming effect, aerobic exercises increase the arousal level of the body. Yogic asanas provide systematic stretching to all the muscles and joints of the body and massages the glands and other body organs. Similarly meditation, deep breathing, TM (transcendental meditation) and Zen are considered helpful in resolving stress or enhancing an individuals stress tolerance levels. They relax muscles and bring about a decrease in their activity level. Sleeping is very essential for any living organism. Persons who have good sleep habits are able to resolve stress better. Aerobic exercises have activating and stimulating functions - to energize the heart, lungs, and the muscles. These exercises increase the heart rate and the breathing, and reduce the cholesterol level. Although these two types of exercises produce different effects, they are equally essential for healthy living.
ACTIVITY 5.7 Coping with Stress People use different techniques for coping with stress and being healthy: Active coping, Suppression of competing activities, Planning, Restraint, Use of social support, Positive reframing, Religion like faith in God, Acceptance, Denial, Behavioural disengagement, Use of humour, and Self-distraction. Talk to two different persons, one whom you consider stressful, and the other who is often relaxed. Find out which of the two uses the above means of coping with stress.
Sit quietly in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Deeply relax all your muscles. Start from your feet and progress up to your face. Keep them relaxed. Breathe through the nose. Try to become aware of your breath. As you breathe out, say the word one. Breathe easily and naturally. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes. When you finish the relaxation exercise, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed. Do not stand up for a few minutes. Maintain a passive attitude. Ignore the distracting thoughts. Do not practice this within two hours after any meal.
Recapitulation Healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of falling sick. Smoking, alcohol, drugs, and faulty food
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are generally accompanied with other healthimpairing habits. Proper diet and exercise help to maintain good health. The state of Health includes physical, social psychological and spiritual well-being. Such a definition of health is given by the WHO and is found consistent with the Ayurvedic understanding of health.
LEARNING CHECKS IV
1. Positive health includes physical, mental and social health T/F 2. Stress does not affect an individuals diet and health T/F 3. Stress may cause obesity in some individuals T/F 4. Meditation cannot enhance stress tolerance T/F
BOX 5.5
POSITIVE HEALTH THROUGH POSITIVE ATTITUDE blame for failures, and taking credit for success. being open to new ideas, activities, or ways of doing things. having a good sense of humour, to be able to laugh at oneself and absurdities of life helps to see things in their proper perspective.
Positive health and well being can be realised by: perceiving the reality fairly accurately. tolerating and understanding different points of view. l having a sense of purpose in life and being problem-centred. l having a sense of responsibility, accepting
l l
l l
BOX 5.6
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND LEARNED RESOURCEFULNESS and behaviours by which a person can effectively manage internal responses to stressful situations. They are better able to self-regulate and selfmonitor their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. The person who has acquired these skills of self-management develops a sense of learned resourcefulness. Most of us acquire such skills without any formal training. It is also found in the research that people who have gone through a lot of hardships in life, or who come from the lower strata of the society, where they had to struggle hard to survive, show learned resourcefulness. They are less affected by life-stresses and display better coping with the adversities of life. These people always have adequate internal resources to deal with any crisis. Such people show resilience and adapt better to life-changes.
It has been found that persons who were exposed to uncontrollable outcomes show the symptoms of learned helplessness. It is also observed in real life situation that people, who repeatedly meet failure in spite of all the efforts they make, do not make efforts even in the situations where their efforts can succeed. This is often seen in the case of unemployed youths who have seen their efforts failing in the past. People who experience learned helplessness show the symptoms of performance impairment, depression, and lack of efforts. Many training programmes are developed, especially for children, to alleviate learned helplessness. The concept of learned resourcefulness is in a way opposite to that of learned helplessness. Learned resourcefulness refers to acquired skills
BOX 5.7
OPTIMISM AND THRIVING psychological well-being of people as well as caregivers. Optimists use more problem focused coping strategies. If that does not work, they use acceptance, humour, and positive reframing. Pessimism often leads to self-defeating patterns. Scheier and his colleagues have developed a measure to assess optimism. Some of its items are as follows: l In uncertain times, I usually expect the best.
contd...
Optimists are those who are hopeful and confident in life and pessimists are those who think that all things tend to evil, and only bad things can happens to them. It has been found that people differ in the manner and the degree of success while coping with adversity. Thus while optimists tend to assume that adversity can be handled successfully in one fashion or another, pessimists anticipate disasters. Optimism has a positive effect on the
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l l l l
If something can go wrong for me, it will. I am always optimistic about my future. I rarely count on good things happening to me.
Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad. The responses are to be given on a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
There is an increasing interest in the positive aspects of health behaviour, in the form of coping with illness and thriving. Thriving is the process of going beyond survival and recovery from a stress or illness by an individual or a community. Research has shown that people with high internality (internal locus of control) manifest more health-related activity and cope better with illness than those with external locus of control. They show a higher level of thriving.
Key Terms
Homeostasis, Stress, General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), Coping, Alarm Reaction, Exhaustion, Optimism, Detachment, Health, Burnout.
SUMMARY
l l l
Stress is considered as a disease of existence. It is all around in our environment. Changing environment (internal as well as external) demands adaptation. Adjustment involves individuals adaptive response to the demands of the environment and maintaining a harmonious relationship with it. There are three major types of stresses: Environmental, Personal, and Social. There are some everyday hassles in our environment, which arise from routines of life and lead to stress. The sources of stress include traumatic events, recent life events, and hassles. The effect of stress depends on personal characteristics, resources, and characteristics of the stresses. The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) model of stress has three stages of stress, e.g., Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion. The response to stress may be physiological, emotional, behavioural, and cognitive. Coping with stress is more of an individual and culture based mechanism. There are three main types of coping: Task-Oriented, Emotion focused and Defensive. In Task oriented reactions an individual confronts, escapes, or compromises with the stressful situation. In emotion focused coping the individual shows symptoms of anxiety, frustration, anger, and other emotional outbursts. Defensive reactions involve the use of various defence mechanisms. It is essential to have healthy life styles for stress tolerance and coping. An individual can promote health through exercises, aerobics, yoga, and meditation. An optimistic approach in thinking is also useful for counteracting stress. Positive health and well-being come through a healthy attitude of the mind. There is also need for spiritual health and the overall harmonious conditions in the society. Stress should be coped with positive and healthy approaches and one must avoid escape routes like drugs, alcohol, and other socially unacceptable behaviours.
l l l l
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Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What What What What What What What What is adjustment? is stress? State the factors that determine the effect of stress? is GAS model? is the relationship between stress and health? are the various sources of stress? are the ways of coping with stress? is meant by healthy lifestyle? is meant by positive mental health? How can it be facilitated?
ANSWERS
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
I : 1. F, 2. F, 3. T, 4. T, 5. T, 6. T, 7. T. II : 1. c, 2. a, 3. b. III : (1) T, (2) F, (3) T, (4) F, (5) T.
IV : (1) T, (2) F, (3) T, (4) F.
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Psychological Disorders
6
THIS
CHAPTER COVERS
CONTENTS
Introduction Evolution of Understanding about Abnormal Behaviour What is Abnormal Behaviour? Concepts of Normality and Abnormality Criteria of Abnormal Behaviour Classification of Psychological Disorders Perspectives on Abnormal Behaviour (Box 6.1) DSM IV Classification System (Box 6.2) Causal Factors Related to Abnormal Behaviour Biological, Psychological and Socio-cultural Factors Major Psychological Disorders Anxiety Disorders Epidemiology of Mental Illness in India (Box 6.3) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Box 6.4) Mood Disorders Schizophrenic and Delusional Disorders Substance Related Disorders Behavioural Disorders Personality Disorders Types of Personality Disorder (Box 6.5) HIV-AIDS (Box 6.6) Mental Health Regulations (Box 6.7)
Basic understanding of abnormal behaviour An overview of different types of disorders Causal determinants of abnormal behaviour Symptoms and causes of anxiety and mood disorders Factors responsible for schizophrenic and personality disorders Problems and remedies of drug abuse BY
BE ABLE TO
understand the meaning and classification of abnormal behaviour, appreciate the factors which cause abnormal behaviour, and familiarise with major forms of psychological disorders.
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INTRODUCTION
In our everyday life, many of us have problems, which are psychological in nature. We may find some people over-reacting to simple statements and situations. For example some have difficulty in relating to other people, some often find fault with their family members and colleagues and feel threatened; others seem to experience hallucinations and delusions. We perceive or comprehend that they have some kind of psychological problem and use terms like mad and eccentric for such persons. These distressed people do have certain psychological disorders but are not necessarily the way they are perceived. Due to rapid social and technological changes, there is wide prevalence of psychological problems involving anxiety and depression and most of the afflicted people do not seek professional assistance. Various forms of psychological problems are becoming common in India. Abnormal behaviour and various other forms of psychological disorders are on the rise. There is also increasing awareness and understanding of such disorders. This chapter shall help you to understand certain basic concepts related to these disorders. It will begin with a brief overview of the evolution of human understanding about abnormal behaviour. Then the concepts and criteria for abnormal behaviour are described. This is followed by the classification and description of various psychological disorders. It is hoped that the study of this chapter shall broaden your perspective on the nature of human behaviour and enable you to appreciate the problems that people suffer.
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EVOLUTION OF UNDERSTANDING ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR
ABOUT
The pre-historic man used to explain lightning, thunderstorms, earthquakes, fires, floods, sickness, epidemics and many such phenomena, which were hither to incomprehensible as the work of good and bad spirits. It was natural for them to extend such logic to mental disorders also. Mental patients were considered to be possessed by such spirits, mostly by the bad ones. The treatment for possession was exorcism, which was meant to drive the evil spirit out of the body of the afflicted person. Techniques employed for such purposes were magic, prayer, drum beating, incantation and administering purgatives and various forms of torture. Shamans or witch-doctors practiced exorcism. These practices still prevail in many parts of the world including India. These practices are not only prevalent in non-literate cultures, but are also found in industrialised societies and often exist alongwith the modern approaches of treatment. Sudhir Kakar has provided a detailed psychoanalytic description of some of the shamanistic practices that still prevail in India. One can find reference to psychological disorders in Atharva-Veda, which is dated around 2000 BC. It describes three physical gunas as vata, pitta and kaph and three mental gunas i.e., sattva, rajas and tamas. Excessive indulgence and predominance of Tamas guna over Sattva and Rajas gunas is manifested in psychological disorders. Some of these have been named in AtharvaVeda as Unmad, Grahi (fit or seizure), Apasmar, Bhaya (fear), Manastap (anxiety) etc. There is an elaborate description of the symptoms and methods of treatment of these disorders. In ancient Greece, (800 BC) disturbed or abnormal behaviour was interpreted as punishment for offences against Gods. Later, this belief gradually declined. The Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC) considered to be the father of modern medicine, denied the role of deities and demons in the development of mental disorders. He emphasised that they are
caused by brain dysfunctions. He classified mental disorders into three general categories, namely, mania (intense unfounded excitement), melancholia (depression) and phrenitis (brain fever). In the 17th and 18th centuries, scientific methods came to replace faith and dogma as ways of understanding the natural world. Johan Weyer (1525-1588), a German physician, emphasised psychological conflicts and disturbed interpersonal relationships as causes of mental disorders. In 1547, Henri VIII officially made the monastery of St. Mary of Bethlehem at London into a mental hospital. Such hospitals or asylums were gradually established in other countries also. However, by the late 18th century, measures to reform mental hospitals were initiated in Europe and America. Such a movement resulted in improving the conditions and the establishment of some 32 mental hospitals in USA, Canada and Europe. In India, Lumbini Park hospital in the state of West Bengal was established in 1920 for the treatment of mentally ill. Twentieth century was instrumental in establishing the mental hygiene movement for the cause of mentally ill. Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) believed that abnormal behaviour was caused by organic disturbances. He also gave classification of mental disorders. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) established clearly that psychological factors, especially that, the unconscious mind, played an important role in the causation of mental disorders. It was also the beginning of understanding of psychological, social and cultural factors causing mental disorders. Later, Watson (1878-1958), Skinner (1904-1994) and many others, advocated that maladaptive behaviour is caused by faulty learning or failure to learn appropriate behaviour. This led to the development of various behaviour modification techniques. According to Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Rogers (1902-1987), psychopathology is a blockage or failure to develop the tremendous potentials inherent in human beings. Sullivan (1892-1949) and many others viewed unsatisfactory
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interpersonal relationships, especially with parents during childhood as the root cause of maladaptive behaviour. Around 1950s Ruth Benedict, Kardiner and Margaret Mead established through their crosscultural investigation that there was greater need for understanding of socio-cultural influences on psychopathology. Recapitulation During pre-historic period, mental patients were considered to be possessed by evil spirits. Shamans practiced exorcism. Psychological disorders find a place in Artharva-Veda (2000 BC) as physical gunas: vata, pitta and kaph, and mental gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas. Hippocrates emphasised that mental disorders are caused by brain dysfunctions. Mental hospitals or asylums were established during the 17th and 18th centuries. Sigmund Freud was the first to establish that psychological factors play an important role in causing mental disorders.
LEARNING CHECKS I
1. Exorcism is the modern technique of psychological treatment. T/F 2. Prehistoric men attributed mental illness to possession by bad spirits. T/F 3. Atharva-Veda has the oldest written documentation about mental disorders. T/F 4. In Middle age, mental patients were treated with kindness and compassion. T/F 5. In 18th and 19th century, revolutionary reforms were made for the care of mental patients. T/F 6. Sigmund Freud was the first to tell that psychological disorders are caused by psychological reasons. T/F
WHAT
IS
ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR?
Concepts of Normality and Abnormality
Literally, abnormality means deviation from normality. However, the demarcation between normal and abnormal is not clear, particularly when we think of abnormalities
involved in psychological disorders. In case of physical illnesses, the nature of our biological system presupposes a level or a range of normal functioning in reference to which abnormality or conditions of illness can be identified. The normal body temperature of human beings is around 970 F (or 370 C) and a gross deviation from the same may be safely taken as a symptom of some physical illness. Similarly, the human heart has a normal range of beats per minute and any departure from this range may indicate abnormal physical condition. Nevertheless, in respect to human behaviour and psychological functioning, there is no universal or objective standard of normality. As we have seen in several other chapters, in this book, cultures differ in the conception of acceptable and normal behaviour. For instance, the Jarwas in Andaman live in a different habitat, have very different lifestyles, and consider wearing clothes as abnormal. The behaviour of Jarwas could be considered abnormal in settings other than their own. Further, social values and practices change over a period of time making normality a changing concept. For instance, earlier on homosexuality was considered quite abnormal in most societies. But today, several societies have now changed to accept it as a normal sexual preference of some people in the society. As such, normality and abnormality are only relative concepts. Abnormality cannot always be characterised as a quantitative or statistical extreme of the range of normality or simply as a statistically infrequent phenomenon. A very high level of intelligence of a genius is a quantitative or statistical deviation from the normal level of intelligence in the society but we rarely speak of a genius as abnormal or psychologically disordered. A very low level of intelligence-characteristic of mental retardation, is considered abnormal but not simply due to its low frequency in a population, nor because it lies at the low end of the range of distribution of intelligence in a population. In any society, certain forms of behaviour or a range of such behaviours is considered acceptable, adaptive, and functional (or non-problematic) for
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the individual in his/her relationship with others in specific contexts or situations. However, a gross departure from the acceptable range of behaviour in usual contexts or from the social norms, may hinder a persons adjustment or his/her ability to function. Such a condition may be considered abnormal from a psychological point of view. You may have seen a very scary movie in a cinema hall. Some scenes in such films evoke fear and anxiety in people and often, many in the audience scream out of fear. Such behaviour is accepted as normal. Nevertheless, if you express similar levels of fear and scream often in relatively nonthreatening situations, your behaviour can be considered abnormal. At some stage of our life, almost everyone of us feels low and sad. During such periods, we may find it extremely difficult to carry on with life. At other times, anyone could face many inner fears and anxieties. Thus, Instead of only labelling ourselves and others abnormal, we should understand that normality and abnormality are not very rigid concepts. Instead, as states of mind, they lie on a continuum and in different phases of life, most human beings experience them. Hence, we should know that behaviours or psychological states such as anxiety, delusions or hallucinations, aggressiveness, depression, etc., are found with normal people as well as with those identified as suffering from mental disorders. In fact, most of the behavioural symptoms of clinically diagnosed mental disorders are not unique to the mental patients; sometimes and in some situations, normal people also engage in similar behaviours. Thus, abnormality is a matter of the degree to which a set of behaviours of an individual are considered inappropriate as against accepted norms of the society and which are problematic for the person in his social functioning and adjustment. From this point of view, every person can behave abnormally and show symptoms for mental disorder, particularly under difficult circumstances. The Criteria of Abnormal Behaviour Since the distinction between normal and abnormal behaviours is not easy to make,
we must have some criteria for defining abnormality for proper identification, assessment, treatment and prevention of abnormal behaviours associated with mental disorders. There must be some criteria for including some behaviour within the category of abnormal based on which we can identify people suffering from mental disorders in order to help them. The American Psychiatric Association has specified some standards for defining and classifying mental disorders, which are widely accepted. Accordingly, mental disorders are defined in terms of the following two broad criteria : 1. There must be clinically significant behaviour or set of behaviours or symptoms resulting in dysfunction (associated with distress/disability/ increase risk) of the individual. 2. The behaviour(s) must not be considered culturally sanctioned or culturally appropriate. Thus, abnormal behaviour is to be viewed in terms of cultural inappropriateness and the problems (dysfunctions) they cause for the individual or his/her group or community or the society. It is difficult for persons with abnormal behaviour to adapt or to function smoothly in society; abnormality has an adverse effect on a persons well-being as well as the well-being of the society. Stated simply, abnormal behaviour is a maladaptive behaviour. As Carson, Butcher and Mineka have stated behaviour is abnormal, a manifestation of mental disorder, if it is both persistent and in serious degree contrary to the continued wellbeing of the individual and/or that of the human community of which the individual is a member.
ACTIVITY 6.1 Views about Abnormal Behaviours Talk to people, both-general public as well as families who have a member suffering from any psychological disorder and get their ideas about the basis for designating a particular act or behaviour as abnormal. Match it with what is given in your book.
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BOX 6.1
PERSPECTIVES ON ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR Abnormal behaviour is the product of a failure to deal constructively with existential despair, anxiety, and frustration. d) Cognitive : People are disturbed not by things and situations but by the interpretations they make. The interpretations and views are based on the kind of underlying schemas and experiences they have learnt to operate with. E.g., All Sadhus and Pirs are learned religious people. e) I n t e r p e r s o n a l : Unsatisfactory interpersonal relationship in the past or in the present is the primary causal factor of many maladaptive behaviour. III. Socio-Cultural Perspective : Maladaptive behaviour results from the inability to cope effectively with social changes, catastrophes, and is partly a failure of the individuals social support systems. IV. Eclectic Perspective : Rather than accepting any one of the different viewpoints discussed above, some practitioners call for the integration of all the approaches to understand abnormal behaviour. The various perspectives on psychological disorders are not mutually exclusive, often the richest insight about the cause of a disorder arise from a combination of several viewpoints. Today many psychologists are trying to develop an integrated model of abnormal behaviour.
Several perspectives have been proposed to understand abnormal behaviour. A brief description of these is given below. I. Biological Perspective : Behind every twisted thought there is a twisted molecule is an exaggerated statement but signifies the importance of biological factors in the understanding of abnormal behaviour. Finding of recent advancement in the field of genes and chromosomal studies, behaviour genetics, biochemical and glandular systems and advances in the area of Neuro psychology provide sufficient evidence for the role of biological factors. II. Psycho-Social Perspective : It includes many perspectives, the major ones are described below in terms of their core assumptions. a) Psychodynamic : Abnormal behaviour is a function of intra-psychic conflicts and experiences, which are repressed and become part of unconscious. These conflicts cause abnormal behaviour. b) Behavioural : Maladaptive behaviour is the result of failure to learn necessary adaptive behaviours and learning the ineffective responses. c) HumanisticExistential : Abnormality is a failure to develop the potentials of human being. It is blocking or distortion of the individuals natural tendencies toward health and personal growth.
Recapitulation The distinction between normal and abnormal is relative, what may be normal in one culture may be considered abnormal in other cultures. Behaviours or psychological states such as anxiety, delusions, aggressiveness, depression etc. are found in normal people as well as those with mental disorders. Thus, abnormality is a matter of degree to which certain behaviours are considered inappropriate in a society and problematic in his social functioning and adjustment. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the criteria for defining and classifying mental disorders are (i) clinically significant set of behaviours resulting in dysfunction and (ii) the
LEARNING CHECKS II
1. There exist clear-cut boundaries between normal and abnormal behaviour. T/F 2. Concept of normality is changing with the change in social values and practices. T/F 3. Certain behaviours considered abnormal are sometimes shown by normal people. T/F 4. Abnormal behaviour is considered culturally appropriate. T/F 5. Behaviours which cause dysfunction of the person are called abnormal behaviours. T/F
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behaviours must not be considered culturally appropriate. CLASSIFICATION DISORDERS

OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL
Most psychiatrists (medical specialists dealing with psychological disorders) and clinical psychologists (psychologists dealing with psychological disorders) agree that abnormality is an important aspect of modern life and people exhibiting abnormal behaviours should be diagnosed. Diagnosis facilitates communication amongst professionals to decide about the further course of treatment. It helps in understanding, analysing and actively intervening in any given situation. However, the clinical psychologist must go beyond diagnosis. He or she must try to listen to the unique experience of every patient. Only in doing so, can the psychologist help the patient in a humane, sensitive and in-depth manner. Any attempt at classifying psychological disorders begins with the patients symptoms. However, same or similar symptoms may be present in different psychological disorders. Therefore, the emphasis should not be on individual symptoms but on syndromes. A syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that are generally found together (in a psychological disorder). Investigators in a variety of ways have classified psychological disorders. Currently, two systems of classification are in vogue. One is known as the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) accepted by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It covers both physical and mental disorders and is used worldwide. Currently it is in its tenth version (ICD-10 ). However, the classification system, which is becoming increasingly popular, is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) devised by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Currently, its fourth version (DSM-IV) is being used (see Box 6.2). DSM is a system that aids the psychologist in the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and management of the person. The DSM system
classifies disorders based on symptoms i.e., pattern of thoughts, emotions and behaviours. It adopts a system of diagnosis that is broad based (multiaxial) and not just symptom based (Axis I). The psychologist tries to gather information about different areas of the persons functioning (such as, whether he has had any developmental disorders) (Axis II), whether he has any medical and physical problems, {e.g., hypertension etc.) (Axis III), What are the present stressors? (Axis IV), and what is the present level of adaptive functioning (Axis V). Thus, DSM asks for judgements about individuals on five separate dimentions or axes. In our day-to-day observation, we see disturbed behaviour of all sorts with varying degrees of severity and duration. At the one extreme, there are grossly disturbed people termed as psychotics. At the other end, there are people who are unhappy, limited in their ability to love, to relate with others, to work or have meaning in their lives. These are examples of lesser psychological problems and maladjustment. In between, there are people who are anxious, fearful, attention seekers, sad, needlessly rigid, moralistic, and intolerant of others, shy, self-centred, immature, impulsive or feel inadequate, defeated and worthless. The various forms of abnormal behaviour are analysed from a variety of theoretical perspectives. You are encouraged to know more about it (see Box 6.1).
CAUSAL FACTORS RELATED ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR
TO
The various theoretical viewpoints on abnormal behaviours focus on different factors that contribute to their development. However, it may be noted that the causes of abnormal behaviour are of a diverse nature. The main sets of factors that work as causes are as follows. Biological Factors The biological factors underlying mental disorders are of various kinds. They include genetic defects, chromosomal aberrations,
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BOX 6.2
DSM IV CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Acute Stress Disorder Generalised Anxiety Disorder Somatoform Disorders Somatisation Disorder Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder Conversion Disorder Pain Disorder Hypochondriasis Body Dysmorphic Disorder Factitious Disorders Dissociative Disorders Dissociative Amnesia Dissociative Fugue Dissociative Identity Disorder Depersonalisation Disorder Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Sexual Dysfunction Sexual Desire Disorders Sexual Arousal Disorders Orgasmic Disorders Sexual Pain Disorders Paraphilias Gender Identity Disorders Eating Disorders Anorexia Nervosa Bulimia Nervosa Sleep Disorders Primary Sleep Disorders: Dyssomnias Parasomnias Impulsecontrol Disorders not elsewhere classified Intermittent Explosive Disorder Kleptomania Pyromania Pathological Gambling Trichotillomania Adjustment Disorders Adjustment Disorder Personality Disorders Paranoid Personality Disorder Schizoid Personality Disorder Schizotypal Personality Disorder Antisocial Personality Disorder Borderline Personality Disorder Histrionic Personality Disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder Avoidant Personality Disorder Dependent Personality Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy, Childhood or Adolescence Mental Retardation Learning Disorders Motor Skill Disorder Communication Disorders Pervasive Developmental Disorders Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behaviour Disorders Feeding and Eating Disorders of Infancy or Early childhood Tic Disorders Elimination Disorders Other Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence Delirium, Dementia and Amnestic and other Cognitive Disorders Delirium Dementia Amnestic Disorders Other cognitive disorders Mental Disorders due to General mental condition not elsewhere classified Substance-Related Disorders Alcohol Use Disorders Amphetamine (or Amphetamine-like) Caffeine-Related Disorders Cannabis-Related Cocaine-Related Hallucinogen-Related Inhalant-Related Nicotine-Related Opium-Related Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders Schizophrenia Schizophreniform Disorder Schizoaffective Disorder Delusional Disorder Brief Psychotic Disorder Shared Psychotic Disorder Mood Disorder Depressive Disorders Bipolar Disorders Anxiety Disorders Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia Agoraphobia without History of Panic Disorder Specific Phobia Social Phobia Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
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endocrine dysfunction, constitutional weakness, brain dysfunction, and physical deprivation. All of them individually or in combination, may cause the onset of abnormal behaviour. If faulty genes are transmitted from parents to progeny, they may lead to psychological and physical disorders. It has been found that certain psychological disorders like schizophrenia and manicdepressive psychosis have strong genetic basis. Likewise, Downs Syndromea kind of severe mental retardationis due to chromosomal aberrations where one extra chromosome is found in the 21 st pair of chromosomes. Cretinism, again a form of severe mental retardation in young children is due to lesser production of Thyroxin hormone by Thyroid gland. The Physique and other aspects of body constitution also play an important role. They determine our primary reaction tendencies towards stress and in turn determine our adaptation to stress. Brain damage and neurotransmitter dysfunction are largely responsible for several types of symptoms and psychological disorders. Lastly, physiological homeostasis is disturbed due to nutritional deficiencies and lack of rest. Extreme physical deprivation is found to lead to psychological abnormalities. Psychological Factors The role of psychological factors in causation of abnormal behaviour is less specific and unpredictable than that of biological factors. It is because these factors are difficult to identify and measure. They are less precise and work indirectly in uncertain ways. The effect of these factors is not very predictable. Development of distorted identity, dominance of faulty and unconscious motives, maternal and emotional deprivation especially during early childhood, and psychic trauma play an important role. Inadequate parenting which includes overprotection, making unrealistic demands from children, over-permissiveness and over-indulgence, inconsistent reward and punishments, and faulty communication and undesirable parental models are found to be significantly related to the development of
abnormal behaviour. Maladaptive peer relationships also contribute to abnormal behaviour. Stress is an experience due to stressors in the environment that disrupts the normal psychological and physiological functioning, thereby causing disturbance in the individual. Stress has usually a negative influence on the mind and the body. However, stress is also a stimulus for many and brings new motivation and zeal. Stress is harmful to a person only when the person is relatively unable to cope with stressors. You have already read about stress in Chapter 5. Socio-Cultural Factors These factors also contribute to the genesis of psychological disorders. They vary from culture to culture. For example, poverty does not equip growing children with adequate coping resources and makes them more vulnerable to psychological disorders. Prejudice, discrimination, unemployment, gender inequality, rapid social and technological changes, etc., work in very subtle and complex ways and contribute to the genesis of psychological disorders. Unfortunately, very little is specifically known about these factors. Types of Causes : Primary, Predisposing, Precipitating and Reinforcing The causes of mental disorders vary in terms of their relationship with the onset of disorder. From this angle, there are four types of causes: primary, predisposing, precipitating and reinforcing. A primary cause is the condition that must exist for the disorder to occur, but the disorder may or may not occur depending on other factors. A predisposing cause is a condition that comes before and increases the chances of the occurrence of the disorder later. It increases the vulnerability of the individual to become a victim of the disorder. A precipitating cause is an immediate condition that triggers the disorder. A reinforcing cause is a condition that tends to maintain some already occurred abnormal behaviour. Predisposition towards a given disorder is called diathesis. In other words, individuals have certain vulnerability for specific
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psychological disorders. The causes lie within the person, either in his/her biological makeup or within the personality. Certain stresses or excessive demands compel him/her to make adjustment. The person tries his/her best to do so by mobilising of the resources available to him/her. However, a point comes when one is unable to cope with these excessive demands and a breakdown takes place. It is known as the manifestation of psychological disorders. In this context, we shall discuss the role of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors separately. However, it is the interaction of these which is crucial. Recapitulation Psychological disorders have been classified in many ways. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) devised by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is popularly used. The causes of abnormal behaviour relate to biological factors such as genetic defects, chromosomal abnormalities, brain dysfunction, etc. Psychological factors (deprivation, psychic trauma, stress etc.) and socio-cultural factors (poverty, discrimination, unemployment, etc.) have important roles to play in the causation of abnormal behaviour. The causes in terms of the onset of disorder may be primary (condition must exist for
LEARNING CHECKS III
disorder to occur), predisposing (condition that comes before and increases the chances of occurrence of the disorder), precipitating (immediate condition that triggers the disorder), or reinforcing (condition that tends to maintain already occurred abnormal behaviour). MAJOR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS As you have seen in Box 6.2, the list of disorders is very long and it is not possible for you to understand all of them. Therefore, only some important classes of disorders are being selected for the present discussion. They include anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenic, and delusional disorders, substance-related disorders, behavioural disorders of childhood and adolescence, and personality disorders. Let us try to understand each of these in term of their main features. ANXIETY DISORDERS There are many types of anxiety disorders. The major ones include generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, various forms of phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, somatoform disorder, dissociative disorders and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Earlier on, many psychologists described people who were suffering from anxiety disorders as neurotic. The current scheme of classification uses the clear and overt presence of marked anxiety as the criteria for including the different clusters of symptoms in the group of anxiety disorders. Here the individual is excessively anxious in general or under specific circumstances but still has (or maintains) enough contact with reality and rarely requires hospitalisation. Various types of anxiety disorders involve a wide range of symptom patterns (syndromes). In general, the patients (i) frequently experience anxiety, worry, fear, and apprehension more intensely and long lasting than the common people do, and (ii) they try to cope with these feelings through ritualised behaviours, or repetitive thoughts that may reduce anxiety slightly, or
1. A cluster of symptoms generally found together are called ______________. 2. Mental retardation caused due to chromosomal aberration is __________ ________. 3. Nutritional deficiencies and lack of rest cause ____________. 4. Inability of the person to cope with excessive demands resulting into a break down is known as manifestation of _______________. 5. A ______________ cause increases the vulnerability of the person to become a victim of the disorder. 6. Predisposition towards a disorder is called ______________.
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try to avoid situations that trigger the anxiety. Generalised Anxiety Disorder : It is marked by unrealistic or excessive worry. It was traditionally described as free floating anxiety, which persists for months or longer, and is not attributed to recent life experiences. Persons suffering from generalised anxiety disorders manifest the characteristics shown in Table 6.1. It is a common disorder and roughly, five percent of population suffers from it at one time or other in their life. Panic Disorder : It is characterised by a sudden attack of unanticipated, overwhelming, and apparently unexplainable terror that reaches its peak within 5-10 minutes. Increased palpitation and respiration, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, trembling, sweating, dizziness and a sense of helplessness mark the panic attack. These attacks generally subside after a while. The unexpectedness of attack is often extremely disturbing as the patient is unable to relate it to any particular situation or event. This leads to the development of anticipatory anxiety and gradual change in the life style of the patient, i.e., patient avoids going to public places, and the avoidance behaviour (agoraphobia) interferes with patients work and other activities. The disorder results in personal distress and often impairs relations within the family.
prevails. People with panic disorder may not remain anxious all the time, as is the case with generalised anxiety disorder. Phobic Disorder : Every one of us has fear of one thing or the other. Most of the time, these fears are realistic and appropriate in view of the danger posed before us. These are normal fears. However, many people have fears which are out of proportion, seem inexplicable, and are beyond voluntary control. They have fear of specific objects, people, or situations. They try to avoid them, and this makes their lives difficult. Traditionally, phobias have been named by means of Greek or Latin prefixes that stand for the object of fear, but today they are grouped into a few categories. For example, some are afraid of losing their voice when speaking on the stage or talking to strangers. These irrational fears are called social phobias. The non-social irrational fears are called specific phobias like fear of rats or cats. There are irrational fears of public places called agoraphobia. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders : An obsession is an unpleasant and unwanted thought that keeps coming to mind, despite a persons effort to resist it. The most common obsessions are sexual, aggressive, and religious in nature and of contamination and doubt. Examples of obsession are recurring thoughts of killing a loved one or constantly
Table 6.1 Psychological and Physical Symptoms in Generalised Anxiety Disorders

Psychological Symptoms
l l l l l l
Physical Symptoms
l l l l l l l l l
Nervousness Tension Worry and apprehension Sleeplessness Difficulty in concentration Heightened vigilance
Feeling tired Dizziness Frequent urination Increased palpitation Feeling faint Breathlessness Sweating Trembling Dryness of throat.
Generalised anxiety disorder differs from panic disorder in the diffusion of anxiety, which is more focused and intense in the latter than in the former. Panic disorder is like sudden release of the pressure from the cooker, where before and after the release, calmness
wondering whether the gas stove had been turned off before leaving for work. A compulsion is an act or a series of acts a person feels compelled to perform repeatedly despite knowing that it is senseless e.g., repetitive hand washing. The most common
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forms of compulsive acts are counting, ordering, checking, cleaning, or mentally reciting a series of mantras or numbers. Often obsessions and compulsions go together, i.e., obsessive thinking leads to compulsive acts. However, about one fourth of the people having these disorders only have obsessive thoughts but do not act on them. On the contrary, a compulsion need not always be caused by an obsession. Healthy people with a few obsessivecompulsive tendencies tend to work meticulously, efficiently and are able to organise their daily activities. They are assets in certain kinds of jobs like cashier of a bank or laboratory technician or machine designer. Many of them can maintain a high level of achievement. However, obsessive persons prove to be a disaster, specially working on the jobs where public dealings are a constant requirement. When obsessive thoughts or compulsive acts begin to interfere with the routine of daily life, it becomes a major problem and requires professional attention. Instead of order, they create confusion, disorganisation, and hindrance. Somatoform Disorders : The term soma means body and therefore, these disorders refer to physical problems. Here an individual complains of a serious physical problem over a long period, but on medical examination, no organic basis is found. These individuals sincerely believe that the symptoms are real and of serious nature. They seek frequent medical attention. Thus, psychological problems are manifested in sincere complaints of physical dysfunction. The main types of somatoform disorders are given below. (i) Somatisation Disorder : In this disorder, the most common complaints are headaches, fatigue, nausea, palpitation, abdominal pain, bowel troubles, and vague body pains. It is not surprising that somatising patients frequently go to doctors, change them and even undergo needless surgery. They believe that they are sick, narrate long and detailed history to support it and take lot of medicines. They impress other people by their selfcenteredness, immaturity and overexcitedness. Their complaints are dramatic,
vague, and exaggerated. They differ from hypochondriacs as the latter focus on the fear of having specific disease while these people remain preoccupied with symptoms. (ii) Conversion Disorders : People with these disorders exhibit symptoms of deficits affecting voluntary motor or sensory function that suggests a medical condition. Psychological factors are judged to be associated with these symptoms as they appear without regard for the actual fact of anatomy and often lead to a stressful life experience. Paralysis, loss of voice, double vision, selective hearing, severe laryngitis or mutism etc. may be such disorders. Symptoms may be sensory, motor, or visceral in nature. Secondary gain (seeking attention or affection) that he or she might not get otherwise is evident in such patients. However, it is on the safer side to rule out any medical reasons before coming to the conclusion. (iii) Hypochondriasis : It is diagnosed when an individual believes that he has a serious illness, despite contrary evidences and medical reassurances. These people have an obsessive concern about the disease and preoccupation with body organs. Hypochondriacs monitor their physical condition and look for signs of illness. If assured by doctors that they do not have any illness, they often are skeptical and disbelieving. Thus, somatoform disorders consist of physical symptoms, which cannot be explained on medical basis, by current knowledge of body functions and believed to be having psychological basis of their occurrence and maintenance. Dissociative Disorders : Dissociative disorders are not always considered pathological in nature. In fact, some such behaviours are commonly accepted as culturalreligious experiences in many societies. They involve large memory gaps, feelings of alienation, and splitting of the self into multiple self-states. The main types of this disorder are listed below : (i) Dissociative Amnesia : It involves selective memory loss, which is not due to any visible indication of organic changes. Memory loss can be localised to a particular event or time
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or so generalised that the entire past is forgotten. Some people cannot recall their past while others are unable to recall specific events, persons, places, and things. Some accident or severe emotional trauma can trigger these amnesias. (ii) Dissociative Fugue : It involves unexpected travel away from home and assumption of a new identity. Such a person may set up a new life in some distant place. After several years, he or she may wake up and feel distressed being in a strange place. (iii) Multiple Personality : It is the most dramatic disorder. It involves the coexistence of two or more largely complete, and usually very different personalities, in one person. Neither of the personalities has any awareness of the other. It is, however, a rare disorder. MOOD DISORDERS We often hear that someone whom we thought happy and well settled suddenly starts talking about ending his/her life. Such a person exhibits a disturbance in mood. When we know that the talk of suicide was a result of failure in a business deal the
BOX 6.3 Place Bangalore Baroda Calcutta Patiala Year 1983 1983 1983 1983
person would then be described as being emotionally disturbed. Mood disorders are disorders of emotion of sufficient intensity and duration which require immediate psychological and medical attention. The three main types of mood disorders are: depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, and other mood disorders . Bipolar disorders are much less common than depressive disorders. Depressive disorders should be distinguished from depressed mood. All of us become sad, grieved, and depressed, at one time or the other in our life. These feelings occur during cloudy weather, due to death in the family, losing a job or honour, failure in relationships or major financial loss. However, these are temporary phases, which represent a short-term response to stress and in due course of time, we usually overcome these feelings. This is normal depression that most of us feel occasionally. This is often transitory and time bound and often a period of genuine introspection. Depressive Disorders : Symptoms of depressive disorders are more severe and long
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESS IN INDIA Population All Psychosis 35,548 39,655 34,582 36,595 3.29 3.25 6.50 10.96 Rate Per 1000 Population Schizophrenia 1.83 1.77 2.05 3.09 Epilepsy 7.82 1.28 1.71 3.17 All Causes 11.10 4.60 8.30 14.10
(Source: ICMR Bulletin Vol. 18, No. 12, 1988) BOX 6.4 POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS (PTSD) coping styles of the victim are some of the factors identified for recurrent attacks of PTSD. It is considered a delayed stress reaction that reoccur repeatedly even long after the trauma victims experience emotional numbing in relation to everyday events and feelings of alienation from other people. They may have symptoms like sleep problems, difficulty in concentration, exaggerated startled response, and guilt about surviving.
Many victims of war, terrorist attacks, rape, riots, accident or natural calamities like flood, earthquake, fire, etc. go into a state of anxiety, depression and numbness immediately after or in the following months and some times for years. They complain of tension, sleeplessness, and difficulty in concentration. They get recurrent nightmares in which the trauma is relived. The magnitude of the trauma, presence of cues resembling to the traumatic event and poor
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lasting. They include dissatisfaction and anxiety, changes in appetite, disturbance of sleep and psychomotor functions, loss of interest and energy, feelings of guilt, thoughts of death, and difficulty in concentration. In major depressive episodes, loss of interest and pleasure in all activities of life is marked. Weight loss or gain, sleep disturbances, agitation or slow-down behaviour, fatigue, inability to think clearly, feeling of worthlessness, and frequent thought of death and suicide are common symptoms. Bipolar Disorder : It includes both, periods of depression as well as periods of elation (Mania). These may be in varying degrees of intensity ranging from mild to severe. Manic has the symptoms of elevated mood, increased psychomotor activities and grandiose ideas. Dysthymic Disorder : It is a mild depression of less incapacitating nature, often lasting for years and sometimes hard to recognise. A person who remains depressed has either poor appetite or overeating tendency. They may have difficulty in sleeping or too much of sleeping. They constantly suffer from the feelings of tiredness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. They have also difficulty in concentration and decision-making. It is chronic disorder and the least amenable to therapy. Genetic factors are often involved in severe depression and the bipolar disorders. The role of neurobiological factors is important in this respect. Biological therapies including Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and drug therapies are found very effective in treating mood disorders. Social skills training and cognitive therapy are also used for the treatment of depression. You will read about these in Chapter 7. SCHIZOPHRENIC
AND
some point of time in their life. Such persons typically have problems with attention, perception, thinking, social relationships, motivation, and emotion. For example, they hear voices that are not there, speak a language others dont understand, laugh when there is nothing humorous, and do not have touch with reality. Schizophrenics are typically known for their thinking disorders. They suffer from delusions or false beliefs, which cannot be shaken inspite of clear contrary evidence. Prominent among delusions are ideas of reference in which patients believe that their thoughts, feelings, or actions are being stolen or controlled by someone else or by some machines. A schizophrenic, seeing his wife talking to a stranger may be convinced that they are in love and hatching a plot to kill him. Such a belief is known as delusion of persecution. A schizophrenic may imagine that he/she is famous, beautiful, wealthy or powerful and he or she may win a noble prize. They have a delusion of grandeur. Schizophrenics also have hallucinations, which are mostly auditory in nature. They hear voices and commands, which are not there in real sense. Many schizophrenics have disorders of attention, motivation and emotion. For hours, they may sit listlessly without any expression in an apathetic manner with expressionless face. At the social level, they generally have very poor relationship with others. There is progressive withdrawl from the world of reality, which paves the way for gradual deterioration. The major types of schizophrenia are described in Table 6.2. SUBSTANCE-RELATED DISORDERS Psychoactive drugs including alcohol influence our thoughts, emotions, and activities. Prolonged use of them may cause changes in motivation, attention, concentration, and motor co-ordination in a negative way. Intense craving, increased tolerance of some substance, withdrawal symptoms when substance is stopped, and drug seeking behaviour (e.g., spending lot of time, effort and energy in procuring drugs) are characteristic features of these disorders.
DELUSIONAL DISORDERS
Schizophrenia is a serious psychotic condition. The name is coined after the two Greek words : schizo meaning split and phrene meaning mind. Thus, schizophrenia means, spilt or fragmentation of mind or personality. Some prefer to call it schizophrenias, as they believe that it is not a single disease. Approximately 1 percent of the population suffers from this disorder at
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Table 6.2 Major Types of Schizophrenia

