UNIT SIX

THE FUNCTIONS OF EMOTIONS Imagine what it would be like if you had no emotions - no depths of despair, no depression, no remorse, but at the same time no happiness, joy, or love. Obviously life would be much less interesting, even dull, without the experience of emotion. But do emotions serve any purpose beyond making life interesting? Psychologists have identified a number of important functions that emotions play in our daily lives. Among the most important of those functions are the following: Preparing us for action. Emotions act as a link between events in the external environment and behavioral responses that an individual makes. For example, if we saw an angry dog charging toward us, the emotional reaction (fear) would be associated with psychological arousal of the sympathetic division of the automatic nervous system. The role of the sympathetic division is to prepare us for emergency action, which presumably would get us moving out of the dog's way - quickly. Emotions, then, are stimuli that aid in the development of the effective responses to various situations. Shaping our future behaviour. Emotions serve to promote learning of information that will assist us in making appropriate responses in the future. For example, the emotional response that occurs when a person experiences something unpleasant - such as the threatening dog - teaches that person to avoid similar circumstances in the future. Similarly, pleasant emotions act as reinforcement for prior behaviour and therefore are apt to lead an individual to seek out similar situations in the future. Thus, the feeling of satisfaction that follows giving to a charity is likely to reinforce charitable behaviour and make it more likely to occur in the future.

28

 Helping us to regulate social interaction. As we shall discuss in detail later, the emotions we experience are frequently obvious to observers, as they are communicated through our verbal and nonverbal behaviours. These behaviours can act as a signal to observers, allowing them to better understand what we are experiencing and predict our future behaviour. In turn, this promotes more effective and appropriate social interaction. For instance, a mother who sees terror on her 2-year old son's face when he sees a frightening picture in a book is able to comfort and reassure him, thereby helping him to deal with his environment more effectively in the future. EXERCISES: I. Answer the following questions: 1. When would life be much less interesting? 2. Do emotions serve any purpose beyond making life interesting? 3. What functions do emotions play? 4. Emotions act as a link between events in the external environment and behavioral responses, don't they? 5. What is emotional fear associated with? 6. Is the role of the sympathetic division to prepare us for emergency action? 7. What do pleasant emotions serve as? 8. What reinforces charitable behaviour? 9. Are emotions communicated by our behaviour? 10. What kinds of behaviour can act as signals to observers? II. Give the antonyms for: Action, division, pleasant, similar, verbal, act, dull, prior, effective, quick, emotional, individual, good, external, despair.

29

III. Give the synonyms for: Behaviour, response, experience, frequently, for instance, help, prior, associate, obvious, shape, seek out, various, allow, predict, occur.

30

IV. What is the tense form of each of the following? It would be we shall discuss most important he sees she is are he makes we saw able to you reaction would be associated with had the role is to prepare life would have been it would get do emotions serve? that will assist they have identified a they are communicated person experiences emotions play V. Look up in the dictionary the following words: brevity verbosity diffuseness stimuli charity redundancy tautology verbiage terseness succinctness sententiousness curtness excision periphrasis pleonasm

VI. Make situations with: To take oneself in hand (to pull oneself together); to keep oneself in hand (to hold oneself in check); to have the nerve to do; to lose one's temper; in high spirits. VII. Read the dialogue noting the word combinations used as idioms: A. What have you been doing with yourself all this time? B. Why, I've just returned from two weeks in St. Petersburg. A. Really! Lucky devil I'd love to see this town again. I've only been there once and that was quite a time ago. I hope you enjoyed your visit there. Oh, very much, indeed! As a matter of fact I B. spent most of the time busily reading in the library. But for all that I tried

31

A. B.

A. B.

A. B.

A. B.

A. B. A. B.

to go to all the places of interest. I was especially impressed by the Russian Art Museum. A fine museum, that! Do you mean to say that you went all that distance just so that you could work in the library there? That's just it. If it had not been for the paper, I'd have done much more sightseeing. You know I went to the library every day apart from Saturday and Sunday. St. Petersburg is your native town, isn't it? Did you see your old friends there? It has been a long time since we left the town, you know, and I've lost touch with most of them. Quite by chance I met our old neighbour. She has a new self-contained flat in the suburbs. It's quite a distance from the centre and I was in two minds whether to go or not to go to her place, but she talked me into it. We took a taxi and before I knew where I was we were there. She has such a nice little granddaughter. I can't get her out of my mind. Our neighbour looks tired now, but it's no wonder. She is getting on in years. Did you visit Vera, the girl about whom you told me a lot? I didn't, unfortunately. She has got a new flat but the address had slipped out of my mind. The next day I dropped in to see my old schoolmate. I was taken unawares when she told me that she had given up her studies at the extra-mural department of the Institute. She said that learning did not come easily to her. But she ought to have known what she was letting herself for. That's the whole point. She kept me in the dark about it. If I had known it before, I would have given her a piece of my mind. I have no patience with inconsistent people; so I don't feel for her. Well, you've got a bone to pick with her. I can't see what you are driving at. Well, I mean you will have something to argue about. That's it, but it's too late, I'm afraid it won't get her anywhere now.

