Ma Psychology

Cognitive Psychology
UNIT 1 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

“Mind and world … have evolved together, and in consequence are something
of a mutual fit”.
– William James
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Cognitive Psychology: An Introduction
1.3 Research Methods in Cognitive Psychology
1.3.1 Goals of Research
1.3.2 Distinctive Research Methods
1.4 Domains of Cognitive Psychology
1.5 A Brief History of Cognitive Psychology
1.5.1 Early Thoughts of Thinking
1.5.2 Cognition in the Renaissance and Beyond
1.5.3 Cognitive Psychology in Early Twentieth Centuary
1.5.4 Cognitive Psychology — As it is Today
1.6 Key Issues in the Study of Cognitive Psychology
1.7 Key Ideas in Cognitive Psychology
1.7.1 Computer Metaphor and Human Cognition
1.7.2 Cognitive Science
1.7.3 Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Unit End Questions
1.10 Suggested Readings and References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes such as perceiving,
remembering, and reasoning. Why do psychologists study mental processes?
Since the beginning of recorded history, people have expressed curiosity about
the operation of the mind, largely because they believed that behaviour is the
result of mental processes. For example, how are we to understand the very
behaviour in which you are engaged at this moment, reading this course book?
At one level, we are interested in explaining your ability to comprehend what
you are reading, and in so doing, we are likely to appeal to processes of perception
of words and computation of meaning. At another level, we might explain your
motivation for reading in terms of your goal to complete this course, which in
turn is motivated by your goal of obtaining a degree in order to follow some plan
that you have for a career. The point is that your behaviour of reading this book
is determined in part by your intent to meet some goal and fulfill some plan.
Intentionality, goals, and plans are mental phenomena that affect behaviour.
Further, the specific behaviour, in this case, reading, is understood by appeal to
the specific mental processes involved in perception and comprehension of text.
In short, the study of mental processes is important because these processes are
responsible for much of our behaviours. In this unit you will be studying the
definition and description of cognitive psychology, distinctive research methods,
domains of cognitive psychology, metaphor of cognition etc. 5
Information Processing
1.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you will be able to:
• Field of cognitive psychology;
• Provide a foundation on which to build an understanding of the topics in
cognitive psychology;
• Describes some of the intellectual history of the study of human thinking;
and
• Emphasises some of the issues and concerns that arise when we think about
how people think.
1.2 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: AN

INTRODUCTION
Cognitive psychology is the study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and
think about information. A cognitive psychologist might study how people
perceive various shapes, why they remember some facts but forget others, or
how they learn language. Consider some examples of everyday experiences that
are also of theoretical interest to cognitive psychologists:
How many times have you carefully proofread written work, only to be
embarrassed later by an obvious error you overlooked?
Many times what we see is determined as much by the context in which it occurs
as by what is actually there, an issue of pattern recognition.
Have you noticed the difficulty of simultaneously taking notes in class and
understanding a lecture?
Explanations of this kind of difficulties are found in the discussion of attention.
When you dial the telephone directory assistance for a telephone number and do
not have a pen to note it down, why do you have to repeat the number until you
have dialed it? And why you have to make your call again to enquire the number
if someone talks to you before you dial the number?
These are problems associated with the short term memory.
Do you remember the experience of working on a problem or a puzzle that you
were unable to solve, but after taking a break from the problem, you subsequently
obtained a solution?
This phenomenon, known as incubation effect, along with other commonly
experienced events is an aspect of problem solving.
Why do objects look farther away on foggy days than they really are? This
discrepancy of perception can be dangerous, even deceiving drivers into having
accidents.
These are just a few of the many examples of everyday experiences which are
discussed and explored by the experiments and theory of cognitive psychology.
Two points about these examples should be considered as we attempt to gain an
6 overview of cognitive psychology.
1) All represent instances of difficulty or failure of mental processes. We rarely Cognitive Psychology
think of them unless they fail to work. Failure of mental processes are
immediately noticed because they can be frustrating, embarrassing, and
sometimes even dangerous and, consequently, such failures become useful
tools for the psychological analysis of mental phenomena.
2) Cognitive psychology is interested in what is generally called mental
phenomena. In this sense, the examples just discussed are consistent with
the dictionary definition of cognitive psychology: “the scientific study of
the mind”.
While it is hoped that examples help clarify the definition, questions undoubtedly
remain concerning how one goes about this ‘scientific study of mind’. To address
these questions, here’s a brief discussion of the scientific methods, followed by
an extensive description of the important historical events leading up to modern
cognitive psychology.
Next is a brief overview of the major methods, issues, and content areas of
cognitive psychology.
1.3 RESEARCH METHODS IN COGNITIVE

PSYCHOLOGY
This consists of the various research methods that we use in cognitive psychology.
Every research has a goal and it is achieved through appropriate methodology.
Let us see what are the goals of research.
1.3.1 Goals of Research

To better understand the specific methods used by cognitive psychologists, one
must grasp the goals of research in cognitive psychology. Briefly, those goals
include data gathering, data analysis, theory development, hypothesis formulation,
hypothesis testing, and perhaps even application to settings outside the research
environment. However, most cognitive psychologists want to understand more
than cognition. They also seek to understand the how and the why of thinking.
That is, researchers seek ways to explain cognition as well as describe it. To
move beyond descriptions, cognitive psychologists must leap from what is
observed directly to what can be inferred regarding observations.
1.3.2 Distinctive Research Methods

Cognitive psychologists use various methods to explore how humans think. These
methods include (i) laboratory or other controlled experiments, (ii)
psychobiological research, (iii) self-reports, case studies, naturalistic observation,
and (iv) computer simulations and artificial intelligence. Each method offers
distinctive advantages and disadvantages.
i) Experiments on Human Behaviour: In controlled experimental designs,

an experimenter conducts research, typically in a laboratory setting. The
experimenter controls as many aspects of the experimental situation as
possible. There are basically two kinds of variables in any given experiment
– independent variables and dependent variables. The irrelevant variables
are held constant and are called control variables. In implementing
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Information Processing experimental method, the experimenter must use a representative and
random sample of the population of interest. S/he must also exert rigorous
control over the experimental conditions. If those requisites for the
experimental method are fulfilled, the experimenter may be able to infer
probable causality. This influence is of the effects of the independent variable
(the treatment) on the dependent variable (the outcome) for the given
population.
ii) Psychobiological Research: Through psychobiological research,

investigators study the relationship between cognitive performance and
cerebral events and situations. The various specific techniques used in the
psychobiological research generally fall into three categories. The first
category is that of techniques for studying an individual’s brain post-mortem,
relating the individual’s cognitive function prior to death to observable
features of the brain. The second category is techniques for studying images
showing structures of or activities in the brain of an individual who is known
to have a particular cognitive deficit. The third is techniques for obtaining
information about cerebral processes during the normal performance of a
cognitive activity (e.g. by using brain imaging techniques).
iii) Self-Reports, Case Studies, and Naturalistic Observation: Individual

experiments and psychobiological studies often focus on precise
specification of discrete aspects of cognition across individuals. To obtain
richly textured information about how particular individuals think in a broad
range of contexts, researchers may use self-reports (an individual’s own
account of cognitive processes), case studies (in-depth studies of
individuals), and naturalistic observation (detailed studies of cognitive
performance in everyday situations and no laboratory contexts). On the
one hand, experimental research is most useful for testing hypotheses. On
the other hand, research based on qualitative methods is often particularly
useful for the formulation of hypotheses. These methods are also useful to
generate descriptions of rare events or processes that we have no other way
to measure.
iv) Computer Simulations and Artificial Intelligence: Digital computers

played a fundamental role in the emergence of the study of cognitive
psychology. One kind of influence is indirect though models of human
cognition based on models of how computers process information. Another
kind is direct, that is through computer simulations and artificial intelligence.
In computer simulations, researchers program computers to imitate a given
human function or process. Some researchers even have attempted to create
computer models of the entire cognitive architecture of the human mind.
Their models have stimulated heated discussions regarding how the human
mind may function as a whole. Sometimes the distinction between
simulation and artificial intelligence is blurred. It is also possible to combine
the two approaches.
Cognitive psychologists often broaden and deepen their understanding of

cognition through research in cognitive science. Cognitive science is a cross-
disciplinary field that uses ideas and methods from cognitive psychology,
psychobiology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, linguistics, and anthropology.
Cognitive psychologists use these ideas and methods to focus on the study of
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how humans acquire and use knowledge. They also work in collaboration with Cognitive Psychology
other psychologists, such as social psychologists (in the field of social cognition),
psychologists who study motivation and emotion, and engineering psychologists
(who study human-machine interactions).
1.4 DOMAINS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Modern cognitive psychology freely, draws theories and techniques; from twelve
principal areas of research (see Figure 1.1). Each area, in brief, is described
below:
i) Cognitive Neuroscience: Only within the past few years have cognitive
psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists formed a close working
relationship. Thus far, this union has produced some of the most provocative
developments in the study of our mental character. Cognitive psychologists
are seeking neurological explanations for their findings, and neuroscientists
are turning to cognitive psychologists to explain observations made in their
laboratories. Every part of the cognitive process from sensation to memory
is supported by basic electrochemical processes taking place in the brain
and nervous system.
Cognitive
Human and Artificial
Neuroscience
Intelligence
Perception
Pattern
Recognition Thinking and
Concept Formation
Developmental Cognitive
Psychology Psychology Attention
Representation
Language
of knowledge
Imagery Consciousness
Memory
Fig. 1.1: Principal research areas of cognitive psychology
ii) Perception: The branch of psychology directly involved with the detection
and interpretation of sensory stimuli is perception. From experiments in
perception, we have a good understanding of the sensitivity of the human
organism to sensory signals and more important to cognitive psychology of
the way we interpret sensory signals. The experimental study of perception
has helped identify many of the parts of this process. However, the study of
perception alone does not adequately account for the expected performance;
other cognitive systems are involved, including pattern recognition, attention,
consciousness, and memory.
9
Information Processing iii) Pattern Recognition: Environmental stimuli rarely are perceived as single
sensory events; they usually are perceived as part of a more meaningful
pattern. The things we sense – see, hear, feel, taste, or smell—are almost
always part of a complex pattern of sensory stimuli. Think about the problem
of reading. Reading is a complex effort in which the reader is required to
form a meaningful pattern from an otherwise meaningless array of lines
and curves. By organising the stimuli that make up letters and words, the
reader may then access meaning from his or her memory. The entire process
takes place in a fraction of a second, and considering all the neuroanatomical
and cognitive systems involved, this feat – performed daily by all sorts of
people – is wondrous.
iv) Attention: Although we are information-gathering creatures, it is evident
that under normal circumstances we are also highly selective in the amount
and type of information to which we attend. Our capacity to process
information seems to be limited to two levels – sensory and cognitive. If
too many sensory clues are imposed upon us at any given time, we can
become overloaded; if we try to process too many events in memory, we
can become overloaded, which may cause a breakdown in performance. All
of us have felt the same way at one time or another.
v) Consciousness: Consciousness is defined as “the current awareness, of

external or internal circumstances.” Rejected as being “unscientific” by the
behaviourists, the word consciousness and the concept it represents simply
did not fade away. For most people, consciousness and unconscious thoughts
(such as you might have on a first date) are very real. For example, when
you glance at your watch while studying and it reads “10:42 (P.M.),” you are
conscious, or, aware, of that external signal. However, your reading of the
time also brings up another conscious thought, one that was initially activated
by reading the time but is from “inside.” That conscious thought might be,
“It’s getting late: I’d better finish this chapter and go to bed”. Consciousness
has gained new respectability recently and now is a concept studied seriously
in modern cognitive psychology.
vi) Memory: Memory and perception work together. The information available
to us comes from our perception, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Most obvious long-term storage is the knowledge of the language. We draw
words from LTM and more or less use them correctly. In a fleeting second,
we are able to recall information about an event of years before. Such
information does not come from an immediate perceptual experience; it is
stored along with a vast number of other facts in the LTM.
vii) Representation of Knowledge: Fundamental of all human cognition is the

representation of knowledge: how information is symbolised and combined
with the things stored in the brain. This part of cognition has two aspects:
the conceptual representation of knowledge in mind and the way the brain
stores and process information. The conceptual representation in different
individuals can be considerably different. In spite of these inherent
dissimilarities between representations of knowledge, most humans do
experience and depict experience in similar enough ways to get along well
in the world. The content of this information is also hugely different. But
our neurological web entraps information and experiences and holds them
10 in structures that are similar in all human brains.
viii) Imagery: Cognitive psychologists are especially interested in the topic of Cognitive Psychology
internal representations of knowledge. The mental images of the environment
are formed in the form of a cognitive map, a type of internal representation
of the juxtaposed buildings, streets, street signs, spotlights, and so on. From
the cognitive maps, we are able to draw out significant cues. Although the
experimental study of mental imagery is relatively new to psychology, some
significant research has recently been reported.
ix) Language: One form of knowledge shared by all human societies is the
knowledge of language. Language is the principal means by which we acquire
and express knowledge; thus, the study of how language is used is a central
concern of cognitive psychology. Human language development represents
a unique kind of abstraction, which is basic to cognition. Language processing
is an important component of information processing and storage. Language
also influences perception, a fundamental aspect of cognition.
x) Developmental Psychology: Developmental psychology is another important

area of cognitive psychology that has been intensely studied. Recent studies
and theories in developmental cognitive psychology have greatly expanded
our understanding of how cognitive structures develop. As adults, we have
all lived through childhood and adolescence and we share maturational
experiences with all members of our species.
xi) Thinking and Concept Formation: Thinking is the crown jewel of cognition.
Thinking is the process by which a new mental representation is formed
through the transformation of information. Advances in cognitive psychology
have led to a formidable arsenal of research techniques and theoretical
models. An ability to think and form concepts is an important aspect of
cognition. Similar concepts help in the understanding and processing of
information. There is a considerable body of knowledge about the laws and
processes of concept formation.
xii) Human and Artificial Intelligence: Human intelligence includes the ability
to acquire, recall, and use knowledge to understand concrete and abstract
concepts and the relationships among objects and ideas, to understand a
language, to follow instructions, to convert verbal descriptions into actions,
and to behave according to the rules, and to use knowledge in a meaningful
way.
The specialty within the computer science called artificial intelligence has had a
major influence on the development of cognitive science, especially since the
design of programs requires knowledge of how we process information. Cognitive
psychology also addresses to find out whether a perfect robot can simulate human
behaviour.
1.5 A BRIEF HISTORY OF COGNITIVE

PSYCHOLOGY
As we have learned, a great portion of cognitive psychology deals with how
knowledge is represented in the mind. In this section on the history of cognitive
psychology we will review three major periods (for a detailed history see Solso
& MacLin, 2000; Wilson & Keil, 1999). First, we will deal with traditional ideas
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Information Processing from a very early period. Then we touch on the way knowledge and thinking was
conceptualised by Renaissance scholars. Finally, we will deal with the modern
period with emphasis on current ideas and methods.
1.5.1 Early Thoughts on Thinking

Where did knowledge come from, and how is it represented in the mind? That
eternal question is fundamental to cognitive psychology as it has been through
the ages of humankind. Basically, two answers have been proposed. The
empiricists maintain that knowledge comes from experience, and the nativists
suggest that knowledge is based on innate characteristics of the brain. From a
scientific perspective, neither case can be definitively proved, so the argument
continues without clear resolution. With these issues clearly before us, let’s
consider the way ancient philosophers and early psychologists grappled with the
issue. The fascination with knowledge can be traced to the earliest writings.
Early theories were concerned with the seat of thought and memory. Ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphics suggest their authors believed that knowledge was
localised in the heart—a view shared by the early Greek philosopher Aristotle
but not by Plato, who held that the brain was the locus of knowledge.
1.5.2 Cognition in the Renaissance and Beyond

Renaissance philosophers and theologians seemed generally satisfied that
knowledge was located in the brain. They considered that knowledge was acquired
not only through the physical senses (mundus sensibilis – touch, taste, smell,
vision, and hearing) but also from divine sources (mundus intellectualis—Deus).
During the eighteenth century, when philosophic psychology was brought to the
point where , scientific psychology could assume a role, the British empiricists,
George Berkeley, David Hume, and, later, James Mill and his son John Stuart
Mill suggested that internal representation is of three types: (1) direct sensory
events, (2) faint copies of percepts, or those that are stored in memory; and (3)
transformation of these faint copies, as in associated thought. These notions are
the basis of much current research in cognitive psychology.
During the nineteenth century, the early psychologists like Gustav Fechner, Franz
Brentano, Hermann Helmholtz, Wilhelm Wundt, G; E. Muller, Oswald Kulpe,
Hermann Ebbinghaus, Sir Francis Galton, Edward Titchener, and William James
and others started to break away from philosophy to form a discipline based on
empirical results rather than on speculation. By the last half of the nineteenth
century, theories of the representation of knowledge were clearly dichotomous:
that emphasised the structure of mental representation (Wundt, Titchner); and
the processes or acts (Brentano).
About the same time in America, James critically analysed the new psychology
that was developing in Germany. He established the first’ psychological laboratory
in America, wrote the definitive work in psychology in 1890 (Principles of
Psychology), and developed a well-reasoned model of the mind. Perhaps James’s
most direct link with modem cognitive psychology is in his view of memory, in
which both structure and process play an important role. F. C. Donders and James
Cattell, contemporaries of James’s, performed experiments using the perception
of brief visual displays as a means of determining the time required for mental
operations. The technique, subject matter, procedures, and even the interpretation
12
of results of these early scientists seem to have anticipated the emergence of the Cognitive Psychology
cognitive psychology a half-century later.
1.5.3 Cognitive Psychology in Early Twentieth Century

The representation of knowledge took a radical turn with the advent of twentieth-
century behaviourism and Gestalt psychology. The behaviourist views of human
and animal psychology were cast in a framework of stimulus-response (S-R)
psychology, and Gestalt theorists built elaborate conceptualisations of internal
representation within the context of isomorphism – one-to-one relationship
between representation and reality.
Psychological studies of mental processes as conceptualised in the late nineteenth

century suddenly became unfashionable, displaced by behaviourism. Studies of
internal mental operations and structures such as attention, consciousness,
memory, and thinking were laid to rest and remained so for about fifty years. To
the behaviourists, internal states were subsumed under the label of “intervening
variable,” that mediated the effects of stimuli on responses and were neglected
in favor of making observations on behaviour rather than on the mental processes.
In 1932, some years before the cognitive revolution swept across psychology,
learning psychologist Edward Tolman from the University of California at
Berkeley published Purposive Behavior in Animals and Men. In this seminal
work, Tolman observed that what rats learn in a maze is the layout of the land
rather than simply a series of S-R connections. The animal, according to Tolman’s
interpretation, gradually developed a “picture” of his environment that was later
used to find the goal. This picture was called a cognitive map. Tolman’s postulate
about cognitive maps in animals did anticipate the contemporary preoccupation
with how knowledge is represented in a cognitive structure.
Also in 1932 Sir Frederick Bartlett from Cambridge University wrote

Remembering in which he rejected the then popular view that memory and
forgetting can be studied by means of nonsense syllables, as had been advocated
by Ebbinghaus in Germany during the previous century. In the study of human
memory, Bartlett argued, the use of rich and meaningful material under naturalistic
conditions would yield far more significant conclusions. Bartlett introduced the
concept of schema as a unifying theme that describes the essence of an experience.
Schema theory plays a central role in modern theories of memory. The fecund
ideas of Tolman in America and Bartlett in England highly influenced the thinking
of future cognitive psychologists.
1.5.4 Cognitive Psychology—As it is Today

In the 1950s interest again began to focus on attention, memory, pattern
recognition, images, semantic organisation, language processes, thinking, and
even consciousness (the most dogmatically eschewed concept), as well as other
“cognitive” topics once considered outside the boundary of experimental
psychology (vis-à-vis.behaviourism). New journals and professional groups were
founded as psychologists began more and more to turn to cognitive psychology.
As cognitive psychology became established with even greater clarity, it was
plain that this was a brand of psychology different from that in vogue during the
1930s and 1940s. Among the most important forces accounting for this
neocognitive revolution were the following:
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Information Processing The “failure” of behaviourism. Behaviorism, which generally studied overt
responses to stimuli, failed to account for the diversity of human behaviour as in
the case of language. Furthermore, there were some topics ignored by the
behaviourists that seemed to be profoundly related to human psychology. These
included memory, attention, consciousness, thinking, and imagery. It was apparent
that internal mental processes were very real parts of psychology and required
investigation.
The emergence of communication theory. Communication theory prompted

experiments in signal detection, attention, cybernetics, and information theory –
areas of significance to cognitive psychology.
Modem linguistics. New ways of viewing language and grammatical structure

became incorporated into attitudes concerning cognitions.
Memory research. Research in verbal learning and semantic organisation provided

a sturdy empirical base for theories of memory, which led to the development of
models of memory systems and the appearance of testable models of other
cognitive processes.
Computer science and other technological advances. Computer science, and

especially a subdivision of it—artificial intelligence—caused reexamination of
basic postulates of problem solving and memory processing and storage, as well
as of ‘language processing and acquisition. Research capabilities were greatly
expanded by new experimental devices.
Cognitive development. Psychologists interested in development psychology

discovered an orderly unfolding of abilities with maturation. Notable among
developmental psychologists during this period was Jean Piaget, who described
how children develop an appreciation for concepts from infancy to adolescence.
Such progress of abilities seems to be natural.
From the earliest concepts of representational knowledge to recent research,

knowledge has been thought to rely heavily on sensory inputs. That theme runs
from the Greek philosophers, through Renaissance scholars, to contemporary
cognitive psychologists. But are internal representations of the world identical
to the physical properties of the world? Evidence is increasing that many internal
representations of reality are not the same as the external reality—that is, they
are not isomorphic. Tolman’s work with laboratory animals and Bartlett’s work
with human subjects suggest that information from the senses is stored as an
abstract representation. Furthermore, studies of neurology clearly show that
information from the outside world is sensed and stored as in a neurochemical
code.
1.6 KEY ISSUES IN THE STUDY OF COGNITIVE

PSYCHOLOGY
If the important ideas are reviewed, it is observed that some major themes underlie
all of cognitive psychology. Some of these issues are discussed dialectically here:
Nature versus Nurture – Which is more influential in human cognition – nature

or nurture? If we believe that innate characteristics of human cognition are more
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important, we might focus our research on studying innate characteristics of Cognitive Psychology
cognition. If we believe that the environment plays an important role in cognition,
we might conduct research exploring how distinctive characteristics of
environment seem to influence cognition.
Rationalism versus Empiricism – How should we discover the truth about

ourselves and about the world around us? Should we do so by trying to reason
logically, based on what we already know? Or should we do so by observing and
testing our observations of what we can perceive through our senses? And how
can we combine theory with empirical methods to learn the most we can about
cognitive phenomena?
Structures versus Processes - Should we study the structures (contents, attributes,

and products) of the human mind? Or should we focus on processes of human
thinking?
Domain generality versus Domain specificity – Are the processes we observe

limited to single domains, or are they general across a variety of domains? Do
observations in one domain apply also to all domains, or do they apply only to
specific domains observed?
Validity of causal inferences versus Ecological validity – Should we study

cognition by using highly controlled experiments that increase the probability of
valid inferences regarding causality? Or should we use more naturalistic
techniques?
Applied versus Basic research – Should we conduct research into fundamental

cognitive processes? Or should we study ways in which to help people use
cognition effectively in practical situations?
Biological versus Behavioural methods – Should we study the brain and its
functions directly, perhaps even scanning the brain while people are performing
cognitive tasks? Or should we study people’s behaviour in cognitive tasks, looking
at measures such as percentage correct and reaction time?
Note that these questions can be posed in the “either/or” form of thesis/antithesis,
or in the both/and form of a synthesis of views or methods, which often proves
more useful than one extreme position or another.
1.7 KEY IDEAS IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Certain key ideas seem to keep emerging in cognitive psychology, regardless of
the particular phenomenon one studies. Here are what might be considered the
five major ideas:
Data in cognitive psychology can be fully understood only in the context of an
explanatory theory, but theories are empty without empirical data.
Cognition is generally adaptive but not in all specific instances.
Cognitive processes interact with each other and with noncognitive processes.
Cognition needs to be studied through a variety of scientific methods.
All basic research in cognitive psychology may lead to applications, and all applied
research may lead to basic understandings. 15
Activity: Think about some of the fields of cognitive psychology to which
these key themes and issues may apply.
1.7.1 Computer Metaphor and Human Cognition

Although Pascal, Descartes, and others dreamt of computing machines centuries
ago, it was not until the development of high-speed digital computers more than
fifty years ago that practical machines were invented. These machines gained
enormous acceptance and are presently used in virtually every aspect of modern
life. Originally, such devices were thought to be wonderful number crunchers
capable of performing a multitude of complex mathematical operations in a
fraction of the time required by humans. However, it was quickly discovered
that they could perform functions that resembled human problem solving.
However, what computers do well (perform high-speed mathematical functions

and abide by rule-governed logic) humans do poorly, relatively speaking. And
what humans do well (form generalisations, make inferences, understand complex
patterns, and have emotions) computers do poorly, or not at all. Despite this
problem, a second generation of cognitive-computer scientists is working toward
building computers that looked something like a brain.
These new computers are sometimes called neural networks and act more like
humans than the earlier versions. They are able to make generalisations and
understand complex visual patterns, are slow at math, and make witless mistakes.
Although they still do not have emotions, they are nevertheless a mark of success.
We now know that there are fundamental differences between the internal
workings of computers and the internal workings of the brain. Nevertheless, the
computer metaphor continues to have a profound and generally positive impact
on the development of cognitive psychology.
1.7.2 Cognitive Science

Three powerful areas of scientific development, namely, computer science,
neuroscience, and cognitive psychology, converge to create a new science called
cognitive science. The boundaries between these disciplines are sometimes hard
to distinguish, that is, some cognitive psychologists may be closer to neuroscience,
others to computer science. One thing is clear, that is the science of human
cognition is undergoing a radical transformation as a result of major changes in
computer technology and brain science. Cognitive psychology makes full use of
recent discoveries in neuroscience and computer science that illuminate the
cognitive properties of the human species.
1.7.3 Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology

During the early stages of cognitive psychology, little attention was given to
physiological psychology or neuroanatomy. Much of the early information on
the brain and its functions resulted from head traumas incurred during wars and
accidents. The central issue neurologists struggled with was whether the brain
was a holistic organ, with operations distributed throughout its infrastructure, or
whether activities were localised and tied to specific regions. For example, did
learning a specific act take place in a localised area of the brain, or was learning
distributed throughout many parts of the brain? Among the most prominent of
the scientists who wrestled with these issues was Karl Lashley (1929). Recently,
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progress has been made in the field of neuroscience, which comprises both the Cognitive Psychology
structural aspects of the brain and its peripheral components, as well as the
functional aspects.
With the beginning of the twenty-first century, cognitive psychology seems poised
to make another paradigm shift. While the traditional topics of perception,
memory, language, problem solving, and thinking and the method of experimental
analysis are still central to the cognitive theme. As is well known, the use of
neuro cognitive imagery promises to become one of the major means of
investigating cognitive functions in this century.
Neuro cognitive techniques, which have been developing very rapidly in the
past several decades, allow us to see deeper and more clearly into the brain—
and the brain is believed to be the engine of cognition. Virtually every area of
cognition has been investigated with neuro cognitive techniques. These,
techniques, MRI, PET, EEG , and the like, show not only the structures of
cognition but also the processes involved. And, in many instance, the results
have been remarkable. While this trend is likely to continue and grow, it is
important to recognise the central themes in cognition mentioned above.
1.8 LET US SUM UP

Cognitive psychology is the study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and
think about information. A cognitive psychologist might study how people
perceive various shapes, why they remember some facts but forget others, or
how they learn language.
Cognitive psychology is interested in what is generally called mental phenomena.

In this sense, cognitive psychology IS the scientific study of the mind. Then we
took up the various research methods that we use in cognitive psychology. Every
research has a goal and it is achieved through appropriate methodology. It was
noted that the goals of research in cognitive psychology was to find the how and
why of thinking. It was pointed out that there are distinctive research methods in
cognitive psychology. Each method has distinctive advantages and disadvantages.
It was also noted that Cognitive psychologists often broaden and deepen their
understanding of cognition through research in cognitive science. Cognitive
science is a cross-disciplinary field that uses ideas and methods from cognitive
psychology, psychobiology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, linguistics, and
anthropology.
Modern cognitive psychology freely, draws theories and techniques; from twelve
principal areas of research, namely cognitive neurosiceince, human and artificial
intelligence, perception, thinking and concept formation, pattern recognition,
developmental psychology, attention, language, representation of knowledge,
imagery, memory and consciousness. Then we dealt with a brief history of
cognitive psychology and highlighted the early thoughts on thinking, renaissance
and beyond and the status of cognitive psychology as of today. We then discussed
some of the key issues in cognitive psychology highlighting nature vs. nurture,
rationalism vs. empiricism, structure vs. processes etc.
17
1.9 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1) Describe the major historical schools of psychological thought leading up
to the development of cognitive psychology.
2) Analyse how various research methods in cognitive psychology reflect
empirist and rationalist approaches to gaining knowledge.
3) Design a rough sketch of a cognitive-psychological investigation involving
one of the research methods described in this chapter. Highlight both the
advantages and disadvantages of using this particular method for your
investigation.
4) Describe Cognitive Psychology as it is today. How might you speculate that
the field will change in the next 50 years?
5) How might an insight gained from basic research lead to practical use in an
everyday setting?
6) Describe some real life situations related to different domains of cognitive
psychology.
7) How might an insight gained from applied research lead to deepened
understanding of fundamental features of cognition?
8) What was the importance of the computer to the development of cognitive
psychology?
9) Next time you visit a supermarket or mall, pause for a few moments and
observe the various examples of cognitive psychology which surround you.
Pay particular attention to: 1) the use of forms and colours to gain attention,
2) your own reaction to environmental cues, 3) the use of memory in
understanding language, context, and the interpretation of the sights and
sounds of your environment. Note down your impressions of these matters
and read them over in about a week. What principles discussed in this chapter
apply?
1.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES

Galotti, K.M. (2008). Cognitive Psychology: Perception, Attention, and Memory.
London: Cengage.
Goldstein, E. H. (2008). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research and
Everyday Experience. London: Thomson Learning.
References
Hunt, R. R., & Ellis, H.C. (2006). Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology. New
Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
Kellogg, R.T. (2007). Cognitive Psychology. London: Sage Publications.
Reed, S.K. (2010). Cognition: Theories and Applications. London: Cengage.
Solso, R.L. (2006). Cognitive Psychology. New Delhi: Pearson Education.
Sternberg, R.J. (2009). Applied Cognitive Psychology: Perceiving, Learning,
and Remembering. London: Cengage.
18
Cognitive Psychology
UNIT 2 INFORMATION PROCESSING IN
LEARNING AND MEMORY
“The mechanisms of learning and memory are at the essence of how the brain
works.”
— Brown
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Learning and Memory
2.3 Cognitive Information Processing
2.3.1 Principles of the Information Processing
2.4 Information Processing in Learning and Memory
2.4.1 Cognitive Information Processing Model of Learning
2.4.2 Development of Memory and Information Processing
2.5 Theories of Information Processing
2.5.1 Designing Instruction that Incorporate Best Practices for Information Processing
2.5.2 Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain
2.5.3 Sternberg’s Information Processing Approach
2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
One of the most fascinating and mysterious properties of the brain is its capacity
to learn, or its ability to change in response to experience and to retain that
knowledge throughout an organism’s lifetime. The ability to learn and to establish
new memories is fundamental to our very existence; we rely on memory to engage
in effective actions, to understand the words we read, to recognise the objects we
see, to decode the auditory signals representing speech, and even to provide us
with a personal identity and sense of self. Memory plays such an important and
ubiquitous role that it is often taken for granted—the only time most people pay
attention to their memory is when it fails, as too often happens through brain
injury or disease.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define the concept of learning and memory;
• Explain types of memory;
• Explain cognitive information processing; and
• Explain the theories of information processing.
19
2.2 LEARNING AND MEMORY
Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, preferences or
understanding, and may involve synthesising and processing different types of
information. Benjamin Bloom (1965) has suggested three domains of learning
1) Cognitive – to recall, calculate, discuss, analyse, problem solve, etc.;
psychomotor – to dance, swim, ski, dive, drive a car, ride a bike, etc.; and
affective – to like something or someone, love, appreciate, fear, hate, worship,
etc. These domains are not mutually exclusive. For example, in learning to
play chess, the person will have to learn the rules of the game (cognitive
domain); but he also has to learn how to set up the chess pieces on the
chessboard and also how to properly hold and move a chess piece
(psychomotor). Furthermore, later in the game the person may even learn to
love the game itself, value its applications in life, and appreciate its history
(affective domain).
2) Memory is usually divided into three storage systems: sensory, short-term,
and long-term.
i) Sensory Memory - Sensory memory is affiliated with the transduction
of energy (change from one form of energy to another). The environment
makes available a variety of sources of information (light, sound, smell,
heat, cold, etc.), but the brain only understands electrical stimulation.
The body has special sensory receptor cells that transduce this external
energy to something the brain can understand. In the process of
transduction, a memory is created. This memory is very short (less
than 1/2 second for vision; about 3 seconds for hearing).
The sensory memory retains an exact copy of what is seen or heard

(visual and auditory). It is absolutely critical that the learner attend to
the information at this initial stage in order to transfer it to the next
one. There are two major concepts for getting information into STM:
first, individuals are more likely to pay attention to a stimulus if it has
an interesting feature. Second, individuals are more likely to pay
attention if the stimulus activates a known pattern.
ii) Short-Term Memory (STM) - After entering sensory memory, a limited

amount of information is transferred into short-term memory. Selective
attention determines what information moves from sensory memory to
short-term memory. STM is most often stored as sounds, especially in
recalling words, but may be stored as images. It works basically the
same as a computer’s RAM (Random Access Memory) in that it
provides a working space for short computations and then transfers it
to other parts of the memory system or discards it. STM is vulnerable
to interruption or interference. STM is characterised by:
A limited capacity of up to seven pieces of independent information
(Miller,1956).
The brief duration of these items last from 3 to 20 seconds.
Decay appears to be the primary mechanism of memory loss.
20
Miller’s Magic Number - George Miller’s classic 1956 study found Information Processing in
Learning and Memory
that the amount of information which can be remembered on one
exposure is between five and nine items, depending on the information.
Applying a range of +2 or -2, the number 7 became known as Miller’s
Magic Number, the number of items which can be held in Short-Term
Memory at any one time. Miller himself stated that his magic number
was for items with one aspect. His work is based on subjects listening
to a number of auditory tones that varied only in pitch. Each tone was
presented separately, and the subject was asked to identify each tone
relative to the others s/he had already heard, by assigning it a number.
After about five or six tones, subjects began to get confused, and their
capacity for making further tone judgments broke down. He found this
to be true of a number of other tasks. But if more aspects are included,
then we can remember more, depending upon our familiarity and the
complexity of the subject (in Miller’s research, there was only one
aspect — the tone). For example, we can remember way more human
faces as there are a number of aspects, such as hair color, hair style,
shape of face, facial hair, etc. We remember phone numbers by their
aspects of 2 or more groupings, i.e. chunking. We don’t really remember
“seven” numbers. We remember the first group of three and then the
other grouping of four numbers. If it is long distance, then we add an
area code. So we actually remember 10 numbers by breaking it into
groups of three.
Within STM, there are three basic operations:
Iconic memory - The ability to hold visual images.
Acoustic memory - The ability to hold sounds. Acoustic memory can
be held longer than iconic memory.
Working memory - Short-term memory is also called working memory
and relates to what we are thinking about at any given moment in time.
In Freudian terms, this is conscious memory. It is created by our paying
attention to an external stimulus, an internal thought, or both. An active
process to keep it until it is put to use (think of a phone number you’ll
repeat to yourself until you can dial it on the phone). Note that the goal
is not really to move the information from STM to LTM, but merely
put the information to immediate use.
iii) Long-Term Memory (LTM) - This is relatively permanent storage.

Information is stored on the basis of meaning and importance. The
process of transferring information from STM to LTM involves the
encoding or consolidation of information. This is not a function of
time, that is, the longer a memory stayed in STM, the more likely it
was to be placed into LTM; but on organising complex information in
STM before it can be encoded into LTM. In this process of organisation,
the meaningfulness or emotional content of an item may play a greater
role in its retention into LTM. We must find ways to make learning
relevant and meaningful enough for the learner to make the important
transfer of information to long-term memory.
Also, on a more concrete level, the use of chunking has been proven to be a
significant aid for enhancing the STM transfer to LTM. Remember, STM’s
21
Information Processing capacity is limited to about seven items, regardless of the complexity of those
items. Chunking allows the brain to automatically group certain items together,
hence the ability to remember and learn better.
The knowledge we store in LTM affects our perceptions of the world, and
influences what information in the environment we attend to. LTM provides the
framework to which we attach new knowledge. It contrasts with short-term and
perceptual memory in that information can be stored for extended periods of
time and the limits of its capacity are not known.
Schemas are mental models of the world. Information in LTM is stored in

interrelated networks of these schemas. These, in turn, form intricate knowledge
structures. Related schemas are linked together, and information that activates
one schema also activates others that are closely linked. This is how we recall
relevant knowledge when similar information is presented. These schemas guide
us by diverting our attention to relevant information and allow us to disregard
what is not important.
Since LTM storage is organised into schemas, instructional designers should

activating existing schemas before presenting new information can be helpful in
processing of the new information. This can be done in a variety of ways, including
graphic organisers, curiosity-arousing questions, movies, etc.
LTM also has a strong influence on perception through top-down processing -

our prior knowledge affects how we perceive sensory information. Our
expectations regarding a particular sensory experience influence how we interpret
it. This is how we develop bias. Also, most optical illusions take advantage of
this fact. An important factor for retention of learned information in LTM is
rehearsal that provides transfer of learning.
2.3 COGNITIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING

Information processing is the change (processing) of information in any manner
detectable by an observer. Within the field of cognitive psychology, information
processing is an approach to the goal of understanding human thinking. It began
in the 1940s and 1950s. Educators are very interested in the study of how humans
learn. This is because how one learns, acquires new information, and retains
previous information guides selection of long-term learning objectives and
methods of effective instruction. To this end, cognition as a psychological area
of study goes far beyond simply the taking in and retrieving information. It is a
broad field dedicated to the study of the mind holistically. Neisser (1967), one of
the most influential researchers in cognition, defined it as the study of how people
encode, structure, store, retrieve, use or otherwise learn knowledge. Cognitive
psychologists hypothesise an intervening variable or set of variables between
environment and behaviour—which contrasts it with behavioural theories.
2.3.1 Principles of the Information Processing

Even though there are widely varying views within cognitive psychology, there
is general agreement among most cognitive psychologists on some basic principles
of the information processing system (Huitt, 2000).
22
The first is the assumption of a limited capacity of the mental system. This means Information Processing in
Learning and Memory
that the amount of information that can be processed by the system is constrained
in some very important ways. Bottlenecks, or restrictions in the flow and
processing of information, occur at very specific points (e.g., Broadbent, 1975;
Case, 1978).
A second principle is that a control mechanism is required to oversee the encoding,

transformation, processing, storage, retrieval and utilisation of information (e.g.,
Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1971). That is, not all of the processing capacity of the
system is available; an executive function that oversees this process will use up
some of this capability. When one is learning a new task or is confronted with a
new environment, the executive function requires more processing power than
when one is doing a routine task or is in a familiar environment.
A third principle is that there is a two-way flow of information as we try to make

sense of the world around us. We constantly use information that we gather
through the senses (often referred to as bottom-up processing) and information
we have stored in memory (often called top-down processing) in a dynamic
process as we construct meaning about our environment and our relations to it.
This is somewhat analogous to the difference between inductive reasoning (going
from specific instances to a general conclusion) and deductive reasoning (going
from a general principle to specific examples.) A similar distinction can be made
between using information we derive from the senses and that generated by our
imaginations.
A fourth principle generally accepted by cognitive psychologists is that the human

organism has been genetically prepared to process and organise information in
specific ways. For example, a human infant is more likely to look at a human
face than any other stimulus. Other research has discovered additional biological
predispositions to process information. For example, language development is
similar in all human infants regardless of language spoken by adults or the area
in which they live (e.g., rural versus urban, Asia versus Europe.) All human
infants with normal hearing babble and coo, generate first words, begin the use
of telegraphic speech (example, ball gone), and overgeneralise (e.g., using “goed
to the store” when they learn the verbs) at approximately the same ages(Discussed
in detail in Block 3).
2.4 INFORMATION PROCESSING IN LEARNING

AND MEMORY
One of the primary areas of cognition studied by researches is memory. There
are many hypotheses and suggestions as to how this integration occurs, and many
new theories have built upon established beliefs in this area. Currently, there is
widespread consensus on several aspects of information processing; however,
there are many dissentions in reference to specifics on how the brain actually
codes or manipulates information as it is stored in memory.
Schacter and Tulving (as cited in Driscoll, 2001) state that “a memory system is
defined in terms of its brain mechanisms, the kind of information it processes,
and the principles of its operation”. This suggests that memory is the combined
total of all mental experiences. In this light, memory is a built store that must be
accessed in some way in order for effective recall or retrieval to occur. It is 23
Information Processing premised on the belief that memory is a multi-faceted, if not multi-staged, system
of connections and representations that encompass a lifetime’s accumulation of
perceptions.
Eliasmith (2001) defines memory as the “general ability, or faculty that enables
us to interpret the perceptual world to help organise responses to changes that
take place in the world”. It is implied by this definition that there must be a
tangible structure in which to incorporate new stimuli into memory. The form of
this structure has been the source of much debate, and there seems to be no
absolute agreement on what shape a memory structure actually takes, but there
are many theories on what constitutes both the memory structure and the
knowledge unit.
Winn and Snyder (2001) attribute the idea that memory is organised into structures
to the work of Sir Frederick Charles Bartlett. Bartlett’s work established two
consistent patterns regarding recall. First, memory is inaccurate. His second
finding, though, brought about somewhat of a revolution in traditional thinking
about memory. Bartlett suggested that the inaccuracy of memory is systematic.
A systematic difference makes allowable the scientific study of inaccuracy, and
this suggestion led to an entirely new mode of thought on memory. What
accounted for systematic inaccuracies in memory were the intervening influences
of previous information and the experiences of the person. This demonstrates
that knowledge units are not simply stored and then left alone, but that they are
retained, manipulated, and changed as new knowledge is acquired.
2.4.1 Cognitive Information Processing Model (CIP) of

Learning
Information theorists approach learning primarily through a study of memory.
The following Cognitive Information Processing model (CIP) of learning presents
a well-established paradigm of cognitive-behavioural psychology. The model
articulates the limited capacity of “working memory.” Working memory is tasked
with the burden of processing incoming information, transferring information to
long-term memory and retrieval of information from long-term memory. The
concept of “cognitive load” — the amount of work imposed on working memory
by a learning task — is based on observations of the functions of working memory.
Information processing in memory can be viewed from a computer model
perspective. Like the computer, the human mind takes in information, performs
operations on it to change its form and content, stores the information, retrieves
it when needed, and generates responses to it. Processing involves encoding
(gathering and representing information); storage (holding information); and
retrieval (getting the information when needed). The entire system is guided by
a control process that determines how and when information will flow through
the system. Some theorists suggest that the operation of the brain resembles a
large number of computers all operating at the same time (in parallel).
2.4.2 Development of Memory and Information Processing

As previously stated, cognition is the encoding, structuring, storing, retrieving,
using, or otherwise learning knowledge (Neisser, 1967). There are important
developmental aspects for each of these activities. According to Flavell et al.
(2002), from an information processing perspective some of the most important
24 are:
• Brain changes brought about by biological maturation or experience; Information Processing in
Learning and Memory
• Increased processing capacity, speed, and efficiency as a result of both
maturation and knowledge development;
• Modifications of connections in a neural network;
• New emergent concepts arising from repeated self-organisation as a result
of adapting to the demands of a changing environment; and
• Increased capacity for problem-solving and metacognition.
Encoding - Encoding occurs during the initial processing of a stimulus or event.
Maturation and experience influence this process. In terms of maturation,
Dempster (1981) suggests that the adult capacity for short-term memory of 5 + 2
digits might be as much as 2 digits lower for children aged 5 and 1 digit lower
for children aged 9. As for experience, in a series of well-known studies of
expertise, novices remember new information less well than experts (e.g., Chi,
1978; Schneider, Korkel, & Winert, 1989). One of the most important differences
between novices and experts is the structure and organisation of domain-specific
knowledge.
Structuring and Organising - Structuring and organising information occur as

the learner processes and stores information. The learner’s ability changes over
time as a result of both maturation and experience. When presented with
information they are asked to remember, younger children do not rehearse
information in order to remember it. As they get into school, they begin to develop
or are taught various strategies. At first these strategies are only used when
prompted by someone else, but as the child becomes more competent in their
use and uses them more frequently, the child will increasingly use the strategies
spontaneously (Flavell et al., 2002).
One of the most important information processing capacities a child develops is

the ability to organise information; this is, in turn, influenced by the child’s ability
to categorise. As is the case with other information-processing capacities, this
ability changes with both maturation and experience.
One of the basic types of categorisation is the grouping of specific events, ideas,
people, things, etc. into concepts. Rosch and his colleagues (e.g., Mervis & Rosch,
1981; Rosch, Mervis, Gray, Johnson, & Boyes-Braem, 1976) demonstrated two
fundamental features to the development of concepts: the ease of identifying
similarities of members of the concept and distinguishing differences between
members that are not. For example, the development of the concept of animal
would be more difficult than developing the concept of dog or cat because it
would be easier to identify similarities among dogs or cats and differences between
cats and dogs than it would be to identify similarities among all animals or to
differentiate all animals from all plants.
This has important implications as we design learning activities for children and
youth that can help them develop their organisational and storage capacities.
Storage and Retrieval - How much information can be stored and retrieved
relative to a stimulus or event also changes over time. For example, prior to
about age 7 months an infant will not seek an object that has been shown and
then removed from view. The infant has encoded the object (such as a rattle) and
25
Information Processing will reach for it, but seems to lose interest as soon as it is no longer in view. At
about 7 months attains what is called “object permanence” and will begin to
seek the object if it is removed from view.
A series of studies by Bauer, Mandler and associates (as cited in Flavell et al.,
2002) demonstrates a child’s increasing ability to perform simple multiple-act
sequences. By age 13 months infants can reproduce three-act sequences; by age
24 months this has increased to five-act sequences; and by age 30 months to
eight separate actions. As children gain language skills, their ability to store and
recall more complex events increases. This is shown first in autobiographical
accounts of daily activities and then to events they may have witnessed or heard
about.
Flavell et al. (2002) made four observations about strategy development:
Strategy development is not linear. When developing any particular strategy,
development will often stall or even regress before it becomes systematically
and correctly used.
A strategy will continue to develop after it is first demonstrated in its mature
form. This continued development may take months or even years.
Children show considerable variability in their use of strategies. Children often
go back and forth in their use of strategies, changing strategies even after they
have been found to work well.
Children differ in their abilities to integrate different strategies into a coherent
pattern for successful learning. Children must be given ample opportunity to
create successful learning programs that work for them.
2.5 THEORIES OF INFORMATION PROCESSING

There are important theories which explain information processing. Some of
the major theories are presented in the following section.
2.5.1 Designing Instruction that Incorporates Best Practices

for Information Processing
The understanding of how the mind processes and stores information is invaluable
to educators as they plan for instruction. If there is little to no understanding of
the information processing skills of the students with whom one is working, it
would be almost impossible to design instruction that contributes to high levels
of learning and achievement. However, attempting to understand the myriad
theories of information processing and cognitive development can be
overwhelming and contradictory. There are means of structuring instruction,
though that can incorporate the best of all of these ideas, and in order to help
students reach higher-level thinking and learning skills, educators must draw
from all of these theories.
If learning is to occur, educators must ensure that new information is processed

in such a way that it can be retained in long-term memory. In order to achieve
this, elaboration and connection must occur between previously learned memory
and new information. It has been established that the more deeply information is
processed and the more connections that can be made between new information
and existing memory structures, the more information will be retained in long-
26
term memory. Therefore, in order to make new material meaningful, instruction Information Processing in
Learning and Memory
must be presented in such a way that students can easily access and connect
previous learning and experiences with the new material. One of the most often
cited references to levels of elaboration for instructional purposes is the Taxonomy
of the Cognitive Domain developed by Bloom and his colleagues (Bloom,
Englehart, Furst, Hill, & Krathwohl, 1956) and recently revised by Anderson
and Krathwohl (2000).
2.5.2 Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain

Bloom et al. (1965) proposed that information processing can be classified in
six levels, each more complex than the previous. The first level is labeled knowing
and simply requires a learner to repeat back what was heard or seen. This involves
very little elaboration. The second level is labeled comprehension and requires
some rudimentary levels of understanding that might involve having the student
summarize or paraphrase some information. Again, this requires only modest
levels of elaboration. The next two levels, application and analysis, involve
more elaboration and show a significant impact on long-term learning when
they are used during the learning process. Application involves using the concepts
or principles to solve a problem, while analysis involves understanding the
relationship among the parts and how they are organised into a whole. The last
two levels, synthesis and evaluation, are the most complex and require the highest
levels of elaboration. Synthesis involves putting the parts or components together
in an original manner, while evaluation is the process of making judgments based
on comparison to a standard.
Research has confirmed that the first four levels are indeed a hierarchy, while
there seems to be a problem with the ordering of the two highest levels (Hummel
& Huitt, 1994). Anderson and Krathwohl (2000) propose that the ordering is
reversed, with evaluation being less difficult than synthesis, while Huitt (2000)
proposes that they are both at the same level of difficulty though they incorporate
different types of processing. There seems to be consensus that both synthesis
and evaluation are based on analysis or the ability to compare and contrast parts
of a whole and understand the relationship among parts.
2.5.3 Sternberg’s Information Processing Approach

Another theorist firmly grounded in the information processing approach is
Sternberg (1988). Sternberg’s theory suggests that development is skills-based
and continuous rather than staged and discontinuous as stage theorists believe,
and his focus is on intelligence. This focus on intelligence separates his ideas
from stage theorists because it rejects the idea of incremental stages, but rather
suggests that development occurs in the same way throughout life differentiated
only by the expertise of the learner to process new information. First, and very
importantly, Sternberg’s model does not differentiate between child and adult
learning. Also, he deals solely with information processing aspects of development
and does not incorporate any facets of biological development into his theory.
Cognitive development is viewed as a novice to expert progression; as one
becomes better at interaction and learning, one is able to learn more and at higher
levels. Development changes as a result of feedback, self-monitoring, and
automatisation. In this theory, intelligence is comprised of three kinds of
information processing components: metacomponents, performance components,
and knowledge-acquisition components.
27
Information Processing In Sternberg’s (1988) model, each of these three components works together to
facilitate learning and cognitive development. Metacomponents are executive in
nature. They guide the planning and decision making in reference to problem
solving situations; they serve to identify the problem and connect it with
experiences from the past. There is, however, no action directly related to
metacomponents, they simply direct what actions will follow. Performance
components are the actions taken in the completion of a problem-solving task.
Performance components go beyond metacomponents in that they perform the
function also of weighing the merit and or consequences of actions in comparison
to other options rather than simply identifying options. Sternberg’s third proposed
type of intelligence is the knowledge-acquisition component. This type is
characterised by the ability to learn new information in order to solve a potential
problem. This type is much more abstract and may or may not be directly related
to a current problem-solving task (Driscoll, 2001). This three-leveled view of
intelligence comprises the componential aspect of Sternberg’s theory, but this is
only one of three parts to his larger triarchic theory of intelligence (Kearsley,
2001).
Sternberg’s (1988) theory adds the components of feedback to theories of

cognitive development; this suggests that an individual’s social interaction has
some impact on cognitive development. In fact, one of the three parts of his
theory is based on the context in which learning takes place; this subpart of the
theory “specifies that intelligent behaviour is defined by the sociocultural context
in which it takes place and involves adaptation to the environment, selection of
better environments, and shaping of the present environment” (Kearsley, 2001).
The addition of social context as a factor in cognitive development links Sternberg
to the interactional theories of development of Bruner (1977, 1986) and Vygotsky
(1978). These theories, and others of this type, are premised on the assumption
that learning does not occur in a vacuum. Therefore, one must discuss the social
and cultural contexts of learning. Driscoll (2001) says, “Of central importance is
viewing education as more than curriculum and instructional strategies. Rather,
one must consider the broader context in how culture shapes the mind and
provides the toolkit by which individuals construct worlds and their conceptions
of themselves and their powers”.
These theories all work under the assumption that new information can most
effectively be learned if the material can be matched to memory structures already
in place (Winn and Snyder, 2001). Most theories hold that the mind contains
some type of framework into which new information is placed. This structure is
multi-leveled and has varying degrees of specificity. New information can be
matched with, compared to, contrasted to, joined with, or modified to fit with
existing structures. This in-place structural system allows for differing levels of
complexity of information processing. The formation of and continual building
of these structures, then, is critical in order for learners to process information in
various ways and at higher levels.
2.6 LET US SUM UP

One of the most fascinating and mysterious properties of the brain is its capacity
to learn, or its ability to change in response to experience and to retain that
knowledge throughout an organism’s lifetime. The ability to learn and to establish
28 new memories is fundamental to our very existence; we rely on memory to engage
in effective actions, to understand the words we read, to recognise the objects we Information Processing in
Learning and Memory
see, to decode the auditory signals representing speech, and even to provide us
with a personal identity and sense of self.
Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, preferences or

understanding, and may involve synthesising and processing different types of
information.
Memory is usually divided into three storage systems: sensory, short-term, and
long-term.
We then discussed Miller’s Magic number. We pointed out how within STM,
there are 3 basic operations, viz., iconic memory, acoustic memory and working
memory. Long Term Memory has been then presented which includes schemas
etc. Then the principles of information processing was taken up and and
highlighted the limited capacity of the mental system and secondlhy the control
mechanism is required to oversee the encoding, transformation, processing storage
etc.
Then we dealt with information processing in learning and memory. It was

pointed out that from an information processing perspective some of the most
important aspects include
• Brain changes brought about by biological maturation or experience;
• Increased processing capacity, speed, and efficiency as a result of both
maturation and knowledge development;
• Modifications of connections in a neural network;
• New emergent concepts arising from repeated self-organisation as a result
of adapting to the demands of a changing environment; and
• Increased capacity for problem-solving and metacognition.
Then we discussed about encoding which involves structuring, organising,
storage, retrieval etc. This was followed by theories of informationprocessing
which highlighted Bloom’s Taxonomy and Sternberg’s information processing
theory. It was pointed out that that new information can most effectively be
learned if the material can be matched to memory structures already in place.
Most theories hold that the mind contains some type of framework into which
new information is placed. This structure is multi-leveled and has varying degrees
of specificity. New information can be matched with, compared to, contrasted
to, joined with, or modified to fit with existing structures.

1) Describe two characteristics each of sensory memory, short term memory,
and long term memory.
2) Discuss the information processing approaches of learning and memory.
3) How would you design a study program to process the information so that it
can be retained in long term memory?
4) Describe the development of memory with reference to information
processing.
29
Information Processing 4) How would your life be different if you could greatly enhance your memory
skills?
5) What are the basic principles of information processing?
6) What are the three things you have learned about memory that can help you
learn new information so that you can effectively recall the information
over the long-term?

Atkinson, R., & Shiffrin, R. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its
control processes. In K Spence & J Spence (Eds.). The Psychology of Learning
and Motivation: Advances in Research and Theory (Vol. 2). New York: Academic
Press.
Bransford, J. (1979). Human Cognition: Learning, Understanding, and

Remembering. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
References
Cunia, E. (2005). Cognitive learning theory. Principles of Instruction and

Learning: A Web Quest. Retrieved April 2006, from http://suedstudent.syr.edu/
~ebarrett/ide621/cognitive.htm

London: Cengage.

http://www.well.com/user/smalin/miller.html]
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits
on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-97.
[Available online from Classics in the History of Psychology:

Stillings, N, Feinstein, M., Garfield, J., Rissland, E., Rosenbaum, D., Weisler,
S., & Baker-Ward, L. (1987). Cognitive Science: An Introduction. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
30
Information Processing in
UNIT 3 NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF Learning and Memory
LEARNING AND MEMORY

“It’s a sense of flooding the brain too quickly. The brain has this disruption,
and the short-term memory isn’t converting into long-term memory.”
– John Hamilton
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Memory and Brain
3.2.1 Human Memory, Brain Damage and Amnesia
3.2.2 Brain Surgery and Memory Loss
3.2.3 Amnesia and the Medial Temporal Lobe
3.3 Memory Consolidation and Hippocampus
3.4 Anterior and Lateral Temporal Lobes and Memory
3.5 Animal Models of Memory
3.6 Imaging the Human Brain and Memory
3.61 Episodic Encoding and Retrieval
3.6.2 Semantic Encoding and Retrieval
3.6.3 Procedural Memory Encoding and Retrieval
3.6.4 Perceptual Priming and Implicit and Explicit Memory
3.7 Cellular Bases of Learning and Memory
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
What is the relationship between learning and memory? Learning is the process
of acquiring new information, whereas memory refers to the persistence of
learning in a state that can be revealed at a later time (Squire, 1987). Learning,
then, has an outcome, and we refer to that as memory. To put it another way,
learning happens when a memory is created or is strengthened by repetition.
This need not involve the conscious attempt to learn. Learning can occur and
performance can improve simply from more exposure to information or to a
task. For example, we remember the details of a person’s face better by seeing it
more, without having to try to consciously memorize facial features.
Learning and memory can be subdivided into major hypothetical stages: encoding,
storage, and retrieval. Encoding refers to the processing of incoming information
to be stored. The encoding stage has two separate steps: acquisition and
consolidation. Acquisition registers inputs in sensory buffers and sensory analysis
stages, while consolidation creates a stronger representation over time. Storage,
the result of acquisition and consolidation, creates and maintains a permanent
record. Finally, retrieval utilises stored information to create a conscious
representation or to execute a learned behaviour like a motor act.
31
Information Processing We search for the neural correlates of learning and memory in many ways: a)
through case studies which reveal what is and is not lost in amnesia; b) by
developing animal models of memory in simple (invertebrates) and complex
systems (nonhuman primates); c) and with brain imaging to investigate normal
encoding, retrieval, and recall in healthy humans. In this chapter we will explore
all these methods in brief in order to understand the neural basis of learning and
memory.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Describe the process of memory in the brain;
• Define neurological issues related to memory;
• Define neuropsychological basis of learning and memory;
• Explain the neural processes of learning and memory.
3.2 MEMORY AND BRAIN

The field of the cognitive and experimental psychology of memory is rich with
theory and data and has produced a consistent set of concepts about the
organisation of human memory. The neuro scientific studies of memory are
important, both to understand how they have contributed to general theories of
memory, and to investigate how specific neural circuits and systems enable the
learning and retention of specific forms of knowledge.
3.2.1 Human Memory, Brain Damage and Amnesia

Deficits in memory as a function of brain damage, disease, or psychological
trauma are known as amnesia. Amnesia can involve either the inability to learn
new things or a loss of previous knowledge, or both. It can differentially affect
short-term/ working memory and long-term memory abilities. Thus, by examining
amnesia in conjunction with cognitive theories derived from experiments on
normal subjects, we can understand the organisation of memory at a functional
and a neural level. Much compelling information about the organisation of human
memory during amnesia was first derived from medical treatments that left
patients amnesic. The history is fascinating, and so let’s begin by turning back
the clock more than fifty years.
3.2.2 Brain Surgery and Memory Loss

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, surgeons attempted to treat neurological and
psychiatric disease using a variety of neurosurgical procedures, including
prefrontal lobotomy (removing or disconnecting the prefrontal lobe), corpus
callosotomy (surgically sectioning the corpus callosum), amygdalotomies
(removing the amygdala), and temporal lobe resection (removal of the temporal
lobe) (Figure 1.3.1). These surgical procedures opened a new window on human
brain function as they revealed, usually quite by accident, fundamentally important
principles of the organisation of human cognition. One surgical procedure relevant
to memory was removal of the medial portion of the temporal lobe, including
the hippocampal formation.
32
In 1953 at a medical conference, the neurosurgeon William Beecher Scoville Neuropsychological Basis of
Learning and Memory
from the Montreal Neurological Institute reported on bilateral removal of the
medial temporal lobe in one epileptic patient and several schizophrenic patients.
Shortly thereafter he wrote:
Bilateral resection of the uncus, and amygdalum alone, or in conjunction with
the entire pyriform amygdaloid hippocampal complex, has resulted in no marked
physiologic or behavioural changes with the one exception of a very grave, recent
memory loss, so severe as to prevent the patient from remembering the locations
of the rooms in which he lives, the names of his close associates, or even the way
to the toilet.... (Scoville, 1954).
Scoville and psychologist Brenda Milner did the neuropsychological examination
of ten patients. Milner found that memory impairments in the patients having
medial temporal lobe resections as part of their treatment were in relation to how
much of the medial temporal lobe was removed. The farther posterior along the
medial temporal lobe the resection was, the worse the amnesia. Strikingly,
however, only bilateral resection of the hippocampus resulted in severe amnesia.
In comparison, in one patient whose entire right medial temporal lobe
(hippocampus and hippocampal gyrus) was removed, no residual memory deficit
was found (Figure 1.3.1). But the interesting patient was the young man who
had had bilateral medial temporal resection.
SEPTUM BASALGANGLIA
FORNIX
CINGULATE GYRUS
THALAMUS
PREFRONTAL
CORTEX
HYPOTHALPMUS
ANYGDALA
PITUITARY MEDULLA
HIPPOCAMPUS
PONS
Fig. 1.3.1: Medial view of Human Brain (Source: Net)
The case history of patient H.M. – H.M. was a young man who suffered
from a difficult-to-treat from of epilepsy that progressed in severity during
his teen years. Over the years his physicians had treated him with the
available drugs to minimize his seizures, but these drugs were largely
ineffective for him. As his seizures worsened in his twenties, he decided to
try a then-radical new therapy that involved surgery. At that time
neurologists knew that many seizures originated in the medial portions of
the temporal lobe and from there spread to other areas of the brain, leading
to violent seizures and often loss of consciousness. It was also becoming
increasingly clear that surgically removing the brain region in which the
seizure activity originated, the so-called seizure focus, could help patients
with epilepsy. The decision in H.M.’s case was to remove his medial temporal
lobe bilaterally, in a procedure called temporal lobectomy 33
Information Processing Following recovery from this major neurosurgical procedure, H.M.’s epilepsy
did improve. The surgery was a success, both with regard to his surviving the
risks associated with any surgery of the brain and with regard to the epilepsy.
However, physicians, family, and friends began to realise that H.M. was
experiencing new difficulties. For example, a year and a half after the surgery,
which was performed in September 1953, H.M. displayed clear problems with
his memory. Although it was April 1955 and H.M. was 29 years old, he reported
his age to be 27. H.M. would say he did not remember ever meeting certain
individuals, even when he actually spoke to them a few minutes earlier and they
merely left the room, returning after a short delay! H.M. was profoundly
amnesic—that is, he suffered from disorders of memory. However, H.M. did not
have the kind of amnesia one sees depicted in television shows or movies, where
the character has a total loss of all prior memories. Indeed, H.M. knew who he
was and could remember things about his life—that is, up until a period prior to
his surgery. However, it became increasingly clear that H.M. could not form new
long-term memories.
Formal neuropsychological tests were performed on H.M. to establish the nature

of his cognitive deficits. These tests showed that his intelligence was well above
normal after the surgery. He also had no perceptual or language problems and
seemed generally fine, with no changes in his personality or motivation. However,
when memory tests were administered, H.M. scored well below normal. The
bilateral removal of H.M.’s medial temporal lobe produced a highly selective
deficit in his memory ability, leaving other cognitive functions intact. H.M. had
normal short-term memory (sensory registers and working memory), but he
developed a severe and permanent inability to acquire and store new information
(Figure 1.3.2). The transfer of information from short-term storage to long-term
memory was disrupted.
sensori Motor Area
frontal lobe parietal lobe
prefrontal visual
area
Broca's Area (in

left hemisphere)
visual association
temporal lobe
auditory auditory association
Fig. 1.3.2: Major Areas of the Brain (Source: InterNet)
3.2.3 Amnesia and the Medial Temporal Lobe

Which region or regions of the medial temporal lobe were critical for supporting
34 the long-term memory ability lost in H.M.? The medial temporal area includes
the amygdala, the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex, and the surrounding Neuropsychological Basis of
Learning and Memory
parahippocampal and perirhinal cortical areas (Figure 1.3.1).
For the past 40 years, scientists studying H.M. used surgical reports of his lesions
to guide theories of memory and “amnesia and their neural bases. Reports by
Scoville, who performed the surgery, indicated that all of H.M.’s hippocampus
in each hemisphere had been removed. H.M.’s brain and surgical lesions were
re-evaluated with improved accuracy with high-resolution neuroimaging methods
such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and it was found that in addition to
the hippocampus, some of H.M.’s surrounding cortex was also removed.
Is damage to the hippocampus sufficient to block the formation of new long-

term memories? Consider another patient, R.B., who lost his memory after an
ischemic episode (reduction of blood to brain) during bypass surgery. R.B.
developed dense anterograde amnesia similar to H.M.’s. He could not form new
long-term memories. He also had retrograde amnesia that extended back to 1 to
2 years, slightly less severe than H.M.’s retrograde loss. After his death, R.B.’s
brain was donated for study, permitting a detailed analysis of the extent of his
neuroanatomical damage. In R.B.’s case, lesions were found to be restricted to
his hippocampus; within each hippocampus, R.B. had sustained a specific lesion
restricted to the CA1 pyramidal cells.
These findings in patient R.B. support the idea that the hippocampus is crucial
in forming new long-term memories. R.B.’s case also supports the distinction
between areas that store long-term memories and the role of the hippocampus in
forming new memories. Even though retrograde amnesia is associated with medial
temporal lobe damage, it is temporally limited and does not affect long term
memories of events that happened more than a few years prior to the amnesia-
inducing event.
3.3 MEMORY CONSOLIDATION AND

HIPPOCAMPUS
Memories are solidified in long-term stores over days, weeks, months, and years.
This process is referred to as consolidation, an old concept that refers to how
long term memory develops over time after initial acquisition. From a cognitive
neuroscience perspective, consolidation is conceived of as biological changes
that underlie the long-term retention of learned information, and we can ask
what brain structures and systems support this process.
Because damage to the medial temporal lobe does not wipe out most of the
declarative memories formed over a lifetime, we know that the hippocampus is
not the repository of stored knowledge. Rather, the medial temporal lobe appears
to support the process of forming new memories; that is, the hippocampal region
is critical for the consolidation of information in long term memory. The strongest
evidence that the hippocampus is involved in consolidation comes from the fact
that amnesics have retrograde amnesia for memories from one to a few years
prior to the damage to the medial temporal lobe or diencephalon, a pattern that
does not support a storage role but rather a role in consolidation.
What might consolidation entail at the neural level? One idea is that consolidation
strengthens the associations between multiple stimulus inputs and activations of
35
Information Processing previously stored information. The hippocampus is hypothesised to coordinate
this strengthening, but the effects are believed to take place in the neocortex.
The idea is that once consolidation is complete, the hippocampus is no longer
required for storage or retrieval. Nonetheless, keep in mind that although the
memories are stored in the neocortex, the hippocampus is crucial for
consolidation.
Alcoholic Korsakoff’s Syndrome and Diencephalic Amnesia - The medial

temporal lobe is not the only area of interest in human memory. Amnesia emerges
from brain damage in other regions too. For example, damage to midline structures
of the diencephalon of the brain causes amnesia. The prime structures are the
dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus and the mammillary bodies (Figure 1.3.2).
Damage to these midline subcortical regions can be caused by stroke, tumors,
and metabolic problems like those brought on by chronic alcoholism as well as
by trauma.
In the last half of the nineteenth century, the Russian psychiatrist Sergei Korsakoff
reported an anterograde and retrograde amnesia associated with alcoholism. Long
term alcohol abuse can lead to vitamin deficiencies that cause brain damage.
Patients suffering from alcoholic Korsakoff’s syndrome have degeneration in
the diencephalon, especially the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus and the
mammillary bodies. It remains unclear whether the dorsomedial thalamic nucleus,
the mammillary bodies, or both are necessary for the patients’ amnesia.
Nonetheless, damage to the diencephalon can produce amnesia.
3.4 ANTERIOR AND LATERAL TEMPORAL

LOBES AND MEMORY
If, as suggested earlier, the neocortex is crucial for the storage of memories, then
it should be possible to demonstrate retrograde amnesia with cortical damage,
even though most amnesias are anterograde. In line with this proposal, amnesia
can be caused by damage to regions of the neocortex.
One region of special interest is the temporal neocortex outside the medial
temporal lobe. Lesions that damage the lateral cortex of the anterior temporal
lobe, near the anterior pole, lead to a dense amnesia that includes severe retrograde
amnesia; in such cases the entorhinal cortex and perihippocampal cortex may be
involved. The retrograde amnesia may be severe, extending back many decades
before the amnesia-inducing event occurred or encompassing the patient’s entire
life. Various forms of damage can lead to this condition. Progressive neurological
diseases like Alzheimer’s, and herpes simplex encephalitis involving viral
infection of the brain are two such conditions.
Some patients with dense retrograde amnesia might still form new long-term
memories. This type of amnesia is called isolated retrograde amnesia. It is
particularly related to damage of the anterior temporal lobe. This portion of the
temporal lobe is not, therefore, essential for acquiring new information.
Are these lateral and anterior regions of the temporal lobe the sites of storage of
long-term declarative memories? The answer is maybe, but another view is that
these regions may be particularly important for the retrieval of information from
long-term stores. Where then are memories stored? More recent evidence from
36
neuroimaging studies suggests that memories are stored as distributed Neuropsychological Basis of
Learning and Memory
representations throughout neocortex, involving the regions that originally
encoded the perceptual information and regions representing information that
was associated with this incoming information (as noted in the last section, the
medial temporal lobe may coordinate the consolidation of this information over
time).
3.5 ANIMAL MODELS OF MEMORY

Studies in monkeys with lesions to the hippocampus and surrounding cortex
have been invaluable in learning about the contributions of the medial temporal
lobe to primate memory systems. In general, the goal of such research is to develop
animal models of human memory and amnesia. Through research, such models
are providing key information on relations between specific memory and brain
structures. Several animal species, ranging from invertebrates to monkeys, have
been investigated for clues to human memory and its functional neuroanatomy
and neurobiology; it is likely that monkeys will contribute the most directly
applicable knowledge about human processes at the systems level given the
similarity among primate brains. We must always keep in mind, however, that
the gross organisation and functional capabilities of the brains of monkeys and
humans differ significantly. Thus, animal models of cognitive processes like
memory are perhaps most informative when linked with studies in humans.
One of the key questions in memory research was how much the hippocampus
alone, as compared with surrounding structures in the medial temporal lobe,
participated in the memory deficits of patients like H.M. In other words, what
structures of the medial temporal lobe system are involved in episodic memory?
For example, does the amygdala influence memory deficits in amnesics? Data
from amnesics indicate that the amygdala is not part of the brain’s episodic
memory system, although it has a role in emotion and emotional memories.
To verify this, surgical lesions were created in the medial temporal lobe and
amygdala of monkeys, to cause memory impairment. In classic work by Mortimer
Mishkin (1978) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the
hippocampus or the amygdala, or both the hippocampus and the amygdala, of
monkeys were removed surgically. He found that the amount of impairment, as
measured on tests, varied according to what was lesioned.
In his early work, Mishkin found that in the monkey, memory was impaired only
if the lesion included the hippocampus and amygdala. This led to the idea that
the amygdala was a key structure in memory. The idea does not fit well with data
from amnesics like R.B., who had anterograde amnesia caused by a lesion
restricted to neurons of the hippocampus and no damage to the amygdala. Stuart
Zola and colleagues (1993) at the University of California at San Diego
investigated this dilemma. They performed more selective lesions of the brains
of monkeys by distinguishing between the amygdala and hippocampus, as well
as the surrounding cortex near each structure. They surgically created lesions of
the amygdala, the entorhinal cortex, or the surrounding neocortex of the
parahippocampal gyrus and the perirhipal cortex (Brodmann’s areas 35 and 36)
(Figure 1.3.3).
37
Fig. 1.3.3: Broca’s areas of the Brain (Source: Net)
They found that lesions of the hippocampus and amygdala produced the most
severe memory deficits only when the cortex surrounding these regions was also
lesioned. When lesions of the hippocampus and amygdala were made but the
surrounding cortex was spared, the presence or absence of the amygdala lesion
did not affect the monkey’s memory. The amygdala, then, could not be part of
the system that supported the acquisition of long-term memory.
In subsequent investigations, Zola and his colleagues selectively created lesions

of the surrounding cortex in the perirhinal, entorhinal, and parahippocampal
regions. This worsened memory performance in delayed nonmatching to sample
tests. Follow-up work showed that lesions of only the parahippocampal and
perirhinal cortices also produced significant memory deficit.
How does this make sense in relation to R.B’s profound anterograde amnesia
with damage limited to the hippocampus and not involving the surrounding para-
hippocampal or perirhinal cortex? The parahippocampal and perirhinal areas
receive information from the visual, auditor, and somatosensory association cortex
and send these inputs to the hippocampus, and from there to other cortical regions.
The hippocampus cannot function properly if these vital connections are damaged.
But more than this, we now also know that these regions are involved in much
processing themselves, and hence lesions restricted to the hippocampus do not
produce as severe a form of amnesia as do lesions that include surrounding cortex.
In summary, the data from animals are highly consistent with evidence from
amnesic patients such as R.B. and H.M. that implicates the hippocampal system
in the medial temporal lobe and the associated cortex as critical for forming
long-term memories. Lesions that damage the hippocampus directly, or damage
the input-output relation of the hippocampus with the neocortex, produce severe
memory impairments. The amygdala is not a crucial part of the system for episodic
memory but is important for emotional memory. Moreover, the animal data match
well with those from amnesics with regard to the preservation of short-term
memory processes after the medial temporal lobe has been damaged; monkeys
memory deficits in the delay mismatching to sample task became more
pronounced as the interval between the sample and test increased. The medial
temporal lobe, then, is not essential for short-term or working memory processes.
38
As we noted earlier, the medial temporal lobe is not the locus of long-term storage Neuropsychological Basis of
Learning and Memory
because retrograde amnesia is not total after damage to this area; rather, the
medial temporal lobe is a key component in organising and consolidating long-
term memory that is permanently stored in a distributed fashion in the neocortex.
3.6 IMAGING THE HUMAN BRAIN AND MEMORY

The work described so far has dealt with evidence from humans and animals
with brain damage. These data are consistent with regard to the role of the medial
temporal lobe in memory. Over the past decade, there has been an exponential
increase in studies of normal subjects using functional brain imaging methods.
The results are quite provocative and are confirming and extending the findings
from lesion studies. In the following, we review recent studies of the brain
organisation of episodic memory, semantic memory, procedural memory, and
the perceptual representation system (PRS).
3.6.1 Episodic Encoding and Retrieval

Given the purported role of the hippocampus system in encoding memory in
long-term stores, researchers have eagerly addressed this issue using positron
emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
One such line of work involved face encoding and recognition. The question
was whether the Hippocampus becomes active when encoding new information.
James Haxby, Leslie Ungerleider, and their colleagues (1996) at the NIMH
presented subjects with pictures of either faces or nonsense patterns, and, using
PET, investigated memory performance. In different conditions subjects were
required to remember (encode) the face, recognise the face, and perceptually
analyse the face by comparing two faces. During these periods, PET scans
recorded changes in regional cerebral blood flow triggered by local neuronal
activity.
These investigators observed that the right hippocampus region was activated
during encoding of the face but not during recognition, where retrieval processes
should have been engaged. These data are consistent with those from amnesic
patients who had medial temporal lobe damage that led to anterograde amnesia
but preserved distant retrograde memories. Encoding also activated the left
prefrontal cortex, whereas recognition activated the right prefrontal cortex. Thus,
we have more support for the hippocampus’s role in memory, as well as possible
support for hemispheric asymmetries in memory functions.
Encoding and retrieval processes were lateralised in the left and right hemispheres,
respectively, giving rise to a model with the acronym of HERA, which stands for
“hemispheric encoding-retrieval asymmetry.” This model represents the idea that
encoding involves the left hemisphere more than the right, and retrieval involves
the right hemisphere more than the left. Both processes predominantly involve
the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In encoding and retrieving information from
long-term memory, neocortical areas were the most activated.
Some more recent studies made use of event-related fMRI methods to track the
processing of individual items as a function of the success of the encoding, as
indexed by later memory performance. Anthony Wagner and his colleagues at
MIT, Harvard University, and Massachusetts General Hospital (1998), and John
39
Information Processing Gabrieli and his colleagues at Stanford (Brewer et al., 1998) conducted such
studies. They presented subjects with items and scanned their brains using of
MRI while they were encoding the information, and then later tested them for
their memories of the items. Each research group found that event-related
responses were larger in prefrontal and medial temporal regions (parahippocampal
cortex) during encoding of words or pictures that were later remembered.
3.6.2 Semantic Encoding and Retrieval

The encoding and retrieval of semantic knowledge also have been studied using
functional neuroimaging, and significant new findings have been uncovered. In
particular, evidence for domain-specific organisation (i.e., knowledge of animate
and inanimate objects is localised in different cortical regions) has proved to be
a fascinating story. Unlike episodic retrieval that activates the right prefrontal
cortex, semantic retrieval involves the left prefrontal cortex. The region includes
Broca’s area (Brodmann’s area 44 extending into area 46) and the ventral lateral
region (Brodmann’s areas 44 and 45) (Figure 1.3.3). This lateralisation to the
left hemisphere remains regardless of whether the memories being retrieved are
of objects or words.
3.6.3 Procedural Memory Encoding and Retrieval

Earlier we learned that amnesics demonstrate implicit learning of motor sequences
(procedural knowledge) even when they cannot form explicit memories about
the stimulus sequence. Amnesics provide powerful evidence that implicit learning
need not be mediated by explicit knowledge about the material.
Scott Grafton, Eliot Hazeltine, and Ivry (1995) investigated the brain basis of
procedural motor learning in normal subjects. They compared conditions in which
the subjects learned motor sequences implicitly during dual-task conditions, which
helped to prevent subjects from explicitly noticing and learning the sequence.
PET conducted during the dual-task condition demonstrated activation of the
motor cortex and the supplementary motor area of the left hemisphere, and the
putamen in the basal ganglia bilaterally. Also activated were the rostral prefrontal
cortex and parietal cortex. Therefore, when subjects were implicitly learning the
task, brain areas that control limb movements were activated. When the distracting
auditory task was removed, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right pre
motor cortex, right putamen, and parieto-occipital cortex were activated
bilaterally.
3.6.4 Perceptual Priming and Implicit and Explicit Memory

Daniel Schacter and his colleagues (1996) at Harvard University investigated
the neural bases of perceptual priming (implicit learning) in a PET study. The
scanning was performed only during the task. Subjects manifested implicit
priming behaviourally. No activations or deactivations were noted in the
hippocampus, but blood flow in the bilateral occipital cortex, (area 19) decreased
(Figure 1.3.3). The hippocampus was not activated, then, even though implicit
perceptual priming was obtained.
The conclusions from this and other studies are that implicit and explicit retrieval
of information is subserved by separate brain systems. Together with the face
encoding data Haxby and colleagues obtained by PET, and animal and human
lesion data, a reasonable conclusion is that the hippocampus encodes new
40
information but also retrieves recent information when explicit recollection is Neuropsychological Basis of
Learning and Memory
involved. Perhaps more interestingly, deactivation of the visual cortex for
previously seen words is a correlate of perceptual priming.
In summary, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated patterns of neuronal

activation that are consistent with memory systems derived from cognitive
research, studies in human amnesics, and animal models. Neuroimaging also
has provided some notable new findings in the cognitive neuroscience of memory,
including, for example, the hemispheric asymmetries in encoding and retrieval.
3.7 CELLULAR BASES OF LEARNING AND

MEMORY
How does the activity of different brain regions change as memories are formed?
Most models of the cellular bases of memory hold that it is the result of changes
in the strength of synaptic interactions among neurons in neural networks. How
would synaptic strength be altered to enable learning and memory? Neil Carlson
(1994) described some basic physiological mechanisms for learning new
information.
One basic mechanism is Hebb’s law, named after the man who posited it, Canadian
psychologist Donald Hebb, in 1949. Hebb’s rule states that if a synapse between
two neurons is repeatedly activated at about the same time the postsynaptic neuron
fires, the structure or the chemistry of neuron changes and the synapse will be
strengthened—this is known as Hebbian learning. A more general, and more
complex, mechanism is called long-term potentiation (LTP). In this process,
neural circuits in the hippocampus that are subjected to repeated and intense
electrical stimulation develop hippocampal cells that become more sensitive to
stimuli.
That an excitatory input and postsynaptic depolarisation are needed to produce

LTP is explained by the properties of the doubly gated N-methyl-D-aspartate
(NMDA) receptor located on the dendritic spines of postsynaptic neurons that
show LTP. Glutamate is the major excitatory transmitter in the hippocampus,
and it can bind with NMDA and non-NMDA receptors. When 2-amino-5-
phosphonopentanoate (AP5) is introduced to neurons, NMDA receptors are
chemically blocked and LTP induction is prevented. But the AP5 treatment does
not produce any effect on previously established LTP in these cells.
Therefore, NMDA receptors are central to producing LTP but not maintaining it.
It turns out that maintenance of LTP may depend on the non-NMDA receptors.
Long-Term Potentiation and Memory Performance - This effect of enhanced

response can last for weeks or even longer, suggesting to many that this could be
a mechanism for long-term learning and retention (Baddeley, 1993).
Disrupting the process of long-term potentiation (say, through different drugs)

also disrupts learning and remembering. Chemically blocking LTP in the
hippocampus of normal mice impairs their ability to demonstrate normal place
learning; thus, blocking LTP prevents normal spatial memory. In a similar way,
genetic manipulations that block the cascade of molecular triggers for LTP also
impair spatial learning.
41
Information Processing These experiments provide strong evidence of impairing spatial memory by
blocking NMDA receptors and preventing LTP. Moreover, we are rapidly
developing a very clear understanding of the molecular processes that support
synaptic plasticity, and thus learning and memory in the brain.
3.8 LET US SUM UP

The ability to acquire new information and retain it over time defines learning
and memory. Cognitive theory and neuroscientific evidence argue that memory
is supported by multiple cognitive and neural systems. These systems support
different aspects of memory, and their distinctions in quality can be readily
identified. Sensory registration, perceptual representation, working memory,
procedural memory, semantic memory, and episodic memory all represent systems
or subsystems for learning and memory. The brain structures that support various
memory processes differ, depending on the type of information to be retained
and how it is encoded and retrieved.
Despite the intriguing results from neuropsychological studies, we are far from
having a complete picture of how the brain instantiates all, or even many, memory
phenomenon. It is not clear which aspects of memory are localised in one place
in the brain and which are distributed across different cortical regions. Tulving
pointed that neuroscientists today reject the idea of studying memory as though
it were a single process. Instead, they are likely to look for neurological
underpinnings at a more precise level – at such processes as encoding or retrieval.
The latest neuroimaging techniques clearly will continue to provide invaluable
information about human memory and its neural substrates in the healthy human
in the years to come.

