General Psychology

Prepared For …Students

 Course Objectives
Describe basic psychological concepts
Compare and contrast the major theoretical
perspectives in psychology
Discuss different aspects of human
development
Compare and contrast different learning
theories
Summarize motivational and emotional
processes
 Cont`d
Demonstrate social and interpersonal skills
in everyday life
Set an adaptive goal and plan for future
Apply knowledge of psychology in their life
Develop their life skills.
Understand the meaning of learning,
memory, motivation, emotion,
 Unit One
1.1. Introduction to Psychology
Brainstorming:
• What comes to your mind when you hear the
word psychology?
• Have you read or anything related to
psychology?
• What was its content about?
• Did you appreciate it? Why?
• What do you expect from the course
psychology?
 1.1.Meaning of Psychology
• The term Psychology was coined
from two Greek words: ‘Psyche’
meaning “soul”, spirit or mind
and ‘logos’ meaning study,
knowledge.
• Thus, anciently psychology was
defined to be the study of mind,
spirit or soul.
 Cont`d
Later, the subject matter of
psychology was shifted to the
systematic study of behavior by J.B.
Watson in 1878-1958.
At present, psychology is defined as
the scientific study of behavior and
mental processes. It also includes
the application of this science to
human problems.
 Cont`d

• When we examine this definition, we can have

three basic terms (i.e. science, behavior and
mental processes).
– Science:- is a systematized body of knowledge
which is obtained through careful observation,
experimentation, measuring and recording of
events.
– Behavior:- whatever a person does that can be
observed, measured &recorded which can be
overt/covert activity.
– Mental processes:- are mental activities like
thinking, remembering, reasoning, perceiving and
so on.
 1.2.Goals of Psychology
1) Description: describes what, when and how
of a behavior. It answers questions that
people are curious about to know. e.g. What
and how a behavior does happen? When
and where does a behavior happen?
2) Explanation: we understand behavior and
mental processes when we can explain why
they happen. Because, there is still much
more to learn.
 Cont`d
3) Prediction: Psychologists are able to
predict future behavior. For example,
psychologists have developed test that
enable employees to improve their prediction
of which job applicants will perform well.
4) Influence/control: finally, psychologist
hopes to go beyond description,
understanding and prediction to influence
behavior in beneficial ways.
 1.3. The Historical Roots of Psychology-
The Beginnings of Psychology as a Science

For centuries, philosophers enjoyed

arguing and debating questions
like these:
• How do we acquire knowledge(its
sources)?
•
 Cont`d
• Does information come to us
through our senses and our
experiences with the environment,
or is it born?
• However, these scholars of the past
did not rely heavily on empirical
evidence.
• “Psychology has long past, but short
history.”
• Philosophy and physiology are considered
to be the source of psychology.
• Until the 19th century, psychology was not a
formal discipline, i.e. did not stand by itself
as a separate field of study.
• Psychology, as a separate and independent
discipline developed (emerged) in the late
19thc.
Wilhelm Wundt was the first man to
establish the first psychological
laboratory in 1879, in Leipzing,
Germany.
Wundt saw psychology as the study
of conscious experience or
understanding mental process
focusing on inner sensation, feeling
and thought.
 Cont`d
• Until 1920, psychology remained as the
science of mental life.
• From 1920 to 1960 psychology was
refined as the science of observable and
measurable behavior by American
Psychologist J.B. Watson.
• After 1960’s Psychology is considered
as the study of both mental process and
observable behavior.
 Cont`d
• Due to these controversies,
fundamental questions about what
should psychology study were raised.
• Hence, Psychologists were divided
about what they should study and how
they should study it. Based on these
controversies, different schools of
thought are emerged.
 1.4.The Early Perspectives of Psychology
1. Structuralism
• It focused on contents of the mind and
concept of “reductionism”.
• All human mental experience can be
understood as a combination of simple
elements or events.
• Structuralism focused on finding out the
structure or basic elements of the
mind.
 Cont`d
• Wundt is considered as the first
psychologist and father of
experimental psychology.
• He limited the subject matter of
psychology to the study of conscious
experience.
• As water is broken down to oxygen and
hydrogen elements, so does human
experiences.
 Cont`d
e.g.- Sensations: sights, sounds, tastes,
smells and touch, which arise from
stimulation of the sense organs;
- Feelings: love, fear, joy, and so on
• Its method of study was introspection.
Introspection involves asking the person to
describe what is going on in his/her mind.
• The goal of the structuralisms was to find out
the units or elements which make up the
mind.
 2. Functionalism
Proposed by William James and
stressed on how the mind allows
people to adapt, live, work, and play.
It focused on what the mind does
and on the functions of mental
activity and the role of behavior in
allowing people to adapt to their
environment.
 Cont`d

• To perceive the world differently,

we must be willing to change our
belief system.
• They were interested in the fact that
mind and behavior are adaptive.
• They emphasized on the causes and
consequences of behavior. So, their
main method was experimentation.
 3. Gestalt Psychology
• It is an approach that focuses on the
organization of perception and
thinking in a ‘‘whole” sense rather
than on the individual elements of
perception.
• Emphasized on the significance of
studying any phenomenon in its
overall form.
• The main concept that the Gestaltists
posed was that the “Whole is greater
than the Sum of its Parts.”
• They concentrated on how people
consider individual elements together
as units or wholes.
• The concept of Gestalt applies to
everything, objects, ideas, thinking
processes and human relationships.
 Cont`d
• They maintained that the mind should be
thought of as resulting from the whole
pattern of sensory activity and the
relationships and organizations with in this
pattern.
• Their goal was to understand the
phenomenon of conscious experience in
holistic terms and their subject matter was
subjective experience with emphasis on
perception, memory and thinking.
 4. Psychoanalysis
•The Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
pioneered the psychoanalytic
perspective.
• Freud said that conscious experiences
are only the tip of the Iceberg. Beneath
the conscious experience, there is
primitive biological urges that seek
expression but which are in conflict with
the norms and morality of the society.
Freud believed that unlearned
biological instincts (contents of
unconscious mind) influence the
way individuals think, feel,
imagine, perceive and behave.
We are not aware of our
unconscious urges and thoughts as
we go blithely about our daily
business.
The unconscious motivations and
conflicts have powerful influences on our
conscious thoughts and actions(human
behavior).
All behavior whether normal or abnormal
is influenced by the unconscious mind.
This belief is called psychic determinism.
Thus, he proposed free association and
dream analysis as best methods of
studying the unconscious mind.
 5. Behaviorism
• Revolutionized psychology by
changing the subject matter of
psychology from the study of
conscious experience to the
study of observable and
measurable behavior.
 Cont`d
• Watson believed that the focus of
psychology should be about
observable behavior and its aim
should be to describe, predict,
understand and control behavior.
 Cont`d
• Followers of behaviorism did
not reject the existence of mind
and consciousness. Rather, they
viewed these concepts as
impossible to observe and
contributing little to a scientific
approach to psychology.
 1.4.2. Modern Perspectives
• Modern psychologists tend to
examine human nature and
behavior through several lenses.
• These perspectives hold various
views regarding human behavior,
how the mind works and give
different kinds of explanations on
why people do what they do (why
people behave the way they do).
 1. Psychodynamic Perspective
 It emphasizes (as major factors
that govern one’s behavior) the
unconscious aspects of the mind,
conflict between biological
instincts and society’s demands,
and early family experiences.
 Cont`d
• It deals with unconscious dynamics
within the individual, such as inner
forces, conflicts, or instinctual energy.
• Psychodynamic psychologists try to dig
below the surface of a person’s
behavior to get to its unconscious
motives; they think of themselves as
archaeologists of the mind.
 2. Behavioral perspective
Their focus is on observable and
measurable behavior.
 For behaviorists human beings
are passive and reactive. They
emphasized the importance of the
environment in shaping behavior
(determinism).
 Cont`d
• Behaviorism is thus the study of
the relation between people’s
environments and their behavior;
what occurs within their heads is
irrelevant.
 3. Humanistic Perspective
 Developed during the 1950s
and1960s as a reaction against
both behaviorism and
psychoanalysis
(psychodynamics) with its
proponents such as Carl Rogers
and Abraham Maslow.
 Cont`d
Human Behavior is not completely
determined by either unconscious
dynamics or the environment.
They note that psychoanalysis seems
preoccupied with mental disturbance
ignoring positive phenomena; such as
happiness, satisfaction, love and
kindness.
 Cont`d
They stress a person’s capability for
personal growth, freedom to choose
their destiny and positive qualities.
The goal of humanist psychology
was to help people express
themselves creatively and achieve
their full potential.
•
 4. Bio-psychological perspective
 This perspective focuses on how bodily
events (functioning of the body) affect
behavior, feelings and thoughts.
That is how one’s nervous system, brain,
hormonal system and other physiological
activities (work) influence his/her behavior
(the way he/she behave and think).
This perspective holds that an
understanding of the brain and the nervous
system is central in the understanding of
behavior, thought and emotion.
 5. Cognitive perspective
• Cognitive refers to the way we
process information mentally about
the world around us.
• This perspective emphasizes the
mental processes involved in
knowing: how we direct our
attention, how perceive, how we
remember, and how we think and
solve problems.
 Cont`d
• One of this perspective’s most
important contributions has been to
show how people’s thoughts and
explanations affect their actions,
feelings and choices.
• The cognitive approach is one of the
strongest forces in psychology today,
and it has inspired an explosion of
research on the complex workings of
the mind.
 6. Socio-cultural perspective
The socio-cultural perspective focuses on social

and cultural forces outside the individual.

It emphasizes that culture, ethnicity, race,

religion, norm, way of life and gender are

essential in understanding one’s behavior (both

covert and overt).

 Cont`d

We are like fish that are unaware they live

in water; so obvious is water in their lives.

 Socio-cultural psychologists study the

water- the social and cultural environment

that people “swim” in everyday.

 Cont`d
• Within this perspective, social psychologists
focus on social rules and roles, how groups
affect attitudes and behavior, why people obey
authority, and how other people- spouses,
lovers, friends, bosses, parents and strangers
affect each of us.
• Cultural psychologists examine how cultural
rules, norms and values- both explicit and
unspoken- affect people’s development,
behavior and feelings.
 7. Evolutionary Perspective
• focuses on how the human
behaviors required for
survival have adapted in the
face of environmental
pressures over the long course
of evolution.
• Darwin’s theory asserts that
individual members of a given
species who possess
characteristics that help them
survive are the most likely to
pass on the genes underlying
those characteristics to
subsequent generations.
1.5. Branches (Sub-fields)
of Psychology
1)
 Cont`d
Concerned with increasing the
efficiency of learning by
applying psychological
knowledge about learning and
motivation to the curriculum,
teaching, and administration of
academic programs.
 2) Consumer Psychology
A branch of psychology that
studies and explains our buying
habits and our effects of
advertising on a buying behavior.
 Mainly it deals with the likes and
dislikes and preferences of people.
 .

3) Clinical psychology; deals with the

study, diagnosis, and treatment of
psychological disorders that range from
mild to very severe..
4) Cognitive psychology; it studies
cognition, the mental processes
underlying behavior.
 It uses information processing as a
framework for understanding the mind.
 5) Comparative Psychology
It deals with the behavior and
mental process of different animals
or organisms.
6) Forensic psychology : focuses
on legal issues, such as determining
the accuracy of witness memories.
 7) Counseling Psychology
focuses primarily on educational,
social, and career adjustment
problems.
 It try to help people who are
having problems with family living
including marriage, divorce, and
academic related issues, love or
relationship problems, etc.
 8) Developmental Psychology
It examines how people grow and
change from the moment of
conception through death.
They study change in behavior due to
change in age.
9) Evolutionary psychology: considers
how behavior is influenced by our
genetic inheritance from our ancestors.
 10) Industrial/Organizational Psychology

It study behavior in the workplace.

Their primary concern is to
make-work as pleasant and
productive as possible.
They apply psychology to problems
of management and employee
training to:
 Cont`d
- improving communication
within the organization,
-counseling the employees, in
recruiting employee for certain
organization and
- to alleviate industrial conflict.
11) School psychology: is devoted to
counseling children in elementary and
secondary schools who have academic
or emotional problems.
12) Social psychology: is the study of
how people’s thoughts, feelings, and
actions are affected by others.
13)Sport psychology: applies psychology
to athletic activity and exercise.
 14) Biological Psychology
It studies the relationship between
physiological processes and behavior.
This is because of that all behavior is
controlled by the central nervous
system, it is sensible to study how the
brain functions in order to understand
behavior.
 15) Cross-Cultural Psychology
 They investigates the
similarities and differences in
psychological functioning in
and across various cultures
and ethnic groups.
 16) Clinical Psychology
It is a field that applies
psychological principles to the
prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
of psychological disorders.
It diagnose and treat emotional and
behavioral disorders that range from
mild to very severe.
 17) Social Psychology
Study the way we affect and are
influenced by other people, both in
groups and in intimate
relationships.
For example, it includes the study
of the ways in which we perceive
other people and how those
perceptions affect our behavior
 18) Experimental psychologists

Conduct experiments in most

areas of psychology like
learning, memory,
sensation, perception,
motivation, emotion, and
others.
 19) Personality Psychology
It focuses on the relatively
enduring traits and
characteristics of individuals.
Personality psychologists study
topics such as self-concept, self-
esteem, confidence, aggression,
moral development, etc.
 20) Health Psychology

 It applies psychological
principles to the prevention and
treatment of physical illness and
diseases.
 21) School Psychology
Much of the school psychologist’s job
consists of diagnosing learning
difficulties and trying to remedy them.
Using tests and information gained
from consultations with the students and
his parents, the school psychologist tries
to pinpoint the problem and suggest
action to correct it.
1.6. Research Methods in Psychology
• Scientific research is a planed, systematic,
controlled, empirical, and critical investigation of
hypothetical and propositions about natural,
behavioral, and social phenomena.
• Research tries to answer questions like “ why
things appear the way they are?, Why human being
behave the way they do?, And etc
• It is the methods of modifying the existing
knowledge, creating new knowledge, or checking
the validity (truthfulness) of the existing knowledge.
 Cont`d
• In scientific research, subjective
belief must be checked against
objective reality.
• To conduct any scientific research,
gathering information or evidences is
very crucial.
• To collect this information, different
methods/techniques are employed.
 Types of Research Methods In
Psychology
There are three major types of
research methods in psychology:
a)Descriptive Research Method.
b)Correlation Research Method.
c)Experimental Research Method.
 A) Descriptive research
In this type of research, the researcher
simply records what she/he has
systematically observed. Descriptive
research methods:-
i. Naturalistic Observation,
ii. Case Studies,
iii. Surveys.
 i) Naturalistic Observation
• It is the observation of behavior
as it occurs in its natural setting.
• Observing behavior in their
natural environment often
involves counting behaviors, such
as number of aggressive acts,
number of smiles, etc.
 Cont`d
• In naturalistic observation,
psychologists observe behavior, in
real world settings.
• They conduct naturalistic
observations at football games, day
care centers, kindergartens, college
dormitories, shopping malls,
restaurants, and etc.
 Cont`d
• The researcher must record simply
& passively what are occurred.
• Taking care not to interfere with the
people or animals being observed.
This is because if there is
interference of the researcher, the
subjects may not show their real
behavior.
 Cont`d
• The researcher has to have such
ideas as: what to be observed,
whom to observe, when and
where will observation takes
place, how to observe, and in
what form will the result of
observation be recorded?
 Cont`d
• Observing behavior in their
natural environment often
involves counting behaviors,
such as number of aggressive
acts, number of smiles, etc.
• In writing, using checklist, tape
recording, video… etc
Advantages of Naturalistic Method
• Behavior is naturally occurring and is
not manipulated by a researcher and it
can provide more qualitative data as
opposed to merely quantitative
information.
• It enables one to get a good idea of how
people/animals normally behave in their
naturalistic setting (it has ecological
validity).
 Cont`d
• Provide uncontaminated or
unbiased/real data.
• It gives the opportunity to study
issues that cannot be studied
through experimentation or in
laboratory situation.
 Disadvantages of Naturalistic Method
• Difficult to maintain the natural status of
events (behaviors).
• It is difficult to observe all behaviors in
its natural settings.
• The researcher may probably subjective.
• Researcher’s beliefs can also alter their
observations
• It is time consuming and requires more
resource
 ii) Case Study/ Clinical Method/
• This is an in-depth study or
description of a single
event/case/individual or single case
about few individuals.
• Because it is used in clinics by
medical practitioners or clinical
psychologist it is sometimes called
clinical method.
 Cont`d
• Applying the case study method
typically over an extended period of
time can involve other remaining
methods such as naturalistic
observations, psychological testing,
survey (questionnaire and
interview), document analysis and
the application of a treatment.
Advantages of the Case Study Method
• Provide an in-depth information
(both qualitative and quantitative)
about the case under study
• It is more helpful in understanding
rare cases and applying specific
interventions.
• It may be a source of hypothesis that
may be used in studying large cases
 Disadvantages of the Case Study Method