UNIT SEVEN
THINKING AND REASONING Thinking What is thinking? The mere ability to pose such a question illustrates how distinctive the human ability to think is. No other species can contemplate, analyze, recollect, or plan in the manner that humans can. Yet knowing that we think and understanding what thinking is are two different things. Philosophers, for example, have argued for generations about the meaning of thinking, with some placing it at the core of human beings' understanding of their own existence. (You may be familiar with the philosopher Descartes" famous quote, "I think, therefore I am.") Psychologists take a broad and scientific approach to thinking. To them, thinking 1 is the manipulation of mental representations of information. The representations may be a word, a visual image, a sound, or data in any other modality. What thinking does is to transform the representation of information into a new and different form for the purpose of answering a question, solving a problem, or aiding in reaching a goal. Although a clear sense of what specifically goes on when we are thinking still remains somewhat elusive2, the nature of the fundamental elements we use in thinking is becoming increasingly well understood (Newell, 1990). We begin by considering our ability to use concepts, the building blocks of thinking. Concepts: Categorizing the World If someone asked you what was in your kitchen cabinet, you might answer with a detailed list of every item ("a jar of Skippy peanut butter, three packages of rnacaroni- and-cheese mix, six unmatched dinner plates," and so forth). More likely, though, you would respond by using some broader categories, such as "food" and "dishes."

1 2

thinking - gndire, minte, inteligen, concepie, gnd - ; 33 elusive - lunecos, fugitiv, eluziv - , , ;

The use of such categories reflects the operation of concepts. Concepts3 are categorizations of objects, events, or people that share common properties. By employing concepts, we are able to distill the complexities of the world into simpler, and therefore more easily usable, cognitive categories. Concepts allow us to classify newly encountered objects into a form that is understandable in terms of our past experience. For example, we are able to tell that a small, four-legged creature with a wagging tail is probably a dog - even if we have never encountered that specific breed of dog before. Ultimately, concepts influence behaviour; we would assume, for instance, that it might be "appropriate to pet the animal, after determining that it is in fact, a dog. When cognitive psychologists first studied concepts, they focused on artificial concepts. Artificial concepts are concepts that are clearly defined by a unique set of properties or features. For example, an equilateral triangle is of a shape that has three sides of equal length. If an object has these characteristics, it is an equilateral triangle; if it does not, then it is not an equilateral triangle. Other concepts-the ones that have most relevance to our everyday life - are much fuzzier and more difficult to define than artificial concepts. For example, how would you formally define "table" or "bird"? Both are examples of natural concepts-ones that are familiar and uncomplicated, and represent common objects which share a set of characteristic features. Unlike artificial concepts, natural ones do not have unvarying, universal defining features. Instead, they are defined by a set of general, relatively loose characteristic features and are exemplified by prototypes. Prototypes4 are typical, highly representative examples of a concept. For instance, a prototype of the concept "bird" is a robin; a prototype of "table" is a coffee table. Relatively high agreement exists among people as to which examples of a natural concept are prototypes, and which examples fit less well with the concept. Cars and trucks, for instance, are viewed by most people as good examples of vehicles, whereas elevators and wheelbarrows are not, thereby making cars and trucks prototypes of the natural concept of vehicle.

3 4

concept 34 - noiune - ; prototype - prototip - ;

The importance of concepts lies in their ability to allow us to think about and understand more readily the complex, intricate world in which we live. For example, the judgements we make about the reasons for other people's behaviour are based on the way we classify their behaviour. Hence, our evaluations of a person who washes her hands twenty times a day could vary, depending on whether we place her behaviour within .the conceptual framework of health care worker or mental patient. Similarly, the way that physicians make diagnoses is based on concepts and prototypes of symptoms that they learn in medical school. Gaining an understanding of how people classify their knowledge of the world thus represents an important undertaking for cognitive psychologists. EXERCISES: I. Answer the following questions: 1. What is thinking? 2. May the representation be a word, a visual image and a sound? 3. What does thinking? 4. Are concepts the building blocks of thinking?