1) Summarize the findings of neuropsychological research on localising memory
in the brain.
2) Compare and contrast the human and animal models of the study of neural
basis of memory.
3) What exactly do findings from memory studies with amnesic patients tell us
about the way memory operates in nonamnesic people?
4) Imagine what it would be like to recover from one of the forms of amnesia.
Describe your impressions of and reactions to your newly recovered memory
abilities.
5) How would you design an experiment to study the neural process of semantic
memory by functional MRI technique?
6) Patient H.M. and others with damage to the medial temporal lobe develop
amnesia. What form of amnesia do they develop, and what information can
they retain, and what doe sthis tell us about how memories are encoded in
the brain?
42
Neuropsychological Basis of
3.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES Learning and Memory

London: Cengage.
References
Gazzaniga, M.S., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G.R. (2002). Cognitive Neuroscience:
The Biology of the Mind. New York: W.W. Norton.
Gleitman, L. R., Liberman, M., & Osherson, D. N. (Eds.)(2000). An Invitation

to Cognitive Science, 2nd Ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Levinthal, C.F. (1990). Introduction to Physiological Psychology. New Jersey:

Prentice Hall.

43
UNIT 4 MODELS OF INFORMATION
PROCESSING
“Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organised, processed, and
available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not
a benefit.”
– William Pollard
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Waugh and Norman’s Model of Primary and Secondary Memory
4.3 Atkinson and Shiffrin’s the Stage Model
4.4 Level of Recall
4.5 Levels of Processing: Craik and Lockhart
4.6 Self Reference Effect
4.7 A Connectionist Model of Memory: Rumelhart and McClelland
4.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Cognition as a psychological area of study goes far beyond simply the taking in
and retrieving information. Neisser (1967), one of the most influential researchers
in cognition, defined it as the study of how people encode, structure, store, retrieve,
use or otherwise learn knowledge. The information processing approach to human
cognition remains very popular in the field of psychology.

detectable by an observer. Within the field of cognitive psychology, information
processing is an approach to the goal of understanding human thinking. It arose
in the 1940s and 1950s. The essence of the approach is to see cognition as being
essentially computational in nature, with mind being the software and the brain
being the hardware.
One of the primary areas of cognition studied by researches is memory. By the

1960s research in memory had reached a high state of activity, and it was about
this time that some formalised comprehensive theories of memory were beginning
to be formulated. There are many hypotheses and suggestions as to how this
integration occurs, and many new theories have built upon established beliefs in
this area. Currently, there is widespread consensus on several aspects of
information processing; however, there are many dissentions in reference to
specifics on how the brain actually codes or manipulates information as it is
stored in memory. This section considers a few of the more viable memory theories
of that time.
44
Models of Infromation
4.1 OBJECTIVES Processing

• define information processing approach;
• discussing the various models of information processing;
• explain levels of recall; and
• describe levels of processing.
4.2 WAUGH AND NORMAN’S MODEL OF

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY MEMORY
The first modern behavioural model to travel down memory lane, and one whose
concept of primary memory has served as a departure point for most modern
theories, was developed by Waugh and Norman (1965). The theory is dualistic;
primary memory (PM), a short-term storage system, is conceptualised as being
independent of secondary memory (SM), a longer-term storage system. Waugh
and Norman borrowed freely from William James’s dichotomy of primary and
secondary memory and illustrated their theory by means of the model shown in
Figure below, which encouraged the memory metaphor of boxes in the head that
soon proliferated in the literature of cognitive psychology.
What Waugh and Norman did that James never attempted was to quantify
properties of primary memory. This short-term storage system was taken to have
very limited capacity, so that loss of information from it was postulated to occur
not as a simple function of time but (once the storage capacity was exhausted)
by displacement of old items by new ones. PM could be conceptualised as a
storage compartment much like a vertical file, in which information is stored in
a slot or, if all the slots are filled, displaces an item occupying one of the slots.
Rehearsal
Stimulus Secondary
Primary Memory
Memory
Forgotton
Fig. 1.4.1: Model of Primary and Secondary Memory (Adapted from Waugh and Norman
(1965)
Waugh and Norman traced the fate of items in PM (primary memory) by using
lists of sixteen digits, that were read to subjects at the rate of one digit per second
or four digits per second. The purpose of presenting digits every second or quarter
second was to determine whether forgetting was a function of decay (presumed
to be due to time) or interference in PM.
45
Information Processing If forgetting was a function of decay, then less recall could be expected with the
slower rate (one digit per second); if forgetting was a function of interference in
PM, then no difference in recall could be expected according to the presentation
rate. The same amount of information is presented at both presentation rates,
which, by Waugh and Norman’s logic, allows the same time for decay to occur.
It might be argued that even at one item per second, subjects would allow extra
experimental information to enter their PM, but later experimentation (Norman,
1966) in which presentation rates varied from one to ten digits (for a given period),
yielded data consistent with a rate of forgetting expected from the original model.
The rate of forgetting for the two presentation rates is similar. Interference seems
to be a greater factor than decay in forgetting in PM.
Waugh and Norman’s system makes good sense. PM holds verbal information
and is available for verbatim recall; this is true in our ordinary conversation. We
can recall that last part of a sentence we have just heard with complete accuracy,
even if we were barely paying attention to what was said. However, to recall the
same information sometime later is impossible unless we rehearse it, which makes
it available through SM.
4.3 ATKINSON AND SHIFFRIN’S THE STAGE

MODEL
Traditionally, the most widely used model of information processing is the stage
theory model, based on the work of Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The key
elements of this model are that it views learning and memory as discontinuous
and multi-staged. It is hypothesised that as new information is taken in, it is in
some way manipulated before it is stored. The stage theory model, as shown in
Figure 1.4.2, recognises three types or stages of memory: sensory memory, short-
term or working memory, and long-term memory.
Fig. 1.4.2: A stage model of memory (Adapted from Atkinson and Shiffrin 1969)
In the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, memory starts with a sensory input from the
environment. This input is held for a very brief time – several seconds at most –
in a sensory register associated with the sensory channels (vision, hearing, touch,
and so forth). This occurs in as little as ½ second for visual stimuli (Sperling, 1960),
46
and about 4 or 5 seconds for auditory stimuli (Darwin et al., 1972). The transfer Models of Infromation
Processing
of new information quickly to the next stage of processing is of critical importance,
and sensory memory acts as a portal for all information that is to become part of
memory. There are many ways to ensure transfer and many methods for facilitating
that transfer. To this end, attention and automaticity are the two major influences
on sensory memory, and much work has been done to understand the impact of
each on information processing.
Information that is attended to and recognised in the sensory register may be
passed on to second stage of information processing, i.e. short-term memory
(STM) or working memory, where it is held for perhaps 20 or 30 seconds. This
stage is often viewed as active or conscious memory because it is the part of
memory that is being actively processed while new information is being taken
in. Some of the information reaching short-term memory is processed by being
rehearsed – that is, by having attention focused on it, perhaps by being repeated
over and over (maintenance rehearsal), or perhaps by being processed in some
other way that will link it up with other information already stored in memory
(elaborate rehearsal). Generally 5 + 2 number of units can be processed at any
given time in STM.
Information that is rehearsed may then be passed along to long-term memory

(LTM); information not so processed is lost. When items of information are placed
in long-term memory, they are organised into categories, where they may reside
for days, months, years, or for a lifetime. When you remember something, a
representation of the item is withdrawn, or retrieved, from long-term memory.
Organisations of long-term memory - Each of the memory unit or structures

represented in the mind is distinct and serves a different operational function.
However, it is evident that some type of very specialised categorisation system
exists within the human mind. One of the first to make this idea explicit was
Bruner (as cited in Anderson, 1998). “Based upon the idea of categorisation,
Bruner’s theory states ‘To perceive is to categorise, to conceptualise is to
categorise, to learn is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorise’”.
Tulving (1972) was the first to distinguish between episodic and semantic
memory. “Episodic memories are those which give a subject the sense of
remembering the actual situation, or event” (Eliasmith, 2001). Episodic memory’s
store is centered on personal experience and specific events. It is entirely
circumstantial and it is not generally used for the processing of new information
except as a sort of backdrop. Semantic memory, in contrast, deals with general,
abstract information and can be recalled independently of how it was learned. It
is semantic memory that is the central focus of most current study because it
houses the concepts, strategies and other structures that are typically used for
encoding new information. Most researchers now combine these two in a broader
category labeled declarative.
Other researchers have identified additional organisational types. For example,

Abbott lists declarative and procedural while Huitt (2000), citing the work of
Paivio (1971, 1986) adds imagery to this list. However, Pylyshyn (2002) states
that imagery is not a distinct organisational structure, but follows the rules that
apply to semantic and episodic memory. Abbott (2002) and Huitt (2000) define
declarative memory as that which can be talked about or verbalised. It is, then,
47
Information Processing the sum of stored information that can be readily retrieved and put into words in
conscious thought and sharing. As previously stated, declarative memory can be
subdivided into both semantic and episodic memories. Procedural memory can
be thought of as “how to” knowledge (Huitt, 2000). It is the type of long-term
memory sometimes associated with information that has reached a state of
automaticity, but it not limited to this. This type of memory is defined in terms of
learned skills and the ability to recall instruction-like memory. Paivio (1971,
1986) describes imagery as the memory structure for collecting and storing
information related to pictures. It captures information much like a photograph
and can be extremely useful for context and visual presentation of information.
Information Processing in Three Stage Model - Atkinson and Shiffrin make an

important distinction between the concepts of memory and memory stores; they
use the term memory to refer to the data being retained, while store refers to the
structural component that contains the information. Simply indicating how long
an item has been retained does not necessarily reveal where it is located in the
structure of memory.
Information processing from one store to another is largely controlled by the

subject. Information briefly held in the sensory register is scanned by the subject,
and selected information is introduced into the STS. Transfer of information
from the STS was regarded as capable of taking place so long as it was held
there. Atkinson and Shiffrin postulated that information might enter the long-
term store directly from the sensory register.
4.4 LEVEL OF RECALL

In a report by P. I. Zinchenko (1962, 1981), a Russian psychologist, the matter of
how a subject interacts with the material to be learned and committed to memory
was introduced. The basic notion was that words encoded by deep means would
be retained in incidental memory better than if encoded by other, superficial
means. Thus the memorability of words was profoundly influenced by the goal
of the subject at the time the material was presented. Different goals were thought
to activate different systems of connections because subjects have different
orientations toward the material.
The thesis was tested in an experiment in which subjects were given ten series of
four words. The first word was to be connected to one of the other words, but the
instructions varied for each of three groups. An example of a series is HOUSE—
WINDOW—BUILDING—FISH. In the first condition the subjects were asked to
identify the word whose meaning was different from the first word (HOUSE—
FISH). In a second condition subjects were asked to make a concrete connection
between the first word and one of the other words [HOUSE—WINDOW). In the
third condition the subjects were asked to make a “logical” connection between
the first word and one of the other three words [HOUSE—BUILDING].
Zinchenko thought that by altering the instructions the subjects would not only
have different goals toward the material but also be required to examine each
item for meaning. After a brief interrupting task, the subjects were asked to recall
the items. In the condition in which subjects formed logical connections between
the first word and another word, recall of the target word occurred with greater
frequency than the other conditions. Recall of the concrete relationship words
48 was greater than the no-meaning condition.
Thus the level of recall (LOR), as Zinchenko called it, is determined by the goal Models of Infromation
Processing
of an action. In the experiment cited, we can see that when subjects were given
a learning set, or instructions to process material at different levels (to use
contemporary jargon), recall of the material was affected greatly. Because the
original paper was published in Russian and not widely distributed, it has not
been incorporated into the larger framework of memory models. Nevertheless,
as we shall see, the experiment presented by Zinchenko, because of its theoretical
importance to the concept of levels of processing, which has had a profound
influence on cognitive psychology, has important consequences for our
conceptualisation of human memory.
4.5 LEVELS OF PROCESSING: CRAIK AND

LOCKHART
It is likely that progress in the early stages of scientific development is made
more by reaction and counterreaction than by the discovery of great immutable
truths. Craik and Lockhart’s (1972) levels-of-processing (LOP) model, as a
reaction against the boxes-in-the-head scheme of memory, is consistent with
that view. They take the position that data can be better described by a concept of
memory based on levels of processing. The general idea is that incoming stimuli
are subjected to a series of analyses starting with shallow sensory analysis and
proceeding to deeper, more complex, abstract, and semantic analyses.
Whether a stimulus is processed at a shallow or deep stage depends on the nature

of the stimulus and the time available for processing. An item processed at a
deep level is less likely to be forgotten than one processed at a shallow level. At
the earliest level, incoming stimuli are subjected to sensory and featural analyses;
at a deeper level, the item may be recognised by means of pattern recognition
and extraction of meaning; at a still deeper level, it may engage the subject’s
long-term associations.
With deeper processing a greater degree of semantic or cognitive analysis is

undertaken. Consider word recognition, for example. At the preliminary stages,
the visual configuration may be analysed according to such physical or sensory
features as lines and angles. Later stages are concerned with matching the stimuli
with stored information—for example, recognition that one of the letters
corresponds to the pattern identified as A. At the highest level, the recognised
pattern “may trigger associations, images or stories on the basis of the subject’s
past experience with the word” (Craik & Lockhart, 1972).
The significant issue, in Craik and Lockhart’s view, is that we are capable of
perceiving at meaningful levels before we analyse information at a more primitive
level. Thus, levels of processing are more a “spread” of processing, with highly
familiar, meaningful stimuli more likely to be processed at a deeper level than
less meaningful stimuli.
That we can perceive at a deeper level before analysing at a shallow level casts
grave doubts on the original levels-of-processing formulation. Perhaps we are
dealing simply with different types of processing, with the types not following
any constant sequence. If all types are equally accessible to the incoming stimulus,
then the notion of levels could be replaced by a system that drops the notion of
49
Information Processing levels or depth but retains some of Craik and Lockhart’s ideas about rehearsal
and about the formation of memory traces.
A model that is closer to their original idea is shown in Figure 1.4.3. This figure
depicts the memory activation involved in proofreading a passage as contrasted
with that involved in reading the same passage for the gist of the material.
Proofreading, that is, looking at the surface of the passage, involves elaborate
shallow processing and minimal semantic processing.
Reading for gist, that is, trying to get the essential points, involves minimal
shallow processing, or “maintenance rehearsal” (held in memory without
elaboration), but elaborate semantic processing. Another example of this latter
kind of memory activity would be a typist who concentrates on responding to
letter sequences but has very little understanding of the material being typed.
As a result of some studies (Craik & Watkins, 1973; and Lockhart, Craik, &
Jacoby, 1975), the idea that stimuli are always processed through an unvarying
sequence of stages was abandoned, while the general principle that some sensory
processing must precede semantic analysis was retained.
Proofreading Gist
Maintenance rehearsal
Deeper Levels
Elaborat
rehearsal
Fig. 1.4.3: Memory activation in two kind of reading. (Adapted from Solso, 2006)
Levels of Processing versus Information Processing. Information-processing

models of memory have generally stressed structural components (for example,
sensory store, STM, and LTM) dealing with processing (for example, attention,
coding, rehearsal, transformation of information, and forgetting) as operations
that are tied (sometimes uniquely) to the structural components. However, another
approach is to postulate process and then to formulate a memory system in terms
of these operations. Craik and Lockhart have taken just such a position, and their
implicit criticism of the information processing model (along with Neisser, 1976)
suggests that it is falling on hard times.
Where information-processing models of memory stress the sequence of stages

through which information is moved and processed, this alternate viewpoint
argues that memory traces are formed as a by -product of perceptual processing.
Thus, the durability of memory is conceptualised as a function of the depth of
processing. Information that is not given full attention and is analysed only to a
shallow level is soon forgotten; information that is deeply processed—attended
to, fully analysed and enriched by associations or images—is long lasting. The
levels-of-processing model is not free of criticism (see Craik & Tulving, 1975;
and Baddeley, 1978). The criticism includes that (1) it seems to say little more
than that meaningful events are well remembered, a mundane conclusion; (2) it
50
is vague and generally untestable; and (3) it is circular in that any events that are Models of Infromation
Processing
well remembered are designated “deeply processed,” with no objective and
independent index of depth available.
One clear difference between the boxes-in-the-head theory (Waugh and Norman,
and Atkinson and Shiffrin) and the levels-of-processing theory (Craik and
Lockhart) is their respective notions concerning rehearsal. In the former, rehearsal,
or repetition, of information in STM serves the function of transferring it to a
longer-lasting memory store; in the latter, rehearsal is conceptualised as either
maintaining information at one level of analysis or elaborating information by
processing it to a deeper level. The first type, maintenance rehearsal, will not
lead to better retention.
Craik and Tulving (1975) tested the idea that words that are deeply processed
should be recalled better than those that are less so. They did this by having
subjects simply rate words as to their structural, phonemic, or semantic aspects.
Craik and Tulving measured both the time to make a decision and recognition of
the rated words. The data obtained are interpreted as showing that (1) deeper
processing takes longer to accomplish and (2) recognition of encoded words
increases as a function of the level to which they are processed, with those words
engaging semantic aspects better recognised than those engaging only the
phonological or structural aspects. Using slightly different tasks, D’Agostino,
O’Neill, and Paivio (1977); Klein and Saltz (1976); and Schulman (1974) obtained
similar results.
4.6 SELF REFERENCE EFFECT

New light was shed on the levels-of-processing concept when Rogers, Kuiper,
and Kirker [1977) showed that self-reference is a powerful method variable.
Using a method similar to that of Craik and Tulving (1975), they asked subjects
to evaluate a list of forty adjectives on one of four tasks hypothesised to vary in
depth, or semantic richness. Included were structural, phonemic, semantic, and
self-reference tasks.
As in the Craik and Tulving study, it was assumed that words more deeply coded
during rating should be recalled better than those words with shallow coding.
After the subjects rated the words, they were asked to free-recall as many of the
words they had rated as possible. Recall was poorest for words rated structurally
and ascended through those phonemically rated and semantically rated. Self-
reference words were recalled best.
The Narcissistic Trait Modifications of the original experiment have been

conducted in several laboratories with the results being about the same. Some
have argued that self-reference tasks are stored in some special memory system.
Certainly, if you are asked to evaluate a personality trait as being self-descriptive,

such as greedy, loving, or angry, you are engaging a very powerful self-schema,
an organised system of internal attributes that is constellated around the topic of
“I, me, mine.” We also call this the narcissistic trait. Since we all know a great
deal about ourselves (and are emotionally, if not intellectually, deeply invested
in ourselves) we have a rich and elaborate internal network available for storing
self-information. Because of these complex internal self structures we can more
51
Information Processing easily organise new information as it might refer to ourselves than other, more
mundane information (see Bellezza 1992 for several important studies on this
theme). Whether or not these self-rating memories are stored in different parts of
the brain remains a question, but it is a good hunch that plenty of precious brain
space is given over to the narcissistic trait.
4.7 A CONNECTIONIST (PARALLEL DISTRIBUTED

PROCESSING) MODEL OF MEMORY:
RUMELHART AND MCCLELLAND
Many people have been associated with this model of human cognition, but
David Rumelhart and James McClelland have done the most to formalise the
theory.
Essentially, the model is neutrally inspired, concerned with the kind of processing
mechanism that is the human mind. Is it a type of von Neumann computer – a
Johniac – in which information is processed in sequential steps? Alternatively,
might the human mind process information in a massively distributed, mutually
interactive parallel system in which various activities are carried out
simultaneously through excitation and/or inhibition of neural cells? PDPers opt
for latter explanation.
“These [PDP] models assume that information processing takes place through
the interactions of a large number of simple processing elements called units,
each sending excitatory and inhibitory signals to other units” (McClelland,
Rumelhart, & Hinton, 1986). These units may stand for possible guesses about
letters in a string of words or notes on a score. In other situations, the units may
stand for possible goals and actions, such as reading a particular letter or playing
a specific note. Proponents suggest that PDP models are concerned with the
description of the internal structure of larger units of cognitive activity, such as
reading, perceiving, processing sentences, and so on.
The connectionist (or PDP) model attempts to describe memory from the even
finer-grained analysis of processing units, which resemble neurons. Furthermore,
the connectionist model is based on the development of laws that govern the
representation of knowledge in memory. One additional feature of the PDP model
of memory is that it is not just a model of memory; it is also a model for action
and the representation of knowledge.
A fundamental assumption of the PDP model is that mental processes take place
through a system of highly interconnected units, which take on activation values
and communicate with other units. Units are simple processing elements that
stand for possible hypotheses about the nature of things, such as letters in a
display, the rules that govern syntax, and goals or actions (for example, the goal
of typing a letter on a key board or playing a note on the piano). Units can be
compared to atoms, in that both are building blocks for more complete structures
and combine with others of their kind to form larger networks. A neuron in the
brain is a type of unit that combines with other neurons in a parallel processing
mode to form larger systems.
Units are organised into modules, much as atoms are organised into molecules.
The number of units per module range from thousands to millions. Each unit
52
receives information from other modules and, after processing, passes information Models of Infromation
Processing
to other modules. In this model, information is received, is permeated throughout
the model, and leaves traces behind when it has passed through. These traces
change in the strength (sometimes called weight) of the connections between
individual units in the model.
A memory trace, such as a friend’s name, may be distributed over many different
connections. The storage of information (for example, friend’s name) is thought
to be content addressable—that is, we can access the information in memory on
the basis of its attributes. You can recall your friend’s name if I show you a
picture of him, tell you where he lives, or describe what he does. All of these
attributes may be used to access the name in memory. Of course, some cues are
better than others.
Even though the theory is abstract, it touches real-life activities. To continue

with the example of your friend’s name, suppose I ask, “What is the name of the
man you play tennis with?” Such an inquiry gives at least two content-addressable
cues: man and tennis partner. If you play tennis with only one man (and you
know his name), then the answer should be easy. If you have many partners who
are men, then the answer may be impossible.
Additional information (for example, the man with the beard, the left handed
player, the guy with red tennis shorts, the dude with the rocketlike serve, the
chap with the Boston terrier, and so forth) may easily focus the search. You can
imagine how very narrow the search would be if all of these attributes were
associated with only one person: the man you play tennis with has a beard, is
left-handed, wears red tennis shorts, has a hot serve, and has a terrier.
In real life, each of these attributes may be associated with more than one person.
You may know several people who have a hot serve or have a beard. If that is the
case, it is possible to recall names other than the intended one. However, if the
categories are specific and mutually exclusive, retrieval is likely to be accurate.
How can a PDP modular concept of memory keep these interfering components
from running into each other?
According to this model, information is represented in memory in terms of

numerous connections with other units. If an attribute is part of a number of
different memories and is activated (for example. What was your friend’s name
...?), then it will tend to excite all the memories in which the attribute is a part.
One way interfering components are kept from overrunning the system is to
conceptualise the relationship between units as being subject to inhibitory laws.
Thus, when we identify the person you play tennis with as a man, in theory we
inhibit all searches for people who are women. When we add that he has a Boston
terrier, then we do not search for the names of people with whom you do not
play tennis and who do not own a Boston terrier.
Consider the following example of prototype learning, suggested by McClelland

and Rumelhart (1986). A small boy sees many different dogs, each only once
and each with a different name. All the dogs have slightly different features but
can be considered a variation of the prototype dog, the epitome of “dogness.”
The boy forms a memory for a prototypical dog on the basis of experience with
exemplar dogs. As in the case of faces, the boy is likely to recognise the prototype
dog as a dog, even if he has never seen it. Of course, the boy is not likely to 53
Information Processing remember the names of each of the individual dogs, though the most recently
seen dog may still be in memory.
The rationale offered by the connectionist model for prototype formation in the
case of the boy and his (prototype) dog is that each time the boy sees a dog, a
visual pattern of activation is produced over several of the units in the module.
In contrast, the name of the dog produces a reduced pattern of activation. The
combined activation of all exemplar dogs sums to the prototype dog, which may
be the stable memory representation. Thus, the model, more detailed than
presented here, seems to account for this form of memory quite nicely.
The connectionist model of memory has won many disciples in the past few
years. Its popularity is due in part to its elegant mathematical models, its
relationship to neural networks, and its flexibility in accounting for diverse forms
of memories.
4.8 LET US SUM UP

In summary, there are many different theories and models of information
processing that focus on different aspects of perceiving, remembering, and
reasoning. There are many constant themes of information processing regardless
of the specific theory to which one subscribes. Almost all ideas related to how
information becomes stored in memory agree that the learner more deeply and
meaningfully processes information that is presented in a context-rich manner.
One of the most important agreements is that elaboration is a key to permanently
storing information in a way that facilitates its quick retrieval when it is needed.
Most theories hold that the mind contains some type of framework into which
new information is placed. This structure is multi-leveled and has varying degrees
of specificity. New information can be matched with, compared to, contrasted
to, joined with, or modified to fit with existing structures. The formation of and
continual building of these structures, then, is critical in order to process
information. This in-place structural system allows for differing levels of
complexity of information processing.

1) Describe the Attkinson-Shiffrin model of information processing in detail.
2) Compare information processing and level of processing models of memory.
3) How does a connectionist (PDP) model handle memory?
4) What is meant by level of recall, level of processing, and self-refrence effect?
5) What are the basic principles and models of information processing?
6) How does organisation in long-term memory take place?
7) Design an experiment to compare the maintenance (shallow) and elaborate
level of information processing

Abbot, B. (2002). Human Memory. Fort Wayne: Indiana University-Purdue
University at Fort Wayne, Psychology Department., from http://users.ipfw.edu/
abbot/120/LongTermMemory.html
54
Atkinson, R., & Shiffrin, R. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its Models of Infromation
Processing
control processes. In K Spence & J Spence (Eds.). The Psychology of Learning
and Motivation: Advances in Research and Theory (Vol. 2). New York: Academic
Press.
References
Bransford, J. (1979). Human Cognition: Learning, Understanding, and

Remembering. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

London: Cengage.

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/infoproc.html
http://www.well.com/user/smalin/miller.html]
Huitt, W. (2000). The Information Processing Approach. Educational Psychology

Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University.

55
Theories of Intelligence (G
UNIT 1 THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE (G and S Factor and the Model
of JP Das)
AND S FACTORS AND THE MODEL
OF JP DAS)
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 The Nature of Intelligence
1.2.1 Theoretical Definitions of Intelligence
1.2.2 Operational Definition of Intelligence
1.2.3 Historical Perspective on Individual Differences and Human Abilities
1.3 Spearmen’s Two-Factor Theory of Intelligence
1.3.1 Critical Appraisal of Two-Factor Theory
1.3.1.1 Thorndike’s Theory
1.3.1.2 Thomson’s Theory
1.3.1.3 Thurstone’s Theory
1.4 Das, Nagliery and Kirby’s PASS Theory
1.4.1 Critical Appraisal of the PASS Theory
1.5 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Right from the dawn of civilisation man has often wondered about individual
differences in abilities, yet it was not until the third quarter of the nineteenth
century that efforts could be made about understanding its complex nature.
Intelligence is a broad term that is employed by layman to denote the presence of
such qualities as alertness, quickness of mind, level of one’s academic success,
status in an occupation, or the acquisition of an eminence in a particular field of
endeavour and so on. In this unit we will deal with the nature and meaning of
intelligence. We will also discuss some of the most important theoretical models
of intelligence so as to understand its nature. We will begin with some definitions
to bring home the point that even among the psychologists there is a lack of
unanimity about this term. We will also briefly outline a historical perspective
on individual differences and human abilities. Following this there will be a
discussion on the Spearman’s Two factor theory consisting of G and S factors,
and a critical appraisal of the theory. We would also be dealing with Thorndike’s
theory of intelligence and PASS theory of intelligence put forward by JP Das
and colleagues.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define the term intelligence;
• Obtain a brief overview of individual differences and intelligence; 5
Intelligence and Creativity • Discuss Spearman’s Two-Factor theory of intelligence;
• Make a critical appraisal of Two-Factor theory;
• Describe J. P. Das, Nagliery, and Kirby’s PASS theory of intelligence; and
• Analyse the PASS theory.
1.2 THE NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence is hard to define. In the Indian systems of thought buddhi (intellect)—
defined as nischayatmikabuddhih (decision maker) is described as an inner
instrument (antahkarana), which possesses wisdom, prudence, emotion, societal
values, and relations. In our common parlance when people speak of intelligence,
they nod knowingly as if they all share a common definition. However, their
understanding of the phenomenon of intelligence may widely vary. For some
quickness of answering a question might reflect intelligence, while for others
leading a successful life might be due to one’s intelligence. Psychologists, too,
differ in their definitions of intelligence. We all know what we mean when we
use this term, but we find it terribly difficult to precisely define it.
1.2.1 Theoretical Definitions of Intelligence

Intelligence has been defined as the sum total of everything you know, as the
ability to learn or profit from experience, as the ability to solve problems or as
the ability to cope with the demands of the environment. Indeed there is nothing
wrong with any of these definitions. The problem arises when we try to search
for a definition that seems to say it all precisely. We have been using “intelligence”
as a general label for so many cognitive abilities that it defies a specific definition.
In 1921, a symposium was organised to define intelligence. Thirteen psychologists
specialising in the area of intellectual assessment considered the definitional
aspects of intelligence. The symposium proceedings, published in a special issue
of the Journal of Educational Psychology, revealed that the experts had thirteen
different views on the nature of intelligence. Some of the definitions given by
experts are given below:
“…intelligence, that is to say, reasoning, judgment, memory, and the power of
abstraction” (Binet 1890, cited in Sattler, 1988, p. 45)
“Intelligence is a general capacity of the individual consciously to adjust his
thinking to new requirements” (Stern, 1914)
“An individual is intelligent in proportion as he is able to carry on abstract
thinking” (Terman, 1921, p. 128)
“Intelligence is the capacity of the organism to adjust itself to an increasingly
complex environment” (Spearman, 1927)
In 1986, Sternberg and Determan found that twenty-four prominent scholars had
twenty-four different definitions of intelligence. Sternberg (1997) has attempted
a comparison of the two surveys. He has remarked that in the 1921 survey, the
elements that appeared most often in the definitions were “(a) higher level abilities
(such as abstract reasoning, mental representation, problem solving, and decision
making), (b) ability to learn, and (c) adaptation to meet the demands of the
environment. In the 1986 survey, the most common elements were (a) higher
6
level abilities, (b) that which is valued by culture, and (c) executive process” Theories of Intelligence (G
and S Factor and the Model
(Sternberg, 1997, p.1030). of JP Das)
Snyderman and Rothman (1987) have presented responses of over 1,000 experts
that belonged to different disciplines such as psychology, sociology, education,
and genetics. Of the thirteen descriptions rated by the respondents, there was
nearly unanimous agreement that abstract reasoning, the capacity to acquire
knowledge, and problem solving ability were important elements of intelligence.
Per cent of respondents showing agreement on thirteen descriptor elements of

intelligence given by Snyderman and Rothman (1987) are given below:
Table Showing Responses of Experts on Thirteen Elements of Intelligence

Descriptor % of Respondents
Checking as Important
Abstract thinking or reasoning 99.3
Problem solving ability 97.7
Capacity to acquire knowledge 96.0
General knowledge 88.3
Memory 80.5
Adaptation to one’s environment 77.2
Mental speed 71.7
Linguistic competence 71.0
Mathematical competence 67.9
Creativity 59.6
Sensory acuity 24.4
Goal directedness 24.0
Achievement motivation 18.9
Source: Snyderman & Rothman (1987)
Most of the earlier definitions as well as recent ones include the elements that
have been given above. We will mention a couple of recent definitions to support
our statement.
“Intelligence, as a hypothetical construct, is the aggregate or global capacity of

the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with
his environment” (Wechsler, 1944). More recently, Wechsler (1975) defined
intelligence as “the capacity of an individual to understand the world about him
and his resourcefulness to cope with its challenges” (p.139).
“…a human intellectual competence must entail a set of skills of problem

solving—enabling the individual to resolve genuine problems or difficulties that
he or she encounters, and, when appropriate, to create an effective product—and
must also entail the potential for finding or creating problems—thereby laying
the groundwork for the acquisition of new knowledge.” (Gardner, 1983, pp. 60-
61)
7
Intelligence and Creativity “Intelligence comprises the mental abilities necessary for adaptation to, as well
as shaping and selection of, any environmental context.” (Sternberg, 1997, p.1030)
A common element of several of the definitions that we have quoted is adaptation,

the ability to modify one’s behaviour to meet the environmental demands. A
second common element is the ability to think abstractly using symbols. The
ability to acquire new information or to learn through experience is similarly the
third common element. However, it appears that the quest for a satisfactory
definition of intelligence is an unending search.
1.2.2 Operational Definition of Intelligence

Observing the diversity of theoretical definitions in the 1921 survey, about which
we discussed above, Boring (1923) operationally defined that “intelligence is
what intelligence tests measure”. You may notice that this operational definition
sidesteps the thorny conceptual problem of coming to grips with the “true” nature
of intelligence; it does not solve it. Nonetheless it does what operational definitions
are supposed to do—it gives us a definition we can start working with. Most
intelligence tests have been constructed with the assumption that intelligence is
some kind of general attribute, more or less of which exists in everyone and
which determines how an individual will be able to deal with a problem situation.
However, this sort of assumption is not supported by recent theoretical models
of intelligence that we will discuss next.
1.2.3 Historical Perspective on Individual Differences and

Human Abilities
It is extremely surprising that in spite of tremendous advances in mathematical
sciences by the year 1800, systematic studies of human abilities were not
undertaken until third quarter of the nineteenth century. Impressed by Charles
Darwin’s Origin of species, his cousin Francis Galton devoted increasing attention
toward measurement of anthropological and psychological phenomena. He coined
the term mental test and invented the first psychological test methods to measure
intelligence and ability. He founded the first test laboratory in London in 1882 at
which visitors could take a battery of psychological tests on a fee-paying basis.
Each visitor was tested on a variety of physical and sensory tests, including
height, weight, breathing power, strength of pull, hearing, sight, and colour sense.
Galton believed that psychological traits could also be inherited like physical
characteristics. In statistics he made important contribution by developing and
applying correlation method, which, at his guidance, was later continued by his
student Karl Pearson, who eventually developed the product-moment correlation.
Though his tests bear no resemblance to the advanced psychological tests, he
definitely deserves to be credited with the title of Father of psychological testing
and individual differences.
Alfred Binet’s early work on human abilities resembled the work of Galton.
Binet’s work on intelligence testing took a practical turn during the opening
years of the twentieth century, when he was commissioned by the French
government to identify mentally deficient children in French schools. Faced with
this problem, Binet, in collaboration with Theodore Simon, completed his first
test in 1905. This test comprised a list of 30 problems concerning the child’s
ability to understand and reason with the objects in the environment. The problems
ranged in level of difficulty and the test was tried on a sample of 50 children.
8
This was a very important step in the testing of intelligence. Theories of Intelligence (G
In 1908, a revision was made in which items were arranged in terms of age of JP Das)
levels. The highest age level that a child could perform successfully was called
his mental age. Later, William Stern (1914) suggested that this be divided by the
chronological age for each child, which multiplied by 100 became the intelligence
quotient, the IQ, as it has come to be known. The influence of Binet on the
measurement of intelligence can hardly be overstated. All subsequent work on
the measurement of intelligence is modeled after Binet’s test.
Self Assessment Questions

1) How does a layman define intelligence?
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2) What were the common factors that emerged regarding the definition
of intelligence in the 1921 symposium of thirteen experts?
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3) On which elements there is maximal agreement in the Snyderman and
Rothman data on 1000 experts?
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4) How will you operationally define the phenomenon of intelligence?
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5) Present a brief account of individual differences.
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9
Intelligence and Creativity
1.3 SPEARMAN’S TWO-FACTOR THEORY OF
INTELLIGENCE
Charles Spearman published an epoch-making study in 1904, which indeed
proved to be the crucial step toward quantitative testing of theories, as opposed
to simple quantification or measurement. He used the techniques of correlational
analysis and factor analysis, both of which had been developed earlier by Karl
Pearson, in relation to the scores obtained by groups of children on various
intelligence tests. His historical significance can be seen in the development of
the factor analytical method and in its explicit use for the first time. It is with
regard to such importance that Guilford (1954, p. 472) has stated: “No single
event in the history of mental testing has proved to be of such momentous
importance as Spearman’s proposal of his famous two-factor theory in 1904.”
Spearman was critical of Binet and Simon’s (1905) practice of assembling a

hodgepodge of problems for testing intelligence without first testing for the
presence of a general factor or without weighing the problems in terms of their
loadings on the general factor. He was concerned to test the theory that the obtained
intercorrelations between various tests of intelligence were due entirely to a
general intellective factor “g”. In addition to that, he also recognised specific
factors, “s” factors, which were specific to particular tests. Eysenck (1972, pp.
1-2) has contended that “essentially his point was that under these conditions
matrices of intercorrelations between tests should be of rank one; he did not use
matrix algebra himself, but his formulas are the equivalent of more modern
versions.” Spearman (1927) elaborated and revised his work in “The abilities of
man.”
To understand his theory, let us assume that any correlation between two tests
used by Spearman implies a factor common to both, plus two specific factors.
Let the two tests be called a and b, the common factor “g”, and the two specific
factors sa and sb, as shown in the diagram drawn by Guilford (1953), which are
reproduced below in Fig. 1.1.
Fig.1.1: Graphical representation of Spearman’s two factor theory

(Source: Guilford, 1953, p. 472)
10
In terms of the two-factor theory, we may regard that tests a and b are two measures Theories of Intelligence (G
of the common element “g”, with the two remainders sa and sb. Similarly, let p of JP Das)
and q be two other tests with “g” as the common element as shown in the Figure
above. For some experiments, Spearman (1904) reported the correlations between
“g” and “g” to approximate a value of 1.00. This meant that “g” and “g” were
practically identical. Spearman believed that all intellectual activity contained
some element or factor in common. This “g”,or general factor, was postulated to
be important in every mental act, although some acts were thought to depend
upon it more than others. The difference between people in intelligence was a
matter of how much “g”they possessed. Spearman called this general factor as
“mental energy.”
Spearmen’s analysis of intelligence was actually an interpretation of certain

observations by using the method of tetrad difference. The correlation matrix,
which he used for finding the criterion of proportionality and for calculating the
tetrad difference, is given below:
Table Showing Intercorrelations of Subtests Reported by Spearman (1927)
Subtests 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Analogies … .50 .49 .55 .49 .45 .45
Completion .50 … .54 .47 .50 .38 .34
Understanding paragraphs .49 .54 … .49 .39 .44 .35
Opposites .55 .47 .49 … .41 .32 .35
Instructions .49 .28 .39 .41 … .32 .40
Resemblances .45 .38 .44 .32 .32 … .35
Inferences .48 .34 .35 .35 .40 .35 …
Source: Spearman (1927) The abilities of man. New York: Macmillan, (p.149)
Guilford (1953, pp. 473-474) has shown that for any correlation matrix the
criterion of proportionality can be easily calculated, following which the tetrad
difference between various subtests can also be found.
Let us understand what is tetrad difference? In recent years the quantity F, called
the ‘tetrad-difference’, has become very important in psychological investigations
as to the possible nature of the underlying causes of mental activities. If there are
four such activities, and r13, r24, etc., the six correlation coefficients, (F is defined
by the equation F = r13r24 - r14r23. The value of F, in practice, approximates to
zero.)
The tetrad difference thus in all cases comes to zero. The variation in measured
intelligence that was not explainable in terms of this general factor or “g” was
attributed by Spearman to specific factors or “s”. There were many different
specific factors. All intellectual tasks require some amount of “g.” according to
Spearman, the more highly the two functions were correlated, the more highly
saturated they were with “g.” Tests that are thought to have high “g” loadings
involve abstract reasoning, comprehension, and problem solving.
Graphic illustration of “g” and “s” can be made following Guilford (1953, pp.
474-475), which is reproduced below (Fig.2). In this Figure “Spearman’s “g”
factor is shown as the large central circle and the specifics as small circles grouped
11
Intelligence and Creativity about G. Each ellipse stands for a mental test. The ellipses are permitted to overlap
G to different extents in order to indicate the fact that some tests are more heavily
“loaded” with G than others. The amount of correlation between any two tests is
determined by the extent to which the two tests are loaded with G. Thus, tests a
and b will have a relatively high correlation, since they have much in common in
G. Tests a and c will be scarcely correlated at all, since both have small loadings
with G.” (Guilford, 1953, pp. 474-475)
Fig. 1.2: Graphical representation of group factor in Spearman’s two factor theory
(Source: Guilford, 1953, p. 475)
Inter correlation matrices prepared by Spearman and his students showed that
some tests had something in common besides factor G. That meant that there
were some correlations that were over and above that demanded by a single
common factor G. Spearman at first attributed this to overlapping s factors.
However, some tests may have a higher correlation than that attributable to G
alone. Such an additional common factor became known as a group factor, which
was found to play a role not only in two tests but also in a number of tests.
“Among the group factors that Spearman and his associates came to recognise
are verbal ability, numerical ability, and possible factors of mental speed,
mechanical ability, attention, and imagination” (Guilford, 1953, p. 475).
Spearman’s theories of intelligence are very stimulating and his contribution to

the psychology of intelligence can be regarded important mainly for two major
reasons.
1) First, he developed the mathematical models for studying “g” and for that
purpose he laid the foundation of factor analysis. The logic and method of
correlational analysis was afterward followed by other researchers for
developing multi-factorial theories of intelligence.
2) Second major importance of Spearman’s work is that it established a scholarly
tradition in the investigation of human abilities.
According to Nunnally (1978, p. 508) “Spearman was concerned much more
with understanding human abilities than with just measuring them. Spearman
12
had many interesting theories about G, its biological basis, the influence of culture, Theories of Intelligence (G
the interaction of G with manifestations of abilities in daily life, and the relation of JP Das)
of G to speed, fatigue, and other variables.”
1.3.1 Critical Appraisal of Two-Factor Theory

Several criticisms were levelled against formulation of the two-factor theory.
One of the standard criticisms of the factor analytic approach is that it was purely
psychometric and failed to provide a cognitive theory. However, Sternberg and
Frensch (1990) have convincingly argued that this criticism was misplaced.
Spearman (1923) proposed that intelligence depended on a number of qualitative

principles of cognition, for example “the presenting of any character together
with any relation tends to evoke immediately the knowing of the correlative
character” (p.91).
According to M. W. Eysenck (1990) Spearman also described “five quantitative

principles of cognition, which are relevant to intelligence: conative control,
fatigue, mental energy, primordial potencies, and retentivity” (p. 192).
Jensen (1998) confirmed the existence of “g” by the method of confirmatory

factor analysis.
Carroll (1993) also noted the presence of “g” at Stratum III in her hierarchical
factor analysis. We will now attempt a critical appraisal of the two-factor theory
and see how it has helped in the development of newer models of intelligence.
1.3.1.1 Thorndike’s Theory

One of the sharpest critics of Spearman’s two-factor theory was E. L. Thorndike
(1926), who believed that the inter correlations studied by Spearmen were too
small to test the question of a common factor. He objected very strongly to the
idea of the existence of a characteristic such as general intelligence. Instead of
one kind of factor, he maintained that there are a large number of separate
characteristics that make up intelligence.
He argued that instead of generality of intelligence, communality in the acts of

people to perform intelligently needed to be looked into. According to Thorndike,
the common element does not reside in the individual but in the nature of the
tasks themselves. People differ in their ability to perform any specific act in
terms of the level of difficulty they can manage. They also differ in the range or
number of tasks they can or cannot perform.
For Thorndike, intelligence was more like a series of skills or talents and several
or many tasks might call for the same kind of ability. According to him, the
correlations between various tests are the result of the fact that the tests have
features in common with each other even though they are called as measures of
different aspects.
Thorndike’s contention that there is no general intelligence but very specific acts
has, however, does not hold water in view of the fact that some tasks have so
many elements in common that it is desirable to classify them into groups such
as arithmetical reasoning, visual perception, word meaning, analogy, etc.
13
Intelligence and Creativity Thorndike has classified intellectual activity into three broad types: (i) social
intelligence, (ii) concrete intelligence, and (iii) abstract intelligence. However,
this is a classification of the type of tasks and not an analysis of mental organisation
itself. One can notice that the discrepancy of point of view between Spearman
and Thorndike is basically a theoretical one and the types that interested Thorndike
are essentially the same as the measures which Spearmen used in his correlation
matrix.
1.3.1.2 Thomson’s Theory

Among the other critics of Spearman, G. H. Thomson (1939) has argued that the
inter correlations between tests are actually the result of common samplings of
independent factors. As such if the tests incorporate many of these independent
factors in common, i.e., the tests are all measuring some of the same factors,
they will be highly inter correlated and it will appear that they are measuring one
general factor “g.”
Thomson has accordingly proposed a sampling theory, which maintains that every
test samples a certain range of elementary abilities; some with a wide range and
some with a narrow range. The degree of correlation between any two tests
depends upon the number of units of ability that they have in common.
According to Thomson, abilities combine in such a way that their correlations
approach Spearman hierarchical order. Thomson believed in a “general ability”
like Spearman’s “g”, but according to him it was not a basic entity; it was rather
a constant combination of the ability elements.
In like manner, the group factors are combinations of more limited collections of
ability elements, while specific factors are composed of elements that restrict
their appearance to single tests.
Guilford (1953) has refuted Thomson’s contentions saying that “there seems to
be little likelihood of demonstrating experimentally the existence of the elements
hypothesized” (p.476).
1.3.1.3 Thurstone’s Theory

L .L. Thurstone (1935) offered a new factor model in the nineteen thirties. Using
improved techniques of statistical analysis, he came to vastly different conclusions
from Spearman about nature of intelligence. Thurstone generalised Spearmen’s
methods and formulas, translated them into matrix algebra and carried out large-
scale studies, using as many as fifty-seven tests on one group of subjects. On the
basis of these studies he concluded that instead of Spearmen’s “g” factor, seven
primary abilities fitted the data much better.
Eysenck (1972) has given two reasons of this type of apparently conflicting
findings. The first related to population sampled. Spearman had worked with
random samples of the population (usually children), Thurstone worked only
with students. The second related to the choice of tests: “Spearman has explicitly
stated that tests should not be too similar to each other; if they were, then the “s”
factors would overlap and cause additional correlations which would emerge as
separate factors and disturb the unit rank of the matrix. Thurstone used groups
of tests which were very similar, often almost identical, and consequently his
study could certainly not be considered as a test of Spearman’s hypothesis”
(Eysenck, 1972, p. 2).
14
Thurstone later on recognised the force of these points and incorporated them in Theories of Intelligence (G
his subsequent work which enabled him to find “a hierarchical structure of of JP Das)
intellect, with “g” at the top, and the “primary abilities” (whose inter correlations
necessitated the postulation of “g”) at a lower level; the actual tests used, whose
inter correlations gave rise to the “primary abilities”, would if course be at a
lower level still” (Eysenck, 1972, p.2).

1) How did Spearman develop his two-factor theory?
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2) How an intercorrelation matrix is used for identifying the factors?
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3) What are the two main contributions of Spearman according to
Nunnally?
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4) Present a critical appraisal of two-factor theory?.
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1.4 DAS, NAGLIERY AND KIRBY’S PASS THEORY

The theories of Spearman, Thorndike, Thomson, Thurstone that we discussed
above, and other similar ones, are based on isolating factors after administering
several intelligence tests over a large sample of subjects. They did not take into
account how an input, e.g. a test item is received and processed and how a
cognitive reorganisation takes place prior to giving a response. Das, Nagliery,
and Kirby (1994) have developed a theory-based, multidimensional view of
intelligence with constructs borrowed from contemporary research in
neuropsychology, information processing and human cognition. 15
Intelligence and Creativity This theory has four components: Planning, Attention-Arousal, Simultaneous,
and Successive (PASS) processing systems (see Fig.1.3).
Input Output
Serial Concurrent Serial Concurrent
First Third
Functional Unit Functional Unit
AROUSAL/
ATTENTION PLANNING
Conceptual
Conceptual
Perceptual
Perceptual
Knowledge Base
Knowledge Base
Memory
Memory
Brain Stem Frontal
Functiona Unit
Occipital, Parietal and Temporal

Second
Memory Conceptual Perceptual
SIMULTANEOUS & SUCCESSIVE
Fig. 1.3: Pictorial presentation of PASS model

(Source: Das, 2004; p.10)
Alexander R. Luria’s (1966; 1973; 1980) pioneering researches in the fields of

neuropsychology, information processing, and cognitive psychology have
provided the theoretical foundation to the PASS theory. Luria divided human
cognitive processes into three primary functional units.
i) Maintaining appropriate cortical arousal and attention to allow for adequate
vigilance and discrimination between stimuli is the primary function of the
first unit.
ii) The second unit is responsible for obtaining, elaborating upon, and storing
information using successive and simultaneous processes.
iii) The third functional unit is responsible for programming as well as the
regulation and control of mental activity (i.e., executive functioning).
Planning, self-monitoring, and structuring of cognitive activities are provided
by this functional unit.
To elaborate further, the first functional unit, attention-arousal, is located in the
brain stem and reticular activating system. This unit provides the brain with the
appropriate level of arousal or cortical tone and “directive and selective attention”
(Luria, 1973, p. 273).
Attentional processes are engaged when a multidimensional stimulus array is
presented to the subject, and the task requires selective attention to one dimension,
16
and the inhibition of response to other, often more salient stimuli. Luria stated Theories of Intelligence (G
that only under optimal conditions of arousal can the more complex forms of of JP Das)
attention involving “selective recognition of a particular stimulus and inhibition
of responses to irrelevant stimuli” occur (Luria, 1973, p.271). Moreover, Luria
also maintains that only when sufficiently aroused and when attention is adequately
focused can an individual utilise processes within the second and third functional
units.
About the second functional unit, Luria described “two basic forms of integrative
activity of the cerebral cortex” which are responsible for “receiving, analysing,
and storing information” through the use of simultaneous and successive
processing.
Simultaneous processing is associated with the occipital-parietal areas of the

brain.
The essential aspect of simultaneous processing is the surveyability; that is, each
element is related to every other element. Das (2004) has explained with the
help of following example.
“To produce a diagram correctly when given the instruction, “draw a triangle
above a square that is to the left of a circle under a cross,” the relationships
among the shapes must be correctly comprehended” (Das, 2004, p. 9).
Successive processing is associated with the fronto-temporal areas of the brain

and involves the integration of stimuli into a specific serial order where each
component is related to the next. That is, in successive synthesis, “each link
integrated into a series can evoke only a particular chain of successive links
following each other in serial order”. For example, in language processing,
successive processes involved with are decoding and producing syntax, and
articulating speech.
The third functional unit is located in the prefrontal divisions of the frontal lobes
of the brain (Luria, 1980). Luria stated that “the frontal lobes synthesize the
information about the outside worlds . . . and are the means whereby the behaviour
of the organism is regulated in conformity with the effect produced by its actions”
(p.263).
Planning processes provide for the programming, regulation and verification of

behaviour and are responsible for behaviours, such as asking questions, problem
solving, and the capacity for self-monitoring. Other activities of the third
functional unit include regulation of voluntary activity, impulse control, and
various linguistic skills, such as spontaneous conversation. The third functional
unit provides for the most complex aspects of human behaviour including
personality and consciousness.
All four processes of the PASS theory have been operationally defined by Das,
Nagliery and Kirby (1994). Planning processes are required when a test demands
that the individual makes some decisions about how to solve a problem, execute
an approach, activate attentional, simultaneous, and successive processes, monitor
the effectiveness of the approach and modify it as needed.
Planning processes are involved when a person is asked to decide how to perform
a test and is inhibited by the imposition of strict rules about how to perform. For
17
Intelligence and Creativity example, writing a composition involves generation of a plan, organisation of
the ideas, control over what is presented when, examination of the product, and
revisions to make the final result consistent with the intended goal.
Planning is clearly associated with the frontal lobes, especially the prefrontal
cortex. It has connections with the rest of the brain as described before, including
the parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes that are responsible for information
coding (simultaneous and successive processing), as well as with sub cortical
areas that determine the level of arousal and affective reactions to different
conditions on the basis of past experiences.
Attention arousal is a complex process of the PASS theory. Arousal keeps the
persons alert. It is associated with the activity of the brain stem and the lower
part of the cerebral cortex. Attention on the other hand is associated with the
frontal lobes and the lower portion of the cortex together.
Simultaneous processing is broadly associated with the occipital and the parietal
lobes, while successive processing is associated with frontal temporal lobes
Knowledge base is an integral component of the PASS model and therefore all
processes are embedded within this dimension. The base of knowledge included
in the PASS model is intended to represent all information obtained from the
cultural and social background of the individual, because this determines the
form of mental activity. Children’s use of language to analyse, generalise, and
encode experience is a critical determinant of the base of knowledge, because
mental processes cannot develop apart from the appropriate forms of social life.
The final component of the PASS model is output or action and behaviour. It is
suggested that both simultaneous and successive processes must be used in the
processing of cognitive tasks. Das (1998, p. 221) has thus explained its salient
features: “The PASS theory of intelligence (1) has given us tests to measure
intelligence as a set of cognitive processes, (2) discusses what the major processes
are, and (3) guides us in the remediation of processing difficulties.”
Cognition is a dynamic process that works within the context of the individual’s
knowledge base, responds to his experiences, and is subject to developmental
variations When considering the measurement of cognitive processes, it must
be noted that the effective processing is accomplished through the integration of
knowledge with planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive processes as
demanded by the particular task. Although these processes are interrelated and
nonstop, they are not equally involved in all tasks. For that reason, cognitive
assessment tasks for planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive processing
were developed to adhere to PASS theory and predominantly require a specific
cognitive process (Das, Nagliery, & Kirby, 1994).
Taking the lead of Das and by using the multivariate techniques of cluster analysis,
Ronning (2004) developed ability/achievement normative taxonomies for reading
and mathematics of children in the age group of 8 to 17 years. The core profiles
that emerged provided important comparisons for evaluating individual profiles,
as well as added to the information explaining common variability in the child
population. The taxonomies werebased upon 711 children in the 8 to 17 year old
portion of the standardisation sample ofthe Cognitive Assessment System (CAS)
who were co-administered the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement–Revised
18
(WJ-R ACH). Ability/reading and ability/mathematics normative taxonomies Theories of Intelligence (G
were developed from the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive of JP Das)
scales of the Cognitive Assessment System (Das, Nagliery, & Kirby, 1994) in
conjunction with four reading and three math WJ-RACH subscales. Eight reading
and five math clusters were identified and described using demographics and
overall ability and achievement levels, which enabled Ronning (2004) to develop
intervention programme also.
1.4.1 Critical Appraisal of PASS Theory

The PASS theory has provided a novel approach to assess intelligence. It is
cognitive in orientation and it bases its tests on neuropsychological theories of
Luria. Of great importance of Das, Nagliery, and Kirby (1994) was to move
away from conventional tests of intelligence and to provide a theory-based
multidimensional view of intelligence that is built on contemporary research on
human cognition. It has a practical utility also. Undoubtedly all tests of intelligence
attempt at tapping cognitive aspects. However, most of them approximate to the
underlying processing of informational input.
Another attribute of this theory is that it has developed a Cognitive Assessment
System (CAS) test also, which offers a unique opportunity to examine the relative
contribution of cognitive processes as a testee undergoes a testing scenario. CAS
has four subscales, named after PASS, and the test items are specially designed
to assess a testee’s proficiency in each of them separately as well as collectively.
1) How are neuropsychological concepts of Luria incorporated in the PASS
theory?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
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...............................................................................................................
2) Why planning has been given so much importance in PASS theory?
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...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) What is the main contribution of knowledge base in PASS theory?
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19
4) Present a critical appraisal of PASS theory.
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1.5 LET US SUM UP

Intelligence is a concept that is so commonly referred by each one of us, but
which is so difficult to define. There is a general agreement that thinking,
reasoning, problem solving and decision making are all of relevance to
intelligence. However, there is less agreement about the extent to which each
component contributes to it. Much research on intelligence during the first half
of the twentieth century was based upon the factor-analytic approach. This
approach was pioneered by Spearman (1904;1923;1927) and his two-factor theory
achieved the desired success in stimulating a whole host of researches in
identifying the factors of intelligence. Eventually Spearman’s work culminated
in describing the hierarchical structure of intelligence. The research work that
was directed at testing his theory extended the evidence that is consistent with
the view that there is a general factor of intelligence (the “g”), together with a
number of more specific factors. The various measures of intelligence, about
which we shall study in a subsequent unit, have attested the ubiquitous presence
of “g” as well.
It is a known fact that tests of intelligence, beginning with that of Binet and
Simon (1905), have played an important input in predicting school success (or
its absence) since the turn of the century. The various tests that were developed
in criticism of Spearman, however, incorporated a number of similar
characteristics. Intelligence test batteries differ in other ways, such as the
theoretical underpinnings and appropriate uses of the test, as well as the types of
questions utilised.We have already discussed the views of Thurstone who
extended support to Spearman when methodology was followed as suggested by
Spearman. Jensen (1998) and Carroll (1993) have found the presence of “g” in
their factor analyses.
The PASS theory of Das, Nagliery and Kirby (1994) is an information processing
theory, which has taken its inspiration from the pioneering neuropsychological
and cognitive psychological researches of Alexander Luria (1966; 1973; 1980).
Luria described human cognitive processes within the framework of three
functional units. The function of the first unit is cortical arousal and attention;
the second unit codes information using simultaneous and successive processes;
and the third unit provides for planning, self-monitoring, and structuring of
cognitive activities. Luria’s work on the functional aspects of brain structures
formed the basis of the PASS model and was used as a blueprint for defining the
important components of human intellectual competence.
20
A Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) has also been developed by Das, Nagliery Theories of Intelligence (G
and Kirby (1994) and a number of researches on various aspects of human of JP Das)
cognition have extended increasing support to the contentions of the proponents
of this theory. The Cognitive Assessment System is an individualised assessment
that may be used for a variety of purposes, including diagnosis, eligibility,
determination of discrepancies, reevaluation, and instructional planning.

1) How do general people explain intelligence?
2) What commonalities has Sternberg noted in the 1921 and 1986 surveys about
definitions of intelligence?
3) Give a historical account of individual differences.
4) How far it is correct to state that Spearman was concerned much more with
understanding intelligence than measuring it?
5) Discuss the salient features of two-factor theory.
6) Critically appraise Spearman’s two-factor theory.
7) What constructs has PASS theory borrowed from the fields of
neuropsychology and information processing?
8) Give operational definitions of all four processes of PASS theory.

Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: Their survey of factor analytic
studies. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press
Das, J. P. (1998). The working mind: An introduction to psychology. New Delhi:
Sage
Das, J. P. (2004). Theories of intelligence: Issues and applications. In M. Hersen
(Ed.) Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessment.Vol. 1 Intellectual
and neuropsychological assessment. G. Goldstein,& S. R. Beers (Volume Eds.)
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (pp. 5-23)
References
American Psychological Association (1923). Intelligence and its measurement:
A symposium. Journal of Educational Psychology, 12 (Author)
Binet, A. (1890).Cited in Sattler, J. M. (1988).Assessment of children.Third
Edition. San Diego, CA: Jerome, Sattler.
Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1905).L‘Application des methods nouvelles au diagnostic
du niveau intellectual chez des enfantsnormouxaranormauxd ‘hospiceetd‘
ecoleprimatre. Anne‘ePsychologique, 11, 245-366
Boring, E.G. (1923). Intelligence as the test test it. New Republic, 34, 35-57.
Das, J. P., Nagliery, J. A., & Kirby, J. R. (1994). Assessment of cognitive processes:
The PASStheory of intelligence. New York: Allyn& Bacon.
Eysenck, H. J. (1972). Abilities. In H. J. Eysenck,, W. J. Arnold, & R. Meili
(Eds.) Encyclopedia of psychology.Bungay, Suffolk: The Search Press (pp. 1-5)
Eysenck, M. W. (1990). Intelligence. In M. W. Eysenck (Ed.) TheBleckwell
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Intelligence and Creativity dictionary of cognitive psychology. Oxford: Blackwell Reference (pp. 192-193)
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New
York: Basic Books
Guilford, J. P. (1953) Psychometric methods.. New York: McGraw-Hill
Jensen, A. (1998) The g factor: The science of mental ability. New York: Praeger
Luria, A. R. (1966). Human brain and psychological processes. New York: Harper
& Row
Luria, A. R. (1973). The working brain. London: Penguin Books
Luria, A.R. (1980). Higher cortical functions in man (2nd Ed.). New York, NY:
Basic Books.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978) Psychometric theory.(2nd. Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill
Ronning, M. E. (2004). Core profile types for the Cognitive Assessment System
and Woofcock-Johnson Achievement Tests of Achievement: Their development
and description for low performing students. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation,
Ohio State University, Ohio
Snyderman, M. & Rothman, S. (1987), Survey of expert opinion on intelligence
and aptitude testin., American Psychologist42: 137–144
Spearmen, C. (1904). General intelligence objectively determined and measured.
American Journal of Psychology, 15,, 201-292
Spearman, C. (1923).The nature of intelligence and the principles of cognition.
London: Macmillan
Spearman, C. (1927).The abilities of man. London: Macmillan
Stern, W. (1914).The psychological methods of testing intelligence.(Tr. By G.
M. Whipple) Baltimore: Barwick&York
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). The concept of intelligence and its role in lifelong
learning and success. American Psychologist, 52(10), 1030-1037.
Sternberg R, &Detterman DK. (1986).What is Intelligence? : Contemporary
Viewpoints on its Nature and Definition.Ablex Publishing
Sternberg, R. J. R. J. &Frensch, P. A. (1990) Intelligence and cognition. In M. W.
Eysenck (Ed.) International review of cognitive psychology. Chichester: Wiley
Terman, L. M. (1921). In Intelligence and its measurement: A symposium. Journal
of Educational Psychology, 12
Thomson, G. H. (1939). The factorial analysis of human ability. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin
Thorndike, E. L. (1926). The measurement of intelligence. New York: Teachers
College, Columbia University.
Thurstone, L. L. (1935). The vectors of mind: Multiple factor analysis for the
isolation of primary traits. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Wechsler,D. (1944). The measurement of adult intelligence.(Revised Ed.)
Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins
Wechsler, D. (1975). Intelligence defined and undefined: A relativistic reappraisal.
American Psychologist, 30, 135-139
22
Theories of Intelligence (G
UNIT 2 MULTIPLE THEORIES OF and S Factor and the Model
of JP Das)
INTELLIGENCE (GUILFORD,
GARDNER AND STERNBERG)
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Guilford’s Structure of Intellect Theory
2.2.1 The Contents Dimension
2.2.2 The Operations Dimension
2.2.3 The Products Dimension
2.2.4 Evaluation
2.3 Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
2.3.1 Linguistic Intelligence
2.3.2 Logical-mathematical Intelligence
2.3.3 Musical Intelligence
2.3.4 Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence
2.3.5 Spatial Intelligence
2.3.6 Interpersonal Intelligence
2.3.7 Intrapersonal Intelligence
2.3.8 Naturalistic Intelligence
2.3.9 Existential Intelligence
2.3.10 Evaluation
2.4 Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
2.4.1 Componential or Analytical Facet or Subtheory
2.4.2 Experiential or Creative Facet or Subtheory
2.4.3 Contextual or Practical Facet or Subtheory
2.4.4 Evaluation
2.5 Let Us Sum Up
2.7 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
In Unit 1 we discussed a number of definitions of intelligence. We also noted
that there is some sort of an agreement that reasoning, problem solving, thinking
and other cognitive processes are all of relevance to intelligence. In other words
it can be stated that intelligence comprises a variety of human cognitive activities
such as learning from past experiences, adaptation to new situations, and thinking
abstractly. In the first decade of the twentieth century, factor-analytic approach
became popular and the debate about whether or not intelligence is a unitary
construct still continues. Nowadays intelligence is conceived in terms of multiple
abilities. In the present unit we will discuss three important theories of intelligence.
First, we will explain the salient features of Guilford’s Structure-of-Intellect
23
Intelligence and Creativity Theory, then we will turn our attention to highlight Howard Gardner’s Theory of
Multiple Intelligence, and finally we will discuss Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
of intelligence.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Describe the contemporary approaches to intelligence;
• Elucidate Guilford’s Structure-of-Intellect theory;
• Explain the multiple intelligences identified by Gardner;
• Differentiate between Guilford’s structure-of-intellect theory and Gardner’s
theory of multiple intelligences;
• Define the triarchic theory of intelligence propounded by Sternberg; and
• Differentiate between Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and
Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence.
2.2 GUILFORD’S STRUCTURE-OF-INTELLECT

THEORY
There are two distinct approaches to understand the nature of intelligence. The
proponents of the first approach viewed intelligence as a single entity and
developed their theories that take into account the biological reasons for
intelligence. They view neural processing speed as the root of intelligence as
such their theory has an effective causal explanation. The proponents of the second
notion believed that intelligence is not a single or unitary ability, rather there are
several intelligences. As for multiple intelligences, there are many theorists in
that school of thought as well. Some of the theories presented by the proponents
of multiple intelligences are excessive and have too many constructs to account
for the explanation of intelligence. Guilford’s Structure-of-Intellect (SOI) Model
is such a multiple intelligences theory.
J. P. Guilford, was born on March 7, 1897 in Marquette, Nebraska. His interest

in individual differences started from his childhood, when he observed the
differences in ability among the members of his own family. As an undergraduate
student at the University of Nebraska, he worked as an assistant in the psychology
department. At Cornell University from 1919 to 1921, he studied under Edward
Titchener and conducted intelligence testing on children. During his time at
Cornell University, he also served as director of the university’s psychological
clinic. From 1927 to 1928, Guilford worked at the University of Kansas, after
which he became Associate Professor at University of Nebraska, remaining there
from 1928 to 1940. In 1940 he was appointed as psychology professor at the
University of Southern California, where he stayed until 1967. Guilford retired
from teaching in 1967, but continued to write and publish. He died on November
26, 1987.
Guilford believed that intelligence was not a monolithic, global attribute but a
combination of multiple abilities, which were relatively independent. He applied
factor analytic method to study these mental abilities. Building upon the views
of Thurstone (1939), Guilford rejected Charles Spearman’s view that intelligence
24
could be characterised by a single numerical parameter (“general intelligence Multiple Theories of
Intelligence (Guilford,
factor” or g). He also rejected broad factor groups like that of Thurstone’s primary Gardner and Sternberg)
abilities. According to him, intelligence consists of numerous intellectual abilities.
By the 1950’s, Guilford felt there needed to be a system developed to classify
the new mental abilities being discovered.
In 1956, the first version of the Structure-of-Intellect (SOI) model was presented.
The structure of intellect defines intelligence as a systematic collection of abilities
or functions for processing different kinds of items of information in various
ways. Originally the SOI model included four types of mental contents dimension
(figural, symbolic, semantic, and behavioural), five types of operations dimension
(cognition, memory, evaluation, convergent production and divergent production),
and six types of products dimension (units, classes, relations, systems,
transformations, and implications), thus resulting in 120 factors, with over 100
having been empirically verified. This model is represented as a cube with each
of the three dimensions occupying one side. Many of the abilities are believed to
be correlated with each other. The model also suggests where new abilities may
be discovered based on existing abilities.
Subsequently, Guilford (1977) modified his model and divided figural factor of
the content dimension into visual and auditory factors, thus making five types of
the contents dimension, instead of the original four types. In the modified version
the number of cells became 150 (5 contents × 5 Operations × 6 Products= 150
cells). The definition given by Guilford for each of these is too lengthy to present
here; they will be described very briefly.
2.2.1 The Contents Dimension

This dimension includes the broad areas of information in which operations are
applied. It has been divided into four categories.
• Visual - Information arising from stimulation on the retina in the form of an
image.
• Auditory – Information arising from stimulation of the cochlea of the ear as
image.
• Symbolic - Information perceived as symbols or signs that have no meaning
by themselves; for example, Arabic numerals or the letters of an alphabet.
• Semantic - Information perceived in words or sentences, whether oral,
written, or silently in one’s mind.
• Behavioural – Information perceived as acts of an individual/ individuals.
2.2.2 The Operations Dimension
This consists of five kinds of operation or general intellectual processes:
• Cognition - The ability to understand, comprehend, discover, and become
aware.
• Memory - The ability to memorise information.
• Divergent Production - The process of generating multiple solutions to a
problem
• Convergent Production - The process of deducing a single solution to a
problem.
• Evaluation - The process of judging whether an answer is accurate, consistent,
or valid. 25
Intelligence and Creativity 2.2.3 The Products Dimension
As the name suggests, this dimension contains results of applying particular
operations to specific contents. There are six kinds of products, they are:
• Unit - Represents a single item of information.
• Class - A set of items that share some attributes.
• Relation - Represents a connection between items or variables; may be linked
as opposites or in associations, sequences, or analogies.
• System - An organisation of items or networks with interacting parts.
• Transformation - Changes perspectives, conversions, or mutations to
knowledge; such as reversing the order of letters in a word.
• Implication - Predictions, inferences, consequences, or anticipations of
knowledge.
Some examples may provide a feel for the kinds of distinctions made in this
model. Suppose a subject is given a long list of unrelated words to study and is
asked to recall them later. The content of this scale is “semantic,” since it involves
words; the operation is “memory”; and the product is the recall of words as
“units.”
2.2.4 Evaluation
Guilford’s Structure-of-Intellect theory is more complex than Thurstone’s, which
grew out of a massive analysis of a great many existing tests. Research from
different fields, such as developmental psychology, artificial intelligence, and
neurology, shows that the mind consists of several independent (albeit
interdependent) modules or “intelligences.” According to Eysenck (1972),
Guilford “concentrated most of his studies on populations with a restricted range
of intelligence, thus reducing the scope of “g”; and he has used orthogonal methods
of rotation, thus ignoring the correlations between “simple structure” factors
which would have emerged if he had used an oblique method of rotation...Of
more practical importance is the criticism that Guilford’s factors are so narrow
and specialised that they have little value in prediction, as in educational and
vocational guidance” (p. 3). In spite of these criticisms it is important to note
that Guilford left a significant mark on research into intelligence. Many tests
that are still used in modern intelligence testing were modified and developed
under his guidance.