Types of Schizophrenia Paranoid Catatonic Main Symptoms Delusion of persecution/grandeur, ideas of reference/jealousy, if hallucination, auditory. In excitement phase, psychomotor activities increase up to level of agitation; in stupor phase, person remains standstill for hours or days. Bizarre and silly behaviour, inappropriate emotions Those types that do not fall into any of the above categories. Apathy, social isolation, lack of will.
Disorganised Undifferentiated Residual
Though alcohol is a drug, but for many, the addiction of choice may be gutka, panmasala, tobacco, opium, marijuana, all of which are natural substances. The synthetic drugs like smack and ecstasy, which have been universally banned, are a combination of chemicals like barbiturates and tranquillisers often attract adolescents. They tend to get drawn into groups that experiment with different kinds of drugs. These thrill seeking persons often end up with moderate to severe addictions, requiring de-addiction therapy and individual counselling. They cause extreme distress to parents and teachers and often drift into criminal activities to sustain their addictions. Medical treatment of this disorder, related to particular substance may differ from drug to drug, but the actual process adopted to de-addict a patient have the following common steps : (i) Detoxification : It is a medically supervised process aimed at removing the toxic effects of the substance from the body. (ii) Administration of drugs to ease withdrawl symptoms : Withdrawl symptoms, like tremors, sweating, confusion, increased blood pressure, depression, and agitation do occur due to stoppage of substance intake and detoxification. Therefore, some safe drugs are given to ease the effect of these symptoms. (iii) Aversive conditioning : For treatment, aversive stimulus, such as nausea producing drug along with very small
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
amount of drug or alcohol is given to the patient in several trials. This association produces aversion to addictive substance in the patient. Encouragement for abstinence : The patient is encouraged to remain away from the drugs. Mutual social support : The patient is encouraged to join ex-patient groups. Members of such groups have successful history of overcoming their addiction. Individual and group psychotherapy : The patients are also offered individual/group psychotherapies where their personality, emotions and inter-personal problems, and the possible causes of their indulgence in addiction, are discussed in an attempt to resolve them. Rehabilitation programme : Recreational and occupational therapies are offered to engage patients, mind and to keep them busy. Relapse prevention and follow-up : From time to time it is done so that ex-patient may not return to the earlier addictive stage.
BEHAVIOURAL DISORDERS Maladaptive behaviours of the childhood may continue into adolescence and even into adulthood. The major disorders that occur during these stages are given below. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder : Children may suffer from either or both
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problems. They may not be able to attend to specific stimuli or may show hyper level of activity. As a consequence, they may show deficiencies in academic and social skills. Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder : The child or adolescent behaves in defiant and hostile manner toward parents, teachers or other authority figures. In conduct disorder, the basic rights of others are severely violated. They behave aggressively toward other individuals and cause damage to the person/animal or property. Separation Anxiety Disorder : Children with this disorder have excessive anxiety and even panic if separated from parents especially from mother. They cannot live alone and refuse to go to school. Eating Disorder : Children and adolescents may have Anorexia Nervosa or conscious and
ACTIVITY 6.2 Understanding Drug Addiction Interview individuals who are addicted to drugs/alcohol. Organise classroom discussion on the causative factors (biological, psychological, socio-cultural). Discuss ways in which students can be made aware of addiction.
deliberate refusal of food and preoccupation with weight reduction and related behaviours. Contrarily, they may have Bulimia where large quantities of food are consumed followed by vomiting, purging and excessive exercise. Eating disorders often have cognitiveemotional basis for indulgence in them. Functional Enuresis : This refers to bedwetting or habitual involuntary discharge of urine after the age of five. Faulty learning and disturbed family interactions often appear to be the cause of this disorder. Autism : It is a very disturbing condition in which the young child is unable to relate to people and situations and remains aloof. He or she remains occupied with inanimate objects and disregards, ignores, and shuts out any thing that comes to him/her from outside. They have very poor language acquisition and show peculiarities of speech. The autistic child often engages in orderly,
repetitive and compulsive activity and if disturbed, becomes agitative. The signs of autism are visible from the infancy itself where infant remains unresponsive to the mothers gestures and cuddle. Approximately 80 per cent of autistic children have I.Q. below 70 indicating the presence of mental retardation, but some have better visuospatial skills. It is a rare condition and difficult to treat. However, operant conditioning and drug treatment have promise to treat at least some autistic children. Mental Retardation : It is a condition of arrested intellectual growth before the age of 18 years, but when it prevails early in life, the severity of condition is marked. You have read about the levels of retardation in some detail in Chapter 1 on Intelligence. You may recollect that the broad categories of retardation are mild, moderate, severe and profound. When I.Q. is below 70, the child is considered to be retarded. There are many causes of mental retardation. Broadly speaking, these are genetic, metabolic, organic and environmental. People need to be aware about the problems and various special education and rehabilitation programmes that are run in India and elsewhere in the world. All these efforts are like a drop in the ocean and much more is required to be done in this direction. Juvenile Delinquency : Many children and adolescents commit minor offences such as stealing, or fighting on streets. However, there are some who persistently behave in a way, which causes offence to other people and their properties. They are people with conduct disorders. It covers a great variety of behaviour patterns such as aggression, defiance, disobedience, verbal hostility, lying, destructiveness, vandalism, theft, promiscuity and early drug and alcohol abuse. Genetic and environmental factors including disturbed family relations play a part in the development of such behaviour. Elder children often come in confrontation with police and law enforcing agencies and if their offences are proved, they are put in Remand Homes and Reformatory Schools. Courts are lenient toward them and they are not severely punished, as is the case with adult offenders. However, the conditions of
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Reformatory schools and Remand Homes need to be conducive for their rehabilitation and reform. It is difficult to treat them but therapy based on principles of operant conditioning is useful. PERSONALITY DISORDERS Personality disorders are longstanding, maladaptive, and inflexible styles of relating to the environment. They cause problems in interpersonal relationships, on the job or result in personal distress. In your life, you might have come across persons who are over suspicious and distrustful to others or too much orderly and systematic even in trivial matters that puts your patience on trial. You might have seen people who give too much importance to self and have little time for others. They suffer from some sort of personality disorder. An understanding of their behaviours will definitely help you to deal with them in an effective manner. These disorders are grouped into following major clusters : 1. Paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal. 2. Histrionic, narcissistic, anti-social, and borderline. 3. Avoidant, dependent, obsessivecompulsive and passive-aggressive. 4. Self-defeating.
BOX 6.5
These types are described in Box 6.5. However, a detailed description of antisocial type is given below. The Antisocial Person A very important sub-category of the personality disorder is the antisocial person, also known as Psychopath or Sociopath. They require special mention because the damage they cause to their potential victims is, mostly so devastating that it ruins the life of a person, family or of the whole community in one stroke. The characteristic features of these persons are that they constantly engage in anti-social activities and in turn, harm others but have little guilt or remorse for their behaviour. Many of them are charming and intelligent persons who manipulate their victims by giving a false sense of intimacy, love or belonging and then exploit them financially, sexually or otherwise. One may find these persons in all shades and varieties ranging from a petty pickpocket to a fraudulent share broker/banker, a deceitful lover, a firebrand politician, and a flippant cult leader. Psychopaths are pleasure seekers, have short-term objectives, do not learn from experience, and have little regard for others, social norms or law. They are so clever that they seldom come in the clutches of law and order agencies. Charles Shobraj
TYPES OF PERSONALITY DISORDER at the centre of attention. They are attention seekers, and express their emotion in an exaggerated and dramatic fashion. They may indulge into suicidal threats to manipulate significant others. They generally respond with impressions rather than details. This disorder is more prevalent in women than men. Narcissistic persons are in love with the self and give too much importance to it. They have great expectations of special favours and constant attention from others. They feel that they are very special in brilliance, power, and beauty or in love relationships. They lack empathy and take advantage of others. Borderline persons, more of women than men, are found to have unstable interpersonal relationships. Intense clinging, dependency, and
contd...
Paranoid persons have unwarranted feelings of suspiciousness and mistrust. They are cold, incapable of having warm and close relationship with others. They have hypersensitivity to criticism and have fears of losing independence and power. They rarely have insight into their problems and hardly seek psychological help. Schizoid persons are cold, reserved, reclusive, and lack capacity for close and warm relationships. They lack humour, social skills and remain comfortable in isolated jobs. Schizotypal persons have odd ways of thinking, perceiving, communicating and behaving. They are like schizoid but in addition to it oddities of speech and ideas is visible in them, at times to the extent of bizarreness. Histrionic people always try to keep themselves
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manipulation are marked in their relationships. They have impulsiveness in areas of sex, crime, substance abuse, and reckless driving and have chronic feelings of emptiness. Avoidant persons avoid relationships and social interactions. They want to enter into relationships, but fear of rejection and doubts about acceptance by others restrain them from doing so. Therefore, they avoid it until they become sure of uncritical acceptance. They seem to be cold, withdrawn and timid but remain hyper vigilant and continuously assess all signs and cues, both positive as well as negative, while interacting with others and cautiously move ahead accordingly. Dependent persons live on others to make all-important decisions of their lives and subordinate their own needs to the needs and demands of the others. They have difficulty
to act independently and feel insecure when left alone. Obsessive-compulsive persons are rigid and unadaptive but feel that things are under their control. They show excessive concern for rules, order, and cleanliness. There is a preoccupation for trivial details and poor allocation of time. Passive-aggressive persons express their hostility and resentment in indirect and non-violent ways such as being stubborn or becoming intentionally inefficient. They do not comply with demands others make on them. It is visible in their behaviour, in their work place, in their social interactions, and in social relations. Self-defeating persons engage in excessive selfsacrifice and avoid pleasurable experiences. Such an individual chooses relationships or situations that lead to failure, in spite of having opportunities or ability to choose rewarding alternatives.
and the famous cheat Mithilesh Kumar Shrivastava alias Natwarlal are best illustrations of psychopathic personality. In our day-to-day interactions, we come in contact with normal persons but feel distressed after dealing with them. Obviously these so called normal persons have problems, of which they themselves are not aware or dont know where to get help, while others often wonder why these people behave in strange ways. These are the persons suffering from personality disorders. Recapitulation In anxiety disorders, the individual feels excessive anxiety in general or in specific circumstances but maintains contact with reality. The main types of anxiety disorders include generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder etc. Somatoform disorder refers to physical problems having no organic basis. They include somatisation disorder, conversion disorder, hypochondriasis etc. Dissociative disorders are pathological in nature and involve memory gaps, feelings of alienation and splitting of self into multiple-self-states such as dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue and multiple personality.
Mood disorders are disorders of emotion requiring psychological and medical attention. These include depressive disorders, biopolar disorders etc. Schizophrenia means fragmentation of mind or personality. Paranoid, Catatonic, disorganised, undifferentiated, and residual are its major types. There are substance related disorders
LEARNING CHECKS IV
Write the names of the disorders associated with each of the following symptoms : 1. She remains all the time in a state of high alert and apprehension though she does not know the cause of it. 2. He checks and rechecks door lock at least ten times before leaving for work. 3. For some months he remains very happy and for some months very sad. 4. His mother is perturbed, as he is bed wetting even at the age of ten. 5. All the time she does something or other to attract the attention of others. 6. He has duped the public after collecting a large sum of money for years in saving schemes and now his whereabouts are not known .
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BOX 6.6
HIV-AIDS
l
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). According to WHO estimates more than 9 million cases of HIV infected people exist in India and 36.1 million people were living with HIV infection at the end of 2000 in the world. It is becoming a major health problem and awareness about it can prevent susceptibility to it. l HIV-AIDS is a deadly infection and efforts are being made for its cure. Sooner or later, a patient having this infection has to die. l It is mostly due to unsafe sexual behaviour or due to some other factors like transfusion of infected blood or body fluid etc. l People can be educated and awareness can be spread about safe sexual behaviour. l There are many myths of HIV-AIDS. They need to be removed. l Life can be made happy and comfortable during the period an HIV-AIDS patient is alive.
Psychosocial support to the victims and their families can be provided as a community service. l Further spread of infection in the population can be controlled by creating community awareness. l High-risk behaviours can be identified and measures taken to contain the infection. Psychologists have an increasingly important role to play in combating the HIV-AIDS epidemic. They are engaged both in primary and secondary prevention efforts. Primarily, they can help in educating people to change their behaviour so that HIV transmission may decrease. They also help people who have HIV infection to live with infection, counselling people to get tested for HIV, help patients and their families to deal with social and interpersonal aspects of the disorder and advising them to adhere to complex treatment programme.
BOX 6.7
l
MENTAL HEALTH REGULATIONS he was in such a mental state where he did not know that he was doing wrong. McNaghten Rule became the right and wrong test of insanity. In 1954, a U.S. judge broadened the scope of insanity defence further and stated that a person is not criminally responsible if he is suffering from irresistible impulse due to mental disease. This is known as Durham Rule. Insanity defence rules are not without controversy and much progress has been made to improve upon these rules. Assessing potential danger upon : Court may often ask mental health professionals to give their expert advice about a patient regarding danger/risk the patient poses to self or to others. Procedures and professionals involved in seeking such advice differ from country to country. ECT or Electro Convulsive Therapy has been declared illegal and unlawful in many states of the USA. However, in India it is not so. Indian Lunacy Act of 1912 was the legal document for governance of mental patients, but in 1986, Mental Health Act replaced it. During the past few decades, tremendous advancement has taken place
contd...
Mental health regulations, in general, centre around (1) rights of the persons suffering from psychological disorders and (2) right of the public to be protected from people suffering from such disorders. Admission to mental hospitals or places of treatment is called commitment process. Civil or involuntary commitment is carried out by court of law when an insane person is judged dangerous to the self or to the society or has committed a crime and put in mental hospital instead of prison, to serve the best interest of all concerned. Voluntary commitment to a mental health treatment facility is carried out by patient himself or by relatives of the patient. Final authority for discharge from mental hospital in civil commitment rests with court and in case of voluntary commitment with doctors, patients, and his relatives. Insanity defence is the view that a person is not responsible for his criminal acts, if at the time of committing such an act, he was insane. In 1843, Daniel McNaghten assassinated Edward Drummand, secretary to the Prime Minister of England. He was found not guilty because court stated that
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in the care of the psychologically ill. Current trend is multi-professional care, community approach, and psychosocial therapies. However, the new bill has not
taken care of all these. It needs a further improvement. The bill has used new terminology but maintains old spirit of the antiquated act of 1912.
(addiction to drug, alcohol, tobacco etc.), behavioural disorders of childhood and adolescence (juvenile delinquency, attention
LEARNING CHECKS V
deficit, hyperactivity, autism, etc.) and the personality disorders (histrionic, narcissistic, anti-social, avoidant, dependent etc.). Key Terms
Exorcism, Psychopathology, Maladaptiveness, Syndrome, ICD, Schizophrenia, Predisposing, Panic, Phobia, Obsession, Compulsion, Dysthymic, Delusion, Hallucination, Anorexia Nervosa, Enuresis, Paranoid, Narcissistic, Psychopathy, Depersonalisation, Alienation, Somatoform, Dissociation, Neurotransmitter, Phobia, Hypochondriasis, Amnesia, Autism.
1. Schizophrenics predominantly have disturbances of emotions. T/F 2. Humour, autonomy, love, work, and play are the sign of a normal person. T/F 3. Social deviance is one of the common but not an absolute sign of psychological disorder. T/F 4. DSM classification is popular one. T/F 5. Excessive stress makes a person healthy and strong. T/F 6. Depressive persons have a suicidal risk. T/F 7. One should remain aware and cautious about psychopaths. T/F
SUMMARY
l
From prehistoric to the modern period understanding of and practices dealing with abnormal behaviour have changed gradually. There are two major criteria to identify normal and abnormal behaviours. First, it is clinically significant dysfunction and second, it is culturally inappropriate. Classification of psychological disorders is needed for diagnosis. Currently International Classification of Disorders (ICD) by WHO and Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) by American Psychiatric Association in their recent versions are in vogue. DSM-IV is gaining popularity for diagnostic purposes. Psychological disorders may be caused by biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors. They may be primary, predisposing, precipitating, and reinforcing in nature. Diathesis-stress model explain the causation in a better way. The major psychological disorders including anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenic and delusional disorders, substance related disorders, behavioural disorders, and personality disorders. Each of these categories has several subtypes. Mental health regulations and psychological aspects of HIV-AIDS need to be part of understanding psychological disorders.
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Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. What are the criteria of abnormal behaviour? What are the socio-cultural causes of psychological disorders? What are the biological causes of psychological disorders? What are the main types of anxiety disorders? What are delusions and hallucinations? Give examples. What are the behavioural disorders found in children. What are the main types of personality disorders? Give example of an antisocial person?
ANSWERS
I II
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
: 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T, 6. T. : 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T. syndromes, 2. Downs Syndrome, physiological homeostasis, psychological disorders, predisposing, 6. diathesis.
III : 1. 3. 4. 5.
IV : 1. Anxiety Disorder, 2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, 3. Mood Disorder, 4. Enuresis, 5. Histrionic Personality, 6. Psychopathic Disorder. V : 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. T, 5. F, 6. T, 7. T.
Therapeutic Approaches
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7
THIS
THERAPEUTIC
CHAPTER COVERS
APPROACHES
CONTENTS
Introduction The Nature and Process of Therapy A General Model of Psychotherapy Types of Therapies Bio-medical Therapies Psychodynamic Therapies Behaviour Therapies Humanistic-Experiential Therapies (Box 7.1) Cognitive Therapies Application of Cognitive Therapy for Depression (Box 7.2) Stress-Inoculation Therapy (Box 7.3) Indigenous Therapies Yoga Meditation Rehabilitation of the Mentally Ill Reiki and Pranic Healing (Box 7.4) Limitations of Therapies (Box 7.5)
The basic nature of therapies and the therapeutic process Introduction to major therapeutic techniques Client-therapist relationship Yoga, meditation and rehabilitation techniques BY
BE ABLE TO
understand the nature of psychological therapies, appreciate that different techniques are suitable for different persons, and know that there are indigenous traditions of healing prevalent in India.
Key Terms Answers to Learning Checks Summary Review Questions
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INTRODUCTION
In the preceding chapter, you have learned about the major psychological disorders and steps for their treatment which were briefly indicated. In this chapter, you will study more about the therapists efforts to help their patients. At present, various therapeutic approaches are available for mental disorders. While some of them focus on self-understanding, the others are more action oriented. A particular approach may be more suitable for a particular kind of disorder or for a particular type of patient. Therapy is a broad term referring to any attempt by a mental health professional to assist a client to adjust to or overcome certain dysfunctions. While the therapeutic approaches are diverse, all are designed to be corrective and helpful. All of them involve an interpersonal relationship between the therapist and the client. Both jointly share the goal of increasing the patients adaptive and autonomous functioning. You must have realised that psychological disorders involve different types of problems. These problems may be, in thought processes (e.g. delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenics), in emotions or mood states (e.g. in manics and depressive patients), with activities (e.g. the avoidance behaviour of phobic patients or the ritualistic behaviour of compulsive patients), or sometimes emotional problems may manifest themselves as physical symptoms (as in anxiety disorders and psychosomatic disorders). The treatment of mental disorders is often guided by different theoretical orientations. The treatment may be given to the patient by psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and other helping professionals in hospitals, community or private clinics. Therapy can follow a variety of formats. At times, in individual therapy the goal of the treatment is to remedy personal adjustment problems. This enables the person to function independently. At times, it is found that the involvement of the persons partner may be helpful and therapy is extended to the couple. We also have the family therapy approach in which the entire family receives therapeutic help. In such situations, the therapist emphasises the fact that the problem belongs to the family as a unit. Then, there is group therapy in which a therapist brings people together who may not know each other, but all of whom are interested in resolving personal problems. The group develops an interpersonal system in which an effort is to improve the level and quality of adjustment of all the group members. Thus in this chapter you are going to learn about the nature and process of psychotherapy. This will be followed by a description of major types of therapies. Finally, you will learn about the problems of rehabilitating the mentally ill people.
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THE NATURE
AND
PROCESS
OF
THERAPY
There are various forms of psychological help spontaneously available in every day life to a person who is emotionally disturbed. They range from simple advice by a teacher or a wise person, consolation from a friend, parents, or relatives to a discourse delivered by a saint, priest, or a clergy person. All these make some impact towards emotional healing. All these acts of people around us contain some elements of psychotherapy, yet there are important differences between what they do and psychotherapy. In psychotherapy, there is a systematic attempt to treat a person using psychological means. This can be done by a trained person who deliberately establishes a professional relationship with a client (patient), having problems of an emotional nature. The aim is to remove, retard, or modify the existing symptoms of maladaptive behaviour, in turn helping the person to gain insight into the development of his problem. This process helps him to select more adaptive and solution oriented behaviours resulting in personal growth and the integration of the self. However, therapeutic changes in the patients life can occur without psychotherapy, as happens in instances of spontaneous recovery and or sometimes even because of suggestive measures such as placebos (Which influence a persons behaviour related to his or her expectation of change). Earlier, psychotherapy used to be defined as verbal and nonverbal mode of treatment for emotional dysfunctions. Recently, with the developments in the area of cognition, there has been some reorientation also, to include cognitive aspects of communication in the therapeutic situation. Overall, however, the psychotherapeutic process revolves around the unique relationship between the therapist and the patient. It focuses on both verbal and nonverbal communication, which can relieve distress and set the conditions for relearning and personal growth. All psychotherapeutic approaches have the following characteristics : (i) there are systematic application of principles underlying the different theories of therapy,
(ii) persons who have received practical training under supervision can do psychotherapy and not everybody. An untrained person unintentionally may cause more harm than any good, (iii) the therapeutic situation involves a therapist and a client who seeks and receives help for his/her emotional problems (this person is the focus of attention in the therapeutic processes), and (iv) the interaction of these two persons the therapists and the client results in the consolidation/formation of the therapeutic relationship. This is a confidential, interpersonal, and dynamic relationship. This human relationship is central to any sort of psychological therapy and is the vehicle for change. Psychotherapies aim at changing the maladaptive behaviours and decreasing the sense of personal distress and helping the client to adapt better to his environment. At other times, inadequate marital, occupational and social adjustment also require that major changes be made in an individuals personal environment.
A General Model of Psychotherapy
Goals and Purpose : All psychotherapies aim at a few or all of the following goals. (i) Reinforcing patients resolve for betterment. (ii) Lessening emotional pressure. (iii) Unfolding the potential for positive growth. (iv) Modifying habits. (v) Changing thinking patterns. (vi) Increasing self-awareness. (vii) Improving interpersonal relations and communication. (viii) Facilitating decision-making. (ix) Becoming aware of ones choices in life. (x) Relating to ones social environment in a more creative and self-aware manner. All psychotherapies aim at removing human distress and fostering effective behaviour, but they differ greatly in concepts, methods, and techniques. Instead of focusing on the differences, we will consider the generic approach to understand how psychotherapy
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proceeds. Most therapeutic processes are inclusive of at least three phases : (1) the Initial Phase, (2) the Middle Phase, and (3) the Phase of Termination. Starting the Therapy : the Initial Phase 1. The Initial Interview : In the first contact of a patient with the therapist an attempt is made to (i) establish a relationship of trust and hope, (ii) gain information about the patient and his difficulties, (iii) provide information about formal conditions of therapy e.g. fee, timings and nature of the therapy, and (iv) enhance the clients resolve to change for better. 2. The Therapeutic Alliance : Most therapists come to understand that every patient has two distinctive inner parts. One is hopeless and self-defeating. The other is rational, health-seeking and striving for growth. The term therapeutic alliance refers to the process through which the therapist tries to establish a relationship between his healthy self and the rational self in the patient. This is a very important aspect, that therapy requires the voluntary efforts of the patient, a high motivation, and the sacrifices of time, efforts and money. The therapist is there only to help him. 3. The Therapeutic Contract : The mutual obligations and understanding between the therapist and the patient is known as therapeutic contract. They are openly discussed by both the parties and formed over several sessions, negotiated and renegotiated. At the surface level they are related to time schedules, fee, appointment and its cancellation rules, availability during emergencies etc. But at the deeper level, the therapeutic contract is about agreeing to work together with honesty in achieving the therapeutic goals. 4. Setting the Goals : The progress and direction of therapy depends upon what one wants to achieve. Thus, setting the goals in therapy are essential, though they may be modified later with mutual consent. At times the patients goals are of immediate concern. At other times, the patients may be having unrealistic
expectations. The therapists also communicate which goals are worthy, realistic and attainable. The discussion between the two helps to arrive at mutually agreeable goals. 5. Setting of Limits : The Psychotherapeutic atmosphere must be free and permissive. This however, does not mean that a patient can do whatever he likes. The patient must respect the person and property of the therapeutic setting. He or she is free to express anger or affection; indeed, it is encouraged at some stage of the therapy, but not free to be aggressive or violent. Physical touch is generally not allowed. Similar rules are equally applicable for the therapist also. Psychotherapy Actual : the Middle Phase The actual process of psychotherapy depends upon the type of therapy that one is undergoing. As you will study in the next section, various types of therapies differ greatly in this respect. However, as a process and irrespective of the type of psychotherapy given or taken the following components are always present. 1. Relearning : In accordance with a learning paradigm, neurotic problems develop through faulty learning during early socialisation process, so these can be undone through unlearning and relearning. Thus, psychotherapy provides opportunity and experiences for new kinds of learning to take place. 2. Experiencing : To bring about positive change, new, personally meaningful, emotionally corrective and fulfilling experiences must take place during the process of psychotherapy. The patient needs an experience, not an explanation. Swimming can best be learnt by throwing oneself in the water than by only taking lessons about it. 3. Psychotherapeutic Relationship : It is a fundamental requisite of effective psychotherapy and differs from other human and professional relationships. Psychological problems are different and require highly specialised skills to tackle them. Psychotherapy is a professional relationship between a psychotherapist and a client. A psychotherapist fixes his/her fee
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properly, keeps the appointments, and follows the clinical contract. The client is assured of full attention, privacy, confidentially and a non-judgmental attitude. He/she does not manipulate the patient to serve his/her own needs. His/ her goal is to see the advance and the well being of the patient by forwarding this unique relationship. 4. Motivation and Expectations : A patient comes for psychotherapy with doubt, anxiety, as well as hope. He/she has faith in the expert who will be able to understand him/her as a person and help him/her in the achievement of personal happiness. Ending the Psychotherapy : the Phase of Termination In the last phase of psychotherapy, the patient becomes more adaptive, lives in the present rather than in the past, and develops a forward-looking approach. In one sense, psychotherapy never ends, as there is no limit to personal growth. However, pragmatically it should be terminated when the stated goals are reached. It may also be terminated without reaching the goals stated earlier, when either the patient or the therapist feels that they are no longer capable of working further and have come to an impasse. The successful ending of therapy often requires a follow up action on a periodical basis. Whatever learning or understanding is gained by the patient during the therapy is to be transformed into actual life situations. Recapitulation The therapeutic situation involves a therapist and a patient. The psychotherapist is a trained person who establishes a professional relationship with a patient to change maladaptive symptoms and to help the person to develop insight in his/her problems. Psychotherapies are of various kinds and vary in details. However, in general there are phases of therapy. It begins with the initial interview, and progresses towards developing the therapeutic alliance, establishing therapeutic contract, goal setting, and setting of limits of therapy. This is followed by the middle phase, which is the actual therapeutic phase. It involves relearning and experiencing. The
psychotherapeutic relationship, motivation, and expectations play an important role. The third phase of the therapy can be termed as the termination phase. The successful ending of therapy demands follow up action on a periodical basis. The experiential growth attained in the therapy needs to be transformed into actual life situations.
ACTIVITY 7.1 First Hand Ideas about Therapies Visit the psychiatric department of a medical college, Counselling centre, Psychology clinic, Rehabilitation centre, Drug de-addiction centre, Yoga centre, or a voluntary organisation providing some psychosocial services. Talk to the persons available there and observe the services they are giving. Relate it with what is given in the book.
TYPES
OF
THERAPIES
All therapeutic approaches aim at producing change for the better in the thought processes, emotions, activities, and bodily processes. However, differences exist about how these changes can be brought about and which is to be changed first. In the following sections, we will describe five important types of therapies. BIO-MEDICAL THERAPIES Medically trained people consider mental illness parallel to physical illness and accordingly treat them on the basis of a medical model. They want to reduce the symptoms associated with psychological disorders. It is assumed that the psychological disorders are at least partly caused by biological reasons. Some of the therapies used for the treatment of psychological disorders by them are as follows. Insulin Coma Therapy : Today the use of this therapy has markedly declined. It was introduced for the treatment of schizophrenia. Here increasing amounts of insulin (hormone that regulates sugar metabolism in the body) on an every day basis is injected in the body
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of the patient until he or she goes into coma caused by an acute deficiency of sugar in the blood. This process is repeated for 50 days or more and closely monitored by doctors. It causes severe stress on body, cardiovascular and nervous systems and considerable risk is involved. Due to the damage it may cause to the body and to the emergence of more improved methods of treatment for mental disorders, this therapy is not preferred any longer. The rationale of the therapy was that coma causes convulsions of the body and mind, which in turn improve the behaviour of the patients. Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) : It is widely used, though, in some countries its use has been banned or stringently restricted. Convulsive therapy was introduced on the basis of two different observations (1) it was observed for a long-time by mental hospital physicians that patients would suddenly lose their symptoms when they had a spontaneous convulsion, and (2) epilepsy and schizophrenia hardly ever occurred simultaneously in them. Therefore, it was thought that introducing artificial convulsions might cure schizophrenia and other mental disorders. In the beginning, it was done by injecting metrazol and other drugs in mental patients. Now, a simple and reliable machine has been developed through which a mild electric current can be applied to the patients temple that passes through the brain and produces convulsions in the patient. There is amnesia for the whole treatment procedure and after several such treatments; there is memory impairment, which may last for several weeks. However, no lasting loss of memory occurs. Drug Therapies : Drug treatment has been used mainly with four types of disorders schizophrenia, mania, depression, and anxiety. These drugs are referred to as Psychotropic drugs because their main effect is on the psychological behaviour of the patients. These drugs are also called antipsychotic drugs. These are used with major psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. They produce a calming effect on the patients and reduce the intensity of psychotic symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. Socially withdrawn patients become
responsive to the environment. However, the prolonged use with high dosage produces severe side effects. The drug approach has yet to produce a cure for schizophrenia. Antimanic drugs are used to treat patient who are highly agitated, excited and at times unmanageable. Antidepressant drugs are used for patients having depression and suicidal risk. Antianxiety drugs are known as minor tranquillisers. Psychosurgery : Prefrontal lobotomy introduced by Moniz in 1935, in search of an effective treatment for psychosis won him, the Nobel Prize in medicine for the year 1949. Later, it was recognised that the undesirable side effects of such psychosurgery was devastating. Today such operations are extremely rare and used only as a last resort. Recapitulation Biomedical therapies are physiological interventions for psychological disorders. The Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) is used to create a cortical seizure that has therapeutic value for mood disorders like depression. Its effectiveness is not very high. Drug therapy includes antianxiety drugs to relieve excessive apprehension and antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia. At one time psychosurgery too was a prominent method of treatment, today it is no longer the treatment of choice.
LEARNING CHECKS I
1. Electro Convulsive Therapy is meant for the treatment of convulsions. T/F 2. Major tranquilisers are used as a drug of preference to treat anxiety patients. T/F 3. Psychosurgery is frequently used to treat psychological disorders. T/F 4. Insulin has been used for the treatment of schizophrenia. T/F 5. For the treatment of psychological disorders medical approach believes in changing the bodily processes. T/F 6. ECT is used to prevent future episodes of mania. T/F
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PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPIES Modern psychotherapy begins with the work of Sigmund Freud in the 1880s. In the following years, Freud developed an elaborated, revolutionary, and systematic theory of psychoanalysis. Freuds associates, disciples and followers added to the richness of psychoanalysis. Psychodynamic therapy is based on the psychoanalytic perspective. The underlying assumption of this therapy is that the genesis of psychological problems lies in childhood experiences. Often the child is subjected to psychic traumas or may be in situations where unacceptable impulses are stimulated. These impulses are repressed into the unconscious, remain so, but always threaten to come into consciousness. Patients spend a lot of psychic energy to maintain the repression and are left with little energy for living more effectively. It is believed that gaining insight into such repressed material can free individuals from pain and the shame associated with it. The different techniques used by the psycho analytically oriented therapist are as follows : 1. Free association : Here the patient is simply asked to say whatever comes into his mind spontaneously without censoring it and regardless of how personal, painful, shameful or irrelevant it may be. The patient, in a relaxed position, is asked to spontaneously share his/her thoughts and feelings as they come to his/her mind. The therapist puts together the patients verbalisations into a meaningful perspective and helps him/her to gain insight into his/her unconscious. The therapists interpretations lead the client towards increased awareness and understanding of ones unconscious and its relationship to the experienced distress. 2. Analysis of dreams : Freud said that dreams are the royal road to the unconscious. Ego censor is often less vigilant during sleep and repressed ideas from unconscious are more likely to appear in dreams than in waking states, and are expressed in symbolic form.
The manifest content of the dream is the dream as it appears to the dreamer. This is a mixture of present and past wishes which is condensed into a single event. The latent content is the hidden and repressed material. The therapist interprets the symbolic meaning of the patients dream. 3. Analysis of resistance : During free association, dream analysis, or therapy, an individual may show resistance. It may be manifested in various forms, like coming late for sessions, flight into sickness or flight into health, unwillingness to talk about certain things, sudden blocks, forgetting and so on. These are indicated and discussed with the patient in order to provide a better understanding of the unconscious causes of such resistances. 4. Transference analysis : Patients react to the therapist as they did with significant others, often with father or mother in their childhood. This reaction may be in the form of hostility, dependency or exhibition of overaffection to the therapist. The ill effects of undesirable early relationships are counteracted in the therapeutic setting. The resolution of transference is the essential element in effective psychodynamic cure. Thus, the psychodynamic therapy attempts to bring the unconscious material into consciousness and to help the patients develop insight into the genesis of difficult emotional patterns, through a reliving of the past during the process of therapy. There are various versions of psychodynamic therapies, for example, the psychoanalytically oriented, interpersonal therapies or Jungian depth oriented psychotherapy. Psycho-analytically oriented psychotherapy remains the treatment of choice for individuals seeking extensive self-reflection or insight into himself or herself. Recapitulation Psychodynamic therapy is based on the assumption that unresolved conflicts are the main sources of psychological problems. Free association and dream analysis are used to
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explore the patients unconscious. Probing into sensitive areas may be met by resistance on the part of the patient. The transference relationship is used to delve into the patients past. Though the Freudian approach still provides the core features of psychoanalysis, yet in modern times, many recent developments in the field have led to marked advancements and shifts in analytical method and technique.
LEARNING CHECKS II
Fill up the blanks with appropriate terms. 1. The science of emotional cognition and adaptation is known as ______________. 2. Relation between therapist and the rational part of the patient is known as ___________________________. 3. The mutual obligations and understanding between the therapist and patient is known as ____________. 4. During the course of psychodynamic therapy, the flight into health is termed as __________________________. 5. ______________ are the royal road to the unconscious. 6. Some formal arrangements for contact even after the termination of therapy is known as __________________________.
Disordered observable behaviour is the focal interest of behavioural therapists. They do not address themselves to subjective feelings, internal states, or unconscious determinants. They focus on the elements in the environment, which trigger specific habitual responses and aim to modify the response by modifying the eliciting stimulus or vice- versa, i.e., conditions which maintain such observable behaviours and habits matters. It is felt that if these can be modified, then disturbed behaviours would disappear, and behaviours that are more functional could be substituted. This can be done through the application of learning principles and use of reward and punishment schedules. However, the ultimate goal is to bring the desired behaviours under the control of the individual concerned. According to Skinners Operant Conditioning, every individual operates on his environment. Those behaviours become established which lead to reward or avoidance of punishments. Similarly, behavioural patterns, which lead to punishment or no reward situations, are usually weakened. Techniques of Behaviour Therapy 1. Systematic Desensitisation : This is the best known and most widely used technique of behavioural therapy used in the treatment of Phobia and other anxiety related disorders. Developed by Wolpe, it is based on the simple assumption that one cannot be both relaxed and anxious at the same time. Therefore, if increasingly anxiety producing stimuli are presented while the patient is in a deeply relaxed state, the relaxation state overpowers the anxiety state and the patient is desensitised to the anxiety inducing stimuli. The following four steps are followed as part of the systematic desensitisation procedure : (i) Interview : A few initial interviews are conducted. These are followed by the administration of some personality questionnaires to discover the persons major sources of anxiety. (ii) Training in relaxation : First few sessions are devoted to train the patient in relaxation. Therapists use different relaxation techniques.
BEHAVIOUR THERAPIES Some prefer to call it Behaviour Modification. It is based upon the learning principles, especially on Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning techniques. J.B. Watson in the United States during the 1920s reported some applications of conditioning methods for curing behaviour disorders. Behavioural methods as an approach to clinical problems started a little later. Lindsley and Skinner coined the term behaviour therapy in early 1950s in their effort to modify psychotic behaviour. Experimental psychologists have joined clinicians in the quest to address the problems of psychological disorders. Many of the psychological disorders are due to faulty learning. Therefore, their modification requires relearning or new learning.
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(iii) Construction of anxiety hierarchies : On the basis of the initial interviews, a hierarchy of anxiety producing situations ranging from the most moderate to the most extreme is prepared. It consists of 20 to 25 pictures or statements of roughly equal gaps. For example, for a person afraid of Lizards, hierarchical situations may range from the Lizard being seen 20 feet away to just on the head. (iv) Desensitisation sessions : In these sessions, the patient is presented with, or asked to visualise the least anxiety producing item, while he/she is in a relaxed state. After some time, the therapist moves on to the next most disturbing stimulus on the hierarchy and then goes on to the next situation up to the highest level of anxiety producing stimulus. This process is continued until the patient asks to stop due to the overwhelming anxiety producing situation. After several sessions, the patient is generally able to visualise anxiety at the highest level of hierarchy. The treatment continues by repeating this process. 2. Implosive Therapy and Flooding : In comparison to systematic desensitisation Implosive therapy operates precisely in a reverse manner. The therapist describes the most frightening event or client is asked to imagine the most anxiety-arousing situation. Flooding on the other hand involves placing the client in a real life anxiety-arousing situation. The technique works well, but there is a need for caution in the use of this technique. 3. Aversion Therapy : If a response is followed by pain or punishment, its strength should be weakened. In practice, chronic alcoholics have been treated by this technique. A nauseaproducing drug is mixed into an alcoholic drink, so that drinking leads to sickness and vomiting. After a number of such trials, over a period of time, the sight of the drink alone may lead to nausea. The technique has been used to treat a variety of problems like overeating, heavy smoking, sexual perversions, and drug and alcohol abuse. 4. Assertive Therapy : Another use of the reciprocal inhibition principle is the teaching of assertive responses as conceived by Wolpe. One cannot be assertive and timorous at the same time. The patient is asked to try out
new behaviour, pushing one, first in a mild way and later in a more intense way. For the development of such skills behaviour rehearsal, role-playing, or social modelling has been used. Roles may be reversed. 5. Token Economy : This technique has been used to establish adaptive behaviours, ranging from eating behaviour in children to institutionalised psychotic patients. A token, instead of money, is paid for the work and later the token can be exchanged for the desired objects or activities. Three steps are involved in this technique. (i) Designate the behaviour felt to be desirable and hence to be reinforced. (ii) A medium of exchange is established. A token may be a card or a clip. (iii) Back up reinforcers are decided. They may be a movie show, some special foods or a picnic. Accumulation of certain numbers of tokens can be traded for any one of these. The goals of a token programme are to develop desirable behaviours that will lead to social approval from significant others and to develop necessary skills in the individual. The person learns that he can control his own environment in a way, which will elicit positive reinforcement from others. 6. Modelling Technique : In children, an important part of learning is based on watching and imitating others. Bandura has worked extensively on developing the modelling technique. Modelling can influence behaviour as it serves (i) as a basis for learning new skills, (ii) to eliminate fears and inhibitions, and (iii) to facilitate socially existing behaviour patterns. 7. Biofeedback : The importance of the Autonomic Nervous System in the development of abnormal behaviour has been recognised. In this type of treatment, a person is taught to influence his or her own physiological processes. The steps required are, (a) monitoring the physiological response that is to be modified, (b) converting the information to a visual or auditory signal, (c) providing means of a prompt feedback, indicating to a subject as rapidly as possible when the desired change is taking place. Thus, biofeedback is oriented to reducing the reactivity of some organ system innervated by the ANS by bringing it under voluntary control.
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Recapitulation Behaviour therapies are based on the principles of learning. They focus on changing the particular aspects of behaviour. Systematic desensitisation is used to treat phobias and other forms of specific fears. It starts with constructing an anxiety hierarchy, relaxation training, and step-bystep movement through the hierarchy, paring relaxation with each phobic stimulus. Implosive therapy and flooding involve exposure to the frightening condition. Aversion uses the principles of learning to get rid of an undesirable behaviour. Assertiveness training, token economy, modelling, and biofeedback are used to shape behaviours in desired ways. All of them utilise certain principles and procedures of learning. These therapies are particularly suited for children and hospitalised patients.
LEARNING CHECKS III
1. Behaviour therapy assumes that behaviour is primarily a product of heredity. T/F 2. Deep muscle relaxation is used in systematic desensitisation. T/F 3. Systematic desensitisation involves unlearning troublesome anxiety response. T/F 4. According to behaviour therapy neurotic anxiety is a conditional response. T/F 5. In aversion therapy a pleasant stimulus is paired with an unwanted response. T/F 6. Modelling cannot be used to develop new skills. T/F 7. Token economy utilises the principles of reinforcement. T/F
BOX 7.1
HUMANISTIC-EXPERIENTIAL THERAPIES interpret, or make judgements about what the client says. The therapist only acknowledges or restates and encourages the client to look at them and to explore further. Rogers was rated as one of the most influential psychotherapists and his approach had immensely influenced counselling procedures. Gestalt Therapy : It was developed by Fritz Perls to recognise the bodily processes and emotional modalities blocking off from awareness. Gestalt means whole and the therapy emphasises upon unity of mind and body, integration of thought, feeling and action. Logo Therapy : It emerged out of Viktor Frankls traumatic three years experience in the Nazi concentration camps. His father, mother, brothers, and first wife died in the camps or were sent into the gas chambers. Frankl observed that prisoners who gave meaning to their lives survived anyhow. Those who had lost all faith in the future fell into depression and were doomed. In the camps, there were many suicides. Therefore, Frankl and other like minded tried to forestall suicide by giving meaning to the lives of those who had sunk into depression. Logos stands for meaning. This therapy, therefore, endeavours to help the client find or create purpose and meaning in his/her life.
These therapies emerged out of the reactions to psychoanalytic and behaviouristic approaches to therapy, which are authoritarian and mechanical in nature. Humanistic-experiential therapists feel that human beings have existential problems but they need freedom to make choices. By expanding ones awareness about the possible avenues and about ones potentials, a person will be able to search his or her own way. The therapists job is only to facilitate, guide, and counsel the clients effort. There are a number of such therapies, which are based on these assumptions. Some of them are briefly described below. The Client-centred Therapy of Carl Rogers : This therapy creates a psychological climate in which a client can feel unconditionally accepted, understood, and valued as a person. Here, clients for the first time explore their real feelings, thoughts and accept negative emotions of hate, anger and ugly feelings as parts of themselves. As their self-concept becomes more harmonious with their actual experiencing, they become more open to new experience and new outlook. In time, they become better-integrated people. This therapy is also called nondirective therapy, because the therapist does not direct the course of therapy. He or she does not give answers,
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COGNITIVE THERAPIES In the past two decades, there is a significant increase in the use of cognitive therapies due to their efficacy specially in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck were the pioneers in the use of cognitive therapy. The term cognition refers to functions like attention, judgement, learning, thought, memory, and consciousness used in comprehending the world of our experience. Cognitive therapy, emphasises on recognising and changing negative thoughts and maladaptive beliefs. Cognitive therapists consider that cognitive processes and structures like beliefs, attitudes, long-term memories etc. have significant influence on behaviour. The negative or self-defeating contents or schemata towards the self, the world, and the future; the so-called cognitive triad make the self miserable, the environment threatening, and the future feared. These are important components in many forms of mental disorders, especially in depression and anxiety. Altering these processes and structures at realistic levels is the primary goal of cognitive therapy. For example, irrational expectations like I should be loved by everyone is the main cause of trouble for many. The reality is that some may love you, some may be indifferent, and some may hate you in this world. If the client realises how unrealistic and self-defeating
BOX 7.2
her/his beliefs and attitudes are, she/he will then seek to change them. This is how cognitive therapy works. Becks Cognitive Therapy Aaron Beck has developed a system of therapy, which has been most widely used in cases of depression. Cognitive therapists help the clients to recognise the negative thoughts, biased interpretations, and errors in logic that pervade their thinking and, according to Beck, cause them to feel depressed. The therapist also guides clients to challenge their dysfunctional thoughts, try out new interpretations, and ultimately apply alternative ways of thinking in their daily lives. Depressed people who are treated with Becks approach are found to improve significantly. In recent years, Becks cognitive therapy has also been successfully applied to panic disorders and other anxiety disorders. Elliss Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) : It is one of the most widely used therapies, which attempts to change the patients basic maladaptive thought processes. A psychologically healthy person is one who is rational and in tune with reality. Many people harbour unrealistic beliefs and perfectionist values. They act accordingly, and invite failures, disappointments and feel always miserable about themselves. For example, I should always be able to win every ones approval and be competent in every thing I do
APPLICATION OF COGNITIVE THERAPY FOR DEPRESSION cause of negative events to the self. (iii) Arbitrary inference : It involves drawing conclusions that are not supported by evidence. (iv) Magnification : It stands for the trivial negative conclusions drawn about self or others based on very limited facts. The objective in cognitive therapy is to change the depressed patients distorted and selfdefeating thought patterns and to help him or her to have a more realistic and positive direction. The therapist uses various techniques such as challenging, activity raising and graded task assignment for this purpose. Cognitive therapy has a comparable success rate in the treatment of depression with some other therapies.
The cognitive therapy should start with uncovering and challenging the negative and unrealistic beliefs of the depressed patients, specially the cognitive triad. The depressed patient regards him/her self as helpless, worthless and inadequate. The patient sees the world as posing obstacles and finds the future as totally hopeless. These negative thoughts are repetitive in nature and play an important role in the maintenance of the depressive state. Depressed people also make a number of errors in logic in their thinking. This include : (i) Selectivity : This involves emphasising the insignificant aspects of an event or situation while ignoring its major aspects. (ii) Personalisation : It refers to attributing the
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is an unrealistic way of thinking in this world. It inevitably leads to the non-realisation of ones goal. The failure to achieve such a goal evokes emotional responses of worthlessness, ineffectiveness, inadequacy, and self-defeat. These emotional responses of self-devaluation are not necessarily the consequence of reality but of ones thought processes, of faulty expectations from self and others. RET attempts to restructure the persons selfvaluation and belief system in the context of irrational shoulds, oughts, and musts that are hindering his/her creative, spontaneous, and emotionally satisfying life. It aims at increasing the individuals feelings of self worth and paves the way for self-growth. Recapitulation The cognitive therapies focus their interventions on explicit cognition and try to alter cognitive processes and structures at a realistic level. Becks therapy helps the patient to recognise the negative thoughts, and, the wrong interpretations that lead to depression. The therapist guides the client to challenge
LEARNING CHECKS IV
these thoughts. The rational-emotive therapy developed by Ellis also tries to change the patients maladaptive thought processes by restructuring his or her self-evaluation and belief system. INDIGENOUS THERAPIES In ancient Indian literature, vast varieties of practices have been mentioned for the cure of psychological disorders. Atharva-Veda, Charak Samhita, Susrut Samhita, Ashtang Sangrah, Yoga Sutra, and also Buddhist and Jain literature contain a number of psychotherapeutic practices. Some of these are purely psychogenic, some are psychosomatic, and others are physiological in nature. Most of these need to be rediscovered but some of them have stood the test of time. A few of the latter are described here. Yoga Yoga, an ancient Indian system of thought as well as practice is very pertinent to the treatment and prevention of psychological disorders as well as the maintenance and promotion of physical and psychological well being. The objective of yoga as given by Patanjali is chittavrittinirodh or restraining the mental modifications. The literal meaning of the Sanskrit word yoga is to yoke. Accordingly, yoga can be defined as a means for uniting the individual spirit with the universal spirit or God. Patanjali compiled and refined various aspects of yoga systematically in his famous treatise known as Yoga Sutra. He presented the eight-fold path of yoga for the
1. According to cognitive therapists the main problem is negative or selfdefeating thoughts. T/F 2. Cognitive therapy focuses on unconscious conflicts. T/F 3. Becks therapy is used in panic disorders. T/F 4. The goal of RET is to change maladaptive thought of the patient. T/F 5. Unrealistic and perfectionist thinking creates feeling of self worth. T/F
BOX 7.3
STRESS-INOCULATION THERAPY new coping strategies are applied to actual situations. Starting with simple situations the client is gradually placed in difficult situations. Thus, an individual gets prepared to face stress in an adaptive manner. The use of cognitive therapies is growing rapidly. They are being applied in a variety of disorders, ranging from simple disorders to complex ones, like schizophrenic disorders.
Stress-Inoculation therapy is done in three stages : 1. Cognitive preparation : This is the first stage when a client and therapist together, frame the self-statements about the problem-situation. They also agree on new self-statements which are more adaptive, 2. Rehearsal : in the second phase of rehearsal, new self-statements are learned and practised, and 3. Therapy : in the third phase of therapy,
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overall development of human personality. These are : (1) Yama, (2) Niyama, (3) Asana, (4) Pranayama, (5) Pratyahara, (6) Dharana, (7) Dhyana and (8) Samadhi. This is called Ashtanga Yoga i.e., steps of yoga. A brief description of these components is given below and summarised in Fig. 7.1. 1. Yama means restraints in behaviour. These are five in numbers, i.e., (i) Ahimsa or non-violence. It is not to harm other living beings in deeds, thoughts and language unnecessarily, (ii) Satya or truthfulness. This means not to tell lie, (iii) Asteya means not stealing or misappropriating the things that belong to others, (iv) Brahmacharya means celibacy or purity of sexual life and (v) Aparigraha means not to possess beyond the actual needs. 2. Niyama means observances in behaviours. These are five in number i.e. (i) Saucha means keeping purity of internal and external body, (ii) Santosh means contentment, (iii) Tapa means conditioning the body to endure
Fig. 7.1 Steps of Yoga
difficulties like fasting etc., (iv) Svadhyaya means to study spiritual scriptures to acquire correct knowledge of self and the supreme divinity, and (v) Ishwara Pranidhana means surrendering oneself to the Almighty. 3. Asanas are special patterns of postures that stabilise the mind and the body. By practicing various bodily postures, some of the dormant psychophysical
systems of the body are activated. Every asana should be performed effortlessly, and maintained for a comfortable time. Asanas may be classified as (i) meditative, (ii) stretching, and (iii) relaxative. 4. Pranayama is the regulation of breath. Literally, it means the pause in the movement of breath. Holding of the breath for a prolonged and comfortable time is an essential technique of pranayama. However, in the initial practice, the breathholding phase is avoided and emphasis is put on the controlled inhalation and expiration. There are graded techniques from simple to complex, of practicing pranayama. The main purpose of pranayama is to gain control over autonomic nervous system and through it influence the mental functions. 5. Pratyahara is purely a psychological technique. It is the withdrawal of mind from all senses. It is a very advanced method and requires daily practice. By this, there comes the determination of withdrawal of senses from outer and inner stimuli. It is useful in psychotherapy for breaking the learned and conditioned responses. 6. Dharana, 7. Dhyana and 8. Samadhi : Dharana means steadiness of mind, which comes after the state of mastery over the senses. Pratyahara facilitates pushing aside all sorts of distractions. In this stage the practitioner keeps his mind empty but steady for longer and longer duration and continues to practice concentrating on any one point. The next stage is Dhyana (Meditation). It is the unity of mind with some object. When the awareness of oneness is carried to the extent of even forgetting this act of becoming one with the thing thought of, it is called the state of Samadhi. The stages and processes of Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi are
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inseparable and may be considered as gradual stages of meditation. Under the broad umbrella of the eight-fold path of yoga, various practitioners, and researchers have developed miniature and selective techniques to address specific psychological symptoms and disorders. Vipasana, Sudarshana Kriya and Transcendental Meditation are some of the techniques. Meditation Meditation involves a group of techniques, which have in common a conscious attempt to focus attention in a non-analytical way and attempt not to dwell on discursive, ruminating thought. There are three major categories of focusing attention in meditation: (i) a focus on the field (mindfulness meditation), (ii) a focus on specific object within the field (concentrative meditation), and (iii) a contemplative meditation. Thus, vipasana requires one to merely notice and label the thought (thinking) and then to merely notice, observe with equanimity, and, when weary of watching, let go. Contemplative meditation involves opening and surrendering to a larger self (e.g., God, benevolent other, guru). Contemplative meditation presupposes skills in concentrative and mindfulness meditation. They involve three process levels: focussing, opening up, and asking, respectively. It may be noted that meditation emphasises the development of greater understanding through the systematic cultivation of inquiry and insight. It is a way of being that needs to be cultivated. Meditation leads us to wake up to our true nature and offers a road map to reach optimal openness, awareness, and insight. There is growing evidence that meditation enhances physiological and psychological well-being. The specific results include physiological rest, increased happiness, sense of coherence, stress hardiness, empathy, and self-actualisation. It has been found effective in problems of anxiety, alcoholism, insomnia, and borderline hypertension. The studies, however, have certain methodological limitations. It may provide a comprehensive and integrative approach to healing.
ACTIVITY 7.2 Therapies Suitable for Various Kinds of Problems You have just read different kinds of therapies used for psychological disorders. Now certain disordered behaviours are listed below. Your task is to identify and indicate which therapy or technique will be suitable for the treatment of these disorders. l Your sister is afraid of lizard. l Ramu Kakka, the peon in your school is depressed since several months. l Rashmi always avoids speaking in the class. l Ranjan wants to please everybody but nobody takes him seriously. Therefore, he feels let-down. l Ramesh is a good student but lacks concentration. l Raghwans thinking appears to be confused. l Surendra has lot of potentials, but is shy to put them in practice. Discuss your answers with your teacher. LEARNING CHECKS V
1. Practice of different asanas can activate certain physiological systems of body. T/F 2. Yoga means asana. T/F 3. There are six aspects of yoga. T/F 4. Yoga involves meditation. T/F 5. Pratyahara refers to attachment of sense organs to object. T/F 6. Behavioural observances are called niyama. T/F 7. Pranayama involves regulation of breath. T/F
Recapitulation Indigenous thought in India provides detailed accounts of healing processes that are useful in therapy. Two of them that have received attention from modern researchers are yoga and meditation. Yoga focuses on retraining or educating the mental processes. The yogic system of Patanjali delineates eight components of yoga i.e., Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Prayahara, Dharana,
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Dhyana, and Samadhi. Taken together, this system provides a way of life that enhances a sense of well being in people. Meditation has been used in recent years to help people attain health and cure diseases. There are many types of meditation and different kinds of claims. Practicing meditation has been found useful in many kinds of health-related problems. REHABILITATION
OF THE
MENTALLY ILL
The purpose of rehabilitation is to help psychologically disturbed people to achieve a high level of adjustment as far as possible on their return to the community following the treatment. The success of rehabilitation depends upon the residual capacity as well as the degree of disability of the patient released from the hospital and the
BOX 7.4
environment, in which the discharged patient will reside. The task of readjusting back into the community, following release from a hospital may be very difficult. Currently, After Care Programmes are found to be effective in ensuring a somewhat smooth transition from the hospital to community life. They are markedly reducing the number of relapses. After Care is the responsibility of the community as a whole. Some of these programmes are described below. Ex-patient Clubs : The primary objective of such clubs is to redevelop social skills in individuals. They provide a permissive, informal atmosphere in which socialisation is encouraged through organised group activities and individual relationships. Ex-patients engage in a variety of recreational activities such as drama, sports, and outings,
REIKI AND PRANIC HEALING emotional and spiritual disorders without the use of touch or drugs. According to the precepts of pranic healing body is actually composed of two parts : The visible physical body, and the invisible energy body called the bioplasmic body or aura. The visible physical body is that part of the human body that we see, touch, and are most acquainted with. Our aura is that invisible luminous energy body, which interpenetrates the visible physical body and extends beyond it. Pranic Healing is an ancient science and an art of healing that utilised prana (or chilqilki) or life energy and the charkas or energy centres to heal diseased energy levels. There are three primary sources of prana : solar prana, air prana, and ground prana. Solar prana is prana from sunlight. It invigorates the whole body and promotes good health. Prana contained in the air is called air prana is absorbed by the lungs through breathing and is also absorbed directly by the energy centres of the bioplasmic body. These energy centres are called charkas. Prana contained in the ground is called ground prana. This is absorbed through the soles of the feet. This is done automatically and unconsciously. Walking barefoot increases the amount of ground prana absorbed by the body. Pranic healing requires much practice and time to achieve a certain degree of proficiency.
Reiki is a Japanese word. It refers to a simple hands-on-healing technique, a kind of energy medicine. It is an interesting development in the context of healing. Universal life force or energy calms the mind and body. The energy is passed through the hands laid on the body in certain positions. This accelerates the healing process. Reiki is the fundamental nature of the existence, as energy is the fundamental nature of the universe. Our thoughts and emotions are all composed of energy at various frequencies. By getting the body and mind in touch with universal energy, Reiki can release the individual from bondage and allow him to experience health and freedom. Reiki raises the life energy in the body. According to it, the body is actually energy vibrating at a certain frequency. Negative thoughts are experienced as uncomfortable vibrations. Such thoughts may turn into headaches, ulcers, or anger (blockages) Reiki exposes those thoughts to the much higher vibratory frequency of universal life force energy, which can then penetrate and dissolve any block. Pranic healing : It is not intended to supplant orthodox medical treatment, but rather to complement orthodox treatment. Pranic Healing is the transfer of subtle energy from one person to another. It deals with physical, mental,
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BOX 7.5
LIMITATIONS OF THERAPIES Behaviour therapy is most effective with children and problems of habit disorders. However, it is simple and economical. It is also mechanical and somewhat reductionist. Cognitive therapy has proved its efficacy in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. Humanistic therapies are valuable for persons having potentials but who experience themselves blocked by existential problems. Rehabilitation approaches have proved valuable in integrating mentally ill persons with the society. Yoga and encounter groups are growth-oriented approaches and help in selfactualisation efforts. Thus, each approach of therapy has some limitations and some advantages. Ultimately it is the discretion of the therapist and the client to choose the best available approach or to work with a combination of more than one.
To evaluate the success of psychotherapy is difficult. However, the general conclusion of various researchers has shown that various treatment approaches are effective to varying degrees. Does psychotherapy encourage conformity to the status quo? Whether it should do this? This is a difficult question, which involves moral and social issues, and there is no definite answer to it. Which type of therapy is more effective with which type of patient and which type of problem is again a difficult question. Experience reveals that various therapies have their own limitations, so is the case with patients and their problems. Psychodynamic therapy is usually effective with reflective persons, but it has a limited value with others. It also demands much time, money, and efforts on the part of individuals receiving it.
which enhance their sense of belonging and decrease their feelings of alienation. Similar clubs have been formed for ex-alcoholics, drug addicts, and other groups attempting to make an adjustment in the community after hospitalisation. Partial Hospitalisation : Day Hospitals, Night Hospitals, and Weekend Hospitals may serve as after care facilities during the transitional period following hospital discharge, or as an alternative to hospitalisation. Partial hospitalisation facilitates transition from hospital to community. It also helps to prevent a relapse, and provide space and time to family and community to reintegrate the person who was psychologically troubled. In this way, valuable mental health resources are saved. Halfway Houses : These are living facilities for recently released patients who are not yet prepared enough to live a full family life. These houses are partially run by the inmates themselves who are attempting to make adjustment in the community after discharging from hospital. Mental health professionals generally work as facilitators in half way home. Occupational Therapy : Like normal people, the psychologically disturbed people also become restless when they have too much
free time on their hands. Work has a curative effect upon them too. Initially, activities or work used to be assigned to the withdrawn patients in an attempt to involve them, but today occupational therapy has become a regular treatment of several psychologically disturbed persons. In planning occupational therapy an attempt must be made to fit tasks to the needs of every individual patient. It is possible to learn how a patient feels about himself and others through the medium of occupational therapy. In the later phase, occupational therapy imparts vocational and interpersonal skills required to carryout an earning for living. It enables a person to be economically self-sufficient, self-confident and earn him or her selfrespect. It gi ves him/her a feeling of worthiness and fulfilment. Here, it is also important to mention the concept of sheltered workshops, which serve multiple functions. For patients with skill, they serve as way stations and open the door for regular employment. For others, they provide opportunities to develop new skills and appropriate work habits. For patients having major residual defects, they may provide a permanent refuge.
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Recapitulation Rehabilitation tries to facilitate the process of achieving a higher level of adjustment by a patient after the formal termination of treatment. In other words, it involves after care. The success of rehabilitation depends upon the capacity of the patient, the level of dysfunction, and the support facilities available in his or her environment. In recent years, a variety of such programmes have been initiated. They include ex-patient clubs, partial hospitalisation, half way homes, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation centres. All of them are not available in every community, nor do they have an equal degree of success in the rehabilitation of patients. The effectiveness of these methods depends on the patients characteristics and that of the environment.
LEARNING CHECKS VI
Name the applicable therapy, technique, or term with which following statements are associated : 1. One cannot be both relaxed and anxious at the same time. 2. Climate in which client can feel unconditionally accepted. 3. Prisoners who gave meaning to their lives survived anyhow. 4. Groups which strive to increase mans positive potentials. 5. Therapy which tries to change expectations like I should be loved by everyone. 6. Technique, which tries the volitional withdrawal of senses from outer and inner stimuli. 7. Facilities for recently released patients who are not yet ready to live a full family life.
Key Terms
Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Arbitrary Inference, Aversion Therapy, Avoidance Behaviour, Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Depression, Free Association, Gestalt Therapy, Group Therapy, Implosive Therapy, Meditation, Modelling, Mood Disorder, Rational-Emotive Therapy, Relaxation Training, Role Play, Systematic Desensitisation, Token Economy.
ANSWERS
I II III IV V VI : : : : : :
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
1.F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T, 6. T. 1. Psychotherapy, 2. Therapeutic alliance 3. Therapeutic contract, 4. Resistance, 5. Dreams, 6. Follow-up. 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. T, 5. F, 6. F, 7. T. 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. T, 5. F. 1.T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. F 6. T 7. T. 1. Systematic Desensitisation, 2. Client centred Therapy, 3. Logo Therapy, 4. Encounter Groups, 5. Cognitive Therapy, 6. Pratyahara, 7. Halfway houses.
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SUMMARY
l l
l l
Therapy involves a professional relationship between a trained professional and a patient suffering from psychological difficulties/distress. For the sake of clarification/explanation, the therapeutic process can be divided into three phases the initial phase, the phase of actual therapy and the termination phase. Bio-medical therapies provide physiological interventions for the treatment of psychological disorder. Some of the therapies used are Insulin Coma therapy, Electro convulsive therapy (ECT), Drug therapies, and Psycho-Surgery. Psycho dynamic therapies assume that the genesis of psychological problems lie in childhood experiences and unresolved conflicts. Free-association, analysis of dreams, analysis of resistance and transference analysis are some techniques used by psychoanalysts. Behaviour therapies are based on principles of learning. The techniques used in behaviour modification are Systematic Desensitisation, Implosive Therapy and flooding, Aversion Therapy, Assertive Therapy and Token Economy and Modelling. Cognitive therapies try to alter the cognitive processes and structures at a realistic level. Becks Cognitive Therapy, and Ellis Rational-Emotive Therapy are examples of Cognitive Therapy. Indigenous therapies such as Yoga and Meditation provide a way of life to help people attain health and cure diseases. Rehabilitation involves after-care. It facilitates a higher level of adjustment after the formal termination of the treatment.
Review Questions
1. What are the common features in all psychotherapeutic approaches? 2. Which are the different types of psychological disorders for which drug treatment has been used? 3. What are the four techniques through which unconscious materials are brought to the level of consciousness? 4. What are the steps involved in Systematic Desensitisation Technique? 5. What is the focus in Cognitive Therapy? 6. Name the aspects of Yoga Approach. 7. Name the facilities used for the rehabilitation of patients released from hospitals?
Environment and Behaviour
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8
THIS
ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER COVERS
AND
BEHAVIOUR
CONTENTS
Introduction Man-Environment Relationship The Forest is Father and Mother (Box 8.1) Environmental Stresses and their Effects Personal Space and Territoriality (Box 8.2) Environmental Effects on Human Behaviour Air Pollution Noise Pollution Crowding Natural and Man-made Disasters Tragedy of Commons (Box 8.3) Nuclear Energy and Waste (Box 8.4) Impact of Human Behaviour on Environment Recycling and Energy Conservation (Box 8.5) Green House Effect and Nuclear Threat (Box 8.6) Promoting Pro-environmental Behaviours
Introduction to the study of environmental psychology Perspectives on human-environment relationship Nature and effects of environmental stresses Ways of promoting pro-environmental behaviours BY
BE ABLE TO
understand the scope of environmental psychology, appreciate the modes of humanenvironment relationship, explain the nature of environmental stresses and their consequences, and understand how pro-environmental behaviours can be encouraged.
Key terms Summary Review Questions Answers to Learning Checks
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INTRODUCTION
We live in a world surrounded by physical objects and socio-cultural settings. Social interactions depend not only on the people, but also on the environments in which they occur. The environment in which we live and work affect our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The relationship of man and environment, however, is bi-directional. That is, human beings are affected by the environment and human beings affect the environment. In todays environment, many things are happening which are creating problems not only for today but for the future also. The physical environment has aspects of natural environment such as landscape, wilderness, and other geographic features. In addition, there is built or man-made environment of cities, homes, markets, offices, rail, road, etc. The social and cultural environment refers to all aspects of culture such as socialisation processes, norms, customs and values, etc. The physical environment influences our behaviour in many ways. You must have observed that people become more irritable and aggressive when the weather is hot and humid in comparison to cold weather. The cases of road rage (you must have read in the newspapers) increase during the hot summer days. Some negative reactions to heat involve more harmful interpersonal behaviour. For example, it has been found that higher the temperature, the greater the mean number of batsman hit by a ball, representing aggressive behaviour of players. Temperature level has also been linked to more serious interpersonal aggression like murder and rape. Environmental pollution (air, water, noise, crowding, etc.), which is partly an outcome of human behaviours adversely affects our performance. We have to draw extra physical and mental resources to work under noisy conditions. In such environments, we tend to get irritated, fatigued, and our reactions become abnormal. Similarly, interacting with people and working under crowded conditions adversely affect our performance. All this indicates that some environments are more nourishing for us than others. Therefore, we have to make efforts to maintain the quality of environment that is supportive and constructive. This chapter will help you to understand the nature of humanenvironment relationship, effects of environmental stresses, some critical environmental problems faced today, and the strategies to protect and maintain the environment.
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Man-Environment Relationship We have just noted that physical environment directly or indirectly influences our behaviour. Our interest in such environmental variables has led to the development of a field known as Environmental Psychology. This field of psychology is dedicated to the study of reciprocal relationships between psychological processes and physical environments, both natural and man-made. Reciprocal or transactional relationship deals with the two-way process in which environment influences human behaviour and human beings affect environment. When we talk about the physical world, it includes both physical reality and social-cultural phenomena which surround us. The ambient noise in our physical surroundings, the temperature, the quality of air and water, and the nutritional value of food we eat and such other objects and things all these constitute the physical world around us. The social environment around us includes the verbal stimulation received from parents, beliefs, and attitudes of peers, various social challenges, etc. The cultural environment includes all the material and the non-material man made environment like poetry, work of art, important structures like Taj Mahal, etc. The psychological processes include thinking, perceiving, learning, feeling, etc. Behaviour (or peoples actions) is a broad term that is a function of our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, attitudes, and other psychological processes. Since environment is a theme relevant to many others disciplines such as geography, architecture, urban planning, etc., the field is, thus, multidisciplinary in the true sense. Understanding of environmentbehaviour relationship involves several concepts as given in Fig. 8.1. In the central part of this figure, we have five major components as described below : 1. Physical Environment : It includes aspects of natural environment such as climate, terrain, temperature, rainfall, flora, and fauna. 2. Social-Cultural Environment : It refers to all aspects of culture such as norms, customs, processes of socialisation, etc.
3. Environmental Orientations : It refers to the beliefs that people hold about their environment. 4. Environmental Behaviour : It includes the use of environment by people in the course of social interactions (e.g., personal space). 5. Products of Behaviour : These include the outcomes of peoples actions such as homes, cities, dams, climate change, etc.
Fig. 8.1.
Aspects of human-environment interface
All the said five aspects of the environment interact and determine the following crucial psychosocial and environmental outcomes, which constitute the field of environmental psychology. 1. Worldviews about human-environment relationship. 2. Cognitions and perceptions about environments. 3. Experiences of privacy, personal space, territory, crowding, and environmental stresses. We shall be discussing some of these aspects in subsequent sections of this chapter. Before we do that, it is important to understand the different views in which human-environment relationship has been conceptualised in various cultures. In this context, we notice that there are three major views : 1. Human beings are subjugated to nature and are controlled by the environmental forces. Nature is viewed as threatening. 2. Human beings are an inherent part of nature and the two constitute the whole. They are in harmonious relationship. 3. Human beings are over and above nature and control the environment.
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In the Indian tradition humanenvironment relationship has been of symbiotic type in which humans are part of the total existence. Its main features are as follows : l Humans are not considered superior to nature and do not have right to exploit the nature. l The emphasis is on relationship and totality of existence. l Concern for everything in the universe is perceptible in the Indian thought. l There is considerable emphasis on correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm. l A basic sharing of all the life forms and their interconnectedness is recognised. l Human life is enveloped by a dynamic cosmic order. l It presents an integral view of man, nature, and the universe. l Humans and the rest of creation are partners. Kurt Lewin differentiated between psychological environment and physical environme nt. He has introduced the concept of life space to explain the nature of relation between person and environment. According to Lewin, life space is the whole psychological reality that determines the behaviour of an individual (B). Life Space (L) includes everything present in the environ ment (E) that influences an individuals behaviour. This environment (E) contains everything outside the person (P), including physical, psychological and social aspects. Lewin calls the person (P) in the environment (E) as life space (See Figure 8.2).
BOX 8.1
Mathematically, life space can be described as : B = f (L) = f (P.E)
Fig. 8.2 Life Space
The physical environment that does not directly influence behaviour is called foreign hull. However, this foreign hull can influence the psychological reality of a person. For example, if a person is not aware of the weather of his neighbouring countries, then it is not part of his psychological reality. Therefore, it is not part of his life space. As such it will constitute foreign hull. But it is quite possible that the weather of this neighbouring country may influence that of his own country which, in turn, my affect his behaviour. Bronfenbrenner has a different view of the environment. He proposed hierarchy of environments and describes it in terms of five systems that are organized in a nested manner (See Fig. 8.3.) (i) Microsystem : is the setting in which the individual lives. These contexts includes the persons family, peers, school and neighbourhood. In this system most direct interactions with social agents parents, peers and teachers, for example.
THE FOREST IS FATHER AND MOTHER affection. The forest is good to its children. When something goes wrong, the Pygmies think that the forest must have been sleeping and was unable to take care of its children. The Pygmies then go to the forest, wake it up by singing to it. They want to awaken the forest happy. Then everything will be well and good again. Interestingly, Indian thinking also shares similar views.
Worldviews vary across cultures. The Pygmies of Zaire, Africa live in a highly vegetated, dense forest. They view themselves as an intrinsic part of it. They see the forest as a living thing with which they interact on a personal basis. A pygmy observes : The forest is father and mother to us, and like a father and mother it provides everything we need: food, clothing, shelters, warmth, and
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(ii) Mesosystem : It is the region in which various Microsystems are related. For example family experience of child may affect his interaction with peers or teachers. Children from broken family may face difficulty in his adjustment with peers. (iii) Exosystem : It is involved when a persons experience in an close context is affected by his experience in some other not so close setting. For example, a persons experience at work place affects his interaction with his children. (iv) Macrosystem : It is the culture in which the person lives. Culture refers to beliefs system, values myths etc that are shared by majority of the common people. (v) Chronosystem : It involves the behaviour patterns that respond to the change in life course, socio historical context. For example, individual in the young age is active and optimistic and as they age they become less active and less optimistic. From the above analyses it may be concluded that the environment has three major components, i.e., physical, social, and cultural, and all these components influence and affect human behaviour. The environment surrounds us and its impact is simultaneously felt on all the sense organs. The present crisis of deforestation, floods, green house effect, and nuclear waste are some of the serious problems human beings have created by abusing the environment. Thus, to have a healthy and fulfilling life we have to learn to conserve the environment and
protect the scarce natural resources like water, which are essential for our life. Recapitulation We live in a world surrounded by physical objects and well defined social and cultural settings, all these influence our behaviour. Environmental Psychology is the study of reciprocal relationships between psychological processes and physical environment, both natural and man-made. Human beings affect the environment and environment influences human behaviour. The term environment has been used to include the physical world and socio-cultural set-up in which we live and interact. The views of Lewin and Bronfenbrenner concerning environment have been presented.
LEARNING CHECKS I
1. We live in a world surrounded by physical objects and well defined and settings. 2. Environmental Psychology is the study relationship of between psychological process and physical environment. 3. environment includes aspects as terrain, temperature, rainfall, etc. environment includes aspects as norms, customs, processes of socialisation etc.
4.
5. According to Lewin Life Space (L) is equal to + .
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES
THEIR
EFFECTS
Fig. 8.3 Bronfenbrenners Ecological Model
We have discussed earlier that the environment influences human behaviour and human actions affect the environment. Environmental stresses demonstrate this reciprocal relationship (Refer to Chapter 5). We will discuss the environmental stresses and their effects under two separate heads, i.e., (i) Environmental effects on human behaviour, and (ii) The impact of human behaviour on the environment. These two, however, are interrelated.
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BOX 8.2
PERSONAL SPACE AND TERRITORIALITY private people. Within culture, variations are found with age, sex, and social class. Territoriality refers to ones attachment to a fixed area designated as ones own and the tendency to defend it against intruders. It involves ownership and control of environmental areas and objects. All animals have a sense of territoriality, attachment to a fixed area set aside for their use. Animals will attack anyone who comes within that space. Human beings may not attack in the same manner as animals do, but we are also territorial. For example, we would not like a stranger to walk into our home without seeking permission. Territoriality is a boundary regulation process. People use different markers and signalling devices to designate the territory, e.g., walls, entranceways, hedges, fences, etc. Territories can be grouped into three types: primary, secondary, and public. The primary territories are owned and exclusively used by individuals or groups. They are clearly identified as theirs (e.g., tent, hut, bed). Secondary territories are less central and exclusive. The occupants do not have total control over them. Public territories have a temporary quality and anyone has access and occupancy rights as long as certain rules are observed (e.g., park, cinema hall).
Personal space refers to the invisible boundary or personal area around us that we try to keep from being invaded by others. Intrusion into it often produces discomfort or tension. In other words, in our social interaction we always keep a physical distance with others. This space is very personal, and if invaded we feel uncomfortable and threatened. Studies indicate, on the average, for strangers, our personal space is roughly 2 feet around us. If a stranger comes closer, we feel uncomfortable and we move away to maintain this personal space. However, the personal space can approach zero for someone we truly love. This indicates that the personal space will vary according to the closeness to the other person with whom we are interacting. Males generally have been found to have a larger personal space than females. Further, wide cultural differences exist in the way people maintain the personal space. For example, in many Middle Eastern countries, people stand very close together in conversation. The northern Europeans, on the other hand seem to maintain more physical distance. Germans are more sensitive to spatial intrusion than Americans are, and both Germans and English are rather
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
ON
The environment has both nourishing as well as destructive effects on human life. Throughout human history, people have been threatened by floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. In recent times, technological advances have brought us new potential threats from the environment, which are man-made. Since environmental threats are physically harmful and stressful, people must find ways to cope with these stressors. The environmental stressors are many. Here, we shall focus on four: Air pollution; Noise pollution; Crowding; and Natural and manmade disasters. Air Pollution: Rapid modernisation and industrialisation have led to the degradation of quality of air, so vital for the human, animal, and plant life. Due to auto and industrial emissions large quantity of harmful and toxic
gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, etc., are being mixed with the air that we breathe. Carbon monoxide prevents the brain, heart, and other organs in the body to absorb enough quantity of oxygen from the air. This can lead to serious health problems. Scientists believe that about 50 to 90 percent occurrence of cancer in some way or the other are related to pollution. Air pollution leads to reduced visibility, eye irritation, headache, fatigue, insomnia, and various respiratory and related diseases. It has also been found that all types of psychological problems are on the increase during periods of high levels of air pollution. There are more emergency visits to specialists for depression during cloudy and humid days. Though, worldwide concern about air quality was expressed at the Rio Conference on the global environment in 1992, pollution still poses a serious problem all over the world. Data released by the Environmental
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increase in the level of noise Protection Agency and by the pollution. Noise is defined as Harvard School of Public unwanted sound or sounds that Health indicate that 50,000 to create a negative effect on 60,000 deaths are caused each human beings. Thus, any year in the United States by sound, which an individual finds particulate matter (e.g. unpleasant, is considered noise; emission from diesel engines) even music could be noise for in the air we breathe. The some people. victims are primarily children Sound pollution leads to with respiratory diseases. In adverse physiological and India, also the incidence of psychological effects. It may such diseases is very high and lead to high level of arousal, the worst sufferers are children stress, narrowing of attention, and elderly people. Most of the Fig. 8.4 Air Pollution reduction in reading particulate matter is released comprehension, and performance into the air by industrial plants and the decrement in general. The aversiveness of exhausts of vehicles powered by diesel noise largely depends on its intensity engines. Recently, in Delhi, the diesel, (loudness), predictability, and perceived powered buses have been replaced by CNG control. Those, who live in surroundings (Compressed Natural Gas) and this has led with high level of noise, have to utilise to a reduction of pollution level by about 15 physical and psychological resources in percent. The quality of diesel is also being access, get fatigued early because of extra improved to reduce the harmful effects of energy loss in the process. diesel engine exhausts. Loudness is one major reason that a In addition to particulate matter and given sound is evaluated poisonous gases, odour is as unpleasant. Unpredialso involved in our ctability is the other major response to impure air. In reason for a negative general, bad odours evoke response to sound. We can negative feelings. In adapt more easily to a contrast, air that has regular, predictable pleasant odorous smell has sound, such as chirping of the opposite effect, leads to birds in the morning. The positive emotions and negative effects of noise friendly behaviour. are reduced when People who are exposed Fig. 8.5 Noise, when exceeds individuals perceive that certain limit, may lead to various to pollution on a regular they have control over it. physiological disturbances in basis learn to accept human body In one study, it was found polluted air as normal. For that when participants example, newcomers to a were told that they can press a switch and heavily polluted city like Delhi or Kolkata turn off the noise, they performed better and complain about the poor quality of the air, felt less upset even though most of them but after living for some time they get did not actually press the switch (to turn off used to it. After some time they do not the noise). It has been found that daily consider it an important issue and this exposure to sounds of a busy airport causes tendency is dangerous. The polluted air adults to have memory loss, hearing loss, not only has harmful effects on physical hypertension, and higher incidence of and mental health, it also affects human behaviour negatively. fatal strokes. Noise Pollution : Industrial and technological Crowding : Crowding occurs when a large advancements have led to considerable number of people live in a limited space. Early
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Table 8.1 Effects of Noise at different Levels