• Difficult to generalize to large cases

(population)
• The researcher biases and problems
on the techniques employed may
occur
• Requires more resources (time and
others)
 iii) Survey Method
 It is the way of assessing people’s
behavior, thought or attitudes by
selecting samples from the population,
then generalizing the findings to the
whole population.
In most cases interview and
questionnaires are the tools used to
collect information from the
sample/participant in survey method.
 Advantages of Survey Method
Helps to gather large information from
large population within the short period of
time
 It helps to generalize the findings from
the sample to the population
Relatively it is economical in terms of
time and other resources.
Questionnaire and interview for instance
can be conducted using the internet.
Disadvantages of Survey Method
 Survey data is based solely on
subjects’ responses which can be
inaccurate in questionnaire for example
due to outright lying, misunderstanding
of the question and even the manner in
which the question is asked.
 The sample/participant may not
precisely represent the target
population.
 B/Correlation Method
• Correlation study is used to determine whether
there is relationship between two or more variables
or not.
• It tells us the direction of relationship and the
strength of relationship between two variables (if
the correlation already exists).
• It does not show cause- effect relationship.
• Statistically the number that helps us to know the
direction and strength of relationship between two
variables is called coefficient of correlation
(represented as r).
 Cont`d
• The values of correlation coefficient
(r) range from -1.00 to +1.00.
• The negative and positive sign
indicate the direction of relationship
while the magnitude (the number or
the values) indicates the strength or
degree of relationship between two
variables.
 Cont`d
• The values of correlation coefficient (r) range from -
1.00 to +1.00.
• The negative and positive sign indicate the direction
of relationship while the magnitude (the number or
the values) indicates the strength or degree of
relationship between two variables. The values of
correlation coefficient (r) range from -1.00 to +1.00.
• The negative and positive sign indicate the direction
of relationship while the magnitude (the number or
the values) indicates the strength or degree of
relationship between two variables.
 Advantages of Correlational Method
Helps to assess direction and strength of
relationship between two variables
Helps to the situations that may not be studied
using experimental method
Disadvantages of Correlation Method
• Cannot make any assumptions of cause and
effect relationship (does not explain how third
a variable can be involved, or how the
variables can influence each other).
• Mostly applicable for quantitative data only
 C/ Experimental Method
• It is carefully designed procedure in which
the extraneous variables are controlled and
the cause-effect relationship between
variables will be determined. Some basic
elements in experimental method include:
• Variable: is a characteristic that takes on
different values or conditions for different
individual in experiment. It is something
that changes.
 Cont`d
• Independent variable: manipulated or selected
variable by the experimenter to see its effects on
another variable or dependent variable. It is the
variable that is manipulated by the experimenter
(also called input variable or the cause).
• Dependent variable: it is the variable which is
measured to determine the effect of
independent variable. This is the outcome
variable (results of the experiment).
 Cont`d
• Experimental group: is the group which receives
the experimental treatment/ independent variable.
• Control group: is the group which do not receives
the experimental treatment/independent variable.
Both experimental and control group are identical
(the same) in every ways except on the level of
independent variable.
• Extraneous variable: is variable which can
theoretically affect the observed phenomena unless
it is controlled by the experimenter/researcher.
 Advantages
• It provides the cause-effect
relationship
• There is a better ways of controlling
the effect of the Extraneous variable
• It is possible to differentiate
between the real/actual and the
placebo effect
 Disadvantages
• Less applicable to human beings due to ethical
issues & complexity of human behavior
• Because of its artificial settings, it is difficult
for generalization (external validity)
• If the participants are aware that they are
under the controlled situation, they may not
reflect their real behavior so that the result
may be biased.
 Steps of Scientific Research
1 - Defining the Problem
2- Formulating the Hypothesis
3- Testing the Hypothesis
4- Drawing Conclusions
5 - Reporting Results
 CHAPTER TWO
2.HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

2.1. Basic Terms in Human Development

• Growth,
• Maturation,
• Learning, and
• Development
• Growth
• Growth refers to the quantitative changes in
human developments.
 Cont’d

• Quantitative change refers to changes in size,

amount or quantity which is subjected to
measurement.
• It is an indicative of increase in bodily
dimensions of the organism. That is increase
in size, height, weight and structure,
circumference etc.
 b) Maturation

 It is genetically programmed, naturally occurring

changes in the courses of human development.
Example, the ripening of the brain to think.
 Maturation represents the readiness or ripening
of a certain growing body to start its functions.
 It is a natural potential that is common to human
races.
 Cont’d
– For example, phylogenetic functions such as lying,
sitting, crawling, creeping, standing and walking.
– Maturation is a qualitative change as a result of
the unfolding of inherited tendencies.
– It is largely influenced by genetics and is relatively
free from the influence of environment (meaning
not matter of environments).
 Learning

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in

behavior or knowledge that occurs as a result
of practice or experiences in the interactions
with the environment.
• Learning excludes temporary changes-such as
changes due to drug usage, fatigue, and
illness. illities.
 Learning….
• Learning is extremely dependent on the
environment.
• In other words it can be explained as
performing activities by using the matured
body organs. Example, ontogenetic function
like, writing, reading, driving, swimming etc.
• Learning is also the acquisition of knowledge,
skills and abilities.
 d) Development

• Development is defined as a progressive

series of orderly, coherent and lifelong process
of physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and
language changes that occur throughout the
life span.
• Development includes both qualitative and
quantitative changes.
 Cont’d
• It is the overall changes that result in
improved working or functioning.
• It is an orderly, progressive and continuous
change of the organism from conception to
death (throughout the life span).
 2.2. Principles of Human Development

• Development involves continuous and gradual

change.
• Development of human being (from conception
to death) involves so many types of changes.
When there is development, there is change.
• Changes in the process of human development
include changes in body size- height, weight,
circumference, recognition-memory, reasoning,
perception, imagination, etc.
 Principles
• 2. Development is multidimensional.
• It proceeds in different aspects- in quality,
quantity, shape, texture.
• 3. Early development is more critical than later
development.
• Most developmental psychologist states early
years are the foundation period in life. For
example, Freud argued that “the child is the
father of the man.”
 Principles
• 4. Development is the product of maturation
and learning (product of heredity and
environment).
• This shows the fact that; human beings are the
function of both nature and nurture.
• Nature:- refers to biological inheritance
(heredity)
• Nurture refers to environment.
 Principles
• Psychologists who are in favor of nature side
argue that development is primarily
influenced by biological inheritance
(heredity).They argue that individuals are
born with an inherited blue print. In an
extreme case, they believe that environment
has little to do with individual development;
the possibility is little to change what nature
has provided.
 Principles
• On the other hand, the proponent of nurture
(environmentalists) claim that environmental
experiences are the most important to
determine development. They believe that
“The child mind is a blank slate at birth
(Tabula Rasa) on which experiences writes on
it and determine our knowledge.
 Principles
• To a great extent, they argue that anyone can
become anything provided that the
environment is right.
• Generally, the principle of nature and nurture
signifies that development comes from the
interaction of maturation and learning.
 Principle----
5/Development follows definite and predictable
patterns
• Development does not occur haphazardly; rather it
follows predicable order and directions. From
evidences of an orderly, predictable pattern in
physical development in both prenatal and
postnatal development, two laws were formulated
about the directional sequence of development.
• .
 Princ---
• A) Cephalocaudoal law:-This law states that the
direction of development is from head to foot
or top to bottom. That is, development begin at
head region and proceeds downward to the
trunk and then to feet regions or extremities.
• According to this principle, improvement in
structure and functions come first in the head
region, then in the trunk and last in the leg
region
• B) Proximodistal law
• Proximodistal law states that the direction of
development proceeds from inner to outer
parts of the body, near to for or central axis
of the body towards the extremities. This
means the embryo head and trunk develop
before the limb, and arms and legs before the
fingers and toes.
 prin
• Babies first develop the ability to use their
upper arms and upper legs (which are closest
to the center of the body), then the fore arms
and fore legs, then hands and feet, and finally
fingers and toes.
 Cont’d
6/There are individual differences in
development
• Although the pattern of development is similar
for all children, they vary in their physical,
intellectual and psychosocial development.
• Individuals also differ in rate of development.
• Each child is different and the rates at which
individual children grow are different.
 2.3. Aspects of Human Development

1/Physical Development: refers to changes in the

bodily structures and functions of different body
parts.
2/ Cognitive Development: refers to intellectual
development; it deals with abilities such as
processing information that includes thinking,
imagination, memorizing, learning, reasoning,
decision making, etc.
3/ Language development: refers to changes in the
use of speech.
 Aspects
• 4/ Social Development: - refers to changes in
forming relationship or interaction with others.
• 5) Emotional Development: -changes in feeling,
expression of emotions.
• 6) Moral Development: refers to changes in
reasoning about “Right and wrong”.
• 7) Gender Development: - refers to changes in
understanding the roles played by males and
females.
 2.4. Theories of Human Development

 Piaget`s Theory of Cognitive Development

 Erikson`s Theory of Psychosocial Development
 Freud`s Theory of Psychosexual Development
 Kohlberg`s Theory of Moral Development
 2.3.2.Theory of Cognitive Development

 The child is an active, not a passive receiver of

information.
 To him, children continually try to make sense
of their world by dealing actively with objects.
 Children actively acquire knowledge through
their own actions.
 Meaning that knowledge is constructed by
people.
 Cont’d
 Piaget believes that children pass through a series
of sequential, universal, and invariant stages,
acquiring different classes of mental abilities.
 Cognitive functioning begins as babies respond
to what they can touch, taste, or see.
 Then, the ability to use symbols and to think
abstractly increases with each subsequent stage
until individuals are able to manipulate abstract
concepts and consider hypothetical alternatives.
 Cont’d
 Infants’ mental structures are called schemes
or schemas while mental structure of those
beyond the age of 7 is called mental
operations.
 A scheme is the internal representation of
some specific physical or mental actions.
 It is an organized pattern of behaviour that
helps a person to adapt to his environment.
 Principles of Cognitive development

 Piaget suggested two psychological

mechanisms (adaptation and organization),
that are responsible for the development of our
cognitive structure or knowledge.
These two mechanisms are used constantly
throughout our lives, so, Piaget called them
the functional invariants.
 Cont’d
 As a result of his research in biology, Piaget
concluded that all species inherit two basic
tendencies, or "invariant t functions.“
 The first of these tendencies is toward
organization-the combining, arranging,
recombining, and rearranging of behaviour'
and thoughts into coherent systems.
 A) Organization
 It refers to the connection among the cognitive
structures.
 It is bringing a person`s knowledge of the environment
together to form a system or more complex
organizational structure.
 The second tendency is toward adaptation, or
adjusting to the environment.
 Equilibration:- According to Piaget, organizing,
assimilating, and accommodating can be viewed as a
kind of complex balancing act.
 B) Adaptation
In order to survive, and individual must adapt to the
demands of the environment.
 According to Piaget, intellectual development is seen
as the adaptation of cognitive structure to meet the
demands of the environment.
 Piaget stresses that knowledge is a process of
continuous self-construction.
 Just as organisms adapt physically to their
environment, so does thought adapt to the
environment at psychological leve
 Cont’d
 He argued that children cognitively adapt to
their environment (the process of knowledge
development) based on two interrelated
process (principles):
i) assimilation,
ii) accommodation.
 a) Assimilation
 It is a process whereby new objects or ideas
are understood in terms of concepts or
actions (schemes) that the individual already
possesses.
 It enables an individual to deal with new
situations and new problems by using
existing schemes
 b)Accommodation
Accommodation is the process that
involves the changing or modifying of
existing schemes or the development of
new schemes.
 It is a process which enables individuals
to modify concepts and actions to fit new
situations, objects or information.
Stages of Cognitive Development
1) Sensorimotor stage.
2) Preoperational stage.
3) Concrete operational stage.
4) Formal operational stage.
Piaget believed that all people pass
through the same four stages in exactly
the same order.
1) Sensorimotor Stage(birth -2 years)

 Infants trying to make sense of the world.

 An infant’s knowledge of the world is limited
to their sensory perceptions and motor
activities.
 Children utilize skills and abilities they were
born with, such as looking, sucking,
grasping, and listening to learn more about
the environment.
2) The Preoperational Stage (2–7 years)

 The hallmark of the preoperational stage is

sparse and logically inadequate mental
operations.
 Children develop their language skills.
 They learn to use symbolic thinking
(representing things with words and images).
However, they still use intuitive rather than
logical reasoning.
 3) The Concrete-Operational Stage

 This stage is characterized by the appropriate

use of logic.
 Children in this stage can, however, only solve
problems that apply to actual (concrete)
objects or events, and not abstract concepts
or hypothetical tasks.
 4) Formal Operational Stage
 It is characterized by acquisition of the
ability to think abstractly.
 Reason logically and draw conclusions from
the information available.
 Young adult is able to understand such things
as love, "shades of gray", logical proofs, and
values.
 2.3.3. Psychosocial Development

 Erikson emphasizes the importance of social

and cultural influences on personality
development.
 Much less emphasis on sexual urges and far
more emphasis on cultural influences
 Conflicts at each stage emerge at a distinct time
dictated by both biological maturation and the
social demands that the developing person
experiences at a particular point in life.
 Stages of Psychosocial Development

Stage 1: Trust versus Mistrust

Stage 2: Autonomy versus Shame, doubt
Stage 3: Initiative versus guilt
Stage 4: Industry versus inferiority
Stage 5:- Identity versus role confusion
Stage 6: Intimacy versus Isolation
Stage 7: Generativity versus stagnation
Stage 8: Integrity VS Despair
 1: Trust versus Mistrust
 The child strives to build a sense of trust
toward oneself and the world.
 If children derive security, comfort, love and
need satisfaction from warm relationship
from their parents (specially mother), they
develop the feeling of trust toward the world.
• If children experience cold parental care and
rejection (if the parents are anxious, angry,
 Cont’d
• impatient, hostile, and do not meet the
infants’ need / they develop sense of
mistrust.
 Children with a sense of trust believe that
people are generally good while those with
sense of mistrust focus on the negative
aspects of other people’s behaviour.
 The basic strength is hope.
 Stage 2: Autonomy V Shame, doubt

 Personality is formed/ shaped by the child’s

learning.
 The child needs to be independent /self-
sufficient/ in many activities including
toileting, feeding, walking and talking.
 The basic strength that evolves from this
resolution is will.
 Cont’d
• If parents allow the child’s attempt to be
independent with patience and good
encouragement, the child will develop a sense
of autonomy.
• If parents do not allow the child to do activities
/things that he/she can do or pushed the child to
do tasks for which he/she is not ready, the child
feels a sense of shame /doubt about their ability
and loss her/his self-confidence.
 Stage 3: Initiative versus Guilt