1) What do you understand by the term multiple intelligences?
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26
Multiple Theories of
2) Elucidate Structure of Intellect Theory. Intelligence (Guilford,
Gardner and Sternberg)
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3) What are the three dimensions of Guilford’s theory of MI?
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4) Critically evaluate the construct-of-intellect theory of Guilford.
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2.3 GARDNER’S THEORY OF MULTIPLE

INTELLIGENCES
Howard Gardner was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1943. In order to make
a career in law, he joined Harvard University. However, he was lucky enough to
have Eric Erikson as a tutor. In Howard Gardner’s words Erikson probably ‘sealed’
his ambition to be a scholar (1989). He entered Harvard’s doctoral programme
in 1966, and in the following year became part of the Project Zero research team
on arts. Howard Gardner completed his PhD in 1971 (his dissertation was on
style sensitivity in children). He remained at Harvard. Alongside his work with
Project Zero, he was a lecturer (1971-1986) and then professor in education
(1986- ). His first major book, The Shattered Mind appeared in 1975 and some
fifteen have followed.
Project Zero provided an environment in which Howard Gardner could begin to

explore his interest in human cognition. He proceeded in a very different direction
to the dominant discourses associated with Piaget and with psychometric testing.
Project Zero developed as a major research centre for education and provided an
intellectual home for a significant grouping of researchers. A key moment came
with the establishment of the Project on Human Potential in the late 1970s (funded
by Bernard van Leer Foundation) to ‘assess the state of scientific knowledge
concerning human potential and its realisation’.
27
Intelligence and Creativity In 1981 Gardner was awarded a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in support of Project
Zero at Harvard University. An announcement of the award quoted Gardner as
saying early in his career, that he had been a committed Piagetian, but as he
pursued his own studies he came to view Piaget’s theories as “too narrow a
notion of how the human mind works.” He noted further that he did not believe
there was “one form of cognition which cuts across all human thinking. There
are multiple intelligences with autonomous intelligence capacities.” This
statement heralded the writing of his book Frames of Mind, which was published
in 1983.
Gardner (1983) claimed that most previous conceptualisations of intelligence
had been too narrowly based. He argued that evidence from several different
sources (e.g. cross-cultural accounts of cognition, studies of exceptional groups,
psychometric data, and psychological training studies) pointed to the existence
of several intelligences.
According to Gardner (1999), intelligence is much more than IQ because a high
IQ in the absence of productivity does not equate to intelligence. In terms of his
definition (1983): “Intelligence is a bio-psychological potential to process
information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create
products that are of value in a culture”. Consequently, instead of intelligence
being a single entity described psychometrically with an IQ score, Gardner’s
definition views it as many things. He endeavored to define intelligence in a
much broader way than did the psychometricians. To achieve this goal Gardner
(1983; 1999) established several criteria for defining intelligence. In identifying
capabilities to be considered for one of the “multiple intelligences” the construct
under consideration had to meet eight criteria rather than resting on the results of
a narrow psychometric approach.
To qualify as “intelligence” the particular capacity under study was considered
from multiple perspectives consisting of eight specific criteria drawn from the
biological sciences, logical analysis, developmental psychology, experimental
psychology, and psychometrics. The criteria to consider “candidate intelligences”
(Gardner, 1999) are:
• the potential for brain isolation by brain damage,
• its place in evolutionary history,
• the presence of core operations,
• susceptibility to encoding,
• a distinct developmental progression,
• the existence of idiot-savants, prodigies and other exceptional people,
• support from experimental psychology, and
• support from psychometric findings.
From the above eight criteria, Gardner initially formulated a list of seven
intelligences. In 1999, he added naturalist intelligence as the eighth. He has also
considered inclusion of existential intelligence as the ninth intelligence in his
theory (Slavin, 2009). The first two have been typically valued in schools; the
next three are usually associated with the arts; the next two are what Gardner
called ‘personal intelligences’; while the newly added final two are related to
aesthetics and philosophical views of life (Gardner 1999). Each of these
28 intelligences will now be briefly described.
2.3.1 Linguistic Intelligence Multiple Theories of
This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself Gardner and Sternberg)
rhetorically or poetically; and as a means to remember information. Writers,
poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard Gardner sees as having
high linguistic intelligence. This area has to do with words, spoken or written.
People with high verbal-linguistic intelligence display a facility with words and
languages. They are typically good at reading, writing, telling stories and
memorizing words along with dates. They tend to learn best by reading, taking
notes, listening to lectures, and discussion and debate. Those with verbal-linguistic
intelligence learn foreign languages very easily as they have high verbal memory
and recall, and an ability to understand and manipulate syntax and structure.
Careers that suit those with this intelligence include writers, lawyers, policemen,
philosophers, journalists, politicians, poets, and teachers.
2.3.2 Logical-mathematical Intelligence

This intelligence consists of the capacity to analyse problems logically, carry out
mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. In Howard
Gardner’s words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and
think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and
mathematical thinking. This area has to do with logic, abstractions, reasoning,
and numbers. While it is often assumed that those with this intelligence naturally
excel in mathematics, chess, computer programming and other logical or
numerical activities, a more accurate definition places less emphasis on traditional
mathematical ability and more on reasoning capabilities, abstract patterns of
recognition, scientific thinking and investigation, and the ability to perform
complex calculations. It correlates strongly with traditional concepts of
“intelligence” or IQ. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include
scientists, physicists, mathematicians, logicians, engineers, doctors, economists
and philosophers.
2.3.3 Musical Intelligence

This intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation
of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognise and compose musical
pitches, tones, and rhythms. According to Howard Gardner musical intelligence
runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence. This area has to do
with sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones and music. People with a high musical
intelligence normally have good pitch and may even have absolute pitch and are
able to sing, play musical instruments, and compose music. Since there is a
strong auditory component to this intelligence, those who are strongest in it may
learn best via lecture. Language skills are typically highly developed in those
whose base intelligence is musical. In addition, they will sometimes use songs
or rhythms to learn. They have sensitivity to rhythm, pitch, meter, tone, melody
or timbre. Careers that suit those with this intelligence include instrumentalists,
singers, conductors, disc-jockeys, orators, writers and composers.
2.3.4 Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence

It entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve
problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements.
In theory, people who have bodily-kinesthetic intelligence should learn better by
involving muscular movement (e.g. getting up and moving around into the
29
Intelligence and Creativity learning experience), and are generally good at physical activities such as sports
or dance. They may enjoy acting or performing, and in general they are good at
building and making things. They often learn best by doing something physically,
rather than by reading or hearing about it. Careers that suit those with this
intelligence include: athletes, dancers, musicians, actors, surgeons, doctors,
builders, police officers, and soldiers. Although these careers can be duplicated
through virtual simulation, they will not produce the actual physical learning
that is needed in this intelligence.
2.3.5 Spatial Intelligence

Spatial intelligence involves the potential for recognising and manipulating the
patterns of both wide spaces such as those negotiated by pilots or navigators,
and confined spaces such as those encountered by sculptors, architects or
championship chess players. This area deals with spatial judgment and the ability
to visualise with the mind’s eye. Careers which suit those with this type of
intelligence include artists, designers and architects. A spatial person is also good
with puzzles.
2.3.6 Interpersonal Intelligence

This intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions,
motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively
with others. Educators, sales people, religious and political leaders and counselors
all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence. This area has to do with
interaction with others. In theory, people who have a high interpersonal
intelligence tend to be extrovert, characterised by their sensitivity to others’ moods,
feelings, temperaments and motivations, and their ability to cooperate in order
to work as part of a group. They communicate effectively and empathise easily
with others, and may be either leaders or followers. They typically learn best by
working with others and often enjoy discussion and debate. Careers that suit
those with this intelligence include sales, politicians, managers, teachers, and
social workers.
2.3.7 Intrapersonal Intelligence

This entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one’s feelings, fears
and motivations. In Howard Gardner’s view it involves having an effective
working model of ourselves, and to be able to use such information to regulate
our lives. This area has to do with introspective and self-reflective capacities.
People with intrapersonal intelligence are intuitive and typically introverted. They
are skillful at deciphering their own feelings and motivations. This refers to
having a deep understanding of the self; what are your strengths/ weaknesses,
what makes you unique, you can predict your own reactions/ emotions. Careers
which suit those with this intelligence include philosophers, psychologists,
theologians, lawyers, and writers. People with intrapersonal intelligence also
prefer to work alone.
2.3.8 Naturalistic Intelligence

This intelligence has to do with nature, nurturing and relating information to
one’s natural surroundings. Such a person demonstrates expertise in recognition
and classification of the numerous species - the flora and fauna – of her or his
environment. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include naturalists,
farmers and gardeners.
30
2.3.9 Existential Intelligence Multiple Theories of
This is an ability to contemplate phenomena or questions beyond sensory data, Gardner and Sternberg)
such as the infinite and infinitesimal. Career which suits those with this
intelligence include cosmologists, and philosophers.
According to Gardner (1983), each of these “intelligences” has a specific set of

abilities that can be observed and measured. The first two forms of intelligence
are typically the abilities that contribute to strong performance in traditional
school environments and to producing high scores on most IQ measures or tests
of achievement. The next three forms are very crucial for artists. The next two,
viz., interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences, are personal intelligences.
Interpersonal intelligence indicates a person’s ability to recognise the intentions,
feelings and motivations of others. People who possess and develop this quality
are likely to work well with others and may choose fields like sales, teaching,
counselling or politics in order to use them when required. Intrapersonal
intelligence is described as the ability to understand oneself and use that
information to regulate one’s own life. The last two intelligences are related to
aesthetic feelings and philosophical issues. Gardner (1998) nominated three
additional candidate intelligences: Naturalist, Spiritual and Existential intelligence
and evaluated them in the context of the eight criteria he had established in his
research and outlined earlier in this unit.
In Frames of Mind, Howard Gardner (1983) treated the personal intelligences
‘as a piece’. Because of their close association in most cultures, they are often
linked together. However, he still argues that it makes sense to think of two
forms of personal intelligence. Gardner claimed that the seven intelligences rarely
operate independently. They are used at the same time and tend to complement
each other as people develop skills or solve problems.
According to Gardner, our schools as well as the society focus most of its attention
on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. Gardner emphasises that we
should also place equal attention on individuals who show gifts in the other
intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, naturalists, designers, dancers,
therapists, entrepreneurs, and others who enrich the world in which we live.
Unfortunately, many children who have these gifts don’t receive much
reinforcement for them in their schools. Many of these kids, in fact, end up
being labeled “learning disabled,” attention deficit disorder” (ADD), or simply
underachievers, when their unique ways of thinking and learning aren’t addressed
by a heavily linguistic or logical-mathematical classroom.
The theory of multiple intelligences proposes a major transformation in the way
our schools are run. It suggests that teachers need to be trained to present their
lessons in a wide variety of ways using music, cooperative learning, art activities,
role play, multimedia, field trips, inner reflection, and much more. The theory
of multiple intelligences also has strong implications for adult learning and
development. Many adults find themselves in jobs that do not make optimal use
of their most highly developed intelligences (for example, the highly bodily-
kinesthetic individual who is stuck in a linguistic or logical desk-job when he or
she would be much happier in a job where they could move around, such as a
recreational leader, a forest ranger, or physical therapist).
The theory of multiple intelligences gives adults a whole new way to look at
their lives, examining potentials that they left behind in their childhood (such as 31
Intelligence and Creativity a love for art or drama) but now have the opportunity to develop through courses,
hobbies, or other programmes of self-development.
2.3.10 Evaluation
Howard Gardner’s work around multiple intelligences has had a profound impact
on thinking and practice in education. His theory has wide implications in the
field of teaching and learning. For example, if you’re teaching or learning about
the law of supply and demand in economics, you might read about it (linguistic),
study mathematical formulas that express it (logical-mathematical), examine a
graphic chart that illustrates the principle (spatial) and then utilise all information
into your teaching programme. One of the interesting characteristics of Gardner’s
theoretical approach is that several of the intelligences are not specifically
cognitive in nature.
The concept of multiple intelligences can be quite useful in investigating

specialised functions or clinical cases of mental dysfunctions. The major objection
to the concept, however, is that an excessive importance is placed on the
independence of these intelligences from one another and divides human beings
on the basis of a new typology. In fact, the brain and indeed the human being act
as a whole, and no one mental activity can be truly independent of another.
Gardner’s theory has also been criticized by many psychologists on several

grounds. The fundamental criticism of this theory is the belief by scholars that
each of the seven multiple intelligences is in fact a cognitive style rather than a
stand-alone construct (Morgan, 1996). Hunt (2001) criticised Gardner’s theory
on the ground that “theory of multiple intelligences cannot even be evaluated by
the canons of science until it is made specific enough to generate measurement
models” (p. 7). M. W. Eysenck (1990) remarked that “there are grounds for
doubting that he has identified different intelligences rather than different abilities”
(p. 193). As Sternberg and Frensch (1990) pointed out, it seems strange to describe
someone who is tone deaf or physically uncoordinated as unintelligent. Other
criticisms include the notion that the theory of multiple intelligences is not
empirical, is incompatible with “g”, heritability, and environmental influences,
and broadens the construct of intelligence so widely as to render it meaningless.
However, we can conclude following the contentions of Das (1999), that “it can
certainly be stated that the different types of intelligence included in Gardener’s
system of multiple intelligences is consistent with investigations of distinct talents
and skills in individuals. We do study the nature of musical ability, strategies
involved in playing chess, the thought processes of logicians and mathematicians,
and early indicators of bring a cricket player, or a smooth, persuasive sales person”
(p.222).
1) Describe Project Zero.
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32
2) What are the multiple intelligences identified by Gardner? Intelligence (Guilford,
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3) Evaluate the importance of Gardner’s approach in the explanation of
intelligence.
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4) How is Gardner’s theory differ from Guilford’s construction of intellect
theory?
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5) What is existential intelligence? Describe
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2.4 STERNBERG’S TRIARCHIC THEORY OF

INTELLIGENCE
Robert Jeffrey Sternberg (born December 8, 1949), is an American psychologist
and psychometrician. He received his B.A. degree from the Yale University and
Ph.D. from the Stanford University under the supervision of Gordon Bower. He
was Provost at Oklahoma State University. He was formerly the Dean of Arts
and Sciences at Tufts University, IBM Professor of Psychology and Education at
Yale University and the President of American Psychological Association. He
holds ten honorary doctorates from one North American, one South American,
and eight European universities, and additionally holds an honorary professorate
at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He is also a Distinguished Associate
of The Psychometrics Centre at the University of Cambridge.
33
Intelligence and Creativity The triarchic theory of intelligence developed by Sternberg is “a comprehensive
theory, because it takes into account social and contextual factors apart from
human abilities” (Li, 1996). Sternberg (1985) felt that the theories that preceded
him were not incorrect, but rather, incomplete. Consequently, his theory, like
Gardner’s, takes into account creative or musical intelligence. But as for the
other six intelligences from Gardner’s theory, Sternberg classified them into two
different types of intelligences: analytic (or academic) and practical. These two
types of intelligence differ and are defined as follows: Analytic problems tend to
have been formulated by other people, be clearly defined, come with all
information needed to solve them, have only a single right answer, which can be
reached by only a single method, be disembodied from ordinary experience, and
have little or no intrinsic interest. Practical problems tend to require problem
recognition and formulation, be poorly defined, require information seeking,
have various acceptable solutions, be embedded in and require prior everyday
experience, and require motivation and personal involvement. (Neisser, et al.,
1996). If an individual could solve one or the other of these types of problems
well, then that individual would have a high analytic or practical intelligence,
respectively. Also, there exists virtuosos, or individuals who are extremely talented
in the fine arts, these people would have a high creative intelligence.
Sternberg’s triarchic theory includes three facets or subtheories: (i) the

componential subtheory which outlines the structures and mechanisms that
underlie intelligent behaviour categorised as metacognitive, performance, or
knowledge acquisition components, (ii) the experiential subtheory that proposes
intelligent behaviour be interpreted along a continuum of experience from novel
to highly familiar tasks/situations, (iii) the contextual subtheory which specifies
that intelligent behaviour be defined by the socio-cultural context in which it
takes place and involves adaptation to the environment, selection of better
environments, and shaping of the present environment. According to Sternberg,
a complete explanation of intelligence entails the interaction of these three
subtheories. The componential subtheory specifies the potential set of mental
processes that underlies behaviour (i.e., how the behaviour is generated) while
the contextual subtheory relates intelligence to the external world in terms of
what behaviours are intelligent and where. The experiential subtheory addresses
the relationship between the behaviour in a given task/situation and the amount
of experience of the individual in that task/situation.
Triarchic Theory
Componential Experiential Contextual
Subtheory Subtheory Subtheory
Metacomponents Novelty Adaptation
Performance Automation Selection
Acquisition Shaping
Acquisition Shaping
2.4.1 Componential or Analytical Facet or Subtheory

Componential or analytical intelligence is the ability to complete academic,
problem-solving tasks. These types of tasks usually present well-defined problems
that have only a single correct answer. It is similar to the standard psychometric
definition of intelligence e.g. as measured by academic problem solving, analogies
34
and puzzles, and corresponds to his earlier componential intelligence. Sternberg Multiple Theories of
considers that this reflects how an individual relates to his internal world. Gardner and Sternberg)
According to Sternberg, analytical intelligence (academic problem-solving skills)
is based on the joint operations of metacomponents and performance components
and knowledge acquisition components of intelligence.
Metacomponents control, monitor and evaluate cognitive processing. These are

the executive functions to order and organise performance and knowledge
acquisition components. They are the higher-order processes that order and
organise the performance components. They are used to analyse problems and
pick a strategy for solving them. They decide what to do and the performance
components actually do it.
Performance Components execute strategies assembled by the metacomponents.

They are the basic operations involved in any cognitive act. They are the cognitive
processes that enable us to encode stimuli, hold information in short-term memory,
make calculations, perform mental calculations, mentally compare different
stimuli, and retrieve information from long-term memory.
Knowledge acquisition components are the processes used in gaining and storing
new knowledge – i.e. capacity for learning. The strategies you use to help
memorize things exemplify the processes that fall into this category.
2.4.2 Experiential or Creative Facet or Subtheory

Experiential or creative intelligence is the ability to successfully deal with new
and unusual situations by drawing on existing knowledge and skill. Individuals
high in creative intelligence may give ‘wrong’ answers because they see things
from a different perspective. Thus creative intelligence involves insights, synthesis
and the ability to react to novel situations and stimuli. Sternberg considers it as
experiential aspect of intelligence because it reflects how an individual connects
the internal world to external reality. Sternberg considers the creative facet to
comprise the ability that allows people to think creatively and that which allows
people to adjust creatively and effectively to new situations. Sternberg believes
that more intelligent individuals will also move from consciously learning in a
novel situation to automating the new learning so that they can attend to other
tasks. Thus experiential facet deals mainly with how well a task is performed
with regard to how familiar it is.
Sternberg splits the role of experience into two parts: novelty and automation. A
novel situation is one that you have never experienced before. People who are
adept at managing a novel situation can take the task and find new ways of
solving it that the majority of people would not notice (Sternberg, 1997). A process
that has been automated has been performed multiple times and can now be
done with little or no extra thought. Once a process is automatised, it can be run
in parallel with the same or other processes. The problem with novelty and
automation is that being skilled in one component does not ensure that you are
skilled in the other also (Sternberg, 1997).
2.4.3 Contextual or Practical Facet or Subtheory

Sternberg’s third subtheory of intelligence, called practical or contextual, “deals
with the mental activity involved in attaining fit to context” (Sternberg, 1985).
It is the ability to adapt to everyday life by drawing on existing knowledge and 35
Intelligence and Creativity skills. Practical intelligence enables an individual to understand what needs to
be done in a specific setting and then do it. Through the three processes of
adaptation, shaping, and selection, individuals create an ideal fit between
themselves and their environment. This type of intelligence is often referred to
as “street smarts.”
Adaptation occurs when one makes a change within oneself in order to better
adjust to one’s surroundings (Sternberg, 1985). For example, when the weather
changes and temperatures drop, people adapt by wearing extra layers of clothing
to remain warm. Shaping occurs when one changes their environment to better
suit one’s needs (Sternberg, 1985). A teacher may invoke the new rule of raising
hands to speak to ensure that the lesson is taught with least possible disruption.
The process of selection is undertaken when a completely new alternate
environment is found to replace the previous, unsatisfying environment to meet
the individual’s goals (Sternberg, 1985). For instance, immigrants leave their
lives in their homeland countries where they endure economical and social
hardships and go to other countries in search of a better and less strained life.
Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence contends that intelligent behaviour

arises from a balance between analytical, creative and practical abilities, and
that these abilities function collectively to allow individuals to achieve success
within particular socio-cultural contexts (Sternberg, 1988; 1997; 1999). Analytical
abilities enable the individual to evaluate, analyse, compare and contrast
information. Creative abilities generate invention, discovery, and other creative
endeavors. Practical abilities tie everything together by allowing individuals to
apply what they have learned in the appropriate setting. To be successful in life
the individual must make the best use of his or her analytical, creative and practical
strengths, while at the same time compensating for weaknesses in any of these
areas. This might involve working on improving weak areas to become better
adapted to the needs of a particular environment, or choosing to work in an
environment that values the individual’s particular strengths. For example, a
person with highly developed analytical and practical abilities, but with less
well-developed creative abilities, might choose to work in a field that values
technical expertise but does not require a great deal of imaginative thinking.
Conversely, if the chosen career does value creative abilities, the individual can
use his or her analytical strengths to come up with strategies for improving this
weakness. Thus, a central feature of the triarchic theory of successful intelligence
is adaptability-both within the individual and within the individual’s socio-cultural
context (Cianciolo & Sternberg, 2004).
2.4.4 Evaluation
The triarchic theory of intelligence provides a useful way of understanding human
intelligence. It seems to capture important aspects of intelligence not captured
by more conventional theories. It also differs from the theories of Howard Gardner,
which emphasise nine independent multiple intelligences (such as linguistic and
musical intelligence), and from the theory of emotional intelligence. The triarchic
theory emphasises processes of intelligence, rather than domains of intelligence,
as in Gardner’s theory. It also views emotions as distinct from intelligence.
Eventually, a theory may be proposed that integrates the best elements of all
existing theories.
36
Triarchic theory has also been criticized by the psychologists. Gottfredson, (2003) Multiple Theories of
criticized the unempirical nature of triarchic theory and argued that it is absurd Gardner and Sternberg)
to assert that traditional intelligence tests are not measuring practical intelligence
when they show a moderate correlation with income, especially at middle age
when individuals have had a chance to reach their maximum career potential. It
is also claimed that what Sternberg calls practical intelligence is not a broad
aspect of cognition at all but simply a specific set of skills people learn to cope
with a specific environment (task specific knowledge). According to Das (2004),
the major difficulty in Sternberg’s theory is “in translating them to psychometric
instruments for the measurement of cognitive abilities” (p. 12). As for the creative
component of Sternberg’s model, a study questions whether it’s meaningful to
treat creativity as a cognitive ability separate from analytical intelligence, but
instead finds that creativity is simply the product of a high intelligence score.

1) Discuss Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence.
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2) Explain the three subtheories or facets of the triarchic theory of
intelligence.
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3) How is triarchic theory of intelligence different from the construct-of-
intellect theory?
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2.5 LET US SUM UP

According to Guilford intelligence is not one monolithic, global attribute but a
combination of multiple abilities. He believed that there were many relatively
independent mental ability factors. Guilford applied his factor analytic
methodology to study these mental abilities. In 1956, the first version of the 37
Intelligence and Creativity Structure-of-Intellect (SOI) model was presented, which was subsequently revised
by him in 1977. The SOI model includes a Content dimension, Products
dimension, and Operations dimension. It is represented as a cube with each of
the three dimensions occupying one side. Each ability is defined by a conjunction
of the three categories, occupying one cell in the three-dimensional figure. There
are five categories of content including visual, auditory, symbolic, semantic, and
behavioural. Six categories exist in the products dimension including units,
classes, relations, systems, transformation, and implications. The five kinds of
operations include cognition, memory recording, memory retention, divergent
production, convergent production, and evaluation. Guilford’s SOI Theory is an
open system such that it allows for newly discovered categories to be added in
any of three directions. Many of the abilities are believed to be correlated with
each other. The 5 × 6 × 5 model of Guilford provides 150 possible abilities, with
over 100 having been empirically verified. The model also suggests where new
abilities may be discovered based on existing abilities.
The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard

Gardner. It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing,
is far too limited. Instead, Gardner proposed nine different intelligences to account
for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. Gardner’s Theory
of Multiple Intelligences proposes that people use seven (or nine) relatively
autonomous intellectual capacities to approach problems and create products.
These include linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-
kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and existential intelligences.
He suggests that “although they are not necessarily dependent on each other,
these intelligences seldom operate in isolation. Every normal individual possesses
varying degrees of each of these intelligences, but the ways in which intelligences
combine and blend are as varied as the faces and the personalities of individuals.”
Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence consists of three subtheories: (i) the

componential subtheory, which outlines the structures and mechanisms that
underlie intelligent behaviour categorised as metacognitive, performance, or
knowledge acquisition components, (ii) the experiential subtheory that proposes
intelligent behaviour be interpreted along a continuum of experience from novel
to highly familiar tasks/situations, and (iii) the contextual subtheory, which
specifies that intelligent behaviour be defined by the socio-cultural context in
which it takes place and involves adaptation to the environment, selection of
better environments, and shaping of the present environment. According to
Sternberg, a complete explanation of intelligence entails the interaction of these
three subtheories. The componential subtheory specifies the potential set of mental
processes that underlie behaviour (i.e., how the behaviour is generated), while
the contextual subtheory relates intelligence to the external world in terms of
what behaviours are intelligent and where. The experiential subtheory addresses
the relationship between the behaviour in a given task/situation and the amount
of experience of the individual in that task/situation.

1) How does theory of multiple intelligences differ from unitary theory of
intelligence?
2) Highlight the important features of construct-of-intellect theory of Guilford.
38
3) Are the nine kinds of intelligence proposed by Gardner interrelated? Multiple Theories of
4) Evaluate the importance of Gardner’s approach in the explanation of Gardner and Sternberg)
intelligence.
5) How is Gardner’s theory different from Guilford’s construct-of-intellect
theory?
6) Critically evaluate Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence.
7) Explain the three subtheories or facets of triarchic theory of intelligence
8) How is triarchic theory of intelligence different from the construct-of-intellect
theory?
2.7 GLOSSARY
Artificial intelligence : A branch of science that studies the capacity of
computers to demonstrate performing that if, it
were produced by human beings, would be
described as showing the intelligence.
Contents dimension : In Guilford’s three dimensional theory of
intelligence construction of intellect includes
five broad areas of information to which the
human intellect applies the six operations.
Factor analysis : Mathematical procedure, involving correlations,
for sorting trait terms or test responses into
clusters or factors. It identifies items that are
homogeneous or internally consistent.
Intelligence test : A standardised psychological test of general
mental ability.
Intelligence quotient (IQ) : An index of individual’s development
determined by dividing his mental age by his
chronological age and multiplying the result by
100.
Operations dimension : In Guilford’s three dimensional theory of
intelligence construction of intellect includes six
operations or general intellectual processes.
Products dimension : In Guilford’s three dimensional theory of
intelligence construction of intellect product
dimension contains results of applying particular
operations to specific contents. The SI model
includes six products, in increasing complexity:

Cianciolo, A. T., & Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Intelligence: A Brief History. Malden,
MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Das, J. P. (1998). The Working Mind: An Introduction to Psychology. New Delhi:
Sage
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New
York: Basic Books. 39
Intelligence and Creativity Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st
Century. New York: Basic Books.
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
References
Eysenck, H. J. (1972). Abilities. In H. J. Eysemck, W. J. Arnold, & R. Meili
(Eds.) Encyclopedia of psychology. (Volume 1). Bungay, Suffolk: The Search
Press (pp. 1-5)
Eysenck, M. W. (1990). Intelligence. In M. W. Eysenck (Ed.). The Blackwell
dictionary of cognitive psychology. Oxford, U. K.: Blackwell Reference
Gardner, H. (1975) .The shattered mind, New York: Knopf.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New
York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (1998). Are there additional intelligences? The case for naturalist,
spiritual, and existential intelligences. In J. Kane (Ed.), Education, information,
and transformation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill-Prentice Hall.
Gottfredson, L. (2003). Dissecting practical intelligence theory: Its claims and
its evidence. Intelligence, 31, 343-397.
Guilford, J. P. (1956). The structure of intellect. Psychological Bulletin, 53,
267-293
Guilford, J. P. (1977). Ways beyond the IQ: Guide to improving intelligence and
creativity. Buffalo, N.Y.: Creative Educational Foundation
Hunt, E. (2001). Multiple view of multiple intelligence. Contemporary
Psychology, 46, 5-7.
Morgan, H. (1996). An analysis of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence.
Roeper Review, 18, 263-270.
Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (1988). The triarchic mind: A new theory of human intelligence.
New York: Viking. Image courtesy of Robert J. Sternberg, taken by Michael
Marsland, Yale University, Office of Public Affairs.
Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Successful intelligence. New York: Simon & Schuster.
(Paperback edition: New York: Dutton, 1997).
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Thinking styles. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (1999). The theory of successful intelligence. Review of General
Psychology, 3, 292–316.
40
UNIT 3 MEASUREMENT OF INTELLIGENCE Intelligence (Guilford,
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Theoretical Background of Measurement of Intelligence
3.2.1 General Factor Theories
3.2.2 Multi-factor Theories
3.2.2.1 Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities/Group Factor Theory
3.2.2.2 Guilford’s Model of Structure of Intellect
3.2.2.3 Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence
3.2.2.4 Sternberg’ s Triarchic Theory
3.2.2.5 Vernon’s Hierarchical Theory
3.3 History of Measurement of Intelligence
3.3.1 Galton and Cattell
3.3.2 Contribution of Alfred Binet
3.3.3 The Concept of IQ
3.3.4 World War I and Army Personnel Selection
3.4 Major Intelligence Tests
3.4.1 Types of Intelligence Scales
3.4.1.1 Stanford-Binet Test
3.4.1.2 Wechsler Intelligence Scale
3.4.2 Wechsler’s Intelligence Scales
3.4.2.1 Structure of WAIS-IV
3.4.2.2 Subtests
3.4.2.3 The Processing Speed Index Includes Three Tests
3.4.3 Kaufman Assessment Scales
3.4.3.1 Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children
3.4.3.2 Structure of the KABC-II
3.5 Standard Scores and Scaled Scores
3.5.1 The Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Need to measure intelligence arise to trap individual differences in general mental
ability for a variety of purposes, such as academic classification, occupational
counseling and personnel selection. Intelligence tests can be defined as a test to
evaluate general level of cognitive functions and intellectual ability. In this unit
we will discuss theoretical background and evolution of intelligence tests. We
will also present an account of some of the widely used intelligence tests. The
unit will be concluded by highlighting the issues related to intelligence testing.
41
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define intelligence tests;
• Describe the concepts of IQ and deviation IQ;
• Explain the theoretical background of measurement of intelligence;
• Elucidate the history of intelligence tests;
• Explain the types of intelligence tests; and
• Describe various widely used intelligence tests.
3.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF

MEASUREMENT OF INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence tests differ a lot in the content and the way of measurement. These
differences arrive from the theoretical background they follow and also from
defining intelligence. Therefore, before discussing specific intelligence tests we
must understand the theoretical background they follow.
3.2.1 General Factor Theories

On the basis of factor analysis of scores on a number of tests, general factor
theories claim that intelligence is basically a general intellectual capacity which
is common for a number or all of activities. One of such theories was proposed
by Charles Spearman (1904) who claimed that there is a general or g-factor
which is essentially common in all the intellectual activities. Spearman suggested
that two tests truly measuring g would account for high positive correlation. In a
revision of the theory, he proposed a number of specific or s-factors required for
specific activities. Tests measuring distinct s-factors should account for zero-
correlation.
Jensen (1998) further advocated this viewpoint by arguing that g-factor is

manifested in behaviour in a number of ways and can be tested by almost unlimited
variety of conceptually independent items. Therefore, a number of distinct tests
can be constructed to measure g-factor with completely different form and content
of the items. However, Jensen’s idea that g is largely inherited and rarely
influenced by the environment was highly controversial and criticized.
Binet and Simon (1916) also conceptualised intelligence as a general intellectual

capacity. But he differed from Spearman and Jensen and proposed that this can
be measured by a variety of test items measuring several discrete abilities. An
integrated score, termed as intelligence quotient (IQ), on all of these ability tests
would account a true measurement of intelligence. According to Binet a general
intellectual capacity consists of the abilities of (a) abstract reasoning (b)
comprehension (c) clear direction of thought (d) purposeful thinking and (e)
self-corrective judgment.
3.2.2 Multi-factor Theories

Contrary to Spearman, multi-factor theories neglect the existence of g-factor
and state that intelligence is not an expression of innumerable highly specific
42
factors, nor is it the expression primarily of a general factor that pervades all Measurement of
Intelligence
mental activities. Such theories describe intelligence on the basis of groups of
traits or factors.
3.2.2.1 Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities/Group Factor Theory

The analysis of interpretation of Spearman’s and others’ general factor theories
led Thurstone to conclude that ‘certain’ mental operations have in common a
‘primary’ factor that gives them psychological and functional unity and that
differentiates them from other mental operations. These mental operations then
constitute a group. A second group of mental operation has its own unifying
primary factor, and so on. In other words, there are a number of groups of mental
abilities, each of which has its own primary factor, giving the group a functional
unity and cohesiveness. Each of these primary factors is said to be relatively
independent of the others.
Thurstone has given the following seven primary factors:
i) The Number Factor (N) refers to the ability to do rapid and accurate numerical
calculations.
ii) The Verbal Factor (V) refers to the ability of verbal comprehension.
iii) The Space Factor (S) is involved in a task requiring manipulation of the
imaginary objects in space.
iv) Memory (M) involves ability to memorize quickly.
v) Word Fluency (W) refers to the ability to think of isolated words at a rapid
rate.
vi) Reasoning (R) refers to the ability to discover a rule or principle involved in
a series or groups of letters.
vii) Perceptual Speed (P) is the ability to note visual details rapidly.
Based on these factors Thurstone constructed a new test of intelligence known
as “Test of Primary Mental Abilities (PMA).”
3.2.2.2 Guilford’s Model of Structure of Intellect

Guilford (1967) proposed a three dimensional structure of intellect model.
According to Guilford every intellectual task can be classified according to its
(1) content, (2) the mental operation involved and (3) the product resulting from
the operation. He further classified content into five categories, namely, visual,
auditory, symbolic, semantic and behavioural. He classified operations into five
categories, namely, cognition, memory retention, memory recording, Divergent
production, Convergent production and evaluation. He classified products into
six categories, namely, units, classes, relations, systems, transformations and
implications.
3.2.2.3 Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner in his book “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple
Intelligence” (1983), puts forth a new and different view of human intellectual
competencies. He argues boldly and cogently that we are all born with potential
to develop a multiplicity of Intelligence, most of which have been overlooked in
our testing society, and all of which can be drawn upon to make us competent
individuals. The multiple intelligence theory states that people possess eight types 43
Intelligence and Creativity of intelligence: (i) Linguistic, (ii) Logical, (iii) Spatial, (iv) Musical, (v) Motor
ability, (vi) Interpersonal, (vii) Intrapersonal and (viii) Naturalistic intelligence.
3.2.2.4 Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory

Psychologist Robert Sternberg (1985) has constructed a three-pronged or triarchic
theory of intelligence. The Three types are:
i) Analytical Intelligence is what we generally think of as academic ability. It
enables us to solve problems and to acquire new knowledge. Problem-solving
skill includes encoding information, combining and comparing pieces of
information and generating a solution.
ii) Creative Intelligence is defined by the abilities to cope with novel situations
and to profit from experience. The ability to quickly relate novel situations
to familiar situations (that is, to perceive similarities and differences) fosters
adaptation. Moreover, as a result of experience, we also become able to
solve problems more rapidly.
iii) Practical Intelligence enables people to adapt to the demands of their
environment. For example, keeping a job by adapting one’s behaviour to
the employer’s requirements is adaptive. But if the employer is making
unreasonable demands, reshaping the environment (by changing the
employer’s attitudes) or selecting an alternate environment (by finding a
more suitable job) is also adaptive.
3.2.2.5 Vernon’s Hierarchical Theory
Vernon’s description of different levels of intelligence may fill the gaps between
two extreme theories, the two-factor theory of Spearman, which did not allow
for the existence of group factors, and the multiple-factor theory of Turstone,
which did not allow a “g” factor. Intelligence can be described as comprising
abilities at varying levels of generality:
i) The highest level: “g” (general intelligence) factor with the largest source of
variance between individuals. (Spearman)
ii) The next level: major group factors such as verbal-numerical-educational
(v.ed) and practical-mechanical-spatial-physical (k.m.) ability.
iii) The next level: minor group factors are divided from major group factors.
iv) The bottom level: “s”(specific) factor. (Spearmen)
Beginning in 1969, Vernon became increasingly involved in studying the
contributions of environmental and genetic factors to intellectual development.
Vernon continued to analyse the effects of genes and the environment on both
individual and group difference in intelligence. He concludes that individual
difference in intelligence are approximately 60 percent attributable to genetic
factors, and that there is some evidence implicating genes in racial group
differences in average levels of mental ability.
3.3 HISTORY OF MEASUREMENT OF

INTELLIGENCE
At the time of early development of discipline psychologists were much more
interested in searching of generalised principles of human behaviour and
44
subsequently formulating universal theories. Measurement of individual Measurement of
Intelligence
differences received attention very late in the nineteenth century.
3.3.1 Galton and Cattell

The first institutional effort to measure individual differences came from the
British biologist Sir Francis Galton who administered simple tests of visual
discrimination, determining highest audible pitch and kinesthetic discrimination.
He thought that intelligence could be measured by the tests of sensory
discrimination. He believed that the ability to discriminate among heat, cold and
pain could discriminate the intelligent persons from the mentally retarded ones.
The term ‘mental test’ was used first time in the psychological literature by the
American psychologist James McKeen Cattell in 1890. He described a number
of tests to measure intellectual level of persons which included measures of
muscular strength, speed of movement, sensitivity to pain, keenness of vision
and of hearing, weight discrimination, reaction time, memory etc.
3.3.2 Contribution of Alfred Binet

Alfred Binet (1857-1911) set out to develop a series of tasks designed to measure
individual differences on the request of the French government due to the need
for a reliable diagnostic system to identify children with mental retardation. The
differences that he intended to delineate included a number of complex mental
facilities, such as memory, imagery, imagination, attention, comprehension,
aesthetic sentiment, moral sentiment, muscular strength, motor ability, and hand-
eye coordination. Together with physician Theodore Simon, Binet created the
Binet-Simon scale, which was published in 1905.
The 1905 Binet-Simon scale differed greatly from the scale that we use today.
The original scale consisted of 30 pass/fail items. The tasks were also different
from today’s items and required a combination of mental and physical strategies
to complete each task.
The major breakthrough of the Binet-Simon scale was the complexity of the
tasks and the breadth of mental abilities measured. Furthermore, intelligence
was finally able to be measured during a clinical interview, as opposed to in
laboratories or by using physical measurements.
Although the Binet-Simon scale is quite antiquated with regard to today’s

intelligence scale standards, many current day innovations were derived from
this scale. The concepts of strict administration, age-graded norms, and a rank
order of items ranging from least to most difficult, are but a few. Furthermore,
the inclusion of age-graded norms provided for the first estimate of mental age.
The first revision of the Binet scale was in 1908; however, the majority of the
scale was left unchanged. By 1911, the scale was in its second revision and the
age range had been extended through adulthood, as opposed to its previous use
for the diagnosis of mental retardation in children. With the inclusion of adults,
the scales needed to be rebalanced, which Binet did by including five items for
each age level.
The abilities targeted by the 1911 edition were language, auditory processing,
visual processing, learning and memory, and problem solving. By 1912, Lewis
45
Intelligence and Creativity M. Terman of Stanford University began revisions on the 1911 Binet scale which
was published in 1916 and was entitled the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.
The advantages that the Stanford-Binet had over other intelligence scales of the
time were many. The first, and seemingly most simplistic, was that the 1916
version was the most comprehensive revision of Binet’s original scale. The second,
and perhaps the most important, was that the standardisation procedure used by
Terman was the most rigorous of the time. The third advantage was the inclusion
of an extensive manual, both for administration of the test as well as for use as a
teaching aide for understanding the test.
3.3.3 The Concept of IQ

The most important development in the area of intelligence testing was adaptation
of Stern’s (1912) concept of an intelligence quotient in the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale. Stern put forth the notion that to derive an intelligence quotient
(IQ) and Terman incorporated this concept into the 1916 version of Stanford-
Binet Scale. To obtain the IQ a person’s mental age is divided by his/her
chronological or real age. This product is further multiplied by hundred to avoid
decimal fractions.
Mental Age
IQ = ————————— × 100
Chronological Age
3.3.4 World War I and Army Personnel Selection

During World War I in 1917 a committee of American Psychological Association,
under leadership of Robert M. Yerkes, prescribed the use of intelligence tests for
rapid classification of army personnel. In view of this, American Army
psychologists developed two tests: (i) Army Alpha and (ii) Army Beta. Both the
tests were group tests in which the first was a language test, while the second
was a non-language-performance test.

1) Describe the contributions of Galton and Cattell in the development of
measurement of individual differences.
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2) Explain first Simon-Binet Test and its improvement over earlier tests.
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46
Measurement of
3) Illustrate the concept of IQ. Intelligence
...............................................................................................................
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3.4 MAJOR INTELLIGENCE TESTS

Intelligence tests are classified on several bases.
i) Individual and Group tests (Target)
ii) Verbal and Non verbal tests
Individual and Group Tests
The first of these classification, individual and group tests, is based on their
administration. An individual test is one that can be administered only at one
person at a time (Simon-Binet). During World War I rapid and mass classification
of army personnel was required and such tests could not fulfil these needs.
Therefore, group intelligence tests were developed which could be administered
on a group of individuals at one go (Army Alpha and Army Beta).
Verbal / non verbal tests

Another classification of intelligence tests based on the form and content of the
test items is verbal/paper-pencil tests and non-verbal/performance tests. Verbal
tests use written language for its items and therefore, require the examinees to be
literate. Items of performance tests do not use language at all and are manipulative
in form and nature. Examinees are required to manipulate the items in a particular
and desired manner. Hence, such tests can be effectively administered on
illiterates, children and deaf persons also. Some of the performance tests claim
to be suitably used at persons from different cultures and prefer to be called as
culture-free, culture-fair, culture-reduced and cross-cultural tests.
3.4.1 Types of Intelligence Scales

There are many types of intelligence a few of which are presented below.
3.4.1.1 Stanford-Binet Test

Terman had revised the Stanford Binet with the help of Maud Merrill in 1937 as
the Revised Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. The revision included two alternate
forms, the L form and the M form, each with 129 items.
The third revision of the Stanford-Binet came after Terman’s death in 1960 and
was constructed primarily by Merrill. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Form
L-M, was different from its predecessor in that it included a deviation intelligence
quotient with a normative mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16. This 47
Intelligence and Creativity version also included the 142 most pertinent items from the two previous forms
of the test (Roid, 2003).
The fourth revision of the Stanford-Binet, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
(SB4) came in 1986 and retained much of the content of the Form L-M edition.
The same age range was covered; many of the same items and tasks were retained,
and the basal and ceiling procedures were quite similar.
The greatest advance of the fourth edition was that, like the fifth edition, the
fourth edition was based on a hierarchical model of intelligence. The four main
areas assessed were verbal reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, quantitative
reasoning, and short-term memory. The fourth edition not only provided an overall
intelligence quotient, but composite scores as well. Furthermore, to establish a
basal level, the Vocabulary subtest of the fourth edition was used as a routing
subtest, along with the subject’s chronological age (Roid, 2003).
The latest version of the test, the Stanford- Binet Intelligence Scales–Fifth Edition
(SB5) differs significantly from the SB4 with regard to theoretical structure, as
the SB5 adheres rather strictly to the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) cognitive theory
and the SB4 adheres to a less strict psychometric design.
The changes between the fourth and the fifth editions of the Binet scale included
changes in the layout of the test, norm standards, and the underlying theoretical
structure of the instrument. (Roid, 2003).
The SB5 is used to assess intellectual ability in individuals between the ages of
two and 89 years, is individually administered, and contains 10 subscales. The
three areas assessed by the SB5 are: general cognitive functioning, verbal and
nonverbal intelligence and five CHC factors formed into groups along verbal/
nonverbal measures. The nonverbal portion of the SB5 accounts for 50% of the
test and ranges across all factors, which is unique to the SB5 among cognitive
batteries.
The five CHC factors that the SB5 measures are Fluid Reasoning, Knowledge,
Quantitative Reasoning, Visual-Spatial Processing, and Working Memory.
Together, the ten subtests yield an overall estimate of cognitive functioning, which
is the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (Roid, 2003) and nonverbal contrast, an
abbreviated version, and a nonverbal form of the test.
Composites and subtests of the SB5
The SB5 is comprised of 5 composite scores each with a verbal and a nonverbal
test-let, for a total of 10 subtests. Structure of the test is given below:
Factor Domains
Indices Nonverbal Verbal
Activity: Object-Series/ Activities: Early Reasoning, Verbal
Fluid
Matrices Absurdities, Verbal Analogies
Reasoning
Requires the ability to solve Requires the ability to analyse and
novel figural problems and explain, using deductive and
identify sequences of pictured inductive reasoning, problems
objects or matrix-type figural involving cause effect connections
and geometric patterns. in pictures, classification of
objects, absurd statements, and
interrelationships among words.
48
Measurement of
Knowledge Activity: Procedural Knowledge, Activity: Vocabulary Intelligence
Picture Absurdities
Requires the ability to apply
Requires knowledge about accumulated knowledge of
common signals, actions, and concepts and language and to
objects and the ability to identify and define increasingly
identify absurd or missing difficult words.
details in pictorial material.
Quantitative Activity: Nonverbal Quantitative Activity: Verbal Quantitative
Reasoning Reasoning
Reasoning
Requires the ability to solve
Requires the ability to solve
increasingly difficult pre-
increasingly difficult mathematical
mathematic, arithmetic,
tasks involving basic numerical
algebraic, or functional concepts
concepts, counting, and word
and relationships depicted in
problems.
illustrations.
Visual- Activity: Form Board, Form Activity: Position and Direction
Spatial Patterns
Requires the ability to identify
Processing Requires the ability to visualise common objects and pictures using
and solve spatial and figural common visual-spatial terms such
problems presented as as “behind” and “farthest left,”
“puzzles” or complete patterns explain spatial directions for
by moving plastic pieces into reaching a pictured destination, or
place. indicate direction and position in
relation to a reference point
Working Activity: Delayed Response, Activity: Memory for Sentences,
Memory Block Span Last Word
Requires the ability to sort Requires the ability to demonstrate
visual information in short-term short-term and working memory
memory and to demonstrate for words and sentences and to
short-term and working memory store, sort, and recall verbal
skills for tapping sequences of information in short-term memory.
blocks.
Scoring and Interpretation

The SB5 can be hand-scored or scored with optional scoring software. At the
most granular level of the norm-referenced scores are the ten subtest scores (scaled
scores have a mean of 10, SD=3, score range 1-19).
These subtest scores combine to form four types of composite scores: factor
index, domain, abbreviated, and full scale (each with scaled score means of 100,
SD=15, score range 40-160). Two subtests (one verbal, the other its nonverbal
complement) combine to form each factor index.
There are two domain scales: Nonverbal IQ (combines the five nonverbal subtests)
and Verbal IQ (combines the five verbal subtests). Two routing subtests combine
to form the Abbreviated Battery IQ. Finally, the Full Scale IQ combines all ten
subtests.
The Change-Sensitive Scores (CSSs) use item response theory scaling to convert
the raw score totals on the composite scales described above into criterion-
referenced levels of ability. These scales, as with the norm-referenced scores,
49
Intelligence and Creativity have excellent measurement properties. Because the CSSs reference absolute
levels of ability, they provide a means to compare changes in an individual’s
scores over time. Scores range from the 2-year-old level (about 430) to the adult
level (about 520). All of the SB5 items have been calibrated to this scale, and the
difficulty of each item has a location along that scale. The scores will be
particularly useful for the evaluation of extreme performance levels.
The SB5 also offers age-equivalent scores derived from CSSs, along with a CSS-
based abbreviated battery score making use of raw scores from the Nonverbal
Reasoning and Verbal Knowledge subtests. Finally, the Interpretive Manual
describes a hand-scoring procedure for deriving an extended Full Scale IQ score
that allows for scores below 40 and above 160. A variety of interpretive
frameworks, such as Examiner’s Manual, Interpretive Manual, or the SB5 Scoring
Pro software, can be applied to the results of this test.
3.4.1.2 Wechsler Intelligence Scales

The first Wechsler intelligence scale came in 1939. After that Wechsler scales
have gone through several successive revisions for three different categories: (i)
for adults (16-90 years), (ii) for school-going children (6-16 years) and (iii) for
pre-schoolers (2½-7 years). Year-wise development of these scales is given below:
Wechsler Adult Wechsler Intelligence Wechsler Preschool

Intelligence Scale Scale for Children and Primary Scale of
(WAIS) (WISC) Intelligence
Wechsler-Bellevue-I:1939 Wechsler-Bellevue-II: 1946 WPPSI: 1967
WAIS: 1955 WISC: 1949 WPPSI-R: 1989
WAIS-R: 1981 WISC-R: 1974 WPPSI-III: 2002
WAIS-III: 1997 WISC-III: 1991
WAIS-IV: 2008 WISC-IV: 2003
Since its publication, the Wechsler intelligence scales have been the most used
instruments among clinical and school psychologists for assessing the cognitive
abilities of children, adolescents and adults. Wechsler viewed the construct of
intelligence not only as a global entity but also as an aggregate of specific abilities
that are qualitatively different. Intelligence is global because it characterises the
individual’s behaviour as a whole.
3.4.2 Wechsler’s Intelligence Scales

Wechsler (1944) defined intelligence in a general behavioural term as the capacity
to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with the environment.
He also believed that intelligence is specific because it is made up of elements or
abilities that are qualitatively different and can be measured by a variety of tests.
Factor analytic researches of intelligence test scores also suggest that intelligence
is composed of specific abilities that form clusters of higher order ability domains.
3.4.2.1 Structure of WAIS-IV

The current version of the test, the WAIS-IV, which was released in 2008, is
composed of 10 core subtests and five supplemental subtests, with the 10 core
subtests comprising the Full Scale IQ. With the new WAIS-IV, the verbal/
performance subscales from previous versions were removed and replaced by
50
the index scores. The General Ability Index (GAI) was included, which consists Measurement of
Intelligence
of the Similarities, Vocabulary and Information subtests from the Verbal
Comprehension Index and the Block Design, Matrix Reasoning and Visual
Puzzles subtests from the Perceptual Reasoning Index. The GAI is clinically
useful because it can be used as a measure of cognitive abilities that are less
vulnerable to impairment.
Indices and scales
There are four index scores representing major components of intelligence:
• Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
• Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
• Working Memory Index (WMI)
• Processing Speed Index (PSI)
Two broad scores are also generated, which can be used to summarize general
intellectual abilities:
• Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), based on the total combined performance of the VCI,
PRI, WMI, and PSI
• General Ability Index (GAI), based only on the six subtests that comprise
the VCI and PRI
3.4.2.2 Subtests
The Verbal Comprehension Index includes four tests:
• Similarities: Abstract verbal reasoning (e.g., “In what way are an apple and
a pear alike?”)
• Vocabulary: The degree to which one has learned, been able to comprehend
and verbally express vocabulary (e.g., “What is a guitar?”)
• Information: Degree of general information acquired from culture (e.g., “Who
is the president of Russia?”)
• Comprehension [Supplemental]: Ability to deal with abstract social
conventions, rules and expressions (e.g., “What does Kill 2 birds with 1
stone metaphorically mean?”)
The Perceptual Reasoning Index comprises five tests
• Block Design: Spatial perception, visual abstract processing and problem
solving
• Matrix Reasoning: Nonverbal abstract problem solving, inductive reasoning,
spatial reasoning
• Visual Puzzles: non-verbal reasoning
• Picture Completion [Supplemental]: Ability to quickly perceive visual details
• Figure Weights [Supplemental]: quantitative and analogical reasoning
The Working Memory Index is obtained from three tests
• Digit span: attention, concentration, mental control (e.g., Repeat the numbers
1-2-3 in reverse sequence)
• Arithmetic: Concentration while manipulating mental mathematical
problems (e.g., “How many 45-cent stamps can you buy for a dollar?”) 51
Intelligence and Creativity • Letter-Number Sequencing [Supplemental]: attention and working memory
(e.g., Repeat the sequence Q-1-B-3-J-2, but place the numbers in numerical
order and then the letters in alphabetical order)
3.4.2.3 The Processing Speed Index Includes Three Tests
• Symbol Search: Visual perception, speed
• Coding: Visual-motor coordination, motor and mental speed
• Cancellation [Supplemental]: visual-perceptual speed
Interpretation
Wechsler scales use an innovative deviation IQ score for interpretation of an
individual’s score. The deviation IQ is based on standard scores computed with
the same distributional characteristics at all ages and makes comparison among
peers more meaningful and the interpretation more straightforward. The WAIS-
IV was standardized on a sample of 2,200 people in the United States ranging in
age from 16 to 90. An extension of the standardisation has been conducted with
688 Canadians in the same age range. The median Full Scale IQ is centered at
100, with a standard deviation of 15. In a normal distribution, the IQ range of
one standard deviation above and below the mean (i.e., between 85 and 115) is
where approximately 68% of all adults would fall.
3.4.3 Kaufman Assessment Scales

The first Kaufman Scale, Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC;
Kaufman & Kaufman, 1983) was developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s
and was published in 1983, during a time when IQ was largely a Wechsler-Binet
monopoly. This scale intended to bridge the gap between theories of intelligence
and measures of intelligence. Two important tests of this series are given below:
3.4.3.1 Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

The second revision of K-ABC, the KABC-II was published in 2004 for the Age
range of 3 to 18 years. This test measures learning (long-term retrieval), sequential
processing (short-term memory), simultaneous processing (visualisation),
planning (fluid ability) and verbal knowledge (crystallised ability). The KABC-
II is founded in two theoretical models: Luria’s (1973) neuropsychological model,
featuring three blocks, and the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) approach to
categorising specific cognitive abilities (Carroll, 1997). The KABC-II yields a
separate global score for each of these two theoretical models: The global score
measuring general mental processing ability from the Luria perspective is the
Mental Processing Index (MPI), and global score measuring general cognitive
ability from the CHC perspective is the Fluid-Crystallised Index (FCI). The key
difference between these two global scores is that the MPI (Luria’s theory)
excludes measures of acquired knowledge, whereas the FCI (CHC theory)
includes measures of acquired knowledge. Only one of these two global scores
is computed for any examinee. Prior to testing a client, examiners choose the
interpretive system (i.e., Luria or CHC) that best fits with both their personal
orientation and the reason for referral. Deciding which interpretive system to
use will dictate which global score is reported and also whether measures of
acquired knowledge are included from the core battery. The authors of the KABC-
II clearly state in the manual that “the CHC model should generally be the model
of choice, except in cases where the examiner believes that including measures
52
of acquired knowledge/crystallised ability would compromise the validity of the Measurement of
Intelligence
Fluid-Crystallised Index.” In those cases, the Luria global score (MPI) is preferred.
3.4.3.2 Structure of the KABC-II

The complete scale description of KABC-II is given in the table below:
Scales Subtests Description
Sequential/Gsm
Word Order The child touches a series of silhouettes of common
objects in the same order as the examiner said the names
of the objects; more difficult items include an
interference task (colour naming) between the stimulus
and response
Number Recall The child repeats a series of numbers in the same
sequence as the examiner said them, with series ranging
in length from two to nine numbers; the numbers are
single digits, except that 10 is used instead of 7 to ensure
that all numbers are one syllable.
Hand Movements The child copies the examiner’s precise sequence of
taps on the table with the fist, palm, or side of the hand.
Simultaneous/Gv
Rover The child moves a toy dog to a bone on a checkerboard
like grid that contains obstacles (rocks and weeds) and
tries to find the “quickest” path—the one that takes
the fewest moves.
Triangles For most items, the child assembles several identical
rubber triangles (blue on one side, yellow on the other)
to match a picture of an abstract design; for easier items,
the child assembles a different set of colourful plastic
shapes to match a model constructed by the examiner.
Conceptual Thinking The child views a set of four or five pictures and
identifies the one picture that does not belong with the
others; some items present meaningful stimuli and
others use abstract stimuli.
Face Recognition The child attends closely to photographs of one or two
faces that are exposed briefly and then selects the
correct face or faces, shown in a different pose, from a
group photograph.
Gestalt Closure The child mentally fills in the gaps in a partially
completed inkblot drawing and names (or describes)
the object or action depicted in the drawing.
Block Counting The child counts the exact number of blocks in various
pictures of stacks of blocks; the stacks are configured
such that one or more blocks is hidden or partially
hidden from view.
53
Planning/Gf
Pattern Reasoning The child is shown a series of stimuli that form a logical,
linear pattern, but one stimulus is missing; the child
completes the pattern by selecting the correct stimulus
from an array of four to six options at the bottom of
the page (most stimuli are abstract, geometric shapes,
but some easy items use meaningful stimuli).
Story Completion The child is shown a row of pictures that tell a story,
but some of the pictures are missing. The child is given
a set of pictures, selects only the ones that are needed
to complete the story, and places the missing pictures
in their correct location.
Learning/Glr
Atlantis The examiner teaches the child the nonsense names
for fanciful pictures of fish, plants, and shells; the child
demonstrates learning by pointing to each picture (out
of an array of pictures) when it is named.
Atlantis Delayed The child demonstrates delayed recall of paired
associations learned about 15–25 minutes earlier during
Atlantis by pointing to the picture of the fish, plant, or
shell that is named by the examiner.
Rebus Learning The examiner teaches the child the word or concept
associated with each particular rebus (drawing), and
the child then “reads” aloud phrases and sentences
composed of these rebuses.
Rebus Learning The child demonstrates delayed recall of paired
Delayed associations learned about 15–25 minutes earlier during
Rebus by “reading” phrases and sentences composed
of those same rebuses.
Knowledge/Gc
Riddles The examiner provides several characteristics of a
concrete or abstract verbal concept, and the child has
to point to it (early items) or name it (later items).
Expressive Vocabulary The child provides the name of a pictured object.
Verbal Knowledge The child selects from an array of six pictures the one
that corresponds to a vocabulary word or answers a
general information question.
(Source: KABC-II Manual; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004).
3.5 STANDARD SCORES AND SCALED SCORES

The KABC-II’s two global scores, the MPI and FCI, both are standard scores
with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation (SD) of 15. However, only one of
these two global scores is computed and interpreted for any child or adolescent
who is evaluated, based on the examiner’s choice of the Luria or CHC model for
that individual. Like the MPI and FCI, the KABC-II Nonverbal Index is also a
54
standard score with a mean of 100 and SD of 15. The five additional KABC-II Measurement of
Intelligence
scales offered for ages 4–18 each have a mean of 100 and SD of 15 (but only the
MPI and FCI are offered at age 3). All KABC-II subtests have a mean of 10 and
SD of 3. The Core subtest standard scores contribute to the scales, but the
Supplementary scaled scores do not (except for the special Nonverbal scale).
3.5.1 The Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test

The Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT) was developed by
Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman in 1993 and is an individually
administered intelligence test for individuals ranging from 11 to 85-plus years of
age. It has a strong theoretical base integrating Horn and Cattell’s concept of
fluid and crystallised intelligence, Luria and Golden’s notion of frontal lobe
planning ability, and Piaget’s construct of formal operational thought. The test is
comprised of crystallised scale (measuring concepts acquired from schooling
and acculturation) and fluid scale measuring (ability to solve new problems).
Core battery of test is composed of three subtests from each of the scales. The
expanded battery is used with persons having neurological damage. For the
persons with cognitive impairment, who cannot take the full battery, mental status
test is administered to assess the person’s attention and orientation.

1) Describe the development of Stanford-Binet Scales. Explain the structure
and interpretation of SB5.
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2) What are the variants of Wechsler Scales? Describe the structure and
interpretation of WAIS-IV.
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3) What are the theoretical bases of Kaufman Assessment Scales? Describe
KABC-II and KAIT.
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55
3.6 LET US SUM UP
Intelligence tests measure individual differences in terms of cognitive functions
and intellectual abilities. Some of the intelligence tests theoretically incline to
measure a general intellectual ability and give an integrated intelligence score
(IQ), while, other tests are focussed on measuring groups of factors for a variety
of mental activities. Tests also differ in the ways of administration (individual
and group tests) and form and nature of their items (verbal/paper-pencil tests
and non-verbal/performance tests). Culture-free tests claim to be usable to the
persons from different cultures. Modern intelligence testing started with Simon-
Binet test in 1905. A series of revisions of the test has been published by Terman
and the currently used version of the test is SB5. A number of variants of Wechsler
scales have been most used instruments of cognitive assessment and very useful
tool for clinical and neuro-psychological practitioners and researchers. The test
introduced an innovative deviation IQ based on the standard scores. The currently
used Kaufman assessment scales, KABC-II, is the most theoretically grounded
and psychometrically rigorous test. The test is based on two theoretical models:
Luria’s neuropsychological model and the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) approach
to categorising specific cognitive abilities. The provides separate global scores
for each of these two theoretical models: The global score measuring general
mental processing ability from the Luria perspective is the Mental Processing
Index, and global score measuring general cognitive ability from the CHC
perspective is the Fluid-Crystallised Index.

1) Define intelligence tests and explain the theoretical background of
measurement of intelligence.
2) Describe the history of intelligence tests and present an account of the
concepts of IQ and deviation IQ.
3) Explain the types of intelligence tests with their relative advantages and
disadvantages.
4) Describe the development of Simon-Binet tests. Also present a detailed
account of SB5.
5) Provide a historical account of development of variants of Wechsler Scales.
Describe the nature, structure and interpretation of WAIS-IV.
6) By explaining theoretical grounds of Kaufman’s Scales present a complete
description of structure and interpretation of KABC-II and KAIT.
3.8 GLOSSARY
Intelligence tests : Tests defined as a test to evaluate general level of
cognitive functions and intellectual ability.
General factor : Factor which is essentially common in all the
intellectual activities.
Specific factors : Factors required for specific intellectual activities.
IQ : Intelligence quotient is an integrated intelligence
score obtained by dividing person’s mental age by
56
his/her chronological or real age and further Measurement of
Intelligence
multiplied by hundred ({MA/CA} X 100).
Individual test : Test that can be administered at only one person at a
time.
Group tests : Tests that can be administered on a group of
individuals at one go.
Verbal/Paper-pencil : Tests that use written language for its items.
tests
Non-verbal/ : Items of performance tests do not use language, are
Performance tests manipulative in nature and examinees are required
to manipulate the items in a particular and desired
manner.
Culture-free tests : Performance tests that claim to be suitably used at
persons from different cultures.
Deviation IQ : The deviation IQ is based on standard scores
computed with the same distributional characteristics
at all ages and makes intra-group comparison
meaningful.

Anastasi, A. & Urbaina, S. (1997). Psychological Testing. Pearson Prentice Hall,
Inc.
Hersen, M. (2004). Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment (Vol.
1). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
References
Binet, A. & Simon T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children (E.S.
Kit, Translator). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Carroll, J.B. (1997). The three-stratum theory of cognitive abilities. Contemporary
Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests and Issues. New York: Guilford.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence. New
York: Basic Book Inc.
Guilford, J.P. (1967). The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Jensen, A.R. (1998). The G factor: The science of mental ability. Westport:
Praeger.
Kaufman, A. S., & Kaufman, N. L. (1983). Kaufman Assessment Battery for
Children. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance System.
Kaufman, A. S., & Kaufman, N. L. (2004). Kaufman Assessment Battery for
Children: Technical manual (2nd ed.). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance
Service.
Luria, A. R. (1973). The working brain. Harmondsworth, England:Penguin.
Roid, G.H. (2003). Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Technical Manual. (5th
Ed.). Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing.
57
Intelligence and Creativity Spearman, C. (1904). “General intelligence,” objectively determined and
measured. American Journal of Psychology, 15, 201-293.
Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond I.Q.: A triarchic theory of human intelligence.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stern, W. (1912). The Psychological Methods of Intelligence Testing (G. Whipple,
Trans.). Baltimore: Warwick and York.
Wechsler, D. (1944). The measurement of adult intelligence (3rd ed.). Baltimore:
Williams & Wilkins.
58
Measurement of
UNIT 4 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM Intelligence
SOLVING
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Creativity
4.2.1 Meaning and Aspects of Creativity
4.2.2 Investment and Confluence Theory of Creativity
4.2.3 Aspects of Creativity
4.2.4 Stages of Creativity
4.2.5 Creativity and Intelligence
4.2.6 Measurement of Creativity
4.3 Problem Solving
4.3.1 Terms Related to Problem Solving
4.3.2 Typologies of Problems
4.3.3 Stages of Problem Solving
4.3.4 Strategies of Problem Solving
4.3.4.1 Algorithms
4.3.4.2 Heuristics
4.3.5 Factors Affecting Problem Solving
4.4 Let Us Sum Up
4.6 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Human being is exceptionally blessed with the higher level thinking abilities of
creativity and problem solving. Such activities require use of already stored
information along with the information concurrently received from the
environment. A thorough account of these multi-step processes will be presented
in this unit. First of all, we will discuss meaning, aspects and stages of creativity.
This will be followed by a description of measurement of creativity and its
relationship with intelligence. We will also discuss meaning, stages and strategies
of problem solving. Finally, factors affecting problem solving will be discussed.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
• Explain meaning, aspects and stages of creativity;
• Describe the tests to measure creativity and relate it with intelligence;
• Explain meaning, stages and strategies of problem solving; and
• Analyse the factors affecting problem solving.
59
4.2 CREATIVITY
The most advanced thought process, creativity, involves production of uncommon
and novel ideas that are highly relevant to the situation. Creativity is defined as
something different from intelligence and as a parallel construct to intelligence,
but it differs from intelligence in that it is not restricted to cognitive or intellectual
functioning or behaviour. Instead, it is concerned with a complex mix of
motivational conditions, personality factors, environmental conditions, chance
factors, and even products (Michalko, 1998).
4.2.1 Meaning and Aspects of Creativity

Creativity is a goal directed thinking which is unusual, novel and useful. Many
of such creative thinking become so important that they influence the whole
human civilisation and are called as historical creativity. The Mona Lisa, the
laws of thermodynamics, the laws of motion, the theory of relativity are some of
the ideas that were never thought before and changed the human civilisation
altogether in a great way in their respective spheres of life. Although we can
accept its existence and importance, it has been a highly difficult task for the
researchers to define creativity.
Newell, Shaw and Simon (1963) have explained the nature of creativity on the
basis of following four criteria:
a) Novelty and usefulness
b) Rejects previously accepted ideas
c) Requires intense motivation and persistence
d) Results from organising the unclear situation in a coherent, clear and new
way.
Sternberg (2006) reports five commonalities in the research of creativity. These
are:
1) Creativity involves thinking that aims at producing ideas or products that
are relatively novel and that are, in some respect, compelling.
2) Creativity has some domain-specific and domain-general elements in the
sense that it needs some specific knowledge, but there are certain elements
of creativity that cut across different domains.
3) Creativity is measureable, at least to some extent.
4) Creativity can be developed and promoted.
5) Creativity is not highly rewarded in practice, as it is supposed to be in theory.
Sternberg and Lubart (1999) define creativity as the ability to produce work that
is both novel (i.e. original, unexpected) and appropriate (i.e. useful concerning
tasks constrains).
Runco (2007) categorised these definitions of creativity as involving the creation

of something new and useful and calls them as “products definitions” of creativity.
However, he thought that creative thinking did not essentially require tangible
creative products; rather the process should be more focused in defining creativity.
60
Studies in cognitive psychology have tried to understand the process of creative Creativity and Problem
Solving
thinking. These researches assumed that creativity is just extraordinary results
of ordinary processes (Smith, Ward & Finke 1995). The process of creativity is
thought to have following four characteristics:
1) It is imaginative involving imagination, since it is the process of generating
something original.
2) It is purposeful, that is, creativity is imagination put into action towards an
end.
3) It produces something original in relation to one’s own previous work, to
their peer group or to anyone’s previous output in a particular field.
4) It has value in respect to the objective it was applied for. Creativity involves
not only the generation of ideas, but also evaluation of them, and deciding
which one is the most adequate one.
Beghetto and Kaufman (2007) conceptualised creativity in three different ways.
They defined creativity as novel and personally meaningful interpretation of
experiences, actions, and events. However, the novelty and meaningfulness of
these interpretations need not require to be original or (even meaningful) to others.
Indeed, the judgment of novelty and meaningfulness that constitutes creativity is
an intrapersonal judgment. This intrapersonal judgment is what distinguishes
creativity from other forms of creative expressions.
There are two types of creativeity (i) little-c (or everyday) creativity and (ii) Big-
C (or eminent) creativity. The latter two forms of creativity rely on interpersonal
and historical judgments of novelty, appropriateness, and lasting impact.
4.2.2 Investment and Confluence Theory of Creativity

Sternberg (2006) has proposed investment and confluence theory to understand
creativity. According to the investment theory, creativity requires a confluence
of six distinct but interrelated resources: intellectual abilities, knowledge, styles
of thinking, personality, motivation, and environment. Although levels of these
resources are sources of individual differences, often the decision to use a resource
is a more important source of individual differences.
Intellectual skills: Three intellectual skills are particularly important: (a) the
synthetic skill to see problems in new ways and to escape the bounds of
conventional thinking, (b) the analytic skill to recognise which of one’s ideas are
worth pursuing and which are not, and (c) the practical–contextual skill to know
how to persuade others of—to sell other people on—the value of one’s ideas.
The confluence of these three skills is also important. Analytic skills used in the
absence of the other two skills results in powerful critical, but not creative,
thinking. Synthetic skill used in the absence of the other two skills results in new
ideas that are not subjected to the scrutiny required to improve them and make
them work. Practical–contextual skill in the absence of the other two skills may
result in societal acceptance of ideas not because the ideas are good, but rather,
because the ideas have been well and powerfully presented.
Knowledge: On the one hand, one needs to know enough about a field to move
it forward. One cannot move beyond where a field is if one does not know where
it is. On the other hand, knowledge about a field can result in a closed and
61
Intelligence and Creativity entrenched perspective, resulting in a person’s not moving beyond the way in
which he or she has seen problems in the past. Knowledge thus can help, or it
can hinder creativity.
Thinking styles: Thinking styles are preferred ways of using one’s skills. In
essence, they are decisions about how to deploy the skills available to a person.
With regard to thinking styles, a legislative style is particularly important for
creativity, that is, a preference for thinking and a decision to think in new ways.
This preference needs to be distinguished from the ability to think creatively:
Someone may like to think along new lines, but not think well, or vice versa. It
also helps to become a major creative thinker, if one is able to think globally as
well as locally, distinguishing the forest from the trees and thereby recognising
which questions are important and which ones are not.
Personality: Numerous research investigations have supported the importance

of certain personality attributes for creative functioning. These attributes include,
but are not limited to, willingness to overcome obstacles, willingness to take
sensible risks, willingness to tolerate ambiguity, and self-efficacy. In particular,
buying low and selling high typically means defying the crowd, so that one has
to be willing to stand up to conventions if one wants to think and act in creative
ways. Often creative people seek opposition; that is, they decide to think in ways
that countervail how others think. Note that none of the attributes of creative
thinking is fixed. One can decide to overcome obstacles, take sensible risks, and
so forth.
Motivation: Intrinsic, task-focused motivation is also essential to creativity. The

research of Amabile (1983) and others has shown the importance of such
motivation for creative work and has suggested that people rarely do truly creative
work in an area unless they really love what they are doing and focus on the
work rather than the potential rewards. Motivation is not something inherent in
a person: One decides to be motivated by one thing or another. Often, people
who need to work in a certain area that does not particularly interest them will
decide that, given the need to work in that area, they had better find a way to
make it interest them. They will then look for some angle on the work they need
to do that makes this work appeal to rather than bore them.
Environment: Finally, one needs an environment that is supportive and rewarding

of creative ideas. One could have all of the internal resources needed to think
creatively, but without some environmental support (such as a forum for proposing
those ideas), the creativity that a person has within him or her might never be
displayed.
Confluence: Concerning the confluence of these six components, creativity is

hypothesized to involve more than a simple sum of a person’s level on each
component. First, there may be thresholds for some components (e.g., knowledge)
below which creativity is not possible regardless of the levels on other
components. Second, partial compensation may occur in which strength on one
component (e.g., motivation) counteracts a weakness on another component (e.g.,
environment). Third, interactions may occur between components, such as
intelligence and motivation, in which high levels on both components could
multiplicatively enhance creativity.
62
4.2.3 Aspects of Creativity Creativity and Problem
Solving
Guilford (1986) considered creative thinking as involving divergent thinking,
which emphasises fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. Guilford,
however, noted that creative thinking is not the same as divergent thinking,
because creativity requires sensitivity to problems as well as redefinition abilities,
which include transformations of thought, reinterpretations, and freedom from
functional fixedness in driving unique solutions. In order to develop Torrance
Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and in its further revisions, Torrance (1966,
1974) has explained six components of creativity. He has described these aspects
of creativity in terms of their mode of measurement. These aspects of creativity
are:
1) Fluency: The number of relevant ideas; shows an ability to produce a number
of figural images.
2) Flexibility: Flexibility is the individual’s ability to produce not only a large
number of responses, ideas or solutions to a problem, but also a variety of
responses, ideas or solutions to a problem.
3) Originality: The number of statistically infrequent ideas; shows an ability
to produce uncommon or unique responses.
4) Elaboration: The number of added ideas; demonstrates the subject’s ability
to develop and elaborate on ideas.
5) Abstractness of Titles: The degree beyond labeling; based on the idea that
creativity requires an abstraction of thought. It measures the degree a title
moves beyond concrete labeling of the pictures drawn.
6) Resistance to Premature Closure: The degree of psychological openness;
based on the belief that creative behaviour requires a person to consider a
variety of information when processing information and to keep an “open
mind.”