35

XIV. Find the following words: concept thinking reasoning ability category form feature prototype object representation
T s o Q E N R Q R E B G 0 E N
H

S
D

F H T J
D

E B C R B O F

A R E P N B
T

E J G I K Y G

u
D

R G O E Q
T

E I
H

A O K

N S T

E
D

W K G Y H F N S A
T

M P E T K I B G

B R F O R
M

J N I

N
S

A
N

P E F

N A E
H

M E I P Y E
W

P I
N

B
K

M R A
C

M P
O S

W I
D

F B

Q B
H

E Y J

M O

o
B T H A

P E F R

A N O B

Q O N E F
T G R I Y E Y J E J H D P E S D K R T O T A Q H N A B K I G R

R O

A B G I A I

Q J Q T P N E H

F E B Y C G T R

A C P D

F A G R I E P W

O N C E P T

W K D P G I

I R Q p F R

W K I F N J Y L T K

M J E G B N 0

S- P E F A T A

M B J Q G H Y D

M N G O

W R M B

M Y

W C

40

UNIT EIGHT
STRENGTH OF WILL AS A PERSONALITY TRAIT It is a common opinion that " strength of will ", i.e. capacity for volitional control3 of behaviour is a personality trait5 of considerable importance, which differs in amount from one individual to another. It is also commonly supposed that it is a trait, which can be strengthened by use and weakened by disuse. This second opinion still lacks experimental confirmation although it may well prove to be true. There is now, however, a considerable body of evidence6 in favour of the truth of the opinion that capacity for volitional control is a personality trait whose amount differs in different individuals. The common observation on which this opinion is based is that it seems to us that one man seems to be swayed by external things and by his own impulses, while another seems to have the power of opposing and controlling them. The first man abandons effort when he meets with an obstacle and becomes violent when he is angry; the second man also meets external obstacles and impulses to violence but he continues his effort in spite of this obstacle, and can check his impulses to violence when he is angry. The latter is spoken of as a man of strong will. He may, of course, decide on a particular occasion to allow his anger to express itself in violence. When we say that he has strength of will, we mean that he seems to be able to decide whether his anger shall be expressed in one way or another. Our total impression of his character is of control, of certain capacity to decide whether to oppose or to give way to7 the forces both from outside and from in

5 6

personality trait - caracteristic personal, - considerable body of evidence - numr considerabil de date, - 41 7 to give way to - a ceda - ;

side which tend to give direction to his behaviour, while the weak- willed man seems to be much more at mercy of these forces. The personality trait, which corresponds to this quality, is generally called persistence. The capacity for persisting in a task when other people would give it up is one aspect of the capacity for volitional | control, which has the advantage that it may without much diffi- | culty be measured.1 The first indication that there was such a meas- j urable trait of character came from E. Webb who analysed a factor j called W from a number of test performances. One of the charac- I teristics of the individual with high W factor was persistence and I perseverance in contrast with the fickleness and instability of indi- | viduals with low W. More recently he has measured the length of | time during which subjects carry on difficult tasks or continue with I such an exertion 8 as holding up a heavy dumb-bell level with the shoulders9. It appears that there is sufficient correlation between the measures to indicate a possible direction of personality measurement. Perseverance in this sense must not be confused with different personality trait or preservation, or mental inertia, which is measured by the degree of difficulty a subject finds in starting a new task or stopping an old one, or switching from one task to another. The man of strong preservative tendency may be conspicuously successful in overcoming external obstacles, but there is no reason for regarding him as of strong will. It is the function of volition to control external forces as well as to master external obstacles. The evidence which points to the strength of will is not only that a man can overcome external objects when he has chosen to go on, but also that he can inhibit his own preservative tendencies when he has chosen to stop. The individual who shows abnormally great preservative tendencies may well be one who has insufficient volitional control over them. The range of behaviour over which volitional control can be exerted probably depends on training, although there is little exact knowledge on

8 9

exertion - effort, sforare - ; 42 level with the shoulders - la nivelul umerilor - ;

this topic. Normal people can control some simple reflexes such as withdrawing the hand when pricked, and the regular action of lungs, but nor others, such as the contraction and dilation of the pupils10 and the beating of the heart.'Most of us can control the impulse to physical violence when we are angry, unless the impulse attains a very unusual strength. The child has very much less control of his impulses and the process of growing up is accompanied by progressively greater capacity for voluntary control. Voluntary control is of importance only so far as it is of value in our adaptation to our social environment that we should be able to control the crude and primitive conduct of anger. It is of no adaptive value that we should be able to control the beatings of our heart. The tendency of evolution has been to make automatic those bodily and mental adjustments, which cannot usefully be controlled, and to extend volitional control where control is useful. There is no doubt, that in his complex environment, the extent to which man can voluntarily control certain of his responses is of high value. EXERCISES: I. Answer the questions to the text: 1. What does "strength of will" mean? 2. Do you agree with the opinion that capacity for volitional control is a personality trait? Why? 3. What is the difference between the strong-willed man and the weak-willed one? 4. What is called persistence? 5. What did E. Webb measure? 6. What reflexes can normal people control?