 Pre-schooler children show greater freedom of

movement, perfection of language and expansion of
imagination.
 These developments help children to explore their
environment.
 They go beyond merely asserting their independence
to taking initiative, or actions, that explore their new
motor skills and cognitive powers.
 During this stage, children also encounter a wider
social world and more challenges.
 Cont’d
 The developmental task is therefore, to
develop active, purposeful behaviour to cope
with these challenges.
 Here, if children’s self-initiated activities
earn approval and encouragement from
their parents, they develop a sense of initiative
which fosters strong feeling of self-
confidence.
 Cont’d
Initiative is also supported when
parents answer their children’s
questions and do not deride fantasy
or play activities.
In contrast the danger is, if children
action plans earn disapproval from
adults.
 Stage 4: Industry versus inferiority

 Children develop sense of being able to do

things well and want to win recognition by
producing things.
 Children also become interested in how things
are made and how they work.
 Industry is the origin of achievement and
motivation.
 Cont’d
 The motivation to persevere and perfect skills
is what Erikson calls industry, a form of
achievement motivation that pervades much
of children’s school and home life.
 Generally, this stage characterized by growing
independence from parents and increased
readiness to work at whatever skills the
culture values.
 Stage 5:- Identity versus role confusion

 According to Erikson, although elements of

searching for identity also occur before and
after this stage of development.
 This means the search for ego identity
reaches a climax during adolescence as young
people strive to find out who they are and who
they are not.
 Cont’d
 Identity is the understanding and acceptance
of both the self and one’s society
 “What do I want to do with my life?” (Needs,
motives, and goals),
 “What alternatives are there for me?”
(Possibilities to reach my goal).
 In search of identity adolescents raise the
questions such as who are they?
 Cont’d
 To whom they do belong? What are their roles in
the society?
 What they want to be?
 Where are they going? etc.
 “Who really am I?” (personal qualities, strengths,
and weaknesses),
 “Where do I belong?” (sexual and ethnic identity),
 “What do I belief in?” (Values and life style to be
fallowed)
 Cont’d
 Throughout life, people struggle with such questions,
and the proper answers to these questions build up
one’s sense of self (individual identity)
 These questions are especially essential for
adolescents.
 Identity is also an unconscious striving for a continuity
of personal character, a criterion for ego synthesis.
 Further, identity is a maintenance of an inner solidarity
with a group’s ideals and identity.
 Cont’d
 In search of identity adolescents raise the questions
such as who are they?
 To whom they do belong? What are their roles in the
society?
 What they want to be?
 Where are they going? etc.
 Identity could be defined both positively and
negatively, as adolescents are deciding what they want
to become and what they do not wish to be and what
they do not believe.
 Cont’d
 Those who have resolved their personal crisis
have achieved a sense of identity.
 They know who they are and where they are
going.
 On the other hand, those who can’t get answer for
the questions of identity and remained locked in
doubt and insecurity experience develop a sense
of identity confusion.
 Aim is to find realistic ways to gratify the id.
 Cont’d
• In contrast to Freud, who was concerned
with how people defend themselves
from painful thought and feelings (a
negative approach), Erikson was
concerned with how people struggle to
develop their identity (positive
approach).
 Stage 6: Intimacy versus Isolation

 The establishment of close interpersonal

relationship is the major task of this stage.
 Erikson believes that intimacy goes beyond
sexual relationship and involves the capacity
to develop a true and mutual psychosocial
intimacy with friends that is the ability to
care for others without fearing a loss of self-
identity.
 Cont’d
 If a younger adult fails to acquire a sense of
intimacy with others, a sense of isolation
may appear.
 Relationships are avoided and commitment to
others is refused.
 The basic strength of intimacy versus isolation
crisis is love.
 Stage 7: Generativity versus stagnation

 At this stage, adults become concerned with

guiding and contributing to the next
generation.
 He defined it as “the generation of new
beings, as well as new products and new
ideas.
 Care for others is an outstanding
characteristic of the period.
 Cont’d
• This mean, it includes the procreation of children, the
production of work and the creation of new things
and ideas that contribute to the building of a better
world.
• If a sense of generativity is not occurring, an
individual may stagnate, and become concerned
with personal needs and well-being-self-concern.
• The basic strength of this crisis is care-assuming
responsibility for the wellbeing of the next
generation.
 Stage 8: Integrity VS Despair

• The individual looks back on life to evaluate

and review what has been accomplished in life.
• Those who successfully resolved the
prior/earlier crisis and accomplished their
goals in their lives realize that their lives have
made meaning so that they develop the sense of
integrity
 Cont’d
• These individuals are likely to
accept death.
• On the contrary, those individuals
who have not resolved the earlier
crises and feels that they have not
succeeded in their life and develop
the sense of despair.
 Cont’d
They realize that they have not time
to start another life and feel bitter
about their lives.
Such individuals wish to get more
time if possible to do away with
their unfinished businesses
 2.3.4.Psychoanalytic Theories

• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) who was the

founder of psychoanalytic theory.
• He believes that human behavior is largely
governed by the unconscious part of the
mind.
• Freud expressed the importance of early
experience in an extreme case saying that
“the child is the father of the man.”
 Freud’s psychoanalytic theory has three major parts:

• Levels of Consciousness
• Stages of Psychosexual development
• Structure of Personality
• Levels of Consciousness
• Freud proposed three levels of consciousness
(awareness):
• Conscious level, we are aware of the certain
things around us and of certain thoughts.
 Cont’d
. Preconscious level is memories or thoughts that
are easily available with a moment’s reflection.
• The unconscious contains memories, thoughts,
and motives, which we cannot easily call up
2)Stages of Psychosexual Development
• Freud put a heavy emphasis on biological
development in general and on sexual
development in particular.
 Cont’d
• Freud’s idea was that from birth on we have an
innate tendency to seek pleasure, especially
through physical stimulation and particularly
through stimulation of parts of the body that
are sensitive to touch: the mouth, the anus, and
genitals.
• Freud called these parts the Erogenous Zones.
• Freud argued that all people pass through five
critical stages of personality development.
 Five critical stages
A/The Oral Stage (Birth-18 months)
• The baby’s mouth is the focal point of pleasure.
The infant at this stage interacts with the world
mainly through eating, sucking, biting …etc.
• To Freud, this behavior suggested that the
mouth was the primary site of a kind of sexual
pleasure, and if infants either overly indulged or
frustrated in their search for oral gratification,
they might become fixated at this stage.
 Cont’d
• Fixation refers to unresolved conflict or
emotional hang-up caused by overindulgence or
frustration. Displaying fixation means that an
adult shows personality characteristics that are
related to an earlier stage of development.
B/The Anal Stage (18 months until 3 years of age)
• This stage occurs when parents are toilet training
their children and teaching them to avoid
prohibited behavior connected with excretion.
 Cont’d
• At this point, the major source of pleasure changes from
the mouth to the anal region
• , Freud suggested that adults might show unusual
rigidity, orderliness, punctuality- or extreme
disorderliness or sloppiness (carelessness, negligence).
• If over gratified- dirtiness, over-generosity, vagueness,
absent-minded, messy, lateness
• If under gratified- meticulousness, orderliness,
compulsive cleanness, rigid, stinginess, stubbornness.
 stages
3/Phallic Stage (about age 3)
• Interest focuses on the genitals and the
pleasures derived from fondling them.
• During this stage, pleasure presumably comes
from masturbation, sex play, and other genital
stimulation.
• This is a stage of one the most important points
of personality development (Oedipal Conflict).
 Cont’d
• As children focuses their attention on
their genitals, the differences between
female and male anatomy become more
salient. Furthermore, at this time, Freud
believed that the male begins to develop
sexual interests in his mother, starts to see his
father as a rival, and harbors a wish to kill his
father.
 Cont’d

But, he views his father as too powerful; he

develops a fear of retaliation in the form of
“castration Anxiety.”
• Ultimately, the fear becomes so powerful that
the child represses his desires for his mother
and instead chooses identification with his
father, trying to be as much like him as
possible.
 Cont’d--
• Freud reasoned that girls begin to feel sexual
arousal toward their fathers and that they
begin to experience Penis Envy.
• They wish they had the anatomical part that
seemed most clearly “missing” in girls.
Blaming their mothers for lack of a penis,
they come to believe that their mothers are
responsible for their castration
 Cont’d
• As with males though they find that in order to
resolve such unacceptable feelings, they must
identify with the same sex parent by behaving
like her and adopting her attitudes and values.
• If difficulties arise (fixation occurs) during this
period, all sorts of problems thought to occur
including improper sex-role behavior and the
failure to develop a conscience will result.
d/Latency Stage (around age 5/6 - 10/11 years)

• Sexual concerns are more or less put to rest,

even in the unconscious.
• As the child learns more about the world,
sexuality is largely repressed and the ego
expands.
• Their attention shifts toward education,
knowledge, mastering, creativity, skill
development, to be competent, social issues
such as friendship.
 E/Genital Stage (> 12 years)

• During adolescence sexual feelings reemerge,

marking the start of the final period, the
genital stage that extends until death.
• The focus in the genital stage is on mature,
adult sexuality, which Freud defined as sexual
intercourse.
 3/Structure of Personality

• Freud’s notion of unconscious processes used

to explain why people often act in ways that
seem irrational.
• Freud developed a comprehensive theory,
which held that personality consisted of three
separate, but interacting components: the id,
the ego, and the super ego.
 i/ The id:(If It Feels Good, Do It)

• It is the first and most primitive part of the

personality in the infant. The Id is a Latin word
that means “it”.
• It is the raw unorganized, inherited part of
personality whose sole purpose is to reduce
tension created by primitive drives related to
hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses.
• The id is a completely unconscious a moral part
of the personality that exists at birth.
 Cont’d
• The id operates according to the pleasure
principle, in which the goal is the immediate
reduction of tension and the maximization of
satisfaction with no regard for the
consequences.
• The pleasure principle can be summed up
simply as if it feels good, do it.
 ii) Ego (The Executive Director)

• The ego, from the Latin word for I, is mostly

conscious and is far more rational, logical than the
id.
• The ego works on the reality principle, which is the
need to satisfy the demands of the id and reduce
libido only in ways that will not lead to negative
consequences, or provide ways in which instinctual
energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety
of the individual and helps integrate the person into
society.
 Cont’d

• The ego is the “executive” of personality:

• It makes decisions, control actions, and
allows thinking and problem solving of higher
order than the id is capable of.
• The ego is also the seat of higher cognitive
abilities such as intelligence, thoughtfulness,
reasoning, and learning.
 Cont’d
 Ego mediates between the id and the external
world which are constantly threatening for its
existence.
 These constant threats and danger from the id
and environment induce anxiety in the ego.
 When possible, the ego tackles the problem in
a realistic way, using its problem solving skills.
 iii/ The superego; The Moral Watchdog

• Freud called the moral center of personality.

• The superego (also Latin, meaning “over the self”)
develops as a preschool-aged child learns the
rules, customs, and expectations of society.
• It refers to the internal representative of the
traditional reality (morals, values, and culture of
the society).
• It is the moral arm of society and guided by moral
 Cont’d
• principle. It represents the dos and don’ts of the
society.
• It also decides any action taken by the ego to satisfy
the id demands as right or wrong.
• The super ego actually has two parts, the ego
conscience and the ego ideal.
• Ego Ideal: motivates us to do what is morally proper.
It is the sum of all the ideal or correct and acceptable
behavior that the child has learned about from
parents and others in the society..
 Cont’d
. Conscience: the conscience prevents us from
doing morally bad things.
• The conscience is part of the personality that
makes people pride when they do the right
thing and guilt, or moral anxiety when they do
the wrong thing.
• The super ego helps to control impulses coming
from the id, making them less selfish and more
virtuous.
 Cont’d
• Freud saw the ego acting as a sort of mediator
between the id-with its blind demands for instant
gratification- and the superego-with its rigid, often
irrational rules, prohibitions and ideals.
• The ego’s task of satisfying both id and super ego
requires a somewhat risky balancing act.
• The ego’s task often involves finding a compromise
between the instinctual gratification sought by the id
and the strict rule- following sought by the superego.
 Cont’d
• NB: when the person (ego) attempts to satisfy its
biological desires (Id), there is an internal observer
(super ego) that watches & evaluates the person’s actions
as good (by the ego ideal) or bad (by the conscience).
• For Freud, our personality is the outcome of the
continual battle for dominance among the id, the ego,
and the superego.
• If this constant conflict between them is beyond the
control of ego, it is managed by psychological defense
mechanisms.
 3.1.Defense Mechanisms

• Defense mechanisms are unconscious tactics that

either prevent threatening material from surfacing
or disguise it when it does.
• They are normal coping processes that distort reality
in the process of reducing anxiety.
• The person then seeks way to protect the ego from
this anxiety by setting up defenses. Freud described
several defense mechanisms by which the ego
disguises, redirects, hides, and otherwise copes
with the id’s urges.
 The following are some of these
mechanisms