1) Define the process of creativity.
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2) Describe that how different psychologists differ in understanding
creativity.
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63
3) Explain that how Investment and Confluence Theory of approaches
creativity.
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4) Give an account of aspects of creative thinking.
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4.2.4 Stages of Creativity

The history of research on stages of creativity began with Graham Wallas (1926)
who suggested that creative thinking follows four successive steps:
Stage of preparation: The subject begins to gather information about the problem
to be solved and attempts some solutions. This stage is characterised by a state
of trial-and-error in learning. Therefore, the subject is advised to learn as much
as possible about the problem area. In preparation the thinker begins recalling
personal experiences and investigating in all different directions to gather
information about the problem to be solved. The object of defining the focus
question of interest is to list all concepts associated with the focus question.
Since the goal from this procedure is to generate the largest possible list, the
thinker should not worry about redundancy, relative importance, or relationships
at this point.
Stage of incubation: In the second stage the solution exists but is not clear. The
subject must not intentionally work on the problem. Instead it is allowed to sink
into the unconscious. In this stage the solution exists but is not clear. Therefore,
the thinker must not intentionally work on the problem. Instead, he/she should
be allowed to sink into the unconscious and the thinker is advised to relax and
reflect on his/her focus question which might lead him/her to modification of
the focus question.
Stage of illumination: In the third stage the subject suddenly experiences insight
into the problem when a new solution, idea, or relationship emerges. In other
words, the subject attempts to reformulate his/her ideas or to formulate new
ones. The subject is more active and more conscious work is needed in this
stage. In the stage of illumination the thinker experiences insight into the problem
when a new solution, idea, or relationship emerges. Thus, he/she attempts to
reformulate his/her ideas or to formulate new ones.
64
Stage of verification: Finally, the subject tries and checks the solution. In this Creativity and Problem
Solving
stage some modification may also occur to ideas reached in the previous stages.
In the stage of verification the thinker tests, tries and checks the solution he/she
created. Since this stage is the final one, the thinker may well make some
modification to his/her ideas which he/she reached in the previous stages. In this
stage thinker should rework the structure of his/her map to represent his/her
collective understanding of the interrelationships and connections among
groupings, which may include adding, subtracting, or changing super-ordinate
concepts, thus, he/she may need to review his/her concept map as he/she gains
new knowledge or new insights.
In some situations, the above stages may appear in a different order, or combined
into two or three stages. They also do not occur regularly. For example, sometimes
the subject’s knowledge of the problem area allows him/her to pass over the first
stage (preparation) and move on to the next stage (incubation) or even to the
third stage.
4.2.5 Creativity and Intelligence

In one extreme opinion, creativity and intelligence are regarded as totally
independent of each other. Intelligence is not supposed to influence creativity.
Creativity is viewed as a mental operation accessible to everyone. It is supposedly
dependent on domain-specific knowledge (i.e. the amount of exposure to and
expertise in a given field) and deliberate practice.
This position denies not only the influence of intelligence, but of any individual
difference beyond knowledge and motivational factors, on creativity.
A high IQ has proven as insufficient for creativity ever since Terman’s (1925)
famous longitudinal study of 1528 highly gifted children, which had a mean IQ
of 151. While most of these children achieved remarkable occupational success
in later life, none of them showed a noteworthy sign of creativity. Most of the
studies concerning the association between psychometric intelligence and
creativity yielded only a weak relationship. For example, Torrance (1977) reported
that the median of 178 correlation coefficients between IQ and the TTCT was
only .20. Also, factor analyses of IQ and creativity tests yielded separate factors.
However, a creative person’s IQ has been demonstrated to be at least a standard

deviation above the mean, often more. Guilford (1967) suggested a hypothesis
that a minimal level of IQ, often arbitrary set to 120, should be necessary, but not
sufficient for creativity. Creative achievement was thought to be impossible below
this threshold. Guilford also proposed that scatter plots of IQ and creativity
should show a triangular pattern (which gave Guilford’s claim sometimes the
name ‘triangularity hypothesis’) with no data points in the low IQ/high creativity
quadrant. This threshold view of creativity is so plausible that it is widely accepted,
though empirical test are scarce and more likely to show a disconfirming tendency.
Hayes (1989) proposed an alternative ‘certification hypothesis’, which doubted

intrinsic links between creativity and intelligence. Instead, it stated that most
possibilities to display a recognisable level of creativity, like occupations in
architecture or science, simply require a high level of formal education. Since
academic performance is correlated with IQ, society simply denies creative
individuals of low IQ the chance to express their talent adequately.
65
Intelligence and Creativity 4.2.6 Measurement of Creativity
Houtz and Krug (1995) provide a review of several tests developed for the
assessment of creativity. The review reveals that most of the tests of creativity
intend to measure divergent thinking. Within the category of divergent thinking,
Houtz and Krug (1995) present the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)
(Torrance 1966), The Wallach and Kogan Tests, The Guilford Battery.
The most widely used test on creativity is the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking
(TTCT). It is also the one that has the most extended research on their reliability
and validity (Kim 2006). This test has been translated into more than 30 languages
and it is used in different places as a tool to assess creative potential. It is based
on Guilford’s Structure of the Intellect (SOI) battery that included some measures
of divergent thinking. Thus, it measures creativity through divergent thinking.
The TTCT was developed in 1966, and it has been re-normed four times: 1974,
1984, 1990 and 1998. There are two forms, TTCT-Verbal and Figural with two
parallel tests (form A and B). Each test is expected to measure
1) Fluency: The number of ideas: Total number of relevant responses.
2) Originality: The rarity of ideas: Number of statistically infrequent ideas.
The score is 0 if the idea is common, and 1 if it is unique.
3) Elaboration: The number of added ideas.
4) Flexibility: Number of categories of the relevant responses.
In 1990 Torrance deleted the flexibility scale, since it correlated highly with
fluency and added two measures of creative potential, viz., (i) abstractness of
titles and (ii) resistance to premature closure.
While (i) abstractness of title refers to the degree a title moves beyond concrete
labelling of pictures drawn, (ii) resistance to premature closure pertains to measure
the degree of psychological openness. The test can be administered in around 30
minutes, but the process of scoring requires some training and specific country
norms.
The 1998 manual provides norms for the United States and includes both grade
related and age related norms. Thus, there is some country specificity in the
measurement of creativity. Kim (2006) reported some normative measures in
other countries. These norms have usually been developed for research activities.
Criticisms against TTCT
There are 4 main criticisms against this test and these are:
1) The response set might influence the results. Thus, different order in the
presentation of the items leads to different results.
2) Creativity tests administered under different conditions lead to differences
in performance.
3) Raters of the TTCT might differ considerably in their scores to a similar
person.
4) The structure of the test itself is inadequate.
66
Creativity and Problem
Self Assessment Questions Solving
1) Explain the stages of creativity.
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2) Describe how creativity is related to intelligence.
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3) Explain the threshold hypothesis.
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4) Give an account of measurement of creativity.
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4.3 PROBLEM SOLVING

The thought process involved in a person’s effort to remove obstacles in the way
to achieve the goal state is called problem solving. Such a process is involved in
critical thinking in taking many important decisions of life as well as in solving
simple routine problems. Psychological researches have uncovered many aspects
of problem solving behaviour which will be discussed in the following sections.
4.3.1 Terms Related to Problem Solving

Original or initial state: Problem solving begins with a certain original state
called the initial state of a problem.
67
Intelligence and Creativity Goal or end state: This is what will be reached if the problem is solved. The
goal state is what is desired by the person. The goal state has some properties
defined by the person.
The person concerned who is with the initial state of the problem and wants to
reach the goal, puts in efforts to reach that goal. There may be obstacles to reach
the goal which will have to be overcome.
Person / operator: This refers to the person who is in the initial state and strives
to achieve the coal or end state through application of certain skills and techniques
which would facilitate overcoming the obstacle and reaching the goal state.
Operator manipulates the elements involved in the problem internally with the
help of some global or personal symbols or visual images.
Problem space: Initial state, goal state and operator combine to form the problem
space. The problem space includes a number of elements in it that are required
to be organised in a particular manner. A successful understanding of the problem
space would require: coherence, correspondence and relationship to background
knowledge. Coherent understanding of the problem space refers to connecting
the elements in a meaningful manner. A successful understanding also requires a
close correspondence between the internal representation and the elements of
the problem space. None of the elements should be left unmatched and also
none of them should be mismatched. Therefore, proper matched connections
should be made among all the elements.
Rules: These refer to rules that exist in converting the problem state into a goal
state.
More specifically it may be stated that Problem solving behaviour begins with
an obstacle or difference between original or initial state and goal or end state.
The goal is desired by the person/s or operator/s in the situation and has some
properties defined by the operator.., defined by some rules, to convert the problem
state into the goal state.
An Example of Problem Solving: A classical example of problem solving

behaviour may be explained with the help of Kohler’s experiments with a
chimpanzee. In one experiment, Kohler (1927) put a hungry chimpanzee
(operator) in a closed cage with bananas hanging from the roof (goal state) and
three boxes on the floor. It should be noted that the chimpanzee can come closer
to the bananas only by putting all the three boxes together in vertical manner
(rule). In Kohler’s experiment, after a series of irrelevant behaviours the
chimpanzee suddenly solved the problem and reached to the bananas. Such sudden
solutions of the problem resulted from internal representation and understanding
of the problem which was continuously going on in the chimpanzee’s unconscious
and is termed as insight by Kohler and other Gestalt psychologists.
4.3.2 Typologies of Problems

Well-defined and Ill-defined Problems
A problem is well-defined if there is a definable initial state and a goal state,
definite number of operators well identified and clear and explicit rules and
sub-goals to convert the initial state into the goal state.
68
The problem faced by the chimpanzee in the Kohler’s experiment is a good Creativity and Problem
Solving
example of a welldefined problem.
However an ill-defined problem is in which one or all of the elements of the

problem space (initial state, goal state, operators and rules) are not clearly defined.
Creation of a painting is a unique example of ill-defined problems.
Problems of Inducing Structure:

Problems of inducing structure require determining relationship among several
elements of the problem. For example take the analogy problem in which the
operator is required to find a structure in some elements with clearly defined
rules. Example of structured elements are “bird to sky as fish is to water”.
Solving analogy problems requires three types of cognitive skills:
1) Process of attribute discovery
2) Process of encoding
3) Process of comparing encoded attributes and evaluating attribute based
structure among the elements.
Problems of Transformation
Problems of transformation require finding a sequence of operations to transform
the initial state into the goal state. A classic example of such a problem is Tower
of Hanoi. A modified version of the problem is illustrated in the figure given
below:
Initial State
A B C
Goal State
A B C
At the initial state, there are three discs placed in peg A. Operator is required to
move all the three discs on to the peg C. Rules of the game are that only one and
the top disc can be moved at a time and the bigger disc cannot be placed over the
smaller one.
69
Intelligence and Creativity Problems of Arrangement:
Problems of arrangement requires the operator to rearrange the elements of the
problem according to some criterion. In some of such problems the arrangement
criterion is predefined, while in others the operator himself is required to discover
it. An example of such problems is anagram in which order of letters of a word
changed and the operator is asked to rearrange their sequence to form a meaningful
word.
The cognitive skill needed to solve an anagram is constructive search by which

operator systematically examines reasonable combinations of letters until the
meaningful sequence is found.
4.3.3 Stages of Problem Solving

Gestalt psychologists suggest that problem solving behaviour also follows the
stages that are followed in creative thinking: preparation, incubation, illumination
or insight and verification. These stages have already been discussed in the earlier
section.
According to Polya , there are four stages involved in problem solving and these
are as given below
Stage 1: Define, understand and think about the problem. In this stage, there is
identification of the actual problem, attributes of the problem, area of knowledge
involved in solving the problem and collecting relevant information.
Stage 2: Devise a plan for solution. This stage includes thinking of alternate
ways to solve the problem and preparing a flowchart of solution.
Stage 3: Carry out the plan. This stage of problem solving is to execute the
solution of the problem.
Stage 4: Looking back. This involves verifying that the problem solved was the
one originally defined, and also checking reasonableness, criteria and constraints
as well as communicate results.
An information processing translation of the Polya’s stages has also been described
which is presented in the following model: (See figure below)
Encoding the problem in working memory
Search long-term memory for plan or

production system
Execute the production system
Evaluate the results
70
4.3.4 Strategies of Problem Solving Creativity and Problem
Solving
Even if the operator has all the basic knowledge and background skills, yet there
is no guarantee that they will solve the problem successfully.
In order to be successful in solving a problem, an additional element needed is to

have a general strategy that can be used for problem solving.
A strategy is a set of sequential steps (or procedure) used by a problem solver in

arriving at a solution. The strategy should help the operator by guiding him/her
to efficiently extract relevant data from the problem space and by giving a planned
approach to solving the problem. Cognitive psychologists have described two
major types of strategies generally used by an operator and these are termed as
algorithms and heuristics. Let us see what these are:
4.3.4.1 Algorithms
An algorithm is a strategy that ensures the correct solution of the problem, if the
well-defined rule of the solution is properly followed. In an anagram problem,
an algorithm would be attempting all the possible letter sequences until the correct
and meaningful word is found. There are four essential properties of an algorithm:
1) Each step of an algorithm must be exact. An algorithm must be precisely
and unambiguously described, so that there remains no uncertainty.
2) An algorithm must terminate. The ultimate purpose of an algorithm is to
solve a problem. If the process does not stop when executed, one will not be
able to get any result from it. Therefore, an algorithm must contain a finite
number of steps in its execution.
3) An algorithm must be effective. It must provide the correct answer to the
problem.
4) An algorithm must be general. This means that it must solve every instance
of the problem. For example, a program that computes the area of a rectangle
should work on all possible dimensions of the rectangle, within the limits
of the programming language and the machine.
Although algorithm is a guarantee to reach to the solution, the effort and time
involved in using it is so great that a human operator rarely uses this strategy.
4.3.4.2 Heuristics
Heuristics are general suggestions or “rules of thumb” that are useful in solving
a variety of problems. Heuristics are powerful and general. They do not ensure
a correct solution to the problem. That is why there are so many of them and if
one does not work, another may be tried upon. General heuristics are usually
context free and apply across many different situations. Specific heuristics are
used in specialised areas, like applying the conservation of momentum principle
to solve collision problems in physics, or telling students to check the units,
neglect small terms, or use crude approximations.
Means-end analysis
Probably the most common and general heuristic is the ‘means-end analysis’.
Simply stated, this heuristic says to do something to get a little closer to the goal.
This heuristic helps break down a problem into pieces. For example, the ultimate
71
Intelligence and Creativity goal is taken in short term goals and each of these short term goals will have to
be achieved and doing so helps the person to get closer to the goal and ultimately
reach it.
If a large problem is broken down into pieces, it is important to self monitor the
sub goals, that is whether the person has achieved it or not. This self-monitoring
is known as meta-cognition. Meta-cognition is essential for any extended activity,
especially problem solving, because the problem solver needs to be aware of the
current activity, of the overall goal, the strategies used to attain the goal and the
effectiveness of those strategies.
Working backward
This strategy starts with the goal state and the operator moves backward toward
the initial state. This strategy is found to be very useful in solving problems like
paper-pencil maze. Sometimes the problem solver uses this method by combining
it with the means end analysis. However, working backward is useful only when
the end state is uniquely well defined with an unclear initial state.
Analogies
Heuristic of analogy uses experiences of strategies used to solve past problems
in solving a current problem. This strategy relies on discovering common attributes
among various problems solved at previous occasions and the problem being
faced presently.
4.3.5 Factors Affecting Problem Solving

Effectiveness of a problem solving behaviour is measured on two criteria: time
taken in solving the problem and probability of getting the solution. An effective
solution of a problem is dependent upon a number of factors. Some of these
factors are inherent in the problem itself, while others belong to the personal
characteristics of the problem solver. These include (i) Nature of the problem
(ii) Degree of difference between the initial and the goal state (iii) The perceiver’s
set (iv) functional fixedness. These are being discussed below:
i) Nature of the problem
What is themagnitude of the problem, the difficulty level of the problem
etc. are part of nature of the problem. Also if the initial state of the problem
is too different from that of the final goal of the problem the difficulty level
increases and solving the problem becomes somewhat difficult. While size
of a problem is positively related with the number of elements present in
the problem space, it is observed that as the size of the problem increases,
it becomes all themore difficult to reach solution to the problem and also it
becomes more time consuming. An example is the typical anagram
problems, where an increase in the number of letters of the anagrams
enhances the difficulty level of the problem.
ii) Greater the difference between initial and goal states decreases the likelihood
of solution. In such situations problem space is more disorganised and
therefore, the operator is required to take more steps to reach to the solution.
To give an example, take a complete jumble of letters in an anagram which
clearly describes such a situation.
72
If the problem is a general one which is frequently encountered, the problem Creativity and Problem
Solving
solver becomes familiar with the steps to be followed to reach the solution
and therefore, the problem becomes less difficult.
iii) The perceiver’s Set is defined as a tendency to perceive and respond to a
particular stimulus in a stereotypical manner. Set is formed in a situation
where a person successively and systematically perceives and responds to a
stimulus in a similar way. Set may prove to have facilitatory, as well as
inhibitory impact on problem solving.
If the past experience paved the way to the formation of certain mental set,
then the solution will become easier. But in case of greater difference among
the experiences, the mental set would hinder finding solution to the problem.
An example of the effect of set may be observed by pronouncing the
following words:
MACDONALD MACMOHAN MACGREGOR MACHINERY
If you pronounced the last word as MacHinery, the effect of set worked on
you. However, the effect of set can be minimized by increasing time interval
between practice and trial, by explicit instruction to not follow the previously
learned rules and by introducing some exceptions in the practice.
iv) Functional fixedness: Generally we categorise objects on the basis of their
use in our daily life. Whenever we think of those objects their functional
features dominate our thought process. Functional fixedness refers to the
tendency to perceive the objects with their customary and stereotypical use.
In a broader sense, functional fixedness is also an example of mental set, which
hinders the probability to achieve solution.

1) Define the problem solving behaviour.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) Describe the terms related to problem solving.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
73
3) Explain the various types of problems.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4) Give an account of the strategies used in problem solving.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
5) Describe the factors affecting problem solving.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4.4 LET US SUM UP

Creativity is defined as a goal directed thinking which is unusual, novel and
useful. Such a thought process rejects the previously accepted ideas and organises
the unclear situation in new and coherent way. Investment theory states that
creativity requires a confluence of six distinct but interrelated resources:
intellectual abilities, knowledge, styles of thinking, personality, motivation, and
environment. Divergent thinking is thought to be a central component in any
type of creative thinking. Other aspects of creative thinking are: fluency, flexibility,
originality, elaboration, abstraction and resistance to premature closure. Creativity
follows a four step process consisting of preparation, incubation, illumination
and verification. Although creativity requires a minimum IQ of 120, but beyond
that level relationship between intelligence and creativity is either not clear or is
very weak. Most of the tests of creativity intend to measure divergent thinking.
Such a widely used test is TTCT which includes both verbal and figural items.
Problem solving is another kind of directed thinking that begins with an obstacle
or a difference between initial state and the goal state. The person is required to
reorganise the problem situation to remove the obstacle and convert the problem
state into then goal state. A successful understanding of problem space requires
coherence, correspondence and relationship to background knowledge. Types of
74
problems referred in the psychological researches are well-defined and ill-defined Creativity and Problem
Solving
problems, problems of inducing structure, transformation and arrangement.
Cognitive psychologists have described two major types of strategies used in
problem solving: algorithms and heuristics. The factors affecting the success of
problem solving behaviour include the size of the problem, difference between
problem state and goal state, generality of tje problem and set and functional
fixedness of the problem solver.

1) Define the process of creativity and describe that how different psychologists
differ in understanding creativity.
2) Explain that how Investment and Confluence Theory of approaches creativity
and present an account of aspects of creative thinking.
3) Briefly discuss the stages of creativity.
4) Describe that how creativity is related with intelligence and explain the
threshold hypothesis in this regard.
5) Give an account of measurement of creativity.
6) Define the problem solving behaviour and describe the terms related to
problem solving.
7) Explain the various types of problems and present an account of the strategies
used in problem solving.
8) Describe the factors affecting problem solving.
4.6 GLOSSARY
Creativity : Creativity is a goal directed thinking which is
unusual, novel and useful.
Historical creativity : Historical creativity is a creative thinking that
becomes so important that it influence the whole
human civilisation.
Investment theory : Investment theory states that creativity requires
a confluence of six distinct but interrelated
resources: intellectual abilities, knowledge,
styles of thinking, personality, motivation, and
environment.
Threshold hypothesis : The hypothesis that state that a minimal level
of IQ, often arbitrary set to 120 should be
necessary, but not sufficient for creativity.
Problem solving : The directed thought process involved in a
person’s effort to remove obstacles in the way
to achieve the goal state is called problem
solving.
Well-defined and : A problem is well-defined if there is a definable
ill-defined problems initial state and a goal state, the number of
operators is definite and they all are well
identified and there are quite explicit rules and
75
Intelligence and Creativity sub-goals to convert the initial state into the goal
state. On the contrary, in case of ill-defined
problem one or all of the elements of the
problem space (initial state, goal state, operators
and rules) are not clearly defined.
Problems of inducing : Problems of inducing structure require determining
structure relationship among several elements of the
problem.
Problems of transformation : Problems of transformation require finding a
sequence of operations to transform the initial
state into the goal state.
Problems of arrangement : Problems of arrangement requires the operator
to rearrange the elements of the problem
according to some criterion.
Strategy of problem solving : A strategy is a set of sequential steps (or
procedure) used by a problem solver in arriving
at a solution.
Algorithm : An algorithm is a strategy that ensures the
correct solution of the problem, if the well-
defined rule of the solution is properly followed.
Heuristics : Heuristics are general suggestions or “rules of
thumb” that are useful in solving a great variety
of problems but do not ensure a correct solution
to the problem.
Set : Set is defined as a tendency to perceive and
respond to a particular stimulus in a stereotypical
manner.
Functional fixedness : Functional fixedness refers to the tendency to
perceive the objects with their customary and
stereotypical use.

Hilgard, E.R. (1999). Introduction to Psychology (6th Edition). Oxford and IBH
Publishing Co, Pvt Ltd.: New Delhi.
Morgan, C.T. King, R.A., Weis, J.R. & Scooper, J. (1993). Introduction to
Psychology. Tata Mc-Graw Hill Publishing Company: New Delhi.
References
Amabile, T. M. (1983). Social psychology of creativity. New York: Springer-
Verlag.
Beghetto, R. A. & Kaufman, J. C. (2007). Toward a Broader Conception of
Creativity: A Case for “mini-c” Creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity,
and the Arts, 1, 73–79.
Greeno, J. G. (1977). Process of understanding in problem solving. In N. J.
Castellan, Jr., D. B. Pisoni & G. R. Potts (Eds.), Cognitive theory. Hillsdale,
N.J.: Elrbaum.
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Guilford, J.P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. McGraw Hill: NY. Creativity and Problem
Solving
Guilford, J. P. (1986). Creative talents: Their nature, uses and development.
Buffalo, NY: Bearly Ltd.
Hayes, J. R. (1989). The complete problem solver (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Hocevar, D. (1980). Intelligence, divergent thinking, and creativity. Intelligence,
4, 25-40.
Kim, K. H. (2006). Can we trust creativity tests? A review of the Torrance Tests
of creative thinking (TTCT). Creativity Research Journal, 18 (1), 3-14.
Michalko, M. (1998). Thinking like a genius: Eight strategies used by the
supercreative, from Aristotle and Leonardo to Einstein and Edison. The Futurist,
32(4), 21.
Newell, A., Shaw, J. C. & Simon, H. A. (1963). The process of creative thinking.
In H. E. Gruber, G. Terrel & M. Wertheimer (Eds.), Contemporary approaches
to creative thinking. New York: Atherton.
Runco, M. A. (2007). Creativity. Theories and Themes: Research, Development
and Practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Smith, S. M., Ward, T. B., and Finke, R. A. (1995). The creative cognition
approach. Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. and Lubart, T. I. (1999). The concept of creativity: Prospects and
Paradigms. In R.J. Sternberg (ed.). Handbook of Creativity. London: Cambridge
University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (2006). The nature of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 18
(1), 87-98.
Terman, L. M. (1925). Genetic studies of genius (Vol. I) Mental and physical
traits of a thousand gifted children. Stanford: University Press.
Torrance, E.P. (1966). Torrance tests of creativity. Personnel Press, Princeton.
Torrance, E.P. (1974). Torrance tests of creative thinking. Ginn & Company
(Xerox Corporation), Lexington: MA.
Torrance, E. P. (1977). Discovery and nurturance of giftedness in the culturally
different. Reston, VA: Council on Exceptional Children.
Wallas, G. (1926). The art of thought. New York: Harcourt, Brace.
77
Language Acquisition
UNIT 1 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Language and Cognition
1.3 Linguistics
1.3.1 The Structure of Language
1.3.2 The Buildings Blocks of Language
1.4 Language Acquisition
1.4.1 Stages of Language Acquisition
1.4.2 Language Acquisition and Cognitive Science
1.4.3 Language and Thought
1.5 Theories of Language Acquisition
1.5.1 Behaviouristic Theory
1.5.2 Limitations of Behaviourism Theory
1.5.3 Innateness Theory
1.5.4 Evidence to Support Innateness Theory
1.5.5 Limitations of Chomsky’s Theory
1.5.6 Cognitive Theory
1.5.7 Limitations of Cognitive Theories
1.5.8 Inputs or Integrationist Theories
1.5.9 Limitations of Inputs Theories
1.6 The Biology of Language Acquisition
1.6.1 Maturational Changes in Brain
1.6.2 Dissociations Between Language and General Intelligence
1.6.3 Neural Networks
1.7 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Suggested Readings and References.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
People talk or use language incessantly. Language, to cognitive psychologists, is
a system of communication in which thoughts are transmitted by means of sounds
(as in speech and music) or symbols (as in written words and gestures). As you
read this text, you are engaging in one of the mind’s most enchanting processes
– the way one mind influences another through language. In this process, some
cell assemblies in your brain are permanently changed, new thoughts are made,
and, in a very real sense, you are changed.
Cognitive psychology concerns both language and thought and has been popular
only since the 1950s. Before that, many psychologists believed that the scientific
method could not be applied towards the study of a process as private as thinking.
From ancient Greek times, only philosophers and metaphysicians studied the
nature of language and thought. The metaphysician René Descartes, for example,
famously argued, “I think, therefore I am.”
5
Language Today, thanks to increasingly sophisticated tools for studying brain activity,
cognitive psychology is a thriving science. Cognitive psychologists explore such
questions as how language affects thought, whether it is possible to create a
“thinking” machine, and why humans are motivated to create art.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define and elucidate the concept of language;
• Describe language and cognition;
• Explain theories of language acquisition and their limitations; and
• Explain biology of language acquisition.
1.2 LANGUAGE AND COGNITION

The study of human language is important to cognitive psychologists for the
following reasons:
• Human language development represents a unique kind of abstraction, which
is basic to cognition. Although other forms of life (bees, birds, dolphins,
dogs and so on) have elaborate means of communicating and apes seem to
use a form of language abstraction, the degree of abstraction is much greater
among humans.
• Language processing is an important component of information processing
and storage.
• Human thinking and problem solving can be conceptualised as processes
involving language. Many, if not most, forms of thinking and problem solving
are internal, that is, done in the absence of external stimuli. Abstraction of
puzzles, for example, into verbal symbols provides a way to think about a
solution.
• Language is the main means of human communication, the way in which
most information is exchanged.
• Language influences perception, a fundamental aspect of cognition. Some
argue that how we perceive the world is affected by the language we use to
describe it. On the other hand, language development is at least largely
based on our perception of language. So the perceptual-language process is
one of interdependency; both significantly influence the other. Language
from this point of view operates as a window.
The processing of words, speech, and semantics seem to engage specific cerebral
areas and thus provide a meaningful link between neuro anatomical structures
and language. In addition, the study of pathology of the brain has frequently
shown manifest change in language functions, as in the case of aphasia.
1.3 LINGUISTICS
The study of linguistics is the formal description of the structure of language,
including a description of speech sounds, meanings, and grammar. Language as
6
studied by linguists tends to be competency based (dealing with some ideal Language Acquisition
potential of the speaker-listener), while psychologists generally view language
in terms of performance, or how humans use language. The discipline that
incorporates both approaches to the study of language is called psycholinguistics.
1.3.1 The Structure of Language

Language is a system of symbols and rules that is used for meaningful
communication. A system of communication has to meet certain criteria in order
to be considered a language:
A language uses symbols, which are sounds, gestures, or written characters that
represent objects, actions, events, and ideas. Symbols enable people to refer to
objects that are in another place or events that occurred at a different time.
A language is meaningful and therefore can be understood by other users of that

language.
A language is generative, which means that the symbols of a language can be

combined to produce an infinite number of messages.
A language has rules that govern how symbols can be arranged. These rules
allow people to understand messages in that language even if they have never
encountered those messages before.
1.3.2 The Building Blocks of Language

Language is organised hierarchically, from phonemes to morphemes to phrases
and sentences that communicate meaning
Phonemes are the smallest distinguishable units in a language. In the English

language, many consonants, such as t, p, and m, correspond to single phonemes,
while other consonants, such as c and g, can correspond to more than one
phoneme. Vowels typically correspond to more bonhomie. For example, o
corresponds to different phonemes depending on whether it is pronounced as in
bone or woman. Some phonemes correspond to combinations of consonants,
such as ch, sh, and th.
Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in a language. In the English

language, only a few single letters, such as I and a, are morphemes. Morphemes
are usually whole words or meaningful parts of words, such as prefixes, suffixes,
and word stems.
Example: The word “disliked” has three morphemes: “dis,” “lik,” and “ed.”
Syntax is a system of rules that governs how words can be meaningfully
arranged to form phrases and sentences.
Example: One rule of syntax is that an article such as “the” must come before a
noun, not after: “Read the book,” not “Read book the.”
1.4 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Language acquisition is one of the central topics in cognitive science. Every
theory of cognition has tried to explain it; probably no other topic has aroused
such controversy. Possessing a language is the quintessentially human trait: all 7
Language normal humans speak, no nonhuman animal does. Language is the main vehicle
by which we know about other people’s thoughts, and the two must be intimately
related. Every time we speak we are revealing something about language, so the
facts of language structure are easy to come by; these data hint at a system of
extraordinary complexity. Nonetheless, learning a first language is something
every child does successfully, in a matter of a few years and without the need for
formal lessons. With language so close to the core of what it means to be human,
it is not surprising that children’s acquisition of language has received so much
attention. Anyone with strong views about the human mind would like to show
that children’s first few steps are steps in the right direction.
In the past, debates about the acquisition of language centered on the same theme
as debates about the acquisition of any ability – the nature versus nurture theme.
However, current thinking about the language acquisition has incorporated the
understanding that acquiring language really involves a natural endowment
modified by environment (Bates and Goodman, 1999; Dehaene-Lambertz, Hertz-
Painter & Dubois, 2006; Lightfoot, 2003; Maratos, 2003). For example, the social
environment, in which infants use their social capacities to interact with others,
provides one source of information for language acquisition (Snow, 1999;
Tomasello, 1999). Thus the approach to studying language acquisition now
revolves around discovering what abilities are innate and how the child’s
environment tempers these abilities. This process is aptly termed innately guided
learning (see Elman & associates, 1996; Jusczyk, 1997).
Before examining the various theories of language acquisition, let’s take a look
at a series of stages that seem to be universal in language acquisition.
1.4.1 Stages of Language Acquisition

Around the world, people seem to acquire their primary language in pretty much
the same sequence and in just about the same way. Research on speech perception
finds the same overall pattern of progression. They develop from more general
to more specific abilities. That is, as infants we are initially able to distinguish
among all possible phonetic contrasts. But over time we lose the ability to
distinguish nonnative contrasts in favor of those used in our native language
environment (see Jusczyk, 1997). Infants have remarkably acute language-
learning abilities. They show these abilities even from an early age (Marcus et
al., 1999; Pinker, 1997, 1999).
Within the first few years of life, we humans seem to progress through the
following stages in producing language:
Cooing, which comprises of vowel sounds mostly. Cooing is the infant’s oral
expression that explores the production of vowel sounds. The cooing of infants
around the world, including deaf infants, is indistinguishable across babies and
languages. Infants are actually better than adults at being able to discriminate
sounds that carry no meaning for them (Werker, 1989). They can make phonetic
distinctions that adults have lost. During the cooing stage, hearing infants also
can discriminate among all phones, not just phonemes characteristic of their
own language.
Babbling, which comprises consonant as well as vowel sounds; to most people’s

ears, the babbling of infants growing up among speakers from different language
8
groups sounds very similar (Oller & Eilers, 1998). At the babbling stage, deaf Language Acquisition
infants no longer vocalise. The sounds produced by hearing infants change.
Babbling is the infant’s preferential production largely of those distinct phonemes-
both vowels and consonants— that are characteristic of the infant’s own language
(Locke, 1994).
One-word utterances; these utterances are limited in both the vowels and the
consonants they utilise (Ingram, 1999). Eventually, the infant utters his or her
first word. It is followed shortly by one or two more. Soon after, yet a few more
follow. The infant uses these one word utterances — termed holophrases — to
convey intentions, desires, and demands. Usually the words are nouns describing
familiar objects that the child observes (example; car, book, ball, baby, toy, nose)
or wants (e.g. mama, dada, milk, cookie). By 18 months of age, children typically
have vocabulary of 3 to 100 words (Seigler, 1986). The young child’s vocabulary
cannot yet encompass all that the child wishes to describe. As a result, the child
commits overextension error. An overextension error is erroneously extending
the meaning of words in the existing lexicon to cover things and ideas for which
a new word is lacking. For example, the general term for any four legged animal
may be ‘doggie’.
Two-word utterances and telegraphic speech. Gradually, between 1.5 to 2.5 years
of age, children start combining single words to produce two-word utterances.
Thus begin an understanding of syntax. These early syntactical communications
seem more like telegrams than conversation. The articles, prepositions, and other
functional morphemes are usually left out. Hence, linguists refer to these early
utterances with rudimentary syntax as telegraphic speech. e.g. “want juice”,
doggie bite”, “mommy sit”. These simple pairings of words convey a wealth of
information about a child’s intentions and needs.
Basic adult sentence structure (present by about age 4 years), with continuing
vocabulary acquisition. Vocabulary expands rapidly. It more than triples from
300 words at about 2 years of age to about 1000 words at 3 years of age. Almost
incredible, by age of 4, children acquire the foundations of adult syntax and
language structure. By age of 5 years, most children also can understand and
produce quite complex and uncommon sentence constructions. By age of 10
years, children’s language is fundamentally the same as that of adults.
Normal children can differ by a year or more in their rate of language development,
though the stages they pass through are generally the same regardless of how
stretched out or compressed.
1.4.2 Language Acquisition and Cognitive Science

Language acquisition is not only inherently interesting; studying it is one way to
look for concrete answers to questions that permeate cognitive science. The
scientific study of language acquisition began around the same time as the birth
of cognitive science, in the late 1950’s. The historical catalyst was Noam
Chomsky’s review of Skinner’s Verbal Behaviour (Chomsky, 1959). At that time,
Anglo-American natural science, social science, and philosophy had come to a
virtual consensus about the answers to the questions listed above. The mind
consisted of sensorimotor abilities plus a few simple laws of learning governing
gradual changes in an organism’s behavioural repertoire. Therefore language
9
Language must be learned, it cannot be a module, and thinking must be a form of verbal
behaviour, since verbal behaviour is the prime manifestation of “thought” that
can be observed externally.
Chomsky argued that language acquisition falsified these beliefs in a single stroke:
children learn languages that are governed by highly subtle and abstract principles,
and they do so without explicit instruction or any other environmental clues to
the nature of such principles. Hence language acquisition depends on an innate,
species-specific module that is distinct from general intelligence. Much of the
debate in language acquisition has attempted to test this once-revolutionary, and
still controversial, collection of ideas. The implications extend to the rest of
human cognition.
1.4.3 Language and Thought

Is language simply grafted on top of cognition as a way of sticking communicable
labels onto thoughts (Fodor, 1975; Piaget, 1926)? Or does learning a language
somehow mean learning to think in that language? A famous hypothesis, outlined
by Benjamin Whorf (1956), asserts that the categories and relations that we use
to understand the world come from our particular language, so that speakers of
different languages conceptualise the world in different ways.
Language acquisition, then, would be learning to think, not just learning to talk.
This is an intriguing hypothesis, but virtually all modern cognitive scientists
believe it is false (see Pinker, 1994a). Babies can think before they can talk.
Cognitive psychology has shown that people think not just in words but in images
and abstract logical propositions. Language acquisition has a unique contribution
to make to this issue. As we shall see, it is virtually impossible to show how
children could learn a language unless you assume they have a considerable
amount of nonlinguistic cognitive machinery in place before they start.
1.5 THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

How do we explain children’s course of language acquisition — most importantly,
their inevitable and early mastery? Several kinds of mechanisms are at work. As
we will see in the next section, the brain changes after birth, and these maturational
changes may govern the onset, rate, and adult decline of language acquisition
capacity. General changes in the child’s information processing abilities (attention,
memory, short-term buffers for acoustic input and articulator output) could leave
their mark as well. Language acquisition is so complex that one needs a precise
framework for understanding what it involves.
Over the last fifty years, several theories have been put forward to explain the
process by which children learn to understand and speak a language. They can
be summarised as follows: (Refer to table below)
10
Table 1.1: Theory and the central idea associated with author Language Acquisition
Theory Central Idea Individual

most often
associated
with theory
Behaviourist Children imitate adults. Their correct Skinner
utterances are reinforced when they get
what they want or are praised
Innateness A child’s brain contains special language Chomsky
learning mechanisms at birth
Cognitive Language is just one aspect of a child’s Piaget
overall intellectual development.
Interaction This theory emphasises the interaction Bruner
between children and their care givers.
We shall consider each of these in turn. Before we do, it is important to recognise
that they should not be seen simply as conflicting theories, replacing each other
in a sequence. Although Behaviourism is now seen as offering only a very limited
explanation, each theory has added to our overall understanding, placing emphasis
on different aspects of the process.
1.5.1 Behaviouristic Theory

The behaviourist psychologists developed their theories while carrying out a
series of experiments on animals. They observed that rats or birds, for example,
could be taught to perform various tasks by encouraging habit-forming.
Researchers rewarded desirable behaviour. This was known as positive
reinforcement. Undesirable behaviour was punished or simply not rewarded —
negative reinforcement. The behaviourist B. F. Skinner then proposed this theory
as an explanation for language acquisition in humans. In Verbal Behaviour (1957),
he stated: “The basic processes and relations which give verbal behaviour its
special characteristics are now fairly well understood. Much of the experimental
work responsible for this advance has been carried out on other species, but the
results have proved to be surprisingly free of species restrictions. Recent work
has shown that the methods can be extended to human behaviour without serious
modifications.” (cited in Lowe and Graham, 1998, p.68)
Skinner suggested that a child imitates the language of its parents or carers.
Successful attempts are rewarded because an adult who recognises a word spoken
by a child will praise the child and/or give it what it is asking for. The linguistic
input was key — a model for imitation to be either negatively or positively
reinforced. Successful utterances are therefore reinforced while unsuccessful ones
are forgotten. No essential difference between the way a rat learns to negotiate a
maze and a child learns to speak.
1.5.2 Limitations of Behaviourism Theory

While there must be some truth in Skinner’s explanation, there are many
objections to it.
Language is based on a set of structures or rules, which could not be worked out
simply by imitating individual utterances. The mistakes made by children reveal
11
Language that they are not simply imitating but actively working out and applying rules.
For example, a child who says “drinked” instead of “drank” is not copying an
adult but rather over-applying a rule.
The vast majority of children go through the same stages of language acquisition.
Apart from certain extreme cases, the sequence seems to be largely unaffected
by the treatment the child receives or the type of society in which s/he grows up.
Children are often unable to repeat what an adult says, especially if the adult
utterance contains a structure the child has not yet started to use.
Few children receive much explicit grammatical correction. Parents are more
interested in politeness and truthfulness. According to Brown, Cazden & Bellugi
(1969): “It seems to be truth value rather than well-formed syntax that chiefly
governs explicit verbal reinforcement by parents — which renders mildly
paradoxical the fact that the usual product of such a training schedule is an adult
whose speech is highly grammatical but not notably truthful.” (cited in Lowe
and Graham, 1998)
There is evidence for a critical period for language acquisition. Children who
have not acquired language by the age of about seven will never entirely catch
up. The most famous example is that of Genie, discovered in 1970 at the age of
13. She had been severely neglected, brought up in isolation and deprived of
normal human contact. Of course, she was disturbed and underdeveloped in
many ways. During subsequent attempts at rehabilitation, her caretakers tried to
teach her to speak. Despite some success, mainly in learning vocabulary, she
never became a fluent speaker, failing to acquire the grammatical competence of
the average five-year-old.
1.5.3 Innateness Theory

Noam Chomsky published a criticism of the behaviourist theory in 1957. In
addition to some of the arguments listed above, he focused particularly on the
impoverished language input children receive. This theory is connected with the
writings of Chomsky, although the theory has been around for hundreds of years.
Children are born with an innate capacity for learning human language. Humans
are destined to speak. Children discover the grammar of their language based on
their own inborn grammar. Certain aspects of language structure seem to be
preordained by the cognitive structure of the human mind. This accounts for
certain very basic universal features of language structure: every language has
nouns/verbs, consonants and vowels. It is assumed that children are pre-
programmed, hard-wired, to acquire such things.
Yet no one has been able to explain how quickly and perfectly all children acquire
their native language. Every language is extremely complex, full of subtle
distinctions that speakers are not even aware of. Nevertheless, children master
their native language in 5 or 6 years regardless of their other talents and general
intellectual ability. Acquisition must certainly be more than mere imitation; it
also doesn’t seem to depend on levels of general intelligence, since even a severely
retarded child will acquire a native language without special training. Some
innate feature of the mind must be responsible for the universally rapid and
natural acquisition of language by any young child exposed to speech.
12
Chomsky concluded that children must have an inborn faculty for language Language Acquisition
acquisition. According to this theory, the process is biologically determined - the
human species has evolved a brain whose neural circuits contain linguistic
information at birth. The child’s natural predisposition to learn language is
triggered by hearing speech and the child’s brain is able to interpret what s/he
hears according to the underlying principles or structures it already contains.
This natural faculty has become known as the Language Acquisition Device
(LAD).
Chomsky did not suggest that an English child is born knowing anything specific
about English, of course. He stated that all human languages share common
principles. (For example, they all have words for things and actions — nouns
and verbs.) It is the child’s task to establish how the specific language s/he hears
expresses these underlying principles.
For example, the LAD already contains the concept of verb tense. By listening
to such forms as “worked”, “played” and “patted”, the child will form the
hypothesis that the past tense of verbs is formed by adding the sound /d/, /t/ or /
id/ to the base form. This, in turn, will lead to the “virtuous errors” mentioned
above. It hardly needs saying that the process is unconscious. Chomsky does
not envisage the small child lying in its cot working out grammatical rules
consciously!
Chomsky’s ground-breaking theory remains at the centre of the debate about

language acquisition. However, it has been modified, both by Chomsky himself
and by others. Chomsky’s original position was that the LAD contained specific
knowledge about language. Dan Isaac Slobin has proposed that it may be more
like a mechanism for working out the rules of language:
“It seems to me that the child is born not with a set of linguistic categories but
with some sort of process mechanism — a set of procedures and inference rules,
if you will - that he uses to process linguistic data. These mechanisms are such
that, applying them to the input data, the child ends up with something which is
a member of the class of human languages. The linguistic universals, then, are
the result of an innate cognitive competence rather than the content of such a
competence” (cited in Russell, 2001).
1.5.4 Evidence to Support Innateness Theory

Work in several areas of language study has provided support for the idea of an
innate language faculty. Three types of evidence are offered here:
1) Slobin has pointed out that human anatomy is peculiarly adapted to the
production of speech. Unlike our nearest relatives, the great apes, we have
evolved a vocal tract which allows the precise articulation of a wide repertoire
of vocal sounds.
2) Neuro-science has also identified specific areas of the brain with distinctly
linguistic functions, notably Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area. Stroke victims
provide valuable data: depending on the site of brain damage, they may
suffer a range of language dysfunction, from problems with finding words
to an inability to interpret syntax.
3) Experiments aimed at teaching chimpansees to communicate using plastic
symbols or manual gestures have proved controversial. It seems likely that
13
Language our ape cousins, while able to learn individual “words”, have little or no
grammatical competence. Pinker (1994) offers a good account of this
research.
The formation of creole varieties of English appears to be the result of the LAD
at work. The linguist Derek Bickerton has studied the formation of Dutch-based
creoles in Surinam. Escaped slaves, living together but originally from different
language groups, were forced to communicate in their very limited Dutch.
The result was the restricted form of language known as a pidgin. The adult
speakers were past the critical age at which they could learn a new language
fluently — they had learned Dutch as a foreign language and under unfavourable
conditions. Remarkably, the children of these slaves turned the pidgin into a full
language, known by linguists as a creole. They were presumably unaware of the
process but the outcome was a language variety which follows its own consistent
rules and has a full expressive range. Creoles based on English are also found, in
the Caribbean and elsewhere.
Studies of the sign languages used by the deaf have shown that, far from being
crude gestures replacing spoken words, these are complex, fully grammatical
languages in their own right. A sign language may exist in several dialects.
Children learning to sign as a first language pass through similar stages to hearing
children learning spoken language. Deprived of speech, the urge to communicate
is realised through a manual system which fulfils the same function. There is
even a signing creole, again developed by children, in Nicaragua (Pinker, 1994).
1.5.5 Limitations of Chomsky’s Theory

Chomsky’s work on language was theoretical. He was interested in grammar
and much of his work consists of complex explanations of grammatical rules.
He did not study real children. The theory relies on children being exposed to
language but takes no account of the interaction between children and their
caretakers. Nor does it recognise the reasons why a child might want to speak,
the functions of language.
In 1977, Bard and Sachs published a study of a child known as Jim, the hearing
son of deaf parents. Jim’s parents wanted their son to learn speech rather than
the sign language they used between themselves. He watched a lot of television
and listened to the radio, therefore receiving frequent language input. However,
his progress was limited until a speech therapist was enlisted to work with him.
Simply being exposed to language was not enough. Without the associated
interaction, it meant little to him.
Subsequent theories have placed greater emphasis on the ways in which real
children develop language to fulfil their needs and interact with their environment,
including other people.
1.5.6 Cognitive Theory

The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980) placed acquisition of language
within the context of a child’s cognitive development. He argued that a child has
to understand a concept before s/he can acquire the particular language form
which expresses that concept. Cognitive theory views language acquisition within
the context of the child’s broader intellectual development. Since the cognitive
14
theory of language acquisition is based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive Language Acquisition
development, a brief description and understanding of this theory is must.
Piaget suggested that children go through four separate stages in a fixed order
that is universal in all children. Piaget declared that these stages differ not only
in the quantity of information acquired at each, but also in the quality of knowledge
and understanding at that stage. He suggested that movement from one stage to
the next occurred when the child reached an appropriate level of maturation and
was exposed to relevant types of experiences. Without experience, children were
assumed incapable of reaching their highest cognitive ability. Piaget’s four stages
are known as the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal
operational stages.
The sensory motor stage in a child is from birth to approximately two years.
During this stage, a child has relatively little competence in representing the
environment using images, language, or symbols. An infant has no awareness of
objects or people that are not immediately present at a given moment. Piaget
called this a lack of object permanence. Object permanence is the awareness that
objects and people continue to exist even if they are out of sight. In infants, when
a person hides, the infant has no knowledge that they are just out of sight.
According to Piaget, this person or object that has disappeared is gone forever to
the infant.
The preoperational stage is from the age of two to seven years. The most important
development at this time is language. Children develop an internal representation
of the world that allows them to describe people, events, and feelings. Children
at this time use symbols, they can pretend when driving their toy car across the
couch that the couch is actually a bridge. Although the thinking of the child is
more advanced than when it was in the sensory motor stage, it is still qualitatively
inferior to that of an adult. Children in the preoperational stage are characterised
by what Piaget called egocentric thoughts. The world at this stage is viewed
entirely from the child’s own perspective. Thus a child’s explanation to an adult
can be uninformative.
Three-year-olds will generally hide their face when they are in trouble—even
though they are in plain view, three-year-olds believe that their inability to see
others also results in others’ inability to see them. A child in the preoperational
stage also lacks the principle of conservation. This is the knowledge that quantity
is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of objects. Children
who have not passed this stage do not know that the amount, volume or length of
an object does not change length when the shape of the configuration is changed.
If you put two identical pieces of clay in front of a child, one rolled up in the
shape of a ball, the other rolled into a snake, a child at this stage may say the
snake piece is bigger because it is rolled out. Piaget declared that this is not
mastered until the next stage of development.
The concrete operational stage lasts from the age of seven to twelve years of
age. The beginning of this stage is marked by the mastery of the principal of
conservation. Children develop the ability to think in a more logical manner and
they begin to overcome some of the egocentric characteristics of the preoperational
period. One of the major ideas learned in this stage is the idea of reversibility.
This is the idea that some changes can be undone by reversing an earlier action.
15
Language An example is the ball of clay that is rolled out into a snake piece of clay. Children
at this stage understand that you can regain the ball of clay formation by rolling
the piece of clay the other way. Children can even conceptualise the stage in
their heads without having to see the action performed. Children in the concrete
operational stage have a better understanding of time and space. Children at this
stage have limits to their abstract thinking, according to Piaget.
The formal operational stage begins in most people at age twelve and continues
into adulthood. This stage produces a new kind of thinking that is abstract, formal,
and logical. Thinking is no longer tied to events that can be observed. A child at
this stage can think hypothetically and use logic to solve problems. It is thought
that not all individuals reach this level of thinking. Most studies show only forty
to sixty percent of American college students and adults fully achieve it.
Piaget’s suggestion, that cognitive performance cannot be attained unless
cognitive readiness is brought about by maturation and environmental stimuli,
has been instrumental in determining the structure of educational curricula.
Cognitive theory of language acquisition suggests that a child first becomes aware
of a concept, such as relative size, and only afterward do they acquire the words
and patterns to convey that concept. Simple ideas are expressed earlier than more
complex ones even if they are grammatically more complicated— Conditional
mood is one of the last. Conceptual development might affect language
development: if a child has not yet mastered a difficult semantic distinction, he
or she may be unable to master the syntax of the construction dedicated to
expressing it.
The complexity of a grammatical form has a demonstrable role in development:
simpler rules and forms appear in speech before more complex ones, all other
things being equal. For example, the plural marker -s in English (e.g. cats), which
requires knowing only whether the number of referents is singular or plural, is
used consistently before the present tense marker -s (he walks), which requires
knowing whether the subject is singular or plural and whether it is a first, second,
or third person and whether the event is in the present tense (Brown, 1973).
There is a consistent order of mastery of the most common function morphemes
in a language. Here’s an example from English: first— -ing, then in and on, then
the plural -s, last are the forms of the verb to be. Seems to be conditioned by
logical complexity: plural is simple, while forms of the verb to be require
sensitivity to both number and tense.
A good example of this is seriation. There will be a point in a child’s intellectual
development when s/he can compare objects with respect to size. This means
that if you gave the child a number of sticks, s/he could arrange them in order of
size. Piaget suggested that a child who had not yet reached this stage would not
be able to learn and use comparative adjectives like “bigger” or “smaller”.
Object permanence is another phenomenon often cited in relation to the cognitive
theory. During the first year of life, children seem unaware of the existence of
objects they cannot see. An object which moves out of sight ceases to exist. By
the time they reach the age of 18 months, children have realised that objects
have an existence independently of their perception. The cognitive theory draws
attention to the large increase in children’s vocabulary at around this age,
suggesting a link between object permanence and the learning of labels for objects.
16
Clearly there is some link between cognitive development and language Language Acquisition
acquisition; Piaget’s theory helps explain the order in which certain aspects of
language are acquired.
1.5.7 Limitations of Cognitive Theories

This theory does not explain why language emerges in the first place. Apes also
develop cognitively in much the same way as young children in the first few
years of life, but language acquisition doesn’t follow naturally from their
development. Bees develop the cognitive ability to respond to many shades of
colour, but bees never develop any communication signals based on shades of
color.
During the first year to 18 months, connections of the type explained above are
possible to trace but, as a child continues to develop, so it becomes harder to find
clear links between language and intellect. Some studies have focused on children
who have learned to speak fluently despite abnormal mental development. Syntax
in particular does not appear to rely on general intellectual growth.
1.5.8 Input or Integrationist Theories

In contrast to the work of Chomsky, more recent theorists have stressed the
importance of the language input children receive from their care-givers. Language
exists for the purpose of communication and can only be learned in the context
of interaction with people who want to communicate with the person.
Interactionists such as Jerome Bruner (1966,68) suggest that the language
behaviour of adults when talking to children (known as child-directed speech or
CDS) is specially adapted to support the acquisition process. This support is
often described to as scaffolding for the child’s language learning. Bruner also
coined the term Language Acquisition Support System or LASS in response to
Chomsky’s LAD. It has been noted that the turn-taking structure of conversation
is developed through games and non-verbal communication long before actual
words are uttered.
Children do not hear sentences in isolation, but in a context. Many models of
language acquisition assume that the input to the child consists of a sentence and
a representation of the meaning of that sentence, inferred from context and from
the child’s knowledge of the meanings of the words
1.5.9 Limitations of Input Theories

These theories serve as a useful corrective to Chomsky’s early position and it
seems likely that a child will learn more quickly with frequent interaction.
However, it has already been noted that children in all cultures pass through the
same stages in acquiring language. We have also seen that there are cultures in
which adults do not adopt special ways of talking to children, so child directed
speech may be useful but may not be essential.
As stated earlier, the various theories should not be seen simply as alternatives.
Rather, each of them offers a partial explanation of the process.
1.6 THE BIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Human language is made possible by special adaptations of the human mind and
body that occurred in the course of human evolution, and which are put to use by
children in acquiring their mother tongue. 17
Language Most obviously, the shape of the human vocal tract seems to have been modified
in evolution for the demands of speech. Our larynxes are low in our throats, and
our vocal tracts have a sharp right angle bend that creates two independently-
modifiable resonant cavities (the mouth and the pharynx or throat) that defines a
large two-dimensional range of vowel sounds (Lieberman, 1984).
It is tempting to think that if language evolved by gradual Darwinian natural

selection, we must be able to find some precursor of it in our closest relatives,
the chimpanzees. In several famous and controversial demonstrations,
chimpanzees have been taught some hand-signs based on American Sign
Language, to manipulate colored switches or tokens, and to understand some
spoken commands (Gardner & Gardner, 1969; Premack & Premack, 1983;
Savage-Rumbaugh, 1991). Though artificial chimp signaling systems have some
analogies to human language (e.g., use in communication, combinations of more
basic signals), it seems unlikely that they are homologous. Chimpanzees require
massive regimented teaching sequences contrived by humans to acquire quite
rudimentary abilities, mostly limited to a small number of signs, strung together
in repetitive, quasi-random sequences, used with the intent of requesting food or
tickling (Terrace, Petitto, Sanders, & Bever, 1979; Seidenberg & Petitto, 1979,
1987; Seidenberg, 1986; Wallman, 1992; Pinker, 1994a). These contrasts sharply
with human children, who pick up thousands of words spontaneously, combine
them in structured sequences where every word has a determinate role, respect
the word order of the adult language, and use sentences for a variety of purposes
such as commenting on interesting objects.
This lack of homology does not, by the way, cast doubt on a gradualist Darwinian
account of language evolution. Humans did not evolve directly from chimpanzees.
Both derived from common ancestor, probably around 6-7 million years ago.
This leaves about 300,000 generations in which language could have evolved
gradually in the lineage leading to humans, after it split off from the lineage
leading to chimpanzees. Presumably language evolved in the human lineage for
two reasons: our ancestors developed technology and knowledge of the local
environment in their lifetimes, and were involved in extensive reciprocal
cooperation. This allowed them to benefit by sharing hard-won knowledge with
their kin and exchanging it with their neighbors (Pinker & Bloom, 1990).
1.6.1 Maturational Changes in Brain

The maturation of language circuits during a child’s early years may be a driving
force underlying the course of language acquisition (Pinker, 1994; Bates, Thal,
& Janowsky, 1992; Locke, 1992; Huttenlocher, 1990). Before birth, virtually all
the neurons (nerve cells) are formed, and they migrate into their proper locations
in the brain. But head size, brain weight, and thickness of the cerebral cortex
(gray matter), where the synapses (junctions) subserving mental computation
take place, continue to increase rapidly in the year after birth. Long-distance
connections (white matter) are not complete until nine months, and they continue
to grow their speed-inducing myelin insulation throughout childhood. Synapses
continue to develop, peaking in number between nine months and two years
(depending on the brain region), at which point the child has 50% more synapses
than the adult. Metabolic activity in the brain reaches adult levels by nine to ten
months, and soon exceeds it, peaking around the age of four. Synapses wither
from the age of two through the rest of childhood and into adolescence, when
18
the brain’s metabolic rate falls back to adult levels. Perhaps linguistic milestones Language Acquisition
like babbling, first words, and grammar require minimum levels of brain size,
long-distance connections, or extra synapses, particularly in the language centers
of the brain.
Similarly, one can conjecture that these changes are responsible for the decline
in the ability to learn a language over the lifespan. The language learning circuitry
of the brain is more plastic in childhood; children learn or recover language
when the left hemisphere of the brain is damaged or even surgically removed
(though not quite at normal levels), but comparable damage in an adult usually
leads to permanent aphasia (Curtiss, 1989; Lenneberg, 1967).
Newport and Gleitman (1995) shows how sheer age seems to play an important
role. Successful acquisition of language typically happens by 4 and is guaranteed
for children up to the age of six, is steadily compromised from then until shortly
after puberty, and is rare thereafter. Maturational changes in the brain, such as
the decline in metabolic rate and number of neurons during the early school age
years, and the bottoming out of the number of synapses and metabolic rate around
puberty, are plausible causes. Thus, there may be a neurologically-determined
“critical period” for successful language acquisition, analogous to the critical
periods documented in visual development in mammals and in the acquisition
of songs by some birds.
1.6.2 Dissociations Between Language and General Intelligence

Humans evolved brain circuitry, mostly in the left hemisphere surrounding the
sylvian fissure, that appears to be designed for language, though how exactly
their internal wiring gives rise to rules of language is unknown (Zurif, 2000).
The brain mechanisms underlying language are not just those allowing us to be
smart in general. Strokes often leave adults with catastrophic losses in language
(Zurif,2000; Pinker, 1994a), though not necessarily impaired in other aspects of
intelligence, such as those measured on the nonverbal parts of IQ tests.
There are also syndromes showing the opposite dissociation, where intact
language coexists with severe retardation. These cases show that language
development does not depend on fully functioning general intelligence. One
example comes from children with Williams Syndrome, an inherited condition
involving physical abnormalities, significant retardation (the average IQ is about
50), incompetence at simple everyday tasks (tying shoelaces, finding one’s way,
adding two numbers, and retrieving items from a cupboard), social warmth and
gregariousness, and fluent, articulate language abilities (Bellugi, et al., 1990).
1.6.3 Neural Networks

Some cognitive neuroscientists have created neural networks, or computer
models, that can acquire some aspects of language. These neural networks are
not preprogrammed with any rules. Instead, they are exposed to many examples
of a language. Using these examples, the neural networks have been able to
learn the language’s statistical structure and accurately make the past tense forms
of verbs. The developers of these networks speculate that children may acquire
language in a similar way, through exposure to multiple examples.
19
Language
1.7 LET US SUM UP
The topic of language acquisition implicates the most profound questions about
our understanding of the human mind, and its subject matter, the speech of
children, is endlessly fascinating. But the attempt to understand it scientifically
is guaranteed to bring on a certain degree of frustration. Languages are complex
combinations of elegant principles and historical accidents. We cannot design
new ones with independent properties; we are stuck with the confounded ones
entrenched in communities. Children, too, were not designed for the benefit of
psychologists: their cognitive, social, perceptual, and motor skills are all
developing at the same time as their linguistic systems are maturing and their
knowledge of a particular language is increasing, and none of their behaviour
reflects one of these components acting in isolation.
Learning anything about language acquisition at all, is only because a diverse set
of conceptual and methodological tools has been used to trap the elusive answers
to these questions: neurobiology, ethology, linguistic theory, naturalistic and
experimental child psychology, cognitive psychology, philosophy of induction,
theoretical and applied computer science. Language acquisition, then, is one of
the best examples of the indispensability of the multidisciplinary approach called
cognitive science.

1) Describe some of the processes involved in language?
2) Why study of language is important for cognitive psychologists?
3) There is a universal course of development every child follows in the learning
of language. Describe.
4) How do we acquire the ability to use language?
5) Compare and contrast the behaviourism and innateness theories of language
acquisition.
6) Nature and nurture both influence the course of language development.
Explain with empirical evidence.
7) Illustrate cognitive theory of language acquisition in detail.
8) Give a sample of an utterance one might reasonably expect to hear from an
18 month old child.
9) Give a detailed biological account of language acquisition.
10) Make a worksheet showing the initial stages of language acquisition in a
child with elaborate examples and reference studies.

Bloom, P.1994). Language Acquisition: Core Readings. Cambridge: The MIT
Press
Brown, R. (1973). A First Language: The Early Stages. Cambridge: Harvard

University Press.
20
References Language Acquisition
Clark, E. V. (2003). First Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press
Fletcher, P., & MacWhinney, B. (Eds.) (1995). The Handbook of Child Language.
Oxford: Blackwell.
Gleitman, L. R., Liberman, M., & Osherson, D. N. (Eds.) (2000). An Invitation

to Cognitive Science, 2nd Edition Volume 1: Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Ingram, D. (1989). First Language Acquisition: Method, Description, and

Explanation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pinker, S. (1994). The Language Instinct. London: Penguin Books.
Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a Language. Cambridge: Harvard University

Press.
VanTatenhove, G. M. (2005).Normal Language Development, Generative

Language and AAC.
Yang, C. (2009)(Ed.). Language Acquisition. London: Routledge.
21
Language
UNIT 2 LANGUAGE PROCESSING
(COMPREHENSION AND
LANGUAGE EXPRESSION)
“Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but
the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely
varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free
creation.”
– Noam Chomsky
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Functions of Language
2.3 Structure of Language
2.3.1 Basic Units of Language: Phonemes and Morphemes
2.3.2 Higher Levels of Linguistic Analysis
2.3.3 Phase Structure of Sentences
2.3.4 Structure and Deep Structure in Sentences
2.4 Processes in Language
2.4.1 Production of Language
2.4.2 Speech Perception and Comprehension
2.5 Language Development
2.6 Comprehensive Model of Language Processing
2.6.1 Kintsch’s Model of Comprehension
2.6.2 Propositional Representation of Text and Reading
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
One form of knowledge shared by all human societies is the knowledge of
language. Language is the principal means by which we acquire and express
knowledge; thus, the study of how language is used is a central concern of
cognitive psychology. In the previous chapter, we studied the modes of language
acquisition; here we will do an overview of the research on the processes of
language involving the comprehension and expression of language.
Language, like other cognitive functions, is a (dynamic) process. Such an

enterprise requires that we examine the microstructure of the entire process as it
occurs in real time. It is only through the careful examination of the temporal
course of mental operations involved in the various levels of analysis underlying
speech that we can hope to discover its nature.
How do we understand language, given its multifaceted encoding? One approach

to this question centers on the psychological processes involved in speech
22
perception (Hickok & Poeppel, 2000). It also considers how listeners deal with Language Processing
(Comprehension and
the peculiarities resulting from the acoustic (related to sound) transmission of Language Expression)
language. A, second, more linguistically oriented approach focuses on descriptions
of the grammatical structure of language. Finally, a third approach examines the
psycholinguistic processes involved in language comprehension at the discourse
macro-level of analysis. All three approaches overlap to some degree and offer
interesting insights into the nature of language, its use, and understanding.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Examine the basic features involved in the language processing;
• Explain the expression and comprehension of language;
• Elucidate the functions of Language;
• Analyse the structure of Language;
• Explain the processes in Language; and
• Describe Walter Kintsch’s model of comprehension.
2.2 FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language serves many functions, which are all related to the fundamental process
of communication. Perhaps most important is that language conveys meaning
and is part of almost all kinds of social interaction. Language conveys intentions,
motives, feelings, and beliefs. Language is used to issue requests and commands;
and is also used to teach and to convey information. Language is useful because
it can represent ideas and events that are not tied to present. You can also describe
abstract ideas, such as beauty and justice, as well as concrete objects of everyday
experience. Thus, language is symbolic, in that speech sounds and utterances
stand for or represent various objects, ideas, and events.
Regardless of whether we are considering spoken language, written language, or

sign language, there are three elements of language expression and human
communication that have been identified as operating in the speaker-listener
situation: speech acts, propositional content, and thematic structure. A brief
description from the analysis by Clark & Clark (1977) is as follows:
i) Speech Acts: Speakers normally intend to have some influence on their
listeners. To do so, speakers get the listeners to recognise the speakers’
intentions. Indeed, failure to recognise these intentions can result in awkward
situations. Speech-act theory holds that all utterances can be classified as to
the type of speech act they represent. For example, speech acts may make
assertions, make verbal commitments, convey thanks, give a warning, or
issue a command. Typical examples of speech acts including the following:
“I insist that you turn down the volume on the stereo” (a command); “What
are your plans for weekend?” (a question); “I promise to pay you tomorrow”
(a verbal commitment), symbolise ordering, questioning, committing etc,
which are common direct speech acts.
Searle (1969) pointed out that some speech acts are indirect. When your
mother asks if you live in a barn, a guest in your house asks if you are chilly,
23
Language they are conveying information about their desires, but in a rather indirect,
nonliteral way. The meaning of any particular speech act, including whether
it is direct or indirect, will depend on the context in which it is uttered
(Gibbs, 1986), as well as its content.
ii) Propositional Content: The second element of communication concerns
the propositional content of a sentence. In communication, speakers want
to convey certain ideas, and to do this, they must be sure that they are
understood. Thus, the content around a speech act is very important. As a
general rule, the propositional content of a sentence is used to describe certain
states or events; it can be part of other propositions. For example, the sentence
“The bright student received an A in Mathematics” expresses two separate
propositions: “the student is bright” and “the student received an A in
Mathematics.” Combined into a single sentence, the propositions convey
what the speaker intends to convey. There is experimental evidence that we
represent as propositions. For example, the more propositions contained in
a sentence, the longer the time required to read the sentence (van Dijk &
Kintsch, 1983)(discussed in detail in last section).
iii) Thematic Structure: The third component in communication is thematic

structure. To communicate effectively, good speakers pay careful attention
to their listeners. Good speakers have to judge what listeners do and do
know, keep track of where they are leading their listeners, and regularly
examine any assumptions about the listeners’ knowledge of the topic being
discussed. In short, the speaker must be able to make reasonably accurate
judgments of the listener’s current level of understanding. All of these
features are present in good teachers, entertaining and effective storytellers,
and interesting conversationalists.
2.3 STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE

A theoretical intervention about the process which leads to the understanding of
an utterance in communication should involve two aspects. Firstly, the aspects
of language linked to the recognition of the form of the utterance itself (phonology,
morphology, and syntax); secondly, questions about how the meaning of what is
understood can be defined, which are linked to semantics and pragmatics of the
communication process. These two aspects cannot be separated, and in order to
analyse the process of language, both are to be taken into consideration. Thus, to
understand the language processes, it is fundamental to understand the basic
structure of language first.
As should be evident by now, language can be divided into three basic parts,
each with its own structure and rules: phonology, syntax (grammar), and
semantics. The first of these, phonology, concerns the rules for pronunciation of
speech sounds. The second aspect of language, syntax, deals with the way words
combine to form sentences. And semantics focuses on the meaning of words and
sentences.
2.3.1 Basic Units of Language: Phonemes and Morphemes

All languages are made of basic sounds called phonemes. Adult human beings
can produce approximately 100 phonemes, and the English language is made up
24
of about 45 phonemes. Languages vary in the number of phonemes, ranging Language Processing
(Comprehension and
from as few as 15 to as many as 85. One reason why it is difficult for many Language Expression)
Americans to learn foreign languages is that different phonemes are used. For
instance, Germanic and Slavic languages contain phonemes never used in the
English language. (Phonemes and morphemes have already been defined in the
previous chapter).
2.3.2 Higher Levels of Linguistic Analysis

The study of speech sounds which make up a language is called phonology, and
the study of how these sounds combine to produce morphemes is called
morphology. However, psychologists are frequently interested in a more global
analysis of language than is provided by phonology and morphology.
Psychological investigations of language typically adopt words, phrases,
sentences, or prose, rather than more elementary speech sounds, as the most
fundamental unit of analysis.
There are several levels at which these higher-order analyses can be made.
1) First, one could analyse the lexical content of a sentence or of some other
unit of language production. When a lexical analysis is performed, the
question is simply, what words are used, and how many times they are used
in this sample of language? Information gained from lexical analysis of
language, such as that by Thorndike and Lorge, has proved to be very useful
in predicting the ease with which different words can be learned in laboratory
situations.
2) At another level of linguistic analysis, the syntactic content of language text
may be investigated. In the study of syntax, interest is focused on the
arrangement or ordering of words to form phrases and sentences. The
question asked in this type of analysis is, how is this phase (or sentence)
structured? Psychologists and linguists interested in syntactic theory have
attempted to specify rules that account for the productivity of language
(Chomsky, 1985). The set of rules indicating how the elements of the
language may be combined to make intelligible sentences is referred to as a
grammar. Although a large number of different grammars have been
proposed, there is little agreement about the necessary features of an adequate
grammar.
3) Another level of analysis of language is the one that considers the semantic
content or meaning of passage. This perspective on language results in the
asking of questions such as the following: What does the passage
communicate? What is the meaning of this particular sentence?
Word meaning is a function of the interaction between word features and
the extent to which they match those belonging to certain prototypical and
nonprototypical contexts (Lakoff, 1987). Here, both feature theory and
prototype theory are seen as important.
The critical role of semantics is not under question and has been clearly
demonstrated in a number of psychological investigations. In general, current
views of semantics and comprehension view the listener (or reader) as an
active participant who formulates hypotheses about subsequent input based
on context (both verbal and situational), on knowledge of constraints in the
language, and on knowledge of the world. This is in contrast to the more
25
Language passive view of the comprehended as someone who waits for the input before
acting upon it.
2.3.3 Phase Structure of Sentences

In order to understand language in an adult, it is necessary to examine the structure
of sentences. At one level of analysis, a sentence can be regarded simply as a
string of phonemes. At another level, a sentence can be regarded as series of
morphemes, which are grouping of phonemes. From this viewpoint, however,
the sentence is viewed as a string of words. Linguists have found it more useful
to describe a sentence in terms of phrases, which are grouping of words.
Analysis of a sentence into its various phrases describes the phrase structure of
a sentence. A sentence is viewed as composed of two basic phrases, a noun
phrase and a verb phrase, which in turn are composed of subcomponents.
Figure 2.1 shows the phrase structure of a simple sentence, “The boy ate an
apple.” The noun phrase is composed of a determiner and a noun, and the verb
phase is composed of a verb and noun phrase; the latter noun phrase is also
composed of a determiner and a noun. Pause in speech usually reflect underlying
phrase structure. For example, we are most likely to say, “The boy…ate…an
apple,” pausing ever so briefly after boy and ate. We are not likely to say,
“The….boy ate…an apple,” or “The… boy ate an….apple,” grouping boy, ate,
and an. While in normal speech a speaker may search and grope for a particular
word and, thus, alter the pauses, the listener still tends to understand the message.
Sentence
Noun Phrase Verb Phrase
Determiner Verb Nour Phrase

Noun
Determiner Noun
boy ate
The an apple
Fig. 2.1: Phrase structure in a sentence represented by a tree diagram (adapted from Hunt
& Ellis, 2006)
2.3.4 Structure and Deep Structure in Sentences

The surface structure is the organisation that describes the sequences of phrases
in a sentence as it is actually spoken (or read) and reflects the phonological
realisation of the complex, underlying linguistic structure.
Deep structure, in contrast, refers to the underlying structure that includes the
26 relevant string of linguistic units, the grammatical requirements for lexical (word)
selection, and the grammatical relations between words in sentences. The deep Language Processing
(Comprehension and
structure of a sentence, thus, specifies the derivations of both its surface structure Language Expression)
and meaning.
Consider the sentences, “Rohit threw the ball” and “The ball was thrown by
Rohit.” Both sentences convey the same meaning despite the fact that they sound
different. Hence their deep structure is same. But consider the sentence “The
lamb is ready to eat,” which can have two meanings. The lamb may serve as
food to be eaten, or as an animal, the lamb is prepared to eat food. Thus, the deep
structure can vary within the same sentence, depending on what meaning the
speaker wishes to convey. Evaluate the meaning of the following ambiguous
sentences” “Visiting relatives can be a nuisance,” “the corrupt police can’t stop
drinking.”
Sentences with essentially a single deep structure and two or more surface
structures are synonymous. Sentences with different deep structures and the same
surface structure are ambiguous. Thus, important problem remaining concerns
the theoretical rules by which the deep structure of a sentence comes to be realised
in a particular surface structure. Rules for the specification of this linkage process,
called transformational rules, have been developed by Noam Chomsky
(Chomsky, 1965, 1975) and other linguists.
Transformational rules have clear implications about what features of sentences

human beings do store in memory. If the sentence is simple, then features of the
surface structure may be stored. As sentences become more complex, what is
thought to be stored is some underlying base structure, or schema, plus one or
more “footnotes” that serve as rules necessary to regenerate the sentence in its
original surface form. Thus, what is stored is some coded representation of the
complex sentence.
Information contained in a linguistic message tends to be comprehended, and

sometimes is remembered, in syntactically defined chunks, although semantically
based chunking also may be used, depending on the demands placed upon the
listener and the nature of the material (Marschark, 1979). Thus, the phrase
structure of a sentence appears to play an important organisational role in language
processing at a very basic level (Ferreira & Clifton, 1986).
1) Explain language in your words.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) What are the three functions of language?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
27
Language
3) Explain surface structure and deep structure.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2.4 PROCESSES IN LANGUAGE

In this section we will examine some basic processes in language. The focus is
on three processes: (i) production of language, (ii) speech perception and
comprehension, and (iii) language development.
2.4.1 Production of Language

The beginning of a dialogue is usually the production of speech by one of the
participants, although a gesture or other sign may initiate such an interaction and
have its origins in a similar verbal plan (McNeil, 1985). But, before uttering a
sentence or manually expressing any information, the speaker must do some
planning based on the intended effect the utterance is to have on the listener;
based on the speaker’s knowledge of the listener’s scope of understanding
(example, is the listener familiar with the topic?); and based on the syntactic,
semantic, and pragmatic (or social) form that the production and its desired
effects requires. Thus, speaking is very much an instrumental act, which is to
say that speakers talk in order to produce an effect of some kind.
The process of speaking is basically concerned with planning and execution.
But just how is speech planned and executed? Clark & Clark (1977) described a
rough outline of this process, which involves five steps. The first step for speakers
is to decide on the kind of discourse to be initiated, which is the issue of discourse
plans. Do they want to engage in a conversation, to describe an event, to give
instructions, or to regale a friend with a humorous story? Each type of discourse
has a particular structure, and speakers must plan their utterances to fit that
structure.
For example, if you are telling a joke, you first describe the setting or context,
then describe the sequence of events, and end with the punch line. If you fail to
follow this structure, you obviously will not be an effective joke teller. If you
give away the joke by accidently telling the punch line before the appropriate
time, you will defeat your purpose. Similarly, instructions and conversations
have an orderly structure.
One set of guidelines that speakers and listeners seem to follow to foster good
communication during a conversation has been described by Grice (1975) and
others (e.g., Levelt, 1989). These “Gricean Maxims” are:
Quantity: Avoid running off at the mouth.
Quality: Don’t lie or stretch the truth.
Relation: Avoid making statements irrelevant to the topic of conversation.
28
Manner: Avoid vague or ambiguous statements.
Failure to follow these maxims often results in a conversational implicature. Language Processing
(Comprehension and
For example, imagine that you are reviewing an applicant’s letter of Language Expression)
recommendation for a highly technical job, and the letter reads as follows:
I am writing a letter on behalf of Gopal Bhatnagar. Gopal dresses very well and
has a charming wife. He also drives a nice automobile and sings in his church’s
choir. Thank you.
Would you hire Gopal based on this letter? Probably not. Clearly, the content of
this letter violates the Relation Maxim. Because of this, the letter writer has
conversationally implied that John is not the person for the job. Speakers (and
letter writers) usually adhere to these Gricean Maxims; but, as this example
demonstrates, it is quite informative when they don’t.
Planning discourse is planning at global level. The second stage of speech

production involves planning of sentences, the components of discourse. Once
the nature of discourse is decided, specific sentences that will accomplish the
objective must then be selected. The speech act, the propositional content, and
the thematic structure need to be determined. The order in which sentences are
produced and the type of information to be conveyed must be thought about. For
example, suppose you are describing your new house. You might first describe
the location; next, you might describe the overall type of house; then you might
proceed to describe the floor plan and arrangement of rooms and, finally, give
sfics of each room. Notice that there is a structure that involves going from
global, or general information, to progressively more specific details.
The third phase of speech production deals with constituent plans of the sentence.
Once a sentence is decided on, its components must then be planned. The
appropriate words, phrases, and so forth must be picked out and put in the right
order. These first three phases describe three levels of planning. At the most
general level, planning is directed towards the type of discourse. At the next
level, planning concerns the type of sentence to be uttered. At the third level,
planning deals with specific components of the sentence.
An interesting feature of slips of the tongue is that they point out regularities in
the planning stages of productions. For example, slips are seldom “illegal”
combinations of sounds for the language; morphemes tend to slip as entire units
(Clark & Clark, 1977). Some classics slips are known as “bloopers” in the world
of radio and television. Some bloopers are fairly obvious. For example, an
announcer for the ‘Friendly Homemaker Program’ said, “And now we present
our homely friendmaker. Another example is a remark of the commentator
covering visit of the king and queen of England: “When they arrive, you will
hear a 21 son salute.”
The fourth phase of speech production deals with what is called the articulatory
program. This concerns the plans for the execution of speech, which is a
coordinated sequence of muscular contractions in and about the mouth. And the
final phase of speech production is articulation itself. This is the actual output of
speech. Interested readers are referred to Clark & Clark (1977) and Levelt (1989)
for a detailed discussion of planning and execution of speech.
29
Language
2.4.2 Speech Perception and Comprehension
To understand speech is crucial to human communication. Hence, speech
perception is fundamental to language use in our day to day life. We are able to
perceive speech with amazing rapidity. On the one hand, we can perceive as
many as fifty phonemes per second in a language in which we are fluent (Foulke
& Sticht, 1969). On the other hand, we can perceive only about two thirds of a
single phonemes per second of nonspeech sounds (Warren et al., 1969). This is
why foreign languages are difficult to understand when we hear them. Even if
we can read them, the sounds of their letters and letter combinations may be
different from the sounds corresponding to the same letters and letter combinations
in our native language.
The comprehension of speech begins with the perception of raw speech sounds.
Comprehension starts where speech production ends. Speakers produce a stream
of sounds that arrive at the listener’s ears; then, listeners are able to analyse the
sound patterns and to comprehend them. Speech perception is not, however, the
simple identification of sounds.
It involves the complex processes of encoding and comprehension. In other words,
interpretative processes, meaning, contextual influences, and the like play
important roles in speech perception. Thus, the transformation from raw speech
sounds to propositions in memory is a complex process. The physical signal that
reaches the ear consists of rapid vibrations of air. While the sounds of speech
correlate with particular component frequencies, there is no direct one-to-one
correspondence between the sounds of speech and the perception of listeners.
Recognition of words is very much dependent on context, explanations, and
knowledge. For example, a hungry child can interpret the question “Have you
washed your hands for dinner?” as a call to come directly to dinner (i.e., as
indirect speech act rather than a direct question).
The role of context also can be easily seen in complete sentences in which context
allows words to be inferred quite easily. For example, the sentence “The young
girl was awakened by her frightening d….” allows listeners to infer dream. There
is no need to think about what the word might be; it just seems to pop out
automatically.
A similar context effect was studied in the laboratory of Warren (Warren &
Obusek, 1971) using phonemes. Subjects were read sentences that had a single
speech sound obscured. For example, the sentence “The state governors met
with the respective legislatures convening in the capital city” had the first s in
legislatures masked by a coughing sound. The experimenter then asked the
subjects to identify where the cough had occurred. [The results indicated that
subjects somehow “restored” the missing s sound and were unable to locate the
interjected cough.]
The phenomenon, appropriately called phonemic restoration, has been shown to
be even more likely when more than a single word can result from the restoration
(example: “_egion” can become either “legion” or “region”), indicating an active
word-searching process in speech perception (Samuel, 1987).
Many people have the impression that the words they hear are distinct, separate
combinations of sounds, but this impression in not correct. Cole (1979, 1980)
30
and other speech researchers have demonstrated that words usually run together Language Processing
(Comprehension and
as sound patterns. This is seen by use of a spectrograph, an electronic device for Language Expression)
measuring the variations in energy expended when a person talks. Moreover, it
is often the case that a single word cannot be recognised correctly when it is
taken out of its sentence context. This was shown some years ago by Pollack and
Pickett (1963), who played different segments of a normal conversation for
subjects. When the subjects heard just one word from the conversation, it was
often incomprehensible. Without the context of the meaningful sentence, the
single word could not be understood.
More generally, an important feature of speech perception is that speech is not

comprehended simply on the basis of the sounds per se. Rather, speech is
comprehended on the basis of many additional factors (e.g., intentions, context,
and expectations) from which an interpretation of what the speaker says is
constructed. (Tyler & Marslen-Wilson, 1986; see Paivio & Begg, 1981, for a
review).
One main approach equates processes of speech perception with processes of

auditory perception of other sounds. These kinds of theories emphasises either
template-matching or feature-detection processes. Such theories postulate that
there are distant stages of neural processing. In one stage speech sounds are
analysed into their components. In another stage these components are analysed
for patterns and matched to a prototype or template (Kuhl, 1991; Massaro, 1987).
One theory of this kind is the phonetic refinement theory (Pisoni et al.,1985),
which says that we start with an analysis of auditory sensations and shift to
higher level processing. A similar theoretical idea is embodied by the TRACE
model (McClleland & Elman, 1986). According to this model, speech perception
begins with three levels of feature detection: the level of acoustic features, the
level of phonemes, and the level of words. According to this theory, speech
perception is highly interactive. Lower levels affect higher levels and vice versa.
One attribute of these theories have in common is that they all require decision-
making process above and beyond feature detection or template matching. Thus,
the speech we perceive may differ from the speech sounds that actually reach
our ears. The reason is that cognitive and contextual factors influence our
perception of sense signal. For example, the phonemic-restoration effect involves
integrating what we know with what we hear when we perceive speech (Samuel,
1981; Warren, 1970).
2.5 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Language acquisition and development follows a fairly orderly course. (This
order has been discussed in detail in the earlier chapter on Language Acquisition).
Here we will focus on development of semantics which ultimately help the child
in comprehending the language.
Making speech sounds is only the first step in acquiring language. The sounds
must come to represent objects, symbols, and events in the child’s environment
and they must acquire meaning for the child.
Children are familiar with many aspects of their environment before they learn
to speak. Their parents, toys, pets, siblings, and household objects are familiar
31
Language stimuli. At this early stage of language development, their task is one of learning
to associate particular environment stimuli with particular sound symbols and
responses. For example, they must learn to associate the sight of mother with the
sound of Mama.
Only when such associations are acquired, the speech sound come to represent
or symbolise a specific object or event for the child. These associations are only
a part of language development. Thus, the development of meaning begins with
the acquisition of associations between objects/events and speech sounds.
One popular view of the acquisition of word meaning is that children learn
semantic features and then attempt to apply an original word that includes the
features to objects that share those features. For example, a child may learn the
word ball and then overgeneralise it to other round objects such as moon and
orange.
Gradually, the child begins to construct more complex sentences that take on the
characteristics of adult language. This is an enormously challenging task (Brown,
1973). What the child learns are sets of grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic
rules for constructing sentences. Usually, children are unable to verbalise the
rules, but their linguistic performance indicates that they do possess linguistic
competence, the knowledge necessary to produce all and only those situations of
a given language.
Indeed, many adults who speak grammatically acceptable English are unable to
specify the rules they use. But these rules allow us to generate the almost infinite
number of sentences. One of the best pieces of evidence for learning syntactic
rules is the phenomenon of overgeneralisation. For example, children learn to
say went correctly, apparently by rote, then learn the rule of forming the past
tense by adding ed, and then incorrectly as goed. They later learn the exception
to the rule and go back saying went. Similar overgeneralisations occur in deaf
child’s acquisition of sign language.
This brief description only begins to sketch some of the complexities of language
development. What is clear is that young children have an enormously complex
task in learning to speak, read, and use language in a meaningful fashion. The
fact that human beings can acquire and use language emerges as a remarkable
achievement.
Finally, relating language development to the earlier discussion on speech acts,

there have also been some interesting findings. For example, it appears that
younger children view the meaning of “I Promise” differently than do older
children and adults. According to philosopher Sourly (1969), certain conditions
must be present for a sincere promise to be made.
One condition is that the person making the commitment actually intends to
carry out the promised action. A second condition is that it is apparent that the
person to whom the promise is directed desires the action to be carried out. In a
recent study, Bernicot & Laval (1996) report that 3-year-olds have difficulty
understanding only the second condition. But, by age 10, children evaluate both
conditions equivalently well in determining the outcome of a scenario (concerning
the occurrence of the promised activity), where these conditions were
manipulated.
32
These findings indicate that the meaning of “I Promise” is quite different, Language Processing
(Comprehension and
depending on the age of the child to whom it is said. Specifically the understanding Language Expression)
of the contextual circumstances underlying the making of a verbal commitment
increments with age. Initially, children are primarily concerned with whether the
promised activity simply occurred; as they grow older, they begin to grasp the
intentions of the speaker in evaluating the likely outcome of that activity
(Astington, 1988).
2.6 COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF LANGUAGE

PROCESSING
This chapter has progressed systematically from the simple linguistic entities
(phonemes and morphemes), to syntax and grammar, to speech perception and
comprehension. One might wonder, whether there are any comprehensive theories
of language. In fact there are many. One by Kintsch is particularly significant
because it incorporates many bits of wisdom from earlier studies and, at the
same time contains a model of the mind. Let’s discuss now the principal
components of the most influential, extensive and comprehensive model of
language processing by Kintsch and van Dijk (Kintsch, 1974, 1979, 1988, 1990;
Kintsch & van Dijk, 1978) briefly.
2.6.1 Kintsch’s Model of Comprehension

This model of comprehension is more than a system that deals with the way
textual information is understood. It is a theory that cuts across many topics in
cognitive psychology, including memory and comprehension of the written and
spoken language. Comprehension is dependent on two disparate sources that are
similar to top-down and bottom-up processing. [Borrowed from computer
language, bottom-up processing is cognitive processing initiated by the
components of a stimulus pattern which, when summed, lead to recognition of
the whole configuration; whereas top-down processing is hypothesis-driven
recognition of the whole stimulus configuration, which leads to the recognition
of component parts.] At the highest level is the goal schema, which decides what
material is relevant. At the opposite extreme of the model is the text.
The model is based on a proposition. A proposition is an abstraction, and, as

such, it is difficult to define concretely. However, some characteristics of
propositions can be identified: they are abstractions based on observations (such
as reading text material or listening to a speaker); they are retained in memory
and follow the laws governing memory processes; and, in Kintsch’s system,
they consist of a predicate and one or more arguments. Predicates corresponds to
verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or connectives in the words a person reads or hears.
This is called the surface structure, a term already discussed in previous sections.
Arguments correspond to nouns, noun phrases, or clauses. The model is illustrated
with the following little story:
The Swazi tribe was at war with a neighbouring tribe because of a dispute over
some cattle. Among the warriors were two unmarried men, Kakra and his younger
brother Gum. Kakra was killed in battle.
The first sentence is divided into five groups: the swazi tribe…..was at war
with….a neighbouring tribe…. because….a dispute over some cattle. According
33
Language to coherence analysis of this sentence, only first three of the factors are in working
memory. The predicate “was at war with” is considered the most important part
of this sentence insofar as comprehension of the story is concerned. The other
parts are clustered around it.
A significant feature of the model is that the initial processing of the text is
assumed to take place in Short Term Memory (STM), which we know has limited
capacity. Because of this constraint, only a portion of the propositions is held in
memory. With the reading of the second sentence, some of propositions from the
first sentence are still vital in STM. The reader tries to connect the old and new
propositions but finds no match between them.
Failing to find a match between the propositions in STM, the reader searches
Long Term Memory (LTM) for a possible match. This search in the LTM is
called reinstatement search and is one reason that text material may be hard to
read. In the example, the lack of a match between propositions in the first and
second sentence requires the reader to construct a new network for the ideas and
to attempt to relate the two sentences.
One inference that the reader makes is that the two men were members of the
Swazi tribe, a reasonable conclusion even though that the fact is not stated directly.
With the reading of more sentences, the semantic network begins to get more
complicated and interrelated. The reading of the sentence “Among the warriors
were…., Kakra and…….” Retains in memory the names of the men, which can
easily be related to the information in the last sentence “Kakra was killed in
Battle.”
2.6.2 Propositional Representation of Text and Reading

As stated before the model of comprehension holds that the underlying unit of
memory for text material is the proposition. Additionally, the model predicts
that sentences of greater propositional complexity are more difficult to
comprehend than sentences with simple propositional structure, even if the surface
complexity of the two sentences is about the same. Kintsch and Keenan (1973)
designed an experiment to test this prediction. A sample from many experiments
is reported here.
Subjects were asked to read ten sentences, all of which had about the same number
of words but varied greatly in the number of propositions. Some sentences had
as few as four propositions, and others had as many as nine. For example, read
the following two sentences:
Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, took the women of Sabine by force.
Cleopatra’s downfall lay in her foolish trust in the fickle political figures of the
Roman world.
Which sentence was more difficult to read? If you are like the subjects in Kintsch’s
and Keenan’s experiment, you had more difficulty with the sentence about
Cleopatra than the sentence about Romulus. Even though the surface complexity
of the two sentences is about the same, they differ markedly in the number of
propositions and the macrostructures that are required to interconnect the
propositions.
34
In the Kintsch’s and Keenan’s experiment, subjects were presented with sentences Language Processing
(Comprehension and
similar to those just discussed above by means of slides. The subjects were asked Language Expression)
to read each sentence and then to write it. They could then advance the slides and
see the next sentence. Time taken in reading each sentence was noted. The authors
found an extraordinarily consistent relationship between the number of
propositions and the time required to read the sentences.
2.7 LET US SUM UP

In all, the approaches that have been taken in exploring many of the issues involved
in the perceptual analysis of language and lexical processing merely scratch the
surface of the complexity of both theory and fact that must be developed to
provide a sufficient characterisation of the cognitive system. Language processing
requires a multidisciplinary examination. To conclude, we can say that, like many
other cognitive process, language processing is a very dynamic and complex
process. No single method, function or theory can explain the process of language
completely in itself; only a comprehensive approach should be appropriate and
applied for the comprehension of language.