Cause of Noise Jet aircraft take off Textile-weaving plant Food blender City traffic Train (100 ft. away) Noisy restaurant Normal Speech Normal noise at home Soft whisper Breathing Loudness in dB 130 100 95 90 80 70 60 40 30 0 Effect of Noise Brief exposure can result in permanent deafness. Blood pressure increases. Cognitive performance is reduced. Legal acceptable noise limit for 8 hrs day. Reaction time affected. Telephone use is difficult.
studies on crowding on animals showed high incidence of illness and pathology. Studies with human beings indicate that density not only affects individual behaviour it also affects the quality of social behaviour. For example, physical presence of a large number of people in a defined physical space can influence interpersonal relations, aggressive acts,
BOX 8.3
helping behaviour, (reduced), withdrawal symptoms, etc. Crowding is more of a problem at the subjective level (perception of crampedness). In fact, many researchers are of the opinion that the term crowding should be used for the subjective feelings of crampedness. For some, physical density (large number of
TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS In such a situation, what will be the reaction of the people using the commons; will people stop adding cattle before the commons was killed off? It is possible that people may not. If someone decides to add an animal to his herd, there could be two effects to this situation: (1) he will achieve a profit equal to the value of an animal, and (2) he will suffer a loss caused by the declining ability of the commons to support cattle. Every herdsman will realize that by adding an animal to his herd he will increase his wealth substantially while decreasing the total wealth of the community a bit. So the outcome is: Ruin is the destination towards which all men rush; each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in commons brings ruin to all. The tragedy of commons is relevant to the difficult problems we are facing in the world today, i.e., overpopulation and pollution. The tragedy of the commons is the generalized case of a situation of mixed motives, one in which it is to a persons advantage both to cooperate and to compete.
In an obscure pamphlet published in 1833 by an amateur mathematician named. William Foster Lloyd discussed the following scenario. Imagine a small town with a town commons, an area of pasture on which all of the town peoples cattle are allowed to graze. For centuries, the town people have been grazing their cattle on the commons without problem. Imagine that one-day there is a great medical discovery, and a disease that had been killing many of the cattle is cured. The immediate effect of discovery is wonderful for the town. First the cattle owners and later the town prospered. However, there is a second effect of the new medical treatment. That is, not so wonderful. The townspeople had not realised that commons had been able to support their herds because the number of cattle had been held in check by the disease. Once the cure for the disease was available, the restraint on the number of cattle was lifted, and the number of cattle overgrew.
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people in a defined space) may not create the perception of crowding. It is, therefore, necessary to use two different terms for the condition where large number of people are present, that is, density and crowding. Density is the actual number of people per square foot, while crowding is the subjective feeling of being too close to each other. Density at a rock concert may be very high but crowding may be low. A large number of studies carried out in India and abroad reveal that crowding has negative effect on task performance, personality, interpersonal relationships, general physical and mental health, etc. The experience of crowding and its behavioural effects is mediated by the availability of social support and perception of control. Goal blockage, interference, and mental and physical discomfort are common when people experience crowding. The ill effects of population density are different across cultures. In India the relationships are respected and valued, families are generally large and extended, under such a situation self is not given importance over others, the experience and consequences of crowding are, therefore, expected to be different in
BOX 8.4
comparison to the experience of people in the Western Culture. The population explosion and migration of large rural population to big cities are causing increased degree of stress due to crowding. In order to accommodate large number of people, multi-storeyed housing complexes are coming up, creating civic and social problems of different kinds. One important outcome of crowding is the loss of personal life and increased social strifes. Natural and Man-made Disasters: Natural disasters include earthquake, volcanic eruption, windstorm, tornado cyclone, famine, flood, etc. The earthquakes at Latoor and Bhuj (2001) and Super Cyclone in Orissa (1999) not only caused extensive damage to property and physical environment but also had long-term effects on the lives of the people. There are man-made disasters also. The technological disasters such as Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986), and Bhopal MIC Disaster (1984), etc., have intense and longterm adverse effects on the lives of people. Both natural as well as man-made disasters are catastrophic, which disrupt the entire life system. In the Bhopal, disaster more than 3000 people died and over
NUCLEAR ENERGY AND WASTE Another major disaster at nuclear facility occurred at Chernobyl in 1986. Although, the number of immediate fatalities were 31. However, over the next 50 years there may be up to 28,000 delayed fatalities worldwide, about half of them in the Ukraine and neighbouring states and half in Europe. These accidents provide stress related reactions in the public in a number of countries. For example, significant increase in number of abortions, panic buying of tinned, frozen, and other long-life food, buying of radiation measuring equipments for personal use, uptake of potassium iodine, etc. Another problem of great public concern is the management of nuclear waste from the nuclear facilities like nuclear power house. Radioactive waste management is a serious challenge to the governments all over the world. Nuclear and toxic waste disposal facilities remain problem of major concern all over the world.
Since 1970s, there have been vehement public opposition to various new technologies with possible adverse consequences on public health and environment. Most prominent among these has been nuclear energy. The other aspect of serious concern of nuclear energy production is the disposal of toxic waste. Public has been opposing construction of nuclear and other hazardous facilities. For their inherent risks, public concern has not been without any foundation. For example, there had been serious accidents at the nuclear facilities, such as those at Three Mile Island (1979) in U.S.A and Chernobyl (1986) in erstwhile USSR. The accident of Three Mile Island (TMI) resulted in the release of radioactive material. The nearby populations experienced psychological and emotional damages. Large number of people around the TMI experienced considerable stress due to perceived psychological and physical threat.
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2,00,000 were physically affected. Thousands of the gas victims are still suffering from mental and physical health problems. Studies indicate that the survivors of such disasters suffer from anxiety, withdrawal symptoms depression, stress, anger, and nightmares. IMPACT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR ENVIRONMENT
ON
We defined environmental psychology in terms of interaction between our behaviour and our physical surroundings. It is a twoway process, the environment affects our behaviour, and our actions affect the environment. In this section, we shall consider how the human activities affect the environment. In fact, almost everything human beings do has small but cumulative effect on the environment in which we live. Whenever, someone drives a car, uses hair spray, cooks food, produces garbage, the environment is affected. Anything that you do personally may have very little immediate perceptible effect on the quality of environment. However, imagine that billions of people living on our planet in some way or the other affect the environment; the total effect will significantly alter (pollute) the environment. This alteration adversely influences the life of all of us. The most serious long term threat facing the world is the danger that human actions are producing irreversible and harmful changes
Fig. 8.5 Water Pollution
in the environment that supports and sustains life on our planet. Environment is a naturally given capital having certain limits. Air, water, food, fuel, etc. all are gifts of this environment to the human kind. Its judicious use, and conservation is necessary for the survival of human beings and plant life on this earth. Our actions, however, are usually contrary to what is desired. Unmindful of the consequences of our activities and actions, we indulge in a behaviour that goes against the environment and ultimately threaten our own existence on the earth. We are over using the natural resources that we are not replenishing. For example, we are using water and are unmindful of its conservation. On our planet, there are now at least eighty countries having serious water shortages with a consequent threat to the agriculture. Perhaps, the most obvious by product of human activity is waste material we produce, ranging from sewage to garbage. It is a serious problem for municipalities, corporations, and Governments to manage the sewage and garbage. You are aware that much of our sewage disposal is flushed untreated into the rivers. This has created severe problem of water pollution, which makes our river water unfit for human consumption. You must have read in the newspapers about the threatening state of our important rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, and others. It is sad that most of these rivers are now unfit for drawing water for human consumption. There are no easy solutions to the growing problem of waste that we produce everyday. Some waste is biodegradable, other is not (e.g., plastic bags). Harvesting of rainwater is helpful in augmenting ground water. The rainwater that falls on the roof of our house is sent into a deep pit in the ground that raises the water table. Similarly, planting trees helps in preventing soil erosion and protecting environmental quality. Recycling the waste is one promising approach paper, glass, plastic, and metal can be saved, recycled, and reused. However, to recycle the waste we have to persuade citizens to be aware and concerned about this serious problem and do
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BOX 8.5
RECYCLING AND ENERGY CONSERVATION is disposed off into the rivers. Energy Conservation: One of the main sources of Earths Environmental problems is over consumption of natural resources, particularly energy (e.g., petroleum products). The extreme example is the United States. With only five p.c. of earths population, the United States of America uses 25 p.c. of the Earths commercial energy and uses it only about half efficiently as Japan. The result of worldwide over consumption of Earths resources is that traditional supplies of many materials are being used up rapidly, the key example is petroleum. It is estimated that world oil production will begin to decline around 2010. Since much of the industrialized world runs on oil, this situation will have dramatic impact on many aspects of life. It is extremely important for all the nations of the world to use this and other energy resources very carefully, curb over consumption, and develop plans and strategies to conserve the energy resource for future use and safety of environment.
The threat to the humanity today is due to human population growth, over consumption, and lack of resource conservation. We are producing irreversible and harmful changes to the environment that supports our life system. If this problem is not overcome early, there may be no viable world for our descendants to live. Enormous efforts and changes in our lifestyles and cultural practices are required to overcome this grim situation. Recycling is being adopted as an easier way of ensuring that large amounts of natural resources are used again in productive ways rather than being dumped in landfills, often contributing to pollution problems. For example, aluminium cans, used for soft drinks, are melted down and reused in making aluminium products. Similarly, glass, paper, rags, metals, etc., are being recycled. Further, water is becoming more and more scarce and it is important to conserve it and recycle the enormous amount of water that flows in our sewage system. The city sewage is now being treated and the harmless water after recycling
BOX 8.6
GREEN HOUSE EFFECT AND NUCLEAR THREAT sunlight but prevents warm air from escaping. In the same manner the three main gases released into the atmosphere (carbon dioxide, methane, and Nitrous oxide) trap the suns heat that turn the earth into a vast green house. The increase in the levels of these three gases began about the middle of the 1800s and it still continues. If this continues, it is estimated that it will result in an average warming of the earths surface air temperature by about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. Even an average increase of 1 or 2 degrees can change regional climates and disrupt agriculture worldwide. This trend will cause extensive melting of polar icecaps, resulting in raised ocean levels and flooding of huge low-lying coastal areas in many countries. The global warming can be reversed if human behaviour that brought about this problem is changed. For example, the carbon dioxide emissions are reduced, planting more trees, and ban on the use of CFC, for refrigeration. The ban on CFC use by fifty nations has brought about some change in the ozone layer. However,
contd...
Human beings, for quite some time now, have been indulging in anti-environmental behaviours on a large scale. Because of this abuse of the environment, like producing waste, burning of fossil fuel (Petrol, diesel, etc.), deforestation, burning of coal, forest fires, the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) for refrigeration, aerosol cans, etc. global warming is gradually taking place. The gradual increase in the temperature of earths atmosphere and its oceans brought about partly because of various human activities has far reaching consequences on the ecology and environment. Among the consequences are increase in storms and other weather extremes, melting of ice caps at the North and South Poles that have resulted in raising the sea levels. These effects have been observed in several parts of the world. The oceans are raising about one inch every five years. It has been observed that three of the islands of the Republic of Maldives are now under water. The cause of this change in climate (global warming) is known as the green house effect. Greenhouse has a glass roof that lets in warming
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the extent of damage to the ozone layer has been so much that it should return to its normal thickness in fifty to one hundred years. In a recent UN report, it has been reported that South Asia (India included) is covered by a three km-deep blanket of pollution, which is
responsible for changing weather patterns, impacting crops, and killing lakhs of people by respiratory diseases. It should be a very urgent agenda for countries all over the world to get the machinery working on checking automobile emissions,and reduce energy use.
their share develop communications that encourage people to help in the process of recycling, develop attitudes about recycling and promoting other pro-environmental activities. If this problem is not tackled, early, there may be no viable world for our descendants to inhabit. This threat is caused by human population growth, over consumption, and lack of resource conservation. Because, the culprits are human beings, social scientists have a vital role in helping our world to present the ecological disaster. Recapitulation Environment affects human behaviour and the human actions affect the environment, the two are interrelated. Throughout human history floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters have threatened our existence on earth. Technological advances have brought us new potential threats, which are man made. Rapid modernisation and industrialisation have led to the degradation of quality of air which is so vital for the human, animal, and plant life. Harmful and toxic gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide etc, produced by automobile and industrial emissions, have led to serious physical and mental health problems. Industrial and technological advancements have led to considerable increase in the level of noise. Noise is any unwanted sound or sounds that an individual finds unpleasant. The aversiveness of noise largely depends on its intensity, predictability, and perceived control. Daily exposure to high intensity sounds causes adults to have memory loss, hearing loss, hypertension, and higher incidence of fatal strokes. Crowding is another problem that affects the quality of life. It is subjective feeling of crampedness resulting from the condition
where large number of people are present. It has been found that crowding has negative effect on task performance, personality, interpersonal relationships, and general mental and physical health. Natural disasters have long-term effect on the lives of people, e.g. the earthquakes at Latoor and Bhuj and super-cyclone in Orissa. Man-made disasters, such as: three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Bhopal disaster, have equally affected the environment and lives of large number of people. Environment is a naturally given capital to us; we must preserve it, especially the quality of air and water. Social scientists must develop strategies to promote proenvironmental behaviour.
LEARNING CHECKS II
1. 2.
pollution causes narrowing of attention. is biodegradable substance. a non-
3. Industrial plants release matter into the air. 4. prevents the brain and heart to absorb enough oxygen. and human .
5. Environment affects actions affect the
PROMOTING PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS It is important to realise that the environmental problems are quite complex. The problem is not solely technical in nature, therefore, the help from disciplines like engineering, physics, and chemistry will not be sufficient to address the problem. Because, the problem is man-made, social scientists have to play a crucial role in modifying human behaviour.
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Since 1970s, social psychologists, environmental psychologists, and sociologists are trying to find ways to encourage proenvironmental behaviour to save the environment from further degradation. Enormous changes in the lifestyles and cultural practices are required to achieve this goal. Some efforts are being made in this direction. Efforts made in conserving energy, recycling the waste (e.g., paper, plastic, meals, etc.), reducing the use of detergents, and avoiding littering are too meagre to have significant impact on the environment. To achieve the objective citizens need to perceive the nature and extent of problem we are facing now and change their attitude and behaviour to make it pro-environmental.
ACTIVITY 8.1 Understanding The Environment Make observation of the nature and state of facilities for environmental management in your neighbourhood about garbage disposal, maintenance of park, cleanliness of roads, harvesting of rain water and sewage system and prepare a report.
problem. It is important to make the public aware about the seriousness of the problem. In various studies in India and abroad, it has been found that people are not even aware about the intensity and extensity of the problem. Therefore, the first step in the right direction will be to start an awareness programme. Later the values and attitudes of the people have to be changed to make their behaviour pro-environmental. To promote pro-environmental behaviour several motivational approaches can be adopted to deal with different types of people. Let us consider some possible motivational approaches to deal with the problem situation. Motivational Approaches for Promoting Pro-Environmental Behaviour 1. Voluntary Simplicity : In India we have the age-old saying, If you want to be happy in life reduce your needs. This is the essence of Aparigrah. This is what should be voluntarily practiced by everybody. It is a way of life that is outwardly simple and uses minimum amount of natural resources and technology. In global perspective, it requires all nations to share earths resources efficiently, peacefully, and equitably. It is to live with balance taking or using no more than we require and at the same time, giving fully of ourselves. The environmental problems facing the world demand that everyone must move in that direction. Modern way of living requires advanced technology, which is heavy on the natural resources. For example, using shower for bathing requires large amount of water and electricity in comparison to the age-old way of using bucket. People should be made aware about the problem of resource deficit so that voluntary simplicity is practiced by all. 2. Encouraging Concrete Actions : People should be encouraged to reduce resourceuse by installing and using energy efficient devices, recycled products etc. To reduce air pollution car pools or mass transit system should be used. However, it is not enough to inform the people about the availability of such products and services and their usefulness but need to motivate them to make appropriate behavioural
Pro-environmental Behaviour The most important concern for the environmentalist is not only to stop the abuse of the environment but also to reverse the process. The indiscriminate use of CFC (chlorofluorocarbons) for refrigeration has gradually thinned down the ozone layer in the atmosphere that protects us from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Because of loss of much of earths protective ozone layer, human beings are increasingly experiencing greater risk to skin cancer. Through international cooperation, 50 nations have discontinued the use of CFC. However, the problem is so acute that it is estimated that the ozone layer would take fifty to hundred years return to its normal thickness. There is no easy solution to the waxed problem of environmental damage that has already been done. It is possible to control the situation if public cooperation is forthcoming. The governmental efforts alone will not be sufficient to tackle this serious
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actions. Community participation in programmes for reducing resource use, efficient use of energy, recycled products, etc., could be more effective than personal approaches. 3. Providing Behavioural Norms : Agencies responsible for enforcing environmental standards (e.g., Government) should bring out more specific environmental regulations and norms to guide and enforce public actions. Providing clear behavioural norms and their strict adherence, sometimes with punitive actions, are essential to motivate people to act in right direction. For example, in Delhi the vehicle owners are required to get their vehicles checked for the pollution level and display the pollution check certificate. The quality of fuel is being constantly improved (e.g., lead free fuel) and the emission norms for the vehicle manufacturer are being made more and more stringent. Though, open burning of waste and dead leaves are prohibited, it is not being strictly adhered to. Enforcing agencies should be armed with necessary powers to enforce the norms strictly. The production and use of CFC is being gradually phased out and it is being enforced on a time-based schedule all over the world. Gradually, we have to adopt Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) like electric cars and vehicles powered by fuel cells. 4. Organised Group Activity: Another important approach is to carefully use group activity in monitoring and controlling environmental concerns. Organised activism is frequently necessary to reduce and curb environmental damage caused by government agencies (e.g., power houses, transport corporations, waste management bodies, etc.), powerful corporations, industries, etc. Such powerful and influential organisations ignore the individual protests and complaints and in such situations, group activism works as a very effective tool in curbing the menace. Sometimes, Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has proved very effective. For example, The Supreme Court of India directed Government agencies to strictly adhere to fuel norms, emission norms, phasing out of old and inefficient vehicles, compulsory
conversion to CNG of Commercial Vehicles, etc. The Supreme Court of India has also initiated action to cleanse the rivers in India. Similarly, mass media are very important in arousing concerns and promoting necessary actions towards the creation of healthy environment.
ACTIVITY 8.2 Experiencing Pro-Environment Action Develop a plan for plantation of saplings in your community. Discuss and present the plan in the class and seek support and help from other students in the class to plant the samplings.
Recapitulation To save the environment, it is imperative that people perceive the gravity of the situation and develop a pro-environmental attitude. Because, the situation is man-made, social scientists will have to work hard in devising strategies in creating a pro-environment attitude among the people. Some of the motivational approaches have been discussed to create a pro-environmental behaviour among the people.
LEARNING CHECKS III
1. To effectively reverse the situation, it is important that people the gravity of the problem. 2. To promote pro-environmental behaviour, social scientists have to change the of the people. 3. The essence of Aparigrah is: If you want to be happy in life reduce your . 4. To promote pro-environmental behaviour social scientists have to develop appropriate approaches.
Key Terms
Environment, Social Environment, Cultural Environment, Personal space, Territoriality, Physical Environment, Life Space, Ecology, Crowding, Lifestyles, Environmental psychology, Noise, Ecological system, Global warming, Green house effect.
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SUMMARY
l l l l
l l
l l l l
Our behaviour is influenced by the physical objects and well-defined social and cultural settings in which we live. Environmental Psychology is the study of reciprocal relationships between psychological processes and physical environment, both natural and man-made. Human actions affect the environment and environment influences human behaviour. According to Lewin, behaviour (B) is a function of life space (L), which is composed of person (P) and environment (E). The region outside the life space is called foreign hull. Bronfenbrenner proposed hierarchy of environments and describes environments in terms of five systems: Microsystem; Mesosystem; Exosystem; Macrosystem; and Chronosystem. Air pollution, Noise pollution, Crowding and natural and man-made disasters pose serious threats to human life and existence. Human action affects the environment in which we live. The most serious long-term threat to human existence is due to the misuse and abuse of natural resources like water and air. Waste management ranging from sewage to garbage is a serious threat to human life and a challenge to the civic authorities. To save the environment, first of all, people must perceive the gravity of the situation that we are facing To solve the problem, effectively the social scientists should devise methods and strategies of creating pro-environmental attitude among the people. Motivational approaches could be usefully employed in persuading the people for the adoption of pro-environmental behaviour.
Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Discuss the nature and scope of environmental psychology. How do human beings affect the environment? What is environment and how does it influence human behaviour? What is air pollution and how can it be controlled? What is noise? How does noise affect human behaviour? Is population density and crowding the same thing? What are the effects of crowding on human behaviour? 7. What is waste management? Does it pose a serious threat to the health and life of human beings? 8. What is pro-environmental behaviour and how can it be promoted?
ANSWERS
I :
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
1. social, cultural 2. reciprocal 3. Physical 4. Social-cultural 5. P, E. 1. noise 2. plastic 3. particulate 4. carbon monoxide 5. human behaviour, environment 1. perceive, 2. attitude, 3. needs, 4. motivational.
II
III :
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9
THIS
PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER COVERS
IN
ORGANISATIONAL SETTING
CONTENTS
Introduction What is an Organisation? Structure and Functions of Organisation Key Questions related to Organisational Structure (Box 9.1) Delegation of Authority (Box 9.2) Types of Organisational Structure Basic Functions of Managers Mintzberg Managerial Roles (Box 9.3) Personnel Selection Some Methods of Job Analysis (Box 9.4) Interview for Personnel Selection (Box 9.5) Work Motivation Reward Management (Box 9.6) Training and Performance Appraisal Human Resource Development (Box 9.7) Marketing and Advertising Techniques used to Attract the Customers (Box 9.8)
Introduction to the field of organisational psychology Meaning of organisation Structure of organisation Functions of a manager Role of psychologist in organisational setting Relevance of advertising and marketing BY
BE ABLE TO
understand the nature of organisation and its defining features, know the structure of organisation, understand the basic functions performed by a manager, appreciate the different kinds of roles performed by organisational psychologists, and learn to relate advertising and marketing in the context of organisations.
Psychology in Organisational Setting
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INTRODUCTION
An organisation covers a whole gamut of places like bank, hospital, police station, court of law, school, college, and industry. Some of them have been around for a long time. For example, TATA, Hindustan Levers, Maruti Udyog Limited, Indian Railways, MTNL, State Bank of India etc. Others are smaller, locally based such as a school, a family owned restaurant, a small departmental store, or a service station. Organisations affect our lives in significant ways. We work for them and consume their products. As an adult, we spend more time at jobs than at any other activity (with the possible exception of sleep) in life. We read about various organisations in newspapers and follow their financial growth and its impact on economy and our day-to-day lives. Organisations are often identified by their buildings, factories or by their products. The material part of an organisation is very obvious. Thus, a school has its buildings, which houses classrooms, laboratories, libraries, etc. A school or a bank also use machines like computers, typewriters, etc., even though these machines do not play a prominent role in their functioning. However, in some organisations, machines and equipments form the backbone and are used to produce goods like-steel, iron, fertilisers, textiles, food products etc. Thus, the material aspect in these organisations is quite tangible. In contrast are some organisations where inputs are mostly intangible and products are the services they offer. These constitute service organisations, like-hospitals (health services), religious organisations, NGOs, hospitality industries (hotels) etc. But, do organisations function only through materials and machines? No. They must have people who put the materials and machines to use and make organisations what they are. Without a principal, the teachers and the support staff, the school cannot function as an organisation. What an organisation does or how it functions, and what happens within an organisation depends on behaviour of the people in it. To understand, control and predict the functioning of an organisation we need to understand the psychology of these people. We need to understand their behaviours, values, attitudes, thinking, needs, and motives. Organisational psychology helps us to understand these aspects of organisation in proper perspective. It involves internally integrative and externally adaptive activities. It applies knowledge and the principles of psychology including social psychology to the study of organisations and their functioning. This chapter shall help you to understand some of the basic concepts used in the study of organisations. You will study about the way organisations are structured and the way they function. The managerial functions are also described. This is followed by a description of the processes of selection, training, and performance appraisal. Finally, the problems of work motivation and advertising are discussed.
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WHAT
IS AN
ORGANISATION?
Organisations are necessary for achieving certain goals and objectives, which are difficult to achieve by the individuals alone. For example, consider the case of your own education. Can you get education without taking admission in a school or college? Yes, you can, by making necessary arrangements at home, but that education may not be acceptable in the society. It is important to know how work is organised and allocated to various people working for the school or any other organisation. In this context, many questions arise: How to recruit, train, and effectively manage the people to maximise output? How to create conditions which would enable the people to work effectively over a long period of time? How to make people and organisations to adapt the changing environmental conditions and technological innovations? How to cope with competition from other organisations in the some domain? Organisational behaviour, which is also referred to as OB, is a multidisciplinary field of study different from organisational psychology, and investigates the impact of individuals, groups and organisational structures on behaviour within the organisation for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organisations effectiveness. As stated above, it is important to recognise that organisations come into existence to accomplish goals organisational, group and individual, which otherwise will not be possible to achieve by individuals alone. The techo-structural or structural and the human components of organisation need coordination of efforts at different levels. Coordination, infact is backed by authority to be exercised if required. Organisations have people with common goals who coordinate their individual and group efforts. This is done by assigning different kinds of work to different individuals who are entrusted with responsibility, power, and authority. For instance, in your school the teachers, the students, the principal and the administrative staff work towards providing
quality education. You will notice that each individual or group has a specific role and assigned work; and each has some responsibility, some power, and authority. Thus, organisations typically have the following features: Common Goals : Each organisation has goals that are shared by a group of individuals. Organisations have their objectives, which are accepted by the people who constitute the same. The objectives guide the activities of an organisation. Coordination of Efforts : The people in an organisation put in their efforts, help each other, and organise themselves to coordinate their activities so that the organisational objectives can be attained. Division of Labour : In order to achieve the goals of an organisation different functions are required to be performed. The labour or work involved in these functions is assigned to different individuals or groups of individuals. In your school, you will notice a clear division of labour. Teachers, students, clerks, principal, librarian etc. have assigned roles and functions, which may sometimes overlap; but broadly, the division of labour is functional. Based on different skills and capabilities of the people employed, they are trained to perform different functions. Responsibility and Authority : Coordination of efforts and division of labour in organisations imply that each individual has assigned tasks, responsibilities, and duties. Attainment of goals of an organisation depends on the extent to which the task responsibilities are fulfilled. Very often, this is maintained by self-discipline and work ethics of the people assigned with specific tasks. Each person with assigned task has responsibility for the same and has some power and authority in order to control task performance and its outcome. The coordination of efforts towards achievement of organisations objectives requires monitoring and control, at different levels. This implies different levels of authority, control, and power. In your school, for instance, students, teachers, staff, as well as the principal have assigned tasks, roles, and responsibilities and some degree of authority to enforce the minimum conditions
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for task attainment. The librarian has the task of issuing books to students as per rules. She is responsible for this work and has some authority and power in order to ensure that this task is done. In coordinating the efforts for goal achievement, organisations evolve different levels of authority. They exercise control over others activities and task performance. Thus, your principal has a higher level of authority compared to the teachers. Usually, organisations have a hierarchy of authorities so that some have greater control over others. However, this is not always the case; some organisations are less hierarchical than others are. If we put the above-mentioned features in view, following definition of organisation can be given: An organisation is the rational coordination of the individual or group efforts and activities for attainment of some commonly shared or agreed upon objectives and goals, through the division of labour and functions, and through a hierarchy of authority and responsibility. While describing an organisation, it must be noted that an organisation functions as an organism. It is often thought of as an open system that operates within an environment. Unlike the closed system, an open system is that which has a relatively more flexible structure. Its boundary is open to accommodate the new informations and the changes relevant in environment. In fact, the open system is always in active interaction with the environment in order to make smooth the export of its products (outputs) and to generate additional resources which are necessary for the survival of the system. These resources can then be subsequently used to import various forms of energies (inputs). It should be noted that any living system, be it a human being or an organisation, has a natural tendency of entropy. However, an open system develops a mechanism of re-energising the system which enables it to negate the entrophy. It imports energy and resources (inputs) from the environment (e.g., people, capital, machines etc.) and after processing these inputs produces certain products (e.g., consumable goods, services,
machines etc). It should also be remembered that all organisations involve people who interact with each other and with machines. These interactions are social and psychological. As a result, we find in organisations all the psychological processes in operation. People perceive each other, cooperate, feel motivated, communicate, come in conflict, feel frustrated, stressed, work in teams and try to achieve objectives that are fixed for the organisation.
ACTIVITY 9.1 Understanding the Nature of an Organisation Think of an organisation with which you are familiar. It can be a school, an industry, a hospital, a service station, a departmental store, or an NGO. Attempt to answer the following questions about that organisation.
l What
are the objectives of this organisation? l What connection does it have with the society and environment? l How is it functioning to attain the objectives? After you have written the answers to these questions, discuss them in the class. Try to see how far your answers approximate the definition of organisation that you have studied.
Recapitulation Organisations are increasingly playing important role in contemporary life. Organisational psychology specialises in the study of organisational functioning. Organisations are created when it is realised that individual efforts are not enough to achieve the goals. All organisations share the following characteristics: common goals, coordination of efforts, division of labour, responsibility, and authority. Organisations can be defined in terms of rational coordination of peoples efforts to attain shared goals. They function as an open system which imports energy from environment and after processing sends its products to the environment. Thus, organisations are open systems which are related to the external environment.
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LEARNING CHECKS I
1. A work done by machine represents organisation. T/F 2. The attitudes and interdepartmental conflicts in a college can be a problem for organisational psychologist. T/F 3. Organisations are introduced to achieve shared objectives. T/F 4. Division of labour is a characteristic of organisation. T/F 5. Organisations may not require rational coordination of efforts. T/F 6. Organisations work as an open system. T/F
STRUCTURE AND F UNCTIONS OF O RGANISATION It is a well-known fact that human behaviour is affected by the kind of set up one is placed in. An organisation also provides a set up. The organisations vary in terms of their structures, which characterise their set up. Different types of organisational structures influence the behaviour of employees in different ways. Organisational structure tells how jobs are divided and assigned to its employees. For example, in the early part of the last century, Henry Ford built automobiles on an assembly line. Every worker of the Ford company was assigned a specific task: one person would just put on the right front wheel and someone would
install the right front door. Thus, the jobs were divided into smaller units of standardised nature, which could be performed repeatedly. By doing this, Ford was able to produce cars at the rate of one every 10 seconds while using individuals who had limited skills. An organisational structure is defined in terms of how jobs are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. There are six key elements in designing an organisations structure. They deal with different concerns of an organisation (Box 9.1). Let us try to understand these elements in some detail. Work Specialisation : It helps in identifying the degree to which tasks in an organisation are subdivided into separate jobs. The important aspect of work specialisation is that an entire job is not done by one individual, but is broken down into a number of steps. Each step of the job is completed by a different individual or groups of individuals. In essence, individuals specialise in doing part of an activity. In some organisations, work is highly specialised whereas in others, specialisation is minimal and each of the employees is trained for and required to undertake the whole or most of the work to be done. Departmentalisation : Jobs are not only divided into steps and assigned to different individuals; they can also be grouped according to their functions. The basis by
BOX 9.1
KEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
Concerns To what extent tasks are subdivided into separate jobs? On what basis jobs would be grouped together? To whom do individuals and groups report? How many individuals can a manager efficiently manage? Where does a decision-making authority lie?
Elements of Organisational Structure Work specialisation Departmentalisation Hierarchy (chain of command) Span of control Centralisation Formalisation
What is the extent of rules and regulations to direct the employees?
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which jobs are grouped together is called departmentalisation. For example, a hospital might have different departments devoted to research, patient care, administration, accounting, rehabilitation, and so forth. Similarly, a small restaurant may have departments like cooking, service, accounts, customer care, security, and vigilance. The major advantage of this type of grouping is to obtain better coordination and efficiency in work and productivity. Chain of Command : It refers to the line of authority that runs from the top of an organisation to its bottom. In practical terms, it clarifies who reports to whom. It tells the employees whom to approach if they have a problem. The chain of command involves authority and unity of command. These are complementary concepts. Authority refers to the rights inherent in a certain position to give orders and to expect the orders to be obeyed. It has a definitive place in the chain of command. It is necessary for facilitating the coordination of activities and doing the jobs. The unity of command principle states that a person should have one and only one superior to whom she/he is directly responsible. If the chain or unity of command is broken, the employees may be put to conflicting demands from several superiors. Span of Control : It specifies the number of employees a manager should efficiently and effectively direct. It determines the number of levels of managers an organisation has. If the span is too large, it will affect the employees performance because the managers have less time to provide the necessary leadership and support. If the span is too small, it will require more managers to control the employees. It would cost more to the company.
BOX 9.2
Centralisation : In certain organisations, top managers make all the decisions. People down the line carry out top management directives. Such an organisation is highly centralised. Contrary to these are organisations where decision-making powers have been given to all those employees who are closer to action. They take decisions at their levels. Such an organisation is highly decentralised, and the decision-making power is shared. Thus, organisations vary in respect of the degree to which decision, making powers are concentrated or shared. Degree of centralisation/decentralisation affects the speed with which decisions can be taken and implemented. It also determines the level of involvement of employees in their jobs and organisations. It is important to note that in a decentralised setting, the tasks are assigned by delegating. This is also a way of empowering the employees. This can be achieved better if the delegation is supplemented by periodic checks to ensure that the authority guidelines are not being abused, organisations policies are being followed, and proper procedures are being met. The key considerations while delegating authority to the subordinates are summarised in Box 9.2. Formalisation : It refers to the degree to which jobs within an organisation are standardised and made formal. In a highly standardised procedure, the employees have the least amount of discretion in performing their specific roles. Every time a job is given, it is to be done by following the same procedure in a uniform manner. Organisations function within a framework of rules and clearly defined procedures. When formalisation is of a lesser degree the
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY
l l l l
Sometimes authority is delegated to subordinates for certain assignments. When managers have to delegate authority they are required to: l clarify the assignment to subordinates, l specify to the subordinate the range of discretion,
allow the subordinate to participate, make him accountable and extend managerial support, inform others that delegation has occurred, and establish the feedback control to regulate and monitor.
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job behaviours are relatively nonprogrammed and employees have considerable flexibility and freedom in exercising discretion. Formalisation has advantages as well as disadvantages. The advantages are that employees are not allowed to engage in alternative forms of behaviours. The disadvantage is that employees may feel paralysed if the rules and procedures do not apply to a given situation. TYPES
OF
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
There are several kinds of organisational structure. Some organisations make use of simple structure whereas others use bureaucratic and other complex structures such as matrix type structure. There are tall and flat structures as well. Let us try to understand three types of structures, i.e., simple, bureaucratic, and matrix in some detail. Simple Structures: These are structures with low degree of departmentalisation and a wide
it becomes grossly inadequate as and when the organisation grows in size. You may consider the structure of a departmental store owned by a hypothetical person say, Mr. Hariram Banarasi Das. He is ownermanager. He has employed five salespersons who directly report to him. This simple structure is shown in Fig. 9.1. Such a simple structure is becoming popular because of its flexibility, responsiveness, and high degree of adaptability to change. Bureaucratic Structure : This structure is characterised by routine operating tasks achieved through specialisation, formal set of rules, and activities organised around functions. The authority is highly centralised. It has a chain of command and narrow span of control. Its strength lies in its ability to perform standardised activities in an efficient manner. The managerial discretion is minimised by wide range of rules and regulations. The operational duties are standardised with high degree of formalisation.
Fig. 9.1 Example of a Simple Organisational Structure.
span of control. The authority is largely centralised in a single person with very little formalisation. It is also called flat structure. It usually has only two or three vertical levels, a flexible set of employees, and generally one person in whom the power of decision making is invested. This simple structure is most widely practiced in small business settings where manager and owner happen to be the same person. Its advantage lies in its simplicity. This makes it responsive, fast, accountable, and easy to maintain. However,
The major weakness of bureaucracy is its extreme concern with strict adherence to rules. When cases arise that do not fit the rules, there is no room for modification. Bureaucracy promotes established procedures and programmed decisionmaking. Most of the organisations, however, were designed after bureaucratic structures. Now the dominant trend is to decentralise organisations into smaller units, making them fully autonomous, and having minimum obstacles in decision-making.
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The Matrix Structure : This structure integrates two forms of departmentalisation. They try to combine different functional groups and the final output i.e., product. Generally, Research and Development (R&D) organisations, advertising companies, consulting firms, hospitals, universities, and construction companies use matrix type structures. Its strength lies in putting specialists together that allow pooling and sharing of specialised resources across products. For example, a business school using a matrix design would have several departments, like academic department of HRD, Finance, Accounting, and Research Methodology and so on. In addition to this, they may have several courses like, BBA, MBA, PGDBM, Ph.D., Management Development Programme (MDP), which can be called as products. Members in the matrix structure have dual assignment; one to their functional department and the other to their product groups. For instance, a Professor of HRD teaching MBA course reports to the Director of the Institute as well as to the Chairman of the MDP, if assigned the course responsibility of teaching a module of HRD. The strength of matrix lies in its ability to facilitate coordination when the organisation has multiple, complex, and interdependent activities. Matrix structure reduces many problems which typical bureaucratic structure suffers. It facilitates efficient allocation of specialists but it can also induce power struggle in organisations. Recapitulation Organisational structure can be described in terms of specialisation, departmentalisation, chain of command, or span of control, centralisation of power, and formalisation. Besides, organisations can have various types of structures such as simple structures, bureaucratic design, matrix design, etc. Newer forms of structures are also being tried these days. Organisational structures also constrain the behaviour and set the limits. For example, an organisation structured around high level of formalisation, departmentalisation, centralisation, strict chain of command and little delegation of authority gives freedom to a minimum possible extent.
LEARNING CHECKS II
1. Organisational structures have no effect on individual behaviour. They affect the profit-related activities only. T/F 2. Simple structure is good for quick decision-making. T/F 3. In bureaucratic structures, decisionmaking flows toward the lower level of employees. T/F 4. Decentralisation amounts to power sharing and creating various centres of decision-making. T/F 5. Formalisation means having a formal dress code and living the life in a traditional mode. T/F 6. The most central feature of bureaucracy is objectivity and accountability. T/F
ACTIVITY 9.2 Understanding Organisational Structure Find a partner from your class. Take a notepad and visit the nearest departmental store, service station, school office, and find out the organisational structure by asking following questions: l How many people are working here? l What are their roles and duties? l Whom do they report to? l Who writes their confidential reports? l Who is the decision taking person in case of a problem? l How are they held accountable? Discuss the responses obtained with your teacher and try to find out the nature of organisational structure that the organisation has?
BASIC FUNCTIONS
OF
MANAGERS
Organisations are blueprints for human activities, but they do not begin to function unless people come and join them and perform the specific roles. In this context, the role of managers is very important. The important functions of a manager are described as under.
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Planning : Organisations exist to achieve certain goals. These goals need to be defined and the ways of achieving them are worked out. People in the highest authority represent the organisation and they take on the responsibility of defining these goals. Planning includes defining an organisations goals, proposing strategies for achieving these goals and developing a comprehensive plan to coordinate the different activities of the people working in the organisation. Organising : It refers to specifying and linking the various roles and responsibilities to be taken up by the people working for the organisation. It answers the following question: What tasks are to be performed and by whom? How the tasks are to be grouped? Who will report to whom? Where the decisions are to be made? All these things are to be specified along with the areas of responsibility and accountability. Organising the organisation is necessary for effective goal attainment. Staffing : Selection and recruitment of the personnel to undertake the various activities is another responsibility of managers. The process of selection of right persons for the right kind of job requires analysis of job profile and use of a dependable selection procedure. In older organisations, the problems of performance appraisal, promotion policy, and outsourcing (using external resources rather than employees) are to be decided. The employees also need training for updating their skills. Leading : Organisations involve people and it is important that their activities are coordinated to achieve the goals. Providing direction and establishing mechanisms for coordination is called leading. It involves motivating people, directing their activities, establishing the most effective way of communication, and setting up the ways of handling conflicts. Controlling : Once the objectives and goals of an organisation are established, the plans are formulated, the structural arrangements are worked out, and people are selected and put to work, there still remains the task of coordinating and making people deliver the expected level of performance. If people in the
organisation are not putting and coordinating their efforts to attain the stated goals, the organisation evolves mechanisms to bring them back on the right track. This is called controlling. It includes the monitoring, comparing, appraising, and correcting the activities of the members of an organisation. It can be done by using reward and punishment mechanisms. Management Roles All managers are expected to perform certain roles in their respective organisations. Based on a study, Mintzberg concluded that managers carry out 10 different roles, which are highly interrelated. These roles can be divided into three categories, i.e., interpersonal, informational and decision related. You may consult Box 9.3 if you want to know more about these roles. However, a brief description of these roles is given below. Interpersonal Roles : Managers have to communicate with other people in order to get the work done. They have to be in contact with the people inside and outside the organisation. They have to provide leadership to their followers, perform the role of selecting, training, and motivating them and maintaining the discipline. These are interpersonal roles involving relationships between managers and workers. Informational Roles : Managers need to receive and process information regarding various aspects of organisations functioning. They are required to transmit and disseminate information and play the role of spokespersons when interacting with others outside the organisation. Such activities represent the informational roles of managers. Decisional Roles : Managers have to play the role of decision-maker. They make choices, and initiate new ideas to improve organisational functioning. They, at times, take corrective decisions for solving problems. They decide about assignment of duties and what are the resources required, etc. A variety of such decisional roles are involved in managerial functions.
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BOX 9.3
MINTZBERG MANAGERIAL ROLES Disseminator : A manager transmits information received from outsiders or from other subordinates to the members of organisation. Spokesperson : A manager transmits information to external agencies on plans, policies, and results of the organisation. In this way, he or she serves as an expert.
Interpersonal Roles
Figurehead : Manager acts as a symbolic head and represents organisation to inside and outside clients. Leader : In this role, a manager is responsible for the motivation and direction of his or her subordinates. Liaison : A manager maintains a network of outside contacts that provides resources and information.
Decisional Roles
Entrepreneur : A manager searches opportunities and initiates projects to bring about changes in the organisation. Resource Allocator : A manager makes or approves significant organisational decisions. Negotiator :A manager represents organisation during negotiations.
Informational Roles
Monitor : A manager receives a wide variety of information and serves as the nerve centre for internal and external activities.
PERSONNEL S ELECTION Selection is a deliberate effort to engage a fixed number of persons usually out of a large number of applicants. The objective of selection is to match individual characteristics with the requirements of a given job. If the management is unable to get a proper match, the employeeperformance and satisfaction suffer adversely affecting the goals of an organisation. In order to have the right kind of individual-job fit, it is necessary to assess the demands and requirements of the job. The process of assessing the activities performed within a job is called Job Analysis. Job Analysis It involves developing a detailed description of the tasks involved in performing a job, working out the nature of relationship of that job with other jobs and determining the level of skills, competence, attitude and abilities necessary to function in that job. There are various methods of doing job analysis. Based on the job analysis, job descriptions are prepared. A job description is a written account of job contents, working environment, and conditions of employment. It identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform a job. It also helps in identifying the characteristics of a successful jobholder. Job description is a crucial document for guiding the selection process. If you want to know
more about the methods of job analysis, you are encouraged to study Box 9.4. Selection Methods A variety of methods are used to select personnel. They can vary from one organisation to another, depending upon the specific job requirements. Usually, the level at which an organisation needs people determines the choice of the method for selection. Some of the widely used methods of selecting personnel are described below. Application Blank : It is used for obtaining information about the suitability of candidates for a particular job. The blanks are highly structured, standardised, and determined in advance. It also tests the applicants ability to write, organise thoughts and presenting the facts. It also provides interview leads. Application blanks are designed in many ways. They require candidates to provide biographical data, educational qualification, job experience, and references. Interview : Interview is a way of obtaining information about a candidate so as to determine whether the candidate has the
ACTIVITY 9.3 Understanding the selection process Collect five different kinds of advertisements published in a newspaper and describe the main types of job descriptions.
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BOX 9.4
SOME METHODS OF JOB ANALYSIS Structured Questionnaire: Structured questions are prepared and employees are given the questionnaire to fill out the relevant details. Information relevant to jobs are analysed based on responses to the questionnaires. Diary: Jobholders record their daily activities in diaries. These diaries are analysed to get the details about the job. Technical Conference: Experts who have extensive knowledge of the job, suggest specific characteristics of a job by conferencing.
Observation: Detailed specifications of activities are prepared directly by observing employees on the job. It can also be done by Video recording employees behaviour and watching it to create a job description. Individual Interview: Selected employees are interviewed in detail, and job analysis is carried out by content analysing the interview protocols. Group Interview: It is also a kind of interview but in this case, a large number of employees participate in groups in generating ideas about the job details.
requisite skills, knowledge, attitude, and ability appropriate for the job in question. It is the most frequently used selection device. It consists of interaction between an interviewer and the applicant. If handled properly, it can be a powerful tool for achieving accurate information and getting access to information, which is otherwise unavailable. It is particularly suitable for assessing intelligence level, motivation, and interpersonal skills. To learn more about interview see Box 9.5. Written Tests : As a selection device, these tests are also conducted for evaluating intelligence, aptitude, ability, interest and integrity of the applicants. There are several advantages of using tests. They are unbiased and standardised devices and can be easily administered to a large number of people. They are cost effective and save time. However, unless they are properly developed and used, tests may not accurately predict job success.
BOX 9.5
Performance Simulation Tests : The use of performance tests has increased significantly in the last two decades. They are based on job analysis data. They are maps of actual behaviours and not hypothetical as the written tests. Two best-known approaches to simulation are work-sampling and assessment centres. The former is suited to routine jobs, whereas the latter is relevant to the selection of managerial positions. In work sampling, an effort is made to create a replica of the job situation making a candidate perform in a job like setting. In assessment centres, trained psychologists run evaluation workshops wherein actual problems are presented through simulated situations. The candidate confronts them through business games, exercises, discussions, and decisionmaking games. The effectiveness of assessment centres is very impressive. They have been found to predict job behaviour effectively.
INTERVIEW FOR PERSONNEL SELECTION Depth Interview: It covers the life history in detail about work experiences, health, interests, and hobbies. Patterned Interview: It is a combination of direct and indirect questioning of the applicant. What is to be asked during the interview is already structured. The Interview Process Generally, interview is made up of four stages.
contd...
Generally, four kinds of Interviews are used in personnel selection. Preliminary Interview: The applicant is given job details during the interview to make him think whether the job will suit him or her. Stress Interview: Stress is deliberately created to observe how an applicant performs under pressure. It ranges from frequent interruptions to strong criticism of the opinions expressed by the candidate.
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It starts with preparation, followed by opening stage, then questioning and finally concluding. In preparation stage, the job descriptions and resume of the candidate is reviewed for the position a candidate is being considered. Then the agenda for the interview is set. While preparing the agenda, it is important to organise questions in terms of what, how and whywhat questions are expected to be handled by descriptions and information details about the understanding of the candidate? How questions are concerned with explanation and why questions deal with the analysis of issues. In the opening stage, a candidate is made to enter in rapport in order to make him/her feel
relaxed, the interviewer should introduce himself or herself, friendly. The second stage begins with questions for ice breaking. The third stage is of questioning and discussion. In this stage, questions prepared during the preparatory stage are used as a road map. It is important to cover these and some additional questions arising out of the interview process. Taking the issues deeper into what the candidate says should also be done. The final stage of interview is concerned with wrapping up the event. The candidate should be informed about the next stage of happening. Evaluation should be done immediately after the candidate has left.
Recapitulation Managers have to perform certain basic organisational functions. They are: planning, organising, staffing, leading and controlling. Planning involves defining the goals and preparing a blue print for goal achievement. Staffing refers to selection and recruitment of the personnel. Organising means putting things in order by assignment of roles and responsibilities so that the goals can
ACTIVITY 9.4 Role-play for Monitor or Leader of the Class Create a board of interviewers to conduct an interview for selecting monitor of the class. The monitor of the class is expected to have following qualities: Regular in the class; must have good communication skill, be sensitive to others feelings, must possess some artistic talent like singing, drawing, sports and game preference and must be neatly dressed. Prepare your questions in advance to tap the required qualities. Ask members of the class to play the role of candidate one by one (You can have three candidates in one session). You can announce that the above-mentioned qualities are needed. Conduct the interview and make judgement about the most suitable candidate. Discuss the process with data in the class. Examine the way the board conducted the interview. Ask the candidate how he/she felt about the interview process.
be achieved. Leading function involves providing directions, coordinating, motivating, communicating, and resolving conflicts. Controlling function involves ways of making people achieve the organisational goals by delivering the expected levels of performance. Managers play a variety of roles i.e., interpersonal, decision-making and informational roles. Interpersonal roles involve relating to people, communicating and providing leadership. Informational roles involve receiving, processing, and disseminating information within and outside the organisation. Managers play an important role in the decision-making processes in the organisation. Proper selection and recruitment of employees is important for organisations. Job requirements need to be analysed so that the right individuals can be fitted to the right jobs. Organisations have different types of selection methods in which application forms, interviews, written tests and performance simulation tests are used. W ORK M OTIVATION It is through the studies on workers motivation, incentive systems, personnel policies, and intergroup relations that organisation as a total system began to come into focus. Psychologists found that workers motivation is determined by various factors. They include relationship with co-worker,
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ACTIVITY 9.5 Role of psychologists in organisations It would be clear to you by now that OB is an applied behavioural science that is built on contributions from a number of behavioural sciences. Early industrial/ organisational (I/O) psychologists concerned themselves with the problems of fatigue, boredom, and other factors related to working conditions that could impede performance. More recently, their contributions have been expanded to include topics like, learning, perception, personality, training, leadership effectiveness, motivating, job satisfaction, decision-making, performance appraisal, attitude measurement, employee selection, job-design and stress management. All these activities are now considered as part of human resource development. In brief, the organisational psychologists play important roles in helping organisations achieve their goals. Their most crucial concern is effective utilisation of peoples capacities. Some areas of organisational functioning to which psychologists contribute significantly are given below:
l l l l
Organising work and allocating them to right worker. Recruiting and training personnel to perform adequately. Creating working conditions effective and smooth functioning. for
Establishing effective reward, punishment, and incentive procedures to enable the people to maintain optimal level of functioning. Helping to adapt to organisational conditions and changing technological circumstances. Helping organisations cope with the internal and external competition and other environmental pressures.
You may visit an organisation near the place where you live and try to understand the problems where a psychologist can contribute. Prepare a report and discuss with your teacher.
amount of pay being received by the employees, their relationship with the boss, and the nature of group to which they belong. Psychologists have developed many theories and frameworks about motivational problems of the people. The key motivational theories are summarised below: 1. Need Theories : These theories suggest that people will work hard if their needs are met. In order to motivate people, their basic needs or deficiencies must be satisfied. Various theories consider needs in a different manner. 2. Goal-setting Theory : It emphasises goal-setting as a motivator. It is assumed that if people feel motivated toward certain goals, they work toward realising them. Setting specific challenging and plausible goals increases work motivation. 3. Reinforcement Theory : This theory tends to emphasise the role of reinforcement followed by action. If a particular behaviour results in a positive reward, it is likely to be strengthened. 4. Equity Theory : People experience feelings of unfairness or inequity when the ratio between their efforts (work input) and what they receive (outcome) are not similar. Feelings of inequity reduce work motivation. 5. Expectancy Theory : It argues that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends upon the strength of expectation that the action will be followed by a given outcome and it will be attractive. For instance, when workers believe that their efforts will improve performance, which will be rewarded by something they value, they will work harder. Drawing from these motivational theories, efforts have been made to help organisations solve motivational problems of employees. The details about reward management given in Box 9.6 may help you to understand certain related issues. TRAINING
AND
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Psychologists are involved in developing training systems and helping organisations
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BOX 9.6
REWARD MANAGEMENT called intrinsic rewards. Similarly, an employee expects some kind of direct and explicit compensation, like, basic salary, overtime allowances, holidays premium and bonus, profit sharing, and purchase of stocks or shares. These rewards are called extrinsic rewards. These rewards, if carefully aligned to individual needs, can provide stimulus for improved performance.
It is a well-known fact that people tend to do what satisfies their needs. Generally, they do so after looking for payoffs or rewards that an organisation offers. There are direct as well as indirect compensations. The rewards can be distributed on an individual or group basis. Sometimes an individual receives rewards, which enhance the sense of personal worth. They are internally rewarding. These kinds of rewards are
improve their appraisal systems. They do training needs analysis, develop training programmes, and assess the impact of training on effectiveness of employees. Many of the psychologists are currently playing the role of trainers and consultants to improve the internal processes concerning individual and group functioning. Training and testing are undertaken on continuous basis because of the need to learn new skills and acquiring relevant capabilities. They are required to cope with technological and environmental changes. Performance appraisals are periodic evaluations of employees performance in an organisation along with feedback to the employees. Through suitable performance appraisal, performance can be linked to rewards such as promotion, awards, and recognitions. Performance appraisals can sometimes be affected by certain biases. In
LEARNING CHECKS III
order to be effective, such appraisal should be objective and relatively free from biases and errors. Recapitulation Principles of psychology are useful in understanding organisational functioning and the behaviour of people in organisations. Psychologists play important role in training, performance appraisal, work design, development of leadership and motivation, job satisfaction, counselling, etc. The theories of work motivation provide strategies to improve performance of employees in organisations. Similarly, training and performance appraisal are other areas of psychological applications. MARKETING
AND
A DVERTISING
1. Selection is a mechanism of finding out the best person for a job. T/F 2. Selection helps the process of job analysis to decide the requirements. T/F 3. Interview technique involves meeting a candidate with a defined agenda. T/F 4. Feedback to employees is a necessary aspect of performance appraisal. T/F 5. Feeling of inequity increases the motivation of employees. T/F 6. Expectations about attractive outcomes may motivate the employees. T/F 7. Performance appraisal should be linked with promotion. T/F
The study of psychological processes underlying the acquisition, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, and ideas is done in a related area called consumer psychology. Consumer psychologists study buying behaviour, consumption of products, marketing appeals, effect of advertisements, and consumer decision-making. For example, market appeals are often made through television, newspaper, and radio. It is also done through billboards, magazines, hoarding, and through Internet. Business organisations spend crores of rupees every year on advertisements and in developing messages that appeal to customers. Advertisements play a crucial role in influencing buying decisions. Estimates are that the average urban child sees 20,000
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BOX 9.7
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (HRD) programmes for computer applications. Executives participate in workshops to enhance their effectiveness or to develop strategic plans for their departments. In one or the other way, all members of an organisation should be involved in training-related activities. The two central activities in this respect are skill development and career development. Skill Development : Skills can be divided into three categories, namely technical, interpersonal and problem solving. In order to develop them, training methods of several kinds are used. Training usually takes place on the job. One such method is job-rotation. It involves lateral transfer that enables one to work at different workstations. Employees get to learn a wide variety of jobs and gain insight into the interdependency across different jobs. Similarly, they undergo an apprenticeship phase to learn the trades of the job under an experienced person. Job rotation and apprenticeship apply to the learning of technical skills. Interpersonal and problem solving skills are acquired more effectively by training that takes place off the job. Career Development : Career development is a way for an organisation to increase its employees productivity and preparing them for the changing world scenario. It also helps develop people to take up future assignments. This ensures that right people will be available for meeting the changing staffing requirements, increasing work force diversity, and providing employees with realistic job expectations. A career is a sequence of positions, occupied by a person during the course of a lifetime. Any work pursued over an extended period can constitute a career. If an employee is to remain productive, a career development and training programmes are needed.
Goal attainment in an organisation depends primarily on the way people working for the organisation are able to utilise their capabilities to an optimal extent and help their organisation achieve its goals. The process of looking into human capabilities for its maximum utilisation is known as human resources development (HRD). The key HR activities in organisations are as follows: Staffing : This includes providing data for job analysis and determining minimum qualifications. Interviewing candidates and making final decisions at the entry-level is also done. Retention : This comprises of providing fair treatment to the employees, open communication, face-to-face resolution of conflict, promotion of teamwork, and pay management. Development : This function includes on the job training, job enrichment, applying motivational strategy, and providing feedback to the subordinates. Adjustment : Discipline, discharge, layoffs, and transfers are included in this function. Training and Development Let us learn more about training and development activities in which psychological input is very crucial. It is observed that a competent employee does not remain competent forever. Peoples skills can become outdated with the passage of time. Moreover, with rapid technological changes, the threats of obsolescence are increasing. Training is the most crucial device for updating human capabilities in order to make them suitable to the changing and current requirements of the organisation. For example, clerical staff needs to learn how to fully utilise the latest software
commercials every year. Children under eight years of age are very trusting of commercials. Thus, advertisements shape childrens desire for products irrespective of the merit of the product. They also confuse children and take advantage of their misunderstanding, and contribute to poor decision-making skills by focusing on irrelevant attributes of the product.
Disappointment, irritation, and conflict with parents takes place when childrens television induced desires are not fulfilled. The activity of advertising involves three main institutions, i.e., the advertiser, the advertising agency, and the media. The advertisers may be at national or regional level. They deal with different kinds of products such as packaged goods, consumer
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durables, or industrial products. The advertising agency creates advertisements and makes the media allocation decisions. They are paid for this. The print media, television, and radio are used for advertising in a powerful way. The advertising plan is developed keeping in view the companys total marketing programme. It involves situation analysis, assessment of the consumers/market and the competitive situation of company. An advertising manager has to attend to objective and target selection, message strategy and tactics, and media strategy and tactics. He or she has to focus on cognitive and affective processes that occur in between exposure to the advertisement and buying or consumer behaviour. Now, as the market is globalising,
BOX 9.8
advertisements have to cater to bothglobal and local needs.