A/Repression: It is the master defense

mechanism when the ego pushing down
unacceptable or unpleasant id impulses in to
unconscious mind (out of our awareness).
B/Regression: In the face of a threat, one may
retreat to an earlier pattern of adaptation,
possibly a childish or primitive one.
 Cont’d
C/ Denial:-is occurred when the people refuses to accept
or acknowledge anxiety producing piece of
information. For example, Chaltu refuses to accept
her “F” grades though she knows that she has scored
20/100.
D/Reaction Formation: when the ego transform
unconscious impulses in to its opposite in
consciousness. The ego changes unacceptable motives
in to its opposite (acceptable). It involves a tendency
to act in a manner opposite to one's true feelings.
 Cont’d
E/Projection: Blaming others or coping with one`s
unwanted motives by shifting onto someone else. People
attribute unwanted impulses or feelings to someone else.
F/Rationalization: It occur when a person distort the reality
in order to justify something that has happened. It is
giving socially acceptable reasons for one's
inappropriate behavior. For example: make bad grades
but states the reason as being knowledge rather than
grade oriented; and grades only showing superficial
learning.
 Cont’d
G/Displacement: It is when expression of unwanted
feelings or thought is redirected from a more
threatening (a powerful person to a weaker one) to
less threatening.
H/Sublimation: defense mechanism that involves
expressing sexual or aggressive behavior through
indirect, socially acceptable outlets. Example, an
aggressive person who loves playing football. It is
redirection of sexual and aggression impulses to
socially valued activities and goals.
 Cont’d
I/Identification: -is making one`s identity with other
person. Borrowing other person `s identity. E.g,
identifying oneself with figure or persecutors.
• Remember that all of us use defense mechanisms
to manage our conflict and stress.. Our use of
defense mechanisms is not considered as
inappropriate or unhealthy unless we rely on them
to an extreme level. But, excessive use may create
more stress than it alleviates.
 CHAPTER THREE
3.SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
Basic Terms and Concepts
a) Stimulus: is a source of physical energy
that produces a response in the sense
organs.
 The starting point of sensation is a
stimulus, a form of energy that could be
sound waves, light waves, and heat
pressure to which an organism is capable
of responding.
 Cont`d
A sensation is a response to that
energy by a sensory system.
Stimulus and sensation have
cause and effect relationship.
b. Response: is any reaction of an
organism to or in the presence of a
stimulus. The reaction could be
muscular or glandular.
 Cont`d
c. Transduction: is the sequence of
operation by which physical energy
(example, sound waves, light) is
transformed into patterns of neural
impulse that give rise to sensory
experience.
 It is the process of converting physical
energy in to neural energy or in to the
nervous system activity.
 3.2. Sensation
Sensation:- is the process by which an organism’s
sense organs respond to a stimulus.
• It is the process whereby stimulation of receptor
cells (in the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and surface
of the skin) sends nerve impulses to the brain.
• After reaching the brain, they are registered as a
touch, a sound, a taste, and a splash of color.
• Hence, sensation can be thought as an organism’s
first encounter with sensory stimuli.
 Cont`d
• Sensation is therefore, the process that
detects the stimulus from one`s body or
environment.
• Sensation and perception are the starting
points for all other psychological processes.
• They supply the data we use for learning and
remembering, for thinking and problem
solving, for communicating with others, etc.
• Without sensation and perception, we would
not form thoughts or feelings.
 3.2.1. Laws of Sensitivity
Psychophysics suggested two laws of sensitivity:
A/ Sensory Thresholds
B/ Sensory Adaptation
A/ Sensory Thresholds
a) Absolute Thresholds :- is the minimum amount
of energy that a person can detect. When the
energy of a stimulus fall below the absolute
threshold, we cannot detect its presence.
 When the energy of the stimulus risen above the
absolute threshold, we can detect the stimulus.
 Cont`d
• E,g: how bright does a light is so that we can see
it. How loud a sound is so that we can hear it.
b) Difference Threshold /Just Noticeable
Difference: is the smallest difference in
stimulation required to discriminate one stimulus
from another.
• Example, adding one candle into 60 candles and
notice a difference. It is focused on changes in the
intensity of the stimulus.
 Cont`d
B/ Sensory Adaptation- is weakened
magnitude of sensation resulting from
prolonged presentation of the same stimulus.
When the same stimulus is
continuously/repeatedly presented, the
sensation often disappears or fades away.
 In other word, if our senses are exposed to
the same kind of stimuli, they stop to change
the sensory energy/electrical impulse or they
stop to react.
 3.3. Perception
It is the process whereby the brain interprets
sensations, giving information order and
meaning.
It is the process of organizing and interpreting
information received from the environment.
E.g: Hearing sounds and seeing colors are
sensory processes; whereas, listening sweet
music and detecting depth in a two dimensional
picture are perceptual processes.
Factors Influencing Selective Attention
i) Environmental Factors
a. Intensity- the more intense the stimulus the
more it will be attended. Example, the
louder the sound, the better is it heard.
b. Size- we tend to notice unusually large or
small things than other.
c. Contrast- things/objects contrasts with the
environment attract our attention easily.
d. Repetition- stimulus that regularly
repeated can draw our attention easily.
 Cont`d
e. Novelty- some objects/things which are
new or not seen before attract our
attention. Any novel/unique stimulus
draws our attention.
ii) Personal factors
 Personal factors like motivation,
attitude, experience, memories,
emotion and interests are affecting
our attention.
3.3. 1. Basic Elements (Processes) of
perception
Perception consists of three basic
internal (mental) processes:
A. Selective Attention
B. Perceptual Organization
C. Interpretation
 A) Selective Attention
Filtering or discarding out some stimuli
from the mass of different stimuli.
Paying attention to stimulus by
eliminating other irrelevant stimulus.
In order to perceive something, we must
attend or pay attention to it
(consciousness).
Ability to focus awareness on a single
stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuli.
 Factors Influencing Selective Attention
I) Environmental Factors
Intensity- the more intense the stimulus, the more it will be
attended. Example, the louder the sound, the better is it
heard.
Size-
Contrast-
Repetition-
Movement-
Novelty-
II) Personal factors
Personal factors like motivation, attitude, experience,
memories, emotion and interests are affecting our attention.
 B) Perceptual Organization
• It is organizing and interpreting sensation into
meaningful perceptual units.
• It is the process by which we structure the input
from our sensory receptor.
The Gestalt laws of organization:
• In the perceptual process, the senses work together
to provide us with an integrated view and
understanding of the world.
 Cont`d
The organization of sensory data
can be divided in to the
following areas:-
1)Form Perception
2)Perceptual Constancy
3)Depth Perception
4)Movement Perception
 1) Form Perception

• It is the way sensations are organized into

a meaningful shape and patterns.
• From what we sense in our environment,
the brain constructs a meaningful situation.
• To perceive forms (meaningful shapes or
patterns), you need to distinguish a figure
(an object) from its ground (or its
surrounding).
• This is systematically studied by gestalt
psychologists.
 Gestalt Laws (Principles) of
Perceptual Organization
The gestalt laws of organization are
principles that describe how we
organize and construct pieces of
information into meaningful wholes.
We perceive objects as well-
organized patterns rather than
separate components.
 Cont`d
The whole is greater than
the sum of it’s parts.”
Based on the concept of
“grouping”.
 Gestalt Laws (Principles):
i. Law of Figure-ground
ii. Law of Continuity
iii. Law of Similarity
iv. Law of Proximity
v. Law of Closure
 Cont`d.
i. Law of Figure-ground - It is the
perceptual relationship between the
object of focus (the figure) and the
field (the ground).
 When we perceive a visual stimulus,
part of what we see is the center of
our attention – figure and the rest is
considered as ground.
 ii. Law of Continuity-
• We tend to perceive lines or patterns
as being continuous even if
interrupted by another objects.
 iii. Law of Similarity
Objects that are alike in some way (color, size,
shape) tend to be perceived as belonging together.

e.g. Bingo Lottery

We organize by similarity
 iv. Law of Proximity
• Things that are close together are
usually perceived as belonging
together than those that are far
apart.
• This means, things that are closer
together are grouped together.
Proximity
 v. Law of Closure
Incomplete figures of familiar objects
will tend to be perceived as wholes.
 Our brain tends to perceive complete
by filling the gaps of incomplete
figures.
 We perceive things by grouping
them as complete figure rather than
open and breaks.
 2. Perceptual Constancy
 It refers to ability to perceive object’s shape, size,
color or brightness as being constant or
unchanging even though the sensory patterns
they produce are constantly shifting.
 It is the ability to perceive things as they are in
contrast to retina images changes.
 For example, the size of image that falls on the
retina changes as a person walks away from us,
but we do not perceive the person as shrinking in
size.
 Cont`d.
There are several types of perceptual
constancy.
a) Shape Constancy:
According to this, the shape of an object
remains constant, even though the
shape of the retinal image produced by
the object changes when our point of
view changes.
 Cont`d
b) Size Constancy- An object is perceived to
be a constant size regardless of how close or
far away it is. We continue to perceive a
familiar object as having a constant size
even when retina images size change as we
get closer or far from object.
c) Color and Brightness Constancy: The
color of the objects is seen/perceived
constant regardless of the context (dark or
light).
 3. Depth Perception
• Depth perception is our ability to judge
accurately how far the objects are from
us. The objects are three dimensional
and they have depth. Generally, depth
perception depends on two types of
cue:
a) Binocular cues
b) Monocular cues.
 a) Binocular Cues
 Itis our perception of depth using
information from two eyes.
 There are two kinds of binocular
cues:
i) Retinal disparity
ii) Convergence
 i) Retinal disparity
It is difference between the two retina
images. We have two eyes, spaced apart
by a few inches.
 Because of this separation each eye gets
a slightly different view of the world.
When an object is far away the disparity
(difference) is small and vice versa.
 ii) Convergence
It is turning of the two eyes
inward.
When the two eyes are focused
on a distance object the eye
muscles are less stressed than
when they are focused on the
near object.
 Cont`d
The two kinds of binocular cues
require the interaction of both eyes.
 Retinal disparity is, the degree of
difference between the image of an
object that are focused on the two
retinas.
The closer the object, the greater is
the retinal disparity.
 b) Monocular Cues
It is Judgment about what we perceive
based on the information from one eye.
There are about eight monocular cues.
1) Texture Gradient:- close objects
appears to have a rough or more visible
or detailed texture than distance objects.
The texture of the foreground is very
grainy, with large grains that are quite far
apart. Example, coble stone road
 2) Linear Perspective
• The two lines known to be parallel
appear becoming closer together as
they are farther away from us. This
is because objects make smaller
images on the retina when they are
more distance. Example. Rail way
3) Superposition
Closer objects tend to be partially in front
of or partially cover up more distance
objects. When one object blocks the
view of another, generally the object that
is entirely in view be perceived as closer
of the two.
4) Light and Shadow: Bright objects are
perceived as closer while darker, dimmer
objects are perceive as farther away.
 Cont`d
5) Aerial Perspective: Objects that are
far away look fuzzy and blurred in
comparison to near objects. This is
because; dust particles, smokes, water
vapor and pollution decrease the
clarity of view.
6) Speed of Movement:- Objects farther
away appear to move more slowly than
closer objects. Example, Bus.
 Cont`d
7) Accommodation :- the process by which the
shape of the lens of the eye change to follow
the visual image on the retina from stimuli
that are different distance from the eye.
8) Vertical Position:- When objects are on the
ground, the farther they appear to be below
the horizon, the closer they appear to be to
us. Example, when you see the sky, as it is
far from you is seems to meet the land or the
sea.
 4. Movement Perception
i. Perception of Real Movement:- We
perceive actual movement of the objects
when there is actually a change in position
in space of the object. We are able to see
the real movement of the object because
the image moves across the retina.
Therefore, the eyes and the head move to
follow the path of the object.
• Induced Movement: It occurs if stationary
spot or object is perceived as moving when its
frame or background moves. Example, Moon
perceived to move when a cloud moves.
• Muller–Lyer Illusion: Two lines with exactly
the same length are perceived to have
different length when arrows are added to
their heads/edge. Thus, car crash between
small cars and big cars are usually resulted
from illusion.
• Auto-kinetic Motion: We perceive motion of
single stationary light or object. You can
perceive this illusion by looking at a small dim-
light at far in a completely dark room. If you
stare at the light for a few seconds, it will
appear to move. E.g. Light of cigarette in the
dark room.
II. Apparent Movement (Wrong Perception or
Visual Illusion)
Perception of an object when there are
no actual changes in position in space.
Stroboscopic Motion: When you sit
in dark room and look at two adjacent
lights being turned on one after
another, it will seem that a single light
is jumping back and forth.
 C. Interpretation
• Generating meaning from sensory
experience is the task of perceptual
interpretation.
• Beliefs
• Emotions
• Expectations
 3.4. Extra Sensory Perception
We tend to receive stimulus without
using our senses of organs.
• Telepathy: A direct communication
from one mind to another without the
usual visual, auditory and other
signals. Those who tend to be
telepathic claim to know you’re
thought.
 Cont`d
• Clairvoyance: It is a perception of an event
or fact without normal/any sensory inputs.
Example, if a man suddenly knows that his
wife has just died, yet no has informed him.
• Pre-cognition: The perception of events that
has not yet happened. E.g. Fortune teller.
• Psycho-kinesis: The ability to affect the
physical world purely through thought.
Persons with this abilities claim to move or
affect objects without touching them.
 CHAPTER FOUR

4. LEARNING AND
THEORIES
OF LEARNING
 3.1. Definition

Learning is any relatively Permanent



change in behavior occurring as result

of practice or experience through
interaction with the environment.

Learning is also a process of acquiring
and modifications in existing
knowledge, skills, habits, or tendencies
through practice, or exercise.
 Cont`d
The above definition emphasizes
four attributes of learning...
1)Learning is relatively permanent
change in behavior.
2)It does not include change due
to illness, fatigue, maturation
and use of intoxicant.
 Cont`d
3) The learning is not directly
observable but manifests in the
activities of the individual.
5) Learning depends on practice
and experience.
3.1.2. Characteristics of learning
1. Learning is continuous modification
of behavior throughout life.
2. Learning is pervasive; it reaches
into all aspects of human life.
3. Learning involves the whole person,
socially, emotionally & intellectually.
 Cont`d
4. Learning is often a change in
the organization of experiences.
5. Learning is responsive to
incentives.
6. Learning is an active process.
7. Learning is purposeful /goal
directed/
 Cont`d
8. Learning depends on maturation,
motivation and practice.
9. Learning is Adaptation or
Adjustment(a process of
progressive adjustment) to ever
changing conditions, which one
encounters.
 3.1.3. Principles of Learning
Individuals learn best when they
are physically, mentally, and
emotionally ready to learn.
Students learn best and retain
information longer when they
have meaningful practice and
exercise.
 Cont`d
Learning is strengthened when
accompanied by a pleasant or
satisfying feeling, and that learning
is weakened when associated with
an unpleasant feeling.
 Things most recently learned are
best remembered.
 Cont`d
Individuals must have some
abilities and skills that may help
them to learn.
Things learned first create a
strong impression in the mind
that is difficult to erase.
 Cont`d
 The principle of intensity implies
that a student will learn more from
the real thing than from a substitute.
 Things freely learned are best
learned - the greater the freedom
enjoyed by individuals, the higher
the intellectual and moral
advancement.
 3.2. Factors Affecting Learning
1. Motivation:-The stronger and
clearer the motives for learning, the
greater are the effort to learn. When
the motives of learning are high, the
learner becomes enthusiastic.
2. Maturation: Neuro-muscular
coordination is important for
learning a given task.
 Cont`d
3. Health condition of the learner:
The learner should be in a good
health status to learn. Example-
Sensory defects, malnutrition, toxic
conditions of the body, loss of sleep
and fatigue hinder effective
learning.
 Cont`d
4. Psychological wellbeing of the
learner: individual‘s psychological
states like worries, fears, feelings of
loneliness and inferiority hinders
learning. Whereas self-respect, self-
reliance, and self-confidence are
necessary for effective learning.
 Cont`d
5. Good working conditions:
absence or presence of fresh air,
light, comfortable surroundings,
moderate temperature, absence
of distractions like noise and
learning aids determine learning
effectiveness.
 Cont`d
6. Background experiences:
having background experiences
affect effectiveness of learning. All
related facts and understandings
from a previously learned course
should be brought to new learning.
 Cont`d
7. Length of the learning period:
Learning periods should neither be
too short nor too long.
Long learning time sets fatigue and
reduces effectiveness in learning.
Short learning time doesn‘t allow
adequate practice needed to master a
learning task.
 Cont`d
8. Massed and distributed
learning: Learning that spreads
across time with reasonable time
gaps brings better results
compared with crammed
learning that occurs at once or
within short span of time.
 3.3. Theories of Learning
A learning theory is an
attempt to describe how
people and animals learn,
thereby helping us to
understand the inherently
complex process of learning.
 Learning theories can be applied:
 tochange unhealthy habits,
 build constructive relationships,
 develop effective behavior, and
 become more adept at
comprehending and teaching new
things.
Major Theories of Learning
1. Behavioral Learning theory
2. Observational Learning theory
3. Cognitive Learning theory
1. Behaviorist Learning Theories
 View learning as the product of the
association between stimulus
conditions (S) and the responses (R).
 The behaviorist closely observes
responses and then manipulates the
environment to bring about the
intended change.
 Behaviourists believe that:
 Learning is manifested by a change in
behaviour (observable ).
Environment shapes behaviour
(nurture).
By controlling the environment, one’s
learning can be controlled.
Only those behaviors we can directly
observe are worthy of studying
 Cont`d
The major Behaviourist
Learning theories are:
I, Classical Conditioning.