1) Note the various experimental tasks that have been used to study language
comprehension. Have you run into any of them before in this course?
2) It is intuitively obvious that context facilitates word interpretation, but how
can it interfere with interpretation?
3) What is the role of context and expectations in the interpretation of speech?
How has the influence of context been studied experimentally?
4) What are several major features of language development?
5) Compare and contrast the role of speech perception, syntax and semantics
in the development and understanding of language.
6) What are the different processes involved in language comprehension?
7) The exposition of Kintsch’s model is necessarily abstract and therefore
difficult to comprehend. Preserve in your reinstated searches! See if you
can use it to deal with a new example of text selected from another course.
8) What factors are included in Kintsch’s model? How does the reader enter
into this model?
9) Give an example of a humorous violation of one of Grice’s four maxims of
successful conversation.

Clark, H. H. (1996). Using Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Clark, H., & Clark, E. (1977). Psychology and Language: An Introduction to

Psycholinguistics. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Garrod, S. & Pickering, M.J. (2001). Language Processing. East Sussex:

Psychology Press.
35
Language References
to Cognitive Science, 2nd Ed. Volume 1: Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Jurafsky, D., & Martin, J.H. (2009). Speech and Language Processing: An
Introduction to Natural Language Processing, Computational Linguistics, and
Speech Recognition. NJ: Prentice Hall.
Just, M.A., & Carpenter, P.A. (1987). The Psychology of Reading and Language
Comprehension. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

36
Language Processing
UNIT 3 MULTILINGUALISM AND (Comprehension and
Language Expression)
COGNITION
“To have another language is to possess a second soul.” — Charlemagne (742/

7 – 814), King of the Franks
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Multilingualism — Basic Concepts
3.2.1 The Structure of Multilingualism
3.2.2 Multiligualism in India
3.3 Multilingualism and Cognition
3.3.1 Relations Between Languages and Their Users
3.3.2 Rule-governed Language Choice
3.3.3 Mixing is Rule-Governed Too
3.4 Multilingualism and Thinking
3.4.1 Other Benefits
3.5 Acquisition of a Second Language
3.5.1 Single-System Versus Dual-System Hypotheses
3.6 Neural Mechanism of Multilinguals
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Multilingualism is the natural potential available to every normal human being
rather than an unusual exception; it is only the environmental factors which may
fail to provide the opportunity to learn another language that produce monolingual
speakers: “Given the appropriate environment, two languages are as normal as
two lungs” (Cook, 2002).
Every child is born with a language acquisition device having innate properties
that plays a role in acquiring knowledge of language. This innateness is a
biological endowment that Chomsky refers to as “Principles and Parameters”.
According to this theory, there is a universal grammar – where “Principles” are
general features, while “parameters” are variables left open in the statement of
principles that account for the diversity found in languages. Grammar is a
collection of choices (example, a choice between SOV and SVO patterns of
sentences). They define the limited numbers of grammatically permitted choices
from the universal grammar menu of options. There are also lexical facts. Once
the vocabulary is learnt and grammatical patterns are fixed, the whole system
falls in its place and general principles programmed into general organ, just churns
away to yield all the particulars of the language concerned (Chomsky as quoted
in Jenkins, 2000).
In other words, there are different grammatical systems based on the choice of
different parameters, when the child is exposed to them, his/her innate capacity 37
Language gets activated and he/she acquires knowledge of the rules of the language while
using it for communication. When the child is exposed to more than one such
linguistic system, he/she acquires more than one language and is known as
multilingual.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define basic concepts and structure of multilingualism;
• Explain multilingualism and cognition;
• Define acquisition of language; and
• Explain neural mechanism of multilinguals.
3.2 MULTILINGUALISM – BASIC CONCEPTS

Multilingualism is the knowledge of more than one language by a person or
within a social group; it assumes the ability to switch from one language to
another in speech, in writing, or in reading. Other terms describing this
phenomenon include bilingualism, polylingualism, plurilingualism, diglossia,
and languages-in-contact. Multilingualism may be personal, social, or
intersubjective. A generic term for multilingual persons is polyglot. Poly (Greek
word) means “many”, glot (Greek) means “language”; and for the monolinguals
is monoglot. Personal multilingualism refers to the knowledge and verbal
behaviour of an individual, not necessarily shared by the whole community. Social
multilingualism refers to the communicative practices of a nation, tribe, or other
social group that sustains two or more languages. As in India, nearly 200 languages
are spoken by its natives.
3.2.1 The Structure of Multilingualism

For many years, the popular belief was that a multilingual person should have
learnt all of his or her languages simultaneously in early childhood and that he or
she should have a native — like oral and written competence in all of them
(Bloomfield 1933).
Today, a broader definition is more common. Accordingly, a person may be called

multilingual if s/he uses his or her languages on a regular base and is able to
switch from one to another where ever it is necessary, independently from the
symmetry of his/her command of the languages, of the modalities of acquisition
and of the distance between the varieties (Haugen 1953, Oksaar 1980 & Grosjean
1982). Thus, an Indian guest worker who learnt enough Swiss German dialect
for his struggle for life in Switzerland may be considered bilingual with the
same right (but not, of course, in the same way) as an interpreter working at the
European Union and having systematically extended his or her ‘native’ French-
English bilingualism.
Generally speaking, multilingualism is of two kinds: Elite – Language learned

in a formal setting through planned and regular instruction as in a school system.
Neighborhood – Here the language is acquired in a natural setting, acquired
through the interaction with people speaking different languages. Theoretically
38
bilingualism is referred to as — additive and subtractive bilingualism. In additive Multiligualism and
Cognition
bilingualism, a second language is acquired in addition to a relatively well-
developed first language. In subtractive bilingualism, elements of a second
language replace elements of the first language.
Researchers also distinguish between simultaneous bilingualism, which occurs

when a child learns two languages from birth, and sequential bilingualism, which
occurs when an individual first learns one language and then another (Bhatia &
Ritchie, 1999). Either form of language learning can contribute to fluency. It
depends on the particular circumstances in which the languages are learned
(Pearson & associates, 1997).
It is known, however, that infants begin babbling at roughly the same age. This
happens regardless of whether they consistently are exposed to one or two
languages (Oller & associates, 1997). In the United States, many people make a
big deal of bilingualism, perhaps because relatively few Americans born in the
United States of nonimmigrant parents learn a second language to a high degree
of fluency.
In other cultures, however, the learning of multiple languages is taken for granted.
For example, in parts of India, people routinely may learn as many as four
languages (Khubchandani, 1997). In Flemish-speaking Belgium, many people
learn at least some French, English, and/or German. Often, they learn one or
more of these other languages to a high degree of fluency.
No society or state has just one language, nor can language be isolated from
culture. Societies are multilingual because of minorities that live within the
dominant language group, and also because the official language itself presides
over numerous dialects. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, many linguistic and
cultural communities had their own territories in a common state, dominated by
German.
Language cannot be isolated from culture, because every language is a repository

of values, images and memories: the semiotics of culture. The boundary between
the semantics of language and the semiotics of culture is blurred, so that
multilingualism shades into multiculturalism.
At the end of the 20th century, one or another form of multilingualism affect 60
per cent of the world’s population. In other words, monolingualism is a boundary
case of multilingualism, originated by very specific cultural conditions — and
bilingualism is a particular form of multilingualism.
3.2.2 Multiligualism in India

India is said to be a socio-linguistic giant and the nerve system of this giant is
multilingualism. “Indian multilingualism is huge in size, having 1620 mother
tongues reduced to 200 languages….With the population of many of minorities
larger than European countries”(Annamalai E. 2001).
This multilingual character of India is represented by its metropolitan cities like

Mumbai and New Delhi, where people from all over come and settle down. For
example, in Mumbai every child is exposed to at least four languages right from
its infancy (Pai, 2005). Government of India has introduced the Three Language
39
Language Formula in its educational system, which means every child has to study two
more languages other than their first language. The two languages are introduced
simultaneously at upper primary level.
3.3 MULTILINGUALISM AND COGNITION

What all this means is that the monolingual approach is neither appropriate nor
adequate for the investigation of language use in a society where multilingualism
was endemic and where, for the education at least, mono lingualism was the
exception and not the norm” (Trotter, 2000).
3.3.1 Relations Between Languages and Their Users

Multilingualism is a particularly timely issue concerning language competence.
A state of multilingualism may be achieved naturally, when a person grows up
with two parents speaking different languages, or is a member of a minority, or
lives in a multilingual community. In many parts of the United States, children
are exposed to two or more languages as they grow up. Some children learn one
language at home and another in a school setting.
Other children learn both languages at home, where, for example, the grandparents
speak one language to the child, but the parents and siblings speak another. Still
other children immigrate to this country speaking one language and then learn a
second language in school once they are settled in their new environment. It may
also be acquired later in life, through immigration or learning. Regardless of
how one actually learns his or her languages, the result is an individual who has
a greatly enhanced ability to think and communicate.
In terms of language processing, multilingualism offers a rich source of

information about the organisation and use of the structure and processes of
language already discussed in earlier chapter – not only concerning bilinguals or
multilinguals but monolinguals as well.
Participant languages may be associated with different communicative media:

conversation, writing, reading, and symbolic systems can use different, and not
necessarily overlapping, languages. Three recent issues about multilingualism
are briefly explored here:
1) The first concerns “code-switching”, the ability of multilinguals to select
words from either of their languages during the course of uttering a sentence.
Code switching maximizes the bilingual’s ability to convey his/her intended
message to another bilingual and to understand another bilingual’s code-
switching message.
What is fascinating is that code-switching often requires no additional time
(and may, in fact, use less time) than when words from only one language
are selected or perceived. One interesting study of this ability is by
Peynircioglu & Tekcan (1993). In this study monolinguals and bilinguals
searched a completed crossword puzzle for words in their language (Turkish
and English). The bilinguals were equivalent to the monolinguals in the
time they took to locate words in only one of their languages. But bilinguals
were faster than monolinguals when they collectively located words in either
of their languages. This finding indicates an advantage for bilinguals over
40
monolinguals in word recognition, which can be demonstrated when they Multiligualism and
Cognition
are allowed to use a strategy of identifying all of the words they know (from
both languages).
2) The second important issue concerns the treatment of lexical (grammatical)
and semantic knowledge by multilinguals. One theoretical view places lexical
knowledge in language-specific memory stores but semantic knowledge in
a common conceptual memory store (Kroll & Sholl, 1992), whereas the
other theoretical view places both types of knowledge in language-specific
memory stores (Paivio, 1986).
The first theory predicts, for example, that semantic processing of a word in
one language (e.g., translating a word presented in a categorized list into
another language) should facilitate memory for that word (relative to
translating that word when it is presented in a random list), whereas the
second theory predicts that no such facilitation would take place (because
contacting the meaning of a word in one language should not involve
contacting the meaning of the word in other language).
To date, the evidence supports the first theory, known as “Concept
Mediation” account, especially in fluent multilinguals (Amrhein & Sanchez,
1997; De Groot, Dannenburg, & Van Hell, 1994; Kroll & Sholl, 1992).
3) The third issue concerns how language familiarity influences a person’s
ability to correctly identify another person’s voice. In a study conducted by
Goggin, Thompson, Strube, & Simental (1991), English monolinguals and
Spanish-English multilinguals heard texts read by the same person in either
English, Spanish, or Spanish-accented English. A short time later, these
subjects then heard a voice “line-up” of individuals reading a different text,
again in either English, Spanish, or Spanish-accented English. Goggin &
colleagues (1991) found a distinctly different pattern in the responses for
monolinguals and bilinguals. For monolinguals, actual correct identifications
were highest for their respective language. However, for bilinguals, correct
identifications were generally the same across the three voice types.
Collectively, these findings indicate that bilinguals’ knowledge of two languages
aids in their identification of the voice source of the messages they encounter
and represents an interesting interaction between speech perception and higher
level of language analysis. These findings also represent an advantage
multilinguals have over their monolingual counterparts.
3.3.2 Rule-governed Language Choice

How does a multilingual person make an appropriate choice from among the
varieties that constitute his/her repertoire? There is consensus among specialists
that this choice is not arbitrary but governed by rules (Grosjean 1982, 145).
Macrosociolinguistic research established the existence of domains appropriate
for the use of one or the other language in diglossic societies (Fishman 1967).
Multilinguals would thus choose the appropriate variety taking into account
whether it is a private or public affair, whether the conversation concerns the
professional world or leisure activities, religion or education, etc. Where domains
entwine (e.g. when an adolescent speaks with a minister [religion] about football
[leisure] in the school building [education]), individual factors are isolated and
pondered over. Language choice would be determined by characteristic bundles
41
Language of situational factors (Grosjean 1982). The same applies to heterogeneous
diglossic societies. In all these cases, the value of each language is thoroughly
appreciated. By choosing one or the other variety of his/her repertoire, the
multilingual speaker makes the most rewarding use of his communicative
resources.
3.3.3 Mixing is Rule-governed Too

Sometimes the choice of the appropriate language is not evident. Multilinguals
can choose between a monolingual mode and a bilingual mode (Grosjean 1985),
i.e. between monolingual and bilingual speech (Lüdi & Pym, 1984) respectively.
In the first case, the language that is not used is ‘switched off’ as far as possible.
In the second case, the speaker’s whole repertoire is activated. Possible criteria
for the choice of the monolingual or bilingual mode are: the interlocutors’
repertoire, the degree of formality of the situation, normative representations of
the interlocutors, etc. In other words, the situation is not ‘automatically’ bilingual
even if both interlocutors are similarly bilingual. Bilingual mode requires a —
locally established — mutual agreement on its appropriateness. This holds true
for balanced as well as for unbalanced bilingualism (e.g. in the case of learners).
Systematic observations of examples like this have led to the hypothesis that
there are rules and norms that overlap single languages and govern the harmonic,
i.e. the ‘grammatical’, mixing of elements from different languages. It may be
assumed that the matrix language chosen for various reasons (level of competence
of the speaker, presumed level of competence of the audience, conformity with
the situation) is activated and provides the cognitive scaffolding for the semiotic
organisation of a representation (Talmy, 1985, 1995).
Searching for the appropriate words for what he wants to say, the speaker then
scans both of his lexica (or both subsets of his global bilingual lexicon). To fill
the gap of words he does not know, that are momentarily not accessible or that
may not even exist in the matrix language — or to achieve a special discourse
effect —, he will switch to the embedded language. But this is only possible if
the lemma of the embedded language word matches the slot provided by the
matrix language.
If this is not the case, the speaker will choose to switch to the embedded language
for a larger stretch and produce an “embedded language island” (Myers Scotton,
1993). Thus, a model of bilingual speech must provide control procedures for
the local matching of both language systems (Myers Scotton, 1993; Jake 1995;
Jake & Myers Scotton 1997).
Recently, MacSwan (1997, 1999) presented a minimalist approach to

intrasentential code-switching. He claims that “nothing constrains code switching
apart from the requirements of the mixed grammars”, a claim that does not entail
a theory about which principles of grammar are relevant to code switching, but
“leaves open any and all independently motivated considerations in linguistic
theory to the analysis of codeswitching data”.
A theory of a multilingual competence should thus be identical with any linguistic

theory in general. Consequently, it can be concluded that a linguistic theory must,
42
in order to be complete, give a full account of the ways multilingual repertoires Multiligualism and
Cognition
can be used to produce mixed utterances. Thus, new research on the bilingual or
multilingual lexicon (e.g. de Groot and Nas 1991, Cenoz et al. 2003) must be
taken into account by every general theory of the lexicon.
Vice versa, each lexical — and language — theory will have to be judged by its
capacity to account for bilingual speech.
3.4 MULTILINGUALISM AND THINKING

Suppose a person can speak and think in two or more than two languages. Does
that person think differently in each language? Further, do multilinguals – people
who can speak two and possible more languages – think differently from
monolinguals – people who can speak only one language? What differences, if
any, emanate from the availability of multiple languages versus just one? Might
multilingualism affect intelligence, positively or negatively?
Does multilingualism make thinking in any one language more difficult, or does
it enhance thought processes? The data are somewhat self-contradictory (Hakuta,
1986). Different participant populations, different methodologies, different
language groups, and different experimenter biases may have contributed to the
inconsistency in the literature. Consider what happens when bilinguals are
balanced bilinguals, who are roughly equally fluent in both languages, and when
they come from middle-class backgrounds. In these instances, positive effects of
bilingualism tend to be found but negative effects may result under other
circumstances.
Let us distinguish between additive versus subtractive bilingualism (Cummins,

1976). As we have studied earlier, a second language is acquired in addition to a
relatively well-developed first language in additive bilingualism; whereas, in
subtractive bilingualism, elements of a second language replace elements of the
first language.
It appears that the additive form results in increased thinking ability. In contrast,
the subtractive form results in decreased thinking ability (Cummins, 1976). In
particular, there may be something of a threshold effect. Individuals may need to
be at a certain relatively high level of competence in both languages for a positive
effect of bilingualism to be found.
In a study by Eleanor (1993), the relationships among language proficiency,

learning mode, learning style, abstract reasoning, and age of second language
acquisition in 227 adults was investigated. The subjects, most of whom were
university students, included 17 monolinguals, 120 partial multilinguals, and 90
competent multilinguals.
For comparison with competent multilinguals, the monolinguals and partial

multilinguals were grouped together. All were tested for language proficiency,
learning style (diverger, assimilator, converger, accommodator), learning mode
(concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, active
experimentation), and analogy-solving ability. Native English-speakers had higher
analogy-solving scores than native speakers of other languages, regardless of
language proficiency; competent multilinguals scored highest.
43
Language Among competent multilinguals, native English-speakers scored higher than non-
native speakers. Competent multilinguals scored lower on reflective observation
than did other subjects. There was also a significant negative correlation between
learning mode and analogy-solving ability.
No significant difference was found in learning styles, and no significant

interaction effect between language proficiency and learning mode or style on
analogy-solving ability. Individuals learning the second language after age 12
had higher analogy-solving scores than those learning it earlier. However, early-
second-language-learners were more likely to be competent multilinguals.
3.4.1 Other Benefits

The advantages that multilinguals exhibit over monolinguals are not restricted
to linguistic knowledge only, but extend outside the area of language (Cook,
1999, 2002), and the substantial long-lived cognitive, social, personal, academic,
and professional benefits of enrichment bilingual contexts have been well
documented (Thomas & Collier, 1998).
Children and older persons learning foreign languages have been demonstrated to:
1) Have a keener awareness (Galambos & Goldin-Meadow, 1990; Ewert, 2006,
2008) and sharper perception of language (enhanced metalingual abilities,
e.g. detection of anomalous sentences; Bialystok, 2001).
2) Foreign language learning “enhances children’s understanding of how
language itself works and their ability to manipulate language in the service
of thinking and problem solving” (Cummins, 1981);
3) Be consistently better able to deal with distractions, which may help offset
age-related declines in mental dexterity (Bialystok et al,. 2004);
4) Have a better ear for listening and sharper memories (Ratte ,1968; Lapkin et
al., 1990);
5) Develop not only better verbal, but also spatial abilities (Diaz, 1983);
6) Display generally greater cognitive flexibility, better problem solving and
higher-order thinking skills (Hakuta, 1986).
7) They have better ‘measures of conceptual development’, ‘creativity’ and
‘analogical reasoning’ (Diaz, 1985), divergent thinking and figural creativity
(Landry, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974).
8) Bilinguals or multilinguals are more used to switching thought patterns and
have more flexible minds.
9) Foreign language learners consistently outperform their peers in core subject
areas on standardised tests. For instance, multilingual children in Brussels
secondary schools outperform their monoglot schoolmates in problem-
solving and fraction exercises;
10) They possess extra skills in language use, e.g. engage in transfer, borrowing,
insertional, alternational, inter- and intra-sentential code switching (Grosjean,
1989), mixing, and translation patterns that are usual and natural rather
than exceptional (as is in the case of monoglots), and analyse as psycholinguistically
motivated hybrid utterances serving different interactional, linguistic, pragmatic,
cognitive and strategic functions (Majer, 2006).
44
Thus, just like Latin once used to be taught as an academic exercise, mental Multiligualism and
Cognition
gymnastics with the aim of cognitive training, it has been demonstrated that
people who know more than one language usually think more flexibly than
monolinguals.
3.5 ACQUISITION OF A SECOND LANGUAGE

Languages are learnt at different ages, in different situations and up to very
different levels of competence. This has of course consequences for the way
multilingual repertoires will be structured. It is thus crucial to analyse the social
context in which the different varieties making up a multilingual repertoire have
been acquired. Recent research has shown for instance that “passive” exposure
to other languages during childhood can lead to an unfocussed form of language
learning and to a form of competence that can be reactivated at later stages if
necessary (Ellis 1995, Franceschini 1996, 1999).
A significant factor believed to contribute to acquisition of a language is ‘age’.
Research has shown that some aspects of a second language, such as vocabulary
comprehension and fluency, seem to be acquired just as well after adolescence
as before. The mastery of nativelike pronunciation, however, seems to depend
on early acquisition. In any case, there do not appear to be critical periods for
second-language acquisition (Birdsong, 1999). The possible exception is the
acquisition of native accent.
Adults may appear to have a harder time learning second languages because
they can retain their native language as their dominant language. Young children,
in contrast, who typically need to attend school in the new language, may have
to switch dominant language. They thus learn the new language to a higher level
of mastery.
It is assumed that learning a (second) language is a series of cognitive procedures
by which the learner progressively constructs the grammar of the new language,
not only assisted by a “language acquisition device” (more for L1, less for L2),
but also with the support from more competent members of the community
(Vygotsky 1978) in the compass of a “language acquisition support system” based
on social interaction (Bruner 1982, 1983).
Research on second language acquisition has shown the importance of a set of
interactive procedures. These may be observed in exolingual situations that
provide the non-native speaker the necessary help not only to communicate, but
also to continue his/her learning process (e.g. Krafft & Dausendschön-Gay 1994).
What kinds of learning experiences facilitate second-language acquisition? There
is no single correct answer to this question (Bialystock & Hakuta, 1994). One
reason is that each individual language learner brings distinctive cognitive abilities
and knowledge to the language-learning experience. In addition, the kinds of
learning experiences that facilitate second-language acquisition should match
the context and uses for the second language once it is acquired.
For example, consider four different individuals. Ria, a young child, may not
need to master a wealth of vocabulary and complex syntax to get along well with
other children. If she can master the phonology, some simple syntactical rules,
and some basic vocabulary, she may be considered fluent.
45
Language Similarly, Kishen needs only to get by in a few everyday situations, such as
shopping, handling routine family business transactions, and getting around town.
He may be considered proficient after mastering some simple vocabulary and
syntax, as well as some pragmatic knowledge regarding context-appropriate
manners of communicating.
Meenakshi must be able to communicate regarding her specialised technical
field. She may be considered proficient if she masters the technical vocabulary,
a primitive basic vocabulary, and the rudiments of syntax.
Sumesh is a student who studies a second language in an academic setting. Sumesh
may be expected to have a firm grasp of syntax and a rather broad, if shallow,
vocabulary. Each of these language learners may require different kinds of
language experiences to gain the proficiency being sought. Different kinds of
experiences may be needed to enhance their competence in the phonology,
vocabulary, syntax, and pragmatics of the second language.
When speakers of one language learn other languages, they find the languages
differentially difficult. For example, it is much easier, on average, for a native
speaker of English to acquire Spanish as a second language than is to acquire
Russian. One reason is that English and Spanish share more roots than do English
and Russian. Moreover, Russian is much more highly inflected than are English
and Spanish. English and Spanish are more highly dependent on word order.
The difficulty of learning a language as a second language, however, does not
appear to have much to do with its difficulty as a first language. Russian infants
probably learn Russian about as easily as U.S. infants learn English
3.5.1 Single-System Versus Dual-System Hypotheses

One way of approaching multilingualism is to apply what we have learned from
cognitive-psychological research to practical concerns regarding how to facilitate
acquisition of a new language. Another approach is to study multilingual
individuals to see how multilingualism may offer insight into human mind. For
example, some cognitive psychologists have been interested in finding out how
the different languages are represented in multilingual’s mind. The single-system
hypothesis suggests that two or more languages are represented in just one system
or brain region (see Hernandez & associates, 2001, for evidence supporting this
hypothesis in early multilinguals).
Alternatively, the dual-system hypothesis suggests that two/different languages

are represented somehow in separate systems of mind (De Houwer, 1995; Paradis,
1981). For instance, might German language information be stored in a physically
different part of the brain than English language information?
One way to address this question is through the study the multilinguals who
have experienced brain damage. Suppose a multilingual person has brain damage
in a particular part of the brain. An inference consistent with the dual-system
hypothesis would be that the individual would show different degrees of
impairment in the different languages. The single-system view would suggest
roughly equal impairment in all the languages. The logic of this kind of
investigation is compelling. But the results were not. When recovery of language
after trauma is studied, sometimes the first language recovers first, sometimes
the second/latter acquired language recovers first. And sometimes recovery is
46
about equal for all the languages .
In a related situation, an early bilingual aphasic was trained in his native language Multiligualism and
Cognition
but was given no training in his second language (Meinzer & associates, 2006).
The researchers found significant recovery of the first language but no change in
the individual’s ability to use the second language.
The conclusions that can be drawn from all this research are equivocal.
Nevertheless, the results seem to suggest at least some duality of structure. A
different method of study has led to an alternative perspective on multilingualism.
Two investigators mapped the region of cerebral cortex relevant to language use
in two of their bilingual patients being treated for epilepsy (Ojemann & Whitaker,
1978). Mild electrical stimulation was applied to the cortex of each patient.
Electrical stimulation tends to inhibit activity where it is applied. It leads to a
reduced activity to name the objects for which the memories are stored at the
location being stimulated. The results for both patients were the same.
The results of this study suggest some aspects of the two languages may be
represented singly. Other aspects may be represented separately.
3.6 NEURAL MECHANISM OF MULTILINGUALS

The question whether we may speak of one entwined or several separated systems
cannot be fully answered alone by the experimental studies discussed above.
Neurosciences may offer additional insights. The functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) has been able to throw light on a large number of factors.
Answers to questions like whether there is a difference between balanced and
unbalanced bilinguals, Whether there is a, relation between the neuronal network
constructed when learning a second language and the ‘classical’ language centre,
whether the first be integrated into the latter and whether.
The research findings in the neuroanatomy of bilinguals are still contradictory
and the analysis of cases of bilingual speech used by speakers with different
kinds of multilingual competencies could shed new light on these questions.
Early bilinguals seem to build up a network in sufficiently adaptable to allow the
integration of later acquired languages. Late bilinguals have to establish new
neural areas to guarantee development of their late-acquired languages. These
results could have an important impact on the structure of an integrated language
theory. Such a theory will consider multilingual repertoires and their use in
different contexts the default case, monolingual competencies and monolingual
speech representing just one many cases to be explained. It will match new ways
of modelling the dynamics of intercultural communication and contribute to it.
3.7 LET US SUM UP

To summarize, different languages seem to share some, but not all, aspects of
mental representation. Learning a second language is often a plus, but it is probably
most useful if the individual learning the second language is in an environment
in which the learning of the second language adds to rather than subtracts from
the learning of the first language.
Moreover, for beneficial effects to appear, the second language must be learned
well. In the approach usually taken in schools, students may receive as little as 2
47
Language or 3 years of second-language instruction spread out over a few class periods a
week. This approach probably will not be sufficient for the beneficial effects of
bilingualism to appear. However, schooling does seem to yield beneficial effects
on acquisition of syntax.
This is particularly so when a second language is acquired after adolescence.

Furthermore, individual learners should choose specific kinds of language-
acquisition techniques to suit their personal attributes. These attributes include
abilities, preferences, and personal goals for using the second language.

1) Describe the various processes involved in multilingualism?
2) Why study of multilingualism is important for cognitive psychologists?
3) What can multilingualism tell us about language structures and processes?
4) What are the advantages of being bilingual? Can you think of any
disadvantages?
5) Give a detailed account of language acquisition of a second language.
6) Suppose you are an instructor of English as a second language. What kinds
of things will you want to know about your students to determine how much
to emphasise phonology, vocabulary, syntax, or pragmatics in your
instruction?

Cenoz, J., & Genesee, F. (Eds.) (1998). Beyond Bilingualism: Multilingualism
and Multilingual Education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Edwards, J. & Edwards, J.R. (Eds.) (1994). Multilingualism. London: Routledge.
Delhi: TataMcGraw Hill
References
to Cognitive Science, 2nd Ed. Volume 1: Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Lleó, C. (Ed.)(2006). Interfaces in multilingualism: Acquisition and
representation. PA: John Benjamins Publishing Co.
Pattanavak, D.P. (Ed.) (1990). Multilingualism in India. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters.
Pavlenko, A., Blackledge, A., Piller, I., & Teutsch-Dwyer, M. (Eds.)(2001).
Multilingualism, second language learning, and gender. NY: Walter de Gruyter
Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a Language. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press.
Yang, C. (2009)(Ed.). Language Acquisition. London: Routledge.
48
Multiligualism and
UNIT 4 LANGUAGE AND SPEECH Cognition
DISORDERS
“Language comes so naturally to us that it is easy to forget what a strange and

miraculous gift it is.” – Steven Pinker
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Defining Language and Speech Disorders
4.3 Language Disorders
4.3.1 Aphasia
4.3.2 Autism
4.3.3 Learning Disability
4.3.4 Alzheimer’s Disease
4.3.5 Specific Language Impairment
4.3.6 Developmental Phonological Disorders
4.3.7 Dyspraxia
4.4 Speech Disorders
4.4.1 Voice Disorders
4.4.2 Speech Sound Disorder
4.4.3 Fluency Disorders
4.4.4 Apraxia of Speech
4.4.5 Dysprosody
4.4.6 Dysarthria
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Communication is so pervasive in any community in its day-to-day activities
that it is often taken for granted (Sternberg, 2001). Normal language develops
over a period and it is sequential or ordered (Crystal, 1992). A child acquires
vocalisation, speech sounds (vowels and consonants) and then prosodies. This
acquisition is in recognisable stages that entail acquisition of form, content, and
use (Seymour & Nober, 1997). The form is the system of symbols that convey
meaning and it is made up of the phonology, morphology, and syntax of a
language. The content includes the individual words and combinations of words
to produce meaning in the language. Content is made up of the semantics of a
language. Use involves how we use words in contexts and is made up of the
pragmatics of a language.
Many things could go wrong with the natural order of language acquisition and
development. In every community, we encounter individuals with language and/
or a speech disorders. One in 10 people in the United States is affected by a
communication disorder (speech, language, or hearing disorders). Unfortunately,
49
Language there is much ignorance as far as identifying these disorders is concerned. The
ignorance more often than not leads to mishandling of the persons with language
and speech disorders.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define language and speech disorders;
• Explain speech disorders;
• List the causes for speech disorders;
• Enumerate the language disorders; and
• Explain treatment for the speech and language disorders.
4.2 DEFINITION OF LANGUAGE AND SPEECH

DISORDERS
Language and speech are said to be disordered or impaired if they differ from
what is considered the norm. As already indicated, the yardstick is embedded in
the culture of each language; what may be considered disordered in one language
will not necessarily be disordered in another language. There is need, therefore,
to distinguish between genuine speech disorder and people’s cultural tendencies
or practices. For example, Kim (1985) notes that Asian Americans favour verbal
hesitancy and ambiguity to avoid offence. They also avoid making spontaneous
or critical remarks. One should respect such a community’s culture and thus the
hesitancy should not be confused with a fluency disorder.
The unique nature of the language and speech disorders is that they are not visible
since mostly they are not physically manifested, except defects that affect
articulation. Most disorders are not evident until a person opens her/his mouth
to speak. The disorders, for the same reason, are often not considered a disability,
even by the persons who have them.
Language and speech disorders may be due to factors such as physical, mental,
or socialisation defects (Crystal, 1988). Though language and speech disorders
are classified together they are slightly different from each other. Let’s take them
one by one:
4.3 LANGUAGE DISORDERS

Language is the rule-based use of speech sounds to communicate (Sternberg,
2000). Language disorders or language impairments involve the processing of
linguistic information. Problems that may be experienced can involve grammar
(syntax and/or morphology), semantics (meaning), or other aspects of language.
Disordered language may be due to a receptive problem, that is, a difficulty in
understanding speech sounds (involving impaired language comprehension). It
can also be due to an expressive problem, that is, a difficulty in producing the
speech sounds (involving language production), that follow the arbitrary rules
of a specific language. A language disorder can also be due to problems in both
reception and expression. Examples include specific language impairment and
50
aphasia, among others. Language disorders can affect both spoken and written Language and Speech
Disorders
language, and can also affect sign language; typically, all forms of language will
be impaired.
Note that these are distinct from speech disorders, which involve difficulty with
the act of speech production, but not with language. Language disorders, therefore,
refer to the following:
The use of speech sounds in combinations and patterns that fail to follow the
arbitrary rules of a particular language is a language disorder. For instance, the
lack of communication etiquette is considered a language disorder. Talking out
of turn, not talking when it is your turn, or not responding when you are expected
to could be disorders if frequently observed in one’s language behaviour.
The delay in the use of speech sounds relative to normal development in the
physical, cognitive, and social areas is another language disorder. Most language
disorders are often diagnosed in conjunction with other developmental delays
— for instance, health, sensory, motor, mental, emotional, and behavioural
development.
Language disorder is a disorder that is found in the development or use of the

knowledge of language. It shows the breakdown in the development of language
abilities on the usual developmental schedule. The disorders that come under
language disorders are: Autism, Learning Disability, Specific Language
Impairment, Developmental Phonological Disorders Aphasia, Dyspraxia, etc.
We shall discuss the most common language disorders in detail:
4.3.1 Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language functioning caused by damage to the left
hemisphere of the brain (Garrett, 2003; Hillis & Caramazza, 2003). There are
different type of aphasias, example; Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia.
Wernicke’s aphasia is caused by damage to the left temporal lobe of the brain. It
is characterised by notable impairment in the understanding of spoken words
and sentences. People with Wernicke’s aphasia have generally fluent phonetic
and syntactic but semantically coherent speech.
This coherence is exhibited through the creation of nonsense words for real-
world concepts and improper substitutions of function words for content words
(e.g., nouns, verbs). It also typically involves the production of sentences that
have the basic structure of the language spoken but that make no sense. They are
sentences without any meaning, e.g. ‘Yeah, that was the pumpkin furthest from
my thoughts’ and ‘the scroolish prastimer ate my spanstakes’ (Hillis & Caramazza,
2003).
In the first case, the words make sense, but not in the context they are presented.
In the second case, the words themselves are neologisms, or newly created words.
Treatment for patients with this type of aphasia frequently involves supporting
and encouraging nonlanguage communication (Altschuler et al., 2006).
Broca’s aphasia is caused by damage to the brain’s premotor area, responsible,
in part, for controlling motor commands used in speech production. A person
suffering from Broca’s aphasia exhibits speech containing excess pauses and
51
Language slips of tongue, and s/he has trouble finding words when talking. The person
also fails to make use of function words such as a, the, and of. For this reason,
Broca’s aphasics also produce ungrammatical sentences (Tartter, 1987).
Furthermore they have problem using syntactic information when understanding
sentences (Just & Carpenter, 1987). For example, while a Broca’s aphasic has no
trouble understanding a sentence such as “The bicycle that the man is holding is
blue”, but s/he has trouble comprehending a sentence such as “the dog that the
woman is biting is grey.”
This difference is due to the fact that while the first sentence can be understood
using real-world knowledge (e.g. bicycle, not people, are blue), the second
sentence cannot (because it is unlikely that a woman would bite a dog). Because
understanding the second sentence requires correctly using syntactic information,
which Broca’s aphasics have difficulty doing, the sentence poses problem for
them (Berndt & Caramazza, 1980).
Broca’s aphasia differs from Wernicke’s aphasia in two key aspects. First is that
speech is agrammatical rather than grammatical, as in Wernicke’s. Second is
that verbal comprehension is largely preserved.
Diseases like Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasia, while tragic, tell us much about
the critical functions of certain regions of the brain. Notably, their symptoms
suggest that (at least certain) phonological, syntactic, and semantic, language
information is stored and processed separately in the brain.
Global aphasia is the combination of highly impaired comprehension and
production of speech. It is caused by lesions to both Broca’s and Wernicke’s
areas. Aphasia following a stroke frequently involves damage to both Broca’s
and Wernicke’s areas. In one study, researchers found 32 % of aphasias
immediately following a stroke in Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas (Pedersen, Vinter,
& Olsen, 2004).
Anomic aphasia involves difficulties in naming objects in retrieving words. The
patient may look at an object and simply be unable to receive the word that
corresponds to the object. Sometimes, specific categories of things cannot be
recalled, such as names of living things (Warrington & Shallice, 1984).
4.3.2 Autism
Autism is a developmental disorder characterised by abnormalities in social
behaviour, language, and cognition (Jarrold & Happe’, 2003). It is biological in
its origins, although the genes responsible for it have not been conclusively
identified (Lamb et al., 2000). Children with autism are identified by around 14
months of age, when they fail to show expected normal patterns of interaction
with others. They display repetitive movements and stereotyped patterns of
interests and activities. When they interact with someone, they are more likely to
view their lips than their eyes. About half of children with autism fail to develop
functional speech. The speech they tend to develop is characterised by echolalia,
meaning they repeat, over and over again, speech they have heard. Sometimes
the repetition occurs several hours after the original use of the words by someone
else.
Children with autism show abnormalities in many areas of the brain, including
the frontal and parietal lobes, as well as the cerebellum, brainstem, corpus
52
callosum, basal ganglia, amygdala, and hippocampus. The disease was first Language and Speech
Disorders
identified in the middle of the twentieth century (Kanner, 1943). It is five times
more common in males than females. The incidence of diagnosed autism has
increased rapidly over recent years (Chen et al., 2007). Autism is diagnosed
today in approximately 60 out of every 10,000 children (Fombonne, 2003). The
increase in recent times may be a result of a number of causes, including changes
in diagnosing strategies or environmental pollution (Jick & Kaye, 2003; Windham
et al., 2006).
4.3.3 Learning Disability

Language-based learning disabilities are problems with age-appropriate reading,
spelling, and/or writing. Most people diagnosed with learning disabilities have
average to superior intelligence. . In language-based learning disability (or just
learning disabilities), many children with reading problems have spoken language
problems. Dyslexia has been used to refer to the specific learning problem of
reading.
Dyslexia — Dyslexia has been around for a long time and has been defined in
different ways. For example, in 1968, the World Federation of Neurologists
defined dyslexia as “a disorder in children who, despite conventional classroom
experience, fail to attain the language skills of reading, writing, and spelling
commensurate with their intellectual abilities.” Dyslexia is not due to mental
retardation, brain damage, or a lack of intelligence. It is caused by an impairment
in the brain’s ability to translate images received from the eyes or ears into
understandable language. The severity of dyslexia can vary from mild to severe.
It is found more often in boys than in girls. The sooner dyslexia is treated, the
more favorable the outcome; however, it is never too late for people with dyslexia
to learn to improve their language skills (Schulte-Körne, Warnke, & Remschmidt,
2006).
Letter and number reversals are the most common warning sign of dyslexia (Birsh,
2005). Difficulty in copying from the board or a book can also suggest problems.
The child may appear to be uncoordinated and have difficulty with organised
sports or games. Difficulty with left and right is common, and often dominance
for either hand has not been established. Auditory problems in dyslexia encompass
a variety of functions. Commonly, a child may have difficulty remembering or
understanding what he hears. Parts of words or parts of whole sentences may be
missed, and words can come out sounding funny. Children struggling with this
problem may know what they want to say but have trouble finding the actual
words to express their thoughts (Sperling et al., 2006).
There are several types of dyslexia that can affect the child’s ability to spell as
well as read (Heim, Tschierse, & Amunts, 2008). Primary dyslexia is a dysfunction
of, rather than damage to, the left side of the brain (cerebral cortex) and does not
change with age. Individuals with this type are rarely able to read above a fourth-
grade level and may struggle with reading, spelling, and writing as adults. Primary
dyslexia is passed in family lines through their genes (hereditary). Secondary or
developmental dyslexia and is felt to be caused by hormonal development during
the early stages of fetal development. Developmental dyslexia diminishes as the
child matures (Galaburda & Cestnick, 2003).
53
Language Dyslexia may affect several different functions. Visual dyslexia is characterised
by number and letter reversals and the inability to write symbols in the correct
sequence. Auditory dyslexia involves difficulty with sounds of letters or groups
of letters. The sounds are perceived as jumbled or not heard correctly. Dysgraphia
refers to the child’s difficulty holding and controlling a pencil so that the correct
markings can be made on the paper (Facoetti et al., 2003).
Many subtle signs can be observed in children with dyslexia. Due to the frustration
arising from the difficulty in reading, children may become withdrawn and may
show signs of depression and low self-esteem. Peer and sibling interactions can
become strained. The child may become unmotivated and develop a dislike for
school. The child’s success in school may be jeopardised if the problem remains
untreated.
4.3.4 Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder which leads to a decrement in language
processing ability. This disease primarily afflicts elderly persons and causes
progressive, diffused, and irreversible damage to the cortical regions of the brain,
impacting markedly on memory functions. Comparison between the language
decrements due to the dementing effects of Alzheimer’s disease and those noted
for the aphasics is useful because the average age of onset of Alzheimer’s Disease
overlaps that of aphasias (around 50 to 60 years of age).
The language of an Alzheimer’s patient is marked by a striking simplification

process wherein words that once precisely described some event are now lost
and are replaced by more general terms because of a fundamental loss of
categorical organisation in semantic memory (Chan et al., 1993; Martin & Fedio,
1983). It appears, however, that in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease,
phonological and syntactic knowledge and use is minimally affected. Finally, a
deficit in pragmatic knowledge, concerning the correct recognition of the intention
of a speech act (e.g., that an utterance is meant to be taken as a request), turntaking
in a conversation, and so on also occurs. Interestingly, this pattern of deficits and
nondeficits again argues for the distinctiveness of the various levels of language
information similar to what was seen for Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasias (Bayles
& Kaszniak, 1987).
4.3.5 Specific Language Impairment

Specific language impairment (SLI) is a developmental language disorder in the
absence of frank neurological, sensorimotor, nonverbal cognitive or social
emotional deficits (see Watkins, 1994). SLI is used to refer to problems in the
acquisition and use of language, typically in the context of normal development.
Children with SLI lag behind their peers in language production and language
comprehension, which contributes to learning and reading disabilities in school.
One of the hallmarks of SLI is a delay or deficit in the use of function morphemes
(e.g., the, a, is) and other grammatical morphology (e.g., plural -s, past tense -
ed). Individuals with SLI exhibit problems in combining and selecting speech
sounds of language into meaningful units (phonological awareness).
These problems are different to speech impairments that arise from difficulties
in coordination of oral-motor musculature (Cohen, 2002). Symptoms include
54
the use of short sentences, and problems producing and understanding Language and Speech
Disorders
syntactically complex sentences. SLI is also associated with an impoverished
vocabulary, word finding problems, and difficulty learning new words, whereas
the basic tasks for development of phonology and syntax are completed in
childhood, vocabulary continues to grow in adulthood (Bishop, 1997).
Some researchers claim that SLI children’s difficulty with grammatical

morphology is due to delays or difficulty in acquiring a specific underlying
linguistic mechanism. For example, difficulty in acquiring the rule that verbs
must be marked for tense and number (“he walks”, not “he walk”) (Rice &
Wexler, 1994).
These children have a deficit in processing brief and/or rapidly changing auditory
information, and/or in remembering the temporal order of auditory information
(Tallal, et al., 1985). Children with SLI have poor short-term memory for speech
sounds (example, Gathercole, 1998). In a number of recent studies short-term
memory for speech sounds has been shown to correlate highly with vocabulary
acquisition and speech production. This has led to the hypothesis that a primary
function of this memory is to facilitate language learning.
Moreover, among SLI children, about 50% will go on to experience reading

difficulties and develop dyslexia (Bishop & Snowling, 2004).
4.3.6 Developmental Phonological Disorders

“Developmental Phonological Disorders, also known as phonological disability
or phonological disorders, are a group of language disorders that affect children’s
ability to develop easily understood speech by the time they are four years old,
and, in some cases, their ability to learn to read and spell. Therefore, Phonological
disorders involve a difficulty in learning and organising all the sounds needed
for clear speech, reading and spelling” (Bowen, 1998).
Individuals with this Communication Disorder of childhood demonstrate

impairment in their ability to produce sounds as expected for their developmental
level. Some children with developmental phonological disorders have other
speech and language difficulties such as immature grammar and syntax, stuttering
or word-retrieval difficulties.
The cause of phonological disorder in children is largely unknown. It has been

suggested that this disorder has a genetic component due to the large proportion
of children who have relatives with some type of similar disorder. However
there is no available data to support these observations. Developmental
phonological disorders may occur in conjunction with other communication
disorders such as stuttering, specific language impairment (SLI), or developmental
apraxia of speech. No matter what combination of difficulties a child with a
developmental phonological disorder has, appropriate speech-language pathology
treatment is usually successful in eliminating or at the very least, reducing the
problem (Bowen, 1998).
4.3.7 Dyspraxia
Developmental dyspraxia is a disorder characterised by impairment in the ability
to plan and carry out sensory and motor tasks (Dewey, 1995). Generally,
individuals with the disorder appear “out of sync” with their environment.
55
Language Symptoms vary and may include poor balance and coordination, clumsiness,
vision problems, perception difficulties, emotional and behavioural problems,
difficulty with reading, writing, and speaking, poor social skills, poor posture,
and poor short-term memory. Although individuals with the disorder may be of
average or above average intelligence, they may behave immaturely (Henderson
& Henderson, 2003).
Developmental dyspraxia is a lifelong disorder. Many individuals are able to

compensate for their disabilities through occupational and speech therapy.
Treatment is symptomatic and supportive and may include occupational and
speech therapy, and “cueing” or other forms of communication such as using
pictures and hand gestures. Many children with the disorder require special
education (Alloway & Temple, 2007).
4.4 SPEECH DISORDERS

Speech disorders are characterised by a difficulty in producing normal speech
patterns. Children go through many stages of speech production while they are
learning to communicate. What is normal in the speech of a child of one age may
be a sign of a problem in an older child. Speech is the vocal utterance of language
and it is considered disordered in three underlying ways: voice, articulation, and
fluency (Roseberry-McKibbin, 1995).
These disorders include voice disorders (abnormalities in pitch, volume, vocal

quality, resonance, or duration of sounds), speed sound disorders/articulation
disorders (problems producing speech sounds), and fluency disorders (impairment
in the normal rate or rhythm of speech, such as stuttering).
4.4.1 Voice Disorders

Voice involves the coordinated effects of the lungs, larynx, vocal chords, and
nasal passage to produce recognisable sounds. Voice can thus be considered
disordered if it is incorrectly phonated or if it is incorrectly resonated. In the
incorrect phonation an individual could have a breathy, strained, husky, or hoarse
voice. With the incorrect resonation an individual could have hyper-nasality or
hypo-nasality. The voice disorders could also be due to improper voicing habits.
Paralanguage issues, such as use of pitch, volume, and intonation, are diverse
for they are culturally determined. Every sound of voice has a possible range of
meanings that could be conveyed simply through the voice rather than the words
we use. The features that should be considered in determining a voice disorder
are:
Volume: how loudly or softly we speak
Pitch: how pleasant or unpleasant
Quality: the highness or lowness of one’s voice
Rate: the speed at which one speaks
Voice disorders are interpreted variously in different cultures. For instance, in
many African cultures masculinity and femininity are determined by paralinguistic
features. A man who speaks in a low volume, a high pitch, or a smooth and slow
voice, would be frowned upon and called upon to “speak like a man.”
56
4.4.2 Speech Sound Disorders Language and Speech
Disorders
These involve difficulty in producing specific speech sounds (most often certain
consonants, such as /s/ or /r/), and are subdivided into articulation disorders
(also called phonetic disorders) and phonemic disorders. Articulation disorders
are characterised by difficulty learning to physically produce sounds.
Phonemic disorders are characterised by difficulty in learning the sound

distinctions of a language, so that one sound may be used in place of many.
However, it is not uncommon for a single person to have a mixed speech sound
disorder with both phonemic and phonetic components.
i) Articulation disorders: Articulation involves the use of the tongue, lips,
teeth and mouth to produce recognisable speech sounds. Articulation is
disordered if sounds are added, omitted, substituted or distorted. Articulation
disorders may be caused by factors such as structural abnormalities, for
example, a cleft lip and/or palate, a tongue-tie, missing teeth, a heavy tongue,
or a deformed mouth; faulty or incomplete learning of the sound system; or
damage of the nervous system.
Apart from affecting articulation, such conditions also affect the self-concept
of the persons (Leonard et al., 1991). For instance, Pinky Sonkar, an eight-
year-old girl from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, (On her life the documentary
Smile Pinky was made by American filmmaker Magan Mylan, which won
Oscars for Best Documentary), had stopped smiling, even stopped going to
school because she was ashamed of her cleft lip, a deformity 35,000 children
are born with in India every year. Then in 2008, The Smile Train arrived in
Pinky’s village and a seemingly routine plastic surgery was offered free by
doctors’ abroad and her world was changed forever.
ii) Phonemic disorders: are speech disorders in which individuals have trouble
physically producing certain sounds. In the general population phonemic
disorders are sometimes called speech impediments. Usually individuals
with phonemic disorders have trouble distinguishing the sounds made by
certain letters so that some letters, for example all “t”s or all “c”s, are
always pronounced with an incorrect sound as a substitution. Phonemic
disorders usually improve with speech therapy, though how much
improvement may be made will depend upon each individual case.
4.4.3 Fluency Disorders

Fluency involves appropriate pauses and hesitations to keep speech sounds
recognisable. Fluency is disordered if sounds are very rapid with extra sounds
(cluttered), if sounds are repeated or blocked especially at the beginnings of
words (stuttered), or if words are repeated.
Fluency disorders are more prevalent in children and they are due to a combination
of familial, psychological, neurological, and motoric factors.
The social nature of communication is affected when one has disfluent speech.
Human beings are social and they spend much of their time together. They first
learn how to communicate in a social set up — for instance, with parents, siblings,
relations, or friends. Socialisation is adversely affected if one has a fluency speech
disorder. A person with disfluency is often mishandled at home, in school, or in
public place. Often the individual becomes withdrawn.
57
Language
4.4.4 Apraxia of Speech
Apraxia of speech, also known as verbal apraxia or dyspraxia, is a speech disorder
in which a person has trouble saying what he or she wants to say correctly and
consistently. The severity of apraxia of speech can range from mild to severe.
There are two main types of speech apraxia: acquired apraxia of speech and
developmental apraxia of speech. Acquired apraxia of speech can affect a person
at any age, although it most typically occurs in adults. It is caused by damage to
the parts of the brain that are involved in speaking, and involves the loss or
impairment of existing speech abilities. The disorder may result from a stroke,
head injury, tumor, or other illness affecting the brain. Acquired apraxia of speech
may occur together with muscle weakness affecting speech production (dysarthria)
or language difficulties caused by damage to the nervous system (aphasia)
(Epstein, Perkin, Cookson, & de Bono, 2003).
Developmental apraxia of speech (DAS) occurs in children and is present from

birth. It appears to affect more boys than girls. This speech disorder goes by
several other names, including developmental verbal apraxia, developmental
verbal dyspraxia, articulatory apraxia, and childhood apraxia of speech. DAS is
different from what is known as a developmental delay of speech, in which a
child follows the “typical” path of speech development but does so more slowly
than normal. The causes of DAS are not yet known. Some scientists believe that
DAS is a disorder related to a child’s overall language development.
Others believe it is a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to send
the proper signals to move the muscles involved in speech. However, brain
imaging and other studies have not found evidence of specific brain lesions or
differences in brain structure in children with DAS. Children with DAS often
have family members who have a history of communication disorders or learning
disabilities. This observation and recent research findings suggest that genetic
factors may play a role in the disorder (Kasper et al., 2005).
People with either form of apraxia of speech may have difficulty putting sounds
and syllables together in the correct order to form words. They also tend to make
inconsistent mistakes when speaking. For example, they may say a difficult word
correctly but then have trouble repeating it, or they may be able to say a particular
sound one day and have trouble with the same sound the next day. They often
appear to be groping for the right sound or word, and may try saying a word
several times before they say it correctly. Another common characteristic of
apraxia of speech is the incorrect use of “prosody” — that is, the varying rhythms,
stresses, and inflections of speech that are used to help express meaning. The
severity of both acquired and developmental apraxia of speech varies from person
to person. It can range from so mild having trouble with very few speech sounds
to the severe cases of being not able to communicate effectively.
4.4.5 Dysprosody
Dysprosody is the rarest neurological speech disorder. It is characterised by
alterations in intensity, in the timing of utterance segments, and in rhythm,
cadence, and intonation of words. The changes to the duration, the fundamental
frequency, and the intensity of tonic and atonic syllables of the sentences spoken,
deprive an individual’s particular speech of its characteristics. The cause of
58
dysprosody is usually associated with neurological pathologies such as brain Language and Speech
Disorders
vascular accidents, cranioencephalic traumatisms, and brain tumors (Pinto, Corso,
Guilherme, Pinho, & Nobrega, 2004).
4.4.6 Dysarthria
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder. It is a weakness or paralysis of speech
muscles caused by damage to the nerves and/or brain. The type and severity of
dysarthria depend on which area of the nervous system is affected. Dysarthria is
often caused by strokes, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
head or neck injuries, surgical accident, or cerebral palsy.
A person with dysarthria may experience any of the following symptoms,

depending on the extent and location of damage to the nervous system: “slurred”
speech, speaking softly or barely able to whisper, slow rate of speech, rapid rate
of speech with a “mumbling” quality, limited tongue, lip, and jaw movement,
abnormal intonation (rhythm) when speaking, changes in vocal quality (“nasal”
speech or sounding “stuffy”), hoarseness, breathiness, drooling or poor control
of saliva, chewing and swallowing difficulty etc.
A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can evaluate a person with speech

difficulties and determine the nature and severity of the problem. The SLP will
look at movement of the lips, tongue, and face, as well as breath support for
speech, voice quality, and more.
Children with isolated speech disorders are often helped by articulation therapy,
in which they practice repeating specific sounds, words, phrases, and sentences.
For stuttering and other fluency disorders, a popular treatment method is fluency
training, which develops coordination between speech and breathing, slows down
the rate of speech, and develops the ability to prolong syllables. Delayed auditory
feedback (DAF), in which stutterers hear an echo of their own speech sounds,
has also been effective in treating stuttering.
When a speech problem is caused by serious or multiple disabilities, a

neurodevelopmental approach, which inhibits certain reflexes to promote normal
movement, is often preferred. Other techniques used in speech therapy include
the motor-kinesthetic approach and biofeedback, which helps children know
whether the sounds they are producing are faulty or correct. For children with
severe communication disorders, speech pathologists can assist with alternate
means of communication, such as manual signing and computer-synthesised
speech.
4.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have defined both speech and language disorders. We have also
indicated the various causative factors leading to these disorders. Language is
the rule-based use of speech sounds to communicate (Sternberg, 2000). Language
disorders or language impairments involve the processing of linguistic
information. Problems that may be experienced can involve grammar (syntax
and/or morphology), semantics (meaning), or other aspects of language.
Disordered language may be due to a receptive problem, that is, a difficulty in
understanding speech sounds (involving impaired language comprehension).
59
Language It can also be due to an expressive problem, that is, a difficulty in producing the
speech sounds (involving language production), that follow the arbitrary rules
of a specific language. A language disorder can also be due to problems in both
reception and expression. Examples include specific language impairment and
aphasia, among others. Language disorders can affect both spoken and written
language, and can also affect sign language; typically, all forms of language will
be impaired.
Note that these are distinct from speech disorders, which involve difficulty with
the act of speech production, but not with language. Language disorders, therefore,
refer to the following:
The use of speech sounds in combinations and patterns that fail to follow the
arbitrary rules of a particular language is a language disorder. For instance, the
lack of communication etiquette is considered a language disorder. Talking out
of turn, not talking when it is your turn, or not responding when you are expected
to could be disorders if frequently observed in one’s language behaviour.
Language disorder is a disorder that is found in the development or use of the

knowledge of language. It shows the breakdown in the development of language
abilities on the usual developmental schedule. The disorders that come under
language disorders are: Autism, Learning Disability, Specific Language
Impairment, Developmental Phonological Disorders include Aphasia, Dyspraxia,
etc.
Aphasia is an impairment of language functioning caused by damage to the left

hemisphere of the brain (Garrett, 2003; Hillis & Caramazza, 2003). There are
different type of aphasias, example; Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia.
Autism is a developmental disorder characterised by abnormalities in social

behaviour, language, and cognition (Jarrold & Happe’, 2003). It is biological in
its origins, although the genes responsible for it have not been conclusively
identified (Lamb et al., 2000). Children with autism are identified by around 14
months of age, when they fail to show expected normal patterns of interaction
with others. They display repetitive movements and stereotyped patterns of
interests and activities. When they interact with someone, they are more likely to
view their lips than their eyes. About half of children with autism fail to develop
functional speech. The speech they tend to develop is characterised by echolalia,
meaning they repeat, over and over again, speech they have heard. Sometimes
the repetition occurs several hours after the original use of the words by someone
else .
Language-based learning disabilities are problems with age-appropriate reading,

spelling, and/or writing. Most people diagnosed with learning disabilities have
average to superior intelligence. . In language-based learning disability (or just
learning disabilities), many children with reading problems have spoken language
problems. Dyslexia has been used to refer to the specific learning problem of
reading.
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder which leads to a decrement in language

processing ability. This disease primarily afflicts elderly persons and causes
progressive, diffused, and irreversible damage to the cortical regions of the brain,
impacting markedly on memory functions. Comparison between the language
60
decrements due to the dementing effects of Alzheimer’s disease and those noted Language and Speech
Disorders
for the aphasics is useful because the average age of onset of Alzheimer’s Disease
overlaps that of aphasias (around 50 to 60 years of age).
The language of an Alzheimer’s patient is marked by a striking simplification

process wherein words that once precisely described some event are now lost
and are replaced by more general terms because of a fundamental loss of
categorical organisation in semantic memory .
Specific language impairment (SLI) is a developmental language disorder in the

absence of frank neurological, sensorimotor, nonverbal cognitive or social
emotional deficits (see Watkins, 1994).
Moreover, among SLI children, about 50% will go on to experience reading

difficulties and develop dyslexia (Bishop & Snowling, 2004).
“Developmental Phonological Disorders, also known as phonological disability

or phonological disorders, are a group of language disorders that affect children’s
ability to develop easily understood speech by the time they are four years old,
and, in some cases, their ability to learn to read and spell. Therefore, Phonological
disorders involve a difficulty in learning and organising all the sounds needed
for clear speech, reading and spelling” (Bowen, 1998).
Developmental dyspraxia is a lifelong disorder characterised by impairment in

the ability to plan and carry out sensory and motor tasks (Dewey, 1995). Generally,
individuals with the disorder appear “out of sync” with their environment.
Symptoms vary and may include poor balance and coordination, clumsiness,
vision problems, perception difficulties, emotional and behavioural problems,
difficulty with reading, writing, and speaking, poor social skills, poor posture,
and poor short-term memory.
Speech disorders are characterised by a difficulty in producing normal speech

patterns. Children go through many stages of speech production while they are
learning to communicate. What is normal in the speech of a child of one age may
be a sign of a problem in an older child. Speech is the vocal utterance of language
and it is considered disordered in three underlying ways: voice, articulation, and
fluency (Roseberry-McKibbin, 1995).
These disorders include voice disorders (abnormalities in pitch, volume, vocal

quality, resonance, or duration of sounds), speed sound disorders/articulation
disorders (problems producing speech sounds), and fluency disorders (impairment
in the normal rate or rhythm of speech, such as stuttering).

1) Compare and contrast the speech errors made by individuals in different
speech disorders.
2) Based on the discussion of language disorders in this chapter, make a worksheet
of different kinds of language disorders and their symptoms and causes.
3) What do brain disorders like Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasias tell us about
how a healthy brain processes phonological, syntactic and semantic
information?
61
Language 4) Speech disorders have a negative effect on the personality and overall
development of the children. Explain with examples, how?
5) What are several major features of speech sound disorder?

Cantwell, D.P., & Baker, L. (1987). Developmental Speech and Language
Disorders. NY: The Guilford Press.
Clark, H., & Clark, E. (1977). Psychology and Language: An Introduction to

Psycholinguistics. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
References
Damico, J.S., Miller, N., & Ball, M.J. (2010). The Handbook of Language and
Speech Disorders. Singapore: Blackwell.
Deputy, P. (2008). Human Communication Disorders.
Disability Info: Speech and Language Disorders Fact Sheet (FS11). National
Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.
Eisenson, J. (1986). Language and Speech Disorders in Children. London:

Elsevier.
Leonard, L.B. (2000). Children with Specific Language Impairment. NY: MIT
Press.

Yule, M, & Rutter, M. (Eds.)(1987). Language Development and Disorders.

London: McKeith Press.
62
Nature of Problem Solving
UNIT 1 NATURE OF PROBLEM SOLVING
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Types of Problems
1.3 Characteristics of Difficult Problems
1.4 Nature of Problem Solving
1.4.1 The Stages of Problem Solving
1.5 Types of Thinking Involved in Problem Solving
1.5.1 The Kinds of Thinking Processes
1.6 Concept of Insight Problems
1.7 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Suggested Readings
Problem Solving
“Solving a problem means finding a way out of a difficulty, a way around
an obstacle, attaining an aim that was not immediately understandable.
Solving problem is the specific achievement of intelligence and intelligence
is the specific gift of mankind. Solving problems can be regarded as the
most characteristically human activity.”
George Polya (1962)
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In our day to day life we usually solve problems be it the classroom, family, or
workplace. It is nearly inescapable in everyday life. We use problem solving
when we want to reach a certain goal, and that goal is not readily available. It
involves situations in which something is blocking our successful completion of
a task. To study problem solving satisfactorily, a good way will be to start the
chapter by solving some problems. Give these ones a try:
Problem1: What one mathematical symbol can you place between 2 and 3 that
result in a number greater than 2 and less than 3?
Problem2: Rearrange the letters NEWDOOR to make one word.
Problem3: How many pets do you have if all of them are birds except two , all of
them are cats except two, all of them are dogs except two.
There are many different kinds of problems, including many kinds of recreational
problems, career and school oriented problems (such as the problem of how to
get promoted or the problem of how to study for a test), personal problems (such
as the problem of who to marry or whether to have a child), and scientific problems
(such as how to find a cure for cancer or how to prove a particular theorem) etc.
We all solve many problems like these or others every day. Problem solving can
be as commonplace as finding out how to prepare a meal or as significant as
developing a psychological test.
5
Problem Solving
1.1 OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you will be able to :
• Define the basic nature of problem solving;
• Enlist the different kinds of problems;
• Describe types of thinking involved in problem solving; and
• Analyse and explain the Insight Problem Solving.
1.2 TYPES OF PROBLEMS

Problems vary from ill defined to well defined. In a well defined problem such
as a mathematical equation or a jigsaw puzzle both the nature of the problem
and the information needed to solve it are available and clear. Thus, one can
make straightforward judgments about whether a potential solution is appropriate.
With an ill defined problem, such as how to bring peace, not only may the specific
nature of the problem be unclear, the information required to solve the problem
may be even less obvious.
Greeno (1978) suggested one method of classifying well defined problems based
on the general kinds of psychological skills and knowledge needed to solve
different problems. Typically, well defined problems falls into one of the three
categories viz., (i) Arrangement (ii) Inducing Structure and (iii) Transformation.
Solving each of these types of problems requires somewhat different type of

psychological skills and knowledge.
i) Arrangement of problems requires that the problem solver must rearrange
or recombine elements in a way that will satisfy a certain criteria. Usually,
several different arrangements can be made but only one or few arrangements
will produce a solution. For example, one can say that Anagram problems
and jigsaw puzzles are examples of arrangement problems.
ii) In Problems of inducing Structure, a person must identify the existing
relationships among the elements presented. He then should construct a
new relationship among them, so that the problem could be solved. In such
a problem, the problem solver must determine not only the relationships
among the structures but also the structure and sise of elements involved.
iii) In Transformation Problems, one takes into consideration. An attempt is
made to change the initial state to a goal state. The Tower of Hanoi is an
example of this kind of problem where the initial state is the original
configuration, the goal state is to have the three disks on the third peg, and
the method is the rules for moving the disks. According to Greeno 1978
solving transformation problems primarily requires skills in planning based
on a method called means end analysis. Means end analysis requires
identifying differences that exist between the current state and the goal state
and selecting operations that will reduce these differences.
6
1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFICULT
PROBLEMS
Some of the typical characteristics of difficult problems are as given below:
• Intransparency (lack of clarity of the situation)
• Commencement opacity. (confusion regarding how to start stating the
problem)
• Continuation opacity (Continuing confusion in regard to the problem as
there is no clarity)
• Polytely (The problem has multiple goals and so reaching and selecting a
particular goal is difficult)
• Inexpressiveness (inability to express the problem clearly)
• Opposition
• Transience (the problem keeps changing)
• Complexity (The problem is in large numbers of items, too many
interrelationships and decisions)
• Enumerability (It is not possible to list it or quantify it)
• Connectivity (There are hierarchy of problems in relation to relationship,
communication and allocation )
• Heterogeneity (The problem is not homogeneous and so difficult to handle)
• Dynamics (time considerations)
• Temporal constraints (There is limitation to time factor as it has to be got
done within a time period)
• Temporal sensitivity (The problem is influenced and affected by time factor)
• Phase effects ( There are changes in different phases of the problem and
these affect the problem from being solved)
• Dynamic unpredictability (The problem is complex and consists of high
degree of unpredictability)
The resolution of difficult problems requires a direct attack on each of the above
mentioned characteristics encountered.
In reform mathematics, greater emphasis is placed on problem solving relative

to basic skills, where basic operations can be done with calculators. However
some “problems” may actually have standard solutions taught in higher grades,
like for instance multiplying rather than adding. For example, kindergarteners
could be asked how many fingers are there on all the gloves of 3 children.
Normally they will add the fingers in each glove of the three children and say 15.
But at a higher level 5 × 3 = 15, which is done quickly and solved by applying
multiplication.
7
Problem Solving
1) Define problems
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2) Define problem solving
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3) What are the different types of problems?
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4) What is meant by difficult problems?
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5) What are the characteristics of difficult problems.?
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8
1.4 NATURE OF PROBLEM SOLVING
The nature of human problem solving methods has been studied by psychologists
over the past hundred years. There are several methods of studying problem
solving, including introspection, behaviourism, simulation, computer modeling
and experiment.
Beginning with the early experimental work of the Gestaltists in Germany and
continuing through the 1960s and early 1970s, research on problem solving was
typically conducted in relatively simple, laboratory tasks that appeared novel to
participants (e.g. Mayer, 1992). In these tasks, they had clearly defined optimal
solutions which were solvable within a relatively short time frame, and
researchers could trace participants’ problem-solving steps, and so on.
The researchers made the underlying assumption that simple tasks such as the
Tower of Hanoi captured the main properties of “real world” problems, and that
the cognitive processes underlying participants’ attempts to solve simple problems
were representative of the processes engaged in when solving “real world”
problems. Thus researchers used simple problems for reasons of convenience.
Simple laboratory based tasks can be useful in explicating the steps of logic and
reasoning that underlie problem solving. However, they omit the complexity
and emotional valence of “real-world” problems. In clinical psychology, researchers
have focused on the role of emotions in problem solving, demonstrating that poor
emotional control can disrupt focus on the target task and impede problem
resolution (Rath, Langenbahn, Simon, Sherr, & Diller, 2004).
Human problem solving consists of two related processes, viz.,(i) problem

orientation, and (ii) problem-solving skills which, if While problem orientation
deals with the motivational/attitudinal/affective approach to problematic
situations, the problem solving skills deal with the actual cognitive behavioural
steps. If cognitive skills are successfully implemented, it will lead to effective
problem resolution.
Problem solving is a mental process and is part of the larger problem process
that includes problem finding and problem shaping. Considered the most complex
of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order
cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of more routine or
fundamental skills.
Problem solving occurs when an organism or an artificial intelligence system

needs to move from a given state to a desired goal state. Problem solving is one
of the many forms that thinking or cognition may take.
By cognition one refers to the mental representation of information which can

be manipulated and used to solve problems. Problem solving is a major cognitive
behaviour.
Problem solving becomes necessary when an individual wants to reach a goal

but that goal is not easily available. It is a state in which there are some obstacles
to reach the goal. Various psychologists have defined problem solving.
9
Problem Solving According to Baron (2001) problem solving involves efforts to develop or choose
among various responses in order to attain desired goals.
Witting and Williams III (1984) defined problem solving as the use of thought
processes to overcome obstacles and work towards goals.
1.4.1 The Stages of Problem Solving

The situation that prevails at the beginning of the problem solving task is the
initial state. The system then moves through a series of different, intermediate
states, designed to lead to the goal. When the goal is achieved, the system is said
to have attained the goal state. Thus there are four molar components of any
problem solving activity and these are given below:
• The initial state: How the starting conditions are defined
• The Operators: Moves or operations to move from one state to another
• Intermediate Problem States: Any states that are generated by applying an
operator to a state on the way to final goal.
• The goal state: How the final state or goal conditions are described.
The internal representation (or mental model) of these four states of a problem is
called “Problem Space”. This problem space varies from one individual to another.
It must be kept in mind that each individual’s problem space is unique and depends
also on the nature of the problem. The initial state of a problem is critical to
problem solving and some problem’s initial state may lead to efficient problem
solving while another may end up in high complexity.
Problem solving strategies Creative problem solving
Group problem solving Problem solving approach
Management problems solving Elementary problem solving
Problem solving activities Problem solving worksheets
Teaching problem solving Problem solving lesson plans
Problem solving skills
Art Problem solving

1) Describe the nature of problem solving.
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2) What are real world problems? Give suitable examples.
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10
3) What are the two processes in human problem solving.
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4) Describe the stages of problem solving.
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5) What are the four molar components of any problem solving activities?
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6) What is meant by “Problem Space”?

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1.5 TYPES OF THINKING INVOLVED IN

PROBLEM SOLVING
According to Wertheimier (1959) effective problem solving requires:
i) Productive thinking
ii) Being sensitive and open to structural requirements
iii) Going beyond the knowledge learnt from previous problem solving tasks
For productive thinking there is a need to have a grasp of the general principles
that apply in the particular problem situation. Since individuals do have a tendency
to reproduce thinking appropriate for other situations, they need to think beyond
11
Problem Solving that solution and look for unique solutions. It is important to keep in mind the
structure of the problem without which solutions may not come about.
1.5.1 The Kinds of Thinking Processes

The kinds of thinking processes involved in problem solving are:
1) Analytical Thinking
2) Synthetic Thinking.
In analytic thinking, there is nothing more in solution than in the premise. For
example if the problem is a simple question like “how many doors are there in
your house”, then the answer is simple counting of the doors and adding it up.
There can be no other answer and there can also be no other solution.
In contrast, Synthetic Thinking does not contain the conclusion in the premise
itself because the solution is not needed in the construction of the mental object.
For example, we know that 2 is a divisor of 4, 4 is a divisor of 8, and 2 is also a
divisor of 8. In general, it is true that a divisor of a divisor of a number is a
divisor of that number.
Such solutions are best reached by constructing mental model like images like
number lines.
The importance of synthetic thinking is that you can get out more than you put
into it.
After you construct a mental model, you can see relationships that were not
evident before you constructed it. Seeing these new relationships is what
comprises problem solving through synthetic thinking.
In other words, one is synthesizing the available information and facts to derive
new solution. This is also termed as developing insight.
Newell is one of the most influential cognitive psychologists who made computer
stimulation approach to the study of problem solving.
Newell stated that the goal is to construct a mental model. From this model one
will find answers to a problem by inspecting that model itself. To do this, one
writes parts of the problem mentally on the model. Once the model has been
constructed one can read the results of what has been written. It is important to
note that in order to read these results one needs the “mind’s eye”.
The mind’s eye has traditionally been a controversial issue in cognitive

psychology. Another word for it is “homunculus” meaning “little man in the
head”. Most cognitive psychologists disapprove of this concept of Mind’s eye
on the premise that it reflects nonscientific theories of behaviour that were largely
based on soul.

1) What types of thinking are involved in problem solving?
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12
2) What are the kinds of thinking processes?
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3) Describe Newell’s Mental Model.
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1.6 CONCEPT OF INSIGHT PROBLEMS

There are two types of solutions to problems and these are (i) Insightful solutions
and (ii) solutions without involving insight.
The essential characteristics of an insight solution to a problem is that the solution

appears suddenly, without warning.
By contrast, problems solved without insight are solved gradually rather than
suddenly. The solution process here involves a stepwise progression towards the
solution.
For example, arithmetic and algebraic problems fall into the category of problems
solved without insight. In this, the subjects themselves must be able to distinguish
between these two types of solutions.
As the subjects solve a non insight problem, they should be able to tell that they
are getting closer to the solution. For non-insight problems subjects generally
have a greater feeling of warmth as they get closer and closer to the solution.
This is because non-insightful problems are solved step by step and with each
step the subject gets closer to the solution and thus warmer in each step.
As for insight problems there is no gradual approach to the solution and so

subjects do not feel warmer until the solution actually appears.
Feeling of knowing and feeling of warmth reflect judgments that subjects make
about their own knowledge. Such judgments are examples of metacognition.
Metacognition refers to what one knows about the technique of how accurately
one can assess one’s own cognitive processes.
It has been shown that people’s metacognitive assessments of their performance

on noninsight problems are quite accurate. However, their metacognitive
assessments of their performance on insight problems are not accurate, because
an insight is not something that can be planned.
13
Problem Solving An insight is something that happens to the person, not something that a person
decides to have. In insight solution, the problem is solved by the sudden
illumination characteristic of insight.
Insight is preceded by a gradual process whereby relevant parts of the problem

are identified. However, solvers may not be aware that this process is leading
toward an insight.
Another aspect of insight problems is that the source of difficulty in some insight
problems is the inability to see that something you already know is needed for
the solution. Hints given within the context of the problem are fairly effective
in facilitating subsequent insight As the Gestalt psychologists often observe,
people are generally not efficient at realising that a new problem can be solved
with information already at their disposal.
People differ in their ability to select information that is relevant to the problem
at hand. This ability to discover what is essential about situation is important as
well as the ability to remember information that is relevant to the problem. This
ability is called sagacity. Sagacity differs from learning in that it involves a
sensitivity to detail, a discernment of what is important in a situation. Sagacity is
the ability to see into the situation and to discriminate the important aspects of it.
The format in which the information is presented makes a difference in insightful

problem solving. That is, one can give the information in a puzzle format or in
a declarative format. The information given in the puzzle format leads the subject
to discriminate the relevant information better than when the information is in
declarative format. This is so because, the puzzle format leads the subject to
process the relevant information in a way that makes it accessible for later use.
On the other hand the declarative format leads to the acquisition of the relevant
information, but in a way that makes it possible for the person to see its relevance
for subsequent problem solving.
Select a word that can be interpreted in different ways. For example, the word
lake can refer to a frozen or unfrozen body of water. Most people interpret the
word to refer to an unfrozen body of water. A riddle can be constructed by requiring
the problem solver to come up with the less accessible meaning in order to make
sense of what is being described. If the subject is presented with a clue that the
stone rested on the surface of the lake for 3 months, after which it sank to the
bottom some 10 meters below., this would provide the solution that lake here
refers to frozen one for 3 months and then running water lake afterwards.
1.7 LET US SUM UP

Problem solving is an important part of thinking processes. In general a problem
is any kind of conflict or difference between one situation and another that one
wishes to to produce, that which is the goal.
Problem solving typically involves three major stages: preparation, production

of solutions and evaluation of solutions that have been generated.
Problem solving can be done either with or without insight and utilises analytical,
synthetic thinking along with metacognition.
14
This it can be said that, like many other cognitive processes, problem solving is Nature of Problem Solving
a dynamic and complex process and involves many different types of thinking
processes depending on the nature of the problem.