Recapitulation
The area of consumer psychology was presented as an example of special application of organisational psychology. The advertisement is a way of information dissemination about a particular product, services and concepts to a probable consumer. There are various ways of advertising including print media, electronic media, radio, handbills, hoardings, wall posters, Internet, and personal campaign, etc. The T.V commercials affect children. Use of media for advertising is becoming an important part of business. Its value is increasing with the globalisation of market.
TECHNIQUES USED TO ATTRACT THE CUSTOMERS commit to certain deals and take advantage of it. For instance, the advertisements suggest that you can buy two shirts and get a clock free and reduce the cost of shirts and add it to the price of the watch. Door-in-the-face technique : It is based on the principle you scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Examples of this technique are: providing sample of a product to potential buyers and entertaining a client with an expensive lunch. It is based on the norms of reciprocity. Getting something free creates some feelings at a positive level and you, as customer, would like to return the favour by buying a product. This technique works because after complying with the first request, the individual develops the self-perception that it is a proper thing to do and this will give the best deal.
There are some techniques, which are practised quite regularly, in the marketing and selling segments for attracting the customers through advertisements. Le us take a brief look at some of them. Bait-and-switch : In the personal selling areas, it is a commonly used technique. It is based on consumer greed. In this approach, the retailer advertises a product at a very low price in order to get the customer into the shop. However, the retailer does not intend to sell the advertised product. The idea is to lure the customer in, so that the higher priced product could be sold. Low-ball approach : In this approach, a retailer invites the customer to buy some product at a low price but the strings attached to the main products are costly. They make the client
Key Terms
Organisation, Authority, Division of Labour, Span of Control, Centralisation, Formalisation, Matrix Structure, Planning, Organising, Controlling, Human Resource Development, Job Analysis, Equity theory, Consumer, Career, Training, Job satisfaction, Advertisement.
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SUMMARY
l
Organisation refers to rational coordination of human effort for the attainment of shared goals. It involves division of labour and functions within a framework of authority and responsibility. Organisational behaviour (OB) and organisational psychology focus on the application of psychological processes to the study of organisational functioning. The structure of organisation is constituted by work specialisation, departmentalisation, chain of command, span of control, centralisation, and formalisation. There are many kinds of organisational structures. Its three main types are: simple structure, bureaucracy, and matrix structure. The functions performed by managers include planning, staffing, organising, leading, and controlling. The management roles are mainly of three kinds. They include interpersonal roles, informational roles, and decisional roles. Selection of employees is an important area of OB. It is based on job analysis. The selection is done with the help of many methods including application blank, interview, written test, and performance on simulation tasks. Motivating the employees and achieving the goals is necessary to ensure organisational effectiveness. The main approaches to work motivation include need theory, goal setting theory, reinforcement theory, equity theory, and expectancy theory. Marketing and advertising deals with an area called consumer psychology. Understanding buying behaviours and pattern of consumption needs to be understood to promote some product through advertising. Using print as well as electronic media, advertising is becoming a very important enterprise. A number of strategies are used to pursue people to buy a product.
l l
Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. How can you define organisational behaviour? What are the contributions of psychologists towards the development of field of OB? What are the salient features that help you define organisation? What are the roles and functions of a manager in the organisation? What are the characteristics of organisational structures? What are the different types of organisational structure? What role a psychologist can play in making organisations effective?
ANSWERS
I II
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
: 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. T, 5. F, 6. T. : 1. F, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. F, 6. T.
III : 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F, 5. F, 6. T, 7. T.
Psychology and Social Problems
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10
THIS
PSYCHOLOGY
AND
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
CONTENTS
Introduction What is a Social Problem? Social Problems in India Poverty and Social Disadvantage The Concept of Poverty (Box 10.1) Interventions for Alleviation of Poverty (Box 10.2) Challenges for National Integration Why Does Non-Violence Work? (Box 10.3)
CHAPTER COVERS
Concepts of poverty and social disadvantage The challenge of national integration Discrimination based on gender roles Population explosion Impact of communication revolution and media The problem of urbanisation BY
BE ABLE TO
appreciate the nature and types of social problems existing in India, learn about the main features characterising the conditions of poverty and social disadvantage, understand the problems related to national integration analyse the nature of gender discrimination in Indian society, understand the problem of population explosion, appreciate the consequences of communication revolution, and understand the nature and consequences of urbanisation.
Gender Discrimination Discrimination Against the Girl Child (Box 10.4) Population Explosion Crowding and its Consequences (Box 10.5) Impact of Media and Communication Revolution Urbanisation
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INTRODUCTION
After gaining independence the Indian society has been trying to achieve the goal of providing social justice and fulfilling the basic needs of the people. However, we have yet not been able to realise the dream of an egalitarian society. The colonial past, the political situation in the subcontinent, the heterogeneity of the population, the scarcity of resources, and the geographic and climatic features have put constraints within which it has to grow. In the course of societal development the country has been encountering a number of problems. Inequalities, disparities, and prejudices of various kinds are affecting the lives of people in significant ways. Various sections of the society are being influenced by these problems in different ways. These problems are complex and need inputs from the psychologists for their proper understanding, analysis, and solution. A careful attention to these problems will promote a better understanding of the social reality. In recent years, the psychologists have become increasingly aware of their role in solving social problems as consultants, advocates, activists, and agents of change. The area of applied social psychology deals with the psychological understanding of social problems. This chapter shall help you to understand some of the problems faced by our country and its people. In particular, it includes poverty and social disadvantage, national integration, gender discrimination, population explosion, the impact of communication revolution and media, and the problem of urbanisation. It is hoped that sensitivity to these problems shall motivate you to know more about these problems, think about their solutions and prepare you to contribute to their solution.
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WHAT
IS A
SOCIAL PROBLEM?
Social problems represent social conditions that are regarded by a large segment of population as undesirable. Usually such conditions are there and affect a large ACTIVITY 10.1 number of people. The social problem may be latent or manifest. A manifest problem Identifying Social Problems is recognised by the public as a threat to Meet five adults in your neighbourhood and major social values or social norms. In ask each of them to list five most important contrast, a latent problem is one that is not social problems faced by the Indian society recognised as a threat to major social norms today. Then ask them to rank each problem or values such as dictatorship, in terms of the urgency required for its overpopulation, and environmental solution. pollution. Social problems change with time Discuss the data with your teacher and and are related to the social context present classmates. at a particular point of time. Unlike the problem in natural sciences, social problems do not become obsolete once they are solved. Perspectives on Social Problems They have to be defined in different ways People often hold divergent views about the during different times. In fact, they need to nature and extent of a social problem. The be dealt with continuously and in different experts, policy makers, and the public often ways each time. The social problems differ on defining, analysing, and solving nevertheless, are detrimental to the well-being social problems. Consider the issue of Sardar of human societies. Sarovar-dam. It is a project on which the The social problems can be grouped into Government, the environmentalists, the primary, secondary, and tertiary types. The World Bank, the common people, and those primary social problems are those critical who are going to be displaced have different social conditions, which have multiple perceptions. Understanding social problems, detrimental consequences. The secondary therefore, demands recognition of the sociosocial problems are those harmful conditions cultural and historical factors that shape resulting mainly from more influential social reality. The task of social scientists is primary social problems and in turn to provide different perspectives and suggest generating additional problems. Tertiary different options. The social problems can be social problems are those harmful conditions, approached from the following perspectives. which are, directly or indirectly, the result of more dominant problems. To illustrate this 1. Functional: It assumes that there is a point let us consider poverty, which may be state of balance existing in the society and considered as a primary problem. Fig. 10.1 shows that poverty, as a primary problem Secondary Tertiary Primary may lead to several secondary Problems Problems Problems and tertiary problems. The two main secondary problems that are outcomes of poverty are Delinquency Poverty Slums slums and malnutrition. The slums have further problematic Illness Malnutrition Mental retardation consequences. For instance, Apathy they may lead to delinquency. On the other hand, Fig. 10.1: The social problem of poverty and its consequences malnutrition can result in
illness, mental retardation, and apathy. It may, however, be noted that the categorisation of problems is for the purpose of analysis. In reality, all the social problems are interrelated.
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conditions and events, which disrupt this balance are problems. 2. Normative : According to this view, problems involve situations in which the norms of the mainstream society are violated. The social problem exists for those individuals whose norms have been violated. 3. Objective : This view holds that problems exist when empirical evidence points to certain intolerable conditions that have come about cumulatively. Over a period, the condition worsens to such an extent that it cannot be ignored any more. 4. Subjective : According to this perspective the identification of a problem depends on the perception of individuals. The perception and cognition of issues as problematic is necessary. Thus, social problems are caused by values and norms to which people subscribe. SOCIAL PROBLEMS
IN
interdependent in nature. They in fact reinforce each other. Let us study some of the important problems that need urgent attention. Poverty and Social Disadvantage Poverty is an unfortunate aspect of our social reality. However, defining poverty in concrete terms has proved to be a difficult task. The way we define poverty provides different estimates of incidence and prevalence of the poor. According to the sample survey data on consumer expenditure by the National Sample Survey Organisation (July1999-June 2000) it is estimated that poverty ratio is 27.09 in rural areas. The percentage of poverty in urban area is 23.62 and 26.10 for the country as a whole. There are 260 million poor, in India. India ranks 115th out of 162 countries in terms of the UNDPs Human Development Index. Poverty is usually defined in terms of economic resources. Thus, when some one lacks material possessions to the point of physical suffering (such as hunger) that condition is characterised as poverty. Some think that the lack of material possessions, necessary to meet the basic human needs of health reflect poverty. One may further broaden the concept and say that poverty is a lack of material possessions that are necessary to have a decent standard of living. In fact, any condition that falls at the lower end of the socio-economic scale implies poverty. For more details, you may study Box 10.1. The study of poverty and related phenomena has attracted the attention of social scientists from different disciplines. They have approached the problem of poverty from different perspectives. Psychologists have been more interested in poverty as a socio-psychological phenomenon and its consequences for the individual and the society. They are more focused on the psychological dynamics of poverty and on the psychological approaches of tackling it. In the present discussion we shall be specifically concerned with three concepts i.e., poverty, social disadvantage, and deprivation. Let us consider these concepts, briefly.
INDIA
India is a unique country in many respects. Its culture spans over several thousand years of unbroken continuity. Its a country that has assimilated diverse influences from many parts of the world. The people of India are diverse in many ways including language, dress, religion, ethnicity, and customs. India is rightly considered as an example of unity in diversity. Doing Activity 10.1 must have brought you closer to the various social problems faced in India. The list however, could increase. If we analyse these problems you will notice that they refer to different aspects of life, such as the basic needs (economic, health, education, security, housing etc.), the social aspects (population, dowry, communal violence, caste, child marriage, corruption, unemployment etc.), the citizen behaviour (indiscipline, juvenile delinquency, lack of national character etc.), the governmental problems (poor economy, injustice, inadequate exploitation of resources, law and order etc.) and other problems (foreign influence, materialistic attitude, religious dogmatism, laziness, emphasis on rights etc.). It is obvious that these problems are not isolated but
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Poverty is a comparative economic concept. It is rooted in the notion of inequality. It is a relative lack of or inaccessibility to the resources and or inability to utilise the resources to achieve what is needed or desired. It deprives the individual of his/her capability for a desired life. From a psychological point of view individual perception of his/her own condition as poverty vis--vis others in a given society is important in understanding poverty as a social problem. Deprivation refers to a sense of loss or suffering. It is associated with poverty but it is the individuals experience or his/her subjective feeling of lack of something desired. (e.g., good food) Disadvantage is a condition in which certain groups or communities are constrained or suffer from increased chances of failure because of their social standing or membership to a group or communities. It is related to the socio-economic hardships that are determined by the social structure.
ACTIVITY 10.2 Perceiving the Causes of Poverty Ask six of your neighbours (3 males and 3 females) to enumerate the causes or factors, which are viewed by them as responsible for poverty. A person can mention any number of factors. After collecting all the responses try to see what are the more frequent and less frequent causes stated by people to explain the conditions of poverty. Discuss your findings classmates and teachers. with your
The Causes of Poverty and Social Disadvantage Understanding poverty and disadvantage necessarily involves value judgments about the individual and the social order. These phenomena refer to a complex set of social, economic, and psychological conditions. The study of the causes of poverty and social disadvantage has indicated three sets of factors namely individual, sub culture, and social structure associated with poverty. The Individual : The emphasis on the individual focuses on the characteristics of the person as the chief determinant of poverty condition. A person is held responsible for his or her condition. This kind of explanation ignores the social context, which produces and perpetuates poverty. In other words, the victim of poverty is blamed for his or her state of affairs. The Culture of Poverty : According to this view the cultural system prevailing in the community of the poor, blocks any attempts of society to change the values, norms, beliefs, and lifestyle of the poor. The culture of poverty fosters the typically disparaging behaviours and values associated with poverty, keeping the poor out of the mainstream of a modern industrial society. It perpetuates itself from one generation to the other. It creates a stereotype that poor are fatalistic, authoritarian, promiscuous, and physically and emotionally isolated from the community and from one another. Social Structure : Both poverty and social disadvantage are not viewed as just economic phenomenon, but as social and psychological reality. Various socio-cultural conditions create inequality of opportunities,
BOX 10.1
THE CONCEPT OF POVERTY and health, then that group is termed poor. In this context the concept of poverty line has been proposed. Poverty line separates population into two categories namely those who have an adequate level of living and those who do not. A number of criteria are adopted for this purpose including calorie intake, per capita income, food ratio, and per capita consumption. Out of these, income or consumption level has been frequently
contd...
A person who is poor may not have the resources or the resources may be present but remain out of his or her reach. Poverty can be approached from an absolute or a relative perspective. If a large section of societys population is incapable of satisfying the basic needs then this situation is termed as poverty. If a group lacks the resources to meet the essential needs like accommodation, nutrition, clothing, education,
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used. An absolute definition of poverty does not help much because peoples needs are conditioned by the society in which they live. Thus, two persons with same expenditure may experience different levels of well being. More recently, Human Development Index has been proposed which considers poverty more as denial of opportunities and choices most basic to human development.
The focus of researchers from different disciplines has been different. Each discipline looks at the phenomenon of poverty from its own vantage point. This leaves many aspects of poverty untapped. For instance, income or consumption indices used by economists do not appear to be an inclusive criterion. It does not reflect the experience of poverty as a psychological and social condition.
which put some in an advantaged and others in disadvantaged position. The caste, class, and other social institutions stack the deck against the poor. They cause and perpetuate poverty.
of socialisation, the expectancy of powerlessness is produced. The model shown in Fig. 10.2 indicates that poverty as a structure produces a three fold motivational pattern characterised by low need for achievement, low need for extension, and Poverty: A Psychological Analysis high need for dependence. Pareek proposed that behaviour is a product The low need for achievement results in of the social system in which people live. This disproportionate risk taking, interest in chance is produced through the intervening process and not in control, low interest in feedback, of motivation. He proposes that a social seeking company of friends instead of experts, system produces motivational patterns and and lack of activity and initiative. The low need at the societal level, it produces reinforcing of extension results in the lack of regard for mechanisms. Child rearing practices, the others, the lack of faith or trust, and the lack schooling, and other institutions of of cooperation. High need for dependency socialisation provide such mechanisms. They results in the lack of initiative, avoidance condition human behaviour by producing behaviour, fear of failure, seeking expectations of behaviour being rewarded or favours of superior, over conformity, and punished. The expectancy framework built counter dependence. on the basis of reinforcing mechanism The above motivational pattern can be influences the feedback to the social system achieved through appropriate programme of and the reinforcing mechanism. training. However, the provision of From this perspective, poverty is both a relevant material conditions is necessary so structure and a product of a system. As a that changes in motivation can be structural component of the society, poverty sustained. In India, the change in produces a specific pattern of motivation expectancy was introduced by certain and, through the relevant processes constitutional provisions to extend economic opportunity, removal Low n Achievement of untouchability, and Low n Extension reservation of seats. They High n Dependence Poverty have facilitated the Conditions development of new expectancies and helped Behaviour (lifestyle or culture of poverty) upward mobility of the underprivileged groups like the scheduled Socialisation Powerlessness castes and scheduled tribes, minorities and other backward Fig. 10.2 A psychological model of poverty communities.
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Recapitulation As a developing country, India is facing the challenge of ensuring social justice and welfare of the people. It is facing a number of social problems. A social problem is one, which influences a large segment of the population. It may be latent or manifest itself. While the manifested problem is apparently recognised and the latent problem remains unrecognised by the majority of the people. These problems change with time. Social problems can be categorised into primary, secondary, and tertiary categories. A primary problem leads to a few secondary problems, which may result in tertiary problems. The social problems are viewed from different angles i.e., functional, normative, objective, and subjective. The most crucial problem faced today is the problem of poverty and social disadvantage. Poverty has been defined and assessed in many ways. Each kind of assessment provides a different way to distinguish between the poor and those who are not. The psychologists have focused attention on the experience of dispossession and social disadvantages. It is a kind of deprivation, which is experienced because of the membership in a group. Poverty is an economic concept. It refers to lack or inaccessibility to resources or inability to utilise the resources. The causes of poverty and social disadvantages have been identified in the individuals characteristics, cultural characteristics, and social structure. Pareek
LEARNING CHECKS I
has linked the poverty condition related to poor motivation and socialisation that leads to powerlessness. Consequences of Poverty and Social Disadvantages The Indian researchers have examined the performance of samples differing along caste, income, region, socio-economic status (SES), and other sub-cultural dimensions representing poverty, deprivation, and social disadvantage. The studies have used measures of cognitive and intellectual ability, motivation, personality, health, academic achievement, etc. The main trends that emerge from these studies are as follows: l Mal and under-nutrition arrest physical growth and adversely affect psychological development. Children who are undernourished are found to show apathy and withdrawal. In general, the deprived and disadvantaged groups are found to show reduced curiosity, attentional deficits, and learning problems. l The children from the conditions of poverty and social disadvantage show a relatively low level of performance on measures of intelligence, perceptual and cognitive abilities (e.g., memory, concept formation, language skills), and academic achievement. Deprivation appears to impair cognitive functioning. l The gap between the level of performance of the advantaged and disadvantaged children increases with advancing age. In fact, they are quite similar in the early years but as they grow older the gap between them increases. Such cumulative deficits in performance retards academic achievement. This may be one reason for high drop-out rate which in some disadvantaged groups is up to as much as 80 per cent by grade 5. l The personality of individuals growing up under adverse socio-economic conditions are characterised by the traits of neuroticism, introversion, social maladjustment, immaturity, alienation and withdrawal. They have a very low level of achievement motivation. Such individuals are likely to attribute the
1. Social problems can go unnoticed by the people. T/F 2. The slums are examples of primary social problems. T/F 3. According to functional perspective social problems involve violation of norms of the mainstream. T/F 4. Social problems are interrelated and reinforce each other. T/F 5. The causes of poverty lie within the poor people. T/F 6. The consequences of poverty make a person poorer. T/F
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outcomes of their own behaviours to external factors. They view success as caused by some external conditions, rather than by their own effort or ability. They are more likely to believe in fate. Some studies also suggest that they are more aggressive and low in achievement motivation. The adverse effects of poverty and disadvantage are mediated by social, political, and economic context.
Poverty Alleviation It is clear that poverty is a great barrier in the process of individual and societal development. The negative effects of poverty call for poverty alleviation measures on a priority basis. The country has recognised this problem and efforts are being made to reduce poverty and to empower the poor to cope with the problems and join the mainstream. These efforts are of various types. Some are Governmental initiatives while others are by NGOs and other organisations or individuals. A number of governmental and nongovernmental interventions were taken up during the Five Year Plans to help people outgrow the poverty trap. The ninth plan had poverty reduction, employment generation,
BOX 10.2
and providing basic minimum services as key features. The anti poverty programmes are of three kinds: land reform, asset provision, and income and consumption support. The Bhoodan movement of Vinoba Bhave was a non-governmental movement to help the marginalised. There has been some success in these efforts but we still have to go a long way. Some of the initiatives of this kind are given in Box 10. 2. You may like to acquaint yourself with them. A close analysis of the poverty alleviation programmes reveals that better results may be obtained if the following considerations are kept in view.
l
Indiscrete support may lead to dependency. It should be such that people feel competent and responsible for their actions and have the experience of selfefficacy. The measures should ensure initiative and active participation. They should facilitate autonomous growth of the poor. When supports available from poverty alleviation programmes are contingent upon peoples initiative and effort, they become sustainable. Nevertheless, if such support is not associated with self-initiatives they are
INTERVENTIONS FOR ALLEVIATION OF POVERTY Community based interventions have been taken up by NGOS. For instance, Butterflies in Delhi deals with childrenvictims of poverty and abuse and destitutes. Gyan Prabodhini in Pune is extending opportunities for all-round development of the youth in poverty settings. BOSCO in Cochin is trying to integrate street children with society. The Swadhyaya movement under the leadership of Pandrang Shastri Athawale mobilises the poor for community participation, spiritual awakening, and productive activity. Sulabha has taken initiatives to provide clean environment. Many researchers and institutions have taken up psychological interventions. They are founded on the assumption that human development is shaped by the experiential base of the child. They aim at strengthening and equipping individuals from poverty backgrounds with cognitive, motivational, and behavioural skills and competencies necessary for effective functioning.
The Governments initiatives to provide economic support and empowerment are reflected in programmes such as: Training Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWACRA), have been put together under Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana, Sampurna Gramieen Rozgar Yojana, National Social Assistance Programme, Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojna. Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozagar Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana, Food For Work Programme, Annapurna, and Shiksha Sahyoga Yojana. The policies of protective discrimination in which seats are reserved in educational institutions, jobs, and provisions for support to the members of disadvantaged groups extend opportunities for upward movement.
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likely to foster psychological dependence. While individual psychological interventions have to be embedded in a wider social context, broader community level social interventions need to consider the psychological processes at the level of individuals and groups. The changes in school practices; enrichment strategies, social policy, and economic input are needed to operate simultaneously along with inputs at individual level. Community involvement in planning developmental programmes creates commitment among the members of the community towards the success of such programmes. While a micro perspective focusing on internal psychological processes in conditions of poverty is not sufficient, broad structural level changes without changes in the psychological make up of the individual and the community may yield only short-term benefits. Therefore, we need a multi-pronged strategy at the individual, community, and group levels.
ACTIVITY 10.3 Observe the Life Under Poverty Meet some people living in poverty. Ask them about their daily routine, the problems they face, and the factors responsible for their present condition (as perceived by them): Prepare a description of the life of these people on the basis of answers obtained. Do state on what (specific) basis you have considered the two participants as poor. Discuss your observations with your classmates and teacher.
measures of cognitive development suggesting cumulative deficit. In general, they show a low level of competence, poor motivation, and lack the coping styles needed for growth and development. The studies also indicate that the lack of support from home and school environment plays an important role in arresting the development of poor children. There are some exceptions of invulnerable children or lotuses of mud who outgrow the adverse circumstances and attain equally or better than the children from the socially advantaged background. Poverty alleviation has received attention from many quarters. A variety of schemes have been launched to empower the poor through land reforms, asset provision, and income and consumption support. Community based and some psychological interventions have also been made. While organising interventions of any kind, it is important to keep in mind that such programmes do not lead to dependency. In order to be successful, the interventions need to be addressed to the levels of individuals, groups, and community.
LEARNING CHECKS II
Recapitulation Poverty and social disadvantages have important consequences for the individual as well as the society. They arrest the optimal growth of poor people and alienate them from the main stream of society. Studies have shown adverse effects of poverty condition on all areas of development. The mal/undernutrition caused by poverty interferes with brain development and physical growth. The poor children, in general, have been found to be behind their advantaged counterparts on
1. The chance is high that malnourished children shall become more social and cooperative. T/F 2. The performance of socially disadvantaged children on cognitive and perceptual tasks is usually found lower than that of advantaged. T/F 3. Cumulative deficit indicates that the gap in performance between the advantaged and disadvantaged group increases with age. T/F 4. Usually the disadvantaged children are more motivated to continue in the school than the advantaged. T/F 5. The disadvantaged people internalise success and externalise failure. T/F 6. The disadvantaged groups show characteristics like introversion and alienation. T/F 7. The efforts to remove poverty at individual level can be successful only if supported by the changes at the structural level. T/F
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CHALLENGES
FOR
NATIONAL INTEGRATION
People belonging to different ethnic and cultural backgrounds inhabited India. They vary in the religions they profess and practice, the languages they speak, and the customs they observe. One can trace the roots of this diversity in history. Today India is the worlds largest democratic country that embodies the aspirations of a variety of people representing diverse social categories like caste, religion, language, etc. It has developed contacts with people of different cultures over hundreds of years. These contacts have influenced and enriched the cultural heritage of our country. The Indian music, dance, social rituals and practices, literature, cuisine, sports and architecture clearly reflect the trends of accommodation and integration. As a result of acculturation, a number of innovations have been introduced in the Indian culture. For example, can any one forget the contributions of Jayasi, Rahim, Amir Khusro, and Raskhan to Hindi poetry? Similarly, who can think of Indian music without Alauddin Khan, Bismillah Khan, Allarakha, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and now A.R. Rahman? All these artists command respect and affection from Indian masses irrespective of their caste, creed, or religion. The diversity of the people provides a unique structure or configuration to the social fabric of India. The past experience shows that bringing the diverse ethnic, religious, or subcultural groups and communities together to share national identity and creating the feeling of belongingness has proved to be a big challenge. During the freedom movement, the idea of nationalism helped people to forget the internal differences and dedicate their life to the great cause of the nations liberation. A new era began after gaining independence. The country had to face the enormous challenge of building an infrastructure for one of the highly populated nations of the world. Efforts were initiated through the Five-Year Plans and other steps to build a strong nation. The Countrys accomplishments in the areas of food production, expansion of education, advances in science and technology, and nurturing the
democratic institutions have been significant. The forces of modernisation and urbanisation have helped to reduce the ethnic differences and bridging the social distance. However, much needs to be done. Identity Construction : The Core Issue The diversity and pluralism are intrinsic to the Indian social reality and they are going to stay. From a psychological perspective, it is a challenge that requires us to deal with the issue of identity. The formation of identity provides uniqueness to a group. Contact with other groups is very important for identity formation. It may involve expansion or narrowing of the group boundaries. While establishing identity, the group differentiates own group from other groups. Thus, people distinguish ones own group (in-group) from other groups (out-groups). The formation and differentiation of identity depend on the broader societal conditions. Thus, if the conditions promote cooperative and collaborative relationships the identity formation will be different from a situation where resources are scarce and frustrations are high. This may lead to inter group conflicts. The inter group relationship may be collaborative or competitive. The collaborative relationships prevail if the goals or resources present in the society are shareable. In contrast, when resources and goals are not shareable competitive relationships occur. Provision of super ordinate goals may help to achieve collaborative relationship. Pareek has shown that in addition to this, the following conditions are required for collaborative relationship to occur. 1. The groups must perceive that each group has equal power in the society. 2. There is minimum level of trust amongst the groups. 3. There is continuous communication. 4. The general cultural orientation in the society. This helps in developing a general attitude towards other groups in the society and may help in building collaborative relationship.
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The multiethnic condition has a long history in India. Indian culture has been open to new ideas and trends. In addition, there has been synthesis of the various influences, which have come to India. However, negative forces have also been present that have led to intolerance, conflict, and presence of prejudices and discriminations. Pareek notes the following psychological factors that are important in this context: 1. Dependency : It leads to avoidance, excessive fear of failure, over conformism, and a tendency to seek favours. 2. Casteism : The tendency to have hierarchical relationships amongst various groups makes it difficult to relate to other groups at an equal level. 3. Fatalism : The belief that what is to happen is ordained and that what happens is not within the control of the individuals concerned. 4. Non-involvement and non-commitment : It is the tendency to avoid and not confront the issues. Taken together these factors help to develop prejudices, and a tendency to exploit certain groups. It also leads to a tendency to tolerate and live with such exploitation. These trends have helped in maintaining certain exploitative relationships among various ethnic groups, particularly the weaker sections. The Challenges of Pluralism The Indian Society is a pluralistic society in which many groups live together. The success of pluralism depends on three factors identity of the various groups, status of these groups in relation to one another, and the relationship among the concerned groups. In a democratic set up, the Indian society needs to move towards the goal of synergic pluralism. This situation is like an orchestra in which the various instruments play in harmony with each other. They maintain their separate identities and contributions but produce music that creates something new and different from the individual contributions. In the Indian context, achieving this situation shall require us to use the strength of cultural
traditions, handling the negative forces, and ensuring the different aspects of pluralism. To achieve this goal the following steps shall be helpful. 1. Maintenance of identity : Supporting groups to hold their particular identities and help different groups to have a sense of pride. Enhancing acceptance of people belonging to various groups and creating opportunities to learn from each other will be relevant. 2. Ensuring equal status : Steps like reservation, providing equal opportunity, and effective use of legislation and law may help to achieve equality of status. 3. Collaborative relationship : It can be achieved when necessary communication and trust is maintained across the groups and a super ordinate goal is made available. Respect for each group and a search for the contributions of each group to society will be useful. Meeting the Challenges : the Task Ahead The idea of one nation is a psychological one. It is a feeling of belongingness, which transcends over diversities. National identity refers to the distinctive character of the nation state. It involves psychological coherence of the various socio-political and economic institutions, which provides a distinctive character to the country. In the Indian context, equality of opportunity, composite character, secularism, and the national identification constitute the main features. This identity derives its relevance from history, culture, and commitment of the people to the goals and objectives enshrined in the Indian constitution. Some of the ways in which national identity can be strengthened are given below: l Providing opportunities for greater contact across different subgroups and communities on various occasions can lay a key role in enhancing national integration. Sharing the joys and sorrows together can help to achieve integration. The increase in interpersonal contact, cooperation and dependency on each other shall help to eliminate the unfounded stereotypes and contribute to greater social tolerance.
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Creating the necessary space for inter ethnic dialogue may help to correct their mis-perceptions and reduce the mistrust. This will facilitate developing an attitude of respect for each other. This is an important step towards the emergence of a true civil society and strengthen the processes of democratic governance. l The process of socialisation is crucial for the development of attitudes and value systems. The attitudes start taking shape from early childhood. The parents, therefore, have to share the burden of helping children to develop positive attitudes toward different groups and the nation as a whole. l A sense of involvement of the deprived and underprivileged groups in the development and implementation of policies and programmes may help to increase the sense of empowerment. This may facilitate national integration. As Allport says, in the ultimate analysis, there is no solution to the problem of inter group tension excepting the inner growth of serene and benevolent persons who seek their own security and integrity not at the expense of their fellow men but in collaboration with them. The traits that mark a serene and benevolent person are culture relative. In this context, the concept of non-violence is relevant. We need to learn the value of non-violence (ahimsa) and try to practice it in our lives. Mahatma Gandhi was a person who preached and practiced this ideal in his life. If you like to know more about Ahimsa and Sathya, you are encouraged to study Box 10.3. Recapitulation Indian society is multiethnic and consists of diverse groups and communities, which share diversity in language, religion, and customs. The freedom struggle provided a super ordinate goal to unite the entire nation. The existence of diverse groups and communities is a reality that needs to be accepted and respected. Mutual understanding and cooperation need to be established. This is possible by creating space for greater
ACTIVITY 10.4 Understanding National Integration Choose any two communities and collect information from reliable sources (e.g., knowledgeable people) about the duties and responsibilities of a human being as followed in these communities. Try to figure out the degree of similarities and differences across the two communities. Discuss your observations with your classmates and teacher.
LEARNING CHECKS III
1. Harmony and cohesiveness are the means for social development T/F 2. Indian society represents a homogenous community. T/F 3. Economic disparity and the need for identity are linked with social conflicts. T/F 4. Increase in inter group contact can facilitate harmony. T/F 5. Lack of peoples involvement and political participation is not a necessary condition for social harmony. T/F 6. Social conflicts and tensions cannot be eliminated from any society. T/F
intergroup interaction, increasing the scope of dialogue across different communities, parental education to socialise children, involving people in programmes, promoting interdependence and social mobility. Religious tolerance and dialogue is crucial. Non-violence is very pertinent in this connection. GENDER DISCRIMINATION At the time of birth, a neonate has a sex, but no gender. At birth, the biological sex can be decided based on physical and anatomical features. However, it is only through the particular set of behaviours, attitudes and feelings, which are socio-culturally determined, that we define an individuals
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BOX 10.3
WHY DOES NON-VIOLENCE WORK? the will not to kill even in retaliation and the courage to face death without revenge. This is no sermon on ahimsa but cold reason and the statement of a universal law. Given the unquenchable faith in the law, no provocation should prove too great for the exercise of forbearance. With satya (truth) combined with ahimsa (non-violence), you can bring the world over your feet. Satyagrah in its essence is nothing but the introduction of truth and gentleness in the political, i.e., national life By its very nature, non-violence cannot seize power, nor can that be its goal. However, non-violence can do more; it can effectively control and guide power without capturing the machinery of government. That is its beauty.
Mahatma Gandhi on Non-Violence Non-violence is an active force of the highest order. It is the soul-force or the power of Godhead within us. Imperfect man cannot grasp the whole of that Essencehe would not be able to bear its full blaze, but even an infinitesimal fraction of it, when it becomes active within us, can work wonders. I am not a visionary; I claim to be a practical idealist. The religion of non-violence is not meant for the rishis or saints. It is meant for the common people as well. Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law to the strength of the spirit. Non-violence does not require any outside or outward training. It simply requires
gender. Gender is a cultural construction on a biological foundation. Males and females have different sex organs and sex hormones. However, on the basis of culture, people frame a whole set of images, values, beliefs, and expectations about genders. It is found that every society has certain clearly defined and commonly accepted gender differences in behaviour. Some division of labour is found everywhere. The magnitude of sex differences in socialisation is found to be strongly correlated with various features of culture. For instance food preparation is a task assigned to females in almost all societies. Similarly, child rearing happens to be the responsibility of females. However, males sometimes share such responsibilities. The differential socialisation of the two sexes evolved as means for preparing children to assume their sex linked adult roles. In other words, the behavioural differences between the sexes are products of different socialisation practices that reflect training for different adult activities. Traditionally the Indians had the notion of ardhanarishwar, a God who is half male and half female. The Domains of Gender Discrimination In contemporary India, the status of women has improved from what prevailed in the preindependence India. However, a lot still remains to be done to provide equal opportunity to both the sexes and offer a life
of dignity, and respect that women deserve. The issues related to womens status in Indian society are linked with caste, social class, area of residence, economic status of the family, type of family structure, education, and the traditions prevailing in various subcultures and communities to which people belong. Hence, any generalisation made will fall short of the description of the totality. However, some events and incidents do provide indicators of the status of women in society. Let us examine the broad trends that are visible in the Indian society. The presence of women in public sphere, and their increasing participation in professional jobs, particularly in jobs that were earlier considered exclusively for men (e.g., police service, army, pilot, engineering, administration, social activism, judiciary, corporate management etc.) provides faith in the competence of women. At the same time, unfortunately, the incidence of exploitation of and atrocities on women are quite frequent. The frequency of events such as bride burning (dowry death), sexual abuse and harassment, exploitation and discrimination in work places, domestic violence including wife battering, preventing girls from education, early marriage, and infanticide are still not uncommon. The mere fact that the sex ratio in the population is unfavourable to women and the literacy rate among the females is low, is
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sufficient enough to indicate about the unfavourable conditions of women. The trends reported in Box 10.4 shall help you to know more in this context. Causes of Gender Discrimination Gender discrimination in contemporary Indian society is associated with several factors. Some of the important ones closely linked with it are listed below. Lack of education : Education happens to be the main instrument of social change. Provision of education accelerates the process of upward social mobility, and opens up horizons. The formal education empowers one with the skills necessary in a fast changing world. Lack of exposure : Due to the lack of exposure women had generally been confined to the roles within the family. The world outside the home remained alien to them. The skills and attitudes needed to struggle with the demands of the outer world need to be emphasised for the upliftment of women. Dependence on males : In the traditional Indian families women had to be dependent on men for almost everything. They had to enact the roles of daughter, wife, sister, mother, and grandmother. The intergenerational differences were important. The dependence on the father, the husband and finally on their own children constituted the fate of women.
Customs : Earlier the social mobility was low and people used to live with kith and kin in a community setting. The life activities demanded close interaction with ecology and the local people. The festivals, social occasions, and entertainment were organised with family as the basic unit. Women had to be embedded in the web of social relationships. The Changing Scenario In the recent past, womens role has been undergoing important changes due to the impact of western education, urbanisation, and industrialisation. The resulting conflicts in values and norms have required readjustments and development of modern attitudes. The womens liberation movements have also led to some changes in the sex roles. Legal provisions for increase in the participation of women (e.g., Panchayati Raj), setting up institutions to support the cause of womens welfare, and creating schemes to facilitate womens empowerment have been helpful in changing the situation. These are helpful in promoting the status of women and enhancing their participation in the mainstream of the society. Such support for the cause of women comes from nongovernmental as well as the government agencies. The women in different parts of the country are becoming aware of their rights and responsibilities. For instance, in Gujarat, women have formed a cooperative society named SEWA and are running it on their own very successfully.
BOX 10.4
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE GIRL CHILD Figures on female infanticide are also high in several states. Even after the girl is born, she has to cope with deep-rooted gender, stereotypes and prejudices For instance the birth of a girl is generally not celebrated. Girls usually stay home to help with the household chores or look after the younger siblings while the boys are sent to school. At mealtimes, the girl waits until the men of the family have eaten. At puberty, the girl finds her movements highly restricted; no longer is she allowed to
contd...
The roots of gender discrimination are seen in the experiences of a girl child. In one of the pioneering works, Anandlakshmy (1994) studied the status of girl child in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal on a sample of 13,200 girls. Their age ranged from 7 to 18 years. The findings are as follows: l The girl child in India is discriminated even before birth. Studies on amniocentesis have shown that female foeticide is widespread.
l l
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move about freely. Her marriage becomes a priority. l Once she is married, the girl is often harassed for bringing an inadequate dowry, or for producing a girl child. The girls are part of a social system, which exploit and keep the women, subordinate and powerless. The study by Anandalakshmy
revealed that the celebration of the birth of the girl child was reported by 2% of the respondents. 78% respondents reported sharing household work with their mothers. In order of time spent a girl child is engaged in the following activities: sweeping 72 %, cooking 65%, fetching water 43%, cleaning 42%, and child care 33%.
ACTIVITY 10.5 Understanding Gender Discrimination Take a sample of newspapers for a week. Go through the news items and find out the following: l News items which in any manner are gender discriminatory. l News items showing womens empowerment, attempts to enhance their status, and assuring new roles and responsibilities. Prepare a report on gender discrimination based on the above-mentioned survey of newspapers. Discuss your report with your classmates and teachers.
l
LEARNING CHECKS IV
Gender is socially determined while sex is biologically determined. T/F Sex-related stereotypes are found only in India. T/F According to current reports of India women are lower in literacy than men. T/F In Indian population, the sex ratio is in favour of women. T/F Spread of education and urbanisation has led to change in gender role. T/F
Recapitulation Gender discrimination is a behavioural manifestation of the prejudices against women. The gender roles are predominantly social constructions. The various sources of socialisation promote these constructions. Women had been dependent on males in various ways. Today, a small section of women have been able to move beyond the traditional role boundaries. However, for a large segment of womens population the situation is grim. The decreasing sex ratio in the population and the high rate of illiteracy clearly exemplify this. The factors, which maintain gender discrimination, include the lack of education, lack of exposure, dependence on males, and social customs. With a view to remove gender discrimination a variety of efforts have been initiated. They include, legal provisions, social support, and other programmes by the governmental and nongovernmental agencies.
POPULATION EXPLOSION The population in India has grown in an alarming proportion. In 1901, the population of India was 238 million (23.8 crores). In year 2001, it has reached the figure of 1,027 million, (102.7 crores) 531 million males and 495.7 million females. While the country occupies only 2.4 percent of the world surface area of 135.79 million sq km, it is required to support 16.7 per cent of the total world population. With the increase in population, the country is facing a number of problems. Overcrowding is growing very fast in large cities. Increase in population is associated with increase in the incidence of starvation, malnutrition, unemployment, and underemployment. The effort to alleviate poverty is also thwarted. The social stress and tensions are correlated with population growth. Some of the findings about it that may interest you are given in Box 10.5.
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Controlling Population Growth through Family Planning In order to control the population growth, family planning (FP) methods are required. In a traditional society like India, family planning has proved to be a real challenge. It has been found that FP has been successful in a limited way. The reasons why it is not popular are many. The important ones are as follows: l Low economic security. l High child mortality. l Lack of health consciousness. l Struggle for land and property ownership. l Misconceptions about FP. l Religious beliefs.
ACTIVITY 10.6 Peoples Perception of Population Explosion Meet two young and two old persons and ask them to do the following: 1. Estimate the population (in approximate term) of : l The World l India l Your State l Your City 2. Answer the following questions. a) How urgent is the need to control the population growth? b) What is the possibility that India will be able to successfully control the population growth? c) What steps are needed to control the population explosion? Discuss the findings with your teacher and classmates.
The adoption of FP methods by the people is a major challenge. The Government has undertaken a number of steps to popularise FP adoption including incentives for adopting small families norms. The use of mass media particularly TV has been found helpful to popularise the message of FP. Recapitulation The growth of population depends upon fertility, mortality, and migration. The population of India has been growing very fast. This pressure is creating a variety of problems related to the production of food, unemployment, health facilities, and civic amenities. The challenge is to provide support to a very large population with limited resources. High population density leads to crowding which has negative effect on mental health and pattern of social interaction. The
LEARNING CHECKS V
1. India has sufficient resources to support its population. T/F 2. Population growth adversely affects the quality of life of the people. T/F 3. The presence of large number of people in limited space leads to the feeling of crowding. T/F 4. High populations density is unrelated to task performance. T/F 5. Early marriage and illiteracy are negatively related to the adoption of family planning. T/F 6. The adoption of family planning depends on effective communication. T/F
BOX 10.5
CROWDING AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
The population explosion has major impacts on the environment and the quality of peoples life. The high density aggravates pollution of air and water. The open space also becomes limited. When population grows, it grows not only in size but also because of limited and depleted resources it grows in density. The initial efforts to study the effect of population
density were undertaken in animal laboratories. These studies showed negative physiological and behavioural effects. The density has two components: Number of people in a given space, and the amount of space available per person. Studies show that crowding leads to negative feelings, stress, anxiety, and the invasion of space.
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Control of population growth requires successful adoption of family planning methods. Such measures were not adopted by people whole-heartedly for reasons like: high rate of child mortality, lack of economic security, and misconceptions about the use of contraceptive methods. Various methods of persuasion are being used to promote family planning. IMPACT OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION REVOLUTION The media is considered as a powerful force in the modern life. It is shaping our life in an unprecedented manner. Media not only presents the reality to us but also constructs it. Through the cognitive input and offerings of lifelike experiences, the media performs many functions such as information, education, recreation, representation, reality construction, and organising everyday activities. The media changes beliefs and shapes our perceptions in many important ways. The world of the media is diverse and comes in different modes including print, audio-visual, and electronic (e.g., Radio, TV, News Papers, Magazines, Internet). All of them are changing our beliefs, attitudes, feelings, and behaviours by selectively emphasising certain aspects of life and making them salient. Today, the fast, effective, and large coverage of information flow across the world has made this world shrink to a global village. India has been able to keep pace with the advances in the media and communication technology. Today TV has become an important and integral part of the life of the people. Time and space are being redefined by the communication technology. The rapidly shrinking world and shrinking time scale offer a new level of connectivity that was earlier unthinkable. We monitor our activities in todays fast moving world and organise them very effectively. The media is providing legitimacy and authenticity to the elements of reality of every day life. The printed words and the life like reality presented by the TV provide information that help people to plan
their actions. The children, adults and the aged all are under its impact, though, the nature of impact varies. The children are showing greatest impact of the electronic media like TV. The influence of media, particularly, the depiction of aggression, violence and sex, has become a very important social issue. Studies on children indicate that the more violent the content of the childs TV viewing, the more aggressive the child becomes. There have been experimental studies, which suggest that viewing violence promotes aggressive behaviour. The experiments suggest that prolonged viewing of violence has two effects: (1) It desensitises the people towards cruelty, and (2) distorts their perception of the reality. Viewing others performing an antisocial act can loosen the viewers inhibition or restraints. The media portrayals evoke imitation in the viewers. Some Consequences of Communication Revolution The changes in communication technology have wide-ranging consequences for human life. Let us examine some of its major consequences. Education : The TV has opened the possibility of distance education. The lectures are aired on the TV and are accessible to a very large number of students in different regions. The role of media in educating people formally as well as informally is significant. The TV is also used to reach to the villages in remote areas and for educating the people about agriculture and family planning. The computer aided audio-visual aids (e.g., compact disk, power point presentation) make the mode of communication very effective. The search and retrieval of information from anywhere in the world has become possible through the Internet. All these modern achievements of science and technology are fast changing the educational scenario. Redefining Human Motivation : The media has brought about many changes that are taking place in the psyche of the people. The information and access to a large variety of products and consumer goods are made
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possible by the media. It has promoted consumerism, generating new needs, and awareness about multiple products. Cutthroat competition is another outcome of advertising. Advertising and the use of models have influenced even the emotional lives of the people. The models, actors, and actresses in cinema become role models, and have a powerful impact on the life goals, interests, and attitudes of the younger generation. Reorganisation of Social Life : The developments in communication technology have revolutionised the life of the people. The Internet is used to advertise, send e-mails, watch movies, read novels, do shopping, booking ticket for travel, do banking, apply for jobs, perform the office job from home or any place, and chat with people. This has produced tremendous impact and regulated the interaction pattern among the people. The timings of work, socialising, and leisure activities are being redefined. Unfortunately, while interaction and connectivity have expanded across the globe, the quality of interaction with neighbours and the community has gone down. Increase in Public Awareness : The electronic media has accelerated the process of dissemination of information. It has increased the level of awareness of the people. The public opinion is mediated by the flow of information from the media. The electronic media is effectively being used to promote the participation of the people in politics, sports and many social issues. Reorganisation of Work : The advances in the communication technology have implications for the structure of organisations, record keeping, confidentiality of information, filing and paper work, transparency, and hierarchical structure. With the help of Internet, cell phone, people may not be required to attend office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Through the internet people can work from home or any place where they are located. The bureaucratic structure is changing because the information can be kept in computers and can be accessed, transferred, modified, and used for a variety of purposes with unprecedented speed and accuracy. This new technology, however, is
not free from problems. The users of computer are familiar with viruses, and hacking. Creating websites and using them for legal and illegal purposes are not without problems. The laws regulating the use of cyber space are also not well defined. Recapitulation In contemporary life, the media is increasingly assuming a significant role. They are defining and organising our personal and social experiences. The social reality is now mediated by the media. Media is changing the meaning of time and space and bringing the world more and more closer. The impact of the media and communication revolution is seen on different aspects of life. Children are most vulnerable to TV and exposure to violence on TV has many negative effects. The advances in communication technology are useful for educational expansion. Human aspirations, patterns of social interactions, and work experiences are being influenced by the media and the new communication technology.
LEARNING CHECKS VI
1. Media is substituting the first hand direct experience. T/F 2. Communication revolution has increased the distances across the globe. T/F 3. Communication technology has enhanced the connectivity across the people. T/F 4. Children are not able to discriminate the reality and its representation. T/F 5. The media exposure is promoting consumerism. T/F
URBANISATION Urbanisation refers to the process of increase in the number of points at which population concentrates and a growth in the size of these concentrations. With urbanisation, people shift from agrarian occupation to industrial and service occupations. The migration of people from the villages is the main cause of urbanisation. People migrate from villages to cities in search of greater and more attractive
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ACTIVITY 10.7 Electronic Media and its Messages During free time, watch the TV carefully in the morning or in the evening, for an hour. While watching the TV note down the following information. Name of the Programme 1. ________________________ 2. ________________________ 3. ________________________ 4. ________________________ Contents of Messages Conveyed _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Target Population ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________
After collecting, the above data try to find out what are the motivational implications of these messages. Discuss the findings with your teacher and classmates.
economic options. The urban centres, however, pose various challenges for the inhabitants and for governance. The references to two different types of habitations i.e., the grama and the nagar have a long tradition in India. In ancient, India Panini has referred to them. A city was populated by traders and industrial workers with adequate amenities of life. The village stood for simplicity and accommodated village craftsmen and agriculturists. The urban settlements in India have undergone basic changes over the centuries. Today a city represents a relatively large, dense, and permanent settlement of socially heterogeneous individuals. The cities differ from the villages in many respects. As cities happen to be the place for transacting business, politics, administration, medical, transportation, commercial and educational, activities, they have become the centres of power. The life in cities is fast and very demanding. The cities are growing in size and adjunct rural areas are being acquired and made part of cities. Town and urban planning has become a major responsibility of the Government. Majority of the people who had migrated from villages now live in the cities as tenants. The studies of various cities in India show
that social institutions like marriage, kinship, family, caste, religion, etc., present a mixed picture. They have elements of continuity as well as change. Some important features of urban life are as follows. 1. The face-to-face interaction is being substituted by indirect and mediated interaction. 2. The interpersonal relationships are becoming formal, contractual, planned, and calculated. The spontaneity is being replaced by sophistication and rationality. 3. The friendship circle of the urban people is based more on the professional relationship than kinship. 4. The urban people have an acute sense of time. They work under tremendous pressure of time and therefore, work on a fast pace. 5. The type of kitchen, food habits, and general organisation of home provide a different structure of home. 6. Consumerism and market orientation are the keys of urbanisation. Problems with Urbanisation Urbanisation has led to many problems that destabilise the life of the people. Most of the cities in India are facing various kinds of problems. These problems are caused by the continued migration of population from the
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villages, the technological changes, and the mode of transportation. Some of the major problems are stated below. The Growth of Slums : A slum is an area characterised by overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, or absence of facilities or amenities, which endanger the health, safety, and morals of its inhabitants. Most of the Indian cities are showing a rapid growth of slums. Disease, crime and drug addiction are very common in these slums. Housing Problems : Housing in the city is a persistent problem. To keep pace with the housing needs of the people is a major challenge. Multi-storeyed accommodations are increasing. The high-rise buildings have their own problems. Crowding and Depersonalisation: Crowding is a difficult problem faced in the cities. Some houses are overcrowded. Crowding results in competition, and high infant mortality. Bystander apathy is very common. The city dwellers do not want to get involved. You often must have read in news where people are murdered while others merely stand by and watch. Maintenance of City : With the burden of growing population the basic infrastructure of many cities is crumbling down. The streets are choked with traffic. There is mixed and incompatible land use. Growing deterioration in public utilities, municipal services, and community facilities (e.g., drinking water, sewage, waste disposal etc) mark the life of the majority of the Indian cities. Law and Order : Crimes of various types (e.g., corruption, murders, immoral trafficking, use of drugs etc.) are on the increase in the cities. The mounting social conflicts lead to demonstrations, rallies, and at times fights that creates a law and order problem. Transportation and Traffic : Public transportation system is a top priority since people have to commute long distances to earn their livelihood. Personal transport is not available to majority of the people. The number of automobiles multiplies, so does the pollution, and traffic jam disrupts life of people. All these adversely affect the mental and physical health of the people.
The Challenge Maintenance of the cities and arresting their deterioration require long-term planning, peoples participation, huge investment, and political will. These will be of little help if the necessary changes in attitude and behaviour do not take place. The cooperation of people with government machinery is necessary. This kind of awareness is gradually emerging and new towns and colonies are being established with sufficient planning keeping in view the needs of residents and ecological balance. It is gratifying that preserving green space and creating community facilities is getting the attention in the new towns.
ACTIVITY 10.8 Psychology and the Advantages of Urban Life Meet three persons who have undergone the experiences of urban life for at least five years. Ask them to list the problems and advantages they have experienced. Analyse the answers and prepare an account of urban life. Discuss your results with the classmates and teacher.
Recapitulation Urbanisation involves increase in the concentration of population and change in the occupational structure. It is caused mainly by the migration of population from villages. Urban centres and villages differ in terms of social structure, social density, housing pattern, transport, and institutional structure. The life in cities is becoming more impersonal, fast, and technology dependent. The pattern of formal social interaction, professional friendship, concern for time, organisation of home environment and use of gadgets distinguish urban life from rural life. Urbanisation has resulted in the growth of slums, housing problems, crowding, law and order and transportation problems. Maintaining cities and providing the necessary support is becoming a major challenge.
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LEARNING CHECKS VII