10

pupils - pupile - ;

43

II. Match the definition in column A with the definition in column B: A To influence Way of acting, conduct, manners B a trait To break, to fail to hold up Energy, force or power exerted in rough to strengthen manners to lack to Keeping on with what one is doing sway A characteristic, distinguishing manner to abandon To give up completely behaviour To be without violence To make or become stronger To wound with smth. small and to give way sharp-pointed persistence perseverance III. Find the pairs of synonyms and remember them: Obstacle, raw, to attain, to defeat, fickle, to control, difficulty, conspicuous, changeable, to master, profit, to measure, easily seen, to correspond, to reach, to be in agreement, to find the size or volume, crude, advantage. IV. Fill in the gaps with the given words: to dilate, evidence, environment, confirmation, effort, mercy, exertion 1. We are waiting for _______________ of the report. 2. There wasn't enough ______________to prove him guilty of the crime. 3. It required a great ___________of will to give up tobacco. 4. The ship was at the _____________ of the waves. 5. He failed to lift the stone in spite of all his ____________ . 6. The pupils of your eyes _____________ when the room suddenly becomes dark. 7. Students of social problems investigate the home, social and moral ______________ of different classes of people.

44

V. Approve or correct the following statements: "Strength of will" is a personality trait of considerable importance. Men never abandon efforts when they meet an obstacle. Only the weak-willed man can express his anger. The capacity for volitional control may be measured. The weak-willed man can overcome external strength. VI. Retell the text

45

UNIT NINE
PERSONALITY The term "personality" is often defined by psychologists to cover all the respects in which one individual can differ from another. A list of personality differences may thus include differences in physique11, in health and intelligence, as well as in attitudes 12 , interests and characteristic ways of behaving. The way in which the word is used is often much more restricted than is implied by this definition. "Personality tests" are often distinguished from "intelligence tests" and refer to tests of such characteristics as aggressiveness, expansiveness, or altruism. In this narrower sense "personality" has much the same meaning as the ordinary use of the word "character" and may be regarded as a technical psychological term with much the same connotation as "character" in everyday speech. It is convenient to use the same term with a very wide and relatively narrower meaning, and we shall keep most closely to the ordinary psychological use of the term if we restrict it to its narrower sense. We may then define personality as the system of emotional dispositions 13 , which determine an individual's characteristic way of behaving in different situations. The separately measurable elements of personality14 are commonly called traits15. A psychological assessment of a person's character may be made by estimating or measuring by \ means of tests, the extents to which he possesses various traits ! such as dominance, perseverance, altruism, introversion, etc. I each of these traits has an opposite, so the measurement is two- directional (or bipolar); thus dominance has submissiveness as its opposite, perseverance has instability of purpose, altruism has selfishness and so on. It is clear that traits are not themselves observable. What we can observe are facts of behaviour and consistencies between these. If a man's behaviour showed no consistency16, so that the way he behaved in
11 12

13 14 15 16

physique - nfiare, - , ; attitude - sistem relativ stabil de reacii sensibile de evaluare - ; emotional disposition - dispunere emoionant - ; personality trait - caracteristic a personalitii - ; consistency - consecven - ; environmental circumstances - circumstane determinate de mediul am 46 biant - ;

one situation gave no ground for predicting how he would behave in a new related situation, we should not feel any need for such terms as "personality", "character", or "personality traits". Nor should we use such terms if such consistencies as we observed in his behaviour seemed to be entirely determined by environmental circumstances and not at all by anything characteristic of the individual himself. The use of a trait name does not imply that the quality of personality referred to be inborn. It may be some extent, but it may also be an effect of the circumstances of the individual's life, of his education, of his occupation, and of the people with whom he has associated17. A man's personality is in a large measure a product of the social influences to which he has been exposed. It is also a social phenomenon in the sense that it is only in a social setting18 that the patterns of behaviour which indicate personality are apparent. EXERCISES: I. Answer the following questions: 1. How do psychologists define the term "personality"? 2. What are the differences that may be included in the list of "personality" differences? 3. Are "personality tests" distinguished from "intelligence tests"? 4. How is "personality" regarded in the narrower sense? 5. How can we define personality? 6. Are the separately measurable elements called traits? 7. How can a psychological assessment of a person's character be made? 8. What can we observe in each of these traits? 9. Does a trait name imply that the quality of personality referred to be inborn? 10. What is your own approach to a man's personality? II. Give the opposites and translate them: dominance, perseverance, altruism,' introversion.

17 18

to 47 associate - a ntreine legturi - ; social setting - situaie social - .

III. 1. Choose the sentence in which the predicate is used in the Subjunctive Mood, the action of which is referred to Present or Future. Translate it. a. You would have done it if you had known how. b. He would have understood if he had known English. c. If I were you, I would be at the party. 2. Choose the sentence in which the predicate is used in the Subjunctive Mood, the action of which is referred to Past a. If she had seen him, she would have told you about it. b. If she saw him, she would tell you about it. IV. Read and translate the sentences. Make up your own sentences. 1. It is at school that we were taught to love our Motherland. 2. It is sport that makes people strong and healthy. 3. It is Popov, the great Russian scientist, who invented radio in 1895. 4. It was only yesterday that I ran into him in the street. cheerfulness generosity darkness closeness absurdity clearness fullness greatness hostility illness infirmity kindness safety V. Match the synonyms: magnanimity gaiety obscurity completeness silliness clarity enmity immensity goodness Weakness sickness security likeness

48

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 .