1) What are the various categorisations of problems? Can you categorise your
day to day problems into these categories?
2) What is the role of various types of thinking involved in solving diferent
kinds of problems ?
3) Describe the four molar stages of problem solving.
4) Compare and contrast the role of productive thinking and structurally blind
thinking in problem solving.
5) Emotional states can affect many cognitive processes. What can be the affect
of these various emotional states on problem solving ?
6) Critically discuss the concept of insight problems and insightful solutions.
7) Solutions involving insight and solutions without involving insight –
Differentiate.
1.9 SUGGESTED READINGS

Feldman, R . S. (2008). Essentials of Understanding Psychology. New Delhi:
Tata McGraw Hill.

and Remembering. London: Cengage
Galotti , K.M. (2008). Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory.

Canada: Nelson Education.
References
15
Problem Solving
UNIT 2 STAGES OF PROBLEM SOLVING
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Nature of the Problem
2.3 Generating Solutions
2.3.1 Judging the Best Among the Likely Solutions
2.3.2 Strategies for Problem Solving
2.3.3 Some Specific Techniques of Problem Solving
2.3.3.1 Generate and Test Techniques
2.3.3.2 Means Ends Analysis
2.3.3.3 Backward Search
2.3.3.4 Planning Strategy
2.3.3.5 Thinking Aloud
2.3.3.6 Other Strategies
2.4 Creativity and Problem Solving
2.4.1 Stages Involved in Creative Discoveries
2.5 Artificial Intelligence in Problem Solving
2.5.1 Criticisms of the Computer Simulation Approach
2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we will examine the basic steps and strategies involved in problem
solving – the ways to reach to solutions of the problems, and the various methods
to solve different kinds of problems. For this, in particular, the following topics
are discusses in detail. We will deal with Stages of Problem Solving, Techniques
of problem solving, Creativity and Problem solving and the role of Artificial
Intelligence in Problem Solving
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Define problem solving and problems;
• Describe the various stages in problem solving;
• Analyse the various solutions; and
• Explain the steps to reach the best solution.
2.2 NATURE OF THE PROBLEM

The first step to solve the problem is to understand its different aspects and
nature i.e. to figure out just what issues, obstacles and goals are involved.
According to Greeno (1977), Understanding involves constructing an internal
16 representation. For e.g. If you understand a sentence, you create an internal
representation or pattern in your head so that concepts are related to each other Stages of Problem Solving
in the same way that they are related to each other in the original sentence.
In order to create this pattern in your head you must use background knowledge,
such as the meaning of the various words in the sentence. In order to understand
a problem you must pay attention to the important information in a problem.
Furthermore, you must ignore the information that is irrelevant. As soon as the
problem solver has decided which information is essential and which can be
disregarded the next step is to find a good way to represent the problem. The
representation can be done by using symbols, lists, matrices, graphs and visual
images.
2.3 GENERATING SOLUTIONS

The next stage is finding variety of potential solutions for the problem. For this
one can use one’s past experiences and/or present resources and thinking critically
about the problem. Several strategies can be used to solve the problems. Some
methods are very time consuming but they will yield an answer. Other methods
are less wasteful of time, but they may not produce a solution. These strategies
are discussed in another section of the unit.
2.3.1 Judging the Best Among the Likely Solutions

At this stage we must evaluate each alternatives and outcomes of the problem.
The objective of this step is to move closer to goal and learn about major obstacles
and hidden costs of the particular solution and choose the best solution.
Carrying out the best solution

This stage involves actually working out the best solution. Various strategies can
be adopted in reaching the solution. Algorithms and heuristics are the strategies
which can be used depending upon the requirements of the problem. These are
being dealt in the next section.
Evaluation of solution
In this the problem solver compares the solution with the representation of the
problem. The path taken from the initial state to the goal state is checked as to
whether it is specified as legal or not. Sometimes the evaluation stage leads to
the conclusion that the problem has not been solved adequately, and thus one
starts from an earlier stage, depending upon the source of the inadequacy.
2.3.2 Strategies for Problem Solving

An individual uses various kinds of methods or strategies to solve problems.
Some strategies when used take a long time but definitely give an answer. On the
other hand, there are some other strategies which take lesser time but do not
always guarantee success. These strategies can be mainly classified under two
categories, viz., (i) algorithm and (ii) heuristics. These two are discussed in the
following section.
Algorithm
An algorithm is a specific procedure for solving a type of problem. An algorithm
invariably leads to the solution if it is used properly, that is. It is a procedure of
17
Problem Solving steps that does guarantee a solution if one follows the steps correctly. The rules
of multiplication constitute an algorithm because a correct answer is guaranteed
if one follows the rules.
Consider anagram problems in which we try to reorganise groups of letters into

words. Examples of algorithms are systematic and unsystematic random search
techniques. Unsystematic random search means that we try out all kinds of
possible answers but make no attempt to be orderly in our search and keep no
record of our previous attempts. As a consequence we may repeat a response
that has already proved to be wrong. In systematic random search we try out all
possible answers using a specified system. This method is somewhat more
efficient than unsystematic random search, but it is highly time consuming when
there are many alternative answers. If you are given a 3 letter anagram, YBO,
with instructions to unscramble it, proceed with a systematic random search:
YOB, BYO, BOY, ! However, notice how time consuming it would be to use a
systematic random search to solve a longer anagram, such as
LSSTNEUIAMYOUL.
Heuristics
In this strategy an individual does not go for all the alternatives to solve problems
but choose some most relevant alternatives. This is kind of short cut rule which
takes lesser time but does not guarantee success. Heuristics are rules of thumb
that help us simplify and solve problems.
Heuristics do not guarantee a correct solution to a problem but when they work,
they permit more rapid solutions. A heuristic device for solving the anagram
problem would be to look for familiar letter combinations. For e.g. how many
words can you make from the pool of letters DWARG? In this anagram we can
find the familiar combinations dr and gr. We may then quickly find draw, drag,
and grad. The drawback to this method, however, is that we might miss some
words.
Psychologists have paid more attention to how humans use heuristics than how
they use algorithms. Let us look at some of the heuristics as strategies in solving
problems. Problem solvers can use one or more of these heuristics as they attack
a problem.

1) Define problem and problem solving.
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2) Discuss the nature of the problem.
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18
Stages of Problem Solving
3) How do we generate solutions to the problem?
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4) Discuss strategies for problem solving.
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5) What is algorithm?
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6) What is heurisitcs?
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2.3.3 Some Specific Techniques of Problem Solving

The way to solve a problem depends to a great extent on the nature of the problem
itself. For example, if you want to go from New Delhi to Chennai you will call
various travel agents for information regarding the various available options for
traveling and staying. However, if you want to know your bank balance you will
not call a travel agent for assistance but go to your bank or nearest ATM or use
net-banking. This is called domain specific problem solving approaches, that is
the solution that work only for a limited class of problems. In the following
section, a certain class of general, domain independent techniques of problem
solving is discussed.
2.3.3.1 Generate and Test Techniques

To understand this let us begin with a simple problem:
“Think of ten words beginning with letter c that you eat or drink.” 19
Problem Solving The process that most of us use to arrive at the solution to such a problem generally
involves what is called generate and test technique. It consists of generating
possible solutions and then testing them. For example, for the above problem of
generating a list of things to eat or drink beginning with letter c, some of the
names that often come to our mind that sound as if beginning with c but which
actually do not (like ketchup) and some that start with c but are not names of
eatables/drinks (like cable, can) might have come to your mind a s a solution but
on thinking you would have discarded these words. This explains the process of
thinking of possible solutions (generating) and then seeing if those possibilities
met all the criteria (testing).
Generate and test is a technique that loses its effectiveness very rapidly when
there are many possibilities and when there is no particular guidance over the
generation process. For example, if you forget your ATM pin, the technique
might eventually work but your frustration level by that time might exceed beyond
your willingness to work on the task. Moreover, if we do not have a way to keep
track of the possibilities that we have already tried, along with the ones that we
still have to try, we might be further frustrated.
Generate and test can be useful when there aren’t a lot of possibilities to keep
track of. If you have lost your keys somewhere between your classroom and
college cafeteria the technique can be easily used to help search the keys.
2.3.3.2 Means-ends Analysis

It is a strategy in which the problem solver divides the problem into a number of
sub problems, or smaller problems. Each of these sub problems is solved by
detecting the difference between the original state and the goal state and then
reducing the difference between these two states. The name means ends analysis
fits the process, because it involves figuring out the “ends” you want and then
figuring out what “means” you will use to reach those ends. Every day we all
solve problems by using means ends analysis. Means ends analysis involves
subgoals to eliminate the difference between the current state and the condition
for applying desired operator.
Our original state at one point is an equation
2s – 10 + 5 = s + 5 + 8
and our goal state is an equation with a single s alone one side. We reduced the
difference between the two states by adding +5 to each side of the equation and
subtracting s from each side of the equation.
This strategy repeatedly compares states and seeks operators, establishing
subgoals and finding ways to reach the sub goals, all on the way to finding a path
to the final goal.
2.3.3.3 Backward Search

With the backward search heuristic, the problem solver starts at the goal state.
Sometimes it is useful to start at the goal state of a problem and attempt to work
backward to the initial state. In solving a paper-pencil maze, it may be easier to
see the correct path by starting at the end. Working backwards can be a very
useful heuristic, particularly for problems that contain a uniquely specified goal
state. For example, a backward search would be ideal for a maze with many
paths out of the beginning point yet only one path leading form the goal.
20
The reason working backward helps lies in the subgoals that one begins to see Stages of Problem Solving
by starting with the final goal. Once the problem solver can envision a string of
subgoals projecting backward from the goal state, then going about solving the
subgoals in a forward direction can be readily accomplished. Working backward
is only viable when the goal state is uniquely well defined (Wickelgren, 1974).
2.3.3.4 Planning Strategy

In this heuristic, the problem is divided into two simple aspects and complex
aspect. First, the simple aspect of the problem is solved leaving behind the
complex one, and thereafter the complex aspect is taken and is solved. It is
particularly useful if the aspects that are ignored can easily be worked into the
solutions to the complicated problems.
One common kind of planning strategy is analogy. In analogy, a solution to an

earlier problem is used in order to help with an original problem. The current
problem is solved on the basis of past experience of solving similar problems.
This heuristic looks for similarities between a current problem and one solved in
the past. Try to solve the anagram BODUT. By thinking of words D, O, U will
simplify the problem information. The usefulness of the planning strategy depends
on the extent to which the solution to the simple problem will be helpful when
the complex problem is considered.
2.3.3.5 Thinking Aloud

Ericsson and Simon referred to the method of thinking aloud as a Method for
Studying Human Problem Solving is referred too as concurrent verbalisation,
that is verbalisation of information at the time the subject is attending to it. This
is to be distinguished from retrospective verbalisation, in which the subject is
asked about cognitive processes that occurred at an earlier point in time.
Concurrent verbalisation relies on short-term memory whereas retrospective

verbalisation relies on long-term memory.
When subjects think aloud, they put into words a process that normally takes
place nonverbally. This provides a description of the subject’s solution process.
A verbal description so obtained is called a protocol. Although there may be
omissions in these protocols, they still contain a great deal of useful information.
NeweIl (1977) recommended a series of steps in order to clarify the protocol.
1st Step: First, the protocol needs to be divided into phrases, which are
descriptions of single acts.
2nd Step:Seconcd, the experimenter constructs a problem behaviour graph, a

concrete description of the way in which the subject moves around in
the problem space. This description can be used as the basis for a
production system designed to model the subject’s behaviour.
Although concurrent verbalisation is widely used, there is evidence suggesting

that it may interfere with some aspects ‘of the problem-solving process. For
example, Schooler, Ohlsson, and Brooks (1993) did a study in which subjects
were interrupted while trying to solve an insight problem.
21
Problem Solving One group was then asked to describe their problem-solving strategies, while
another group engaged in an activity irrelevant to the problem. Subjects then
resumed attempting to solve the problem.
The group that had verbalised their strategies were less likely to solve the problem
than the group engaged in an irrelevant activity. Schooler, Ohlsson, and Brooks
concluded that there are “non reportable or unconscious processes” that lead to
insightful solutions, and these are interfered with by verbalisation.
These non reportable processes may be memory searches that lead to the recovery
of the items needed for the solution. These processes may be disrupted by the
attempt to verbalise the solution process. Therefore, researches using think-aloud
techniques should also consider including silent control groups to determine
whether verbalisation influencing performance.
2.3.3.6 Other Strategies

Some other strategies that people often employ in problem solving include:
Abstraction: This technique involves solving the problem in a model of the system
before applying it to the real system.
Divide and conquer: While using this approach to problem solving, people break
down a large, complex problem into smaller, solvable problems.
Hypothesis testing: This involves assuming a possible explanation to the problem
and trying to prove (or, in some contexts, disprove) the assumption.
Lateral thinking: Many problems involve approaching solutions indirectly and
creatively and this involves the use of lateral thinking.
Method of focal objects: This approach involves synthesizing seemingly non-
matching characteristics of different objects into something new and reaching to
a solution.
Reduction: Problem solving may also be done by transforming the problem into
another problem for which solutions exist and this is called reduction.
Research: This involves employing existing ideas or adapting existing solutions
to similar problems.
Root cause analysis: involves eliminating the cause of the problem.
Trial-and-error: This is one of the most widely studied methods in psychology

and involves testing possible solutions until the right one is found.
Brainstorming: This approach is especially used among groups of people wherein
a large number of solutions or ideas are suggested by various members of the
groups and later these ideas are combined and developed until an optimum
solution is found.

1) What are some of the specific techniques of problem solving?
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22
.............................................................................................................. Stages of Problem Solving
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2) What is involved in “generate and test” technique?
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3) What do you understand by the term “Means Ends “ analysis?
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4) What is backward search in problem solving?
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5) Discuss “thinking aloud” as a method for studying human problem
solving.
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2.4 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING

As discussed in Unit1, many of the problems are called insight problems, and
are believed to have a solution that comes from insight. The process by which
insight comes is not well understood. However it is strongly believed that
creativity plays a vital role in insight and vice versa.
Although the term is difficult to define precisely, many psychologists believe
that creativity has to do with appropriate novelty, that is, originality that suits
some purpose (Hennessey & Amabile, 1988).
23
Problem Solving Appropriate ideas that lack novelty are mundane; conversely original ideas that
do not address some problem in a useful way are bizarre. Cognitive scientists
refer to creativity as a combination, or recombination, of knowledge, information
or mental representations. In other words the person who has created it knows
about it, and also has depicted it.(Dartnall, 2002). Creative problem solving
forms the essence of insight problem solutions. Insight seems to involve at least
three separate problem-solving skills (Davidson, 1986; Davidson & Sternberg,
1984) and these are (i) selective encoding (ii) selective combination (iii) selective
comparison. These are discussed below.
1) Selective Encoding. When we try to solve a new problem, we are often
overwhelmed by large amounts of useless information. An insight arises
when we determine which information is relevant for further consideration.
Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin through selective encoding.
Fleming’s attempts to grow bacteria had been disrupted by the appearance
of a mold in his culture. Rather than dismissing this mold as irrelevant to
his original experiments, he realised that the mold’s bacteria has a killing
ability that was relevant to a greater medical concern, that is the need for
antibiotics to kill disease-causing organisms.
2) Selective Combination: When we have a problem to solve, we often have
all the pieces of the solution, but we do not know how to put them together.
An insight arises when we discover a novel way of combining the elements
of the solution.
For example, Darwin’s construction of the theory of evolution involved
selective combination. The various facts about natural history had been
available to him for a long time. What Darwin did was to combine this
information into an innovative and coherent theory.
3) Selective Comparison. When we solve a problem, we often use a model
solution that we encountered in the past. Insight occurs when we discover
that a more novel comparison leads to unforeseen consequences.
To give an example, Kekule’s discovery of the structure of the benzene ring
involved selective comparison.
In a dream Kekule saw a snake curl back on itself and catch its own tail. Upon
waking, he realised that this was the structure he had been seeking. His insight
was to discern the underlying similarity between his dream image and the benzene
ring.
As the above examples suggest, insight is an important aspect of the creative
process. Even though the laboratory puzzles and problems that we have been
discussing in this Unit as examples bear little resemblance to the kinds of problems
that Fleming, Darwin, and Kekule worked on, they all involve insight in that a
solution suddenly comes to mind. They also share another property, that is, the
person begins in the dark, not knowing what to do. What factors promote creative
solutions to important problems?
2.4.1 Stages Involved in Creative Discoveries

Many creative discoveries seem to occur in these four stages:
1) Preparation
2) Incubation
24
3) Insight Stages of Problem Solving
4) Verification.
As discussed, Creativity is the ability to see something new in something quite
ordinary.
Preparation: First a goal is set. Then potentially relevant information is gathered,

sometimes deliberately, sometimes by accident.
Incubation: This preparation done, a period of apparent inactivity, that is

incubation can set in. Incubation may involve unconscious mental activity, or it
may simply be a period of waiting for some important missing link to fall into
place.
Insight: The moment of insight (also called illumination) often involves familiar
elements coming together in new ways. The mathematician Henri Poincare wrote,
“To create consists of making new combinations of associative elements that are
useful” (1929).
Verification: The final step, verification, tells whether a new combination is, in
fact, useful. Two characteristics stand out in the creative person:
The first is a clear sense of purpose: An invention, a painting, a musical

composition, or any other creative product is a solution to a problem. Without a
clear goal, a clear problem to solve, nothing would be created. The second
outstanding characteristic of creative people is their store of knowledge and
techniques. Inventors have to know both the content and the techniques of their
field, composers have to know music and the craft of composition, and scientists
must know the facts and theories of their field and master the mathematical and
technical tools of the trade. Because “creativity” has an almost mystical
connotation, it is easy to forget how basic and indispensable purpose and
knowledge are.
1) How are creativity and problem solving related?
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2) What are the 3 problem solving skills that insight involves? Give
examples
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25
Problem Solving
3) What are the various stages in creative discoveries?
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2.5 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN PROBLEM

SOLVING
Researchers studying problem solving propose problem space hypothesis which
states that “every possible state of affairs within a problem corresponds to a
particular mental node and the entire set of nodes occupy some mental area and
this area together with the mental graph is a problem space”.
This problem space hypothesis has been used to create expert systems called
computer programmes designed to model the judgments of one or more human
experts in a particular field.
Expert systems contain a knowledge base that store facts relevant within that
field. They typically also contain a set of inference rules, a search engine that the
programme uses to search knowledge base using inference base and some interface
or means of interacting with a human user who has a question or problem for
which he/ she is consulting the expert system.
These are computer programmes that solve problems in ways that are similar to
the intelligent way in which humans solve problems are called artificial
intelligence approaches and have been found to be extremely influential.
2.5.1 Criticisms of the Computer Simulation Approach

Not all researchers agree that computer simulation can capture the way that people
think when they solve problems. Some people argue that thinking is just too
complex to be mimicked by a machine. However, as we know, computer programs
can produce some solutions to very complicated problems. Current experience
and researches suggest that there appear to be no reason, in principle, why
computer program should not-approach (or surpass) the complexity of human
thought.
Other criticisms derive from the belief that whatever it is that computer programs
do it does not really count as thinking and problem solving. People who express
this belief often ally themselves with the German philosopher Heidegger (1968).
The properties of computer programs that they can represent the chain of
inferences leading from one state to another are not the essence of thinking for
Heidegger who strongly propound that ‘Computer programmes are good
stimulators of such processes as reasoning and calculating. However, the essence
of thinking lies behind such processes as reasoning and calculating and computer
programmes are not reducible to them. It is the subjective origin of thinking-the
26
concern with the fundamental problem of being alive in the world which the Stages of Problem Solving
computer programmes do not capture. Despite these arguments, in the current
times artificial intelligence is widely used for problem solving and appears to
have promising future.
1) How does artificial intelligence function in problem solving?
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2) What is meant by computer simulation approach in problem solving?
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3) What are the criticisms against computer simulation? Discuss
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2.6 LET US SUM UP

Problem solving involves both domain specific and general strategies that people
may use. General strategies (like generate and test, means-ends analysis, reasoning
by analogy) are believed to be general strategies of problem solving that people
use in wide variety of situations. In contrast there are domain specific strategies
that are suitable in one particular situation and problem but not for others.
Many expert systems that represent artificial intelligence are specially designed
computer programmes that mimic a human expert in a specific field. However,
there are many unanswered questions pertaining to the utility of artificial
intelligence in problem solving. Insight problem solving has been found to be
related to creativity. In summary, problem solving is a multi step process and
may be facilitated by individual characteristics such as creativity.
27
Problem Solving
1) What are the stages in problem solving? Highlight the stages with a problem
from your day to day life.
2) Compare and contrast the generate- test, the means ends and the backward
search method of problem solving.
3) Discuss “thinking aloud as a method of studying human problem solving
4) Discuss “other strategies” in problem solving. For example, abstraction,
divide and conquer etc.
5) Critically evaluate the utility of artificial intelligence in problem solving?
6) Compare and contrast the general stages of problem solving with the stages
of creative problem solving.
7) Discuss the concept of thinking aloud approach of problem solving.


References
Feldman, R. S. (2008). Essentials of Understanding Psychology. New Delhi:
Tata McGraw Hill.
Galotti, K.M. (2008). Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory. Canada:
Nelson Education
28
Stages of Problem Solving
UNIT 3 THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO
PROBLEM SOLVING
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Approaches to Problem Solving
3.2.1 Traditional Approaches
3.2.2 Gestalt Approaches
3.2.3 Information Processing and Computer Simulation Approach
3.2.3.1 The General Problem Solver
3.2.3.2 Mean end Analysis
3.2.3.3 Wickegren’s General Problem Solving Strategies
3.3 Newell’s Approach
3.3.1 Summary of the Problem Space Hypothesis
3.4 Problem Solving as Modelling
3.5 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The different forms of thinking behaviour including problem solving vary along
a number of dimensions. The degree to which we are conscious of our thought
processes can vary considerably. We tend to be conscious of the products of
problem solving rather than the processes themselves. Furthermore, even these
conscious products may not be recalled accurately in retrospect by people.
Problem solving tasks can also be more or less directed. Some problem solving
tasks are directed towards specific, well-defined goals, whereas other forms are
rambling and goal-less. Thinking episodes directed at problem solving also differ
in terms of the amount of knowledge that comes into play to achieve .a goal and
these may be knowledge-lean or knowledge-rich. Most of the early research on
problem solving has examined directed thinking in knowledge-lean situations
that have specific goals (i.e. puzzles). Later research considers more knowledge-
rich situations (e.g. expert problem solving). In the present unit we focus on the
various theoretical approaches to understanding the process and nature of problem
solving.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
On completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Explain the theoretical aspects of problem solving;
• Give a historical account of problem solving; and
• Describe the various theories related to problem solving.

29
Problem Solving
3.2 APPROACHES TO PROBLEM SOLVING
In this unit, we will examine the theoretical understandings of nature and process
of problem solving from the traditional to the most recent viewpoints. The
theoretical models that are discussed in detail include the traditional models of
problem solving, Gestaltists Theories, Information processing and computer
simulation, The General Problem Solver (GPS), Wickelgren’s general problem
solving strategies and Newell’s approach to understanding Problem Solving.
3.2.1 Traditional Approaches
Traditional approaches explain problem solving in terms of principles of
associative learning derived from the studies of classical and instrumental
conditioning. According to some theorists an individual enters a problem situation
with an existing complex of stimulus response associations as a result of prior
experience. The problem is more likely to elicit some of these associations than
others, with a clear implication that problem difficulty will depend on the strength
of the correct association relative to the strength of other incorrect associations.
In the course of problem solving, the associative complex gets rearranged as
some tendencies are weakened through extinction (failure) and other strengthened
through reinforcement (success). This viewpoint stresses the transfer of prior
learning to the problem situation and to the learning which takes place during
problem solving.
3.2.2 Gestalt Approaches
A different view of problem solving was proposed by the gestalt psychologists.
These theorists emphasised the importance of the structure of the problem situations
and the formation of new combinations of old ideas. They were particularly
interested in how people solve problems by rearrangement of objects. A well known
example is the problem described by Kohler (1925) in his book, The Mentality of
Apes. Kohler hung some fruits from the top of a cage to reach it. The cage contained
several sticks and crates. The solution depended on finding a correct way to rearrange
the objects. According to the Gestalt analysis, solving the problem required the
reorganisation of the objects into a new structure. Gestaltists argued that discovering
the correct organisation usually occurred as a flash of insight. Insight is the sudden
discovery of the correct solution following a period of incorrect attempts based
primarily on trial and error. Insightful solutions seem to occur in a flash.
Gestalt psychologists distinguished between reproductive and productive thinking
(Wertheimer, 1959). Reproductive thinking entails the application of tried and
true paths to solution. The thinker reproduces a series of steps that are known to
yield a workable answer by using rote memory. Productive thinking on the other
hand, requires insight and creativity. According to gestalts view the thinker must
see a new way of organising the problem, a new way of structuring the elements
of thought and perception. A classic problem calling for productive insightful
thinking is the nine dot problem shown below:
• • •
• • •
• • •
Fig. 1: The Nine dot problem

30
The task (problem) is to connect the nine dots with just four straight lines, without Theoretical Approaches to
Problem Solving
lifting your pencil from the paper in drawing the lines. To think productively in
this problem situation one must restructure the problem, to throw off the
unnecessary assumption that the lines must lie within the visual boundaries.
1) Describe traditional approaches to problem solving.
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2) Describe Gestalt approaches to problem solving.
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3) Compare and contrast the traditional and Gestalt approaches.
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3.2.3 Information Processing and Computer Simulation

A number of researchers have tried to program computer to perform tasks that
human beings do. Such computer simulation research has had a profound
influence on psychology of human cognitive processes. The method consists of
programming a computer to work in a specified manner and comparing its
performance to that of human subjects given the same tasks. Researchers
employing computer simulation have made major contributions to the
development of information processing view of problem solving.
A problem requires a person not only to register information from the environment
but also to operate on, modify, or transform that information in some way in
order to reach a solution.
Solving problem also requires the retrieval of both factual and procedural
knowledge from long term memory. Especially for longer problems, reaching a
solution might involve repeated storage and retrieval of information generated
early in the problem for use in later stages. Even this brief listing clearly indicates
31
Problem Solving that problem solving is not a single cognitive process but rather involves a number
of activities which need to be properly executed and organised to be successful.
The most promising kind of theory in the early 1980s involves computer
simulation. In the last couple of decades a number of computer simulation theories
of problem solving have emerged. The general problem solver (GPS) developed
by Newell, Shaw and Simon (1958). It introduced a way of looking at problem
solving which has influenced virtually all problem solving theories.
3.2.3.1 The General Problem Solver (GPS)

The program was equipped with the equivalent of:
A limited capacity working memory characterised by rapid storage and retrieval
A large capacity long term memory characterised by relatively low storage and
retrieval
A serial processor that performs one operation at a time
A reliance upon heuristics, rather than algorithms that would require a large
number of high speed calculations.
Newell and his colleagues collected verbal protocols that were used and kept as
a record of people talking aloud as they solved problems. Then they transcribed
these lengthy records carefully to see if they could find general heuristics that
emerged. It introduced a way of conceptualising problem that is adopted in most
contemporary theories of problem solving.
The General Problem Solver (GPS) assumes that the problem solver represents
a problem as a problem space which consists of a set of nodes, each node
corresponding to a state of knowledge about the problem. The problem solver
begins at the initial state of knowledge and seeks to convert it into the goal state
by applying operators, which are actions that are permitted in order to move
from one state of another. Problem solving, then, requires a constructive search
during which the solver builds up a problem space, which leads from the initial
to goal state using a set of allowed operators.
3.2.3.2 Means End Analysis

This was recognised as a general problem solving heuristic which involves a
search for operations that will reduce the difference between present state of
knowledge and the goal state. In particular, means-end analysis involves the
following steps:
Set up a goal
Look for a difference between the current problem state and the goal state.
Look for a method to decrease or eliminate the difference between the two stages.
Set as a sub goal which is the application of that method.
If necessary apply means- ends analysis to apply to the sub goal.
Thus, the main heuristic used in GPS involves setting up goals and sub goals. In
fact, this strategy can be expressed very precisely as a production system, that is,
as a set of if – then pairs stored in the computers memory as production.
32
An illustrative geometric problem: Theoretical Approaches to
Problem Solving
The problem is that ABCD is a rectangle; prove that AD and BC are same length.
Steps in problem solving:

Represent the problem as a proposition or in visual form
Determine the goal.
Break down the goal into sub goals.
Select a problem solving technique
Solution is:
It can thus be proven that triangles ACD and BDC are congruent if one could
prove that two sides included angles are equal. (We reason from goal to sub
goal, proving the triangles congruent, from the sub goal to another sub goal
improving the sides and angle equal), and so on, until we reach a sub goal that
we have a ready means of obtaining).
The 3 strategies that we can use to solve this problem are difference reduction,
means-end-analysis, and working backwards and these three strategies are
extremely general and can be applied to virtually any problem.
3.2.3.3 Wickelgren’s General Problem Solving Strategies

Wickelgren’s view of problem solving is based on information processing theories
such as GPS. According to this view, a formal problem contains three types of
information:
A statement of the initial state.
Description of the goal state.
Description of set of operation or transformations.
A solution can be defined as a sequence of state or actions which helps to represent
in a diagram called the State Action Tree. The nodes or branch points on the tree
represent all the possibly different problem states that could result from all the
different action sequences. 33
Problem Solving The branches on the tree represent the possible actions that could be made at the
particular state of knowledge. The given state is represented by the single node
at the top level of the state action tree, and the goal state is represented by the
indicated node in the lowest level of the tree.
For this schematic tree, we assume that from the goal state there are only two
possible actions that the person can take. One of which starts the person on the
path toward the goal, the other of which does not.
Having chosen one of these (thereby leading the person to state level 1), the
person is then faced with a new set of possible actions. Here, we arbitrarily
assume that there are three possible actions that could be taken at either of the
state level 1 nodes.
This successive making of choices goes on and on until the person either reaches
the goal state or finds himself at a dead end. Thinking about state action trees is
the fact that as you get further into a problem (i.e. lower and lower levels in the
tree) the number of possible action sequences increases rapidly. Wickelgren argues
that there are seven general problem solving techniques for searching the state
action tree.
i) Inference: Deducing from the explicitly stated goals givens, and operations
stated in the problem
ii) Classification of action sequences: organising possible sequences of actions
(or operations) that are equivalent as far as the problem is concerned. These
are called equivalence classes.
iii) State evaluation and hill climbing: state evaluation involves defining a
quantitative evaluation function that can be calculated for all possible
problem states and hill climbing involves choosing the action to be taken
next that will have an evaluation that is closest to the goal.
iv) Subgoals: This stage involves searching for sub goals involve breaking down
the problem into sub goals to make it simpler.
v) Contradiction: deriving some inference from the givens that is inconsistent
with the goal state to narrow down the state action tree in a systematic
fashion by eliminating possibilities that could possibly not work.
vi) Working backward: It involves beginning with the goal state and working
backward from it.
vii) Finding relations between problems: finding relations between the new
problems and problems solved previously.
1) Describe and delineate the characteristic features of information and
computer simulation approach to problem solving.
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34
Theoretical Approaches to
2) What do you understand by the term General Problem Solver.? Problem Solving
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3) Describe the Menan end analysis with examples
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4) Put forward in detail the general problem solving strategies of
Wickelgren.
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3.3 NEWELL’S APPROACH

It is very natural to think of problems as being solved through the exploration of
different paths to a solution. Taker maze for example. In this, you start from a
point outside the maze and then progress through it to the centre. On your way,
you reach junctions where you have to choose between going straight on, turning
to the left or right, or turning back. Each of these alternative paths may branch
again and again so that, in the maze as a whole, there are hundreds of alternative
paths (only some of which will lead to the centre). Different strategies can be
used to find one’s way through a labyrinth.
The strategies provide you with a systematic method for searching the maze and
help you to select one from among the many alternative paths.
Newell and Simon used parallels to these basic ideas to characterise human
problem solving behaviour.
They suggested that the objective structure of a problem can be characterised as:
i) a set of states, beginning from an initial state (e.g. standing outside the maze),
ii) involving many intermediate states (e.g. moving through the maze), and
iii) ending with a goal state (e.g. being at the centre of the maze).
35
Problem Solving The application of these operators (turn left, go straight etc.) results in a move
from one state to another. In any given state there may be several different
operators that apply (e.g. turn left, turn right, go back) and each of these will
generate numerous alternative states. Thus, there is a whole space of possible
states and paths through this space , and only some of these will lead to the goal
state. This problem space describes the abstract structure of a problem.
3.3.1 Summary of The Problem Space Hypothesis

For any given problem there are a large number of alternative paths from an
initial state to a goal state; the total set of such states, as generated by the legal
operators, is called the basic problem space.
People’s problem solving behaviour can be viewed as the production of
knowledge states by the application of mental operators, moving from an initial
knowledge state to a goal, knowledge state.
Mental operators encode legal moves that can be made. There are also restrictions
which disallow a move if certain conditions hold.
People use their knowledge and various heuristic methods (like means-end
analysis) to search through the problem space and to find a path from the initial
state to the goal state.
All of these processes occur within the limits of a particular cognitive system.
That is, there may be working memory limitations and limitations on the speed
with which information can be stored and retrieved from long-term memory.
Newell’s approach, which is based on this problem space hypothesis, propounds
that the knowledge level rationalises behaviour in terms of the reasons that an
agent has to believe that certain actions will lead to achieving certain goals. In
this sense knowledge is a means to an end, a resource for behaviour.
The goal of problem solving is to select one of the possible actions.
3.4 PROBLEM SOLVING AS MODELLING

More recently, a different view is being explored, namely the view of problem
solving as modeling.
The idea is that problem solving is the construction of situation specific model
or case model.
From a knowledge level perspective the person’s perception of the world is

through knowledge alone. A goal therefore must correspond to the desired state
of ones knowledge about the world.
Consequently this knowledge must refer to the specific systems that the goal is
about. The case model thus summarises the person’s understanding of the
problem, and allows it to eventually conclude that the goal has been reached.
The actions are the means by which the person interacts with the world. Since at
the knowledge level the person’s perception is through knowledge, the interaction
must be viewed as a way of obtaining knowledge about the reality. Thus one
may say that actions of perception and interactions fit in this scheme.
36
In the problem solving as modeling, the actions are not the goal of problem Theoretical Approaches to
Problem Solving
solving but are themselves a means to an end. That end is the construction of a
model which will help in eventually achieving the goals. Whether it is the domain
model or task model the construction of the model should be such that it should
lead to the goal.
For instance, in making a domain model, it is not just packaging statements
about the domain, but it should involve augmenting statements with a series of
assumptions about how the information about the systems is connected.
In regard to task model, it embodies assumptions about the meaning of goals.
For example, if a diagnostic task is modeled as a process to generate and test
over components of a system, then one implicitly assumes that the fault one is
looking for can be localised in a component.
Thus, modeling a task corresponding to a goal is to make more precise what one
assumes that goal to mean.
The role of the problem solving method is to tie domain and task models together
in an argument on what accomplishing the task means in terms of the available
models. This is termed as competency theory.
To give an example, a heuristic classification problem solver assumes that the
solution to its problem is within the differential and it is what the problem solver
believes that it can say about the problem. This actually defines its competence.
In addition the competence theory also talks about what rationality means. A
heuristic classification problem solver will use the knowledge and actions
pertaining to rationality to reduce the sise of the differential. This is called
specialised principle of rationality. It contains the basis for all “why” questions
about the system’s behaviour.
This model is the case model and it is obtained from the competence theory
through actions. Specific control regimes (e.g., data-driven or hypothesis-driven
heuristic classification) correspond to different ways of operationalising the
specialised principle of rationality.
The configuration of models, tasks and methods entails a set of assumptions that
together can be interpreted as a model of the problem. The goal of problem
solving is to instantiate this model by making it realistic.
This can be done by making derivations from
i) the case-specific knowledge obtained by the person’s actions and
ii) the assumptions embodied in the domain and task models.
The form of the case model is determined by the selection of problem solving
method.
In this view problem solving is no longer an input-output process (as in KADS-

I). It is also not a means to select actions (as in Newell’s knowledge level
theory). It is also not a model transformation process (as in Components of
Expertise). It is in fact a process of organising knowledge by making assumptions
(i.e., constructing a model) that allow one to conclude (in effect, only assume)
that the task is accomplished.
37
Problem Solving Successful problem solving is a matter of making the right assumptions and
exploring their consequences.
Problem solving is thus viewed as the ‘creation’ of a suitable case model and the
interaction with the world is only a resource for this. It is almost a side-effect in
the process of maintaining an internal organisation and identity.
1) Describe Newell’s approach to problem solving.
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2) What do you understand by the term problem space hypothesis?
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3) Summarise the Problem space hypothesis.
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4) What is problem solving as modeling?
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5) Discuss successful problem solving.
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38
3.5 LET US SUM UP Problem Solving
Like most of the psychological and cognitive constructs problem solving has
also been construed in different light by different researchers following different
schools of psychology. The more traditional approaches explained problem
solving in terms of principles of associative learning derived from the studies of
classical and instrumental conditioning.
Gestaltists viewed it differently and emphasised the importance of the structure

of the problem situations and the formation of new combinations of old ideas.
Since then we have observed many different approaches to understanding problem
solving in terms of the Information Processing and Computer Simulation
approach, the General Problem Solver (GPS) approach, Wickelgren’s general
problem solving strategies and Newell’s approach which is based on problem
space hypothesis.
As knowledge and research progresses it is likely that one may come up with
more comprehensive theories of problem solving.

1) What are the traditional approaches to understand problem solving? Think
of some problems that you can explain based on these approaches.
2) Explain Wickelgren’s approach of general problem solving strategies.
3) Compare the Gestallt approach of problem solving with information
processing approach to problem solving.
4) Newell’s problem solving approach rests on a famous hypothesis in the
literature of problem solving. Name and explain this hypothesis.
5) Critically discuss Newell’s approach to problem solving.
6) What do you understand by the term “General Problem Solver”. Explain
with examples.
7) Do you think that a single approach amongst the approaches discussed in
this chapter is sufficient to explain all kinds of problems and problem solving
that we face.

Darley, J.M., Glucksberg, S., & Kinchla, R.A. (1991). Psychology. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Feldman, R . S. (2008). Essentials of Understanding Psychology. New Delhi:

Tata McGraw Hill.
39
Problem Solving References
Galotti , K.M. (2008). Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory. Canada:
Nelson Education.

40
UNIT 4 IMPEDIMENTS TO PROBLEM Problem Solving
SOLVING
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Effective Problem Solving
4.3 Other Methods for Problem Solving
4.3.1 Einstellung
4.3.2 Understanding the Problem
4.4 Overcoming the Constraints
4.4.1 Typical Processes in Solving a Problem
4.5 Impediments to Problem Solving
4.6 Productive Problem Solving and Impediments Thereof
4.6.1 Impediments ot Productive Problem Solving
4.7 Problem Solving in Team and Small Groups
4.8 Critical Thinking in Problem Solving and Impediments
4.9 Other Barriers to Problem Solving
4.9.1 Perceptual Blocks
4.9.2 Emotional Blocks
4.9.3 Intellectual Blocks
4.9.4 Expressive Blocks
4.9.5 Environmental Blocks
4.9.6 Cultural Blocks
4.10 Teaching and Learning Strategies that Enhance Problem Solving Skills
4.10.1 Pedagogical Stuff
4.10.2 Promoting Transfer
4.10.3 Dialogue
4.11 Functional Fixedness
4.12 Using Complete or Incorrect Representations
4.13 Lack of Problem Specific Knowledge or Expertise
4.14 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
You might have come across many situations when your attempts at problem
solving may have failed. This is largely because the problem space is not
adequately searched or because it is not represented well in the first place. There
are numerous factors that are influential impediments to problem solving.
Einstellung (or set or mental set) and functional fixedness are classic obstacles
to both proper representation and search identified by the Gestalt psychologists.
However, there are other impediments to problem solving also. In this chapter
we will study some of these impediments to problem solving.
41
Problem Solving
4.1 OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you will be able to :
• Define probles;
• Differentiate between problems and dilemmas;
• Define and describe Mental Set;
• Describe Luchin’s Water Jar Problem;
• Explain impediments to problem solving;
• Define Functional Fixedness;
• Explain Incomplete or Incorrect Representations; and
• Analyse Lack of Problem Specific Knowledge or Expertise.
4.2 EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

Depending on the kind of dilemma or problem, there are a number of models
that can help people to think through their approaches to decision-making.
Haynes’ model
This suggests a 3-step approach in the form of reflective questions, for dealing
with ethical decision-making dilemmas and problems
When working out a solution to the problem, there are a few questions one should
pose to oneself and these are for instance, “If this particular solution is considered
what will be the consequences and would there be more benefits vis a vis harmful
effects?”
Hall’s model (2001)

Alan Hall (University of Waikato) offers a set of questions that educators can
use to help consider all things before deciding what they ought to do when
confronted with an ethical problem, and how they will do it:
What is the basic issue concerned with the problem?
What principle is at risk?
Who will benefit?
Will benefits be more than harm?
4.3 OTHER METHODS FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

4.3.1 Einstellung
It is the term used by the Gestaltists to describe the tendency to set the mind into
a routine approach to problem solving. When we considered Wertheimer’s
laboratory problems, we noted that sometimes previous experience can blind a
person to simple solutions. The experiments of Luchins (1942; Luchins &
Luchins, 1950, 1994a, 1994b) are among the most interesting demonstrations of
the way in which repeating a particular problemsolving method can make a person
blind to alternative ways of solving the problem.
42
Luchins (1942) discovered set or Einstellung effects with the water jar problems. Impediments to Problem
Solving
In this problem it is required to measure out a desired quantity of water using
three jars with different capacities. Jars used have no gradations on them so they
have to be filled up to the top to measure amounts that result in the desired
quantity.
Luchin’s Water Jar Problems
Jar Sizes
A B C Goal
Problem 1 21 127 3 100
Problem 2 14 163 25 99
Problem 3 18 43 10 5
Problem 4 9 42 6 21
Problem 5 20 59 4 31
Problem 6 23 49 3 20
For instance, suppose the desired quantity was 5 cups and Jar A held 10 cups, Jar
B held 4 cups, and Jar C held 1 cup, the solution would be to fill A first. Next
from A pour into B once, and then pour from B into C once (A-B-C). Try all six
problems in above Table before proceeding.
Luchins found that problem solvers adopt a set in solving these problems. After
solving the first two or three, they automatically try the solution B-A-2C without
searching the problem space for an alternative solution. Take a look at problem
6 again. Although B-A-2C works fine, it entails much more effort than A-C. Yet
because of Einstellung, people typically overlook the obvious, easy solution.
Langer (1989) saw that Einstellung effects are one type of mindlessness that
characterises human behaviour, particularly in our dealings with other people.
All too often we act from a single perspective or rule that has worked in the past.
Instead of exploring our environment carefully to seek out alternative courses of
action, we sample just enough features to recognise that our set approach seems
to be on track.
Einstellung also constrains how we represent problems as well as how we search

them.
1) Define problem solving.
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43
Problem Solving
2) Describe effective problem solving. What is required for effective
problem solving.
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3) What are the various other methods of problem solving?
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4) What is Einstellung? Explain
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4.3.2 Understanding the Problem

1) Interpretation
Develop a relatively clearer understanding of the problem before attempting
to solve it.
Devote more time and effort to the initial formulation of ill structured
problems.
Look at the immediate problem in its relation to the broader mission and
problems of the organisation.
2) Goals
Adopt a broader range of goals for problem solving
When solving problems in groups, have less personal stake in any
preconceived solution. Because their aim is to arrive at the best solution the
group can produce.
4.4 OVERCOMING THE CONSTRAINTS

The problem solver must adequately anticipate many of the constraints likely to
arise during problem solving.
44
They must show a greater tendency to plan, in advance, for how to address Impediments to Problem
Solving
anticipated constraints.
They must respond more adaptively and flexibly to constraints that arise
unexpectedly.
They should not view the constraints as major impediments to problem solving.
4.4.1 Typical Processes in Solving a Problem

• Think through their solution processes in considerable detail
• Develop an explicit plan for solving the problem, which often includes many
steps.
• Collect comprehensive amounts of relevant information from reliable sources
as part of developing and implementing their solution plan.
• Monitor progress with the plan and refine it when outcomes are not
satisfactory.
• Consult, often extensively, with others in developing their solution plan.
• Plan for follow-up.
4.5 IMPEDIMENTS IN PROBLEM SOLVING

Solving problems is a complex process and each of us is better at the skills
required at some stages than others.
A problem exists when an obstacle prevents the person from reaching an objective.
In order to achieve effective problem solving , this problem solving itself can be
divided into stages, which must be followed methodically.
Solving problems effectively requires a controlled mixture of analytical and

creative thinking.
The following are the list of some of the reasons why people fail to find effective
solutions include:
• Not being methodical
• Lack of commitment to solving the problem
• Misinterpreting the problem
• Lack of knowledge of the techniques and processes involved in problem
solving
• Inability to use the techniques effectively.
• Using a method inappropriate to the particular problem
• Insufficient or inaccurate information
• Inability to combine analytical and creative thinking
• Failure to ensure effective implementation.
45
Problem Solving
1) What are the two important aspects involved in problem solving?
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2) What are the ways in which the constraints in regard to problem solving
could be overcome?
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3) What are the various impediments in problem solving?
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4) Why do people fail to find effective solutions to problems?
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4.6 PRODUCTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING AND

IMPEDIMENTS THEREOF
Let us first consider what is required for productive problem solving. The
following provides the requirements
A clear description of the problem.
A description of the limiting (or negative) factors involved in the problem.
A description of the constructive (or positive) factors involved in the problem.

46
A clear delineation of the “ownership’’ of the problem. Whose problem is it: Impediments to Problem
Solving
mine, yours, the other guy’s, my boss’, my spouse’s, my child’s, my parents’, my
teacher’s?
A clear description of the scope of the problem: How extensive a problem is it?
How long has this problem existed? How many people are affected? What else
is affected by this problem?
A clear description of the consequences if the problem were not solved: What is
the possible impact on my family, job, marriage, school performance, life in this
community, etc., if this problem isn’t solved? What is the worst possible thing
that could happen if this problem isn’t solved?
A list of brainstormed solutions to the problem, with each alternative analysed
as to its reality, its benefits and the consequences for following each one.
A system of ranking each solution to finalise the decision-making process. A

rating system for analysing each solution is developed, e.g., 100 percent chance
of success, 75 percent chance of success, 50 percent chance of success.
It is always ideal to brainstorm the problem and to do this one should follow the
rules given below:
1) Express all ideas.
2) Deem no idea too wild to be considered.
3) Quantity is important; every idea that comes to mind should be included.
4) Getting together with others to brainstorm is desirable.
5) Criticism or negative evaluation regarding any idea is forbidden until
brainstorming is completed.
Some of the questions one should ask of oneself in order to achieve effective
problem solving are:
• Am I procrastinating?
• Am I avoiding the problem?
• Am I in denial?
• Am I shutting down or blocking my creativity on this problem?
• Am I ignoring it, hoping it will go away?
• Am I using magical and/or fantasy thinking in addressing the problem?
4.6.1 Impediments to Productive Problem Solving

• A “Yes, but’’ attitude.
• Intellectual defensiveness closed to new ideas.
• Fear of being perceived as being incompetent.
• Fear of one’s ideas being unaccepted.
• Inability to be objective about the problem.
• Fear of being wrong.
• Inability to be creative, imaginative or “off the wall’’ in developing alternative
solutions. 47
Problem Solving • Being inflexible or too serious to have fun while problem solving.
• Not tuning into one’s “inner child’’.
• Being so chronically immersed or emotionally “stuck’’ in problems that no
feelings or emotions can be elicited.
• Believing that one’s emotions and feelings about a problem are “wrong’’
and should be discounted in problem solving.
• Resentment about having to solve the problem and blaming others for causing
the Problem.
• No desire to own up to the problem yourself.
• Believing that problems are the concerns of others, why waste time in trying
to solving them.
• Mental and/or physical fatigue from trying to cope with problems and finding
no fruitful solutions.
• Burnout, feeling so stressed, anxious or tense in the face of a problem that
your body systems shut down.
• Getting so angry about the problem that all energy and attention is drawn to
the anger rather than to the problem.
• Feeling sorry for oneself so much that the “self-pity’’ overwhelms and
obstructs all creative thinking on the matter.
• Getting so down or depressed about the problem that it is impossible to
come up long enough to deal with the problem.
• Denial that the problem exists.
• Bargaining in dealing with the problem; e.g., agreeing to perform certain
steps only as long as the solution to the problem benefits you.

1) What is meant by Productive problem solving?
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2) What are the essential pre requisites for productive problem solving?
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Impediments to Problem
3) What are the impediments to productive problem solving? Solving
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4) How can you overcome these impediments to productive problem
solving?
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4.7 PROBLEM SOLVING IN TEAMS AND SMALL

GROUPS
There are many things that make a group or team fail to solve a problem. Some
of the barriers in this regard include the following:
1) Lack of structure.
When there is no structure group members lose focus and direction.
2) Poor communication.
This is a barrier that can wreak havoc for every group member that is involved.
Poor communication can lead to misunderstanding of the problem. Further
poor communication itself can be caused by inattentiveness and dominance
that can be made by one or more group members. Ineffective communication
will definitely be a negative against any discussion or meeting.
3) No communication
This would be a problem solving killer.
4) Negative attitude
This is a barrier to problem solving in small groups. If members are not
flexible and open minded during a discussion or meeting, then a balanced
opinion can not be produced.
5) No goal or agenda
When having a team or small group meet for problem solving, it is very
important to have a goal or agenda. This in turn will help to avoid most
barriers and keep the group focused and organised.
6) Lack of participation
It is important in a small group or team every member should participate in
the problem solving process. They must all have clear idea as to what the 49
Problem Solving group is trying to achieve and give all members time to participate and give
their views and feelings. This path, in the end, will help to keep focus,
structure, and communication open for all members.
In addition to the above other problems that may affect the problem solving
processes are:
• Emotions
• Learning styles
• Gender
• Cognitive barriers
• The lack of transfer of structure between problems.
4.8 CRITICAL THINKING IN PROBLEM

SOLVING AND IMPEDIMENTS
Critical thinking consists of three steps:
1) Becoming aware that assumptions exist
2) Making assumptions explicit
3) Assessing their accuracy
Misconceptions about Critical Thinking
• It is a wholly negative process – it tears down ideas and puts nothing in their
place
• It will lead to relativistic freeze – the inability to make commitments to
people, ideas, and structures.
• It seems to involve traumative change – one is expected to abandon old
assumptions continually.
Other fallacies in regard to problem solving are :
• Irrelevant reason.
• The person’s character attached to discredit arguer rather than argument
• Generalisation – one event which follows was cause by first
• Slippery slope with an either or approach which leads to non resolving a
problem.
• Appeal to emotion – emotional appeals rather than logical reasons to persuade.

1) How do problems get resolved in teams and groups?
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2) What makes solution to the problem a failure in teams and groups? Solving
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3) What is meant by critical thinking in problem solving?
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4) What are the impediments to problems solving through critical thinking?
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4.9 OTHER BARRIERS TO PROBLEM SOLVING

These are Perceptual blocks, Emotional blocks, Intellectual blocks, Environmental
blocks, Culture blocks.
4..9.1 Perceptual Blocks

Perceptual blocks exist when we are unable to clearly perceive a problem or the
information needed to solve it effectively .
They include:
a) Seeing only what you expect to see
Obscures the “true nature of a problem, either because we exclude relevant
information or include information simply because we assume it is there.
b) Stereotyping
Often we don’t look beyond the obvious and tend to label. For example, if
someone isn’t working as hard as we would like and we apply the label ‘lazy’ to
that person, we might overlook the possibility that boredom with monotonous
work is the problem, and not laziness
51
Problem Solving c) Not recognising problems
Problems go unnoticed until the effects have become severe and emergency action
is required.
d) Not seeing the problem in perspective

This results from taking too narrow a view of the situation, so that we recognise
only part of the problem or the information required to solve it. Sometimes
people fail to recognise how different parts of the problem are related, rather
they look at the problem more superficially and hence the solution alsom becomes
inadequate.
e) Mistaking cause and effect

If cause and effect are confused then we are unlikely to find an effective solution.
For example, if goods do not arrive and we assume that the supplier is late in
despatching them when in fact our ordering department has failed to send out
the order, then our search for solutions will be misdirected. In this situation the
late despatch of the goods is an effect of the problem and not a cause.
4.9.2 Emotional Blocks

Emotional blocks exist when we perceive a threat to our emotional needs. These
needs differ in type and strength from person to person but include needs for
achievement, recognition, order, belonging and self-esteem. The emotional blocks
include:
a) Fear of making mistakes or looking foolish

This is the most significant emotional block because it affects most of us and is
difficult to overcome. As a result of traditional schooling, the expected reaction
when we make a mistake or suggest radically different ideas is laughter and
ridicule. No one likes being laughed at and as a result we learn to fear making
mistakes and to avoid suggesting ideas which are different. This block becomes
more severe in the presence of colleagues of a different rank to our own. With
those who are more senior we imagine that we will be thought inexperienced or
immature. With those more junior we want to protect our image as being
knowledgeable and experienced.
b) Impatience
Being impatient to solve a problem may be due either to a desire to succeed
quickly or to end the discomfort or loss caused by the problem. This has two
major consequences. We tend to grab the first solution which comes along, without
adequate analysis of the problem, and we evaluate ideas. too fast, almost
instinctively rejecting unusual ideas. Either way, our solution is unlikely to be
the most effective available.
c) Avoiding anxiety
This is another common block. Some of- us are more susceptible to anxiety and
also find it more unpleasant than others. Many factors can cause anxiety, including
high risk, disorder and ambiguity, long-term stress, and fear for our security. The
effects on problem solving include avoiding risks, indecision in situations which
are not ‘black and white’, excessive reliance on others’ judgement, and avoiding
challenging the status quo. .
52
d) Fear of taking risks Impediments to Problem
Solving
This leads to the avoidance of situations where the outcome is uncertain or could
be unpleasant. A major cause is our desire for security. The consequences include
setting objectives within easy reach, so that there is no risk of failure, and accepting
known solutions in preference to the unusual because their value is certain. A
liking for taking risks and over-confidence in being able to avoid unpleasant,
consequences are more dangerous blocks.
e) Need for order

This is related to avoiding anxiety. It can lead to an inability to cope with the
frustration of situations which are not clear cut or where ambiguities exist.
f) Lack of challenge
This may arise when the problem is routine or the benefits/losses are not
significant to us. The result is that either we don’t tackle the problem or we take
the easiest, quickest route to solution.
4.9.3 Intellectual Blocks

Intellectual blocks exist when we don’t have the necessary thinking skills to find
a successful solution, or are unable to use them effectively. They include:
a) Lack of knowledge or skill in the problem solving process

This is one of the most common blocks. It includes: inadequate skills in analytical
and creative thinking; an inflexible strategy, using one approach for every type
of problem; the inability to use the various problem solving techniques. They
can all lead to ineffective solutions.
b) Lack of creative thinking

This is always caused by an inability to use the skills rather than their absence,
resulting from the dominance of analytical thinking in our day-to-day lives and
a lack of practice.
c) Inflexible thinking
This is a difficulty in switching from one type of thinking skill to another, such
as from analysis to idea generation or from verbal to visual thinking.
d) Not being methodical

This is perhaps the most common block. A step-by-step approach is essential to
solving problems effectively.
e) Lack of knowledge or skill in using the ‘Language’ of the problem

If a problem involves a language that we cannot understand or cannot use, such
as specialist jargon or statistical analysis, we will not be able to tackle the problem
effectively. Similarly, we may use an inappropriate language, such as trying to
find an error in accounts by describing the situation verbally rather than analysing
it mathematically.
f) Using inadequate information
This happens when we do not make sufficient effort to collect the relevant
information, or do not understand what information is relevant, where to find it,
53
Problem Solving or how it relates to the problem. Similarly, using inaccurate information can lead
us to the wrong conclusions.
4.9.4 Expressive Blocks

Expressive blocks arise when we are unable to communicate in the way required
to produce an effective solution, e.g. not being able to express our ideas effectively
to those who have to implement the solution. .
Expressive blocks exist when we do not have the knowledge or skills necessary
to communicate or record ideas in the ways required. They are caused by an
inability to use ‘languages’ effectively, such as words, drawings, mathematics,
scientific symbols, and so on. They include:
a) Using the wrong language

Some problems are more effectively solved or communicated using one language
rather than another. For example, we are unlikely to get very far if we record data
only verbally when the problem requires quantitative analysis. Similarly, people
may find it hard to grasp our meaning if we try to explain our feelings about a
situation using mathematics instead of words.
b) Unfamiliarity with a particular application of a language

The most obvious example is the difficulty many people have making a speech,
even though they can write their ideas effectively on paper.
Inadequate explanations
These can result from a real lack of information about what you are trying to
convey, or from assuming that your audience already has some of the information
when, they don’t.
c) A passive management style

A situation where we are reluctant to or find it difficult to exert influence may
prevent us communicating our ideas effectively. This is particularly important
when people need to be convinced of the validity of ideas.
d) A dominant management style

This is when we exert oppressive control, either deliberately or unconsciously,
and can make those we are communicating with automatically reluctant to accept
what we say or hostile to our ideas.
4.9.5 Environmental Blocks

Environmental blocks are caused by external obstacles in the social or physical
environment, which prevent us from solving a problem effectively, e.g.
distractions from the task.
Environmental blocks, which exist when the social or physical environment

hinders our problem solving, include:
i) Management style
The way in which we are managed can influence both our attitude to problem
solving and the freedom we have to create and implement ideas. For example, if
54
our ideas are dismissed constantly with comments such as ‘No, it wouldn’t work Impediments to Problem
Solving
because ...’, or ‘No, we’ve tried it before and it didn’t work’, we soon give up
trying.
ii) Distractions
Due to excessive noise and interruptions, these affect some people more than
others, but in general they have a detrimental effect on problem solving.
iii) Physical discomfort

This can create a distraction as well as resulting in stress or lethargy depending
on the circumstances. For example, poorly designed chairs may create a distraction
by giving us backache which, in turn, can make us irritable and less interested in
any type of work.
iv) Lack of support

This comes in many forms. For example, we may need specialist information,
advice, skills or other resources, or authority to take action. A more pervasive
aspect of this block is a lack of encouragement and the necessary organisational
structure to support and exploit people’s ideas.
v) Stress
Stress due to pressure of work and deadlines, affects people differently. For those
who are susceptible to stress it can be a powerful block, hindering creative thinking
in particular.
vi) Lack of communication

This has a number of effects, including inability to get the information you require
and a lack of encouragement.
vii) Monotonous work

This can dull enthusiasm for solving problems and put us onto ‘automatic pilot’,
making us blind to problems when they occur.
viii) Expectations of others

These can influence both our general performance in problem solving and the
objectives we set ourselves. For example, if our peers and superiors are happy
with a regular solution to a problem we may feel that it’s a waste of time looking
for a new; more effective solution. On the other hand, if we are expected to find
an innovative solution we are likely to make a greater effort.
4.9.6 Cultural Blocks

Cultural blocks result from our conditioning to accept what is expected or ‘normal’
in a given situation, e.g. when the work ethic says that we must be serious-
minded, but finding an effective solution requires some playful fantasy.
Cultural blocks exist when our problem solving is hindrance by accepting that
some things are good or right and are done, while others are bad or wrong and
are not done, So that we become bound by custom. They include:
55
Problem Solving a) Unquestioning acceptance of the status quo
There is a tendency to conform to established ideas an methods of working and
not to question them or express ideas which depart from them. If something is
not normal done we tend to look for the reasons why it can’t be done or why it
wouldn’t work, rather that looking for ‘the reasons why it should be done or why
it could work’.
b) Dislike of change
The attitude that tradition is preferable to change can arise, from the need for
security. If a situation is acceptable as it is, any change, which must involve
some uncertainty, is felt to be threatening by some people. However, as we become
more and more accustomed to change this block is becoming less common, but
there must be reasons for change. Change for change’s sake can be dangerous.
c) Fantasy and humour are not productive

There is still a widespread belief that fantasy and humour have no place in the
serious business of problem solving. Subjective reports from innovators suggest
otherwise. Fantasy and humour are connected by one common feature – the
unlikely combination of ideas (think about it’ next time you hear a good joke –
the punch line is always unexpected). Innovative solutions to problems arise in
the same way – by making a link between apparently unrelated ideas.
d) Feelings, intuition and subjective judgements are unreliable’

There is a strong bias towards reason, logic and quantitative judgements because
they can be measured and communicated in accurate terms. Feelings, intuition
and subjective judgements, which cannot be measured or communicated as
effectively, are seen as unrealiable and are mistrusted.
Even in mathematics, one of the most logical of sciences, intuition is often reported
as playing a key role in, problem solving. A good problem solver needs to be
able to use both objective, logical methods and subjective, intuitive methods in
the search for solutions.
e) Over-emphasis on competition or cooperation

A strongly competitive environment (for recognition, promotion, and so on) can
make people unwilling to listen to the ideas of those with whom they are
competing. Similarly, in a strongly cooperative environment we may avoid
expressing new ideas because we don’t want to stand out from the crowd.
f) Taboos
Some actions and ideas are excluded from problem solving because they are
regarded as distasteful, or are harmful, or contravene accepted moral codes. For
example, in a test of creativity a group of students were given a problem to solve
using calculus. They had to follow certain rules and the objective was to see who
produced the largest number of different routes to the correct solution. A few
students produced a lot more than the others because they chose to break the
rules they were told to follow.
Although eventually we may not decide to break a taboo, there is no harm in

breaking them in thought. This can often lead to new perspectives on a problem.
56
We can overcome most of our own blocks permanently by re-learning, and Impediments to Problem
Solving
overcome other people’s blocks which hinder us by learning ways to sidestep
them.

1) What are the various other barriers to problem solving?
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2) What is meant by perceptual blocks to problem solving?
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3) Discuss the emotional and Intellectural blocks in problem solving
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4) Discuss the expressive and environmental blocks in problem solving
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5) What are the cultural blocks that affect problems solving?
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Problem Solving Other barriers
Learning styles: Other barriers to problem solving include Learning styles or
how persons learn to solve problems. Some people learn primarily visually,
others aurally; some learn step-by-step, others employ an all-or-nothing process;
some cogitate on a problem introspectively, while others find they work problems
best when they can discuss them.
There is also evidence that some thinking styles that affect the ability to solve
problems are gender-linked. For instance it has been found that females organise
and relate data more efficiently than males.
Cognitive barriers: to mastering problem-solving is another important factor.

The primary difficulty is the inability to identify and use concepts and procedures
in analogous but novel situations.
The lack of transfer of structure: between problems is a significant cognitive

difficulty, not only for inexperienced problem-solvers but also for experts.
Successful transfer rests on the ability to recognise analogies, but even when
given an analogy, students often fail to see how to employ it.
A lack of transfer skills: is frequently marked by functional fixedness, the

perception that a particular object or concept has only one use. Another problem
is superficial transference, where persons identify and link words or variables
between problems instead of linking deeper, more meaningful structures.
4.10 TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

THAT ENHANCE PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
There are two types of strategies that can overcome difficulties in problem-solving:
Pedagogical strategies, which are teacher-centered methods, and Methodological
strategies, which tend to be learner-centered.
4.10.1 Pedagogical Strategies

Some pedagogical strategies allow the teacher to address the emotional,
psychological, and cognitive barriers to problem-solving simultaneously. For
example, on the first day of class, the teacher could have open discussion about
the nature of the course material, etc., and encourage students to voice their fears
and concerns about it. This approach helps create a comfortable learning
environment. Class discussion also reinforces success and transfer of learned
skills.
One effective strategy is that active involvement is critical in developing problem-

solving skills, and thus student learning groups can be used to promote active
experimentation with problems.
Other effective strategies include accepting multiple attempts of solutions for an

assignment. The persons should be asked to record how the problem was solved
etc., and then discuss if there are other methods that could be used to solve the
problem.
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Different learning styles as well as gender-specific differences in thinking can Impediments to Problem
Solving
be addressed by employing a variety of activities and approaches in teaching.
The traditional instructional mode of lecturing and explaining is effective for

only one learning style.
One might use graphics to illustrate concepts, provide opportunities for practice
in class, ask for the persons interpretations of data, etc. could also be used to
address the other learning styles.
The five steps usually contained in many solution strategies is IDEAL.

1) Identify the problem.
2) Define and represent the problem.
3) Explore possible solution strategies.
4) Act on the strategies.
5) Look back and evaluate.
This scheme is beneficial in a large number of disciplines.
4.10.2 Promoting Transfer

Other strategies assist persons in transferring problem solving techniques from
one problem to very similar or analogous problems.
For successful transfer to occur, it is essential for persons to identify the central
theme that is common to a set of problems so they can readily recognise and
apply it in more abstract settings.
Through the conscious use of analogy, persons can explore situations which are
similar, transferring structure to the problem at hand.
4.10.3 Dialogue
This can also be useful in promoting transfer by highlighting the differences
between the problem-solving techniques used by experts and novices. In order
to solve a problem, both experts and novices do follow the same pattern, that is,
they read and analyse, plan a strategy, act on that strategy to produce a solution,
and then try to verify it.
Encouraging people to talk through the differences between problems that have
similar superficial structures but different deep structures decreases the risk of
incorrect transfer.
Having students work on numerous problems individually and in groups also
facilitates transfer.
Choosing problems which evolve from simple and well-defined to complex and
ill-defined will help people to develop transfer skills.
To develop better problem-solvers, persons should be helped to overcome both
emotional and cognitive barriers to learning effective problem-solving skills.
By first creating a comfortable environment and helping people to overcome
their fears and anxieties related to problem-solving, one lays the necessary
foundation for successful learning.
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Problem Solving Then using an array of pedagogical and methodological strategies, one can
promote in the person the ability to reflect on the problem-solving process itself
and provide critical tools for and practice in productive problem-solving.

1) Discuss the other barriers related to the person that affect the problem
solving adversely.
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2) What is IDEAL. Elaborate. How do these help in problem solving?
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3) Discuss the pedagogical strategiesin problem solving.
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4) Explain how promoting transfer and dialogue help in problem solving?
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4.11 FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS

Functional fixedness discovered by Duncker (1935) refers to the tendency to see
objects as having only a single, typical use. A hammer is for pounding nails and
other things for instance. We categorise objects based on their functional features
as well as their features. Generally the prototypical function dominates the way
we think.
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Duncker in his experiment led an individual into a room with a table holding Impediments to Problem
Solving
several small objects. They included three cardboard boxes filled with candles,
tacks and matches, respectively and an ashtray, paper, paper clips, string, pencils,
and tinfoil. The individual was instructed to mount the candles at eye level on
the wall, ostensibly to prepare the room for a vision experiment. Can you think
of a way to put the candles on the wall using these materials?
Duncker found that only 43% of his participants could develop a solution to the
problem. He hypothesised that they fixated on the common function of a box,
namely, to serve as a container.
To help break their functional fixedness, he repeated the experiment but this
time emptied the candles, tacks, and matches on the table, leaving the boxes
empty. Under these circumstances, all participants solved the problem by first
mounting the boxes on the wall using the tacks, which then served as platforms
for the candles.
Here is another example of functional fixedness, called the coin problem (Simmel,
1953). Suppose you have eight coins and a balance. One of the coins is a
counterfeit coin and therefore lighter than the others. The problem is to find the
counterfeit coin by using the balance only twice?
Most people initially think of dividing the coins into two groups of four coins
each. One of the groups of four will be lighter and so must contain the counterfeit
coin. Then you can take the four coins from that group, and weigh them two
against two. Of course, one of the groups of two will be lighter. However, you
cannot determine which of the two remaining coins is counterfeit, because you
have already used the balance twice.
Before we consider how to approach this problem correctly, let us analyse the
previous solution attempt. Why do we initially divide the coins into two groups
of four? One reason is that we know that eight things can be evenly divided into
two groups of four. One of the functions of the number eight is that it can be so
divided.
The fact that 4 + 4 = 8 is a highly available bit of knowledge for us. Because this
property of the number eight is so available, it is the first thing we think of. In
fact, when people try to solve this problem, they often keep coming back to the
four versus four divisions. When the obvious way of using things keeps us from
seeing the correct way of using them, then we are functionally fixed.
In Simmel’s coin problem, the solution is often very difficult to see. You need to
divide the coins in a way that is far from obvious at first. Suppose you divide
them into three groups of three, three and two coins. Then weigh three versus
three. If they balance, then the counterfeit coin must be in ‘the group of two
coins. Your second weighing, then, is to take the group of two coins, and weigh
one versus one. Alternatively, suppose on your first weighing one group of three
coins is lighter: Then on your second weighing, take any two of the three coins
and weigh one against the other. If they balance, then the third (unweighed) coin
must be the counterfeit one. If they do not balance, then lighter one is counterfeit.
This procedure is guaranteed to find the solution. However, it is much more
complex and unfamiliar than the wrong procedure.
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Problem Solving Thus, finding solutions to problems may require you to overcome functional
fixedness. It may only be after you have realised that the obvious ways of tackling
a problem do not work that you will be open to a reorganisation of the problem
that will allow you to see the solution.
4.12 USING INCOMPLETE OR INCORRECT

REPRESENTATIONS
A related difficulty in problem solving has to do with initial interpretation of the
problem. If the information is misunderstood, or if the wrong information is
provided/ focused upon, the solver is at a disadvantage. This can be illustrated
by a problem from Perkins (1981):
“There is a man at home. That man is wearing a mask. There is a man coming a
home. What’s happening?”
Most of the people start to go wrong in making assumptions about the home in
situation. Many equate home with house, although the answer is baseball game.
Perkins (1981) argue that assumptions people make in interpreting the problem
are a kind of mental set and that this mental set hinders problem solving.
In terms of representation, representing the problem in terms of a person sitting
in a house would lead you down the wrong path. It would be a case of using an
incorrect representation, that is one that included information not presented in
the problem and not correct.
The choice of representation can often make a great difference. Schwartz (1971),
studying problems such as this one found that people who constructed charts
and flow charts were successful in solving the problems than people who merely
wrote down available facts.
Here’s another example of a case where representation can make a problem either
very easy or very hard. It is called the numbers game and the objective of each
player is to choose from the set of digits enough to make an exact total of fifteen
from three digits.
Two players are given a sheet of numbers, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9.
They take turns crossing one of the digits off the list and adding it to their own
list.
The first player to have three digits totaling 15 (for example 4, 5, 6; or 1, 6, 8)
wins.
If you were to play this game, what would your problem solving strategy be?
What if you played first, which digits would you choose? What if you played
second and your opponent had first chosen a five?
The first time or two if you play this game, you might find it surprisingly
challenging. Now look at the figure below and notice how this problem can be
represented alternatively:
6 7 2
1 5 9
8 3 4
62
Notice that, depicted this way, the difficult numbers game is actually the game Impediments to Problem
Solving
of tic tac toe in disguise. Represented this way the game is easy but without this
representation the problem is much harder to solve.
1) What is Functional Fixedness? Explain mental set in problem solving.
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2) Present Duncker’s experiment.
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3) How does coin problem demionstrate functional fixedness?
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4) What is meant by incomplete or incorrect represtnations? How do
these affect problem solving? Give suitable examples
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4.13 LACK OF PROBLEM SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE

OR EXPERTISE
Until now we have been discussing general problem solving abilities with
problems that have a puzzle like character. The assumption is that most of these
problems are about equally unfamiliar to everyone and that people basically go
about solving them in the same way. Other kinds of problems – for example,
63
Problem Solving those in chess or others killed games; textbook problems in physics, geometry,
or electronic; computer programming and problems in diagnoses and management
of health problems – seem to be different kind from the puzzles we have been
talking about. In particular, experts and novices approach most such problems
differently (Chi, Glaser & Farr, 1988).
Familiarity with a domain of knowledge seems to change the way one solves
problems within a frame of reference. A good example is to compare the ability
to of undergraduate psychology students from their professors in designing
experiments.
A classic study of expert novice differences was carried out by de Groot (1965).
He examined the thinking process of both chess masters and weaker players
considered about the same number of possibilities but somehow chose the best
move more easily. Chase and Simon (1973), in a replication study, found that the
more expertise a chess player had, the more information he extracted even from
brief exposures to chess boards set up to reflect ongoing chess games. That is,
when a chess master and chess beginner are both shown a chess board for five
seconds, the chess master will remember more about where the pieces were
placed, but only if the pieces are configured to depict a chess game.
In problem solving, experts see and represent a problem in their domain at a

deeper and more principled level than do novices, who tend to represent
information superficially (Chi, Feltovich, & Glaser 1981). For example, when
solving physics problems experts tend to organise the problems in terms of physics
principles like Newton’s first law of motion; novices instead tend to focus on the
objects mentioned in the problem, such as an inclined plane or a frictionless
surface. Experts tend to spend proportionately more time qualitatively analysing
the problem, trying to grasp or understand it; relative to novices who are more
likely to plunge in and start looking at solutions. Finally, throughout the process
of problem solving, experts are more likely to check for errors in their thinking.
Expertise by itself is not always enough for problem solving other factors like
medical status, mental status and other related aspects can also affect problem
solving abilities (Goel & Grafman, 2000).
4.14 LET US SUM UP

As discussed in earlier chapters problem solving involves both domain specific
and general strategies that people may use and may be attained through various
techniques. However, most of us often come across many situations when our
attempts at problem solving fail. This is largely because there are numerous
factors that are influential impediments to problem solving. Einstellung (or set
or mental set) and functional fixedness are classic obstacles to both proper
representation and search identified by the gestalt psychologists. Einstellung is
the tendency to set the mind into a routine approach to problem solving. Functional
fixedness refers to the tendency to see objects as having only a single, typical
use. Researchers have also talked about the novice versus expert differences in
problem solving.
64
4.15 UNIT END QUESTIONS Solving
1) What is a mental set? Think of the few problem situations where you think
your mental set hampered effective problem solving.
2) Describe some novice expert differences in problem solving.
3) Critically evaluate the concept of functional fixedness.
4) Compare and contrast with the help of examples the concept of Einstellung
with the concept of functional fixedness.
5) How does lack of problem specific knowledge or experience affect problem
solving?


References
Gage, N. L. and D. C. Berliner (1992). Educational Psychology, 5th ed., Houghton

Mifflin Co..
Galotti , K.M. (2008). Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory.