II. Operant Conditioning.

 I) Classical Conditioning
 Behavior of an organism can be
manipulated by using some
environmental factors.
 It emphasizes practice of one
task before moving on to another
and encourages the use of
motivation for effective learning.
 Cont`d
• Humans and animals can be trained to
act involuntarily to a stimulus that
previously had no effect - or a very
different effect - on them.
• A type of learning in which a neutral
stimulus comes to bring about a
response after it is paired with a
stimulus that naturally brings about that
response.
Cont`d
Basic Terms of Classical Condition
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - a
naturally occurring stimulus that
leads to an involuntary response.
Unconditioned means unlearned
or naturally occurring.
Unconditioned response (UCR) -
an involuntary response to a naturally
occurring or unconditioned stimulus.
 Cont`d
Conditioned stimulus (CS) - stimulus
that becomes able to produce a learned
reflex response by being paired with the
original unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned means learned. A neutral
stimulus can become a conditioned
stimulus when paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.
Basic Principles of the C/Conditioning
1) Acquisition: Training period when a
response is strengthened.
2) Extinction: the disappearance or
weakening of a learned response following
the removal or absence of the
unconditioned stimulus.
3) Spontaneous Recovery:
It is the reappearance of a learned response
after extinction has occurred.
 Cont`d.
4) Stimulus generalization:- is the
tendency to respond to a stimulus that
is only similar to the original
conditioned stimulus with the
conditioned response.
5) Stimulus discrimination:- is the
tendency to stop making a generalized
response to a stimulus that is similar to
the original conditioned stimulus.
II. Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)
 It was developed by an American
psychologist B.F. Skinner.
It is the learning of voluntary behavior
through the effects of pleasant and
unpleasant consequences.
The learner must operate, or perform a
certain behavior, before receiving a
reward or punishment.
 Cont`d.
• It describes learning as
strengthening or weakening
voluntary response, depending on
its positive or negative consequences.
• It is a deliberate form of learning in
which the organism actively
attempts to change its environment
to produce a desirable outcome.
 Cont`d.
• We are pulled as well as pushed
by events in our environment.
• The response is made first,
then consequences follows.
 Basic Terms in Operant Conditioning

A/ Reinforcements:
 The term reinforcement refers to
anything which strengthens or
increases the probability of the
occurrences of a specific response
preceding it.
 It is any event that strengthens or
increases the behavior it follows.
 Two Types of Reinforces
a)Primary reinforces: Food, water,
light, stroking of the skin, and a
comfortable air temperature are
naturally reinforcing because they
satisfy biological needs. Primary
reinforces, in general, have the
ability to strengthen a behavior
without prior learning.
 b) Secondary Reinforces
• Behaviors can be controlled by
secondary reinforces.
• They reinforce behavior because of
their prior association with primary
reinforcing stimuli.
• Money, praise, applause, good
grades, awards, and gold stars are
common secondary reinforces.
 It can be Positive or Negative
i, Positive reinforcement:- are
conditions or any factors whose
presentation or application
increases the reoccurrence of the
responses (the behaviors)
preceding them. e,g praise,
money, promotion, and rewards.
 Cont`d
ii, Negative reinforcements:- are
conditions or factors (mostly
aversive) whose termination or
elimination increases the
likelihood of the occurrence of
the behaviors preceding them
again.
 Cont`d
• Negative reinforcement is an
example of escape learning.
• In escape learning, animals
learn to make a response that
terminates/stops a noxious,
painful or unpleasant stimulus.
 B) Punishment
It is the presentation of an adverse
event or unpleasant stimulus that
decreases the probability of the
occurrence of a preceding behavior.
Punishment weakens behavior.
It weakens the response and makes
it less likely to recur.
 C) Shaping
• It is the process of teaching
behavior by rewarding closer and
closer approximation of the
desired behavior. In shaping, the
behavior that is similar to the
expected behavior is reinforced
first.
 Scheduling of Reinforcement
• It is all about when and how to
give reinforcement. For example,
do we apply the positive
reinforcement every time a child
does something positive?
• Do we punish a child every time
he does something negative?
 Cont`d
The two main types schedules of
reinforcements are:
a)Continuous reinforcement
b) Partial/ intermittent/
reinforcement
b) Partial/ intermittently Schedule
of reinforcement
• A response will be more
resistant to extinction if it is
rewarded on an intermittent
(partial) schedule of
reinforcement, which involves
reinforcing only some responses,
not all of them.
 a) Continuous Schedule of
reinforcement
• When a reward is given to every
instance of the desired behavior
• Giving the reinforcement every
time the behavior occurs (getting
praise after every successful work
or getting punished after every
negative behavior).
Four types of Partial Schedules of
Reinforcement.
i) Fixed-interval: the learner is
reinforced after regular time
intervals, say every 50 seconds,
provided at least it shows one
desired response.
 Cont`d
ii) Variable-interval: reinforcement
is given on average not precisely
every, say, 50 seconds.
iii) Fixed-ratio: the learner is
reinforced after a regular number of
desired responses say after every
four responses.
 Cont`d

iv) Variable ratio: reinforcement

is given on average every, say,
four responses, though not
exactly after each fourth
responses.
 Cont`d
In general continuous
reinforcement produces the
quickest learning, while partial
reinforcement produces learning,
which lasts longer in the absence
of reinforcement.
 Cont`d
 Operant conditioning
emphasizes on extrinsic rewards
and external incentives and
promotes materialism rather than
self initiative, a love of learning,
and intrinsic satisfaction.
 Application of the theory of operant
conditioning
1. Conditioning study behavior
2. Conditioning and classroom behavior:
3. Managing Problem Behavior
4. Dealing with anxieties through
conditioning
5. Conditioning group behavior
6. Conditioning and Cognitive Processes
7. Shaping Complex Behavior
 3.3.2. Social Learning Theory
(Observational Learning Theory)
• It is a theory of learning process
and social behavior which proposes
that new behaviors can be acquired
by observing and imitating others.
• It is learning new behavior by
watching a model perform that
behavior.
 Cont`d
• It is based on the idea that we learn
from our interactions with others in
a social context.
• They believe that in human beings,
observational learning cannot be
fully understood without taking into
account the thought (cognition)
processes of the learner.
 Cont`d
• By observing the behaviors of others,
people develop similar behaviors and
assimilate and imitate that behavior.
• According to Bandura, imitation
involves the actual reproduction of
observed motor activities.
• It is learning new behavior by watching a
model perform that behavior.
 Cont`d
• Besides, this theory states
that learning is a cognitive
process that takes place in a social
context and can occur purely
through observation or direct
instruction, even in the absence of
motor reproduction or
direct reinforcement. 
• Learning also Cont`d
occurs through the
observation of rewards and
punishments, a process known as
vicarious reinforcement.
• When a particular behavior is
rewarded regularly, it will most
likely persist; conversely, if a
particular behavior is constantly
punished, it will most likely desist. 
 Cont`d
Bandura identifies three forms of
reinforcement that can encourage
observational learning
i. Direct reinforcement.
The reinforcement need to be
direct.
 ii. Indirect (vicarious
reinforcement)
 The observer may simply see
others reinforced for a particular
behavior and then increase his or
her production of that behavior.
 iii. Self-reinforcement
Controlling your reinforcers.
We want our students to
improve not because it leads to
external rewards, but because,
the students value and enjoy
their growing competence.
 Reciprocal determinism
• Reciprocal determinism is the theory
states that a person's behavior both
influences and is influenced by personal
factors and the social environment.
• According to his theory, the behavior of
individual influences or is influenced in
a reciprocal manner from the
environment he or she interacts with.
 Cont`d
According to Bandura, learning by
observation involves four necessary
processes:
1) Attention:- To learn anything through
observation, the learner must first pay
attention to the model.
2) Retention/Memory:- The learner must
also be able to remember the memory of
what was done.
 Cont`d
3) Imitation/Reproduction:-To
reproduce a behavior accurately, the
person must have the necessary mo tor
skills. The learner must be capable of
reproducing, or imitating, the actions
of the model.
4) Motivation:- The learner must have
the desire to perform the action.
 Educational Implications of Social
Learning Theory
Social learning theory has numerous
implications for classroom use.
1. Students often learn a great deal
simply by observing other people.
2. Describing the consequences of
behavior can effectively increase the
appropriate behaviors and decrease
inappropriate ones.
 Cont`d
3. Modeling provides an alternative to
shaping for teaching new behaviors.
Instead of using shaping, which is
operant conditioning; modeling can
provide a faster, more efficient means
for teaching new behavior.
4. Teachers should expose students to a
variety of other models.
 Cont`d
5. Teachers and parents must model
appropriate behaviors and take care
that they do not model inappropriate
behaviors.
6. Students must believe that they are
capable of accomplishing school tasks.
Thus it is very important to develop a
sense of self-efficacy for students.
 Cont`d
7. Teachers should help students set
realistic expectations for their
academic accomplishments.
8. Self-regulation techniques provide
an effective method for improving
student behavior.
3.3.3. Cognitive Learning Theory
• Cognitive learning is a style of
learning that focuses on more
effective use of the brain.
• It is an immersive and active
process that engages your senses
in a constructive and long-lasting
way.
 Cont`d
• It aims to chart the learning
process for optimal thinking,
understanding and retention
of what we learn.
• It merges cognition and learning to
explain the different processes
involved in learning effectively.
 Cont`d
• It teaches you to maximize your
brain`s potential and makes it
easier to connect new
information with existing ideas,
deepening the memory and
retention capacity.
 Cont`d

Cognitive learning may take two

forms:
1. Latent learning
2. Insight learning (gestalt or
perceptual learning)
 1) Latent Learning
Latent means hidden, and thus latent
learning is learning that occurs but is
not evident in behavior until later, when
conditions for its appearance are
favorable.
It is said to occur without reinforcement
of particular responses and seems to
involve changes in the way information
is processed.
 2) Insight Learning
It is a cognitive process whereby we
reorganize our perception of a problem.
Sometimes, for example, people even wake
up from sleep with a solution to a problem
that they had not been able to solve during
the day.
Human beings who solve a problem
insightfully usually experience a good
feeling called an 'aha' experience.
 CHAPTER FIVE
5.MEMORY AND FORGETTING
5.1 Memory
 Memory is the special ability of our mind
to store when we learn something, to
recollect & reproduce it after some time.
 It is the retention of information/what is
learned earlier over time.
 It is the ability to remember/recall past or
previously learned information.
 Processes of Memory
Memory processes are the
mental activities we perform to
put information into memory, to
keep it there, and to make use of it
later.
Memory involves the following
processes:
 a) Attention and selection
• It is the first process of memory.
• There is much more information in
your environment than you can
process at any one time.
• Thus, you must make choices
(conscious and unconscious)
regarding the stimuli to which you
will attend.
 b) Encoding
It is process of coding
information comes to
memory).
It refers to the form (i.e. the
code) in which an item of
information is to be placed in
memory.
 Cont`d
 It is the process by which
information is initially recorded in
a form usable to memory.
 In encoding we transform a
sensory input into a form or a
memory code that can be further
processed.
 c) Storage
It is the location in memory system
in which material is saved.
Storage is the persistence of
information in memory.
Holding of information for some
period of time.
This is the process of putting coded
information into memory.
 d) Retrieval
In retrieval, material in memory
storage is located, brought into
awareness and used.
Getting information that is in
storage into a form that can be
used.
 Cont`d
This is the recovery of stored
information.
Failure to remember can result
from problems during any of the
three phases of the memory
process.
 .

Attention Encoding
Storage Retrieval
5.1.2 Types /Structures/ of Memory

Memory structure is the nature of

memory storage itself- how
information is represented in
memory and how long it lasts
and how it is organized.
 Cont`d
• Many cognitive psychologists
relate the mind to an information
processor, along the lines of a
digital computer that takes items
of information in; processes them
in steps or stages, and then
produces an output.
 According to Atkinson and
Shiffrin (1968), memory has three
structures:
1)Sensory Memory/Sensory
Register
2)Short-term Memory
3)Long Term Memory
1) Sensory Memory(Register)
It is the entry way to memory.
It is the first information storage
area.
Retaining information until we can
select.
It gives us a brief time to decide
whether information is extraneous or
important.
 Cont`d
It can hold virtually all the information
reaching our senses for a brief time.
The information stored in sensory memory
is a fairly accurate representation of the
environmental information but unprocessed.
It is information that lasts for a very short
time ( one or two seconds)
Attention is needed to transfer information
to working memory.
 2) Short-term Memory
 Itis a memory system which serves as
a mental workspace in which a variety of
processing operations are carried out on
both new input and retrieved memories.
 Only hold a relatively small amount of
information in it.
 They consist of the by-products or end
results of perceptual analysis.
 Cont`d
• The magical number seven plus or
minus two(7±2): Some limits on our
capacity for processing information
• According to Miller’s research,
apparent memory storage was
limited to 5 to 9 discrete pieces of
information at a time or “elements”
7.
 Cont`d
 STM is important in a variety of tasks
such as thinking, reading, speaking, and
problem solving.
 Function—conscious processing of
information where information is
actively worked on.
 Capacity—limited (holds 7+/-2 items)
 Duration—brief storage (about 30
seconds)
 Cont`d
Short term memory is distinguished by
four characteristics:
A) It is active- information remains in
STM only so long as the person is
consciously processing, examining, or
manipulating it.
B) Rapid accessibility - Information in
STM is readily available for use
 Cont`d
C) Preserves the temporal sequence
of information- helps us to maintain
the information in sequential manner
for a temporary period of time
D) Limited capacity- the number of
items that short-term memory can
handle at any one time is small.
 Retaining Information in Short
Term Memory
• Rehearsal is commonly employed as a
method of retaining a piece of
information.
There are two types of rehearsals:
a) Maintenance rehearsal.
b) Elaborative rehearsal.
 a)Maintenance Rehearsal
• Maintenance Rehearsal is a mental
or verbal repetition of information.
• It allows information to remain in
working memory longer than the
usual 30 seconds.
• in which the input is merely repeated
without further processing.
 b) Elaborative rehearsal
It involves associating the
information a person is trying to
remember with something a
person already knows, with
information from the long-term
memory.
 Cont`d
• Elaborative encoding refers to
the formation of associative
connections with other memory
traces, and this occurs most
effectively where meaningful
associations can be found..
 Cont`d
They argued that only elaborative
rehearsal would lead to long-term
retention of the information,
while maintenance rehearsal
served only to hold it temporarily
in conscious awareness without
actually strengthening the trace.
 3) Long Term Memory (LTM)
• All kinds of knowledge and beliefs,
objects and events, people and
places, plans and skills are stored in
LTM.
• If the information is successfully
remembered and not lost, it will
flow into the long term memory
(LTM).
 Cont`d
• It has a unlimited storage capacity
for unlimited period of time.
• Once information passes from
sensory to working memory, it can
be encoded into long-term memory.
• It is more passive form of storage
than working memory.
 Cont`d
• The vast amount of information stored
in LTM enables us to learn, get around
in the environment, and build a sense
of identity and personal history.
• Long-term memories classified into
two broad categories:
I) Declarative Memory.
II) Procedural Memory.
 I) Declarative(Explicit) Memory
Declarative Memory consists of
facts and events that can be
consciously recalled or declared.
It is the conscious, intentional
recollection of factual
information, previous
experiences, and concepts.
 It is divided in to two
I) Semantic Memory: - is a memory
for meaning. Factual knowledge like
the meaning of words, concepts.
 It contains items of general
knowledge or knowledge of facts-
the knowledge of the physical
world. It is memory for facts, such
as what the capital of Indian is?
 Cont`d
II) Episodic Memory: - is a memory
of information tied to a particular
place and time, especially
information about the events of our
own life. E.g. birth date, date of
graduation …etc.
It is memories for events and
situations from personal experience.
 II) Procedural (Implicit) Memory
• It is a memory of how to do
things.
• Production specifies what to do
under certain conditions.
• Procedural learning goes slow at
first, but once the person master
the skills; he/she will remember
them automatically for a long time.
 Cont`d
• E.g. memory of swimming water
and riding a bicycle, writing by
keyboard Procedural Memory --
skilled movements (procedures),
such as swinging a golf club or
playing the piano.
 Storing Information in Long-Term
Memory
• Elaboration is the addition of
meaning to new information
through its connection with already
existing knowledge.
• In other words, we apply our
schemas and draw an already
existing knowledge in the process.
 Cont`d
• Organization is a second element
of processing that improves
learning. Material that is well
organized is easier to learn and
remember than bits and pieces of
information, especially if the
information is complex or
extensive.
 Cont`d
• Context: Aspects of physical and
emotional context are learned
along with other information.
Later, if you try to remember the
information, it will be easier if
the current context is similar to
the original one.
 Retrieving of Long-Term Memories
• Information lost from short-term
memory truly disappears. But
information stored in long-term
memory may be available, given the
right cues.
• The following are some of the methods
through which we retrieve information
from the long-term memory.
 Cont`d
a)Recall Method- a measure of
memory based on the ability to
retrieve information from the long-
term memory with few cues.
b)Recognition Method- a measure
of memory based on the ability to
select information from among the
options provided.
 Cont`d
c) Relearning Method- a measure of
memory based on the length of time it
takes to relearn forgotten materials.
d) Serial Position Effect- If you are
shown a list of items and are then
asked immediately to recall them,
your retention of any particular item
will depend on its position in the list.
 5.1.3 Factors Affecting Memory
a. Ability to retain: This depends
upon good memory traces left in
the brain by past experiences.
b.Good health: A person with
good health can retain the learnt
material better than a person
with poor health.
 c. Intelligence:Cont`d
More intelligent
person will have better memory
d. Interest: If a person has more
interest, he will learn and retain
better.
e. More learning: Experiments
have proved that more learning
will lead to better memory.
 Cont`d
f. Sleep or rest: Sleep or rest
immediately after learning
strengthens connections in the
brain and helps for clear
memory.
g. Age of the learner: Youngsters
can remember better than the
aged.
 Cont`d
h. Speed of learning: Quicker
learning(active learner) leads to
better retention,
i. Meaningfulness of the material:
Meaningful materials remain in
our memory for longer period
than for nonsense material,
 5.2. Forgetting
5.2.1. Meaning and Concepts of
Forgetting
Psychologists generally use the
term forgetting to refer to the
apparent loss of information
already encoded and stored in
the long-term memory.
 Cont`d
• It is the permanent or temporary loss
of the ability to recall or recognize
something learnt earlier”.
• If there is no memory, there is no
learning, if there is no learning, then
there is no forgetting.
• Thus, forgetting & remembering are
two sides of the same coin.
 5.2.2. Theories of Forgetting
Psychologists have proposed five
mechanisms to account for forgetting:
decay,
 replacement of old memories by new
ones
 interference,
motivated forgetting, and
 cue dependent forgetting
 i. Decay /Disuses) Theories
Forgetting due to passage of time)
Forgetting occur as a result of the
passage of time.
Forgetting is a process of loss of the
learnt matter with passage of time.
Memories fade away or decay
gradually if unused.
 ii. Interference Theory
• Forgetting occurs because similar
information or memories interfere
with the storage or retrieval of
information.
• The information may get into
memory, but it becomes confused
with other similar information. It is
memories interfere with memories.
 Types of Interference
A) Proactive Interference: occurs when
the already stored memories
(previously learned information)
interfere with the recall of the newly
learned material/information.
It is when information learned earlier
interferes with recall of newer
material.
 B) Retroactive interference
It occurs when the newly learned
material or information interferes
with or blocks our ability to recall
the previously learned material.
If new information interferes with
the ability to remember old
information.
 iii. Motivated Forgetting
• (“We tend to forget because we
want to forget”)
• Sigmund Freud suggested that
we sometimes intentionally
forget or “repress” certain
information or experiences we
do not really want to remember.
 Cont`d
• We forget, because some
information may painful or
threatening to us and he called such
self protecting process as
repression.
• As to Freud we consciously remove
unpleasant information from
conscious mind to unconscious one.
 iv. Retrieval Failure Theory (Cue
Dependency Forgetting)
• We forget because we lack the
appropriate cues or retrieval cues.
• Often when we need to remember,
we rely on retrieval cues, items of
information that can help us find
the specific information we‘re
looking for.
 5.3. Improving Memory
To improve our memories, we must
rely on mental strategies.
Pay Attention:- you will do better if
you encode it.
Encode information: The more
elaborate the encoding of
information, the more memorable it
will be.
 Cont`d
Add meaning: The more meaningful
the material, the more likely it is to link
up with information already in long-
term memory.
Take your time: If possible, minimize
interference by using study breaks for
rest or recreation. Sleep is the ultimate
way to reduce interference.
 Cont`d
Over learn: Studying information even
after you think you already know it- is
one of the best ways to ensure that you‘ll
remember it.
Monitor your learning: By testing
yourself frequently, rehearsing
thoroughly, and reviewing periodically,
you will have a better idea of how you
are doing.
 Cont`d
Paying attention / Taking short
notes
Elaborative rehearsal
Relearning
Chunking
Mnemonics/ using short
devices technique, SMART, UN
 CHAPTER SIX
6.MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