One who One who One who One who One who One who One who One who One who One who

VI. Form words with the suffix - ee: is trained is interviewed is paid is abandoned is complained against is objected to is laughed at is elected is quoted is examined -

VII. Make up a plan and relate the contents.

UNIT TEN
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD The study of child development is of greatest interest in its own right not only for the light it may shed on the mind of the adult. Since the mentality20, dispositions21 and behaviour of the adult are the end result of a long and complex process, they can too be better understood in the light of their developmental history. Furthermore, only when we have a proper understanding in detail of the intellectual, emotional and social changes that take place during the course of growth from birth to adolescence will we be in a position31 to provide correct education and vocational guidance, according to need and degree of normality. The realization 22 that the child is not merely a small grown-up is a comparatively recent and revolutionary discovery. Even a century ago this idea would have seemed strange. Until that time a child
19

19 20 21 22

in its own right - n sine - ; mentality - capacitate de gndire, mentalitate, minte - ; dispositions - nclinaii - ; 49 realization - nelegere - ;

was not only dressed like a miniature adult, he was often treated23 like one. That childhood is psychologically a sphere of its own came to be understood gradually through the treatment24 of adults suffering from mental and emotional disorders. This treatment required a retrospective examination25 of the patient's childhood memories. At first the primary interest was directed not to childhood itself for its own sake26, but for the light which early experiences might throw on situations in later years. At the next stage attention was turned to actual problems of the child, but still only with the aim of preventing mental disturbance in adult life and this new orientation made little difference so far as the child himself was concerned. Only in recent decades have psychologists and doctors recognized the need to try to enter into child's mental and emotional world in order to see, so to speak, from within. So, the child today is no longer regarded 27 as a pocket-sized adult. A similar appreciation of adolescence28 as a world of its own, which is neither that of childhood nor that of adulthood is something, which has yet to come29. EXERCISES: I. Answer the following questions: 1. How to provide a correct education according to need and degree of normality? 2. Is the child a miniature adult and should he be treated like one? 3. How was a child treated several centuries ago? 4. What is the difference between that treatment and the treatment nowadays? 5. How do psychologists and doctors appreciate childhood and adolescence in recent decades? II. Give the synonyms to the following words and word com binations:
to treat -a trata - ; treatment - tratament - ; 25 retrospective examination - cercetare retrospectiv - ; 26 for its own sake - de dragul su - ; 27 to regard - a examina, a considera - ; 28 adolescence - adolescen - ; 50 29 something which has yet to come - problem de viitor - .
24 23

in its own right; mentality; dispositions; to be in a position; realization; to treat; retrospective examination; regard. III. Suggest nouns to go with the following verbs. Use your N - V combinations in sentences of your own: 1. to take place 4. to direct 2. to provide 5. to turn 3. to treat 6. to recognize IV. Analyse the morphological structure of the following words: 1. developmental 5. psychologically 2. intellectual 6. examination 3. normality 7. emotional 4. comparatively V. Express the words and word combinations in bold type into Romanian. Social Interaction and Membership in Groups Social scientists have found it useful to distinguish between primary and secondary groups. According to Ch. H. Colley who was first to emphasize the importance of this distinction a group qualifies as primary when it is "characterized by intimate face to face association30 and co-operation". For a young child the family constitutes the most important primary group, but the neighbourhood playmates and school groups soon start to make their impact31 upon his social development. Secondary groups, in contrast, are organized according to special interests of one kind or another and they don't depend either upon propinquity32 or upon more that occasional face to face association. Political parties, religious bodies, school systems, labour unions, medical associations can all be used as examples of groups. Memberships in such groups are an important feature of adult life, but it is the primary groups that play the crucial part in the early shaping of personality. Within the circle of his family and within the orbit of his playmates and school companions the child receives his direct training as a member of society. It is here also that he builds up his social habits
30 31 32

face to face association - comunicare direct - ; to make 51 impact - a influena - ; propinquity - nrudire - ;

and attitudes, his ideas of moral conduct and his conception of himself as a social being. V. a. Answer the questions to the text "Social Interaction and Membership in Groups": 1. Who was the first to emphasize the importance of the distinction between secondary and primary groups? 2. What are the impacts upon a young child's social development? 3. How are secondary groups organized? 4. What is the criterion of forming such groups as political parties, religious bodies, school systems, labour unions and medical associations? 5. What plays the crucial part in the early shaping of personality? 6. Where does the child receive his direct training as a member of society? 7. What does he learn and what does he build up within the circle of his family and among his school companions? V. b. Pick out from the text the sentences in which the following word combinations are used: 1. secondary group 5. member of society 2. primary group 6. social status 3. feature of adult life 7. social habits 4. school companions 8. moral conduct V. c. Give the opposites of the following adjectives: 1. Social 3. Young 5. Moral 2. Useful 4. Important 6. Adult V. d. Pick out from the text the irregular verbs and give their Past Participle and Present Participle. VI. Make up sentences with the words and word combina tions in bold type. VII. Retell the texts.