Canada: Nelson Education.
Gick S. and G. Holyoak (1983). “Schema Induction and Analogical Transfer,”

Cognitive Psychology 15: 1-38.
Feldman, R. S. (2008). Essentials of Understanding Psychology. New Delhi:

Tata McGraw Hill.
Kimura, D. (1992). “The Mind and the Brain,” Scientific American, September.
Kurfiss J. (1988). Critical Thinking: Theory, Research, Practice, and Possibilities,

ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports #2.
Wason, P. (1982). “Realism and Rationality in the Selection Task,” In Thinking

and Reasoning: Psychological Approaches, J. Evans, ed., Routledge and Kegan
Paul.
Woolfolk, A. E. (1993). Educational Psychology, 5th ed., Allyn and Bacon.
65
UNIT 1 CONCEPT OF DEVELOMENT,
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT,
LIFE SPAN PERSPECTIVE,
METHODS OF STUDYING
DEVELOPMENT AND
CHARACTERISTICS OF
DEVELOPMENT
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Concept of Development
1.2.1 Goals of Development Changes
1.3 Growth and Development

1.3.1 Critical Period During Development
1.4 Life Span Perspectives

1.4.1 Understanding Life Span Development
1.4.2 Issues in Life Span Development.
1.4.3 Stages of Human Development
1.4.4 Domains of Human Development
1.5 Characteristics of Life Span Development

1.6 Facts of Development
1.7 Research Methods for Life Span Development
1.8 Obstacles in Studying Life Span Development
1.9 Let Us Sum Up
1.12 Answer to Self Assessment Questions
1.0 INTRODUCTION
From the moment the human child is first conceived, to the day the individual dies,
they keep changing constantly and developing. While some of the changes humans
undergo are as a result of chance incidents and personal choices, the vast majority
of life changes and stages the human passes through are due to certain common
biological and psychological factors partly inherited and partly environmental and are
shared by all people.
Development refers to the biological and psychological changes that occur in human
beings between birth and the end of adoloscent, as the individual progresses from
dependency to increasing autonomy. Because these developmental changes may be 5
Prenatal, Infancy and Early strongly influenced by the genetic and enviornmental factors during prenatal life and
Childhood
these are the part of the study of child development. Developmental change may
occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a
result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction
between the two. Developmetal psychology refers to development throughout the
lifespan, and pediatrics, the branch of medicine relating to the care of children.
In this unit we are also going to introduce the concept of life span development. It
deals with important developmental stages that human beings go through birth, infancy,
adolescence, adulthood, old age and death. As the humans grow up from one stage
to another stage they learn to make use of their body parts, learn how to express
themselves and communicate with persons, learn how to maintain relationship with
others and how to love and care for others. In this unit we will be focusing on the
concept of development, issues and stages. In development of humans, and then put
forward the concept of life span development, and its characteristics and theories of
child development.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
After go through this unit, you will be able to:
z define the concept of human development;
z describe about the growth and development;
z explain life span perspectives;
z explain the significant issues involved in the process of human development;
z identify the stages and important domains of development;
z analyse the characteristic features of life span development; and
z explain the research methods and its obstacles in studying the life span.
1.2 CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT

Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from conception
to death. It refers to development as patterns of change over time. It does not just
involve the biological and physical aspects of growth, but also the cognitive and
social aspects related to the development. The scientific study of human development
seeks to understand and explain how and why people change throughout life. This
field examines change across a broad range of topics including motor skills and other
psycho physiological processes. Cognitive development refers to the areas of problem
solving, moral understanding, conceptual understanding, language acquisition, social,
personality, and emotional development, and self-concept and identity formation.
Growth is defined as an increase in size. In other words development is defined as
a progression towards maturity. Even though development is a continuous process
with competencies developing, then disappearing, only to appear at a later age, it is
not continuous in the sense that it increases constantly but rather in a series of waves
with whole segments of development reoccurring repetitively. For example, new
borns walk, if held, and then this ability disappears only to reappear at eight or ten
months of age.
1.2.1 Goals of Development Changes

The goal of development is to enable people to adapt to the environment in which
6 they live. Self actualisation is essential to achieve these changes. It plays an important
role in mental health; people who make good personal and social adjustment must Concept of Develoment,
Growth and Development,
have opportunities to express their interest and desires in ways that give them Life Span Perspective,
satisfaction but, at the same time, conform to accepted standards. Lack of these Methods of Studying
opportunities will result in frustrations and generally negative attitudes towards people Development and
Characteristics of
and life in general. Development
1.3 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Growth refers to the development of children from birth to adolescence. From
newborns to teenagers, parents often have questions if their children are developing
normally. WHO is also coordinating an international effort to develop child growth
standards for infants and young children (age 0-5 years). There is a process of child
development, which makes a growth curve. Growth curve is defined as a statistical
curve derived from plotting weight and height against chronological age for comparing
an individual child’s growth pattern with the average age of growth. In short we can
say that personality is influenced by many factors and these factors are involved in
the development of the personality of a child.
The strongest factor in the process of development of personality is society and the
child’s experiences in the society and in the environment. Most of the children’s
learning comes from the society, their surroundings and their experiences. Although
these experiences are supervised by the parents and teachers, more often they occur
in spontaneous family or neighborhood settings. As such one finds that every child
is different from the other. Another factor that influences personality is the cultural
factors. Through everything from music, television, and incidental remarks overheard
but hardly understood by the child to deliberate modeling and training, the child is
encouraged to embody the typical or ideal personality of her culture.
Place is the third factor which is involved in the development of a child, in addition
to the biological factor. As children grow up from one stage to another, they learn
to make use of their body parts, learn how to express themselves and communicate
with others. They also learn to form relationship with others, how to care for others,
how to love and how to work.
Over the years, people who study children have created theories to explain how
children develop. While these theorists realise that every child is special and grow
in his or her unique way, they also have recognised that there are general patterns
that children tend to follow as they grow up, and these patterns have been documented
by the theorists. Also there are four areas in which children’s growth and development
take place and these are discussed below.
i) Physical: Physical growth is perhaps the most obvious. Children grow in height
and weight over the years and their appearance changes to a great extent during
puberty. Children also develop certain physical abilities during their progression
towards adulthood, including crawling, walking, running and (possibly) writing.
Their motor coordination becomes well refined and they can shoot across a
target relatively more accurately.
ii) Psychological and cognitive: Children also develop psychologically and
cognitively as their brains absorb more information and they learn how to use
that information. Literally, children have to learn how to think on purpose and
to process or organise all the information that comes to them from the
environment. They must learn how to solve problems, to talk, and to complete
mental tasks such as remembering telephone numbers or using computers.
7
Prenatal, Infancy and Early iii) Social and emotional: Children grow socially and emotionally. They learn how
Childhood
to interact, play, work, and live with other people such as family, friends,
teachers, and employers. They learn how to understand both their own feelings
and that of others’ emotions. They also learn ways of dealing with strong
emotions. In order to function well as independent adults, children must develop
a sense of self-esteem as they go through the long process of figuring out what
shape their identity will take. They develop a sense of morality as they learn the
difference between right and wrong.
iv) Sexuality and gender identity: Children also develop sexually and form a
gender identity. This development is unique because it spans developments
across the other physical, psychological, and social channels. Early on, children
learn how their bodies work and look and what it means to be a boy or a girl;
they learn how boys and girls are different. As they grow older and enter
adolescence and puberty, they continue to learn how their bodies work sexually
and how to responsibly handle their sexuality so as to balance their sexual
desires and appropriate behaviour. They continue to decide for themselves what
it means to be masculine or feminine throughout their lifespan.
Different theorists have come to different conclusions concerning how exactly children
develop across the various developmental channels. Some theorists believe that
children develop smoothly and continuously, but other theorists believe that children
develop more discretely in a series of stages, each of which is fairly stable.
1.3.1 Critical Periods During Development

There are certain periods of development known as difficult periods or critical periods.
It is said that children who do not get special stimulation during their time of receptivity
may get stuck at this period. For instance children learn to trust the parents if parents
are consistently loving, affectionate and give the child care and love unconditionally.
In such cases the child learns to trust its parent and from then onwards other adults
in the environment.
However if the child is neglected and abused , not given the care, affection and love,
he or she may develop distrust of parents and this distrust will be transferred to
other adults in the environment. It must be remembered that even though the child’s
development may have been adversely affected, if he or she is given an opportunity
to be with foster parents who care and love the child, the latter develops the capacity
to trust other adults too in course of time.
1.4 LIFE SPAN PERSPECTIVES

Life span refers to the ongoing process that we go through while growing up. It is
the period of time from conception extending to death. Studying life span development
is very important because it helps in describing and explaining the mysteries of human
development. Life span development includes issues such as the extent to which
development occurs through the gradual accumulation of knowledge versus stage
like development, or the extent to which children are born with innate mental structures
versus learning through experience. Many researchers are interested in the interaction
between personal characteristics, the individual’s behaviour, and environmental factors
including social context, and their impact on development.
The scientific study of development is important not only to psychology, but also to
sociology, education, and health care. By better understanding how and why people
change and grow, one can then apply this knowledge to helping people live up to
8 their full potential. Life span development is defined as the pattern of change that
begins at conception and continues through the life cycle. Concept of Develoment,
Lifespan development can also be defined as a methodical, intra-individual change Life Span Perspective,
associated with progressions corresponding to age. The development progresses in Methods of Studying
Development and
a manner implicating the level of functioning. Characteristics of
Development
Life-span developmental psychology is the field of psychology which involves the
examination of both constancy and change in human behaviour across the entire life
span, that is, from conception to death (Baltes, 1987). Development occurs in
different domains, such as the biological (changes in our physical being), social
(changes in our social relationships), emotional (changes in our emotional understanding
and experiences), and cognitive (changes in our thought processes). Some
developmental psychologists prefer to restrict the notion of development only to
changes which lead to qualitative reorganisation in the structure of a behaviour, skill
or ability (Crain, 2000).
Lifespan development is a process in which the progression initiates with the emergence
of a fetus from a one celled organism. As the unborn child enters the world, the
environment in which the child exists begins to influence the child’s development
(Educational Foundation, 2001).
The developmental periods are child and adolescence, early adulthood, middle
adulthood and late adulthood. The transition in each of the developmental periods,
involves a necessary change in the character of the individual’s life and sometime this
takes up to six years to complete the change (Smith, 2009).
The transition deals with the common developmental stages that human beings pass
through: birth, infancy, adolescent, adulthood, old age and death.
1.4.1 Understanding Life Span Development

Human development is a multidisciplinary study of how people change and how they
remain the same overtime. It reflects the complexity and uniqueness of each person
and their experiences as well as commonalities and patterns across people. There are
four interactive forces that combine to shape human development and these are
given below:
i) Biological forces include all genetic and health related factors that influence the
development of a child. They provide raw materials (in case of genetics) and
set boundary conditions (in the case of one’s health) for development. Prenatal
development, brain maturation, puberty, menopause, facial expression and change
in cardio-vascular functioning, diet, and exercises are the some example of
biological forces.
ii) Psychological forces include all internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional and
personality factors that affect the development of a child. Intelligence, self
confidence, honesty and self esteem are examples of psychological factors.
iii) Socio-cultural forces include interpersonal, societal, cultural and ethical factors
that affect the development of a child. This is important to know that how
people and environment interact with each other. The family, peers, coworkers
and social institutions and culture influence development. Poverty is the example
for socio cultural forces.
iv) Life cycle forces reflect differences in how the same event affects people of
different ages. Each individual is a product of a unique combination of these
forces. No two individuals even in the same family experience these forces in
the same way.
9
Prenatal, Infancy and Early 1.4.2 Issues in Life Span Development
Childhood
Life issues are common problems, issues and/or crises that happen to normal people
living normal lives. Examples include managing one’s relationships so that they are
healthy and functional, surviving disabilities, coping with grief, loss and self-esteem
issues. A number of major issues have emerged in the study of human development.
These issues include the following:
Is development due more to genetics or environment?
Does development occur slowly and smoothly, or do changes happen in stages?
Do early childhood experiences have the greatest impact on development, or are
later events equally important?
i) Continuity and Discontinuity: The question of whether development is solely
and evenly continuous, or whether it is marked by age-specific periods.
Developmental Psychologists who advocate the continuous model describe
development as a relatively smooth process, without sharp or distinct stages,
through which an individual must pass.
That is, development is conceived of as a process of the gradual accumulation
of a behaviour, skill, or knowledge. In contrast, those who hold to the second
view would suggest that developmental change is best characterised as
discontinuous in nature.
They describe development as a series of discrete stages, each of which is
characterised by what had gone on in the past and how well the child was able
to master the developmental tasks of that period etc. These theorists suggest
that behaviours or skills often change qualitatively across time, and that new
organisations of behaviours, skills, or knowledge emerge in a rather abrupt or
discrete fashion.
ii) Stability and Change: Another issue which is of importance to developmental
psychologists is the issue of stability versus change. The question here is whether
development is best characterised by stability, for example, does a behaviour or
trait such as shyness stay stable in its expression over time or change. To cite
an example: Could a person’s degree of shyness fluctuate across the life span?
iii) Nature vs. Nurture: Whether the behaviour ultimately developed by the child
is due to hereditary factors or environmental factors. This issue is of great
importance to psychologists. The debate over the relative contributions of
inheritance and the environment is one of the oldest issues in both philosophy
and psychology.
This debate concerns the relative degree to which heredity and learning affect the
behaviour of the individual. Both genetic traits and environmental circumstances are
involved in an individual’s development, although the amount of influence the two has
is not clearly evident. In fact it may be stated that the individual and his or her
circumstances decide how much of the behaviour is influenced by heredity factors
and how much by environmental factors. Today, most psychologists believe that
it is an interaction between these two forces that causes development. Some aspects
of development are distinctly biological, such as sexual development during puberty.
However, the onset of puberty can be affected by environmental factors such as diet
and nutrition.
10
1.4.3 Stages of Development Concept of Develoment,
Often, developmental stages are defined by milestones. The term milestone refers to Life Span Perspective,
Methods of Studying
the development that has to take place according to the age of the child. For Development and
instance, almost all children start standing and walking at the age of 1 year and Characteristics of
more, start saying a few words by the time they are one and half to two years etc. Development
That a developmental stage has been successfully passed is indicated by the child
mastering the developmental tasks of the particular period of development. Often,
special milestones mark children’s accomplishments, such as walking in infancy and
entering school in early childhood, and these milestones can help mark children’s
movement inside and between developmental stages.
Individuals pass various stages throughout their life. There are systematic progressions
in a certain order through a series of phases. Step by step they move closer to some
form of adult status. This movement can be seen as involving changes in intellectual
and physical powers (Example, changes in intelligence, expertise and ability to reason)
and the impact of life events and experiences.
The main developmental periods of a human being are:
i) Childhood and adolescence {birth to age 20 (early childhood transition by age
03)}
ii) Early adulthood (age 17 to 45)
iii) Middle adulthood (age 40 to 65)
iv) Late adulthood (over 60 years of age) (Tennat and Pogson, 1995)
1.4.4 Domains of Human Development

The domains of development are categories used by scientists. The categories include
physical, cognitive and social domains which all characterise human development.
The physical domain is characterised by how humans grow and change physically,
at all stages of development especially during childhood and adolescence. When the
physical changes are maximum, this domain includes how humans view the world as
development progresses as a result of physical development and interactions.
Psychological domain focuses on adjustment of the individual to the environment.
Adjustment is the process which is essential for survival of the organism. The child
has to learn to suck, ingest food, eliminate, breath on own, eliminate on own etc,
which activities were taken care of when the child was still within the mother’s
womb.
Adjustment also is required as the child grows up to learn to eat on own, eliminate
as is required and not as the child wishes. The child has to learn to talk, walk,
express, communicate and so on. All these adjustments are again necessary if the
child has to survive.
Adjustment to self, others and environment are important tasks which become
increasingly complex as the child grows up, and which all the child has to master and
accomplish. Success leads to healthy adjustment while failure leads to maladjustment.
Adjustments in the way the world is viewed as the body develops are also included
in this domain.
Cognitive domain focuses on learning, attention, perception and memory etc. The
manner in which learning takes place and how the child makes progress in school 11
Prenatal, Infancy and Early and home are of great importance in the child’s growth and development. How these
Childhood
components of cognitive domain functions and improves indicate the progress the
child makes. The social domain deals with the adjustment to people that are with
others and learn the right ways of interactions. The cognitive domain is concerned
with how learning occurs and why memory deteriorates during old age. The social
domain contains adjustment in variables within social situations such as personality
research, social skills and developing relationships. All the domains operate together
and are affected by each other (Boyd & Bee, 2006).
State whether the statement is True or False.
1) Changes occur from conception to death. ( )
2) Children’s learning come from the society, his surroundings and his
experiences. ( )
3) There are four areas in which children grow. ( )
4) Two interactive forces that combine to shape human development. ( )
5) Two interactive forces that combine to shape human development. ( )
6) Individuals pass only one stage through out the life. ( )

7) As the child grows ups adjustment to self, others and environment
are important tasks which become increasingly complex. ( )
8) Psychological domain focuses on adjustment of the individual to
the environment. ( )
1.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE SPAN

DEVELOPMENT
The lifespan perspective argues that significant modifications take place throughout
development. It consists of development of humans in multidimensional,
multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual factors. The development
involves three factors i.e. growth, maintenance and regulation.
Changes that occur are interpreted in terms of the requirements of the culture and
context of the occurrences. According to Paul Baltes, humans have the capacity,
plasticity and the ability for positive change to the environmental demands that are
being made on the individual constantly. Individual learns ways and means to
compensate and overcome difficulties throughout the life. According to Baltes positive
characteristics of growing old such as learning ways to compensate and overcome
(Boyd and Bee, 2006) are considered important characteristics of old age. These
characteristics form a family of beliefs which specify a coherent view of the nature
of development. It is the application of these beliefs as a coordinated whole which
characterises the life-span approach. The important characteristics beliefs of the life
span approach are given below:
1) Lifelong development: This belief has two separate aspects. First, the potential
for development extends across the entire life span, that is, there is no
assumption that the life course must reach a plateau or decline during adulthood
and old age. Second, development may involve processes which are not present
12
at birth but emerge throughout the life span. No age period dominates during Concept of Develoment,
development. Researchers increasingly study the experiences and psychological Life Span Perspective,
orientations of adults at different points in their development. Gains and losses Methods of Studying
in development occur throughout the life cycle. Development and
Characteristics of
2) Development is Multidimensional: Multidimensionality refers to the fact that Development
development cannot be described by a single criterion such as increases or

decreases in a behaviour. It occurs in the biological, cognitive and social emotional
domains.
3) Development is Multidirectional: The principle of multidirectional maintains
that there is no single, normal path that development must or should take. In
other words, healthy developmental outcomes are achieved in a wide variety of
ways. Development is often comprised of multiple abilities which take different
directions, showing different types of change or constancy. Some dimensions or
aspects of development may be increasing while others are declining or not
changing.
4) Development is Plastic: Plasticity refers to the within-person variability which
is possible for a particular behaviour or development. For example, infants who
have a hemisphere of the brain removed shortly after birth (as a treatment for
epilepsy) can recover the functions associated with that hemisphere as the brain
reorganises itself and the remaining hemisphere takes over those functions. A
key part of the research agendas in developmental psychology is to understand
the nature and the limits of plasticity in various domains of functioning. Development
can be modified by life circumstances to some extent. Plasticity involves the
degree to which characteristics change or remain stable.
5) Development is Contextual: Development varies across the different contexts
in which we live our lives. For example, social and rural environments are
associated with different sets of factors which have the potential to impact on
development; understanding how development differs for individuals within these
two settings requires an understanding of the differing contexts. It occurs in the
context of a person’s biological make-up, physical environment and social,
historical and cultural contexts.
6) Development is Multidisciplinary: The study of developmental psychology
is multidisciplinary. That is, the sources of age-related changes do not lie within
the province of any one discipline. For example, psychological methodologies
may not be appropriate for understanding factors that are sociological in nature.
Rather, an understanding of human development will be achieved only by research
conducted from the perspective of disciplines such as sociology, linguistics,
anthropology, computer science, neuroscience and medicine.
7) Development involves Growth, Maintenance, and Regulation: The mastery
of life involves conflict and competition among three goals of human development:
growth, maintenance and regulation.
8) Development is embedded in History: Development is also historically situated
and is always influenced by historical conditions. The historical time period in
which we grow up affects our development.
9) Normative Age Graded Influences: Biological and environmental influences
that are similar for individuals in a particular age group (example: Childhood,
Puberty) also influences development.
13
Prenatal, Infancy and Early 10) Normative History Graded Influences: Biological and environmental influences
Childhood
that are associated with history that are common to people of a particular
generation (example: Depression, the AIDS epidemic) also influences.
11) Non-normative Events: Unusual occurrences that have a major impact on an
individual’s life; the occurrence, the pattern, and sequence of these events are
not applicable to most individuals (e.g. Death of a parent at young age, getting
a serious illness, winning a lottery).
1.6 FACTS OF DEVELOPMENT

We all know that development is the critical period for child development. Some
significant facts must be taken into consideration to understand the pattern of
development. Each of these has important implications and is explained as follows:
1) Early foundations are critical: Early foundations are critical because attitudes,
habits and pattern of behaviour established during early years determine to a
large extent how successfully individuals will adjust in their later life.
2) Role of maturation and learning in development: Maturation and learning
play a significant role in the development. Maturation is unfolding individual’s
inherent traits. Learning is development that occurs from experience and efforts
on the individual’s part. Maturation provides the raw material for learning.
Generally development is influenced by the interaction of both.
3) Development follows a definite and predictable pattern: It follows a
definite and predictable pattern. There are orderly patterns of physical, motor,
intellectual and speech development. Development is governed by certain laws:
(i) Cephalocaudal Law – It means that development spreads over the body
from head to foot and (ii) Proximodistal Law – It means that development
spreads outward from the central axis of the body to extremities.
4) All individuals are different: No two people react in the same way to the
same environmental stimuli and, one can never predict with accuracy how
people will react to a situation. These individual differences are significant because
they are responsible for individuality in personality make up.
5) Each Phase of development has characteristic behaviour: Each Phase
has certain characteristic behaviours. The patterns are marked by periods of
equilibrium, when individuals adapt easily to environmental demands and as a
result make good personal and social adjustment and by periods of disequilibrium,
when they experience difficulty in adaptation, make poor personal and social
adjustment.
6) Hazards in each phase: Each stage is related to certain hazards such as
physical, psychological and environment. These hazards inevitably involve
adjustment problems. We should be aware of these hazards because awareness
of these makes it possible to prevent or to at least alleviate these.
7) Development is aided by stimulation: While most development occurs as
a result of maturation and environmental experiences, much can be done to aid
development so that it will reach its full potential. Stimulation is especially effective
at the time when ability is normally developing, though it is important at all times.
8) Cultural changes affect the development: An individual’s development is
molded to confirm to cultural standards and norms, while changes in these
14
standards affect the developmental pattern.
9) Every stage has social expectation: Every stage has certain societal Concept of Develoment,
expectation. The individual will be successful in fulfilling those expectations only Life Span Perspective,
if s/he is adhering to the rules and regulations of the family and society. Methods of Studying
Development and
10) Traditional beliefs: Traditional beliefs about physical and psychological Characteristics of
characteristics affect the judgments of others as well as their self evaluation. So Development
long as these beliefs persist, they have a profound influence on the development
pattern.
1.7 RESEARCH METHODS FOR LIFE SPAN

DEVELOPMENT
As you know development is a continuous process in a development of a child. It
occurs over a life time period, thus we need to special techniques are employed to
study the life span development. These techniques are discussed here:
1) Longitudinal method: For the study of developmental changes in the same
group or individual, over a period of time, this method is useful. The same
individual is tested at different age group. Example, case study of children
behaviour in classroom.
2) Cross-section method: This method studies the development changes by testing
individuals of different ages at the same time only once. This method helps to
get the norms or standards of typical pattern of development for different age.
This is faster and cheaper method than longitudinal method. It does not loose
subjects who dropout of the study since the subjects are tested only once.
Example for this method is eating behaviour of 5 years old.
3) Sequential method: To overcome the drawback of longitudinal and cross-
sectional method this method was used. This is best method which combines the
longitudinal and cross-sectional method. People in a cross-sectional sample are
tested more than once and the results are analysed to determined the differences
that show up overtime for the different groups of subjects. This method gives
a more realistic assessment.
4) Time lag method: This method is studying the development of different age
groups in different years to determine the effect of historical events on behaviour.
This method is rarely used in developmental psychology, because it takes a long
time and large numbers of subjects are required and have to be the same age
at the time of testing.
Fill in the blanks.
1) The development involves three factors such as ———, ———— and
—————.
2) Gains and losses in development occur throughout the ————————
development.
3) Multidimensional development occurs in the biological, —————and socio-
emotional domains.
4) Maturation and ———— play a significant role in the development.
15
Prenatal, Infancy and Early
Childhood 5) Development is governed by two laws: (i)————— (ii)——————.
6) Each stage has physical, ————and ———————hazards.
7) ———————method is the best method to combine the longitudinal and
cross-sectional method.
8) —————— studying the development of different age groups in different
years to determine the effect of historical events on behaviour.
1.8 OBSTACLES IN STUYDING LIFESPAN

DEVELOPMENT
There are some obstacles in the study of life span development. The five major
obstacles are discussed in the following section:
1) Representative Sample: The representative sample of a subject is the first
obstacle for studying the developmental period. The different age level of the
subject is the main concern for the researcher. The data collection from the
school children is easy for the researcher but in the case of new born or infant,
it is not that much easy. They often face strong parental objection and their
mood. Getting older adolescents and young adults who are not attending school
to volunteer a subject is also difficult because they may not be available for
study at any one particular place. The difficulty arises with the young adult,
middle aged adults, or old age person, when many persons shy away from the
testing situation. They don’t want to disclose their person detail to the researcher,
even they are paid off.
2) Establishing rapport with the subject: The establishing personal rapport to
the subject is the second difficult task for the researcher. It is rather difficult to
get full personal detail about the subject. They will never share their personal
detail. It is also being noted that personal rapports vary from one stage to
another stage. Even school children and college students, who often fill tests as
a part of their class work, mostly they fill false information. There is no guarantee
to the information being accurate. As, a result, it is questionable whether data
obtained from the subject is the true picture of subject’s attitude, feelings, and
values. This obstacle may be reduce only by the personal rapport with the
subject.
3) Appropriate Methodology: Adaptation of an appropriate methodology is the
main concern of a researcher. We take different age group subjects in a study,
some time our target group may be one child, some time the subject may be
an adult or some time he may be old person. Because of the wide age range
of subject and the variety of different areas of development that must be studied
to give a composite picture, assorted methods have to be used. Cross-sectional
is the problem for researcher. Cultural changes always play a role in the patterns
of physical and mental development of a child. These changes affect values of
the subject.
4) Accuracy of data: Accuracy of data is the fourth obstacle in studying the life
span development. The data obtained from the studies will be accurate.
Inaccuracy of the data may show the picture of false information of normal
development at a particular age given by the subject. The data may vary in
16
many cases such as in regard to intelligence being studied by different methods,
or using observational method for studying the behaviour, well-being, life Concept of Develoment,
satisfaction or happiness. The data vary for different age levels. The accuracy Life Span Perspective,
of such measures is questionable. Even through the longitudinal approach has a Methods of Studying
methodology advantage over the cross-sectional approach, the problem of Development and
Characteristics of
accuracy is still ever present. Development
5) Ethical aspects: The ethical aspect is a difficult task for the study of life-span
development, as the rights of subject is to be considered by the researcher, even
if the subject is being paid by the researcher for the study. Consent of the
subject if adult and consent of parents/ guardians if child is an important and
necessary step before data collection. These considerations also apply to
younger or older subjects.
1.9 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have studied about the concept of development, growth and
development, meaning of life span development and methods of studying development.
The key points of our discussion in this unit are:
1) Development refers to the biological and psychological changes that occur in
human beings between birth and the end of adoloscent period as the individual
progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. Because these
developmental changes may be strongly influenced by the genetic and
enviornmental factors during prenatal life, these are the part of the study of
child development Growth refers to the development of children from birth to
adolescence.
2) There are four areas, in which children grow, i.e. (i) physical, (ii) psychological
and cognitive, (iii) social and emotional and (iv) sexuality and gender identity.
According to Educational Foundation (2001) lifespan development is a process
beginning at conception that continues until death. The progression initiates with
the emergence of a fetus from a one celled organism. As the unborn child enters
the world, the environment in which the child exists begins to influence the
child’s development.
3) There are four interactive forces that combine to shape human development and
these are (i) biological forces, (ii) psychological forces, (iii) socio-cultural forces
and (iv) life cycle forces.
4) Then we discussed about the issues, stages and important domains of
development. Characteristics of life span development included many
development as being lifelong and following a predictable pattern etc. To
understand the pattern of development, certain fundamental facts must be taken
into consideration. Each of these has important implications.
5) To know the developmental techniques we need to use some research methods,
such as longitudinal method, cross-sectional method, sequential and time lag
method. In other words, there are some obstacles to apply the research
methods as sample not being representative. In some cases there is difficulty
in establishing rapport with the subject and yet in certain other cases, the
methodology used is not appropriate and thus the accuracy of data becomes
questionable. In some cases the ethical aspects of research create difficulty in
getting the subject to cooperate and the researcher to collect the data.
17
Childhood 1.10 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1) What is life span development?
2) Explain characteristics of development.
3) What are major issues involved in the process of development?
4) Describe significant facts about development.
5) What are the different periods of development?
6) What are the various domains of human development?

Boyd, D. and Bee, H. (2006). Lifespan Development (4th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
Hurlock, Elizabeth B. (1980) Developmental Psychology: A Life-Span Approach,
Mc Graw Hill company.
Hurlock, E. B. (1980). Developmental Psychology (5th edition) Tata McGraw- Hill
Publishing Company Ltd.
References
Amborn S.R. (1975) Child Development, Rinehart Press/Holt, Rinehart and Winson,
San Fransico
Baltes, P. B., Reese, H. and Lipsett, L. (1980) ‘Lifespan developmental psychology’,
Annual Review of Pyschology 31: 65 - 110.
Mussen, P. H, Conger, J.J & et.al (1984) Child Development and Personality (6th
edition) Harper & Row, Publishers, New York
Rutter, M. and Rutter, M. (1992) Developing Minds. Challenge and continuity
across the life span, London: Penguin.
Some portion has taken from Mamta Sharma (B.A. course 2, block 1, unit 1.) and
Varsha Godbole (B.A. course 9, group I, block 2, unit 1), IGNOU course materials
(2010) New Delhi.
Smith, M. (2009) Life span development and lifelong learning
Tennant, M. and Pogson, P. (1995) Learning and Change in the Adult Years, San
Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. Provides a very helpful overview of life course development
for those concerned with lifelong learning.
WGBH Educational Foundation (2001) Life span development our amazing capacity
for change.
1.12 ANSWERS TO SELF ASSESSMENT

QUESTIONS
True or False
1) True, 2) True, 3) True, 4) False, 5) False, 6) False. 7) True, 8) True.
18
Fill in the blanks Concept of Develoment,
1) growth, maintains, regulation Life Span Perspective,
Methods of Studying
Development and
2) life cycle Characteristics of
Development
3) cognitive
4) learning
5) cephalocaudal, proximodistal
6) psychological, environment
7) sequential method
8) time-lag method.
19
UNIT 2 PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT
(GENETICS, ENVIORNMENT
INFLUENCE AND HAZARDS OF
DEVELOPMENT)
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Beginnings of the Life
2.3 Characteristics of Prenatal Period
2.4 Period of Prenatal Development
2.4.1 Period of Zygote
2.4.2 Period of Embryo
2.4.3 Period of Fetus
2.5 Environmental Influences

2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.9 Answers to Self Assessment Questions
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Prenatal development is the process in which an embryo or fetus, gestates during
preganancy, from fertilisation until birth. Often, the terms fetal development, foetal
development are used in a similar sense.Most physiologists and members of the
medical profession believed that most development takes place before birth.
Development before birth takes place in three stages or period’s i.e. ovum, embryo
and fetus. Many factors are considered to understand the behaviour of a developing
child. Mainly five factors are considered:
1) Genetically determined biological variables
2) Nongenetically determined biological variables (i.e., lack of oxygen during the
birth process and malnutrition)
3) The child’s past learning
4) The immediate socio psychological environment (parents, siblings, peers and
teachers)
5) The social and cultural milieu in which the child develops.
We always considered biological and environment separately for ease of exposition
but they always act in unison. This is as true of the individual cell as it is of the whole
person. The science of genetics and embryology has shown dramatic progress during
the last 25 years. This unit will deal with the current knowledge of human genetics
20 and prenatal factors affecting the course of development. In this unit you will be able
to understand the major happenings during the nine months of prenatal developement Prenatal Development
(Genetics, Enviornment
and what genetics, environmental influence and hazards affect the course of Influence and Hazards of
development. Development)
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
z explain the concept and characteristics of the prenatal period;
z describe the stages of prenatal period;
z point out the genetic factors;
z describe the attitudes of significant people towards the child; and
z analyse the common physical hazards in each subdivision of the prenatal period.
2.2 BEGINNINGS OF THE LIFE

The new life begins with the combination of a male sex cell and female sex cell. The
development of each individual begins when a sperm cell from the male penetrates
the wall of an ovum, or egg, from the mother. These sex cells are developed in the
reproductive organs. For example, the male sex cells are produced in the male
gonads, the testes, while the female’s sex cells are produced in the female gonads,
the ovaries. Development begins at conception. At the moment that the tiny Tadpole-
shaped sperm penetrates the wall of the ovum, it releases 23 minute particles called
chromosomes. At approximately the same time, the nucleus, the inner core of the
ovum, breaks up, releasing 23 chromosomes of its own, so that the new individual
begins life with 46 chromosomes.
All the child’s biological heritage from the father and mother is contained in these 23
pairs of chromosomes. Of these pairs, 22 are autosomes, possessed equally by
males and females. The 23 pair, the sex chromosomes, differs in males and females.
It is these chromosomes that determine a child’s sex. A female will have two X
chromosomes (XX), while a male has an X and Y chromosomes (XY).
Male and female sex cells also differ in two important ways. First, in the mature
ovum there are 23 matched chromosomes while in the mature spermatozoa there are
22 matched chromosomes and one unmatched chromosome which may be either an
X or a Y chromosomes. The X and Y chromosomes are the sex determinant
chromosomes. The mature chromosome ovum always contains an X chromosome.
If it is fertilised by a Y-bearing spermatozoa, the offspring will be a boy. If it is
fertilised by an X-bearing spermatozoa, the offspring will be a girl.
Once the male and female cells have united, nothing can be done to change the sex
of the newly formed individual. Whether this individual is male or female has a lifelong
effect on the individual’s patterns of behaviour and personality. The question arises
why the sex of an individual is important to lifelong development. The answer of this
question consists of three points, viz. the following:
i) Each year children come under increasing cultural pressure from parents, teachers,
their peer group and society at large to develop attitudes and behaviour patterns
that are considered appropriate for members of their sex. Children who learn
to behave in ways that are considered appropriate for their sex are assured of
social acceptance. 21
Prenatal, Infancy and Early ii) Learning experiences are determined by the individual’s sex. Children learn
Childhood
what is considered appropriate for members of their sex. A boy who learns to
play girls’ games is called a sissy and girls who want to play boys games are
called tomboy type girl.
iii) Attitude of parents and other family members are also important to individuals.
During the early years, when the foundations of personality pattern are being
laid, the children (if twins) must get equal share of the mother’s attention.
Where the mother gives more attention to one and not to the other, the latter
may feel rejected and thus develop a personality which may be negative. Recent
studies show that the traditional preference for a boy, especially for the first
born, still persists which is so strong that the attitude of parents and family
members are affected and in the process the developing infant.
The second way in which male and female sex cells differ is in the number of
preparatory stages of development they pass through before they are ready to
produce a new human being. All sex cells, male or female, must pass through the
preliminary stages of development as for example the male sex cell must go through
two preliminary stages (i) maturation and (ii) fertilisation, while female sex cell must
go through three preliminary stages (i) maturation (ii) ovulation and (iii) fertilisation.
Maturation is the process of chromosome reduction through cell division: one
chromosome from each pair goes to a subdivided cell, which in turn splits lengthwise
and forms two new cells. The mature cell, which contains 23 chromosomes, is
known as a haploid cell. Maturation of sex cells does not occur until sex maturity
has been attained, following the onset of puberty in both boys and girls.
Ovulation is a preliminary stage of development limited to the female sex cells. It
is the process of escape of one mature ovum during the menstrual cycle. It is
observed that the two ovaries alternate in producing a ripe ovum during each menstrual
cycle.
Fertilisation, which occurs at the time of conception, is the third stage of development
preliminary to the beginning of a new life. It normally occurs while the ovum is in the
Fallopian tube.
2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF PRENATAL PERIOD

The prenatal period has some important characteristics, each of which has a long
lasting effect on development during the life span.
z This is the most important and first period of development in the life span.
z It is the first but shortest period for the new born baby or infancy, which starts
from the conception and ends at the birth time of baby. This period is
approximately 270 to 280 days or nine months of a calendar.
z Heredity factors are also important for prenatal development; it serves as the
foundation for later development. While favourable or unfavourable conditions
both before and after birth may and probably will affect to some extent the
physical and psychological traits that make up this heredity endowment. The
changes will be quantitative and not qualitative.
z Favourable and unfavourable conditions of the mother‘s body can foster the
development of hereditary potentials. Some times the hereditary potentials are
so influenced by environmental conditions that they affect the embryo or the
22 fetus as the case may be affecting the development adversely.
z At the time of conception, the sex of the baby is fixed. Except when surgery Prenatal Development
is used for sex transformation, the sex of the individual, determined at the time Influence and Hazards of
of conception, remains the same and does not change. Development)
z During the prenatal period, proportionally greater growth and development take
place than any other time throughout the entire life of human.
z Before birth (during nine month) the child grows from microscopically small cell
to an infant who measures approximately twenty inches in length and weight, on
the average 7 pounds. It is observed that during this time weight increases 11
million times.
z Many believe that this time is more hazardous than other periods of the life
span. It certainly is a time when environment or psychological hazards can have
marked effect on the pattern of later development..
z During the prenatal period, the attitudes of people towards the newly created
individual has significant impact on the development. For example the mother’s
positive attitude is essential to the normal development of the newly created
individual.
2.4 PERIODS OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

The prenatal period is ten lunar months of twenty-eight days each in length or nine
calendar months. However, the period can and does vary greatly in length, ranging
from 180-334 days. There are approximately three times as many babies born
prematurely as post maturely. Meredith has reported that the average length of the
prenatal period is 38 weeks or 266 days. However, 70% of babies vary from 36
to 40 weeks or 266 days and 98% range from 34 to 42 weeks (238-294 days).
The prenatal period is divided into three stages. These are (i) period of the zygot (ii)
period of the embryo and (iii) period of the fetus. Let us take up each of these in
detail.
2.4.1 Period of Zygote (fertilisation to end of second week)

Half of a person’s genetic material comes from his father and half comes from the
mother. These two halves come together to form a unique combination of genetic
potentialities when the sperm fertilises the egg. In the nucleus of the fertilised egg, or
zygote, are the materials that bear the pattern for a new person, one who is different
from his parents and yet like them. This first cell in which the male genes are joined
with the female is called the Zygote. The zygote looks like an unfertilised egg. The
egg is so much larger than the sperm that it can absorb the sperm without showing
it. However, the unfertilised egg has only twenty-three chromosomes, whereas the
zygote has forty six –the twenty three that were in the egg originally and the additional
twenty three contributed by the male. Less than two days after the sperm unites with
the egg, the zygote divides into two cells. Then these two cells each divide again, and
the process of division goes on, forming in nine months a new human being.
2.4.2 Period of Embryo (end of the second week to end of the

second lunar month)
The embryo develops into a miniature human being. This stage begins on the 15th
day after conception and continues until about the 8th week, or until the embryo is
1.2 inches in length. During this period the cells of the embryo are not only multiplying,
but they are taking on specific functions. This process is called tissue differentiation.
It is during this critical period of differentiation (most of the first trimester or three- 23
Prenatal, Infancy and Early month period) that the growing fetus is most susceptible to damage from external
Childhood
sources (teratogens) including viral infections such as rubella, x-rays and other
radiation, and poor nutrition.
A child who has one developmental problem may have other problems that arose at
the same time. Kidney problems and hearing problems, for example, are often
found together because both kidneys and the inner ears develop at the same time.
Formation of the heart begins in 3 weeks, the beginning development of the brain and
spinal cord, and the beginning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Teratogens introduced during this period may cause severe problems such as the
absence of one or more limbs or a heart that is outside of the chest cavity at birth.
Beginnings of the vertebra, the lower jaw, the larynx (voice box), and the rudiments
of the ear and eye develop at weeks 4 and 5 (1/4 inch long). The heart, which is
still outside the body, now beats at a regular rhythm. Although arm and leg “buds”
are visible with hand and foot “pads”, the embryo still has a tail and cannot be
distinguished from pig, rabbit, elephant, or chick embryo by an untrained eye.
Teratogens may cause very serious problems involving the esophagus, vertebrae, and
eyes. The baby could be born with severe facial clefts or missing hands or feet.
At week 6 (1/2 inch, 1/1000 of an ounce), formation of the nose, jaw, palate, lung
buds takes place. The fingers and toes form, but may still be webbed. The tail is
receding, and the heart is almost fully developed. Teratogens at this point may leave
the baby with profound heart problems or a cleft lip.
In the 7th week (7/8 inch, 1/30 ounce) eyes move forward on the face, and the
eyelids and tongue begin to form. All essential organs have begun to form. Teratogens
may cause heart and lung problems, a cleft palate, and ambiguous genitalia (not quite
male or female).
At the 8th week (1 inch, 1/15 ounce) embryo now resembles a human being. The
facial features continue to develop and the external ear appears. Also, we see the
beginnings of external genitalia. By now, the circulation through the umbilical cord
is well developed. The long bones begin to form and the muscles are able to
contract. Teratogens may still cause heart problems and stunting of the fingers and
toes
2.4.3 Period of Fetus (end of the second lunar month to birth)

At this point the embryo is developed enough to call a fetus. All organs and structures
found in a full-term newborn are present. The head comprises nearly half of the
fetus’ size and the face is well formed at weeks 9 to 12 (3 inches, 1 ounce). The
eyelids close now and will not reopen until about the 28th week. The tooth buds
for the baby teeth appear. The genitalia are now clearly male or female.
Weeks 13 to 16 (6 inches) mark the beginning of the second trimester. Although the
skin of the fetus is almost transparent, fine hair develops on the head called lanugo.
The fetus makes active movements, including sucking, which leads to some swallowing
of the amniotic fluid. A thin dark substance called meconium is made in the intestinal
tract. The heart beats120-150 beats per minute and brain waves are detectable.
Eyebrows and lashes appear and nails appear on fingers and toes at week 17 to 20
(8 inches). This is an exciting time for the parents: The mother can feel the fetus
moving (quickening) and also hear the heartbeat with the help of stethoscope.
24
All the eye components are developed, footprints and fingerprints are formed at Prenatal Development
week 21 to 24 (11.2 inches, 1 lb. 10 oz) and the entire body is covered in cream- Influence and Hazards of
cheese-like vernix caseosa. The fetus now has startle reflex action. Many reflexes, Development)
which are automatic and unlearned responses to specific stimuli, appear: swallowing,
coughing, and sucking.
During 25 to 28 weeks (15 inches, 2 lbs. 11 oz) we can observe the rapid brain
development of the fetus. The nervous system is developed enough to control some
body functions, and the eyelids open and close. A baby born at this time may survive,
but the chances of complications and death are high at this period.
The 29 to 32 weeks (15 to 17 inches, 4 lbs. 6 oz) development occurs towards
independent life. For example, respiration movements are predicted even though
oxygen is being provided through the placenta. There is a rapid increase in the
amount of body fat and the fetus begins storing its own iron, calcium, and phosphorus.
The bones are fully developed, but still soft and pliable. There are rhythmic breathing
movements present, the fetal body temperature is partially self-controlled, and there
is increased central nervous system control over body functions.
The body hair begins to disappear at the week of 33 to 36 (16 to 19 inches, 5 lbs.
12 oz. to 6 lbs. 12 oz.:). A baby born at 36 weeks has a high chance of survival.
At 38 weeks (19 to 21 inches 7 or 8 pounds) the fetus is considered full term. It
fills the entire uterus, and its head is the same size around as its shoulders. The
mother supplies the fetus with the antibodies it needs to protect it against disease.
1) Development before birth takes place in the three stages or period. ( )
2) Life begins with the only male cells. ( )
3) A female have X chromosomes and male have an X and Y ( )
chromosomes. ( )
4) X and Y chromosomes are the sex determines chromosomes. ( )
5) Prenatal period is nine calendar months. ( )
6) Prenatal period is divided into two stages. ( )
2.5 ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

So far in today’s advanced technology, the fetus has been considered to be an active
part of research in its own development. Many scientists believe that anything that
affects the environment of the fetus can have an effect upon the development beginning
at conception and not at birth.
Environment does indeed begin to influence the individual as soon as he or she is
conceived. As the zygote undergoes mitosis (cell division), the new cells themselves
become part of the mother’s environment, and through their particular physical and
chemical influence they guide and control the development of further new cells.
Different genes are activated or suppressed in each cell, so that while one group of
cells is developing into brain tissue, another is giving rise to the heart, another to the
lungs, and another to the skeletal system. Meanwhile, the lump of cells is surrounded
25
Prenatal, Infancy and Early by the larger environment of the mother’s uterus, and this environment is surrounded
Childhood
by the mother and the world in which she lives.
i) Mother’s diseases: Mother’s diseases is the main cause of fetal death and
their possible effects. German measles or rubella and cytomegalovirus diseases
are among the most potentially dangerous of the infectious diseases in mothers.
These diseases that affect the mother also affects the child and thus affects
adversely the development. Studies have shown that there is a high incidence
of defective babies if women contracted rubella early in pregnancy. In any case
if the rubella virus crosses the placenta; it can result in stillbirth, deafness, pre
maturity, miscarriage, defects in pancreas, heart and liver. It may also lead to
mental retardation. Mumps, polio and influenza are the other viruses which have
teratogenic effects. Diabetic mother is as likely to give birth to infants with
congenital malformations as non diabetic mother, and their infant often will have
respiratory difficulties soon after birth. Women who are suffering from blood
poisoning during pregnancy frequently give birth to premature babies or to
babies smaller than average babies. In case this blood poisoning is incurable,
this may affect the mother and child both.
ii) Drugs and Chemicals: For a healthy delivery it is necessary to avoid any kind
of drugs and chemicals unless they are professionally recommended by the
doctors. Alcohol, antihistamines, aspirin (excess doses), barbiturates, heroin,
lead, quinine, thalidomide, insulin (large doses, used in shock therapy) and
tobacco are the drugs and chemicals which affect the possible prenatal period
development. In many cases, the drugs cause stunting or complete absence of
the arms, legs, and fingers. Abnormalities of the internal organs may also occur.
Abel, (1980) and Stechler and Halton, (1982) found in their research that
greater consumption of alcohol is known to harm the developing embryo and
fetus. Having an occasional drink may not be harmful to the mother or fetus.
During pregnancy time more than three times consumption of drinks per day
would lead to children showing permanent growth retardation, brain cell
abnormalities, eye, ear and other facial disfigurations, joint and limb abnormalities,
heart defects, mental retardation, and attention deficits. Even smaller daily
consumption of alcohol by pregnant women may result in poor attention and
reaction time in their children at preschool age.
It has been noted that cigarette smoking had a high risk of delivering prematurely.
It is associated with prematurity and low birth weight. These children may
suffer from later growth and cognitive deficiencies. A pregnant woman should
guard against exposure to all drugs and chemicals during pregnancy, but she
must be particularly careful about taking drugs.
iii) Radiation: Radiation is responsible for causing damage to the fetus. Larger
doses of therapeutic radiation may be injurious to the fetus and sometimes cause
spontaneous abortion. There really seems to be no completely safe level of
radiation. Even the various levels of natural radiation found in different parts
of the world can be correlated with higher or lower chances of babies born
in those parts of the world to have congenital abnormalities.
iv) Abortion: Termination of pregnancy could be due to natural causes or a
pregnancy may be terminated medically due to certain medical reasons. In
India if the parents or the family who do not want a baby girl, come to know
of the child’s sex, they may request the doctor to carry out abortion. Abortion
26 procedure is generally performed by a licensed physician in a hospital or clinic
and it is carried out before the pregnancy advances beyond a specified number Prenatal Development
of weeks. With modern antiseptic and surgical techniques, abortion in the early Influence and Hazards of
months of pregnancy is safer than childbirth. The opposition to abortion now is Development)
based on moral and religious, not medical, grounds.
v) Age of the mother: The maternal age have a higher risk for infant defect,
prematurity and infant death (Jensen, Benson, and Bobak, 1981; Vital and
Health statistics, 1972).
In older woman (woman over 35 years) the ova, which have been present in
an immature state from birth, may have been affected by aging or exposure to
chemicals, drugs and other harmful agents. In young women (women under 18
years) the reproductive system may not be fully developed. Pregnant teenagers
may also have generally poor prenatal care.
vi) Nutrition/ Diet of the mother: The mother is the only sole source of nutrition
for the unborn child, a diet providing the proper balance of proteins, fats,
carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins is vital. Many correlational studies of
humans indicate a relationship between maternal diet deficiencies and prematurity,
low birth weight, stillbirth, growth retardation, and poor mental functioning
(Knobloch and Pasamanick, 1974). Diet deficiencies during the first trimester
of pregnancy are specially harmful, but deficiencies during the last trimester may
also be important because of rapid brain growth during that time(Laster, 1975).
Poor nutrition may simply not meet the diet needs of the fetus; it may also act
indirectly by increasing the mother’s vulnerability to pregnancy complication and
disease.
vii) Stress in the mother: The effects of maternal stress are less important than the
effects of maternal nutrition but some studies strongly believe that maternal
stress may affect the fetus development(Stechler and Halton, 1982). It seems
that maternal emotions could influence the growing child. The emotions act
through the autonomic nervous system that activates the endorcrine glands,
which, in turn, regulate the secretion of hormones such as adrenalin. Because
hormones can pass through the placenta, they may affect the fetus. In a more
recent study, motor depression in newborns was associated with anxiety rated
in prospective mothers during the last month of pregnancy, but also with the use
of medication during child birth( Standley, ZSoule, and Copans, 1979).
viii) The Rh Incompatibility: The Rh factor, is an inherited protein found in the
blood of 85% of the population. The problem arises when the male carries the
Rh positive factor, the female does not carry the Rh negative factors and the
child develops as Rh positive. If the sibling blood comes into contact with the
mother’s, the mother system may manufacture antibodies to ward off the foreign
Rh protein. The antibodies destroy the child’s oxygen- carrying red blood cells,
a condition known as erythroblastosis and death or mental retardation can
occur.
Fill in the blanks
1) A women who are suffering the ——————during her pregnancy frequently
give birth to premature.
2) Cigarette smoking is associated with the ————— and —————.
27
Childhood 3) Radiation is responsible of damage the ———————.
4) ————————is the procedure to know the child gender.
5) The mother is the only sole source of —————— for the unborn child.
2.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you have studied about the detailed process of prenatal period, which is
defined as extending from conception to birth and is approximately nine months long
and it has many characteristics. It is the time when the heredity endowment and sex
of the individual are determined, when conditions in the mother’s body can disturb
the pattern of prenatal period. Before they are ready to produce new individuals,
male sex go through the two preliminary stages – maturation and fertilisation and
female sex cells go through the three stages i.e. maturation, ovulation and fertilisation.
The prenatal period is divided into three stages: the period of zygote; the period of
embryo and the period of fetus. After a female egg is fertilised, it becomes known
as a zygote. Once the egg is fertilised, the zygote begins a two-week period of rapid
cell division and will eventually become an embryo. The zygote divides through a
process known as mitosis, in which each cell doubles by dividing into two cells. This
two-week stage is known as the germinal period of development and covers the time
of conception to the implantation of the embryo in the uterus. The period of embryo,
this extends from the end of the second week to the end of the lunar month. The
period of fetus, this extends from the end of the second lunar month to birth. Attitude
of the significant person toward the newly created individual are established during
the prenatal period. Environmental influences that adversely affect the child
development during the pregnancy. Some teratogens are diseases that infect the
mother and infant. Some drugs and chemicals that cross from the mother’s bloodstream
into the infant. X-rays and abortion, which affect the mother’s outside body.

1) Define the prenatal period.
2) Elaborate the stages of prenatal development.
3) What are the two stages in which male sex go through?
4) What are the three stages in which female sex go through?
5) Define the genetic influences on prenatal period.
6) How can environmental influences affect the development of infant?

San Fransico
Hurlock, E. B. (1980). Developmental Psychology, (5th edition) Tata McGraw-
Hill Publishing Company Ltd
Libert, R.M; Nelson, R.W; & Kail, R.V (1986) Developmental Psychology,
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632
28
References Prenatal Development
Mussen, P. H, Conger, J.J & et.al (1984) Child Development and Personality (6th Influence and Hazards of
Development)
www.encyclopedia.com
www. psychology.about.com

QUESTIONS
True or False
1) True, 2) False, 3) True, 4) True, 5) True, 6) False
Fill in the blanks
1) blood poising, 2) prematurity and low birth rate, 3) fetus, 4) Abortion,
5) nutrition.
29
UNIT 3 DEVELOMENT DURING INFANCY
(PHYSICAL, PSYCHOSOCIAL,
COGNITIVE AND LINGUISTIC)
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Concept of Infancy Period
3.3 Characteristics of Infancy Period
3.4 Adjustments during Infancy
3.5 Hazards during Infancy Period
3.6 Physical Development in Infancy
3.7 Psychosocial Development in Infancy
3.8 Cognitive Development in Infancy
3.9 Linguistic Development in Infancy
3.10 Let Us Sum UP
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In unit one and unit two you have studied about the concept of development, life-
span development and prenatal development. Now it is time to understand the
infancy period. Infancy period is defined as a state or period of being an infant; the
first part of life; early childhood. This is the first period of life and it is very much
sensitive period for a child. This period is start from birth -2 years. In this unit we
are going to introduce to concept of infancy period and physical, psycho-social,
cognitive and linguistic aspects of development. You will also be able to understand
the characteristics of infancy period, its adjustment, and some physical and
psychological hazards during the infancy period.
Definition of Infancy: The first age of anything; the beginning or early period of
existence; as, the infancy of an art.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
z define infancy and elucidate the Concept of infancy period;
z explain the Characteristic features of infancy period
z explain how the characteristics differ from characteristics of other periods in the
30
life span;
z explain the adjustment of infancy period and the conditions influencing these Develoment During Infancy
(Physical, Psychosocial,
adjustment; Cognitive and Linguistic)
z describe about the physical and psychological hazards which faces the child;
z describe physical and psycho-social development during the infancy; and
z explain cognitive and linguistic development during the infancy period.
3.2 CONCEPT OF INFANCY PERIOD

A child goes through the various stages in his full life such as infancy, childhood,
adolescence, adulthood and lastly old age. This is the beginning period for a child
and fastest period. Infancy period is defined in many areas, some by medical
practitioners who define this period as of the period of young child. They do not
specify any age limits. Some psychologists use the word infant in much the same
way as members of the medical profession do. Infant is minor and is struggling for
reaching the age of legal maturity. He is so helpless person and dependent on other
persons. The first two years of an individual’s life are the time of his most rapid
development. Although every child develops at its own rate, each grows up in an
orderly and predictable patterns. Cephalocaudally means the development takes
place from head to tail and proximodistally means from trunk to extremes.
The behaviour and ability of 2 year old children are different from that of older
children. The two year old children can eat, cry, move, babble, play, kick, and smile.
Two year old children has the absence of qualities such as the ability to speak, to
act with intention, to reason, to be self-conscious, and to experience the emotion of
guilty, empathy and pride. Psychologists like Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson and Jean
Piaget highlighted a different aspect of an infant because each was loyal to assumptions
that were part of the larger cultural context in which they lived.
3.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF INFANCY PERIOD

The characteristics of infancy period are as follows:
i) The infancy period is the shortest period of whole life-span development. It
start’s from birth to two years. This is the time when fetus comes into the world
from the mother’s womb where he lives almost nine critical months.
ii) Adjustment is equally important to the infant as he has to adjust with the outer
surroundings. Most of the infants complete their adjustment period in two weeks
or less than two weeks. In infants whose birth has been difficult or premature
require more time for adjustment.
iii) Infancy period is a plateau in development. The growth and development which
took place during the prenatal period suddenly come to a stop with birth. Infant
loses weight after birth, is less healthy compared to what it was at the time
of birth. At the end of this period infant again starts gaining weight.
iv) Bell, R.Q. et. al. (1971) suggested that infancy is a period of future prediction.
We can start some future prediction about the infant. Some activities show the
prediction of development. It is a preview of later development.
v) Infancy is considered a period full of hazards in terms of physical and psychological
adjustment. Physical adjustment to the new environment is difficult for the child.
The attitudes of the family members create more difficult situation for the infant. 31
Prenatal, Infancy and Early Psychologically, the attitude of significant toward the infant gets crystallized.
Childhood
This attitude changes from one stage to another.
3.4 ADJUSTMENTS DURING INFANCY

As already discussed infants have to make certain important adjustments after
birth. They have to make these changes quickly for their better development. If they
are not able to effect those changes, they may face some problems regarding their
adjustment. Even they may regress to a lower stage of development. There are four
major adjustments during infancy period, which are described below:
i) Temperature changes: There is a constant temperature of 100 degree F in the
uterine sac, while temperature in the hospital or home may vary from 60 to 70
degree F.
ii) Breathing: When the umbilical cord is cut, infant must begin to breathe on its
own.
iii) Sucking and Swallowing: The infant must now get nourishment by sucking and
swallowing, instead of receiving it through the umbilical cord. These reflexes are
imperfectly developed at birth, and the infant often gets less nourishment than
is needed and thus loses weight.
iv) Elimination: The infant’s organs of elimination begin to work soon after birth.
Earlier, the waste products were eliminated through the umbilical cord.
3.5 HAZARDS DURING INFANCY PERIOD

As mentioned earlier, the period of infancy is the shortest period of development for
a child. In this short time there are many hazards. These hazards may be classified
as physical and psychological hazards.
1) Physical hazards: The physical hazards of infancy though of low significance,
its effect on infant can affect the entire life span of the child. Some physical
hazards are given below:
i) Complication at the time of birth: If the mother has some complications
at the time of birth or delivery, chances of the child getting physically
injured are high. A caesarean birth is likely to result in anoxia, a temporary
loss of oxygen to the brain. If the anoxia is severe, brain damage will be
far greater than if anoxia lasts for only a few seconds. The more complicated
the birth and the more damage there is to the brain tissue, greater will be
the effect on the infant’s postnatal life and adjustment. The use of too much
medicine at the time of birth may lead to a serious complication.
iii) Multiple births: Children of multiple births are usually smaller and weaker
than singletons as a result of crowding during the pre natal period, which
inhibits fetal movements. These infants tend to be born pre mature, which
adds to their adjustment problems.
iv) Post maturity: If the size of fetus is large then at the time of birth, there
may be a need to use instruments or surgery which becomes hazardous to
the infant. Critical conditions of birth may create a hazard for the infant.
v) Pre maturity: The condition of pre maturity may at times be the cause of
32
death of the infant. Prematurely born infants are also especially susceptible
to brain damage. Anoxia is another problem when premature infant’s Develoment During Infancy
respiratory mechanism is not fully developed. This effect may be such that Cognitive and Linguistic)
it can also be long lasting.
2) Psychological hazards: Like physical hazards some psychological hazards
also affect the infancy period. Some of these are:
i) Traditional beliefs about birth: There are many traditional beliefs
associated with birth. These beliefs also affect the development of the
child. For e.g. some people believe that those children born with difficult
births, have difficult life situation. Some believe that there is some good
time or event during the birth. But there is less scientific evidence to
support these beliefs.
ii) Helplessness: Helplessness is another struggle for the infant in outer world.
At the time of birth infants are in hospital and under the care of many
doctors and nurses. The helplessness of the newborn is more of a
psychological hazard in the case of first born children than of later-born
children.
iii) Attitude of parents: The attitude of the parents may be changed at the
time of birth. There are many reasons to change this attitude toward the
infant such as gender preferences, excessive crying and difficulty in
nourishment, complication at the time of birth and unexpected arrival of
twins and triplets. The mother’s attitude is more important for the infant
because infants are in direct touch with their mother.
3.6 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY

Physical Growth
The first year of infant is characterised by rapid physical growth. A normal baby
doubles its birth weight in six months and triples it in a year. During that time, there
is great expansion of the head and chest, thus permitting development of the brain,
heart, and lungs, the organs most vital to survival. The bones, which are relatively soft
at birth, begin to harden, and the fontanelles, the soft parts of the newborn skull,
begin to calcify, the small one at the back of the head at about 3 months, the larger
one in front at varying ages up to 18 months. Brain weight also increases rapidly
during infancy: by the end of the second year, the brain has already reached 75%
of its adult weight.
Growth and size depend on environmental conditions as well as genetic endowment.
For example, severe nutritional deficiency during the mother’s pregnancy and in
infancy are likely to result in an irreversible impairment of growth and intellectual
development, while overfed, fat infants are predisposed to become obese later in life.
Human milk provides the basic nutritional elements necessary for growth; however,
in Western cultures supplemental foods are generally added to the diet during the first
year.
The newborn infant sleeps almost constantly, awakening only for feedings, but the
number and length of waking periods gradually increases. By the age of three months,
most infants have acquired a fairly regular schedule for sleeping, feeding, and bowel
movements. By the end of the first year, sleeping and waking hours are divided about
equally.
33
Prenatal, Infancy and Early Maturation: Maturation refers to a universal sequence of biological events in the
Childhood
central nervous system that permits a psychological function to appear, assuming that
the child is physically healthy and lives in an environment containing people and
objects. Maturation cannot cause a psychological function to occur; it only sets the
limits on the earliest time of its appearance. Biological events in youth consider as
maturation, when they grow between 12 to 15 years. It is an age of maturation and
releases hormones from the pituitary gland located at the brain. But environmental
factors, such as the quality of nutrition during childhood, can accelerate the emergence
of puberty by several years.
Fill in the blanks
1) The period of infancy is ———————.
2) ———————period called fastest period of life.
3) A caesarean birth is likely to result in——————.
4) If the fetus is ————at the time of birth, the use of any instruments becomes
hazards to the infant.
5) Maturation refers to a ———————sequence of biological events in the
central nervous system.
3.7 PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOMENT IN INFANCY

Psychosocial development is the development of a persons understanding of the
environment they are living in, and figuring out how that relates to them, their behaviour,
and others. To put it in even simpler terms, it is learning about yourself, through your
surroundings and other people.
The theory of psychosocial development is given by the psychoanalyst Erik Erikson.
It is perhaps one of the best ways to understand the psychosocial development in
infancy period. He describes the impact of social experience across the whole
lifespan and it is one of the better theories of personality. Erikson has characterised
infancy as the period during which the child develops basic and long-lasting expectations
about his world.
The central idea of Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory is the development of ego
identity. Ego identity refers to the conscious sense of self that we develop through
social interaction. According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing due
to new experience and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others.
Erikson also believed that a sense of competence also motivates behaviours and
actions. Each stage is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life. If the
stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery, which he sometimes
referred to as ego strength or ego quality. If the stage is managed poorly, the
person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy.
Erikson also believed in each stage, people experience a conflict that serves as a
turning point in development. These conflicts are centered on either developing a
psychological quality or failing to develop that quality. During these times, the potential
for personal growth is high, but so is the potential for failure. The psychosocial theory
include the Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust (birth to 1 years). The first stage of Erikson’s
theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth and one year of age and
is the most fundamental stage in life. Because an infant is purely dependent on their
34
family members, the development of trust is based on the dependability and quality
of the child’s caregivers. If an infant successfully develops trust, he or she will feel Develoment During Infancy
safe and secure in the world. Caregivers who are inconsistent, emotionally unavailable, Cognitive and Linguistic)
or rejecting contribute to feelings of mistrust in the children they care for. Failure to
develop trust will result in fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and
unpredictable. Trust and mistrust is the main feature of infant development. A sense
of trust requires a feeling of physical comfort and a minimal amount of fear and
apprehension about the future. Trust in infancy sets the stage for a lifelong expectation
that the world will be a good and pleasant place to live.
The infancy stage focuses on the infant’s basic needs, being met by the parents. If
the parents expose the child to warmth, regularly, and dependable affection, the
infant’s view of the world will be one of trust. If the parents fail to provide a secure
environment and fail to meet the child’s basic need, a sense of mistrust will result.
If proper balance is achieved, the child will develop the virtue hope, the strong beliefs
that, even when things are not going well, they will work out well in the end. Failing
this, maladaptive tendency or sensory distortion may develop and the malignant
tendency of withdrawal will develop.
Others type of social behaviour
There are other types of social behaviour, which are discussed here:
i) Attachment: A new born baby in arms is the greatest feeling of motherhood.
An infant always seek love and attention from mother and he cries to be pick
up , fed, and otherwise stimulated and often as not he cries when put down.
At six weeks, infant will smile at his mother face and grasp his cloth. At this age
infant can recognise their caretaker and his faces. He needs mother’s and
father’s attention towards him. This early attachment is called ‘indiscriminate’;
the infant seeks stimulation rather than any particular person. The concept of
attachment is investigated by Ainsworth and her associates (1978), was defined
as an emotionally toned relationship or tie to the mother that led the infant to
seek mother presence and comfort, particularly when the infant was frightened
or uncertain. This indicates that all healthy infants have healthy and strong
attachment with their caretakers and this strong bonding provides the basis for
healthy emotional and social development during later childhood.
ii) Smiling: Smiling is the means of communication for infants in early years. An
early smile of the infant is just a facial exercise of the muscles. A child first pass
his smile to his mother and this is at first bestowed indiscriminately between the
mother and child. The smile is an important influence on mother - child
relationship. The mother’s responsive smile is equally important to the child. It
transforms the spontaneous smile of the infant into an exchange. This may be
called first real social interaction. The social smile appears at 7 or 8 weeks of
age, and by 3 months infants will smile almost any face. This smile is important
to the caretakers and child because it invites adult to interact with the baby and
therefore contributes to the attachment bonding.
iii) Anxiety: As we all know that mother and child relation is important in infancy
period. The child first recognised his mother face and infant is aware that mother
is special person at this time; he is at once in a position to lose her. An infant
around 10 months may be seen crawling behind his mother, from one room to
another room. If mother is disappearing, he may be cry and scream, and watch
every door. Even his crying and searching at different places is an indication
of attachment with the mother. The increase in attachment behaviour is considered
35
to be an indication of separation anxiety.
Prenatal, Infancy and Early iv) Fear of strangers: A second anxiety that is a direct result of the infant’s first
Childhood
attachment is stranger anxiety. The child is specially attach with the mother and
he can be easily upset by the approach of an unfamiliar adult, especially if his
mother is not present around. The infant fixes his eyes on the stranger and
stares, unmoving, for a short time. He is likely to cry and show the signs of
distress. Stranger anxiety disappears toward the end of the first year, as the
child comes in contact with a growing number of relatives.
3.8 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY

Cognition is a broad and inclusive concept that refers to the mental activities involved
in the acquisition, processing, organisation, and use of knowledge. The major processes
under the term cognition include detecting, interpreting, classifying and remembering
information, evaluating ideas, inferring principles and deducting rules imagining
possibilities, generating, and strategies, fantasizing and dreaming.
At the infancy period children develop many elements of abilities to think and to
understand the world around them. Infants have remarkably competent organisms,
even on the first day of life. The newborn child is ready to the basic sensations of
our species. They can see, hear, and smell, and they are sensitive to pain, touch, and
changes in bodily position.
Infants are not only growing physically during the first 2 years of life, but also they
are growing cognitively (mentally). Every day they interact with different persons and
learn about their environment and pathways between nerve cells both within their
brains, and between their brains and bodies. Cognitive change and development is
a little harder to determine as clearly. Therefore, much about what experts know
about mental and cognitive development is based on the careful observation of
developmental theories, such as Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Erikson’s
psychosocial stages. According to Piaget’s theory, infants interact with their
environment entirely through reflexive behaviours. They do not think about what they
are going to do, but rather follow their instincts and involuntary reactions to get what
they need, such as food, air, and attention.
Piaget believed that as children begin to grow and learn about their environment
through their senses, they begin to engage in intentional, goal-directed behaviours.
Jean Piaget was the most influential developmental psychologist of the twentieth
century. The work of cognition has held center stage in child development research
since 1960. His theory of cognitive growth and change is original, comprehensive,
integrative and elegant. He recorded infant’s and children’s spontaneous activities,
and presented problems of thousands of children and adolescents. His ideas have
been the source of many research studies. In Piaget’s theory, knowledge is assumed
to have a specific goal or purpose to aid the person in adapting to the environment.
The child does not receive information passively, and thoughts are not simply the
product of teaching by others. Nor is the cognitive progress seen as primarily a
product of maturation of a brain. Knowledge is acquired and thought processes
become more complex and efficient as a consequence of the maturing child’s
interactions with the world. The individual is active, curious and inventive throughout
the life cycle.
The theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and
development of human intelligence. It deals with the nature of knowledge itself and
how humans come gradually to acquire it, construct it, and use it. Moreover, Piaget
36
claims that cognitive development is at the centre of human organism and language Develoment During Infancy
is contingent on cognitive development. Piaget considered cognitive development in Cognitive and Linguistic)
terms of stages. He mentioned four stages in cognitive development, that is
i) Sensory motor stage (Birth -2years)
ii) Pre operational stage (2-7 years)
iii) Concrete operational stage (7-11years)
iv) Formal operational stage (11-15 years).
Let us take up these stages one by one and discuss.
Sensory Motor Stage (Birth -2 years): The first stage is the sensory motor stage
which lasts from birth to about two years old. The infant uses his or her senses and
motor abilities to understand the world, beginning with reflexes and ending with
complex combinations of sensory motor skills. This stage can be divided into six
separate sub-stages as given below:
i) Reflexes (birth -1 month): The child understands the environment purely
through inborn reflexes such as sucking and looking.
ii) Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months): Between one and four months, the
child works on an action of his own which serves as a stimulus to which it
responds with the same action, and around and around we go.
iii) Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months): The child becomes more focused
on the world and begins to intentionally repeat an action in order to trigger a
response in the environment.
iv) Coordination of Secondary Reactions (8-12 months): Develop certain focuses
on the demand object. Responses become more coordinated and complex.
v) Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-24 months): Children begin a period of trial-
and-error experimentation during this sub-stage.
vi) Early Representational Thought: Children begin to develop symbols to
represent events or objects in the world in the final sensory motor sub-stage.
3.9 LINGUISTIC DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY

Language development is a process starting early in human life, when a person begins
to acquire language by learning it as it is spoken and by mimicry. Children’s language
development moves from simple to complex. Infants start without language. Yet by
four months of age, babies can read lips and discriminate speech sounds. The
language that infants speak is called babbling. Speech replaces gestures and babbling
as the child starts communicating his desires and ask questions during 6 months
period. Speech, symbolism, imitation of family members or others and morality are
the most distinctive characteristics of infants. After few months time the infant use
their name and personal pronouns I, me, or my. It represents the self awareness and
self consciousness.
Usually, language starts off as recall of simple words without associated meaning, but
as children grow, words acquire meaning, with connections between words being
formed. As a person gets older, new meanings and new associations are created and
vocabulary increases as more words are learned.
37
Prenatal, Infancy and Early Infants use their bodies, vocal cries and other preverbal vocalisations to communicate
Childhood
their wants, needs and dispositions. Even though most children begin to vocalise and
eventually verbalize at various ages and at different rates, they learn their first language
without conscious instruction from parents or caretakers. In fact research has shown
that the earliest learning begins in utero when the fetus can recognise the sounds and
speech patterns of his mother’s voice.
Language is acquired with amazing rapidity, particularly after children speak their first
word, usually sometime around the end of the first year. This can be understood
during the months of 4-8 months child language characteristics is babbling such as,
‘baba’, ‘dada’ and ‘gaga’. At the age of 12 months, the infant first utters the
understandable words such as mommy, dog, dirty and yes. During 18 months the
language transforms into two word combination such as mommy milk, my pencil and
drink juice.
There are four main components of language development in children. Each component
has its own appropriate developmental periods.
i) Phonology involves the rules about the structure and sequence of speech sounds.
From shortly after birth to around one year, the baby starts to make speech
sounds. At around two months, the baby will engage in cooing, which mostly
consists of vowel sounds. At around four months, cooing turns into babbling
which is the repetitive combination of consonant and vowel. Babies understand
more than they are able to say.
From 1–2 years, babies can recognise the correct pronunciation of familiar
words. Babies will also use phonological strategies to simplify word pronunciation.
Some strategies include repeating the first consonant-vowel in a multi syllable
word (‘TV’—> ‘didi’) or deleting unstressed syllables in a multi syllable word
(‘banana’—>’nana’).
ii) Semantics consists of vocabulary and how concepts are expressed through
words.
From birth to one year, comprehension (the language we understand) develops
before production (the language we use). There is about a 5 month lag in
between the two. Babies have an innate preference to listen to their mother’s
voice. Babies can recognise familiar words and use preverbal gestures.
From 1–2 years, vocabulary grows to several hundred words. There is a
vocabulary spurt between 18–24 months, which includes fast mapping. Fast
mapping is the babies’ ability to learn a lot of new things quickly. The majority
of the babies’ new vocabulary consists of object words (nouns) and action
words (verbs). By 3–5 years, children usually have difficulty using words correctly.
Children experience many problems such as under extensions, taking a general
word and applying it specifically (for example, ‘blankie’) and overextensions,
taking a specific word and applying it too generally (example, ‘car’ for ‘van’).
However, children coin words to fill in for words not yet learned (for example,
someone is a cooker rather than a chef because a child will not know what a
chef is). Children can also understand metaphors.
iii) Grammar involves two parts. The first part is syntax, it refers to the rules in
which words are arranged into sentences. The second is morphology, it refers
to the use of grammatical markers (indicating tense, active or passive voice
etc.). From 1–2 years, children start using telegraphic speech, which are two
38
word combinations
iv) Pragmatics involves the rules for appropriate and effective communication. The Develoment During Infancy
three skills involved in this include (i) using language for greeting, demanding etc. Cognitive and Linguistic)
(ii) changing language for talking differently depending on who it is you are
talking to (iii) following rules such as turn taking, staying on topic, etc.
From birth to one year, babies can engage in joint attention (sharing the attention
of something with someone else). Babies also can engage in turn taking activities.
By 1–2 years, they can engage in conversational turn taking and topic
maintenance.
1) Ego identity refers to the conscious sense of self. ( )
2) The Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development occurs between
birth to one year of age. ( )
3) Cognition involved in the acquisition, processing, organisation and
use of knowledge. ( )
4) Sensory motor stage is divided into six sub stages of develoment. ( )
5) Six component of language development in children develop
at infancy period. ( )
3.10 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have studied about the infancy period with reference to the physical,
cognitive, psychosocial and linguistic development. Let us take it one by one:
1) The period of infancy covers approximately the first two weeks of life. There
are five important characteristics in the infancy period. This is the shortest
period of life span; it is the time of adjustment; a plateau in development and
consists of hazards filled event in life.
2) The hazards are divided into two types first is physical hazards such as
unfavourable prenatal environment complication, the time of birth, multiple birth,
pre and post maturity and second is the psychological hazards such as traditional
beliefs about birth, helplessness, attitude of parents, etc. The infant has to do
some adjustment in the outer life.
3) Physical development refers by the physical growth and maturation. Psychosocial
development is the development of a person’s understanding of the environment
they are living in, and figuring out how that relates to them, their behaviour, and
others. To put it in even simpler terms, it is learning about yourself, through your
surroundings and other people. Erikson defines trust vs. mistrust in infancy
period. Other types of social behaviour are also mentioned such as attachment,
smiling, anxiety, and fear of stranger.
4) The theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature
and development of human intelligence. It deals with the nature of knowledge
itself and how humans come gradually to acquire it, construct it, and use it.
Moreover, Piaget claims the idea that cognitive development is at the centre of
human organism and language is contingent on cognitive development. Piaget
concerned the cognitive development in terms of stages. He mentioned four 39
Prenatal, Infancy and Early stages in cognitive development i.e. (i) Sensory motor stage (Birth -2 years),
Childhood
(ii) Pre operational stage (2-7 years), (iii) Concrete operational stage (7-11years)
(iv) Formal operational stage (11-15 years).
5) Language development is a process starting early in human life, when a person
begins to acquire language by learning it as it is spoken and by mimicry. Children’s
language development moves from simple to complex. Infants start without
language. There are four component of language development i.e. phonology,
semantics, grammar and pragmatics. It is discussed in detailed.

1) Define infancy period.
2) What are the characteristics of infancy period?
3) Explain physical hazards during infancy period.
4) Explain psychological hazards during infancy period.
5) Elucidate the role of growth and maturity in physical development.
6) Define Erikson theory of psychosocial development during infancy period.
7) Explain six sub stages of sensory motor stage.
8) Elucidate the four component of language development.