• 6.1. Motivation
• 6.1.1. Definition and Types
of Motivation
 6.1.1.Definition of Motivation
• The literal meaning of
motivation is the process of
arousing or stimulating
movement in the organism,
• The psychology of motivation is
indeed the study of what moves
us, why we do what we do.
 Cont`d
• It refers to the reasons for engaging in
a particular behavior, and is the driving
force behind all the actions of an
individual.
• Motivation is internal driving forces
that activate or energizes, sustains and
direct the behavior of humans and
other organism towards intended a
goal.
6.1.2. Types of Motivation

A. Intrinsic Motivation
B. Extrinsic Motivation
 A) Intrinsic Motivation
• “Intrinsic” means coming from
within the organism. It is a type of
motivation, which is generated from
the person’s internal feelings.
• Intrinsic motivation is a type of
motivation in which a person acts
because the act itself is rewarding or
satisfying in some internal manner.
 B) Extrinsic Motivation
• It refers to motivation to engage in
an activity in order to gain some
tangible reward or to avoid some
kind of punishment.
• The motivating factors are external,
or outside, rewards such as food,
money, good grades, praise or some
other rewards.
 6.1.2. Theories of Motivation
a) Instinct approaches
b)Drive-reduction approaches
c) Arousal approaches:
d)Incentive Theory of Motivation
e) Cognitive Approaches: the
thoughts behind motivation
f) Humanistic approaches to
motivation
 a) Instinct approaches
• Focused on the biologically
determined and innate patterns of
both humans and animals behavior.
• Just as animals are governed by their
instincts to do things such as migrating,
nest building, mating and protecting
their territory, early researchers
proposed that human beings may also
be governed by similar instincts..
 Cont`d
• According to this instinct theory, in humans, the
instinct to reproduce is responsible for
sexual behavior, and the instinct for
territorial protection may be related to
aggressive behavior.
• The early theorists and psychologists listed
thousands of instincts in humans including
curiosity, flight (running away), pugnacity
(aggressiveness), and acquisition
(gathering possessions).
b) Drive-Reduction Theory(DRT)
• Humans have internal biological needs
that motivate us to engage in an activity
in order to reduce needs (physiological
tension) and maintain a constant
physiological state. .
• When an organism has a need, it leads to a
psychological tension as well as physical
arousal to fulfill the need and reduce the
tension. This tension is called drive.
 Cont`d
• A drive is motivational tension, or
arousal, that energizes behavior in order
to fulfill some biological need.
• For example, when people lack some
basic biological requirements such as
water or food, the drive to obtain that
requirement (in this case, the thirst or
hunger drive) which motivates us to
drink or eat is produced..
 Cont`d
i. Primary drive: - are innate or unlearned
drives that arise from biological needs
tendency of the body such as hunger,
sleep, thirst, sex, etc are primary drives.
ii. Secondary (acquired) drives: - needs
are brought about by prior experience and
learning. For example, some people have
strong needs for achievement, approval,
love, money, etc.
 c) Optimal Arousal Theory
Arousal approaches seek to explain
behavior in which the goal is to maintain
or increase excitement/eagerness.
 According to arousal approaches to
motivation, each person tries/initiated to
maintain a certain level of stimulation
and activity.
Each person tries to maintain a certain
level of stimulation and activity.
 Cont`d
• The arousal approach also suggests
that if levels of stimulation and
activity are too low, we will try to
increase them by seeking
stimulation.
• When our arousal state becomes too
high, it needs to come down for
optimal functioning and vice versa.
Cont`d
 Cont`d
• Too high a motivational arousal
may affect performance negatively;
it may produce anxiety and
irritability in the organism.
• Similarly, too low arousal may also
have adverse effect e.g.
performance of a person suffering
from depression.
 Cont`d
• Therefore, this theory states
that a consistent, well
balanced, and leveled arousal
is needed for the optimal
functioning of individuals.
 d) Incentive approaches
• It suggests that motivation stems
from the desire to attain external
rewards, known as incentives. In
this view, the desirable properties
of external stimuli: whether grades,
money, affection, food, or sex—
account for a person‘s motivation.
 e) Cognitive Approaches
• It suggests that motivation is a result of
people‘s thoughts, beliefs, expectations,
and goals.
• Two kinds of cognitions underlie our
behavior.
• The first is our expectation that a behavior
will cause us to reach a particular goal.
• The second is our understandings of the
value of that goal to us underlie behavior.
 f) Humanistic Approaches
• Humans are driven to achieve their
maximum potential and will always do so
unless obstacles are placed on their way.
• Each person has an innate “growth
potential” that energizes and directs all
human behavior.
• The best way to describe this theory is to
utilize the famous pyramid developed by
Abraham Maslow (1970) called the
hierarchy of needs.
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Motivation
Maslow assumes that we all have the
same basic needs.
Our needs energize and direct our
behavior. Our needs are organized in a
hierarchy i.e a series of steps.
Our behavior is affected by our needs.
 Needs are constantly changing and
may never be fully satisfied.  
 Cont`d
The need hierarchy is a systematic
arrangement of needs according to
priority, which assumes that basic needs
must be met before a person motivated to
move upward to higher order needs.
Thus, according to Maslow, humans have
specific needs that must be met and that if
lower level needs go unmet, we cannot
possible strive for higher level needs..  
 1: Physiological (survival) Needs  
• Need to stay alive!, Biological and
cultural imperatives to live. It
includes having enough healthy
food, air, and water to survive. When
these are not satisfied, we may feel
sickness, irritation, pain, discomfort,
etc. Once they are alleviated, we
may think about other things.
 Level 2 = Safety (Security) Needs
• Safety needs have to do with establishing
stability and consistency in a chaotic
world.
• Need to be safe from physical and
psychological harm, freedom from fear
in the present and future, and trust in a
predictable future to function effectively.
• They seek out stable lives with careers,
homes, insurance, etc.
3 = Belonging (love or social) Needs  
• After we reasonably safe, we seek
friendship closeness, contact and love,
which include the need to obtaining and
give affection or needs for social
interaction.
• Humans have a desire for love,
affection and belonging from family
members, friends, work group,
religious group and lovers.
 Level 4 = Self-Esteem Needs
The need to be respected as a
useful, honorable individual; which
Maslow classified into two
categories:
 (i) self esteem which results from
competency or mastery of a task.
 It contains the desire to feel
important, strong and significant.
 Cont`d
It is esteem for oneself (dignity,
achievement, mastery, and
independence).
(ii) the attention and recognition that
comes from others.
 It is the desire for reputation or
respect from others (e.g., status,
prestige).
 Level: 5 = Self-Actualization
(Fulfillment of Goals & Dreams)
• Beginning of self-fulfillment in which
people realize their highest potential in
their own unique way.
• It is the desire to put your ability in to
practice (actualize) whatever skills and
talent we posses (establishing
meaningful goal and purpose) in life.
 Cont`d
• In general, this is the highest and most
difficult level to reach.
• Interestingly, Maslow indicated that
people will be frustrated if they can’t
pursue their true loves and talent.
• realizing personal potential, self-
fulfillment, seeking personal growth
and peak experiences.
 6.1.3. Conflict of Motives and
Frustration
Frustration: is the feeling within
an individual of being blocked in
the attempts to satisfy needs which
one considers significant.
It is the blocking of behavior
directed towards a goal.
 Cont`d
• An individual displays some sort
of disturbed behavior when he or
she is prevented from fulfilling
the desired goals.
• If motives are frustrated or
blocked, the person may feel
anxious, depressed or angry.
 Sources of Frustration
1. Environmental factors
•These factors can be physical
(such as locked door, lack of
money, distance) or it can be
people (such as parents or
teachers) which make impossible
a person to reach a goal.
 Cont`d
2. Personal factors
•These are factors directly related to
the persons themselves (not external)
that make goals unattainable and
results in frustration. The personal
inadequacy may be either physical
(disability, financial constraints,
physical fitness..etc)
 Cont`d
3. Psychological
•The personal characteristics of
individual like personality or
intelligence (knowledge, attitude,
feeling, emotional intelligence,
self-esteem, self concept, self-
efficacy…etc) affect performance.
 Cont`d
 The limitations of ability
frustrate individuals because
they do not let him or her to
achieve very high goals.
 At times we have conflicting
goals which create frustration.
 Conflict of motives)
• A conflict is a situation in which
an individual is required to act in
two or more incompatible ways
to achieve two or more exclusive
goals. It occurs when an
individual is unable to choose
between two or more goals.
 Cont`d
• We all confront some degree of
conflict in every stage of our
life.
• Neal Miller (1959) identified
four basic types of motivational
conflict, each of which may play
a role in stress.
 Cont`d

1. Approach-Approach Conflict:
2. Avoidance- Avoidance
3. Approach-avoidance conflicts
4. Multiple approach-avoidance
conflicts
1. Approach-Approach Conflict
It refers to a conflict between two
positive goals that are equally
attractive at the same time.
 Approach-Approach conflicts
produce little distress or little
emotional behavior and are easily
resolved.
412
 2. Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict
• This occurs when we have to decide
between two equally undesirable and
negative goals.
• Such type of conflict involves a great
deal of hesitation.
• Moving closer to one of the
unattractive choices increases our
discomfort and leads us to retreat.
 3. Approach-Avoidance Conflict
• happen when a particular event or
activity has both attractive and
unattractive features,
• for example, a freshman student
wants to start dating but she, at the
same time, is worried that this may
unduly consume her study time.
 4. Multiple approach-Avoidance
Conflict
• exist when two or more alternatives
each have both positive and negative
features.
• Suppose you must choose between two
jobs. One offers a high salary with a
well-known company but requires long
working hours and relocation to a
miserable climate.
 Cont`d
• The other boasts advancement
opportunities, fringe benefits,
and a better climate, but it
doesn‘t pay as much and
involves an unpredictable work
schedule.
 6.2. Emotions
6.2.1. Definition of emotion
• Emotion is derived from the
Latin word “Emovere” means
“to excite, stir up or agitate”.
• It is a response that includes
feelings such as happiness, fear,
sadness, grief, sorrow…etc.
 Cont`d
• It is the mixture of physiological
arousal, the expression of feelings
and the conscious or the cognitive
experience of the situation that
influences behavior.
• This implies that emotion has three
components: cognitive,
physiological and behavioral.
 1.The Physiology of Emotion
• When a person experiences an
emotion, there is physical arousal
created by the sympathetic nervous
system.
• The heart rate increases, breathing
becomes more rapid, the pupils of
the eye open, and the moth may
become dry.
 Cont`d
• Physiological arousal is related to
Heart rate, Pulse rate,
Respiration, Blood pressure,
Digestion and appetite, Muscular
activity, Body temperature,
Perspiration, Endocrine and
neurotransmitter secretions…etc.
 2. Cognitive Component (Subjective
experience)
• It is how we interpret certain situations
or stimulations. This determines which
emotion our body will feel.
• For example; if you are alone, sitting
in the dark, watching a scary movie,
and you hear a loud noise, you may
become scared... fearing that there is an
immediate threat or that you are in
danger.
 3. Behavioral Component
• This component has been called
the outward expression of our
emotions.
• The behavior of emotion tells us
how people behave in the grip of
an emotion.
 Cont`d
There are facial expressions, body
movements, and actions that indicate
to others how a person feels or our
tone of voice display what emotions
we are feeling.
People fight, run, kiss, and yell, along
with countless other actions stemming
from the emotions they feel.
 6.2.2. Theories of Emotion
1- James-Lang Theory
2- Cannon-Bard Theory
3- Schachter’s Two-Factor
Theory