52

UNIT ELEVEN
REGULARIZING INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR We may observe in the first place, that social forces tend to regularize and to control personal behaviour, while behaviour problems represent an effort on the part of the individual to evade these regularizing forces and to pursue an individual course. It also becomes evident that an individual cannot entirely evade the social forces, and again that rarely completely submits to them. In order to make this concept clear we shall need to describe briefly the process of conflict and adjustment33between individual desires and social requirements. The necessity for modifying personal desires according to imposed requirements begins at birth and becomes increasingly exacting34 as the individual develops from infancy to adulthood. The ability to meet adequately both the physical and social requirements of living35 is measure of adjustment to environment. Because the adequacy of an individual's adjustment is considerably dependent on the manner in which he learns to modify and adapt personal desires, interests, and individual abilities to imposed requirements, it is profitable to illustrate the process of adjustment through which the individual generally passes during the stages of his development from infancy to adulthood. At the very moment 36 of birth the infant is called upon to make strenuous adjustment. The early life of the infant consists principally of eating, sleeping, and playing. But he must learn to eat, sleep and play not entirely as he himself wishes but when and how his mother or nurse wants him to eat, sleep and play. If brought up according to modern methods his hunger pangs must adjust themselves within a few days to the usual three-hour feeding periods; his time for sleep and play is regulated according to schedule. Often when he wishes to play, he is expected to sleep. Compelled to

33 34

adjustment - reglare - ; exacting - exigent - , ; 35 to meet the requirements of living - a satisface cerinele vitale - ; 53 36 at the very moment - tocmai n momentul naterii - ;

submit 37 to being held and bathed to which he responded 38 with irritation at first, he soon 70 learns to delight in these pleasurable sensations and shortly must readjust again by inhibiting39 his crying when he is not picked up and fondled on demand. As the child develops, an ever-increasing range of requirements is imposed upon him. The requirements and demands made by his elders are specially directed toward a regulation of his manners and social conduct. Responsibilities, which at first are confined largely to his care of toys, are soon extended to duties in caring for himself and in co-operating with the organization at home. In his play life with the other children both in the home and in the neighbourhood he discovers that his personal wishes are frequently blocked by those of his playmates. He cannot always have his own way40. Social requirements become more exacting as he develops into a more independent and responsible individual. But the first great independent venture in social organization comes when the child enters school. Here he must adjust to a new and still more exacting series of requirements. Without the constant support of parents he is expected of his own volition to modify his personal desires, his individual interests, and to regulate his behaviour according to definite requirements and procedures. Again he cannot have his own way or behave entirely to suit his individual fancy. The requirements of behaviour, conduct and social decorum imposed by his teachers are inexorable41. Moreover, he must learn to adjust to a school curriculum and to definite methods of study and performance. Not only must he be able to write but also his manner of writing is prescribed by an orthodox system42 of muscular performance. His intellectual interests are defined by established courses of study. There is a definite procedure for solving his problems of arithmetic which he is expected to utilize. Then in addition to adjusting to his teachers' and to schoolwork requirements, he must learn also to adjust socially to his classmates. On the playground he cannot always be the leader or choose the games of his own liking. As he
37 38

to submit - a supune, a prezenta, a afirma - (), (); to respond - a fi receptiv la, a rspunde - , ; 39 to inhibit - a inhiba - , ; 40 to have it's own way - a proceda n felul su - -; 41 inexorable - implacabil - , ; 54 42 orthodox system - sistem acceptat de toi - .

advances in the grades and possibly into the high school the requirements in school performance and social behaviour become even more specialized and exacting. Individual competition becomes keen. On completion of school and adolescence the individual is expected to have achieved autonomy. EXERCISES: I. Fill in the blanks with the prepositions: from, of, through, during, at, upon, to. It is profitable to illustrate the process ... adjustment ... which the individual generally passes... the stages ... his development ... infancy ... adulthood. ... the very moment ... birth the infant is called ... to make strenuous re-adjustment. The early life ... the infant consists principally ... eating, sleeping, and playing. II. Analyze the structure of the word childhood. Give examples of a similar word in the text.