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Key Terms
Poverty, Social Disadvantage, Nation, Density, Crowding, Urbanisation, Deprivation, Gender, Sex, Identity, Social Problem, Non-violence,
Majority of the urban population is engaged in industrial and service occupation. T/F City involves socially homogenous and temporary settlements. T/F The pace of urban life is becoming more and more stressful. T/F The behaviour of urban people is less rational and sophisticated than their counterparts. T/F Consumerism is in greater strength in the urban people. T/F Crowding and bystander apathy is low in cities than rural areas. T/F
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SUMMARY
l
Social problems are those conditions which are considered by a large section of population as a problem. However, there are some problems, which are not explicitly considered as problems because people are not aware of them. They are latent problems (e.g., overcrowding, environmental pollution). As an emerging developing country, India is experiencing a large number of social problems. Some are primary while others are secondary and tertiary because they emanate from the primary problem. Poverty is a primary social problem. It is defined and measured in different ways leading to different numbers of people below poverty line. The experience of poverty occur when people lack or do not have access to resources. Social disadvantage stands for deprivations linked with membership of specific groups. Poverty may be relative or absolute. The causes of poverty have been identified in the poor, the culture of poor people, or the broader social structure. In general, poverty and related phenomena make people vulnerable. Psychological researches have indicated that poverty arrests the developmental potential. Comparisons of socially disadvantaged and advantaged groups indicate that the former show low level of performance on learning, perceptual and cognitive tasks. Their motivation and aspiration level is at a lower level. There are few who against all odds survive and grow. Such invulnerable people are found because of extra motivation, presence of a role model or support. Being a central problem removal of poverty has received priority and a number of programmes in terms of asset provision, legal protection, and protective reservation have been launched. In addition, community based interventions; NGOs efforts and psychological intervention have been undertaken. The problem of poverty persists and more vigorous attack on poverty at the individual and the structural levels is required.
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National integration is emerging as a serious social problem before the Indian society. While freedom struggle articulated a common goal for the whole nation, the experiences in the last five decades indicate increasing degree of social tension in different parts of the country. Being a country with diversities in language, customs, and religion etc. it is important to respect and reciprocate the distinct identities. Increasing interdependence and dialogue across groups, promoting inter faith communication, and parental education can help to enhance mutual cooperation and national integration. Tolerance, dialogue, and non-violence need to be stressed in social life. Discrimination against women presents a major challenge. The gender roles are socially created and sustained. The domain of women has been restricted to home and dependent on the male members. Lack of education and exposure, traditional customs and the dependence on males has hindered their growth. The legal provisions, institutional support, and special programmes initiated by the government are trying to uplift the status of women. Population growth has become a key issue before the planners and policy makers of India. Inability to control the growing population impairs the economic growth. The problems of unemployment, the degradation of environment and the poor infrastructure to support law and order, the inadequate health and other facilities are to a large extent due to the high rate of population growth. The misconceptions about family planningmeasures, economic insecurity, and the high rate of child mortality are the major causes for non-adoption of family planning measures. A more effective communication and motivational mechanism need to be used to control population growth. The media and communication revolution are drastically changing our world. We know about and interact with our world through the audio visual, electronic, and print media. The media is shaping the minds and habits of the people by providing selective exposure to certain kinds of information and experiences. The life style, including the work habits and leisure time activities are now shaped by the media. The exposure to the media sensitises us in relation to certain kinds of events. Thus, viewing violence is often linked with the increase in violence in real life. The media also informs us about values, politics, culture, etc., and shape our choices in related matters. The communication revolution has made communication faster, easier, and accurate. The new gadgets are making interaction and connectivity across the globe very effective. The expansion of urbanisation is changing the shape of our society, particularly its economy, spatial organisation, and social institutions. The move from the agrarian or rural mode of life towards the urban mode of life is a major event. While the notions of the village and the city have ancient roots in India, modern cities are the consequence of industrialisation. Most of the Indian cities are becoming heterogeneous entities where the people from different regions and social backgrounds live. Their occupations are more important. Housing, transport, life style, and patterns of social interactions in the urban areas are different from what we find in the rural area. With the growth in the size, cities are facing a variety of problems such as the growth of slums, healthy housing, deteriorating law and order, crowding and traffic.
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Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. How do you define a social problem? What are the psychological consequences of poverty? How does poverty affect the development of the individual and the society? What are the challenges for national integration? What are the causes and manifestations of gender discrimination? What is the impact of media and communication revolution on social life? Explain the various dimensions of population explosion? What are the effects of urbanisation?
ANSWERS
I II
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
: 1. T, 2. F, 3. F, 4. T, 5. F, 6. T : 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. F, 5. F, 6. T, 7. T
III : 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. T, 5. F, 6. T IV : 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T, 6.F V : 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T, 6. T
VI : 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. T, 5. T VII : 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T, 6. F
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11
THIS
SKILLS NEEDED .OR AN E..ECTIVE PSYCHOLOGIST