424
 Cont`d
• Psychologists disagreed about the order
in which the four elements of emotions
(stimulus, conscious experience,
physiological arousal, and behavior) are
related to one another.
• They have attempted to define and
explain the emotional arousal and
physiological conditions that
accompany them.
I. James- Lang Theory of Emotion
• James and Lang proposed that
human beings experience emotions
as a result of physiological changes
that produce specific sensations.
• The brain interprets the sensations
as particular kinds of emotional
experiences.
 Cont`d
• This reaction, which is the arousal
of the “fight-or-flight” sympathetic
nervous system (wanting to run),
produces bodily sensations such as
increased heart rate, dry mouth, and
rapid breathing. James and Lang
believed that physical arousal led to
the labeling of the emotion (fear).
James-Lang Theory
Stimulus
(Sight of Oncoming Car)

Arousal
(Pounding Heart)

Emotion
(Fear)
428
II. Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
• The theory states that both
physiological and emotional arousals
are produced simultaneously by the
same nerve impulse.
• The fear and the bodily reactions are,
therefore, experienced at the same time-
not one after the other.
• I am afraid and running and
aroused!.
 Cannon-Bard Theory
Stimulus
(Sight of oncoming Car)

Arousal + Emotion
(Pounding Heart) (Fear)

430
 III. Schechter-Singer and
Cognitive Arousal Theory
• The theory proposes that a non-
specific kind of physiological
arousal and the meaning we
attach to environmental cues
determine emotions jointly.
 Cont`d
• It emphasizes that we identify
the type of emotion we are
experiencing by observing our
environment and comparing
ourselves with others.
Schechter's Two-Factor Theory
Stimulus
(Sight of oncoming Car)

Arousal Cognitive Label

(Pounding Heart) (“I’m afraid”)

Emotion
(Fear) 433
 CHAPTER SEVEN
7.PERSONALITY
7.1. Meaning of Personality
The word personality is derived
from the word “persona”, which has
Greek and Latin roots and refers to
the theatrical masks worn by Greek
actors.
 Cont`d
Personality has been defined in
many different ways, but
psychologists generally view
personality as the unique pattern of
enduring thoughts, feelings, and
actions that characterize a person.
 Cont`d
It is the sum totals of all the ways of
acting, thinking, and feeling that are
typical for that person and make that
person different from all other person.
It refers to a distinctive pattern of
behavior (thoughts, motives and
emotions) that characterizes an
individual’s adaptation to the
situations of his or her life.
 Cont`d
• For psychologists, Personality can
be defined as a dynamic and
organized set of characteristics
possessed by a person that uniquely
influences his or her cognitions,
motivations, and behaviors in
various situations.
 Some Characteristics of Personality
• It is unique and specific identity of
the person.
• It is dynamic in nature, and there is
coherence and consistency in
personality.
• It is the product of heredity and
environment.
 7.2. Theories of Personality
The specific questions
psychologists ask and the methods
they use to investigate personality
often depend on the types of
personality theories they take.
Some of the theories of personality
are: psychodynamic, trait, and
humanistic.
 7.2.1. Psychoanalytic theory
Personality is formed within
ourselves, arising from basic inborn
needs, drives, and characteristics.
 He argued that people are in
constant conflict between their
biological urges (drives) and the
need to tame them (reality in the
world).
 Cont`d
• Our behavior is triggered largely by
powerful forces within personality
of which we are not aware.
• These hidden forces, shaped by
childhood experiences, play an
important role in energizing and
directing our everyday behavior.
 Cont`d
• It attempts to explain personality,
motivation, and psychological
disorders by focusing on the
influence of early childhood
experiences, unconscious motives
and how people cope with their
sexual and aggressive urges.
 Cont`d
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory has
three major parts:
1) Structure of Personality.
2) Levels of Consciousness.
3) Stages of Psychosexual
development.
 1) Structure of Personality
• In Freud's view, personality has three
parts which serves a different function
and develops at different times: the id,
the ego, and the superego.
• According to Freud, the way these
three parts of personality interact with
one another determines the personality
of an individual.
 A) Id: If It Feels Good, Do It
The Id is a Latin word that means
“it”.
The id is a completely unconscious
moral part of the personality that
exists at birth, containing all of the
basic biological drives; hunger,
thirst, sex, aggression.
 Cont`d
• It is the raw unorganized,
inherited part of personality
whose sole purpose is to
reduce tension created by
primitive drives.
 Cont`d
• The id operates according to the
pleasure principle, in which the
goal is the immediate reduction of
tension and the maximization of
satisfaction with no regard for the
consequences.
• These drives are fueled by “psychic
energy” or libido.
 Cont`d
 The pleasure principle can be
summed up simply as “if it feels
good, do it”.
 Eat when hungry, drink when
thirsty, and satisfy the sex when
the need for pleasure is present.
 Cont`d
• When these drives are active, the
person will feel an increase in not
only physical tension but also in
psychological tension (libido), the
instinctual energy that may come
into conflict with the demands of a
society‘s standards for behavior.
 Cont`d
• Unfortunately for the id- but luckily for
people and society-reality prevents the
demands of the pleasure principle from
being fulfilled in most cases.
• Instead, the world produces
constraints: we cannot always eat when
we are hungry, and we can discharge
our sexual drives only when time,
place-and-partner- are willing.
 B) Ego: The Executive
2) Structure Director
of Personality
• The ego,(Latin word for “I” or “self”) ,
is mostly conscious and is far more
rational, logical and cunning than the id.
• The ego works on the reality principle,
which is the need to satisfy the demands
of the id and reduce libido only in ways
that will not lead to negative
consequences.
 Cont`d
• It provide ways in which instinctual
energy is restrained in order to
maintain the safety of the individual
and helps integrate the person into
society.
• This means that sometimes the ego
decides to deny the id its drives,
because the consequence would be
painful or too unpleasant.
 Cont`d
• In a sense, then, the ego is the
“executive” of personality:
• It makes decisions, control
actions, and allows thinking and
problem solving of higher order
than the id is capable of.
 Cont`d
• The ego is also the seat of higher
cognitive abilities such as
intelligence, thoughtfulness,
reasoning, and learning.
• That is, it instructs the id to choose an
appropriate or best time and manner
for the discharge of psychic energy.
The ego aim is to find realistic ways
to gratify the id.
 Cont`d
• Ego mediates between the id and the
external world which are constantly
threatening for its existence.
• These constant threats and danger from
the id and environment induce anxiety
in the ego.
• When possible, the ego tackles the
problem in a realistic way, using its
problem solving skills.
 Cont`d
Cont`d
But what does it do if the anxiety
becomes so strong?
• When the anxiety is so strong that it
threatens to engulf the ego
psychological defense mechanisms
come into play.
• Defense mechanisms control and
thereby alleviate anxiety by distorting
reality in some way.
C) Super ego: The Moral Watchdog
The superego (Latin word, meaning
“over the self”).
It is the moral arm of society and
guided by moral principle.
It is the moral part of human
personality.
 Cont`d
Cont`d
• It incorporates the society’s rules
and values or agent of the society.
• It refers to the internal
representative of the traditional
reality (morals, values, and culture
of the society).
• It represents the dos and don’ts of
the society.
 Cont`d
Cont`d
The superego develops during
early childhood (as a preschool-
aged child) learns the rules,
customs, and expectations of
society..
It develops as a child takes parental
& societal values into
himself/herself.
 Cont`d
Cont`d
Again the super ego drives its
psychic energy from the id.
 It also decides any action taken by
the ego to satisfy the id demands as
right or wrong.
The super ego actually has two
parts, the ego conscience and the
ego ideal.
 Cont`d
Ego Ideal: motivates us to do what is
morally proper.
It motivates us to do what is
morally proper.
 It is the sum of all the ideal or
correct and acceptable behavior that
the child has learned about from
parents and others in the society.
 Cont`d
 Conscience: prevents us from
doing morally bad things.
 The conscience is part of the
personality that makes people
pride when they do the right
thing and guilt, or moral anxiety
when they do the wrong thing.
 Cont`d
Cont`d
 The super ego helps to control
impulses coming from the id, making
them less selfish and more virtuous.
 Freud did not intend to divide
personality into three separate
components but rather to convey a
lively, ongoing interplay among the
id, the ego and the super ego.
 Cont`d
Cont`d
The id, the ego, and the superego
represent an organized whole.
The three mental structures work
together to produce one personality
type.
 Cont`d
Cont`d
•What is important is that the
dynamics of personality will depend
on the way that psychic energy is
distributed among the id, the ego,
and the superego.
 Cont`d
If energy is concentrated on the id,
the individual will be uncontrolled
and impulsive.
The id controlled person will often
find himself in trouble with the law.
 Cont`d

•If energy settled primarily in the

ego, the individual’s behavior will
be more realistic and socially
appropriate.
 Cont`d
If the energy concentrates mainly
with the superego, the individual’s
behavior will tend toward the rigid
and moralistic.
Superego persons cannot initiate
changes in social structures.
They are usually pro-establishment
persons.
 Defense Mechanisms
 Defense mechanisms are
unconscious psychological
strategies that people use to reduce
anxiety by concealing its sources
from themselves and others.
They are normal coping processes
that distort reality in the process of
reducing anxiety.
 Freud describedCont`d
several defense
mechanisms by which the ego
disguises, redirects, hides, and
otherwise copes with the id’s urges.
1) Repression:
It is when the ego pushes
unacceptable or unpleasant id
impulses in to unconscious mind
(out of our awareness).
 Cont`d
It is the master defense mechanism
that the ego pushes un acceptable or
unpleasant id impulses in to
unconscious mind(out of our
awareness).
 For example, a woman who sexually
abused by her uncle may not
remember a traumatic experience.
 Cont`d
2) Regression: In the face of a threat,
one may retreat to an earlier pattern of
adaptation, possibly a childish or
primitive one.
3) Reaction Formation: The ego
changes unacceptable motives in to its
opposite (acceptable). It involves a
tendency to act in a manner opposite to
one's true feelings.
 4) Rationalization
It is occur when a person
distort the reality in order to
justify something that has
happened.
It is giving socially acceptable
reasons for one's inappropriate
behavior.
 Cont`d
5) Displacement: It is when
expression of unwanted feelings or
thought is redirected from a more
threatening (a powerful person to a
weaker one).
6) Projection: blaming others or
attributing unwanted impulses or
feelings to someone else.
 Cont`d
7) Sublimation: Sublimation consists
of a redirection of sexual impulses to
socially valued activities and goals.
8) Denial:- is occurred when the
people refuses to accept or
acknowledge anxiety producing piece
of information.
 Cont`d
9) Identification:- is making
one`s identity with other person.
Borrowing other person `s
identity. E.g identifying oneself
with figure or persecutors.
 2) Levels of Consciousness

Freud proposed three levels of

consciousness (awareness):
a) Conscious
b) Preconscious
c) Unconscious.
 Cont`d
a)Conscious:- we are aware of the
certain things around us and of
certain thoughts.
b)Preconscious:-memories or
thoughts that are easily
available with a moment’s
reflection.
 c) Unconscious
• Many of life’s experiences are
painful, and the unconscious
provides a “safe” haven for our
recollection of such events, a
place where they can remain
without continually disturbing
us.
 Cont`d
• The unconscious contains
instinctual drives: infantile wishes,
desires, demands, and needs that
are hidden from conscious
awareness because of the conflicts
and pain they would cause us if
they were part of our everyday
lives.
 Cont`d
It contains memories, thoughts,
and motives, which we cannot
easily call up.
The entire id is unconscious;
the ego and the superego
include material at all three
levels of consciousness.
 3) Stages Psychosocial of Development

• Freud’s idea was that from birth on

we have an innate tendency to seek
pleasure, especially through
physical stimulation and
particularly through stimulation of
parts of the body that are sensitive
to touch: the mouth, the anus, and
genitals.
 Cont`d
• Freud called these parts the
Erogenous Zones.
• Freud put a heavy emphasis on
biological development in
general and on sexual
development in particular.
 Cont`d
• Freud argued that all people pass
through five critical stages of
personality development. What is
especially noteworthy about the stages
is that they suggests how experiences
and difficulties during a particular
childhood stage may predict specific
sorts of idiosyncrasies in adult
personality.
 i) Oral Stage (Birth-18 month)
Baby’s mouth is the focal point
of pleasure.
The infant at this stage interacts
with the world mainly through
eating, sucking, biting …etc.
 Cont`d
• To Freud, this behavior suggested
that the mouth was the primary site
of a kind of sexual pleasure, and if
infants either overly indulged or
frustrated in their search for oral
gratification, they might become
fixated at this stage.
 Cont`d
Fixation refers to unresolved
conflict or emotional hang-up
caused by overindulgence or
frustration.
Displaying fixation means that an
adult shows personality
characteristics that are related to an
earlier stage of development.
 ii) Anal Stage (18 m- 3 years)
• This stage occurs when parents
are toilet training their children
and teaching them to avoid
prohibited behavior connected
with excretion.
 Cont`d

The major source of pleasure

changes from the mouth to the
anal region, and children derive
considerable pleasure from both
retention and expulsion of feces.
 Cont`d
• If fixation occurs during the anal
stage, Freud suggested that adults
might show unusual rigidity,
orderliness, punctuality- or extreme
disorderliness or sloppiness
(carelessness, negligence).
 Cont`d
• If over gratified- dirtiness, over-
generosity, vagueness, absent-
minded, messy, lateness
• If under gratified-
meticulousness, orderliness,
compulsive cleanness, rigid,
stingingness, stubbornness.
 c) Phallic Stage (about age 3)
• This time, interest focuses on the
genitals and the pleasures
derived from fondling them.
During this stage, pleasure
presumably comes from
masturbation, sex play, and
other genital stimulation.
 CONT`D
This is a stage of one the most
important points of personality
development(Oedipal Conflict).
 As children focuses their
attention on their genitals, the
differences between female and
male anatomy become more
salient.
 Cont`d
• At this time, Freud believed that the
male begins to develop sexual interests
in his mother, starts to see his father as
a rival, and harbors a wish to kill his
father.
• But he views his father as too
powerful; he develops a fear of
retaliation in the form of “castration
Anxiety.”
 Cont`d
Ultimately, the fear becomes so
powerful that the child represses his
desires for his mother and instead
chooses identification with his father,
trying to be as much like him as
possible.
Girls begin to feel sexual arousal
toward their fathers and that they begin
to experience Penis Envy.
 Cont`d
They wish they had the
anatomical part that seemed most
clearly “missing” in girls.
Blaming their mothers for lack
of a penis, they come to believe
that their mothers are responsible
for their castration.
 Cont`d
As with males though they find
that in order to resolve such
unacceptable feelings, they must
identify with the same sex parent
by behaving like her and
adopting her attitudes and values.
 Cont`d
• If difficulties arise (fixation
occurs) during this period, all
sorts of problems thought to
occur including improper sex-
role behavior and the failure to
develop a conscience will result.
D) Latency Stage (5/6 - 10/11 years)
During this period, little of
interest is occurring; sexual
concerns are more or less put to
rest, even in the unconscious.
As the child learns more about
the world, sexuality is largely
repressed and the ego expands.
 Cont`d
Their attention shifts toward
education, knowledge, mastering,
creativity, skill development, to
be competent, social issues such
as friendship.
 v) Genital Stage (> 12 years)
• During adolescence sexual feelings
re-emerge, marking the start of the
final period, the genital stage that
extends until death.
• The focus in the genital stage is on
mature, adult sexuality, which Freud
defined as sexual intercourse.
7.2.2. Trait Theory of Personality
• Traits are enduring dimensions
of personality characteristics
along which people differ.
• Personality is a combination of
stable internal characteristics that
people display consistently over
time and across situations.
 Cont`d
Trait theorists seek to measure
the relative strength of the many
personality characteristics that
they believe are present in
everyone.
The trait approach to personality
makes three main assumptions:
 Cont`d
1. Personality traits are relatively
stable, and therefore predictable, over
time. So a gentle person tends to stay
the same way across time.
2. Personality traits are relatively
stable across situations, and they can
explain why people act in predictable
ways in many different situations.
A person who is competitive at work
Cont`d

will probably also be competitive on

the tennis court or at a party.
3. People differ in how much of a
particular personality trait they
possess; no two people are exactly
alike on all traits. The result is an
endless variety of unique
personalities.
 Three Trait Theory