55

UNIT TWELVE
COMMUNICATING Man is a social animal. His social disposition43 is a part of his biological heritage, which means that he lives, by nature in relationship to others in a variety of groups, including the family group. All groups are among other things communication systems which vary in their effectiveness. If communication within a group or between two or more groups is to be effective, a number of conditions must be satisfied, including conditions that relate to messages44 themselves. If a message is repeated too often, it tends to lose its force. A warning poster for motorists, even if very macabre45, may have an immediate effect, but this soon dies off. A word or phrase reiterated 46 to oneself may be robbed of its meaning. If you stare at a familiar word like "table" long enough or keep on uttering 47 it to yourself, it seems to become meaningless. The more you look at it, the stranger it becomes. Under such conditions the word or phrase loses its power to select from the possible alternative meanings in the viewer's mind. Ten or more million years ago the system of communication used by our animal ancestors was no doubt based on innate mechanisms, especially those involving the sense of smell. When our ancestors took to the trees this sense became less important for them because odors tend to cling to the ground. But smells still retain much of their potent effect on us; an unpleasant smell makes us sick, whilst a repellent48 sight or sound only makes us say that we feel sick. For the most part, human communication is not based on acquired habits and skills. A sound emitted by an animal conveys information about the situation in which it finds itself. At the same time it may refer to a future

43 44 45 46

disposition - nclinaie, vocaie, aptitudine - ; messages - mesaj - ; macabre - macabru - , ; reiterate - a repeta (de multe ori) - (); utter 58 - a pronuna - ; repellent - repulsiv - , ;

7Q
48

event. An alarm note, for instance, indicates fear and it may also foreshadow49 an escape movement. There is a distinction between a signal and a message. A message is constituted by successively selecting elements from an 'alphabet' of sings or letters, words, numbers and transmitted in the form of signals auditory, visual, electrical, etc. It is not ideas or intentions as such that we transmit, but their coded form. The signals into which they are encoded carry information by virtue of50 the fact that they can be decoded; they enable the receiver to select the appropriate elements from his alphabet. Animals too have a repertoire51 of potential messages. If they could only emit a single grunt they could convey no information because there would be no way of knowing whether it signified, for example, a threat or a mating cry. The message would not resolve any doubt. Some birds have a repertoire of twenty different phrases, which they employ in suitable circumstances. It is the selection from these phrases, which yields the information. Social communication takes place if information is transmitted from a source to a receiver. As we have just seen this can occur with respect to something about which the receiver is uncertain. Otherwise he would not be attending to52 the information already in his possession. Uncertainty (or doubt) means the presence of alternatives; that is the possibility of choice, selection or discrimination. One way of measuring the receiver's doubt is in terms of the number of alternatives open to him to choose from.

49 50
-

to foreshadow - a prevesti, a prezice - ; by virtue of - n virtutea - n (-), (-);

.

repertoire - repertuar - ; 59 52 to attend to - a atrage atenia - ;

Consider the following example, which I have adopted from the one given by professor Cherry. If a railway time-table merely announced: "A train will soon depart from here to some destination", it would be of little use to passengers. But if it read: "A train will leave Euston for Edinburgh on Platform I at 10.00 a.m." the passenger would feel that he had been given precise information which would enable him to select without error from among the different stations, times and destinations. Man as a social animal lives by communicating with his fellows. He receives stories and transmits information of emotional as well as intellectual kind. And he himself as an individual is a self-communicating system; 'thinking' indeed often, takes the form of an internal conversation. Communication thus includes a wide range of human experience and behaviour. We can examine its effectiveness in interpersonal relations53, in a social context such as a school, a factory or a committee and, generally, in the spread of ideas. The traffic system illustrates a particular use of social communication: a continuously changing situation in which road users exchange the information necessary for the safe and smooth flow of traffic. EXERCISES: I. Find English equivalents for the following: 1. motenire biologic / ; 2. grupe diferite / ; 3. a avea un efect spontan-rapid / ; 4. imediat nceteaz de a aciona / ; 5. poate pierde nelesul / ; 6. continu s pronune cuvntul n minte / -, " "; 7. a alege din setul de nelesuri posibile /

53

interpersonal relations - relaii ntre persoane - ; 60

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22.

23. 24.

fr ndoial se baza pe mecanisme naturale / ; mirosul de obicei rmne pe pmnt / ; nc mai pstreaz o aciune puternic asupra noastr / ; n timp ce aparena sau sunetul insuportabil / ; se bazeaz pe deprinderi i obiceiuri cptate / ; a emite sunete / ; a transmite informaia / ; poate fi relatat... / ...; mesajul este alctuit din... / ...; elemente alese treptat / ; semnale audio-vizuale i electrice / , , ; aa zise / ; dau posibilitate ca recipientul s aleag elementele core spunztoare / ; pericolul i chemarea la mperechere / ; pe care ei le ntrebuineaz n circumstane corespunz toare / ; se transmite de la surs la recipient / ; aceasta se poate ntmpla numai fa de / ...;

61

6. The signals enable the receiver to select the appropriate elements from his alphabet. 7. Social communication takes place if information is transmitted from a source to a receiver. 8. Communication doesn't include a wide range of human experience and behaviour. VI. Try to find in the text the synonyms of these words: known, ill, uncertainty, choice, mistake, large, special, rapid, to look, pronounce, to choose, to happen, thought. VII. Find the adjectives in the text which are opposite of the following: strange, seldom, healthy, meaningful, familiar, certain, decoded. VIII. Make the summary of the text.