CONTENTS
Introduction
Developing as a Psychologist What is counseling ? The Stages of counseling Process Characteristics and Skills of an Effective Counselor Case Study (BOX 11.1) Ethics of Counseling Testing Skills: Applying Psychological Tests
CHAPTER COVERS
Introduction to the domains of psychological applications The challenges in developing as a psychologist Learning about some of the important skills for becoming a psychologist Awareness about counseling, psychological testing, interviewing and communication skills BY
BE ABLE TO
Guidelines for Test Selection (11.2) Communication Skills Interviewing Skills (Organising Rehabilitation Services for Physically, Mentally and Socially Challenged BOX 11.3). (Empathy and Self Discipline BOX 11.4).
understand the need to develop skills among psychologists describe some major domains in which professional preparation is required, and appreciate basic aspects of the skills of counseling, psychological testing interviewing and communication.
Skills Needed for an Effective Psychologist
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INTRODUCTION
People often keep telling others that I know your psychology. If you are facing a personal problem, many of your acquaintances will comment that it is a psychological problem. On the other hand, psychology as a discipline claims expertise in handling psychological problems. As a scientific enterprise psychology has developed theories in many areas and as professional psychologists do meaningful things in day-to-day life with the available psychological knowledge. Such activities require development of certain skills. You have learnt about methods that are used to produce psychological knowledge in Class XI textbook. You have also learnt about the application of psychological knowledge in day-today life constitutes an important goal of psychology. Today a large number of psychologists are working in different settings such as, business houses, consultancy concerns, hospitals, schools, agencies of market-research, defence establishments and a variety of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). They are playing different roles and carrying out various kinds of responsibilities. The applications of psychological principles and research findings to solve everyday problems at individual and institutional levels are substantially increasing. The specialised fields of psychology like industrial/organisational, cognitive, developmental, clinical, consumer, counseling, educational, school, health, aviation, forensic, environment, community, and military provide diverse opportunities to apply psychological knowledge. In all these areas, the basic responsibility of psychologists is to do something to help people and improve their quality of life. However, dealing with people is quite challenging. Becoming an effective psychologist requires that one should not only have theoretical understanding but must have the requisite skills and competencies. Like other disciplines, the careers of psychologists in different areas demand specialised professional training. While you are not mature enough to become a professional psychologist right now, it will be useful to have some idea about the preparation required for becoming a good psychologist. This chapter has the modest goal of helping you understand the process of becoming a psychologist as well as to know about some specific skills important to the work of psychologists. To this end four skills namely counseling, psychological testing, communicating and interviewing are described.
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DEVELOPING
AS A
PSYCHOLOGIST
Anybody can think and pretend that he/she is a psychologist. People do talk about IQ, inferiority complex, identity crisis, mental blocks, lie detectors, and so many other terms during everyday conversations. Generally, people pick up these terms from popular writings and media and may not be entirely wrong in their understandings. Nave use of this kind of amateurish psychology, however, may misfire. Asking certain relevant queries like, the professional training, educational background, and institutional affiliations of the claimant can give a pretty good basis for distinguishing the pseudo psychologists from psychologists. What is more crucial is the professional training required to become an accomplished psychologist both as a researcher as well as practitioner. The researcher take the problems to the level of scientific research in laboratory and other controlled setting. Only then do they arrive at dependable generalisations that can be used. Others, as noted earlier operate in the hussel-bussel of life and use the professional knowledge for problem solving in different spheres. We need both types of psychologists. Let us try to understand those qualities, which are needed to become an effective psychologist. Who is an Effective Psychologist? Becoming an effective psychologist shall require a fine blend of knowledge, skills, motivation and values. In the capacity of a researcher a psychologist is primarily concerned with contributing to the growth of knowledge in a given field. As a professional practitioner (e.g., counselor, clinical psychologist, school psychologist, child psychologist, personnel manager, human relations (HR) consultant), a psychologist has to use the knowledge and skills to deliver the required services to individuals and institutions. As has been pointed out earlier the specific demands of various roles that a psychologist may like to play need specialised training and experience. In the present context, however, it will suffice to draw
attention to certain basic and general aspects of the process of becoming a psychologist. Keeping this in view, some of the qualities of psychologists are described below. 1. Competence : Psychologists provide only those services and use only those techniques for which they are qualified in terms of education, training, or experience. Therefore as a psychologist, you are expected to maintain high standards of work and recognise the boundaries of your competencies and limitations of expertise. 2. Scientific Temper : As you are aware scientific work is based on the premise of objective pursuit of public and verifiable knowledge. This requires that a psychologist must maintain integrity and objectivity. He or she should remain neutral and remain unbiased, honest, and fair in conduct. 3. Responsibility : Psychologists have responsibility to uphold the professional standards of conduct and obligations. They have to accept appropriate responsibility for their behaviour, and adapt their methods to suit the needs of diverse groups. Also, they need to be aware of the obligations to the community and society in which they live. As professional psychologists, you have to serve the best interests of your patients, clients, or other recipients of the services. 4. Respect for Peoples Right and Dignity: Psychologists must accord respect to the fundamental rights, dignity, and worth of the people with whom they interact. As a psychologist, you need to respect the rights of the participants and clients to privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, and autonomy (Refer to ethical guidelines given in Chapter 2 of class XI textbook). Psychologists should be aware of cultural and individual differences and try to eliminate the effect of such biases. 5. Concern for Others Welfare : It is the duty of psychologists to contribute to the welfare of those with whom they interact professionally. For instance, they need to take care of the welfare of their patients or clients, co-workers, employees, students. Psychologists should not exploit or mislead other people during or beyond the span of professional relationship. They must share egalitarian values.
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6. Interpersonal Sensitivity : Human behaviours usually occur in social settings and the cultural context provides meaning to it (see Chapter 4 of class XI textbook). Therefore, meaning of any verbal or nonverbal behaviour is embedded in its sociocultural context. A good psychologist is able to attend to the nuances. He or she needs to be sensitive enough to the interactions that take place between individuals. 7. Openness to Ideas : You must have noticed that there are many theoretical perspectives in psychology. Also, you must have seen that people differ widely with respect to their ideas and views. A psychologist must appreciate this diversity and need not be rigid in his or her approach or attitude. He/she should be open to diverse ideas. 8. Ability to Observe : In order to deal effectively with others a psychologist should be a keen observer. He/she must register and attend to the behaviours and events that take place in any situation. A skilful observer alone can identify the problems and prepare relevant interventions. Thus, to have a successful career as a psychologist, you need to posses theoretical knowledge of the contents of psychology, skills, and motivation. The theoretical knowledge one may acquire by understanding the theories and principles of human behaviour. But we also learn by doing (practical knowledge). There are many skills required of a psychologist including helping, counseling, research, testing, communicating, and so on. The knowledge and skills needed by a psychologist are of general and specific types. Some basic knowledge and skills are applicable everywhere as some are specific to a particular context. While the details of all the relevant skills are beyond the scope of this chapter a brief description of the major skills, namely counseling, testing, communicating and interviewing is being given below. It will help you to appreciate the kind of skills that professional psychologists must possess. Recapitulation Psychologists have to play various roles to meet diverse demands. To deliver services to
individuals and institutions requires specialised training and experience. Some qualities of good psychologist are : competence, scientific temper, responsibility, respect for peoples right and dignity, concern for others welfare, interpersonal sensitivity, openness to ideas and ability to observe. The theoretical and practical knowledge of the contents of psychology, skills, motivation, and values are also important to become an effective psychologist.
LEARNING CHECKS I
1. Becoming an effective psychologist requires the theoretical understanding of tools, methods and theories. T/F 2. Integrity and objectivity are important for becoming an effective psychologist. T/F 3. There are no definite professional standards of conduct for psychologists. T/F 4. A good psychologist maintains the privacy and confidentiality of their clients. T/F 5. Observation is not an important skill for an effective psychologist. T/F
WHAT
IS
COUNSELING?
Counseling refers to the helping relationship that includes someone seeking help and someone willing to give help. The help giver is capable of or trained for helping and works in a setting that permits help to be given and received. Thus, counseling is an interactive process characterised by a unique relationship between Counselor (help giver) and client (help receiver) that leads to change in the clients overt behaviour (e.g., action, coping skills, decisionmaking skills, relationship skills), beliefs (e.g., ways of thinking about oneself, others, and the world), and level of emotional distress. Becoming a Counselor requires professional training under supervision of a competent and experienced Counselor.
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People often carry many misconceptions about counseling. It is often confused with many related activities, such as giving information, advice, interviewing, selecting people for jobs etc. which appear similar to counseling, but are not counseling. In real life, counseling is done as a systematic intervention in the life of a person who is willing to seek help. Some of the major elements of counseling are as follows : l It is a voluntary process in which a Counselor responds to the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the clients. l It requires acceptance of the clients perceptions and feelings. l The setting of counseling maintains confidentiality and privacy. l A Counselor does not use coercion to obtain information from the client. l A Counselor focuses attention on the specific problem of the clients. l Counselors and clients both exchange verbal and non-verbal messages during the process of counseling. It is, therefore important to be aware of and be sensitive to the kind of messages present. In counseling, both the client and Counselor spend significant time, effort and money. Therefore, for counseling to be effective, the client and Counselor both need to know that they are moving in the same direction i.e. their goals converge. The feeling of progress will occur if the client begins to relate or behave efficiently during the process of counseling. Similarly, a Counselor feels rewarded because his or her efforts at helping the client have been productive and therapeutic. The important gains of counseling for clients are given below. Owning the Problems : It means that client is able to accept the responsibility for his or her problems. Often clients come for counseling and blame people or environmental factors for their problems. Owning the problem is often the first step towards solving them. Developing Understanding of Problems : Once the client develops some sense of responsibility of the problem he/she is able to develop understanding and get an insight into the problems. This helps them to perceive
reality more clearly and gain control over their reactions to the problem. Acquiring New Behaviours and Actions : In addition to developing greater understanding of the issues, the client also needs to acquire more effective ways of behaving in the situation. To avoid repeating their ineffective behaviour patterns clients should develop new ways of behaving, responding, and interacting in situations or with others. Developing Effective Relationships : Most of the people (clients) who seek help from Counselor, do not have effective or satisfying relationships. Social support from family, friends, peers, and community members is essential for clients in order to develop meaningful relationships with others. The client-Counselor relationship during counseling is often the first step towards developing a meaningful relationship with others. The Stages of Counseling Process Counseling process is guided by the theoretical orientation held by the Counselor. However, discussing those variations is beyond the scope of this chapter. Therefore, the stages common to most of the counseling techniques are described below. In actual practice, a Counselor gets training in specialised techniques under the supervision of a senior practicing Counselor. There are three progressive stages in the counseling process. It begins with establishment of contact between Counselor and the client. Then the Counselor endeavours to understand the clients needs and desires. Finally, the goals and the ways of achieving those goals must be identified. Let us examine these stages in some more detail. (a) Initial Disclosure : At the beginning the Counselor and the client do not know one another well. Therefore, establishing rapport becomes the first task. While coming to the Counselor the client experiences two types of feelings: I know I need help and I wish I were not here. The Counselors task is to allay the clients fear and encourage selfdisclosure. Without honest self-disclosure by the client, counseling is an empty enterprise. At the outset of counseling, attending
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(i.e., paying careful attention to the clients words and actions) is very important. The Counselor demonstrates attending by posture, facial expression, and eye contact. In addition, the Counselor must promote trust in the client by showing empathy (understanding others experience as if it were your own), genuineness (or dependable), unconditional positive regard (total acceptance of the client as he or she is) and overtness (i.e, using clear language to describe the clients life situation). (b) In-depth Exploration : During this stage, the Counselor brings into the discussion his/ her impressions of the clients dynamics and coping behaviours. The Counselor tries to obtain the clients response about whether the counseling process is progressing satisfactorily and also expresses his/her opinion about the progress achieved in a few counseling sessions. This stage frequently
becomes emotionally stressful because the client repeatedly faces the inadequacy of habitual behaviours and must learn to give up the old behaviours for the new learnt during the counseling process. Also, the Counselor and client come to a mutually acceptable assessment and diagnosis of the problems. (c) Undertaking Action : This is the stage in which decision-making takes place and action is undertaken. The client considers possible actions and then chooses some of them to try out. The Counselor gives support for trying new behaviours and helps the client evaluate the effectiveness of new behaviours or new conceptions of reality as they may relate to the reduction of stress. When the client is satisfied that the new behaviours or the new conceptions are working satisfactorily, counseling ends. These stages are summarised in Table 11.1.
Table 11.1 Summary of the Stages in the Counseling Process