1) Cardinal Traits: Traits that

dominate an individual’s whole
life, often to the point that the
person becomes known
specifically for these traits.
 Three Trait Theory
2) Central Traits
 These are the general
characteristics that form the
basic foundations of personality.
 Terms such as intelligent,
honest, shy and anxious are
considered central traits.
 3) Secondary Traits
These are the traits that are
sometimes related to attitudes or
preferences and often appear only
in certain situations or under
specific circumstances.
 E.g. getting anxious when
speaking to a group or impatient
while waiting in line.
 Three Trait Theory
• Trait theory of personality has come
through different stages, the five-
factor model or the Big Five theory.
• The five trait dimensions can be
remembered by using the acronym
OCEAN, in which each of the
letters is the first letter of one of the
five dimensions of personality.
 Cont`d
1) Openness: a person‘s
willingness to try new things and
be open to new experiences.
People who try to maintain the
status quo and who don‘t like to
change things would score less
on openness.
 Cont`d
2) Conscientiousness:
It is the tendency to be
organized, careful, and disciplined
vs. disorganized, careless, and
impulsive.
 Cont`d
• It refers to a person‘s
organization and motivation,
with people who score high in
the dimension being those who
are careful about being in places
on time and careful with
belongings as well.
 Cont`d
3) Extraversion: all people could
be divided into two personality
types: extraverts and introverts.
Extraverts are outgoing and
sociable, whereas introverts are
more solitary and dislike being
the center of attention.
 Cont`d
4) Agreeableness: refers to the
basic emotional style of a person,
who may be easygoing, friendly
and pleasant. It is the tendency to
be soft-hearted, trusting, and
helpful vs. ruthless, suspicious,
and uncooperative.
 Cont`d
5) Neuroticism refers to emotional
instability or stability. People who
are excessively worried,
overanxious and moody would
score high on this dimension,
whereas those who are more even-
tempered and calm could score
low.
7.2.3. Humanistic Theory of Personality
• Humanistic approaches to personality
emphasize people‘s inherent goodness
and their tendency to move toward
higher levels of functioning instead of
seeing people as controlled by the
unconscious, unseen forces
(psychodynamic approaches), and a
set of stable traits (trait approaches).
 Carl Rogers and Self-Concept
• The existence of an innate growth
mechanism with in individuals that will
move them toward realization of their
potentialities if the environmental conditions
are right.
• They emphasize on the uniqueness of
individuals and believe that all individuals
should be free to make their own choices
about the direction they want to take in their
own lives.
 Cont`d
• People should be allowed to organize
and control their own behavior; they
should not be controlled by society.
• It is conscious, self-motivated ability
to change and improve, along with
people’s unique creative impulses that
makes up the core personality.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• Like Maslow, Rogers believed that
human beings are always striving to
fulfill their innate capacities and
capabilities, and to become
everything that their genetic
potential will allow them to become.
• This striving for fulfillment is called
self-actualizing tendency.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
To Rogers and other humanist
personality theorists, an ultimate goal
of personality is self-actualization.
 Self- actualization is a state of self-
fulfillment in which people realize
their highest potential. It is a goal that
people are always striving to reach.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
An important tool in human self-
actualization is the development of an
image of oneself or the self-concept.
The self-concept is based on what
people are told by others and how the
sense of self is reflected in the words
and actions of important people in one‘s
life, such as parents, siblings,
coworkers, friends, and teachers.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
There are two important
components of the self-concept.
A) Real Self(one‘s actual
perception of characteristics,
traits, and abilities that form the
basis of the striving for self-
actualization).
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
B) Ideal Self (the perception of
what one should be or would like
to be).
• The ideal self primarily comes
from those important, significant
others in one‘s life, most often
the parents.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• Rogers believed that when the real
self and the ideal self are very
close or similar to each other,
people feel competent and capable,
but when there is a mismatch
between the real and ideal selves,
anxiety and neurotic behavior can
be the result.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• When one has a realistic view of
the real self, and the ideal self is
attainable, there usually isn‘t a
problem of a mismatch. It is when
a person‘s view of self is distorted
or the ideal self is impossible to
attain that problems arise.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• Rogers suggests that one way of
overcoming the discrepancy
between experience and self –
concept is through the recipient of
unconditional positive regard from
another person – a friend, a
spouse, a therapist, other
significant people.
 Unconditional Positive
Carl Rogers and Regard
Self-Concept
• It is acceptance and approval
without conditions.
• Rogers defined Unconditional
positive regard as warmth,
affection, love, and respect that
comes from the significant others
(parents, admired adults, friends, and
teachers) in people‘s experience.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• For Rogers, a person who is in
the process of self-actualizing,
activity exploring potentials and
abilities and experiencing a
match between real and ideal
selves is a fully functioning
person.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• Fully functioning people are in
touch with their feelings and
abilities and can trust their
innermost urges and intuitions.
To become a fully functioning, a
person needs unconditional
positive regard.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• In Rogers's view, only a person
who is fully functioning is
capable of reaching the goal of
self-actualization.
• To be fully functioning is a
necessary step in the process of
self-actualization.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• Maslow (1987) listed several
people that he considered to be
self-actualized people:
• Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela,
Mahatma Gandhi, and Eleanor
Roosevelt, for example.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• These were people that Maslow
found to have the self-actualized
qualities of being creative,
autonomous and unprejudiced. In
Roger's view, these same people
would be seen as having trusted
their true feelings and innermost
needs
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• Fully Functioning Person: Lives in harmony
with his/her deepest feelings and impulses.
• Self: Flexible and changing perception of
one’s identity.
• Self-Image: Total subjective perception of
your body and personality.
• Incongruence: is a discrepancy between one’s
experiences and self-image.
• Ideal Self: Idealized image of oneself (the
person one would like to be).
 CHAPTER SE

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
AND TREATMENT TECHNIQUES
7.1 Nature
Carl Rogers
of Psychological
and Self-Concept
Disorders
Psychological disorder refers to
people who exhibit abnormal patterns
of feelings, thinking and behavior.
The three criteria used for
determining whether a person has a
psychological problem /disorder are:
abnormality, mal-adaptiveness, and
personal distress.
 1.Abnormality
Carl Rogers and Self-Concept
A behavior that deviates from the
behavior of the ‘typical‘ person; the
norm.
When someone behaves in culturally
unacceptable ways and the behaviors
he/she exhibit violates the norm,
standards, rules and regulations of the
society, this person is most likely to have
a psychological problem.
 Carl2.Rogers
Mal-adaptiveness
and Self-Concept
• Inability to adapt to new environment
or situation).
• Maladaptive behavior in one way or
another creates a social, personal and
occupational problem on those who
exhibit the behaviors. These behaviors
seriously disrupt the day-to-day activities
of individuals that can increase the
problem more.
 Carl3.Rogers
Personal Distress
and Self-Concept
Our subjective feelings of anxiety,
stress, tension and other unpleasant
emotions determine whether we
have a psychological disorder.
These negative emotional states
arise either by the problem itself or
by events happen that on us.
 Carl3.Rogers
Personal Distress
and Self-Concept
But, the criterion of personal distress
only, just like other criteria, is not sufficient
for the presence of psychological disorder.
This is because of some people like feeling
distressed by their own behavior.
Hence, behavior that is abnormal,
maladaptive, or personally distressing
might indicate that a person has a
psychological disorder.
 Carl Rogers and Self-Concept
7.2. Causes of Psychological Disorders
7.2.1 The Biological Perspective
• Current researchers believe that
abnormalities in the working of
chemicals in the brain, called
neurotransmitters, may
contribute to many psychological
disorders (genetic as cause).
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• These days the American women
psychologists association also states
that ‘world ecology is womb ecology’.
This is to explain the role of the womb
in producing healthy generation.
Conversely, if the womb is unhealthy it
will undoubtedly be a source of
psychological, physical and other
disorders.
7.2.2Carl
Psychological Perspectives
Rogers and Self-Concept
In this part, we will examine three
psychological perspectives:
 Psychoanalytic perspective
 Learning, and
 Cognitive behavioral
perspectives.
A. Psychoanalytic perspective
Carl Rogers and Self-Concept

• Abnormal behavior, in Freud’s

view, is caused by the ego’s
inability to manage the conflict
between the opposing demands
of the id and the superego.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• Especially important is the
individuals‘ failure to manage the
conflicting of id’s sexual impulses
during childhood, and society’s
sexual morality to resolve the
earlier childhood emotional
conflicts that determine how to
behave and think later.
 B. Learning
Carl Rogers andperspective
Self-Concept
• Most mental and emotional
disorders, in contrast to the
psychoanalytic perspective, arise
from inadequate or inappropriate
learning.
• People acquire abnormal behaviors
through the various kinds of
learning.
 C.
CarlCognitive
Rogers andperspective
Self-Concept
• The quality of our internal dialogue
either builds ourselves up or tear
ourselves down and has profound
effect on our mental health.
• The main theme of this perspective is
that self-defeating thoughts lead to the
development of negative emotions and
self-destructive behaviors.
 Carl RogersCont`d
and Self-Concept
• People's ways of thinking about
events in their life determines their
emotional and behavioral patterns.
Most of the time our thinking
patterns in one way or another
affects our emotional and
behavioral wellbeing in either
positive or negative ways.
7.3.Types of Psychological
Carl Rogers Disorders
and Self-Concept
A psychological disorder is a
condition characterized by abnormal
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Psychopathology is the study of
psychological disorders, including
their symptoms, etiology (i.e., their
causes), and treatment.
 Cont`d
There are many types of
psychological disorders, but here
in this section we will try to see
only types of:
1) Mood Disorder.
2) Anxiety Disorder.
3) Personality Disorder.
 1) Mood Disorders
A mood disorder is when your general
emotional state or mood is distorted or
inconsistent with your circumstances and
interferes with your ability to function.
You may be extremely sad, empty or
irritable (depressed), or you may have
periods of depression alternating with
being excessively happy.
One disorder in this category is major
depression.
Major Depression is characterized by
depressed mood, diminished interest in
activities previously enjoyed, weight
disturbance, sleep disturbance, loss of
energy, difficulty concentrating, and
often includes feelings of hopelessness
and thoughts of suicide.
 Cont`d
Mood disorders are characterized by
a serious change in mood from
depressed to elevated feelings
causing disruption to life activities.
 Depressive disorder is characterized
by overall feelings of desperation and
inactivity. Elevated moods are
characterized by mania or hypomania.
 2) Anxiety Disorders
Unpleasant/nervousness state
of feeling.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to
stress and can be beneficial in
some situations.
It can alert us to dangers and
help us prepare and pay attention.
 Cont`d
Anxiety disorders can cause
people into trying to avoid situations
that trigger or worsen their
symptoms. Job performance, school
work and personal relationships can
be affected
Some disorders categorized under
anxiety disorder includes:
 a) Panic Disorder
 It is an inappropriate intense
feeling of fear or discomfort
including many of the following
symptoms: heart palpitations,
shortness of breath, chest pain,
dizziness
 b) Agoraphobia
 literally means fear of the marketplace.
It refers to a series of symptoms where
the person fears, and often avoids,
situations.
c) Social Phobia represent an intense
fear and often an avoidance of a specific
situation, person, place, or thing.
d) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
It is characterized by obsessions
(thoughts which seem
uncontrollable) and compulsions
(behaviors which act to reduce the
obsession).
Doubt and repetitively checking
your self
 Cont`d
Most people think of compulsive hand
washers or people with an intense fear of
dirty or of being infected.
These obsessions and compulsions are
disruptive to the person's everyday life,
with sometimes hours being spent each
day repeating things, which were
completed successfully already such as
checking, counting, cleaning, or bathing.
 3) Personality Disorders
Personality Disorders are
characterized by an enduring pattern of
thinking, feeling, and behaving which
is significantly different from the
person's culture and results in negative
consequences.
This pattern must be longstanding and
inflexible for a diagnosis to be made.
 Cont`d
A personality disorder is a type of
mental disorder in which
individuals have a rigid and
unhealthy pattern of thinking,
functioning and behaving.
A person with a personality
disorder has trouble perceiving and
relating to situations and people.
 7.4 Treatment Techniques
Treatment of mental illnesses
can take various forms.
They can include medication,
talk therapy, a combination of
both, and can last only one
session or take many years to
complete.
 Cont`d
Many different types of
treatment are available, but most
agree that the core components
of psychotherapy remain the
same.
 Cont`d
1. A positive, healthy relationship
between a client or patient and a trained
psychotherapist
2. Recognizable mental health issues,
whether diagnosable or not
3. Agreement on the basic goals of
treatment
4. Working together as a team to achieve
these goals
 Treatment Approaches
When providing psychotherapy, there
are several issues to be considered.
• First and foremost is empathy.
• It is a requirement for a successful
practitioner to be able to understand
his or her client's feelings, thoughts,
and behaviors.
 Being nonjudgmental(UPR)
Therapists approach clients from
slightly different angles:
to help the client reduce negative
symptoms,
gain insight into why these
symptoms occurred and
reduce the emergence of the
symptoms in the future.
 Three Main Approaches:
I) Cognitive Approach(Models):
They look at dysfunctions and
difficulties arising from
irrational or faulty thinking.
We perceive the world in a
certain way (which may or may
not be accurate)
 Cont`d
II) Behavioral Approach (Models):
 Look at problems as arising
from our behaviors which we
have learned to perform over
years of reinforcement.
III)Psychodynamic Approach (Models)
Look more at issues beginning
in early childhood which then
motivate us as adults at an
unconscious level.
Cognitive approaches appear to
work better with most types of
depression.
 Cont`d
Behavioral treatments tend to
work better with phobias.
Most mental health
professionals nowadays are more
eclectic in that they study how to
treat people using different
approaches.
 Treatment Modalities
 Therapy is most often thought
of as a one-on-one relationship
between a client or patient and a
therapist.
 This is probably the most
common example, but therapy can
also take different forms:
 Cont`d
Group Therapy- is utilized, where
individuals suffering from similar
illnesses or having similar issues
meet together with one or two
therapists.
Group sizes differ, ranging from
three or four to upwards of 15 or
20, but the goals remain the same.
 A Couple or a Family Therapy
In this type of treatment, the issues to
be worked on are centered around the
relationship.
There is often an educational
component, like other forms of therapy,
such as communication training, and
couples and families are encouraged to
work together as a team rather than
against each other.
 Cont`d
The therapist's job is to facilitate
healthy interaction, encourage
the couple or family to gain
insight into their own behaviors,
and to teach the members to
listen to and respect each other.
 Individual therapy-
 One treatment modality may
used to reduce depressive
symptoms, work some on self-
esteem and therefore reduce fears
about social situations
individually.
 Cont`d
 Once successfully completed,
this person may be transferred to a
group therapy setting where he or
she can practice social skills, feel
a part of a supportive group,
therefore improving self-esteem
and further reducing depression.