64

UNIT THIRTEEN
DETERMINING THE RANGE OF EMOTIONS: LABELING OUR FEELINGS If we were to try to list the words in the English language that have been used to describe emotions, we could end up with at least 500 different examples. The list would range from such obvious emotions as "happiness" and "fear" to less common ones, such as "adventurousness" and "pensiveness". One challenge for psychologists has been to try to sort through this list in order to identify the most important, fundamental emotions in our everyday lives, as well as to try to determine how our emotions are related to one another. One of the most comprehensive efforts has been carried out by Robert Plutchik, who asked people to rate each of a large set of emotions along thirty-four different rating scales. Then, by mathematically combining the ratings, he was able to determine the relationship among the various emotions, as well as which emotions were most fundamental. The results were clear: Eight different fundamental emotions (joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation) emerged, and they formed the pattern within the wheel. Furthermore, these primary emotions could be consolidated into the two-emotion combinations shown on the outside of the wheel. Emotions nearer one another in the circle are more closely related, while those opposite each other are conceptual opposites. For instance, sadness is opposite joy, and anticipation is opposite surprise. While Plutchik's configuration of the basic emotions is responsible, it is not the only plausible one. Other psychologists have come up with somewhat different lists, as we shall see when discuss the communication of emotion and nonverbal behaviour. Furthermore, some theorists reject entirely the notion

65

that a small number of basic emotions exist. Instead, they suggest that emotions are best understood by breaking them down into their component parts. Still, while it has proven challenging for psychologists to produce a definitive list of the primary emotions, each of us has little difficulty in identifying what we are experiencing at any given moment. The process by which we come to this understanding forms the basis of a number of theories of emotion. DECIPHERING54 OUR OWN EMOTIONS I've never been so angry before; I feel my heart pounding55, and I'm remembering all over... I don't know how I'll get through the performance. I feel like my stomach is filled with butterflies.... That was quite a mistake I made! My face must be incredibly56 red... When I heard the footsteps in the night I was so frightened57 that I couldn't catch my breath58. If you examine our language [English], you will find that there are literally 59 dozens of ways to describe how we feel when we are experiencing an emotion, and that the language we use to describe emotions is, for the most part, based on the physical symptoms that are associated with a particular emotional experience. Consider, for instance, the experience of fear. Pretend that it is late one New Year's Eve. You are walking down a dark road, and you hear a stranger approaching behind you. It is clear that he is not trying to hurry by but is coming directly toward you. You think of what you will do if the stranger attempts to rob you - or worse, hurt you in some way. While these thoughts are running through your head it is almost certain that something rather dramatic will be happening to your body. Among the most likely psychological reactions that may occur60, which

54 55 56 57 58 59 60

to decipher - a descifra - ; to pound - a se bate - ; incredibly - incredibil - ; to be frightened - a fi speriat - ; to catch one's breath - a-i ine rsuflare - ; literally 66 - cuvnt cu cuvnt, de fapt, literalmente - , ; to occur - a se ntmpla - ;

are associable with activation of the autonomic nervous system are those listed here: The rate and depth of your breathing will increase. Your heart will speed up, pumping more blood through your circulatory61 system. The pupils of your eyes will open wider, allowing more light to enter and thereby increasing your visual sensitivity. Your mouth will become dry as your salivary glands, and in fact your entire digestive62 system, stop functioning. At the same time, though, your sweat glands may increase their activity, since increased sweating63 will help you rid 64 yourself of excess heat developed by any emergency65 activity in which you engage. As the muscles just below the surface of your skin contract, your hair may literally stand on end. Of course, all these psychological changes are likely to occur without your awareness66. At the same time, though, the emotional experience accompanying them will be obvious 67 to you. You would most surely repost being fearful.

61 62

circulatory system - sistem de circulaie - ; digestive - digestiv - ; 63 to sweat - a transpira - ; 64 to rid of - a se debarasa - ; 65 emergency - urgent, extraordinar - ; 66 awareness - contiin - ; 67 67 obvious - evident - ;

33 51

volitional control - control efectuat de voin, - , to be in a position - a fi n stare - ; 63 conception - concepie - ; 70 to delight - a ncnta, a-i face plcere - , ; 93 breathing - rsuflare - ;

68