Disclosure during the first stage Clients Activities 1. Communicating nature of concerns. In-depth Explorations the 1. Building deeper understanding of the meanings of personal concerns. Undertaking Action 1. Developing specific goals for change. 2. Taking decisions to reach those goals. 3. Carrying out actions that will accomplish those goals.
2. Clarifying spontaneous 2. Joining with the meanings of the concerns Counselor to assess through disclosure. the major problem(s). Providing therapeutic conditions that will 1. Extending the clients build a trusting and ability to understand working relationship. self and others. 2. Engaging the client to develop a mutually agreeable assessment of the problem(s).
Counselors Activities
1. Helping specify goals and translating goals into concrete plans for change. 2. Re-evaluating unsuccessful actions and rewarding client successes. 3. Building a positive end to Counseling when the goals are achieved.
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Characteristics and Skills of an Effective Counselor Though in counseling the client and Counselor both work together towards the desired outcomes, it is the Counselor who as a trained helper ensures that the client benefits. In order to become an effective Counselor one must develop the following qualities. 1. A Counselor should have awareness and understanding of ones own self. It means understanding ones own needs, feelings, personal strengths, and limitations. This would help Counselors to understand themselves sufficiently and to know exactly what they are doing, why they are doing it, which are their problems, and which problems belong to the client. 2. A Counselor must be in good psychological health. He or she should not be distracted by ones own problems. Counselors lacking psychological health, cause greater anxiety in the person who is in the need of help. 3. It has been found that those who have greater sensitivity are able to cope better, understand the clients verbal and non-verbal messages and are also able to apply strategy for each client in a unique fashion. Sensitivity means that the Counselor is aware of the clients strengths, limitations, and coping style. 4. Open-mindedness in Counselors suggests freedom from fixed or preconceived ideas. Open-mindedness does not mean that Counselors are amoral or have no personal values or beliefs. Open-minded Counselors are aware of their beliefs or values but are able to distinguish them from those of their clients. They do not push clients to follow a particular belief or value system.
BOX 11.1
5. Counselors maintain objectivity in their dealings with the clients. It requires the Counselor to be aware of his own biases while dealing with the problems of clients. A related quality is that of genuineness. A Counselor has to be sincere and must not mislead or present facades to clients. 6. The Counselor must have respect for the client. He or she must view the client as a worthwhile person and treat him/her with warmth and dignity. 7. The Counselor must have attentiveness. It may be verbal or nonverbal. Verbal attentiveness involves what is expressed to the client and the way it is expressed. Allowing clients to complete their sentences is one way of showing verbal attentiveness. Use of short verbal encouragers like Ya!, I see, Go on, Mm-mm and so forth are ways of demonstrating verbal attentiveness. It is also important to learn to alter voice and change the volume, pitch and speed depending on the clients reactions and situations. Non-verbal attentiveness includes eye contact, head nods, facial expression (smile, frown), body posture and distance. These cues should be adapted according to the needs of the situation and the client. 8. Empathy involves sensitivity to the clients problems and being able to see things, the way the client does. It involves perceiving and communicating. Perceiving is an intense process of active listening by the Counselor. On the other hand, in communicating the Counselor says something that tells the client that his or her meanings and feelings are understood. Cultural sensitivity and the knowledge of cultures different from the Counselors own are important to the effective use of empathy. In order to know more about empathy you are encouraged to study Box 11.3.
CASE STUDY description captures as much as possible of the unique characteristics of the individual and his or her situation. Inferences usually are drawn about factors in ones past, present or anticipated in the future that are likely to account for current behaviour. As you can see, these inferences are subjective evaluations or interpretations. They
contd...
The case study is useful for the study of an individual client. It helps in understanding and describing the personality and behaviour of the individual, specifically selected for the study, who is popularly known as a case. A case study consists of observations of a single individual or a group of individuals. The observations are reported in detail so that the
227
should be distinguished from more objective measures such as standardised tests or questionnaire or direct observation of behaviour. To overcome these problems, various measures can also be administered, including self-report inventories, observations arising from audio or video tape recordings, overt behavioural assessment, and so on. The value of case study is that it serves as a source of ideas and hypotheses about behaviour, allows the study of rare individual/phenomenon
that may provide a counter instance to an accepted belief about personality and behaviour, and offers permissive appeal and motivational value that may foster research. However, there are distinct limitations of the case study. Results from a case study can be reinterpreted in so many ways that specific conclusions cannot be drawn without ambiguity. It is also subject to the researchers bias. Further, generalising from an individual case to people in general is tenuous.
ETHICS
OF
COUNSELING
of counseling much in advance to the actual termination.

ACTIVITY 11.1 Understanding the Role of a Counselor
l
It is important for Counselor to have knowledge about the ethical issues involved in the profession of counseling. They have legal implications too. Some of the principles are given below. It may be noted that many of them also apply to psychologists engaged in other fields as well. Confidentiality : Counselors are ethically obliged to keep the information of the client confidential. This means that a Counselor should not talk to anyone about the clients problems without prior permission from the client. Any recording of relevant information should be done only after obtaining permission from the client. Professional Disclosure : A Counselor must represent his or her professional qualifications and experiences correctly to the client. This information should contain Counselors background, training and qualifications, fee (if any), and the area of specialisation. Professional Relationships : Counselors need to respect and protect their clients. This means that Counselors should not engage in any other kind of relationship with client that could doubt the Counselors objectivity and judgment and interfere with the therapeutic process. Referral and Termination : Counselors must also protect their clients while making referral or termination of counseling process. These situations must be handled with sensitivity. The Counselor while referring should give the name of competent and qualified Counselors and not of ill-reputed counselors. Counselors should discuss with the client the termination
Think of yourself as a client. Imagine the problems you have had to grapple with or are struggling with now. Then consider yourself dealing with these problems with a Counselor. Now write down simple sentences in response to the following questions. (a) What would I want to get out of seeing a Counselor? (b) What would I want the Counselor to be like? (c) How would I want to be treated ?
Discuss your statements with your classmates and teacher.
Recapitulation Counseling is a helping relationship, which involves responding to the thoughts, feelings and actions of clients by a trained Counselor. Counseling proceeds through three main stages : initial disclosure, in-depth exploration, and undertaking action. In order to become an effective Counselor one must develop qualities such as : awareness and understanding of ones own self, good psychological health, open-mindedness, sensitivity, objectivity respect, for others attentiveness and empathy. Counselor should have knowledge about the ethical issues such as confidentiality, professional disclosure, professional relationship and referral and termination.
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LEARNING CHECKS II
1. Counseling is a process of giving advice or help a person in need. T/F 2. Counseling can be given by a person good in communication. T/F 3. The first most crucial aspect of counseling process is to make the client accept and own the problem. T/F 4. Good psychological health is a prerequisite for effective counseling on the part of the counselor. T/F 5. Counselor must be aware of his or her own motives, needs, and attitudes while giving help. T/F 6. Referral is a not a part of counseling process. T/F
TESTING SKILLS: APPLYING PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS Use of tests is one of the very widely used domain of psychological skills. Tests of various kinds (e.g., ability, achievement, interest, aptitude, personality) are used in many areas of research and application. As a tool to assess psychological properties, it is used in industrial, social, clinical, educational and other fields. You have already learned about the nature and types of tests in relation to the analyses of intelligence and personality. Also, some information about tests was given in the Chapter 2 of class XI textbook. So, the types and characteristics of tests are not discussed. Here our concern is to understand the important considerations and skills that one should be equipped with for proper use of psychological tests. The broad guidelines in testing are as follows : (1) The use of psychological tests needs to be controlled because of its value in the process of decision-making. (2) The person who uses a test should be a qualified examiner because choice of test, its administration, and scoring and interpretation of test scores need theoretical knowledge as well as professional skills. (3) For the tests to serve the purpose evaluation of its technical merits (e.g., validity, reliability, standardisation, difficulty level, norms) should be taken care of. (4) Training
is needed to administer and interpret the test results. Let us try to examine some of the details of the process of test-administration. Examiners Role : The psychologist responsible for testing, popularly known as examiner, is required to follow test instructions precisely. He or she must have thorough familiarity with the standard instructions of the test to be used. Careful control of testing conditions also need to be maintained. One should not permit unsupervised or inadequately supervised use of tests unless they are designed, intended and validated for self-administration and/or scoring. Prior to test administration, conditions that produce most favourable test results are made known to the person who is being tested called as examinee. Interpretation of test scores requires understanding of the test, the test takers and the testing condition (e.g., temporary emotional/physical state). This is important because a psychological test is used as a source of information in reaching certain practical decisions (e.g., employment, promotion). The test users and examiner may be different. Communication about the test before test administration may help to dispel any mystery that may have become associated with the process of testing. Test Security : The examiners maintain the integrity and security of tests consistent with legal and contractual obligations. They do not appropriate, reproduce or modify published tests or parts thereof without acknowledgment and permission from the publisher. Preparation for Test Administration : Examiners must make advance preparation for the testing session. This is important because uniformity of procedure is helpful in interpreting test scores. Thus, one should memorise the instructions and have thorough familiarity with specific testing procedures. It is advisable that demonstration and practice sessions should be undertaken before actual test administration. The testing condition should be free from noise, and have adequate lighting, ventilation, and seating facility. These are small things but may influence test results. Testing in
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progress this sign should be put on the door of the room in which testing is going on. In recent years computer has been introduced to help psychological testing. Many tests are now also available online. The paper-pencil tests and computer-administrable tests require different kinds of preparation. Introducing the Test : The rapport need to be established while administering the test. This is an effort to arouse the interest of examinees in testing, elicit their cooperation, encouraging them to respond in a manner appropriate. It helps to enhance their concentration. They are motivated for putting in best effort while appearing for the test. Appropriate rapport helps motivating the examinees and relieving their anxiety. The process of testing has to take into account the specific characteristics of groups if they are different from the standardisation group. Also testing young children poses many problems. They show shyness with strangers, high distractibility and negativitism. Friendly, cheerful, and relaxed way of test administration will help them do the job well. One has to reassure the child and use brief test periods. The test administrator must have flexibility of procedure without compromising the basic aspects of test. To summarise the conduct of test one has to focus on the following aspects. Testing Procedure : This should take into consideration the seating arrangement, distribution of answer sheets and test booklets, following the directions for giving the test, ensuring that all examines have understood the instructions, accurate timing and recording of significant events observed during testing. Scoring of Tests : The scoring can be done manually by hand or by machine. Scoring errors such as errors in counting answers, following instructions, using scoring guides etc. need to be guarded against in hand scoring procedure. Electronic scoring machines are used for accurate and quick scoring especially for large scale testing programmes. After the test has been scored, it is essential that the requisite information is recorded for each testee. Proper recording
facilitates the reporting of test information to teachers, parents and others. Interpretation of Test Scores : It is important and essential that the test scores are properly interpreted and the test, testee and test-situations are understood in the right perspective. It is important for the examiner to understand that the results may be influenced by factors such as : physical and emotional condition of the testee at the time of taking the test, errors in administering or scoring of the test, and validity, reliability and norms of the test. As discussed above administering tests requires careful preparation before hand and strict adherence to the set procedure during testing. The main considerations while preparing for testing and during test administration are summarised here : l order and check the materials in advance.
l l l l l l
select a suitable place for testing. practise administering the test. closely follow the test directions given in the manual. follow the time limits. encourage the students to do their best.
keep a record of any event during the testing period that might effect the test scores. Other Considerations : A test presents an implied threat to the individual prestige of an examinee. The examiner must make it clear that it is in the interest of examinees to get the correct test results. Examiner variables like age, sex, ethnicity, personality, appearance, examiner behaviour and his or her expectations influence test performance. Attention should also be paid to test anxiety, which is often present in many examinees. Recapitulation Tests are important tools of assessment used by psychologists. Proper use of psychological tests requires the skills of administration, scoring and interpretation. Test administration requires advance preparation and suitable environmental conditions. Rapport building is important to motivate the examinees to put in best effort.
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LEARNING CHECKS III
1. Tests are used in the process of decision making. T/F 2. Test score cannot predict the behaviour of the person being tested. T/F 3. Rapport need to be established while administering the test T/F 4. A psychologist is free to reproduce or modify a published test. T/F 5. Rapport building helps to relieve the anxiety of the test takers T/F
active lifetime is spent in some form of communication i.e., sending or receiving messages, with others. Either we are communicating verbally, non-verbally, through writing or through other modalities. It seems reasonable to conclude that one of the most inhibiting forces to successful life is the lack of effective communication. Communication is essential in each and every domain of life (.e.g family work, friendship, polities, and academics). If you are excellent in communication the chances of your success definitely increase.
BOX 11.2
GUIDELINES FOR TEST SELECTION

l Mode of Administration : Some tests are only meant for individual administration (one respondent at a time), while others can be administered individually and/or in group. l Time Requirement : Some tests need to be administered within a specific time period, while there is no time limit for completion of other tests. l Reliability of Test : An important consideration in selection of a test is the reliability (i.e. stability of test scores over time and internal consistency of the test). Test manual contains information about test-retest, split-form, and other forms of reliabilities. Reliability of a test should be high for use in assessment. l Validity of the Test : Another important characteristics of a test is validity the test should measure what it purports to measure. If you want a test for the assessment of intelligence, you should be sure that the test which you have selected only measures intelligence. Validity is of different types. The major ones are : Factorial, Construct, Concurrent and Cross-validation. You should select a test where sufficiently high degree of validity co-efficients have been reported. l Norms : The examiner should ensure that the norms for appropriate age, sex, etc. are given so that comparison of the subjects score with the norms can be made.
You should carefully consider various aspects of a test before selecting it for assessment purpose. l Type of Information Required : It is important to define the specific type of information being sought by the use of a particular test. Clarifying the type of information needed must be preceded by the intended use of the results. l Language of the Test : The test should be in the language with which the testees are more comfortable. Also, the test should have been developed for use in the culture in which it is proposed to be administered. Particularly, the examiner should see that test items are not alien to the people who are supposed to answer them. l Age Range : The test should have been constructed for use with the age group of the respondent. l Nature of the Items : Please see whether the items are in verbal or non-verbal form. This is particularly important for use with illiterate testees. l Mode of Response : Items in a verbal test can be closed end type (Yes/no, true/false, multiple choice) or open-end type (long answer or essay type). The examiner should select an appropriate test. Some tests require the testee to record their answers on the body of test itself. In other tests test booklet and response sheets are different. Testees are required to write their answers on the response sheet only.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS It is said, to live is to communicate. Communication is an art and mastery over it makes life easier as it solves many of our problems. No social life can be imagined without communication. It is a well-known fact that more than eighty percent of our
You have already studied certain aspects of communication process in Chapter 11 of class XI textbook. Therefore without going into the details of the model of communication certain aspects of communication as a skill are presented here. As you are aware communication is a process of transmitting meaning from one
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person to another person. It is more than conveying meaning because the meaning conveyed should also be understood. For instance, if some one in your class speaks French and others do not know French, the person speaking French will not be understood. Therefore, communication includes both the transfer as well as understanding of meaning. The communication will be effective only when the sender transmits a thought or an idea and the receiver gets exactly the same meaning as the one held by the sender. As you can recollect each of the components of communication process (e.g., encoding, message, channel, decoding, feedback) can have a source of distortion. For example, if the sender is unable to consolidate and organise the message properly there can be a problem. Similarly, if other factors like, encoding is not done properly, or reception is poor it can cause the problem. A skilled communicator is able to handle such problems. As a psychologist, you need to become a good communicator. With this, in view let us focus on two aspects of communication i.e., speaking and listening, which is the core of interpersonal communication much needed in professional psychological work. The process of communication and the factors influencing it are shown in Figure 11.1.
Effective Speaking While interacting in face-to-face situations, communication occurs between two human beings in a particular context. Therefore, a good communicator pays attention to the context as well as to the person with whom communication is taking place. While doing so you can benefit a lot by observing the following tips. l Use of pronouns like I, we, me is helpful. l Organise the thoughts and contents of communication before speaking. l Maintain eye contact while speaking to another person. You should be sensitive to the body language of the audience. It provides feedback and a good speaker gathers strength and accordingly monitors communication process. l Use body language appropriately. It has profound role in enhancing the impact of communication. l Use the range of voice quality (e.g, pitch, volume, intonation) to a fullest possible way. It helps in demonstrating the speakers involvement. l Try to ensure that the perspective of audience and yours own are the same. If the two are at the same, wave length the communication will have great impact. l Select the proper channel of communication. Today many options are available to make the message Non-verbal Aspects of cues present effective, salient and Paralanguage understandable. Using Actual words Communication used in constituting audio-visual aids and Channel the message multimedia are quite helpful in creating the impact. Effective Listening
Generally, people take listening for granted SENDER RECEIVER Sender because they confuse between hearing and Artifacts Noise listening. Hearing is like receiving sound and does Amount of information not necessarily result in listening whereas listening Fig.11.1 Factors influencing communication between sender and receiver involves paying attention to
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the sender and interpreting and understanding the message. Apparently, all of us assume that we are good listeners. That is not necessarily true. We often fail to attend to the message given by the speaker. The following tips are found useful for effective listening. Do try them while communicating with others. 1. Make eye contacts with the speaker. 2. Show affirmative head movements at appropriate places with right facial expressions. 3. Avoid distracting actions like playing with pen, looking at watch, etc. while listening. 4. Ask questions for clarification. 5. Use paraphrasing. In other words, restate the received message in your own words. 6. Avoid interruption while the speaker is speaking. 7. Make smooth transition between the roles of speaker and listener. 8. Avoid over talk. Role of Language in Communication People use language differently and follow different patterns of speech in different settings. In professional circles, language is used with a lot of jargons and technical usage. That style makes communication in normal situations difficult. Therefore, it is important that we stick to the use of language with minimum differences in order to make the communication more effective. A sender assumes that the words used by him or others have the same meaning for the receiver. This, of course, is often incorrect and creates distortions in communication process. Non-verbal Communication As you know, we also communicate through body language without use of spoken words. We use various gesture and postures, hand movements and facial expressions to communicate an idea or information. This aspect of communication comes under body language or paralanguage. It often accompanies oral language to impress upon the listener. In order to be effective in nonverbal communication you may like to attend to the following suggestions. l You must remember that face is the primary site for expressing your feelings
l l l
and emotions. Be careful about your facial expressions. By moving your body, you can express both specific and general messages and communicate to others. Your voice carries both intentional and unintentional messages. Your appearance helps you establish your personal identity and style. Touch is an important vehicle for conveying warmth, comfort and reassurance. Like touch, time and space are used to assert ones authority. Punctuality or choosing a space to sit often show your ability to assert. So, choose these things carefully.
Communication and Technology Today technology provides faster and more efficient equipments for all the aspects of communication. The availability of word processors, laser printers, fax machine, e-mail, voice recognition system have changed the scenario of communication. The choice of technology has become very important. This choice is determined by the expectations of the audience, time and cost involved, nature of the message and presentation requirements. The audience (or the receivers of the message) often have specific expectations about the nature of message (or document) so, in schools, family and business people want communication through hand written documents, telephone conversation, fax etc. Time is becoming an important consideration in communication. People want faster communication. In addition the cost of communication is equally important. The nature of message to be communicated (e.g., idea, diagram, photograph, tables) also determines the use of technology. The requirements of presentation (e.g., personal, group, large audience) also determine the technology. For instance, power point presentations with the help of LCD Projector makes presentation more effective in its impact. Desktop publishing (DTP) and Word Processing have become core technology.
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Using software the production of documents through computer and laser printer have changed the intime process of publication, graphics and sounds are also added. Electronic mail called e-mail, teleconferences (which involves audio conferencing and videoconferencing via phone lines and satellite) have provided connectivity with people who are scattered across the country or around the globe. On the whole, technology is increasing the flow of information making it easier to communicate.
ACTIVITY 11.2 Knowing your feelings The communication involves listening to others feelings and emotions. However, before listening to others, you should be familiar with your own emotional states. Listed below are some statements, which describe the different types of feeling when you feel accepted or scared in the listening process. Check the statements that are true for yourself. When I feel accepted, l I feel warm inside l I feel safe l I feel like sitting back and relaxing l I feel some of my fears easing away l I feel at home l I feel at peace l I feel my loneliness drifting away When I feel scared, l my mouth dries up l my stomach becomes loose l there are butterflies in my stomach l I feel like running away l I feel the need to talk to someone l I am unable to concentrate l I feel very vulnerable l I sometimes feel like crying
Some General Recommendations for becoming a Good Communicator The development of communication skills require overcoming the barriers that occur in the process of communication. All the related problems fall in three main domains, i.e., creation of message, control of noise and provision of feedback. Let us learn certain ways through which many of these problems can be tackled.
Creation of Message : The message should be created carefully so that it may reach to the receivers (or audience) without any distortion. You will need to attend to the following guidelines. 1. Know about the people who are the targets of your communication. In order to bring your audience nearer to you, you need to know the background and level of understanding of the audience. This will help you to understand how the message will be received and responded to. Also, try to develop credibility to generate a relationship of trust. 2. Inform the audience or share with them about what they should expect. If you tell the purpose and key point of the message a framework will be created with which the communicator and the listener share common meaning. 3. Structure message in such a way that it becomes memorable. Using a concrete and specific language would be useful. Thus, using words that evoke physical impressions may be very useful. 4. Try to exclude any information that does not directly contribute to the purpose of communication. This will make audience focused. 5. Try to indicate to the audience the connection of new information to existing set of ideas. 6. Try to highlight and summarize the key points of message. You may use words and body language to this end. Reduction of Noise : A message may fail to yield results if it does not reach to the audience. For this purpose, you need to do the following. 1. Try to remove the possible sources of interference. 2. Choose communication channel and medium which do not interfere with the message. 3. Select a method, which is capable of attracting the attention of audience. If message is written, it should be made appealing. If you have to deliver it orally try to remove the physical barriers. A quiet location with adequate lighting and acoustics will make communication effective.
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Facilitating Feedback : Providing the audience, an opportunity to give feedback is important for effective communication. While preparing the message, be clear about the amount of feedback that is needed. Feedback is usually good but it reduces communicators control over the situation. Feedback may be made more useful by planning how and when it should be accepted. Communicators receptivity and frankness is also important.
ACTIVITY 11.3 Understanding Communication Think of a particular communication experience you have had recently. Identify the sender, message, transmission channel, receiver and feedback.
INTERVIEWING SKILLS Interviewing is a process of face-to-face communication and interaction between, at least, two persons. Some aspects of the interview process has already been described in chapter2 of class XI textbook. Interview is an important technique to elicit personal information for several purposes such as selecting people for a job, admission, personal problems, research etc. The worth of interview depends on the experience and skill of the interviewers. Interview takes various forms depending upon what the interviewer is attempting to discover about the interviewee. In free interview there is no limit on the area and field of the subject matter to be asked from the interviewee. The non-directive interview is valuable to get more and deep information about the client. An atmosphere of peace and confidence is created to facilitate the client to express the facts of his behaviour, attitudes conflicts and other problems. Standardised interview is a technique which helps to reduce the bias of interviewers. In this the questions are predetermined and same or similar questions are uniformly asked to all the interviewees. A standard condition is set for all the interviewers. Stages of Interview Every interview proceeds through three stages: the warm Up; the question-andanswer-session and the close. A brief description of the stages are given below. The Warm Up : Of the three stages warm up is the most important, even though it may account for only a small fraction of the time you spend in the interview. Psychologists say that 50% of interview decisions are made within the first 60 seconds and the other 25% are made in another 15 minutes. If you get off to a bad start, it is extremely difficult to turn around the interview.
The Question-and-Answer Stage : The question-and-answer stage consumes the greatest part of the interview. During this
Recapitulation
Communication is a process of transmitting meaning from one person to another. To be a skilled communicator it is important to be aware of the sources of distortion in the message. Effective speaking and listening are arts that need to be practiced. Language as well as non-verbal cues (gestures, facial expressions, facial expressions, hand movements etc. ) are used in communicating the message. To develop communication skills requires overcoming the barriers in the communication process. In particular creating suitable messages, reducing noise and provision of feedback are important steps to remove the barriers to communication.
LEARNING CHECKS IV
1. Communication helps to transmit meaning from one person to another. T/F 2. Eye contact has profound affect in enhancing the communication. T/F 3. Asking questions shows poor listening. T/F 4. Use of gestures, postures, hand movements, facial expressions help in communication. T/F 5. Feedback is not necessary for effective communication. T/F
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phase interviewer asks questions for which the interviewee is expected to provide the answer. While answering one must not limit to only yes or no answers. One must take a pause and think before responding to questions. The Close : Like the opening, the end of the interview is also important. In the last few minutes, you need to evaluate how well you have done and correct any misconceptions the interviewer might have. You can generally tell when the interviewer is trying to conclude the session by watching for verbal and non-verbal cues. The interviewer may ask you if you have any question, sum up the discussion, or indicate with gesture that interview is over. When you get this signal, respond promptly, but do not rush. Be sure to thank the interviewer for the opportunity. Planning the Interview : Planning an interview is like planning any other kind of communication. You begin by stating your purpose, analysing the other person and formulating your own ideas. While planning the interview following things should be kept in mind. 1. Decide on the purpose and goals of the interview. 2. Outline your interview based on your goals and the interview category. 3. Maintain a level of formality. 4. Choose a structured or unstructured approach. 5. Determine the need of an interviewee, and gather necessary background information. 6. Formulate questions as clearly as possible, and plot their order according to your purpose and the interviewees needs. 7. Project the outcome of the interview, and develop a plan for accomplishing the goals. 8. Select a time and site. 9. Inform the interviewee of the nature of the interview and agenda to be covered. The purpose of interview and the nature of interviewees determine the types of question that are asked. When you plan to
conduct the interview, bear in mind that you have to ask questions 1) to get information, 2) to motivate the interviewee to respond honestly and appropriately, and 3) to create good working relationship with the other person. Conducting the Interview : Some General Considerations The speaking and listening skills serve a person throughout his or her career. Interview as you know is a planned conversation with a predetermined purpose that involves asking and answering questions. In a typical interview the interviewer controls the action. Interview sometimes involves several interviewers, but more often two people participate. Although the interviewer guides the conversation, the interviewee may also seek to accomplish a purpose, perhaps to obtain or provide information, to solve a problem, to create a goodwill, or to persuade a person a take a action. If the participant establishes rapport and sticks to the subject at hand, both sides have a chance of achieving the objective. You need to keep following points in mind. 1. Be on time for the interview. 2. Remind the interviewee of the purpose and the format. 3. Take notes or use tape recorder. 4. Use ears and eyes to pick up verbal and non-verbal cues. 5. Follow the stated agenda but be willing to explore the subtopic if some thing comes up. 6. At the end, restate the interviews key ideas. 7. Close the interview on an appreciative note, with thanks to the interviewee for his/her time, interest and cooperation.
ACTIVITY 11.4 Conducting Interviews Ask three students of your class to volunteer as interviewers. Choose a topic on which about 10-15 students will be interviewed. Give 4-5 days for preparation to the students, both interviewers and interviewees. The rest of the class can act as observers. Let each interviewer conduct interview in the class. Feedback may be provided by the class members and the teacher.
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Recapitulation Interviewing is an technique to elicit information. It is a process of face-to-face communication and interaction between, atleast, two persons. Interview can take various forms such as free interview, nondirective interview or structured interview. The three stages through which an interview proceeds are : the warm up, the questionand-answer session and the close. Establishing rapport is the first step towards conducting the interview.
BOX 11.3
LEARNING CHECKS V
1. Interviewing cannot help much to elicit personal information about the interviewee. T/F 2. Interview questions should be the kind that would motivate the interviewee to respond appropriately. T/F 3. It is not necessary for the interviewee to have a good start in the interview. T/F 4. Verbal and non-verbal cues can provide indication about the closure of the interview. T/F
ORGANISING REHABILITATION SERVICE FOR PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND SOCIALLY CHALLENGED Cooperation and collaboration of health personnel, family members, community leaders, employees and other agencies is indispensable for the rehabilitative work. Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) is a service delivery model for rehabilitation, equalisation of opportunities and social integration of people with disabilities. It is implemented through the combined efforts of disabled people themselves, their families and communities, and the health, education, vocational and social services. Spastics Society of Northern India (SSNI) since 1979 is actively involved in designing and developing a model of rehabilitation services and training courses to meet the needs of the handicaped people. Some of the initiatives taken by SSNI are: l developing a model for community based rehabilitation of children and young adults suffering from any disability. l providing holistic job through vocational rehabilitation (e.g.self-employment, home based employment, sheltered employment and placement in open employment) to the disabled through its Viswakarma Work Training Centre. l campaigning through print, television and other media to initiate social action, motivating the disabled and attracting workers to the field of rehabilitation, The training courses of SSNI respond to the needs of cerebral palsied, and are also suitable for rehabilitating other kinds of handicapped people. The courses are structured in a manner, so that the students are specially trained to work in rural areas, motivate families and rural communities, and train families and rural workers to become their partners in rehabilitating the disabled people.
Everybody is engaged in different kinds of activities. However, in case of disabled persons they are disturbed or hampered to varying degrees. Inability to take part in social, physical and recreational activities makes such a person more dependent on the family members and community. It is, therefore, important to take certain steps to facilitate the functioning of the disabled in his/her personal, social and recreational activities. You have already read about rehabilitation of mentally ill earlier in Chapter VII of this textbook. Rehabilitation means rebuilding of physical, mental and social, activities which prepare the disabled to take their place in the community, and become a productive member of the community. Successful planning for organising rehabilitation services for the disabled require that the following points be kept in view. l proper supervision, constant reinforcement and encouragement should be given. l persons involved in managing the disabled should to be caring, tolerant, and devoted to work. l understanding of the potentialities and capabilities of the disabled before involving in any rehabilitative activity. l choice should to be given to the disabled in selection of the activity or task. l the disabled be respected as an individual. l disabled people should be allowed to work independently, after they have learnt how to do a particular activity or job. l the disabled persons should be shifted to work areas in the community to help them lead independent lives in the society. In sum, any programme aiming at rehabilitation of the disabled should focus on reintegration of the person to active community life.
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BOX 11.4
EMPATHY AND SELF DISCIPLINE facilitative in the initial disclosure stage of counseling while advanced level of empathy is often more appropriate at the in-depth exploration stage. Empathy involves two major skills i.e., perceiving and communicating. Perceiving involves an intense process of actively listening to the client for themes, issues, personal constructs, and emotions. In the communication component of empathy, the counselor says something that gives indication to the client that his or her meanings and feelings have been understood. Primary empathy is most often communicated through verbal response, facial expressions and other nonverbal responses. Advanced empathy is communicated through verbal responses, in which the counselor adds the perceptions that were implied but not directly stated by the client. Effectively communicated empathy has a number of desired effects on the efficacy of counseling. Self Discipline : Human interactions involve dynamic social interchanges. You must have experienced in the course of your personal lives that even a simple act like talking with someone depends on how you conduct yourself. It can be facilitated or hindered by mere change in the tone of voice, gestures, and postures. In most of the situations a psychologist has to necessarily interact with another person but he or she has to constantly remember that the role-demands are of a different kind. The psychologist has to assume the role of an impartial, objective, and sensitive observer. In many professional situations a psychologist has to act as a facilitator or helper. In all these contexts enacting the role of a psychologist will be possible only if the psychologist has a fair amount of self-control. A psychologist, therefore, has to exercise a great deal of control over impulses, expressions, behaviours, and feelings. This is possible with training in regulating and monitoring ones conduct mindfully.
Empathy and self-discipline constitute two key skills that are required in a variety of psychological applications. As you must have gathered the psychological applications in all the areas demand effective mutual understanding between two human beings. The development of empathy and self-discipline provide the necessary foundation for such an understanding. Let us try to examine these concepts in some detail. Empathy : It is the ability to understand another persons experience as if it is ones own experience. While engaging in empathy one enters the experiential /subjective world of the other person. Through empathy one makes an effort to understand or know another persons internal mental state including thoughts and feelings. Thus, empathy enables one person to feel as another person feels. It is projecting oneself into anothers situation. Using the available knowledge, imagination, communication, and understanding it becomes possible to develop this capacity to experience how one would feel and think in others place. Empathy is found very important in the development of counseling skills. Without going into the details it may be mentioned that empathy has three main features as given below : Empathic rapport : It involves tolerant acceptance by the counselor of the clients feelings and frame of reference. Experience near-understanding of the clients world : It involves understanding what it is like to have the problems the client has or to live in the life situation the client lives in. Communicative attunement : By putting himself or herself in the shoes of a client the counselor tries to capture what the client is trying to consciously communicate at the moment, and what he or she is experiencing. Empathy occurs at different levels. Thus, primary empathy is the level that is usually
Key Terms
Skills, empathy, Informed consent, Unconditional positive regard, counseling, counseling interview, Case Study, Objective, Communication, counseling, Empathy, Rapport, Client, Counselors.
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SUMMARY
l
l l
l l
l l
To become an effective psychologist both as a researcher as well as practitioner requires professional training. Knowledge of tools, methods and theories has a profound impact on the expertise of psychologists. Qualities of a good psychologist are : competence, scientific temper, responsibility, respect for peoples right and dignity, concern for others welfare, interpersonal sensitivity, openness to ideas and ability to observe. Knowledge of the contents of psychology, skills, motivation and values play an important role in becoming an effective psychologist. Counseling proceeds through three progressive stages : initial disclosure, in-depth explorations, and commitment to action. In order to become a successful psychologist one needs to have certain characteristics such as : competence, integrity, professional and scientific responsibility, respect for peoples right and dignity, concern for others welfare and social responsibility. Developing the skills of psychological testing is important since tests are important tools used for the assessment of individuals for various purposes. Proper training is required for administration, interpretation and scoring of tests. Communication is a process that helps in transmitting meaning from one person to another. Speaking and listening are central to interpersonal communication. Language is important for communication. Its use should be done according to the characteristics of audience. Non-verbal cues such as gestures, postures, hand movements are also used to communication ideas. Creating a proper message, tackling environmental noise and providing feedback are ways to reduce distortions and making effective communication. Interviewing is a process of face-to-face communication. It proceeds through the stages : the warm up, the question-and-answer and the close stage.
Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What What What What What What What What are the qualities that make an effective psychologist? is counseling ? State the major elements of counseling? are the stages of counseling? are the characteristics of an effective Counselor? are the main components of test administration? steps need to be taken to become an effective communicator? planning is required to conduct an interview? are the stages through which an interview proceeds?
ANSWERS
I II : :
TO
LEARNING CHECKS
1. F, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. F 1. F, 2. T, 3. T, 4. T, 5. T, 6. F 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F, 5. T 1. T, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. F 1. F, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T
III : IV : V :
PRACTICALS
IN
PSYCHOLOGY
in a limited time period (i.e., 20 minutes). It contains 100 items of seven different types: synonyms, antonyms, number series, classification, best-answers, reasoning, and analogies. The test can be administered to group of students from grades 8 to 12. The test is available with M/s Rupa Psychological Centre, 19/60-B, Deoriabir, Bhelupura, Varanasi 221010. 2. P ERSONALITY Problem Check List (Authors : M.C. Joshi & Jagdish Pandey) The test, available in Hindi, is used for gathering information about the problems of adolescents (high school students) and helps them in expressing their personal problems. It covers eleven areas related to adolescent problems. For each area there are 30 items (total 330 items). All the items are statements in simple and easy to understand language. The test is available with M/s National Psychological Corporation, 4/230, Kacheri Ghat, Agra 4. The Battery of Pre-Adolescent Personality Test (Authors : Udai Pareek, T.V. Rao, P. Ramalingaswamy, & B.K. Sharma) The battery consists of the following tests: a) Pre-Adolescent Adjustment Scale (PAAS) (40 items, 15 to 20 minutes) b) Pre-Adolescent Dependency Scale (PADS) (10 items, two forms, 10 to 15 minutes) c) Pre-Adolescent Class Trust Scale (PACTS) (8 situations, 20 to 35 minutes) d) Pre-Adolescent Initiative Questionnaire (PAIQ) (6 situations, 20 to 40 minutes) e) Pre-Adolescent Activity Level Scale (PAALS) f) Pre-Adolescent Level of Aspiration Test (PALAT) (20 minutes) The battery can be used for studying the patterns of adjustment (PAAS), dependency
Some tests have been described here for the assessment of different aspects of pupils behaviour. It may be noted that these tests are only suggestive . A number of other tests are also available. It is suggested that those tests should also be consulted before finally selecting a test. 1. I NTELLIGENCE
Standard Progressive Matrices (Author: J.C. Raven) This test assesses a persons intellectual development. It is a test of a persons capacity, at the time of testing, to apprehend meaningless figures presented for his observation, see the relations between them, conceive the nature of the figure by completing each sub-sets of relations presented, and by doing so develop a systematic method of reasoning. The test consists of 60 problems divided into five sets (A, B, C, D, & E) of 12 problems each. The problem figures progressively become difficult. It takes 20 minutes to complete the test. It may also be used as timed test. The test can be used individually or in a group. DrawaManTest (Author: Pramila Phatak) The test measures intelligence through childrens drawings of a human figure. All children are equally acquainted with the human form and human body parts and there are equal opportunities to get experiences with it. Children are asked to draw a full human figure. Scoring is based on the weightage points assigned for major body parts and their proportions. The test can be administered to a single child at a time or to a group of children. There is no time limit but the test usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. The test is available with M/s Anand Agencies, 1433A, Shukrawar, Pune-411002. Test of General Mental Ability (Author: M.C. Joshi) This is a verbal test of intelligence which aims at measuring the general mental ability
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(PADS), classroom trust (PACTS), initiative (PAIQ), activity (PAALS), and level of aspiration, and success and failure orientations (PALAT). The students may use either of the tests depending upon the purpose of the study. Scores on all the tests together yield an index of mental health. The completion of each test requires separate time periods. The battery is available with M/s Rupa Psychological Centre, B. 19/60 B, Deoriabir, Bhelupura, Varanasi 221001. Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (The 16 PF) (Author: R.B. Cattell & H.W. Eber). The 16 PF is an objectively-scorable test devised to give the most complete coverage of personality possible in a brief time. It is available in two forms, A and B. It measures ones personality in 16 areas (called factors): Factor A : Reserved vs. Outgoing Factor B : Less Intelligent vs. More Intelligent Factor C : Affected by Feelings vs. Emotionally Stable Factor E : Humble vs. Assertive Factor F : Sober vs. Happy-go-lucky Factor G : Expedient vs. Conscientious Factor H : Shy vs. Venturesome Factor I : Tough-minded vs. Tenderminded Factor L : Trusting vs. Suspicious Factor M : Practical vs. Imaginative Factor N : Forthright vs. Shrewd Factor O : Placid vs. Apprehensive Factor Q1 : Conservative vs. Experimenting Factor Q2 : Group-dependent vs. Selfsufficient Factor Q3 : Undisciplined Self-conflict vs. Controlled Factor Q4 : Relaxed vs. Tense There are 10 to 13 items for each factor in the test. Subjects can choose their response from three alternative answers for each item. The test can be administered to
high school/college students, and general adult literate population. The test is available in Hindi and English and can be obtained from M/s The Psycho Centre, G-19, H Block, Saket, New Delhi 110017. 3. A PTITUDE
Differential Aptitude Tests for Higher Secondary Schools (Author: J.M. Ojha) The Differential Aptitude Test Battery is in Hindi. It presents a profile of an individuals abilities, relative to his own and to a specific group. The battery consists of 8 tests: Abstract Reasoning, Space Relation, Numerical Ability, Clerical Speed and Accuracy, Mechanical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Language Usage-spelling, and Language usage-grammar. The time limit varies from 3 minutes to 35 minutes for different tasks in the battery. The test can be obtained from M/s Manasayan, Agarwal Complex, First Floor, S-524, School Block, Sakarpur, Main Vikas Marg, New Delhi 110092. 4. A DJUSTMENT Adjustment Inventory (Author: H.S. Asthana) The Adjustment Inventory has been devised to serve as a quick screening device for use with students between ages 14 and above. Available in Hindi, it attempts to segregate the poorly-adjusted from those who are better adjusted. The inventory is in two forms. The first form contains 42 items of yes/ no type. The inventory is self-administered and has no fixed time limit. Generally, people take 30 minutes to complete the test. There are 40 items in the second form. While, in the first form yes answers are given 1 score and no answers as 0, the process is reversed in the second form. The inventory is available with M/s Rupa Psychological Centre, B 19/60-B, Deoriabir, Bhelupura, Varanasi 221001. Rosenzweig PictureFrustration Study (Childrens Form)Indian Adaptation (Authors: Udai Pareek & Saul Rosenzweig)
Practicals in Psychology
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It is a controlled projective technique, primarily intended to measure reactions to frustrating situations. It contains 24 cartoon like drawings representing frustrating situations. One character in the drawing is shown saying something that causes frustration to the other person depicted in the picture. The subject is required to say or write what the other person would say in that situation. It can be administered to children of 4 through 13 years of age, individually or in groups, in about 20 minutes. The study is available with M/s Manasayan, Agarwal Complex, First Floor, S-524, School Block, Sakarpur, Main Vikas Marg, Delhi 110092. 5. A TTITUDE
6.
SELF -C ONCEPT
Self-Concept Questionnaire (Author: R.K. Saraswat) Available in English, the test measures self-concept of adolescents. It is a 48-item inventory to measure six separate dimensions of self-concept : Physical, Social, Intellectual, Moral, Educational, and Temperamental. It also gives a total score on self-concept. Each item is provided with five alternatives. It takes 20 minutes to complete the test. The test is available with M/s Psychological Corporation, 4/230 Kacheri Ghat, Agra-4. Self-concept Scale (Author: Mukta Rani Rastogi) The self concept scale is in English language. It is a self-administered scale, which can be administered individually or in a group. The testee has to respond to fiftyone statements by marking one out of the five alternative responses Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, and Strongly disagree. There is no time limit but it takes about 30 minutes to respond to all the items The scale is available with Agra Psychological Research Cell, Tiwari Kothi, Belanganj, Agra 282004. 7. A NXIETY Sinha W - A Self-Analysis Form (Anxiety Scale) (Author: Durganand Sinha) The test has been designed to elicit selfratings on items descriptive of anxiety reaction to the following areas: (1) health, appearance, and injury, (2) area of ambition (success or failure in work, money, and occupation), (3) family anxieties, (4) anxieties regarding friendship and love, (5) social relations and social approval, (6) worries regarding the future, (7) worries about civilization, war, and virtue, (8) guilt and shame, (9) physical and physiological manifestations, and (10) purely psychological manifestations. The test consists of 100 true/false type items. Checking of time response indicates the
Measurement of Attitude towards NCC Activities (Author: B.A.Parikh) This scale measures students attitude towards NCC training. It contains 22 statements indicating different degrees of favourableness and unfavourableness towards NCC training and its activities. The scale is self-administered and requires about 10 minutes to take the test. The scale is available with M/s Agra Psychological Research Cell, Tiwari Kothi, Belanganj, Agra 282004. Teacher Attitude Inventory (TAI) (Author: S.P. Ahluwalia) This inventory has 90 items and is based on Likert scale. Each sub-scale has 15 statements pertaining to professional attitudes of prospective and practising teachers. The six aspects dealt in the inventory are : Teaching Profession Classroom Teaching Child-centred practices Educational Process Pupils Teachers The subjects can choose their response for each item from the 5 alternatives ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The TAI is bilingual (English and Hindi) and is available with M/s National Psychological Corporation, 4/230, Kacheri Ghat, Agra-4.
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anxiety of subjects. The test can be administered to persons from 19 to 24 years of age. The administration time for the entire test is approximately 20 minutes. The test is available in Hindi and English, with M/s Rupa Psychological Centre, 19/60-B, Deoriabir, Bhelupur, Varanasi 221001. FORMAT FOR WRITING A PRACTICAL REPORT (Psychological Testing) 1. Title of the Study (e.g. To study the level of intelligence of Class X students) 2. Introduction l l l l l l l l l Basic Concepts Problem and Variables Objectives of the Study
FORMAT
FOR
PREPARING A CASE PROFILE
A format for case presentation covering following broad aspects is given here. It is suggested that case be developed in a narrative format along the following points: Introduction A brief introduction of about one or two pages presenting the nature of the problem, its incidence, and likely causes and possible counselling outcomes. A half page (brief) summary of the case. Identification Data Name (may be fictitious) Diagnosed Problem Voluntary or Referral (By whom referred such as teacher, parent, sibling, etc.). Case History l A paragraph giving age, gender, school attended, class (grade) presently enrolled in. l Information about Socio-Economic Status (SES) consisting of information about mother/fathers education and occupation and family income, house type, number of members in the family, brothers, sisters (birth order), adjustment in the family, etc. l Information about physical health, physical characteristics (height and weight), any disability/illness (in the past and present), etc. l Any professional help taken (past and present) giving a brief history of the problem, attitude towards counselling (indicating the motivation to seek help etc.). l Recording signs (what is observed in terms of facial expressions, mannerisms, etc.) and symptoms (what the subject reports, e.g., fears, worry, tension, sleeplessness, etc.) Assessment of Data Compilation of data collected by use of tests and other techniques (e.g. signs and symptoms) Interpretation of data Evaluation/Comments
3. Method Subject Name Age Sex Material Brief description of the test (name of the test, author, year, psychometric properties, etc.) Other materials (e.g., stop watch, screen, etc.) Procedure Process of test administration, such as rapport formation, instructions, Precautions, actual conduct of test administration. Scoring of the test Preparation of graph, psychogram, etc. Describing subjects scores in terms of norms and drawing conclusions.
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4. Results and Conclusions
5. Recommendations l For the testee/organization 6. References l List the books manual, and materials consulted on the topic
GLOSSARY
Adaptation : Structural or functional change that enhances the organisms survival value. Advertisement : A way of providing information in a popular way to the target population about product, goods and services. Affect : Relatively mild feelings and moods. Aggression : Behaviour directed toward intentionally injuring another person who wishes to avoid such treatment. Alienation : Lack or loss of relationships to others. Amnesia : Total or partial loss of memory stemming from illness, injury, drug abuse or other causes. Anal Stage : The second of Freuds psychosexual stages, which occurs during the childs second year. Pleasure is focused on the anus and on retention and expulsion of feces. Analytical Psychology : Carl Jungs theory of personality. Humans are viewed as purposive and striving toward selfactualisation. The unconscious includes a collective as well as a personal unconscious. Anorexia nervosa : Disorder involving severe loss of body weight, accompanied by an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat. Anxiety : A state of psychic distress characterised by fear, apprehension, and physiological arousal. Anxiety disorders : Disorders in which anxiety is a central symptom. The disorder is characterised by feelings of vulnerability, apprehension, or fear. Aptitude : Ones special ability or abilities like music, painting etc. Aptitude Tests : Tests designed to measure the ability to acquire new information; used primarily to predict future performance. Archetypes : Jungs term for the contents of the collective unconscious-images or symbols expressing the inherited patterns for the organisation of experience . Artificial Intelligence : A branch of science that studies the capacity of computers to demonstrate performance that, if it were produced by human beings, would be described as showing intelligence. Attitude : A disposition to respond favourably or unfavourably toward a person, thing, event, place, idea or situation. It has cognitive, contative, and affective components. Attitude object : The target of an attitude. Attribution: The process through which we seek to identify the causes behind others behaviour. Authority : The rights inherent in a position (e.g. managerial) to give orders and to expect the orders to be obeyed, Autism : Pervasive developmental disorder beginning in infancy involving a wide range of abnormalities, including deficits in language, perceptual, and motor development, defective reality testing, and social withdrawal. Aversion therapy : A therapeutic technique that attempts to reduce the frequency of deviant behaviour by pairing an aversive stimulus (e.g. electric shock) with undesired behaviour. Avoidance behaviour : Behaviour that avoids anxiety-producing objects or situations. Behaviour therapy : Therapy based on the principles of behaviouristic learning theories in order to change the maladaptive behaviour. Biofeedback : Use of equipment to provide immediate feedback about the activities of the autonomic and somatic systems. For example, giving information about heart rate or brainwaves to the person in whom they occur, at the time they occur. Bystander Effect : The finding that as the number of bystanders increases, the likelihood of any one bystander offering help decreases and more time passes before help does occur. Cardinal trait : According to Allport, a single trait that dominates an individuals entire personality. Causal attribution : The way people attribute causes to behaviour. Central traits : Allports term for trait that is less important and pervasive than a cardinal trait. According to Allport, these are five or ten traits that best describe an individuals personality. Centralisation : The degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point. Client-centered (Rogerian) therapy : Approach to therapy developed by Carl Rogers.
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Emphasises a nonevaluative, accepting atmosphere conducive to honesty and concentrates on present relationships and feelings. Client-centered therapy : The therapeutic approach developed by Carl Rogers in which therapist helps clients to clarify their true feelings and come to value who they are. Clinical psychology : A sub-field of psychology that concentrates on the diagnostic and treatment of mental and behavioural disorders. Cognition : The process of knowing . The mental activities associated with thought, decision making, language, and other higher mental processes. Cognitive therapies : Forms of therapy focussed on changing distorted and maladaptive patterns of thought. Cognitive triad : The three forms of negative thinking, encompassing ones view of ones experiences, ones view of oneself, and ones view of the future, that theorist Aaron Beck says, lead people to feel depressed. Cohesiveness : All forces (factors) that cause group members to remain in the group. Collective unconscious : Inherited portion of the unconscious, as postulated by Carl Jung. The unconscious shared by all human beings. Community Mental Health Centers : Facilities for the delivery of mental health services located in communities where clients live. Compliance : A form of social influence in which one or more persons, not holding authority, accepts direct requests from one or more others. Compulsions : A repetitive behaviour a person feels compelled to engage in despite the fact that it is senseless. Conformity : A type of social influence in which individuals change their attitudes or behaviour in order to adhere to existing social norms. Consistency : The extent to which an individual responds to a given stimulus or situation in the same way on different occasions. Consumer psychology : A sub-field of psychology that studies the psychological processes underlying the acquisition, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, and ideas. Consumer : An individual or group of people involved in acquisition, consumption and disposition of goods, services, and ideas. Contact Hypothesis : The suggestion that increased contact between members of various social groups can be effective in reducing prejudice between them.
Controlling : Monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations. Correlation coefficient : A numerical value that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two or more variables . Correlation : The degree to which events or characteristics vary in relation to each other. Counseling interview : An interview whose purpose is counseling or providing guidance in the area of personality, vocational choice, etc. Counseling : A broad name for a wide variety of procedures for helping individuals achieve adjustment, such as the giving of advice, therapeutic discussion, the administration and interpretation of tests, and vocational assistance. Crowding : A psychological feeling of too little space, perception of crampedness Culture-fair test : A test relatively free from invalidating biases caused by questions favourable or unfavourable to certain social classes, cultures, or ethnic groups. Decision Making : The processes through which individuals or groups combine and integrate available information in order to choose one out of several possible courses of action. Defense mechanisms : According to Freud, ways in which the ego unconsciously tries to cope with unacceptable id impulses, as in repression, projection, reaction formation, sublimation, rationalisation. Delusions : Irrational beliefs that are held despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Depersonalisation disorder : Dissociative disorder in which there is a loss of the sense of self. Depression : A mood disorder in which individual experiences extreme unhappiness, lack of energy, and several related symptoms. Descriptive statistics : Statistical methods used to summarize a vast amount of data in forms that are brief and easy to understand. (e.g., mean, median, and mode) Diathesis-stress model : A view that the interaction of factors such as biological predesposition combined with life stress may cause a specific disorder. Diffusion of Responsibility : Decrease in individual sense of responsibility for taking
Glossary
269
action in an emergency because of the presence of other bystanders; the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely each individual is to act. Discrimination : Negative behaviours directed towards people who are the object of prejudice. Dispersion : The extent to which scores in a distribution spread out or vary around the center point. (e.g., standard deviation) Displacement : Redirecting an impulse toward a less threatening or safer target; a key concept in psychoanalytic theory; a defence mechanism. Dissociation : A split in consciousness whereby certain thoughts, feelings, and behaviour operate independently from others. Distinctiveness : The extent to which an individual responds in the same manner to different stimuli or different situations. Division of labour : Distribution of task and activities according to the roles and abilities of the individuals in a given area in the organisation. Dyad : A social group consisting of two persons. Dysthymia : A chronic form of depression that last for years at a time. A moderately severe mood disorder, characterised by extended periods. Ecology : That branch of biology which deals with the relations of organisms to their environment. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) : Commonly called shock treatment. A biological treatment for unipolar depression in which electrodes attached to a patients head send an electric current through the brain, causing a convulsion. It is effective in the treatment of cases of several depression that fail to respond to drug therapy. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) : A cluster of traits or abilities relating to the emotional side of life abilities such as recognising and managing ones own emotions, being able to motivate oneself and restrain ones impulses, recognising and managing others emotions, and handling interpersonal relationships in an effective manner. Empathy : Experiencing others emotional condition as ones own. Engineering psychology : A sub-field of psychology that focuses on the interrelationship between humans and machines. Enuresis : Bed wetting; involuntary discharge of urine after the age of expected continence (age five).
Environment : Totality of, or any aspect of, physical and social set-up that surround and affect an individual organism. Environmental Psychology : The branch of psychology that concentrates on the interaction between the physical world and human behaviour. Equity theory : Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate any inequities. Exorcism : Religiously inspired treatment procedure designed to drive out evil spirits or forces from a possessed person. Extravert : One of the dimensions of personality in which interests are directed outwards to nature and other people rather than inwards to the thoughts and feelings of self (introvert). Factor analysis : Mathematical procedure, involving correlations, for sorting trait terms or test responses into clusters or factors; used in the development of tests designed to discover basic personality traits. It identifies items that are homogeneous or internally consistent and independent of others. Forced Compliance : A situation in which we feel compelled to say or do things inconsistent with our true attitudes. Formalisation : The degree to which jobs within the organisation are standardised F r e e a s s o c i a t i o n : A psychodynamic technique in which the patient describes verbally any thought, feeling, or image that comes to mind, even if it seems unimportant. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) : A three step profile of response to stress : (1) Alarm, a non-specific mobilisation phase that promotes sympathetic nervous system activity; (2) Resistance, during which the organism makes efforts to cope; and (3) Exhaustion, which occurs if the organism fails to overcome the threat and depletes the coping resources. Gestalt therapy : A humanistic therapy in which therapists focus on helping individuals to acknowledge hidden aspects of their thoughts and feelings. Global Warming : The probable increase in the temperature of the earths atmosphere and its oceans brought about partly as a result of various human activities. Great Person Theory of Leadership : A theory suggesting that all great leaders share certain traits that set them apart from most human beings.
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Greenhouse Effect : The basis of global warming: gases released into the atmosphere (carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbon or CFC) trap the suns heat, turning the earth into a vast greenhouse. Group : Two or more persons who interact with one another, have shared goals, are interdependent, and consider themselves as members of group . Group test : A test designed to be administered to more than one individual at the same time, in contrast to individual test. Group therapy: A therapeutic approach in which a group of people with similar problems meet together with a therapist and discuss the problems or concerns of one or more of the members. Hallucination : A false perception which has a compulsive sense of the reality of objects although relevant and adequate stimuli for such perception is lacking. It is an abnormal phenomenon. Hassles : Annoying minor events of every day life that cumulatively can affect psychological well-being Homeostasis : A state of physiological balance within the body. Human resource development : It deals with the conditions that enable people to get the best out of them. It ensures that individuals potentials are utilised to get higher level of productivity, profitability and growth of the organisation. Humanistic psychology : An approach to understanding personality that emphasises self-fulfillment and growth as the prime motivators of behaviour. Hypochondriasis : A psychological disorder in which the individual is dominated by preoccupation with bodily processes and fear of presumed diseases despite reassurance from doctors that no physical illness exists. Id : According to Freud, the impulsive and unconscious part of the psyche that operates through the pleasure principle toward the gratification of instinctual drives. The id is conceived as the true unconscious, or the deepest part of the psyche. Implosive therapy : A treatment for phobias in which clients are exposed repeatedly to the feared object and made to see that such exposure is harmless. Impulse : An act performed without delay, reflection, voluntary direction. In psychoanalytic terms, an act determined by the id. (instinctual).
Individual test : A test that must be given to a single individual, at a time typically by a specially trained person. The Binet and Wechsler intelligence tests are examples of individual tests. Industrial/organisational psychology : A subfield of psychology that focuses on relationship between people and work. In the contemporary context the emphasis has shifted from industrial psychology to organisational psychology, which includes industrial and all other organisations. Ingroup : The social group to which an individual perceives herself or himself as belonging (us). The group with which one identifies. The other groups are outgroups. Insight therapy : A group of treatment methods that focuses on developing a clients selfunderstanding (insight). Intellectualisation : The tendency to deal with emotional conflicts in a detached, intellectual, and controlled manner. The analysis of a problem in purely intellectual terms and feelings and emotions are ignored. Intelligence : Psychologists have found it difficult to precisely define intelligence. There are many definitions of intelligence, however, some of the aspects of intelligence could be abstracted as: (1) The ability to meet and adapt to novel situations quickly and effectively. (2) The ability to utilise abstract concepts effectively, (3) The ability to grasp relationships and learn quickly. All these three aspects of intelligence include reasoning, imagination, insight, judgement and adaptability as the mental processes . Intelligence quotient (IQ) : An index of childs mental development computed by dividing a childs mental age MA by the childs chronological age, (CA) and multiplying by 100 ( to eliminate the decimal point).
MA 100 CA Intelligence test : Test used for establishing a subjects level of intellectual capability. Introvert : One of the dimensions of personality in which interests are directed inwards, rather than outwards (extravert) Job analysis : An evaluation of activities and tasks that must be performed on a job and the knowledge, skills and abilities that is necessary to perform them. Latency Period : In Freuds theory of psychosexual stages, the period between the phallic stage and the mature genital stage
IQ =
Glossary
271
(period from age 4 or 5 to about 12) during which interest in sex is sublimated. Leadership : The process through which one member of a groups (its leader) influences other group members toward attainment of shared goal. It includes the exercise of authority to control, guide, and direct of the conduct of others. Libido : Freud introduced this term. In Freuds treatment libido was quite simply a direct or indirect sexual expression. Life space : According to Lewin, life space (LS) is the totality of all possible events that influence the individual. It is a function of person (p) and environment (E). Lifestyle : In the context of health psychology, the overall pattern of decisions and behaviours that determine health and quality of life. Likert Scale : A type of attitude scale on which the subject is asked to indicate his degree of agreement or disagreement with stated attitudes on a five point scale, varying from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Maladaptive (abnormal) behaviour : The inability of the individual to develop patterns of behaviour necessary for success in his environment. Mean : The arithmetic average of a set of scores. A measure of central tendency. Median: The number that falls in the exact middle of a distribution of scores arranged from highest to lowest. It is also a measure of central tendency. Meditation : A technique of turning ones concentration inward and achieving an altered state of consciousness. Mental age (MA) : Level of mental development expressed in units of chronological age for which the mental age is judged normal. Mental retardation : A general term meaning any degree of mental deficiency. Now, the term mentally challenged is generally used. Minority influence : Influence exhibited by a minority on the majority of a group. Mode : The most frequent score in a distribution . Another measure of central tendency. Modeling : A process of learning in which an individual acquires responses by observing and imitating others. Mood : A mild, usually transitory, emotion. Mood disorder : Disorder affecting ones emotional state, including depression and bipolar disorder. Narcissistic personality disorder : Personality disorder characterised by grandiosity, an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and preoccupation with being admired.
Neurosis : A mental disorder milder than psychosis, characterised by : (a) incomplete insight into the nature of the difficulty; (b) conflicts; (c) anxiety; (d) partial impairment of personality; (e) often, the presence of phobias. Noise : An unwanted sound, one that brings about a negative affective response. Normal Distribution Curve : A symmetrical, bell-shaped frequency distribution. Most scores are found near the middle, and fewer and fewer occur toward the extremes. Many psychological characteristics are distributed in this manner. Normal distribution : A frequency distribution showing a normal curve, with tendency for most members of a population to cluster around a central point with respect to a given trait, with the rest spreading out to the two extremes. Normative influence : Influence groups exert because members are afraid of the consequences of violating the groups expectations. Obedience : Behaviour which is characterised by conformity with commands given by person in authority. Obsessions : Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that a person experiences, often irrational in nature which may be accompanied by a compulsion to carry out an act. Organisation A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals, Panic: A sudden overpowering fear. Paranoid personality disorder : Personality disorder characterized by pervasive suspiciousness, distrust, envy, jealousy and stubborn behaviour. Performance test : A test in which the role of language is minimised, the task requiring overt motor responses other than verbal. Personal space : The small area around an individual considered to belong to him and whose invasion is experienced as threatening or unpleasant. Personality : The dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought. Phallic stage : Third of Freuds psychosexual stages (at about age five ) when pleasure is focused on the genitals and both males and females experience the Oedipus complex.
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Phlegmatic : Describes one of the four temperaments of Hippocrates typology. Phlegmatic persons are supposedly calm and listless due to an excess of phlegm. Phobia : A strong, persistent, and irrational fear of some specific object or situation that presents little or no actual danger to a person. Planning : A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities. Practical Intelligence : Intelligence useful in solving everyday problems. Predisposition : Increased likelihood that a person will develop certain symptoms under given stress or other conditions. Prejudice : An attitude, either positive or negative (usually negative) formulated in advance of sufficient evidence and held with emotional tenacity. Primary group : Group in which each member is personally known to each of the other member, and which the members at least on occasion, meet face-to-face Projection : Defense mechanism, the process of unwittingly attributing ones own traits, attitudes, or subjective processes to others. Prosocial Behaviour : Action that benefit others but have no obvious benefits for the person carrying them out, and which sometimes could be a risk for the prosocial person. Proximity : The principle of gestalt psychology that stimuli close together tend to be perceived as a group. Psychodynamic approach : Approach that strives for explanation of behaviour in terms of motives, or drives. Psychopathology : A systhematic investigation of morbid mental condition. The branch of psychology concerned with the investigation of mental disorders and other abnormal phenomena . Psychopathy : A condition involving the features of anti-social personality disorder plus the traits of lack of empathy, inflated self-appraisal, and glib and superficial charm. Psychotherapy : The use of any psychological technique in the treatment of mental disorder or maladjustment . Random sampling : A technique of sampling in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. Range : The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution of scores. A measure of dispersion.
Rational-emotive therapy (RET) : A therapeutic system developed by Albert Ellis. It seeks to replace irrational, problem provoking outlooks with more realistic ones. Rationalisation : A defense mechanism that occurs when one attempts to explain failure or short comings by attributing them to more acceptable causes. Recategorisation : Shifts in the boundary between an individuals ingroup (us) and various outgroups (them), causing persons formerly viewed as outgroup members now to be seen as belonging to the ingroup. Reference group : A group to which a particular person compares himself or herself. The comparison might be in terms of rewards, or attitudes, or beauty, and so on. Regression : A defense mechanism that involves a return to behaviours characteristic of an earlier stage in life. The term is also used in statistics, in which with the help of correlation prediction is made. Relaxation training : A procedure in which clients are taught to release all the tension in their bodies . Repression : A defense mechanism by which people push unacceptable, anxietyprovoking thoughts and impulses into the unconscious to avoid confronting them directly. Resistance : In psycho analysis, attempts by the patient to block treatment. Role play: A therapeutic technique in which client is instructed to perform role assigned to him by the therapist. Sample : A selected part which is representative of the whole (population) . Sanguine temprament: Describes one of the four temperaments of Hippocrates typology, a very ancient classification of personality characterised by warmth, ardour, and hopefulness or optimism. Schizophrenia : A group of psychotic reactions characterised by the breakdown of integrated personality functioning, withdrawal from reality, emotional blunting and distortion, and disturbances in thought and behaviour. Self-actualisation : According to Maslows view, the highest motive of human behaviour, the motive to realise oneself fully as a person. The tendency to develop ones talents and capacities. Self-efficacy : Banduras term for the individuals beliefs about his or her own effectiveness; the expectation that one can successfully conduct the action required.
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Self-esteem : Refers to the individuals personal judgement of his or her own worth; ones attitude toward oneself along a positivenegative dimension. Self-instruction : Talking to oneself to control ones behaviour; an aspect of some types of self-control training. Self-monitoring : Systematic self-observation and recording of progress in a behaviour change program. Self-Serving Bias : The tendency to attribute our positive outcomes to internal causes but negative outcomes or events to external causes. Shaping : Teaching a desired response by reinforcing the series of successive steps which lead to learned response. Shared environmental influences : The effects of family environment, which are common to all members of the household. Social Cognition : The processes through which we notice, interpret, remember, and later use social information. It helps in making sense of other people and ourselves. Social facilitation : The tendency for peoples performance to improve in the presence of others. Social Identity : A persons definition of who he or she is; includes personal attributes (self-concept) along with membership in various groups. Somatoform disorders : Conditions involving physical complaints or disabilities occurring in the absence of any identifiable organic cause. Standard deviation : A measure of variability or dispersion showing average extent to which all the scores in a particular set vary from each other and the mean. Statistics : Mathematical procedures used to describe data and draw inferences from sample. Stereotypes : A preconceived idea of what numbers of a particular group are like. Stress : The process that occurs in response to events that disrupt, or threaten to disrupt, our physical or psychological functioning. Stressors : Events or situations in our environment that cause stress. Sublimation : A defense mechanism in which socially unacceptable impulses are expressed in socially acceptable form of behaviour. Surface traits : R.B. Cattells term for clusters of observable trait elements (responses) that seem to go together. Factor analysis of the correlations reveals source traits.
Syndrome : Group or pattern of symptoms that occur to gather in a disorder and represent the typical picture of the disorder. Systematic desensitisation : A form of behavioural therapy in which phobic client learn to induce a relaxed state and then exposed to stimuli that elicit fear or phobia. Temperament traits : R.B. Cattells term for traits that determine emotional reactivity. Territoriality : An arrangement found in some species in which members of the species (typically males) defend an area of land against incursions from males of the same species (or other species that feed on the same resources). Token Economy : Forms of behavior therapy based on operant conditioning, in which hospitalized patients earn tokens they can exchange for valued rewards when they behave in ways the hospital staff consider to be desirable. Tragedy of the commons : A situation, like the prisoners dilemma, in which the most rational response from each individual will not produce the best outcome for a group of people. (Also called n-prisoners dilemma, or social trap, or social dilemma) Training : Training is systematic acquisition of skills, rules, concepts and attitude that results in improved performance on the job. Trait : A relatively persistent and consistent behaviour pattern manifested in a wide range of circumstances. Transference : Strong positive or negative feelings toward the therapist on the part of individual undergoing psycho-analysis. Transformational Leaders : Leaders who exert profound effects on their followers and establish special types of relationships with them. Typology : Ways of categorising individuals into discrete categories or types, e.g.Type A personality. Unconditional Positive Regard : In Rogerss theory, communicating to others that they will be respected or loved regardless of what they say or do. Unconscious : In psychoanalytic theory, characterising any activity or mental structure of which a person is not aware. Verbal test : Test in which a subjects ability to understand and use words and concepts is important in making the required responses. Work Motivation : Motivation to perform and complete various tasks.
SUGGESTED READINGS
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Baron, R. A. (2001/Indian reprint 2002). Psychology (Fifth Edition) Allyn & Bacon. Bee, H. (1995). The developing child (7th edition). London: Harper Collins. Butterworth, G., & Harris, M. (1994). Principles of developmental psychology. Hove: Laurence Erlbaum. Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. H. (1997). Psychology. Prentice Hall, Inc Davison, G. C. (1998). Abnormal Psychology. John Wiley & sons, Inc. Gerow, J. R. (1997). Psychology : An Introduction. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. Gleitman, H. (1996). Basic Psychology. W.W.Norton & Company. Lahey, B. B. (1998). Psychology An Introduction. Tata McGraw-Hill. Malim, T. and Birch, A. (1998). Introductory Psychology. Macmillan Press Ltd. McMahon, J. W., McMahon, F. B., & Romano, T (1995). Psychology and You. West Publishing Company. Messer, D., & Miller, S. (1999). Exploring developmental psychology: From infancy to adolescence. London: Arnold. Weiten, Wayne (2001). Psychology : Themes & Variations. Wadsworth : Thomson Learning, Inc. Zimbardo, P.G., & Weber, A.L. (1997). Psychology. New York: Longman. Zimbardo, P. G. (1985). Psychology and Life. Harper Collins Publishers.
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Introduction To Psy

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Introduction to Psychology

INTELLIGENCE: THE INTERPLAY NATURE AND NURTURE

INTELLIGENCE: SOME CLASSICAL APPROACHES

Fig. 1.1 Relationship between g and s conceptualised by Spearman

Operations Co nv er Di ge ve Ev nt alu rg pr en at od tp ion uc ro tio du n Me ct ion m Co or y gn itio n

l Au o dit ry bo lic ma nti

Units Classes Products Relations Systems Transformation Implications

Fig. 1.2 Guilfords Structure of Intellect

Second Functional Unit

Occipital, Parietal and Temporal (Posterior) Memory Conceptual Perceptual

SIMULTANEOUS AND SUCCESSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE

Fig. 1.4. The PASS Model of Ability

SAMPLES OF PASS MEASURES

Table 1.1 Characterisation of Intelligence in Different Cultures

Kenya Uganda Yoruba

environment. This type of intelligence is termed as integral intelligence.

Percent of Population 2.2 6.7 16.1 50.0 16.1 6.7 2.2

Fig. 1.5 An item from Ravens Progressive Matrices (RPM)

Fig. 1.6 Aspects of Giftedness

Table 1.6 Characteristics of Gifted Children

Table 1.7 Characteristics of the Mentally Challenged Level of Mental Retardation

Mild (IQ range = 50-70)

Moderate (IQ range = 35-49)

Speech and Communication

Fig. 1.7 An Item of Mechanical Aptitude Test

INTERPRETATION Scores 15-20 10-14 Scores below 10

Level of Aptitude High, Medium Poor

T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. F F, 2. F, 3. T, 4. T, 5. T, T, 7.F, 8.F T, 2. F, 3. F, 4. T, 5. T T, 2. T, 3. F., 4. T, 5. F, T

Self and Personality

Self and Personality

Figure 2.1 Panchkosas : The Multilayered Hierarchy of Selves.

ve gniti sheath Co s shea th

Annamaya Pranamaya Manomaya Vigyanmaya Anandamaya Atman

Self and Personality

oneself one asserts and moves to behave in that direction.

Self and Personality

FORMATION OF INDIAN IDENTITY

COLONIALISM AND SELF : THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE

Self and Personality

Fig. 2.3 Eysencks Structure of Persnality

Self and Personality

Fig. 2.4 Structure of Personality in Freudian Theory

Self and Personality

Table 2.1 Stages of Sexual Development according to Freud

Self and Personality

Self and Personality

Poorly adjusted individual

Fig. 2.5 Pattern of Adjustment and Self-Concept

Self and Personality

Maslows Theory of Self-Actualisation

Self and Personality

Self and Personality

Fig. 2. 6. An example of the Rorschach type Inkblots

Fig. 2.7 An illustration showing the drawing of a card of TAT

Self and Personality

Self and Personality

Self and Personality

LEARNING CHECKS VIII

Self and Personality l

SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND GROUP PROCESSES

Key Terms Summary Review Questions Answers to Learning Checks

Social Influence and Group Processes