San Fransico.
References
Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M.C.,Waters,E.,& Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment:
A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
Bell, R.Q., G. M. Weller, and M.F. Waldrop (1971) Newborn and preschooler:
organisation of behaviour and relations between periods. Monographs of the Society
for Research in Child Development, 36 (1& 2).
3.13 ANSWER TO SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

Fill in the blanks
1) birth to 2 years, 2) Infancy, 3) anoxia, 4) large, 5) universal.
True or False
1) True, 2) True, 3) True, 4) True, 5) False.
40
UNIT 4 EARLY CHILDHOOD (PHYSICAL,
PSYCHOSOCIAL, COGNITIVE AND
LINGUISTIC)
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Meaning of Early Childhood
4.3 Characteristics of Early Childhood
4.4 Hazards during Early Childhood
4.5 Growth and Development in Early Childhood
4.6 Physical Development in Early Childhood
4.7 Psychosocial Development in Early Childhood
4.8 Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
4.9 Linguistic Development in Early Childhood
4.10 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit you have studied about the infancy period its characteristics and
common hazards during infancy period. The physical, psychosocial, cognitive and
linguistic development of infancy were also discussed in detailed. Now in this unit we
will discuss all these aspect in the early childhood period. Firstly, we have to
understand the concept of early childhood period and its characteristics. Childhood
begins when the infancy period is over approximately two years of the age group.
Childhood period is divided into two age group (i) early childhood, 2-6 years (ii) late
childhood, 6- to the time the child becomes sexually mature. Early childhood period
is called as a conclusion of the infancy period. The child enters in the preschool and
forms a personality that no –one adults or other children. His personality is absolutely
individual. We generally consider as a ‘little individual’ or ‘small figure’ of the family.
It is widely recognised age group and fairly long period in the life span. There are
many factors are influence the child personality, that is,
i) Child social history: The child learning experiences comes form the society and
these experiences are supervise by the parents or teachers;
ii) Culture: The child is encouraged to embody the typical or ideal personality of
her culture;
iii) Place: the element of place and time that bring out some personality traits and
leave others to reserve and; 41
Prenatal, Infancy and Early iv) Biological makeup: facial features, physique, growth rate, genetic and temperament
Childhood
can advance the child personality.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and describe early childhood;
z describe the characteristic of early childhood and explain how they differ from
other periods in the life span;
z explain the physical and psychological hazards which faces the child;
z describe physical and psycho-social development in early childhood period; and
z explain cognitive and linguistic development in early childhood period.
4.2 MEANING OF EARLY CHILHOOD

Many psychologists define early childhood term in many ways. In a simple term early
childhood age often focuses on children learning through play. It generally includes
toddler hood and some time afterwards. Sometimes it is called a play age.
It is also defined as the period from birth to 8 years of age. A time of remarkable
brain development, these years lay the foundation for subsequent learning (UNESCO).
The terms preschool or kindergarten age emphasise education around the ages of
3–6 years. The terms “early childhood learning,” “early care,” and “early education”
are comparable with early childhood education. The terms day care and childcare
do not embrace the educational aspects. Many childcare centers are now using more
educational approaches. They are creating curricula and incorporating it into their
daily routines to foster greater educational learning.
Researchers in the field and early childhood educators both view the parents as an
integral part of the early childhood education process. Early childhood education
takes many forms depending on the beliefs of the educator or parent.
4.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

The characteristics of the early childhood are:
z Some parents feel that behavioural problems of childhood period are more
troublesome then physical care of infants.
z Some behavioural problems occur in this period such as obstinacy, stubbornness,
disobedience, negativistic and antagonistic.
z It is a toy age because most of the time children are engaged with their toys.
These toys are also helpful to educate the children. Toys are important element
of their play activities.
z This is a period when a child is considered physically and mentally independent.
This is also a school going age.
z Children are become more self sufficient, independent, develop self-esteem.
z This is the age of foundations of social behaviour. They are more organised
social life they will be required to adjust to when they enter first grade.
z Develop physical, cognitive, emotional and social development.
42
Early Childhood (Physical,
4.4 HAZARDS DURING EARLY CHILHOOD Psychosocial, Cognitive and
Linguistic)
There are some hazards during early childhood, which are divided into two categories,
viz., (i) Physical hazards and (ii) Psychological hazards. Let us see what these
are:
1) Physical hazards: Some of physical hazards that affect the children during the
early childhood.
i) Illness: Illness is highly susceptible in early age. Children are more prone
to respiratory illness and wide spread infectious diseases. Today many
viruses are spread in the air, if children are affected to this virus they will
fall sick.. Children who are sick for an extended time fall behind in their
learning of skills needed for play and other activities.
ii) Accidents: The chances of deaths in early years are high because of
accidents than at any other age. Some studies suggest that boys are
having more accidents than the counterpart of girls. Most young children
face the problems of getting knife and blade cuts, burns, infections and
broken bones, etc. Some also get into physical accidents which may
disable them temporarily or permanently.
iii) Obesity: Obesity is always a hazard in early childhood years. Children with
endomorphic body builds tend, as a group, to have more problems with
obesity than do those who have mesomorphic body build. Children who
are very fond of food, and having a typical personality are more prone to
diabetics and heart attacks, as compared to normal children. This is also
a health hazard in early period of development. Having junk food regularly
make children more obese.
2) Psychological hazards: The common psychological hazards are discussed
here:
i) Speech hazards: Communication is an important tool for social belonging.
They can communicate through their speech or language. Some time their
language is not understandable to others and their communication is not
clear and this will lead to the feelings of inadequate and inferiority. The
quality of speech is poor in young children.
ii) Social hazards: There are number of social hazards in early childhood.
If a child has some communication problem he may be unpopular with the
peer group children. Such children may feel not only the lonely but also feel
deprived of opportunities to learn to behave in a peer approved manner.
Some times children develop unhealthy social attitudes. Young children
who have experiences of discrimination and prejudice because of religion,
caste or sex, they manifest biased behaviours. As a result they minimize the
contacts with the people at outside the home or inside the home.
iii) Play hazards: Children who feel isolated in the play ground and lack of
playmates, either because of geographical isolation or because they are not
forced to engage in solitary forms of play, stand to be rejected by other
children and do not develop the needed motor and other related skills and
thus may feel handicapped and inferior to other children.
43
Prenatal, Infancy and Early iv) Moral hazards: Inconsistent discipline slows down the process of learning
Childhood
to conform to social expectations. Children are confused when they find
that different people have different views about the particular behaviour.
4.5 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY

CHILDHOOD
Growth and development are complementary processes. Growth indicates the bodily
changes in a qualitatively way such as height and weight, and development indicates
the changes in both the qualitative and quantitative way (e.g. intelligence, creativity
and language acquisition).
Development can be defined as a ‘progressive series of orderly coherent changes.
The various types of developmental changes follow certain principles. Some of these
principles are as follows:
1) Growth and development follow an orderly sequence.
2) Each child normally passes through a number of stages, each with its own
essential characteristics.
3) There are individual differences in rate and pattern of development.
4) Though the human being develops as a unified whole, yet each part of the body
develops at a different rate.
5) Development is essentially the result of the interaction between maturation and
learning. While maturation is the ‘unfolding of characteristics potentially present
in the individual’s genetic endowment’, learning refers to the relatively enduring
‘changes that come about as a result of experience and practice.’
Fill in the blanks
1) Childhood period is divided into two age group (i)—————————
(ii)————————.
2) Early childhood period is called a conclusion of ———————period.
3) Physical hazards are ————,—————,———— and —————.
4) Psychological hazards are————, —————, —————, and ——
———.
5) Growth indicates the bodily changes in ————way.
4.6 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY

CHILDHOOD
Early childhood period is more developing period in respect to the cognitive, physical
social and language. Erikson, Kohlberg, Piaget, and Bronfenbrenner, explain the
more subtle changes that occur inside the body.
Physical changes in early childhood are accompanied by rapid changes in the child’s
cognitive and language development. From the moment they are born, children use
all their senses to attend to their environment, and they begin to develop a sense of
44 cause and effect from their actions and the responses of caregivers
Height: Growth rate slows: the average child in this stage grows 21/2 inches in Early Childhood (Physical,
Psychosocial, Cognitive and
height and 5-7 pounds per year. Linguistic)
Weight: The average annual increase in weight is 3 to 5 pounds. At age 6, children

should gain weight approximately six times as much as they did at birth. The average
girl weighs 48.5 pounds, and the average boy weighs 49 pounds. Body fat declines
during preschool years.
Body build: Body differences are fairly seen during this period. Some children have
an endomorphic of flabby, fat body, some have mesomorphic sturdy look, muscular
body build and some have an ectomorphic or thin body. Boys have more muscle
while girls have more fat. The boy’s muscles become larger, stronger, and heavier.
Motor skills: Gross and fine motor skills progress rapidly. Gross motor skills
include running, skipping and jumping. Fine motor skills include turning pages of a
book and learning to write and draw.
Brain development: The most important physical development during early childhood
is the brain and nervous system growth.
Body proportion and shape: The average preschool child requires 1700 calories
per day. Well balanced meals are important in this stage because their diet affects
skeletal growth, body shape and susceptibility to disease.
Teeth: During the first four to six months of this stage, the last four baby teeth-the
back molars-erupt. During the last half year of early childhood, the baby teeth begin
to replaced by permanent teeth. When early childhood is over, the child generally has
one or two permanent teeth in front and some gaps where permanent teeth will
eventually erupt.
4.7 PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY

CHILDHOOD
Erik Erikson’s (1902-1994) theory of psychosocial development describes the
impact of social experience across the whole lifespan. The theory of psychosocial
development is one of the best-known theories of personality in developmental
psychology. The word ‘psychosocial’ is Erikson’s term, effectively from the words
psychological (mind) and social (relatioships). He believed that his psychosocial
principle is genetically inevitable in shaping human development, and it occurs in all
people. In early childhood years, children start to develop self-conscious emotions,
instead of purely reacting to caregivers’ or other adults’. For example younger
children feel perfectly happy himself and will not experience negative emotions until
caregivers express their displeasure at the messy situation. Children may still enjoy
playing with the play mates at early childhood stage and they may feel happy when
they get praise or reward from the family members.
According to Erickson’s developmental theory, children start to evaluate themselves
at the early stage of development of “Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt.” At the
end of this stage, young children’s self-evaluations are either autonomous and positive,
or negative and ashamed. Young children who feel autonomous see themselves as
good, valuable people who are able to do what is expected of them in a positive
way. In contrast, young children who feel ashamed also feel worthless and incapable
of doing what is expected of them.
As children become increasingly self-aware, more effective at communicating, and 45
Prenatal, Infancy and Early better at understanding the thoughts and feelings of others, their social skills increase.
Childhood
Children in the early childhood stage become skilled at modifying and expressing
their emotions to fit different social situations. For example, Billy may feel angry, but
he knows that having a tantrum at school is inappropriate. Similarly, Sally learns that
acting pleasant and happy even if she feels shy and scared is a better way to meet
people at a birthday party when she doesn’t know many of the other children.
Changing or controlling one’s emotions in social situations is an important skill that
allows children to fit in with groups and start to create interpersonal relationships.
Children who successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident, while those
who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy and self-doubt.
4.8 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY

CHILDHOOD
Jean Piaget described two processes of behaviour (i) assimilation and (ii) accomodation.
Assimilation is the process of using or transforming the environment so that it can
be placed in preexisting cognitive structures. Let us take an example of an infant
who uses a sucking schema that was developed by sucking on a small bottle when
attempting to suck on a larger bottle.
Accomodation is the process of changing cognitive structures in order to accept
something from the environment.
Both processes are used simultaneously and alternately throughout life. An example
of accomodation would be when the child needs to modify a sucking schema
developed by sucking on a pacifier to one that would be successful for sucking on
a bottle.
As schemas become increasingly more complex (i.e., responsible for more complex
behaviours) they are termed structures. As one’s structures become more complex,
they are organised in a hierarchical manner (i.e., from general to specific).
Stages of Cognitive Development: Piaget identified four stages of cognitive
development; sensory motor stage (birth- 2 years), preoperational stage (2-7 years),
concrete operational stage (7-11 years) and formal operational stage (11-above).
At the pre-operational stage (Play age and Early Childhood) intelligence is
demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use which matures, and memory
and imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a non logical, non reversible
manner. Egocentric thinking also predominates at this stage. Children form stable
concepts and mental reasoning begins to develop.
From 2-4 years children develop symbolic reasoning (the ability to picture an object
that is not present.). Egocentrism starts out strong in early childhood, but weakens.
Magical beliefs are constructed.
Between 4-7 years of age the child develops intuitive thought (the use of primitive
reasoning skills and wondering “why”). Starting school is a major landmark for
children at this age. Piaget also noted that children feel great difficulty to accept the
views of others and Piaget called this egocentrism. Egocentrism is when children
experience difficulty in experiencing others person’s perspective.
As we know that this is called a play age and many schools are adopting the
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, which provides part of the foundation for
46
constructive learning. Discovery learning and supporting the developing interests of
the child are two primary instructional techniques. It is recommended that parents Early Childhood (Physical,
Psychosocial, Cognitive and
and teachers challenge the child’s abilities. It is also recommended that teachers use Linguistic)
a wide variety of concrete experiences to help the child learn (example, use of
manipulatives, group work, field trips or work, etc.).
4.9 LINGUSTIC DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY

CHILDHOOD
Proper language development is the main concern in the early childhood. Language
is the only powerful tool to enhance the ability of cognitive development. As we have
already read that unclear communication may create the hazards for the development
of a child. A good language always allows the child to communicate or interact with
others persons and solve their problems. At the end of age seven, children are able
to demonstrate some basic understanding of less concrete concepts, including time
and money. However, the eight-year old still reasons in concrete ways and has
difficulty understanding abstract ideas.
Beginning the first three years of life, children develop a spoken vocabulary of
between 300 and 1,000 words, and they are able to use language to learn about and
describe the world around them. By age five, a child’s vocabulary will grow to
approximately 1,500 words. Five-year-olds are also able to produce five-to seven-
word sentences, learn to use the past tense, and tell familiar stories using pictures as
cues.
At the age of six years a child can learn consonants that are to be mastered: f, v,
sh, zh, th,1 .
They should dev elop the concept of 7 and their speech should be completely
intelligible and socially useful. Children at this age should be able to tell others a well
connected story about a picture seeing the relationships therein. Between objects and
happenings
At the age of seven years a child masters the consonants s-z, r, voiceless th, ch,
wh, and the soft g as in George . They should be able to handle opposite analogies
easily: girl-boy, man-woman, flies-swims, blunt-sharp short-long, sweet-sour, etc .
They must be able to understand such terms as: alike, different, beginning, end, etc.
In addition children at this age should be able to tell time to quarter hour and do
simple reading and write many words.
1) Early childhood is more developing period. ( )
2) Boys muscles get week during the early age. ( )
3) Children start to evaluate themselves at the early stage. ( )
4) Ego centrism is start at pre operational stage. ( )
5) Clear communication may hazards for the child. ( )
4.10 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have studied about the early childhood period with reference to the
physical, cognitive, psychosocial and linguistic development. Let us take it one by
one: 47
Prenatal, Infancy and Early 1) Childhood begins when the infancy period is over approximately two years of
Childhood
the age group. Childhood period is divided into two age groups (i) early
childhood, 2-6 years (ii) late childhood, 6- to the time the child becomes
sexually mature. Early childhood period is called as a conclusion of the infancy
period.
2) There are many factors which influence the child personality such as, child’s
social history, culture, place and biological makeup. Early childhood has its own
characteristics, which make it strong and influential. Physical and psychological
hazards are also affected in the early years.
3) Physical changes in early childhood are accompanied by rapid changes in the
child’s cognitive and language development. From the moment they are born,
children use all their senses to attend to their environment, and they begin to
develop a sense of cause and effect from their actions and the responses of
caregivers
4) As children become increasingly self-aware, more effective at communicating,
and better at understanding the thoughts and feelings of others, their social skills
increase. Children in the early childhood stage become skilled at modifying and
expressing their emotions to fit different social situations.
5) At the pre-operational stage (called as a play age and early childhood age)
intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures,
and memory and imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a non
logical, non reversible manner. Egocentric thinking also predominates at this
stage.
6) Language development is the main concern in the early childhood. Language is
the only powerful tool to enhance the ability of cognitive development. A good
language always allows the child to communicate or interact with other persons
and solve their problems. At the end of age seven, children are able to demonstrate
some basic understanding of less concrete concepts, including time and money.
However, the eight-year old still reasons in concrete ways and have difficulty
understanding abstract ideas.

1) What do you mean by the early childhood period?
2) What are the major characteristics of early childhood period?
3) Explain physical hazards during early childhood period.
4) Explain psychological hazards in early childhood period.
5) Elucidate the role of growth and development.
6) Define the concept of Erikson theory of psychosocial development in early
childhood.
7) Explain the process of assimilation and accomodation in Piaget’s theory of
cognitive development.
8) Elucidate the of language development in early childhood period.
48
Early Childhood (Physical,
4.12 SUGGESTED READINGS Psychosocial, Cognitive and
Linguistic)
San Fransico.
edition) Harper & Row, Publishers, New York.

QUESTIONS
Fill in the blanks
1) early childhood and late childhood, 2) infancy, 3) illness, accidents, and obesity,
4) sppech, social, play and moral, 5) qualitative.
True and False
1) True, 2) False, 3) True, 4) True, 5) False
49
UNIT 1 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Physical Growth in Early School Years
1.2.1 Body Size: Height and Weight
1.2.2 Growth and Development Year Wise 6-11 Years
1.2.3 Motor Skills in Growth and Development (6-11 years)
1.2.4 Development of Teeth, Bones and Muscles
1.3 Motor Development

1.3.1 Activities and Skills Between 6-11 Years
1.3.2 Disorders in Physical Development During 6-11 Years of Age
1.3.3 Improvement in Control and Coordination of Fine Motor Skills
1.4 Body Proportions

1.4.1 Muscles and Fat
1.4.2 Summary of Physical Development During School Years
1.5 Motor Development

1.5.1 Major Motor Developments
1.6 Let Us Sum Up

1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will discuss physical development during early school years which
range from 6 to 11 years. Many writers prefer the term ‘middle childhood’ for this
period. “Middle childhood is the period from about the age of 5 or 6 to about the
age of 11 and 12. This is a time of leisurely growth between the more rapid growth
of the preschool period and the onset of adolescence” (Elkind & Weiner 1978: 374).
The middle years of childhood between the ages of 6 and 12 are often referred to
as the school years. This period is characterised by slow but steady physical growth,
the perfection of motor abilities and the rapid development of cognitive and social
skills.
However, all children do not follow same pattern of growth. Individual differences
are high during this period as each child follows her own unique time table of growth.
Some characteristics of this stage can be outlined as follows (Rajamal P. Devdas &
N Jaya 1984: 125).
This stage extends from the age of 6 years to the time when the child becomes
sexually mature. Some writers have even used the term late childhood. This stage
begins when the child enters primary school; the child is mostly a first grade student.
It has also been designated as the ‘elementary school age’. Life in school is responsible
for many changes that take place in the child’s attitudes and behaviour. 5
Development During Early Parents regard this stage as the ‘smart’ age, that is the time when the child thinks
School Years (6-11 Years)
he knows everything and does not hesitate to inform others of his/her superior
knowledge. To the psychologist, it is the ‘gang-age’. The major concern of every
normal boy or girl is to be accepted as a member of a ‘gang’. This period is also
characterised by new social expectations which the child faces. In order to achieve
a place in the social group, the older child must master the developmental tasks
society expects of him / her.
The mastery of developmental tasks is the responsibility of teachers and, to some
extent, members of the peer group. Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing,
calculating and attitudes towards social groups and institutes becomes as much the
responsibility of the teachers as the parents.
Failure to master the developmental tasks at this stage results in poor personal and
social adjustment in subsequent years.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
z define Physical growth in middle childhood;
z differentiate between growth and development;
z describe Motor development in this period;
z explain the characteristic features in physical development and growth; and
z elucidate some of the disorders that may obtain at the failure of physical
development.
1.2 PHYSICAL GROWTH IN EARLY SCHOOL

YEARS
In early school years the growth and development become relatively slower as
compared to the earlier periods of development. Yet the growth has its own
characteristic features and these are presented below.
1.2.1 Body Size: Height and Weight

This stage is a period of slow and relatively uniform growth until the pubertal changes
begin. Increase in height is at the rate of 5 to 6 cms annually. An average girl of
eleven years should have the height of 139.2 cm and the average boy of the same
age, 138.3 cm.
Increases in weight are also slow and fairly uniform at this age. At the onset of
puberty, the average girl of 12 years should weigh 29.8 kg and the average boy of
the same age 28.5 kg.
Between the ages of 6 and 12, the average child will grow 2 to 2.5 inches and gain
3 to 6 pounds (Tanner, 1978). The average 6 year old child is almost 3.5 feet tall
and weighs about 40 pounds (18.14 kg); the average 12 year old child is almost 5
feet tall and weighs about 80 pounds (Harris, C. 1993). Within this period, it takes
children 6 years to double their weight and to increase their height by one-third.
The heights and weights of Indian children reported by ICMR (1968) are given
6 below:
Heights and Weights of Indian Children Physical Develoment
AGE IN YEARS
SEX MEASUREMENTS
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Standing height in 107.4 112.8 118.2 122.9 128.4 133.6 139.1
Girls centimeters
Weight in Kg 16 17.6 19.4 21.3 23.6 26.4 29.8
Standing height in 108.5 113.9 119.3 123.7 128.4 133.4 138.4
Boys centimeters
Weight in kg 16.3 18.0 19.7 21.5 23.5 25.9 28.5
(Source: Devadas, R.P. & N Jaya (1984) A Textbook on Child Development.

McMillan India Ltd: New Delhi)
Some factors affect the size of body which is as follows:
Weight and height are influenced by many factors. Hurlock (1978: 111) has discussed
following conditions which cause variations in body size:
1) Family influences: This involves both hereditary and environmental aspects.
Genetic factors make some children fatter and thus heavier than others.
Environment helps to determine whether hereditary potentials will be reached.
At every age, environment has a greater influence on weight than on height.
2) Nutrition: Well nourished children are taller and reach puberty sooner than
poorly nourished children. Poor nourishment during puberty can prevent attainment
of hereditary growth potentials.
3) Emotional Disturbances: Persistent emotional disturbances cause an
overproduction of adrenal steroids which inhibit production of the pituitary’s
growth hormone causing delay in the growth spurt. It prevents children from
reaching the height they would otherwise attain.
4) Socio-economic Status: Children from homes of low socioeconomic status are
smaller than children from higher and better socio economic status.
5) Health: Children whose health is good and who suffer from only infrequent and
minor illnesses tend to be taller than other children.
6) Endocrine Functioning: Normal endocrine functioning results in normal size.
By contrast, deficiency in growth hormone leads to dwarfism while an excess
of growth hormone leads to giantism.
7) Sex: Girls at this stage tend to be slightly heavier than boys, and this difference
is increased when girls begin their puberty growth spurt sooner than boys in the
closing years of childhood.
The size and growth rates of boys and girls are comparable until age 9, and then girls
begin to grow more rapidly than boys. For both boys and girls, the initial indication
of the growth spurt is a sudden increase in foot length and shoe size (Tanner, 1978).
Thus, whether genetics will be the prominent deciding factor in determining body size
of the child or the environment is the deciding facto, depends on the combination
of factors. When children get enough to eat and are reasonably healthy, genetics
account for individual differences. When children live in poverty and illness, belong
7
to poor socio-economic class, the differences in growth appear (Harris, C 1993).
Development During Early Height more than weight reflects a child’s nutritional history. Undernourished children
are shorter in stature than well nourished (Pollitt et. al.1982). Under all circumstances,
physically abused children grow less well than non-abused children (Karp et al.
1989).
1) Fill in the blanks with appropriate choice given against the statement:
a) Middle childhood is a time of …………..growth between the
…………..growth of the preschool period and the onset of adolescence.
(rapid/slow, slow/rapid)
b) Middle years of childhood between the ages of 6 and 12 are often
referred to as the ………………… (Pre school years/ school years).
c) Environment has a greater influence on………….than
on….……….(height/weight, weight/height)
d) When children get enough to eat and are reasonably healthy,
…………….account for individual differences. (genetics/ environment)
1.2.2 Growth and Development Year Wise 6-11 Years

Growth is physical change and increase in size. It can be measured quantitatively.
Indicators of growth include height, weight, and dentition.
Growth rates vary during different stages of development. This growth rate is rapid
during prenatal, neonatal, infancy and adolescent stages and slows during childhood.
On the other hand development is an increase in the complexity of function and skill
programme. It is the capacity and skill of a person to adapt to the environment.
Development is the behavioural aspect of growth.
The new inches or pounds are added in “mini” growth spurts, usually lasting several
months and occurring several times a year.
It’s normal at this age for adenoids and tonsils to be large – in fact, tonsils may
actually meet in the midline.
According to the developed countries data, the average growth and development for
males and females 6 years of age through 11 years is given below:
6 years: The average height for females is 45 inches.
The average weight for females is 43 pounds.
The average height for males is 45¾ inches.
The average weight for males is 45.5 pounds.
6 years: The brain is now 90% of its adult weight.
6.5 years: Average age at which the first permanent tooth comes in. However, this
age varies based on genetic and environmental factors.
6-puberty: The temporal and parietal lobes in the brain, related to language and
spatial relations, develop the fastest during this time.
6-11 years: During this period of time, before the growth spurt of puberty, the growth
8
rate is very slow and steady, averaging approximately 2 to 3 inches a year. Physical Develoment
6-11 years: The average weight gain each year during this period is approximately
5 to 7 pounds.
6-11 years: Strength capabilities double during this time.
6-11 years: A more proportional-looking body forms when the head and waist
circumference, as well as leg length, decrease compared to the body height. 6-11
years: Bones continue to harden, but can handle pressure put on them more than
mature bones can.
7 years: The average height for females is 47½ inches.
The average weight for females is 48.5 pounds.
The average height for males is 48 inches.
The average weight for males is 50.25 pounds.
8 years: The average height for females is 49¾ inches.
The average weight for females is 54.75 pounds.
The average height for males is 50 inches.
The average weight for males 55.75 pounds.
8-10 years: There is a growth spurt in the development of the right hemisphere of
the brain. Right Cerebral Hemisphere Functions include improvement in the sensation,
perception and appreciation of the stimuli. It also improves the cognitive functions
such as spatial orientation, sequencing of objects etc., time perception, music
appreciation, recognition of objects and faces and non verbal communication. The
development of the right hemisphere function also leads to the development of emotions
such as empathy, with and humour etc. Children can now more vigilant and attentive
than before. The movements of the left side of the body including vision etc., becomes
more refined and improved. Planning, organising etc., become possible due to the
right hemisphere development.
9-15 years: “Research has found that female pubertal characteristics develop in this
order: breasts enlarge and public hair appears, armpit hair, height increase, hips
become wider than shoulders, menarche (which can be very irregular at the beginning),
and more fully developed breasts” (Santrock, 2004, p. 375).
10 years: The average height for females is 54½ inches. The average weight for
females is 71.75 pounds. The average height for males is 54¼ inches. The average
weight for males is 69.25 pounds. Development of breasts, pubic hair etc., in girls
is seen between 10 – 14 years of age.
11 years: The growth spurt of boys typically begins around this age, averaging
about 4 inches per year. The average height for males is 55¾ inches. The average
weight for males is 77.75 pounds. The growth spurt peaks for girls at this age,
on average.
(Source: Age Norms: Child and Adolescent Physical Development Written by Lauren
Nudelman 16.12.2008. http://parentingliteracy.com/norms/56-physical-development/
135-age-norms-child-adol-physical-development Parenting library)
9
Development During Early 1.2.3 Motor Skills in Growth and Development (6-11 Years)
The truly attention-getting change in children will probably be associated with the first
signs of puberty. For girls, breast development may start as early as 8 years, although
10 is the average. For boys, enlargement of the testicles and thinning and reddening
of the scrotum, (the pouch of skin that holds the testicles) marks the beginning of
puberty. Male puberty may begin as early as 9, although 11 is the average.
During these years, children of the same age are frequently at different points in their
growth and sexual development. School-age children typically have fairly smooth
and strong motor skills. However, their coordination (especially eye-hand), endurance,
balance, and physical tolerance vary.
Fine motor skills may also vary widely and influence a child’s ability to write neatly,
dress appropriately, and perform certain chores, such as making beds or doing
dishes.
There will be significant differences in height, weight, and build among children of this
age range. It is important to remember that genetic background, as well as nutrition
and exercise, may influence a child’s growth.
There can also be a big difference in the age at which children begin to develop
secondary sexual characteristics. Girls will grow buds of breasts at ten or eleven,
her hips will take shape and she may begin to menstruate at eleven or twelve. Eleven
is an early start for a first period and even at twelve and thirteen girls are not always
emotionally prepared and welcoming of this powerful sign of approaching fertility.
When her periods begin the girl may be proud and excited to be growing up like all
her friends or she may, in the back of her mind, be anxious about approaching
adolescence and the complications that this introduces into her life. Her biology
demands that she be a woman soon - whether she likes it or not. How she feels
about it will be strongly affected by her impression of how well adult life has treated
her mother and the women close to her. Womanhood may seem rich and pleasurable
or scary and hard.
As for boys, the physical changes and emotional challenges are not so dramatic as
they tend to mature physically a little later than girls. However around twelve some
boys experience masturbation and nocturnal emissions. Boys of this age can be very
competitive; and success at sport, or his social position in the playground may be
close to his heart and a source of concern for him.
As you already know the head of the newborn is 1/4th the size of the body and that
of a 6-8 year old is about 1/6th of the body and by adulthood it will become 1/8th
of the body. In other words, the head becomes smaller in proportion to the rest of
the body as one grows.
In middle childhood along with gross muscles, fine muscles develop rapidly.
1.2.4 Development of Teeth, Bones and Muscles

i) Teeth: By the time a child is 3 years old, the child has 20 teeth and these are
the milk teeth. But by the time the child is in middle childhood, he/she has 28
teeth and these are all permanent teeth. An adult has 32 teeth.
ii) Bones: By middle childhood, all the bones in the body are formed and
henceforth, these continue to grow in size and strength. Bones become brittle
10
when there is too much calcium in them and they break easily. During middle Physical Develoment
childhood, there is sufficient calcium in the bones to make them strong. This is
one reason why the activity level in middle childhood is high. Strong bones
provide better anchorage to the muscles.
iii) Muscles and Fat: All bones are covered with fat and muscles. Girls have
more fat around their bones than muscles. At seven to eight years, girls start to
gain more fat than muscles on their arms, legs and trunk, whereas boys have
more of muscles than fat. This is why they have more strength. Boys can
generally run longer distances, jump higher, etc.
1) Tick the most appropriate answer:
i) By middle childhood, the number of teeth in a child’s mouth are
a) 20
b) 24
c) 28
d) 32
ii) Head to body proportion during middle childhood is:
a) 1/8
b) 1/6
c) 1/4
d) 1/2
iii) All the bones of the body are formed by:
a) infancy
b) early childhood
c) middle childhood
d) adolescence
iv) Boys are stronger because they have more:
a) bones
b) muscles
c) fat
d) calcium
1.3 MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Have you seen 6-11 year old coming out of their classes after school is over? What
would they be doing? Yes, you are right ! Some of them would be running, others
would be skipping and still others leaping onto narrow edges and balancing themselves.
In all these activities, the children are learning to co-ordinate their muscles for different
types of movements. 11
Development During Early The body has two types of muscles, namely, the large muscles such as those of the
arms, legs, back, etc., and the small or fine muscles such as those in the fingers, toes,
etc. You probably know that muscular activity is possible because of their contraction
and flexion (relaxation). Different muscles placed in different parts and some in same
parts of the body perform and control different movements. Some part of this control
is automatic while some part is learnt. Movement due to muscular control which is
learnt is called muscular coordination.
Again, muscular coordination is of two types : fine and gross. The movement of the
fine (small) muscles is called fine muscular coordination while the movement of large
muscles is called gross muscular coordination. Activities such as running, balancing,
skipping, climbing, etc., involve mostly the coordination of large muscles.
Gross muscular coordination
Let us make the following observation. There is a pencil lying on a table. Let us
imagine how a one year old child pick it up and how a 3 year old and a 11 year
old pick it up?
Generally, the one year old uses her entire palm to pick the pencil while the three
year old may use more than one finger and thumb to pick the pencil. At the same
time, the eleven year old may use the index finger and thumb and may also be able
to manipulate the pencil with very fine movements, i.e., play with it using only the
index finger and the thumb or twirl it around or apply just the right pressure for
writing.
Fine muscular coordination
As the child grows older greater proficiency over fine movements is gained. This is
the period when many activities which involve fine muscular coordination can be
taught to the child such as writing, needlework, painting, etc.
It is known from experience that children learn to walk, run, jump, kick, etc., before
they learn to feed themselves or write. What does this imply? It means that the gross
muscular coordination is learnt before fine muscular coordination. Muscles develop
over a period of time and when the muscles are developing, that period is known
as the sensitive period.
Think what will happen if we insist on making a child learn an activity before the
muscles are ready for it ? Yes, the muscles which are not yet completely formed will
get damaged. Which muscles stand greater chance of being damaged? Yes, the fine
muscles. This is the reason why children should not be forced to write before they
are four and a half to five and a half years old. This is one of the important reasons
that the formal schooling for children begin after 5 years of age. From 6-11 years,
the handwriting gradually improves i.e., it becomes better and faster. Sensitive
period is the time when one can learn a specific activity most effectively.
Around the sensitive period, the body is ready to learn a particular activity or skill
most efficiently. If the child is given practice and encouragement at this time to learn
that activity or skill, the child will learn it best. Children in the age group of 6-11
years learn maximum number of different activities. They play different types of
games. What does this information indicate ? That many of the muscles are maturing
at this age.
The following chart shows the motor development or certain activities and skills from
12 6 years to 10 years.
1.3.1 Activities and Skills Between 6-11 Years Physical Develoment
At this time the children will be able to throw a ball at an estimated distance, catch
the ball, and they can run with coordinated movements. They can judge and stop
a small ball, and can balance on one foot for a very short while . Children at this
age can balance and hop on one foot for longer periods.
They can jump at a good height and can skip with two legs. Can hop and jump in
small squares and play games with alternate hopping rhythm. Jump as high as one.
At this age, children can run and jump hurdles at the same time
1.3.2 Disorders in Physical Development During 6-11 Years

of Age
Some of the disorders that may arise in children could be due to physical illnesses,
fall and injuries, accidents etc. Some of the disorders are genetic while some are
acquired. The disorders that are obtained during this period are given below:
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Hyperactive or Hypoactive.
Hyperactive: Children with this disorder are distractible, impulsive, irritable, moody,
slow in learning, and inattentive. Physically such children tend to move from one side
to another, cannot inhibit action, and are constantly diverted by sounds and objects.
They are chaotic in their behaviour, and tend to forget what they are told to do,
cannot do sequentially ordered tasks. The child may be annoying and unpopular
amongst peers.
Hypoactive: Children with disorder show less than normal activity levels and excessive
daydreaming. They may be quiet and undistracting in their behaviour but may not
be able to attend to specific tasks. This may go unnoticed for many years as they
tend to be good and compliant in their behaviour.
Execution of motor skills: Children at this age show wide range of individual
differences in the execution of motor skills and in their ability to master complex
motor tasks. They show improvement in gross motor skills reflected in increased
speed, power, coordination, agility, and balance. These children appear to be always
in a hurry and their motor development is such that they can now ride scooters,
wagons, bicycles or move on skates. They register considerable improvement upon
gross motor skills previously acquired and now learns many new skills. They can run
faster, with greater accuracy and can cover longer distance. They can now hop and
jump in a highly coordinated manner and also can throw, catch and kick accurately
as required. Team sports. Basketball, football, baseball, dancing, swimming, roller
skating, tennis are some of the sports which can help them refine their motor skills
still further. They also show intense interest in acquiring and improving these skills.
As for disorders in regard to these aspects, they may have certain congenital or
acquired deficits in motor skills and activities. Many may not be able to show
coordination of gross and finer motor skills due to deficiency or abnormality in their
physique. Sometimes injuries may lead to certain deformity which may prevent these
children involving themselves in different required and essential activities. Sometimes
high fever and many physical illnesses may keep the children off from many of these
activities and when they do recover, they may not be able to equal their peers and
thus feel unhappy. In certain cases children afflicted with polio may have problems
in doing any physical activities and similarly children suffering from brain damage due
to fall etc. may show poor motor and physical coordination.
13
Development During Early 1.3.3 Improvement in Control and Coordination of Fine
Motor Skills
Children at this age can perform progressively neater and smaller tasks. They can
play musical instruments, a feat which requires dexterity and control over the small
muscles of the hands and fingers. Tasks such as sewing and knitting, or drawing
pictures in minute detail require fine motor control and at this age these aspects
develop to a great extent and children are able to accomplish many of these tasks.
However children with any kind of physical illness etc. will not be able to accomplish
these tasks. .
The extent to which children develop their genetic potential for motor skills.
Motor skills depend upon body size, strength and brain maturation. And, the extent
to which children develop their genetic potential for motor skills depends on
temperament and personality factors such as energy level, venturesomeness,
aggressiveness, and persistence as well as their attitude toward their body build and
their eagerness to participate in group functions and competition. Shy children or
children with low self-esteem will have difficulty competing with other children, and
since motor skills are developed primarily in the context of the peer group, these
children will miss out on the opportunity to acquire and develop such skills.
Participation
These children learn to participate in a large number of activities both at school and
in the society (neighbourhood). Such participation enables the children to become
active members of society. They participate in scouts, little league teams, etc., a
context within which they develop friendships and share interests.
Progress in Physical Growth and Motor Development.
There is a steady and sustained growth during this period. There is an increased
ability to execute motor skills and master more complex and elaborate motor tasks.
Variation in growth among children in this age group is apparent. Not only do
children of the same age grow at different rates, children today are taller than they
were in previous generations, and they also mature at an earlier age. This phenomenon
is known as the secular trend. Attitude about self becomes related to conception
about body size and shape. They aquires ability to think about what other people
think. Thus, others’ reactions to him become important.
1.4 BODY PROPORTIONS

These years are a time of steady overall growth, but the growth rate differs for
different body parts, such as legs grow faster than other body parts.
Body proportions change during these years. The disproportion of too large a head
decreases; and the lower part of the face increases in size, thus eliminating some of
the facial disproportions of the early childhood. The gradual eruption of permanent
teeth changes the shape of the mouth. As childhood progresses, the trunk elongates
and becomes slimmer. The chest broadens and flattens, the neck becomes longer,
permitting the shoulders to drop and the pelvis to increase in size. The arms and legs
are thin with no developments in their musculature. The hands and feet grow slowly.
The hands and feet are generally longer for boys.
Children lose their ‘baby fat’; their faces tend to become slimmer and narrower.
14 School age children usually have a tooth either coming or going. They lose their
baby-teeth, the first one coming out at about the age of 6. Toothless smiles are Physical Develoment
common among this age group. With the appearance of permanent teeth and several
molars, the shape of the child’s face is changed. The transition from temporary to
permanent teeth is usually completed by about 11 or 12 years of age. Both boys
and girls have all their permanent teeth except the second and third molar.
At 6 years of age, the eyes have not yet reached their final shape and size. Many
children between 6 and 8 years of age are slightly farsighted, but this condition
corrects itself between the ages of 8 and 10 when their eyes reach adult eye size and
shape (Jenkins, Shacter & Bower, 1966)1. One potential implication of this finding
is that their early reading material should be printed in large type. Binocular vision
(in which both eyes work together) is usually well established by age 6. Reading is
best delayed until approximately 6 years of age.
Marked improvements are observed in posture. The rounded shoulders, slight spinal
curvature and prominent abdomen of the early years are replaced by more erect
bearing. Consequently, school-age children gain efficiency in using their arms and
legs.
Brain growth has essentially been finished by age 10 or 12. Bone growth is
concentrated in the face, arms and legs. Children are more flexible than adults
because their ligaments are less firmly attached and there is more space between the
bones at the joints. But since the Ossification2 process is still incomplete, children are
less resistant to breaks, fractures and muscle pulls than mature adults.
1.4.1 Muscle and Fat

Both in girls and boys, muscles increase in size and strength, although the number of
muscle fibers remains the same. The muscles of 6-12 years old are still functionally
immature when compared with adolescent. Sports, dance, skating etc. help develop
muscle tissues while improving co-ordination.
Heart grows more slowly during school years and is proportionally smaller than at
any other period of life (Schwartz et al. 1990)3.
Body fat accounts for 15% of the average school-age child’s total body weight. Girls
tend to retain more fat than boys at age 6, but unless their eating habits differ, both
accumulate body fat at an even rate from age 7 to adolescence. The appetite of the
young child increases after six years of age. Thereafter children tend to eat more than
they did earlier. Many even over-eat and become obese. The child who is overweight
loses out in active play. As a result, he misses out the opportunity to acquire skills
extremely necessary for social success.
The gastrointestinal system is quite mature by the time the child is in school. School
age children experience fewer stomach upsets, steadier blood sugar levels and a
greater stomach capacity than younger ones. Though children at this stage do not
need to be fed as carefully or as frequently as preschoolers, caregivers still need to
be vigilant in minimizing the child’s junk food intake.
The lungs continue to grow until about age 8, though the respiratory airways grow
well in adolescence. Lung capacity increases and the respiratory rate or the number
of breaths per minute slowly decreases. Bowel and bladder control are usually well
established by the school years. The ear and sense of hearing are well developed by
school age and auditory sensitivity continues to improve.
15
Development During Early 1.4.2 Summary of Physical Development During School Years
Sensory systems are mature
Heart and lungs continue to mature.
Brain Growth is complete by age 11 or 12.
Growth during school years is slow and steady until puberty, when girls tend to
mature first.
The average child grows 2-2.5 inches taller and weighs 3-6 pounds more each year.
Generally, girls are slightly taller and heavier than boys.
Growth is concentrated in the legs, arms and face.
Baby teeth are replaced by permanent teeth.
1.5 MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

“Motor skills are fine coordinations in which the smaller muscles play a major role”
(Hurlock 1978: 143). Childhood is often called an ideal age for learning motor skills.
There are a number of reasons for this (Hurlock):
First, children’s bodies are more pliable than those of adolescents and adults; hence
all learning is easier.
Second, children have fewer previously learned skills that will conflict with the learning
of a new skill.
Third, children are, on the whole, more adventurous than grown up people
Fourth, while adolescents and adults find repetition boring, children enjoy it. As a
result, they are willing to repeat an act over and over again fewer duties than, until
the muscles patterns have been trained to perform effectively.
Fifth, Children have more time to devote to the mastery of because they have fewer
duties and responsibilities than they will have as they grow older.
Smooth co-ordination of small and large muscles is refined and used in many activities
ranging from reading and writing to playing team games.
Motor skills are refined and expanded. Through play and endless practice, children
perfect six basic motor behaviours: running, jumping, sequencing foot movements,
balancing, throwing and catching. Improvement in motor skills keeps pace with
maturation although practice affects performance of some skills, such as learning to
kick a ball (Engelhorn, R. 1988)4.
Jumping is a good index of motor co-ordination and strength. At the age of seven
boys often exceed girls in the height of vertical jumping. Girls are superior to boys
in the task of jumping and hopping into grids (Elkind and Weiner 1978). Rapid
improvements in this skill are shown from the age 6 to 9.
Throughout this period, children channel more and more energy into controlled, goal
directed activities such as sports and cooperative play. Also children become more
competitive and tend to form larger, more complex groups when they play. The
benefits of team sports participation include social contact with peers, the exhilaration
16
of self-improvement, learning the value of team work, the fun of the sport and the
importance of physical fitness. Emphasis on competition and winning over learning Physical Develoment
sports fundamentals devoid all the essence from the sports activities. Sport is a very
good medium of boosting motor developments and teaching values. Parents and
teachers should encourage striving, improvement and excellence without creating an
obsession for perfection.
Handedness is well established by age 6 and small-muscle ability and artistic skill
improve steadily from then until 12. Children make great strides in writing and
drawing during school years. With practice, school age children can learn to play a
musical instrument and to master a variety of handicraft skills such as ceramics,
needle work, painting and model building. In this regard, girls continue to have
greater hand and finger dexterity than boys.
In addition to dexterity, eye-hand co-ordination improves substantially during the
school years. By age 8, the child is better able to plan a movement and by age 10,
there is an increase in the child’s ability to control the speed and direction of their
grasp (Bairstow, P. J. 1989)5.
Interestingly, despite the steady progress in fine motor and eye-hand skills, school
age children become noticeably more clumsy and less well coordinated during their
growth spurt years. Children may be more distractible when they are growing; they
are also not used to maneuvering larger feet and a taller frame. Daydreaming and
other pre-occupations may also lead to the appearance of clumsiness.
1.5.1 Major Motor Developments

Children improve in running, jumping, sequencing foot movements, balancing, throwing
and catching
Children add skilled movements associated with sports, games, music, hobbies etc.
Reaction time improves
Eye-hand coordination improves
Competitive sports participation is common during these years
Left-right discrimination improves
Handedness is well established
Fine motor skills improve. Girls have greater dexterity than boys.
1.6 LET US SUM UP

Physical growth during middle childhood is slow.
Weight range is between 16 to 30 kg and height ranges between 107 cm to 139 cm.
Full set of teeth present except wisdom teeth.
Children during this period are active and busy. Always on the go: jumps, chases,
climbs.
Motor task performance is smoother, quicker. Eye-hand coordination improves and
manual dexterity is also improved.
Can brush and comb hair without help. Dresses self completely
17
More caution with new activities. Practice activities to improve skills.
Development During Early
School Years (6-11 Years) 1.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1) Differentiate between growth and development and indicate the growth of body
size in males and females through 6-11 years.
2) Write an essay on the physical development of children during elementary school
years.
3) Describe motor developments that take place during middle childhood.
4) Delineate the typical body proportions that take place in school age period.
5) What are the major motor skill development that takes place during this period?

Devadas, Rajamal P. & N Jaya (1984) A Textbook on Child Development. Delhi:
McMillan India Ltd.
Elkind, D. & Weiner, I. B. (1978) Development of the Child. New York: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Harris, C. A. (1993) Child Development. 2nd Edition. Minneapolis/St.paul: West
Publishing Co.
Hurlock, E. B. (1978) Child Development. 6th Ed. 7th reprint 1985. McGraw Hill
Book Co.
Lefrancois, G. R. (2001) Of Children: An Introduction to Child and Adolescent
Development. 9th Edition. Wadsworth.

QUESTIONS
1) a) slow/rapid, b) school years, c) weight/height, d) genetics
Endnotes
1
Jenkins D D., Shacter, H. S. & Bower W. B. (1966) These are your Children. Glenview, Ill:
Scott, Foresman, 1966.
2
Ossification: the process of replacing cartilage with bony tissue.
3
Schwartz M. W. et al. (1990) Pediatric Primary Care. New York: York Book Med.
4
Engelhorn R. (1988). EMG and motor performance changes with practice of a forearm movement
by children. Percetual and Motor Skills, 67(2), 523-529.
5
Bairstow, P. J. (1989). Development of planning and Control of hand movement to moving
targets. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7(1), 29-42.
18
UNIT 2 COGNITIVE, SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL
AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Cognitive Development
2.2.1 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development: Concrete Operation
2.2.2 Decentration
2.2.3 Conservation Tasks
2.2.4 A New Ego Centrism
2.2.5 Logical Reasoning
2.3 Concept Formation

2.3.1 Information Processing Approach to Cognitive Development
2.3.2 Language Development
2.4 Social Development

2.4.1 Relations with Parents and Siblings
2.4.2 Peer Group
2.4.3 Social Cognition
2.4.4 Self-esteem
2.5 Moral Development

2.5.1 Piaget’s Ideas about Moral Development
2.5.2 Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
2.5.3 Moral Judgments and Moral Behaviour
2.6 Emotional Development

2.6.1 Common Emotional Patterns
2.7 Let Us Sum Up

2.9 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Keep in mind that the school child’s head is not where yours is. It is not just
a matter of physical growth-it is perhaps more a matter of intellectual
change……their heads may be closer to the clouds. And perhaps that’s why
they see magic more clearly than we adults do.(Lefrançois, G. R. 2001: 374).
In this unit we discuss four dimensions of development in middle childhood, that is
cognitive development, social development, emotional development and moral
development. “The elementary school years are the years 6 through 12 in a child’s
life, and are sometimes referred to as the latency period. However, in many areas
of development, these years are actually action packed, not latent at all. They are
filled with both motion and emotion as the child confronts the diverse demands of
19
school; and entry into a rule bound society” (Morgan, King et. al. p. 450).
School Years (6-11 Years) 2.1 OBJECTIVES
z Elucidate Piaget’s concepts of cognitive development in middle childhood;
z Define Social development in middle childhood;
z Explain Emotional maturity in school going children; and
z Describe Moral development of Kohlberg’s theory.
2.2 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Between the ages of 5 and 7years, children’s thought processes change dramatically.
Using Piaget’s terms, pre-operational thought is replaced by a rudimentary form of
logic. The change is sometimes referred to as 5 to 7 shift. It is “the time during which
the child makes a cognitive transition from the preoperational stage to the stage of
concrete operations or from induction to logic” (Harris, A. C. 1993: 521).
In the middle ages the child was assigned adult status at age 7 when he was
considered to be capable of being without his mother or his nanny (Aries, 1962).
Impressive changes in brain development set the stage of 5 to 7 shift (Fishbein,
1984). Cross-model zones (nerve networks that permit information flow from one
part of the brain to another) are well developed between the ages 5 and 6. These
interconnections tie together different sensory events and modalities. For example, a
child might associate an orange with its colour. Later on, associations will also be
formed between the orange and its distinctive smell, flavour and its spelling.
Throughout the development, a reciprocal relationship forms between cognition and
brain maturation. Brain maturation may support cognitive changes and cognitive
activity can also accelerate brain activity.
2.2.1 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development: Concrete

Operation
Concrete operation is the third stage in Piaget’s cognitive theory. The ability to think
logically about concrete or real world events and experiences is the hallmark of this
stage. Concrete logic becomes possible when the children understand operations.
Operations “are flexible mental actions that can be combined with one another to
solve problems” (Morgan, King et al. 435).
Operations can be understood as the “set of powerful rules that can transform
information from one form to another” (Harris, C.A 1993: 522).
These rules include mathematical operations (identity, addition, division etc.) and
relations among categories (class inclusion, seriation etc.).
The operations are concrete in the sense that they are limited to concrete and
objects. Abstract concepts are difficult at this stage to be understood.
1) Piaget’s theory of development is related to
a) physical development b) social development
20 c) moral development d) cognitive development

Cognitive, Social,
2) Arrange the following developmental stages of cognitive development in the Emotional and Moral
ascending order Development
i) sensorimotor stage ii) concrete operational stage

iii) preoperational stage iv) Formal Operational stage
Choose the correct option
a) i i iii iv
b) i iv i iii
c) i iii i iv
d) i iv i iii
3) Assertion: Concrete operation is the ability to think logically about concrete
events.
Reason: The operations are concrete in the sense that they are limited to
concrete and objects.
a) Both A and R are true. R is the reason for A.
b) Both A and R are true. R is not the reason for A.
c) A is true and R is false.
d) R is true and A is false.
2.2.2 Decentration
One of the most significant operations mastered by the school age child is decentration.
Children in the concrete operations stage can decenter their thinking, taking into
account several aspects or event at the same time.
The concrete operational child organises the world into hierarchies. In these hierarchies,
a given thing can fall on more than one dimension at the same time. The following
example
(discussed in Morgan and King: 451) will give us a clear picture of difference
between the thinking of concrete operational and pre-operational. The latter stage
lacks the ability to think about something from various dimensions.
The picture of seven people in a group, two adults and five children, is shown
to some 4 year olds and some 9 year olds. “Are there more children or more
people?” To this question, most 4-year olds will say, “more children”, most 9-
year olds will say, “more people”. There are two dimensions in this question:
people versus non-people, children versus adults. The 4-years old, being
preoperational, can focus on only one dimension at a time (child versus adult
dimension). The 9-years old recognised that both children and adults fall on the
‘people’ end of the people versus non-people dimension. These older children
answered correctly because their flexible operations allow them to think in
terms of hierarchy involving two dimensions, one broader than the other.
2.2.3 Conservation Tasks

In Piaget’s terms, tasks that test the child’s knowledge of the identity of matter. If 21
the child can solve the conservation tasks (Table 2.1), he/she knows that the physical
Development During Early characteristics of the entity can change but certain other properties stay the same.
Concrete operational children are no longer fooled by perceptual appearance of
number, volume, mass and other physical properties. They can now solve conservation
tasks designed to measure the child’s ability to understand apparent transformations.
For instance, concrete operational children are no longer fooled into thinking that a
flattened ball of clay is larger than the comparison ball, because they understand that
the shape of the clay is immaterial to its weight.
The ability to conserve appears to follow a developmental sequence. Children can
usually conserve numbers by about 6 or 7, mass and length by 7 or 8, weight around
9 or 10, and volume by 14 or 15 (Gold, R. 1983)1.
Inhelder and Piaget (1955, 1958) called the developmental lag in conservation abilities
‘horizontal decálàge’. Decáler in French means ‘to displace’. Horizontal decálàge is
the sequential mastery of concepts within a single developmental stage. When children
had mastered the concepts of identity, reversibility and reciprocity, they can conserve
along any physical dimension.
Identity: The notion that if form changes but nothing has been added or taken away,
the amount will remain the same.
Reversibility: The notion that something which has been changed can be returned
to its original state by reversing the process that lead to change.
Reciprocity: If the mass remains constant, a change in one dimension necessitates
a change in another. For instance, if an object is flattened, it will become wider as
it becomes thinner.
Following table (2.1) summarizes types of conservations and the age at which these
concepts are mastered.
Table: Piagetian Conservation Tasks
Type of Dimension Change in physical Conservation Age at
conservation properties question which the
task can be
solved.
Number No. of elements in Rearranging or Which line has more 6-7 years of
a collection dislocating marbles? age
elements in a Preconservative child
collection will say longer line has
more and conserving
child will say both
have the same number
Substance Amount of Altering its shape Do the two pieces have
malleable the same amount of
substance clay? 7-8 years of
Preconserving child age
will say no.
Conserving child will
say yes.
Length Two sticks of the Move one stick Which stick is longer?
same length over Preconsrving child will
say one is longer.
Conserving child will 7-8 years of
say both are the same age
length.
22
Cognitive, Social,
Emotional and Moral
Area Two identical Rearranging blocks Do the two pieces of Development
pieces of card on one cardboard. cardboard have the
board with same same amount of open
number of blocks space?
preconserving child 8-9 years of
will say no. age
conserving child will
say yes
Weight Weight of an Altering space Which object weighs

object more?
Preconserving child 9-10 years

will say vertical shape of age
weighs more.
say both weigh the
same.
Volume Two identical Change the shape of Do the pieces of clay

balls of clay in one of the balls displace the same
two identical amount of water?
glasses 14-15 years
Preconseving child will of age
say no.

say yes.
(Source: Harris, 1993: 523)

The refinement of the ability to conserve may also be accelerated through training
and practice. It has been also found that children in societies where concrete
operational skills have little relevance develop these skills much late than their more
urbanized peers.
The ability to conserve provides the child in concrete operations with a new sense
of stability, security; and confidence in their judgments because they can rely on what
they know rather than on what they perceive. Piaget tried to dissuade a 7 year old
girl from insisting that the amount of water in a tall glass equaled that in a shorter
glass. He argued:
“But a girl of your age was here yesterday and she said there was more water
(in the glass) because (the water level was) higher.”
“She’s just silly, that’s all,” was the seven year old girl’s reply.
(Quoted in Harris, p.524)
2.2.4 A New Egocentrism

Preschool children are unable to take the viewpoint of others. They have difficulty
understanding that other people can reach conclusions different from their own. This
preschool egocentrism is replaced in the school years by a different kind of egocentrism:
one that permits more flexibility, logic and objectivity. School age children realise that
their way of thinking is not the only way. They are now able to appreciate situations
from others’ point of view. Children at this stage can successfully solve Piaget and 23
Development During Early Inhelder’s ‘Three Mountain Task’: when asked what a doll seated to the left, right
and front of the subjects might see, young school age children can occasionally select
the correct drawing, but the accuracy of perspective taking significantly improves by
the time the child is 11 or 12. But once they have formed a hypothesis about how
or why things work, they tend to force contradictory facts into their hypothesis rather
than changing the hypothesis to fit the facts.
2.2.5 Logical Reasoning

According to Piaget the school age child develops the ability to use inductive reasoning.
Induction involves reasoning from a specific observation to a general principal. Children
must apply this reasoning when they learn rules and operations. On interpersonal
level, this reasoning forms the foundation of empathy.
Between the 3rd and 5th grade, great advances are made in the ability of the child
to understand ‘if-then’ conditions. Additional improvements in reasoning skills occurs
between the 8th grade and college I distinguishing ‘if ’ from ‘if and only if’ statements.
Deductive logic does not appear until the stage of formal operations (12 to adult).
1) Conservation in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development refers to
a) the development of inductive logic.
b) taking into account several aspects of an event.
c) flexible mental actions that can be combined with one another to solve
problems
d) knowing that an object has not changed in fundamental properties inspite
of appearance.
2) Match the following and choose the correct option given below:
identity (i) sequential mastery of concepts within a single
developmental stage
reversibility (ii) if the mass remains constant, a change in one
dimension necessitates a change in another
horizontal decálàge (iii) if something has been changed, it can be returned
to its original state by reversing the process that
leads
reciprocity (iv) form can change, but if nothing has been added
or taken away, the amount is still the same
(a) i ii iii iv (b) iv iii i ii
(c) iv iii ii i (d) iv ii iii i
3) Pick out the incorrect statement about concrete operational thought
a) Children at this stage ca understand reversibility and transformations
b) Children can take the viewpoint of others
c) Children rely more on what they know rather than what they see
24 d) Children’s logic is guided by deductive reasoning
Cognitive, Social,
4) Studies found that conservation for different physical properties develop Emotional and Moral
sequentially. Arrange the following in the order of development Development
(i) volume (ii) number (iii) mass and length (iv) weight
(a) i ii iii iv (b) ii iii iv i (c) ii iv iii i (d) iv ii i iii
2.3 CONCEPT FORMATION

Number: by the age 6 or 7, children’s understanding of one-to-one correspondence
is complete. For example, school age children realise that six remains six whether it
is represented as 5+1, 9-3 or six stars.
Time: until age 8, children have difficulty placing events in their appropriate time
sequence. Units of time (minutes, hours, years etc.) have little meaning to them. After
age 8, children have a more precise understanding of time passage. They are usually
able to classify past and future events according to how recently they occurred.
Spatial Operations: Children have difficulty understanding distance before they
reach school age because they don’t comprehend the basic units of measurement
(miles, feet, km etc.). The ability to navigate within a new environment develops
slowly during the school years. Young school children lose their spatial sense easily
in unfamiliar and complex spaces. Older children can draw a map of area if they have
had the chance to thoroughly explore the space, but even 10 year olds have trouble
creating a cognitive map of an environmental space in order to give directions or
locate an object (Siegal 1989)2.
Classifications: Class inclusion or addition of classes is well developed in school
age children. They are able to form class hierarchies and to understand that all things
have multiple identities.
By age 6 or 7 most children can understand multiplication of classes. A 7-8 year old
child in the stage of concrete operations can sort cutouts in two shapes and two
colors into appropriate groups.
Seriation: In addition to classifying and grouping objects, school-age children are
capable of sequencing and ordering objects with respect to some measurable
dimension, such as weight or size. This process is called seriation.
2.3.1 Information Processing Approach to Cognitive

Development
Information processing theorists suggest that concrete logic is a result of improved
attention, perception, memory and problem solving skills.
Attention: The ability to focus on relevant information while ignoring distraction or
irrelevant cues improves during school years. However, beyond 11 and 12, it shows
much more improvement. Interest is high attention getter for children. Children
remember interesting sentences, even though allocating less attention to them than to
less interesting passages (Shirley & Reynolds, 1988)3.
Perception: Concrete operational logic also influences the way children organise
and interpret sensory information. Children can’t spontaneously alternate between
figure and ground until they are 10 to 11 years old. Children need to master the
concept of reversibility to reverse their perceptions. The Embedded Figures test
(Witkin et al., 1971)4 requires that the child could see a figure in a number of ways. 25
Development During Early Older children are capable of searching their visual environment thoroughly and
systematically. Children below 6 and 7 years of age look quickly and randomly the
figures.
Memory Capacity and Memory Storage: School age children are able to hold
more information in memory and are better at mentally organising that material than
younger children (Brown et al., 1983)5. Rehearsal occurs more spontaneously during
the school years and is more efficiently applied. Memory is improved by organising
and categorising items on a list into related groups. Older children are also more
likely to use elaboration. Elaboration is a strategy for improving memory by changing
the form of information and associating it with other information and visual images
etc. Metamemory – the awareness of memory develops during school years.
2.3.2 Language Development

6 to 12 years old children continue to expand their reading and improve their
understanding of words and word meanings. School age children, who are trained
to see the relationships between words and who notice the common word structures,
develop more extensive vocabularies than those without such training. However,
children in this age group often make mistakes. But, like younger children these
children also like words and enjoy using them.
School age children continue to refine their understanding of the structure of the
language and the way words are organised into sentences. Six and seven year old
children tend to be confused by irrelevant information, complex constructions and the
implied meaning of certain words.
Children who have language difficulties are more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour.
Apparently, the child has a need to express herself if not verbally then physically
(Burke et al., 1989)6.
Communication effectiveness also develops together with the cognitive and overall
development. Asking others to clear their confusion and persuading others to do
something for them and showing more sensitiveness of the listener’s needs make their
communication different from the preschoolers. Enhanced vocabulary also adds to
their effective communication.
2.4 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

School children’s world expands gradually from families to schools, from sibling to
peers and friends, from parents and teachers. All these worlds play a crucial role in
forming child’s personality.
2.4.1 Relations with Parents and Siblings

As children grow through the school years, they want to spend more time with their
friends and less time with their family. Adults other than family (teachers) are more
important. Children want to make more and more of their decisions. Parents are
challenged to provide guidance without being overly restrictive or protective. Children
experience fewer failures and recover more quickly when they do fail if they know
that their parents are proud of them and have faith in their competence and resilience.
Children whose parents belittle them and communicate doubt on their abilities usually
experience more failures and less achievement in school and a greater loss of self-
esteem than those with more supportive parents (Grolnick & Ryan 1989)7.
26
School age children are ready for more responsibility both at home and outside. Cognitive, Social,
Emotional and Moral
Parents can help children take responsibility for some household chores and personal Development
items. These involvements play an important role in their development of useful skills,
self-confidence, and appreciation of tasks related to daily living. Research shows that
children with household responsibilities behave in more nurturing, helpful and mature
ways than those who have no such demands upon them (Baumrind 1971)8.
Value development is affected by parents’ behaviour throughout child rearing years.
During middle years children have the opportunity to apply these values in making
independent decisions. They also test them against other alternatives. When parents
and peer values conflict in matters like truth telling, school age children often side
with their peers. The values are more resistant to change when children know the
reasons for the beliefs.
High self-esteem is the most important predictor of personal happiness and effective
functioning. Self esteem refers to an individual’s positive feelings about herself and
competencies in specific areas. Self-esteem is influenced by the child’s self-perception
and her home and school experiences. Adults can help children gain /maintain self-
esteem by helping them feel powerful, competent, virtuous and significant.
Although school-age children become increasingly independent as they mature, they
still need reasonable, consistent guidelines to direct their behaviour. They might
complain about restrictions, but in the end, controls make children feel secure and
are seen as expressions of their parents’ love and concern (Whaley and Wrong,
1988)9. Parents’ role changes to consultants as well as caregivers. Children often
negotiate for what they want, rather than having emotional outbursts.
Mothers are preferred companions. Fathers tend to encourage independence and
assertiveness; mothers tend to train interpersonal skills.
Siblings’ relationships tend to be particularly significant during middle childhood.
Siblings teach and help each other. They practice social skills (expressing gratitude,
annoyance, surprise and fear) by interacting with each other. Younger siblings emulate
older ones.
2.4.2 Peer Group

Peer group is a group of equals. Same-age, same sex children assemble into informal
peer groups during the school groups. Between ages 6 and 9, these groups are
rather small, loosely organised groups whose membership changes frequently. Peer
groups have a status hierarchy among the members. By the time children are in fifth
or sixth grade, their groups have become more structured, more formalised, more
exclusive and more cohesive. School age children expect each other to follow social
norms that promote courtesy, fair play and respect for others (Hartup, 1983)10.
Cooperation is a frequently chosen conflict resolution strategy among girls, while
boys favour competition (Crick & Ladd, 1990).
Peers are agents of socialisation. Peers transmit information about attitudes and
values and influence each other’s behaviour through modeling and reinforcement.
Conformity is the mainstay of the peer group structure. If the child’s moral reasoning
leads him to be conscious of rules and to be viewed as ‘good’, schoolchildren
conform to the group because they value their peers’ opinions even more than those
of adults.
Studies across cultures have shown that the tendencies for children to follow peers 27
Development During Early are not inevitable. These tendencies depend upon socialising experiences of children.
Peer groups in Soviet Union, unlike those in the United States, support and enforce
the values of the adult culture (Bronfenbrenner, 1970)11.
For peer acceptance social competence is important. “Social competence is reflected
in children’s ability to sense what is happening in social groups, in a high degree of
responsiveness to others and in an understanding that relationships develop slowly
over time” (Lefrançois, G. R. 2001: 461). Peer acceptance or rejection (socio metric
status) is assessed by using two methods: Peer Ratings or Peer Nominations.
In an attempt to investigate definition of social status and the nature of social isolation,
Gottman (1977)12 studied 113 children in depth. His observations suggest five distinct
categories of children:
Socio metric stars: those who are equally liked by all.
Mixers: those who interact often with peers; some well liked, others not.
Teachers negatives: Typically in conflict with teachers, some liked, others not.
Tuned out: usually not involved in what is going on; ignored rather than rejected.
Socio metric rejections: not only disliked but also actively rejected by everyone.
They might be rejected because they are withdrawn or socially incompetent
(withdrawn-rejected) or overly aggressive (aggressive rejected).
Friendship during these years is not reciprocal. Friends are seen as people who “do
things for each other” (Selman, 1980)13. Friends are often the same sex: boy-boy,
girl-girl. Selman (1980) suggests developmental progression in children’s friendship:
z Playmates (3-7): friends are those who play together with
z Assistants (4-9): Friends are those who help each other
z Cooperators (6-12): Friends have to cooperate, share goals and procedures
and make compromises
z Intimates and mutual supporters (9-15): Friends share goals and values, and
provide intimacy and support; strong friendships can survive occasional
disagreements
z Dependent but autonomous (12 and beyond): Adult like understanding of the
mutual dependence of friends on each other, paired with the need to maintain
individuality and independence and to cultivate other relationships.
2.4.3 Social Cognition

Social cognition refers to the knowledge of emotion of others. The realisation that
others have feelings, motives, intentions and so on (Lefrançois, G. R. 2001: 585).
With the expansion of social world, children’s way of thinking about people also
changes. Selman (1980) describes the development of children’s ability to understand
and verbalise another person’s point of view in five stages, labeled 0 to 4.
Egocentric (3-7 years): there is no other perspective but mine. People feel the way
I would in a situation
Social informational (4-9): Others have a point of view, but they would feel the way
I do; aware but don’t understand.
28
Self-reflective (6-12): begin to infer other views; we can have different point of Cognitive, Social,
Emotional and Moral
views, I can see mine, they can see theirs Development
Mutual (10-12): can switch perspectives; maybe I can see theirs and they can see
mine.
Social and conventional (12-adulthood): can analyse perspectives in abstract terms.
2.4.4 Self-esteem
Self esteem refers to self appraisal. According to William James, self worth is a direct
function of the difference between what I would like to be and what I think I am
(James 1892)14, i.e. it reflects the discrepancy between the individual’s actual
performance and ideal competence.
School age children can assess their worth in general terms as well as in five areas:
scholastic, athletic, physical appearance, social acceptance and morality. High self
worth is associated with happiness; low self-worth with sadness and depression.
2.5 MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Together with the development of cognition and social skills, children develop along
the dimension of the moral values and reasoning. They learn the rules for right and
wrong and understand other laws and rules.
In this section, we will examine Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg’s theories of
moral development during school years.
2.5.1 Piaget’s Ideas about Moral Development

In Piaget’s (1935/1965) views the child enters a new stage of moral development
when he enters the stage of concrete operations at age 6 or 7. He called it
heteronomous morality or moral realism (heteronomous means under an outside
authority). In this stage rules are regarded as unchangeable, absolute and imposed
by an external authority. Egocentrism of young children encourages them to adhere
to three beliefs:
Imminent justice: wrongdoing invariably leads to punishment.
Objective Consequences: morality of an act is judged by its objective consequences,
not the objective intentions of the persons.
Absolutism: Young school children believe in the absolutism of moral perspective.
They believe that there is only one correct moral conclusion per circumstance.
Stage of autonomous morality or morality of cooperation A new stage, is
achieved around the age of 10. As children become less egocentric by age 9 or 10,
they are also able to realise that rules are not fixed but arbitrary. They come to know
that rules can change and it is possible to make personal decisions about obeying
rules.
Moral authority of adults is replaced in part by a morality based on cooperation and
mutual understanding. At this stage, it is not wrong to break the rules; rather, the
motives, the rules, the specific situations are all considered in making a judgment.
They feel praise and punishment should be distributed in a non-arbitrary, even-
handed way. It is hard for children at this stage to understand that the same behaviour
might evoke different responses from different people. 29
Development During Early 2.5.2 Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg sought to refine and extend the ideas of Piaget and the pioneering
work of James M. Baldwin (1894) by creating a comprehensive three-stage theory.
Kohlberg studied moral development by posing moral dilemmas to groups of children
as well as adolescents and adults. These dilemmas take the form of stories, one of
Kohlberg’s best known dilemmas involves a man named Heinz, who must choose
between stealing medicine and letting his wife die.
In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one
drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist
in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the
druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for
the radium and charged $2000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s
husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only
get together about $1000, which was half of what it cost. He told the druggist that
his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the
druggist said, “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.” So
Heinz got desperate and considered breaking into the man’s store to steal the drug
for his wife. Should Heinz steal the radium? (Kohlberg & Gilligan, 1971: 1072-
1073)15.
Instead of the answer, Kohlberg analysed the reasons children gave for their answers.
He identified three general levels of moral reasoning: preconventional, conventional
and postconventional and described two stages at each level.
(i) Preconventional Level Stage-1 Punishment-obedience orientation
Stage-2 Instrumental-exchange orientation
(ii) Conventional level Stage-3 Good-boy-nice-girl orientation
Stage-4 System-maintaining orientation
(iii) Postconventional Level Stage-5 Social-contract situation
Stage-6 Universal-ethical-principles
orientation
Moral reasoning of preschool children was influenced by a concern for obedience
and punishment and for satisfying personal needs. When children enter the stage of
concrete operations, they are able to turn away from their egocentric thinking, growing
more concerned about appearing ‘good’.
According to Kohlberg (1969, 1976) this shift in focus is characteristic of
conventional level of moral reasoning.
Concern with law and order is an important aspect of conventional reasoning. Rule
breaking is considered to be inherently immoral because it creates chaos in a stable
social system. Reasoning at this level fits what many societies consider to be acceptable
moral rules.
2.5.3 Moral Judgments and Moral Behaviour

In a classic study of 10,000 children, Hugh Hartshorn and Mark May (1928-
1930)16 found that students who support rigid moral standards don’t necessarily
30 behave in ethical and desirable ways. Nine to eleven year old children are quick to
find excuses to justify their own rule infractions. Solving moral dilemmas involves Cognitive, Social,
Emotional and Moral
trying to coordinate several sets of conflicting needs and motives, including the laws Development
of the culture, the morality of peers, parents’ and teachers’ guidelines and self-
interest. The third and fourth grader may be able to identify moral of a story but may
not be able to apply it. Moral decision making benefits from practice and maturity
and from specific instruction on how to generalise moral principles to life.
2.6 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Emotions play an important role in life. Emotional expressions change with the
development with the dimensions of emotions when children grow towards maturity.
Patterns of emotional development vary for children and are affected by various
factors. Health, intellectual level, environment and social reactions have been shown
to affect emotional development. Authoritarian child rearing encourages the
development of anxiety and fear while permissive and democratic training encourages
the development of curiosity and affection. Children of low socio-economic status
tend to have more fears and anxiety than those of higher socio-economic status
(Croake, 1969)17. Differences of emotional expressions are also found between girls
and boys. Girls often dissolve into tears or temper outbursts. Boys express their
annoyance and anxiety by being sullen and moody.
The common emotions of the late childhood differ from those of early childhood in
two respects: in the type of situation that gives rise to emotional reactions and in the
form of expression.
After the child becomes adjusted to school, the emotionality tends to subside because
(Devadas & Jaya 1984):
i) The roles of the older child are well defined.
ii) He has a ready outlet for any pent-up emotional energy through games and
sports.
iii) The feeling of frustration is less with the improvement in skills.
2.6.1 Common Emotional Patterns

Fear: A gradual shift from typical fears to general fears has been observed. In
Hurlock’s (1978: 198) words, “among older children, fears are concentrated on
fanciful, supernatural or remote dangers; on the dark and on imaginary creatures
associated with dark; on death and injury; on the elements, especially thunder and
lightening; and on characters recalled from stories, movies, comics, and television.
…afraid of failing, of being ridiculed and of being different”.
All fear stimuli tend to be sudden and unexpected. But with growth children can
adjust more quickly to sudden and unexpected circumstances and many fear producing
conditions do not cause fear when they grow. Overt fear responses are curbed by
social pressure. The facial expressions express fear; chidren may also express fear
indirectly in a general motor discharge, retreat and withdrawal, imaginary ills and
quaking (Hurlock, 1978: 199). Shyness, embarrassment, worry and anxiety are
some fear related emotions. Shyness in older children may be expressed by blushing,
stuttering, nervous mannerisms e.g. pulling at ears and clothing, shifting from one foot
to the other.
Anxiety: Anxiety develops later than fear as it depends upon the ability to imagine
something not present. It is often found during early school years and tend to increase 31
Development During Early during fourth to sixth grade. Anxiety may be expressed as depression, nervousness,
irritability, mood swings, restless sleep, quick anger and increased sensitivity to what
others say. Anxious children are unhappy children because they feel insecure.
Anger: Anger is more frequently expressed emotion in childhood than fear (Hurlock
1978: 202). Thwarting of desires, interruption of activities in progress, constant
faultfinding, teasing, unfavourable comparisons with other children are some of the
factors that arouse anger in older children. Hurlock divided responses to anger into
two major categories: impulsive and inhibited. Impulsive responses include aggressive
behaviour. Temper tantrums normally decrease with age. Inhibited responses are
kept under control. Children may withdraw into themselves. They express their anger
by acting hurt, being sullen, feeling sorry for themselves, or threatening to run away.
Curiosity: Curiosity is the instinctive foundation of intellectual life. Asking questions
is normal for children. Every adult faces what, why, how about things that adults have
never noticed. Children feel curious about everything from their own bodies, dresses
people wear, light switches, television sets, change in mother’s hair style, to permanent
tooth. The ‘questioning age’ is replaced by reading when they grow, if they feel that
reading can answers to their questions.
Joy, pleasure and delight: Joy is a pleasant emotion. In its milder forms, it is
known as pleasure, delight or happiness. Joyful expressions range from a quiet, calm,
self-satisfied contentment to a bubbling exuberance (Hurlock, 1978: 206). As children
grow older, they learn to express their joy in the socially approved pattern for the
group with which they are identified. They learn that gloating over a person they have
defeated is poor sportsmanship. Success is the most pleasant situation for school
children. This achievement can be academic, sports or other competitions. Company
of friends and play are delightful to children of all ages. There may be individual
differences from child to child. Some children may find joy when they see trees, birds
and in contemplation. Some parents deliberately arrange some time for children for
the activities that may be delightful and could save them from mechanical routine of
school, tuitions, homework and competitions. A predominance of the pleasant
emotions, such as love, joy and happiness is essential for normal development. These
emotions lead to feelings of security which help children approach their problems
with self-confidence.
All children should learn emotional tolerance as the control over the environment
becomes increasingly difficult. Emotional tolerance, the ability to accept and adjust
to unpleasant emotional experiences, is an essential condition to emotional balance.
2.7 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have discussed four major dimensions of development of school going
children: Cognitive, Social, Moral and Emotional development. Cognitive developmental
views of Piaget characterise the developmental stage of the child at 6 to 11 or 12
years as concrete operational. As the child grows physically and mentally, his behaviour
shows marked differences from the earlier stages. Socially, children of this age group
like the company of their friends and peers more than their parents. They are busy
in learning various skills which bring change in emotional expressions. Learning what
is socially right and wrong goes along with the above dimensions of development. At
this stage development is more affected by learning and training. This is where
schooling becomes important.
32
Cognitive, Social,
2.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS Emotional and Moral
Development
1) Discuss the cognitive development during school years in the light of Piaget’s
theory of cognitive development.
2) What are the social changes that are the characteristic of school going children?
3) Write an essay on the Kohlberg’s moral development theory.
4) Observational application: How many friends does a typical child have? How
important are they?
2.9 GLOSSARY
Operations : Flexible mental actions that can be combined
with one another to solve problems.
Concrete operations : The ability to think logically about concrete or
real world events and experiences.
Decenter : Children in the concrete operations stage can
decenter their thinking, taking into account
several aspects or event at the same time.
Conservation : Knowing that the physical characteristics of the
entity can change but certain other properties
stay the same.
Identity : The notion that if form changes but nothing has
been added or taken away, the amount will
remain the same.
Reversibility : The notion that something which has been
changed can be returned to its original state by
reversing the process that lead to change.
Reciprocity : If the mass remains constant, a change in one
dimension necessitates a change in another. For
instance, if an object is flattened, it will become
wider as it becomes thinner.
Horizontal decálàge : The developmental lag in conservation abilities.
Horizontal decálàge is the sequential mastery
of concepts within a single developmental stage.
Seriation : School-age children are capable of sequencing
and ordering objects with respect to some
measurable dimension, such as weight or size.
This process is called seriation.
Peer group : A group of equals. Same-age, same sex children
assemble into informal peer groups during the
school age.

Devadas, Rajamal P. & N Jaya (1984) A Textbook on Child Development. Delhi:
McMillan India Ltd.
Elkind, D. & Weiner, I. B. (1978) Development of the Child. New York: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. 33
Development During Early Harris, C. A. (1993) Child Development. 2nd Edition. Minneapolis/St.paul: West
Publishing Co.
Hurlock, E. B. (1978) Child Development. 6th Ed. 7th printing 1985. McGraw Hill
Book Co.
Lefrancois, G. R. (2001) Of Children: An Introduction to Child and Adolescent
Development. 9th Edition. Wadsworth
Morgan, C.T, King, R. A. Weisz, J. R. & Schopler (1997) Introduction to
Psychology, 7th ed. Seventh reprint. Tata McGraw-Hill India.

QUESTIONS
SAQ 1: 1) d, 2) c, 3) a.
SAQ 2: 1) d, 2) b, 3) d, 4) b.
Endnotes
1
Gold, R. (1983). Inappropriate conservation judgements in the concrete operations period.
Genetic Psychology Monograhs, 107(2), 189-210.
2
Seigal, A. W. (1881) The externalization of cognitive maps by children and adults: in search
of ways to ask better questions. In Leiben, L.S., Patterson, A.H. & Newcombe, N. (Eds.),
Spatial representation across the life span. New York: Academic Press.
3
Shirley, L.L. & Reynolds, R. E. (1988). Effects of interest on attention and learning. Journal
of Educational Psychology, 80(2), 159-166
4
Witkin, H.A., Oltman, P. K., Raskin, E. & Karp, S. A. (1971) A manual for imbedded figures
test. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press
5
Brown, A. L., Bransford, J. D., Ferrara, R. A. & Campione, J. C. (1983). Learning, remembering
and understanding. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.) Handbook of Child Psychology (4th ed. ), Vol-3.
New York: Wiley.
6
Burke, A., Crenshaw, D., Green, J., Schlosser, M. & Strocchia-rivera, L. (1989). Influence of
verbal ability on the expression of aggression in physically abused children. Journal of the
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 215-218.
7
Grolnick, W. S. & Ryan, R. M. (1989). Parent styles associated with children’s self-regulation
and competence in school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(2), 143-154
8
Baumrind, D. (1971). Harmonious parents and their preschool children. Developmental
9
Whaley, L. F. & Wrong, D.L. (1988) Essentials of Pediatric Nursing (3rd ed.). St. Louis: C.
V. Moseby.
10
Hartup, W.W. (1983). Peer relations. In p. H. Mussen (Ed.) Handbook of child psychology
(4th ed. Vol. 4): Socialisation, personality, and social development. New York: John Wiley, 103-
106.
11
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1970). Two worlds of Childhood: U.S. and U.S.S.R. New York: Russell
Sage Foundation.
12
Gottman, J. M. (1977). Towards a definition of social isolation in children. Child Development,
48, 513-517.
13
Selman, R. L. (1980) The growth of interpersonal understanding. New York: Academic Press.
14
James, W. (1892) Psychology: the briefer course. New York: Henry Holt.
15
Kohlberg, L. & Gilligan, C. (1971). The adolescent as philosopher: The discovery of the self
in a postconventional world. Daedalus, 100, 1051-1086.
16
Hartshorn, h. & May, M.S. (1928-1930) Moral studies in the nature of character, Vol. 1.
Studies in deceit, Vol. 2. Studies in self-control, Vol. 3. Studies in the organisation of
character, New York: Mcmillan
17
Croake, J. W. (1969). Fears of children, Human Development, 12, 239-247.
34
UNIT 3 SCHOOLING AND DEVELOPMENT
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 School and the Life of Children
3.3 Basic School Skills- The 3Rs and A C
3.3.1 Learning to Read
3.3.2 Learning to Write
3.3.3 Developing Math Skills
3.3.4 Computer Skills
3.4 Teaching for Knowledge

3.5 Value Education
3.6 Other Subject Teaching
3.6.1 Physical Education
3.6.2 Teaching for Pleasure
3.6.3 Educational Excursions
3.7 Let Us Sum Up

3.9 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
I have been amazed to discover that town-bred people seldom know the points
of the compass, never know which way the sun goes round, cannot find out
which side of the house is out of the wind, and generally destitute of knowledge
which every cow or sheep possesses.
Bertrand Russell (1926: 178)
In the last two units, we have discussed physical, cognitive, social, moral and emotional
development of children in middle childhood. One important characteristic of the
development that we need to take note of at this point is that all the aspects grow
and develop simultaneously. A physically maturing child is also maturing socially and
cognitively, emotionally and morally. The development does not take place like a
sequence where physical development precedes social development and when the
child is mature socially and physically, then only other developmental milestones
follow; instead a growing child grows in all respects at a time. Societies and families
influence this development greatly. One way of molding and shaping child is schooling
whereby intellectual and cultural resources are devoted to the formation of educated
and civilised man.
Schooling is all about the development of abilities by explicit instruction. The concept
of schooling refers to the institutionalised nurturance of children’s abilities through 35
Development During Early education. Middle childhood is the appropriate time to develop skills through practice
and planning. Secondary abilities (like writing and playing violin), differentiated from
primary abilities (learning mother tongue and sense perception) need instruction and
practice. Schooling refers to the formal methods adopted within a society to maximise
the learning of secondary abilities. The group we are concerned with has already
spent two years in kindergarten. They know little bit about reading, writing, and
numbers; through nursery rhymes they already have their first lessons in singing,
pronunciation and learning by heart. In this unit, we will discuss the contribution of
schools to children’s development between the kindergarten education and more
specialised education after fourteen. What are the things they learn and what are the
things they ought to learn? What are the things that are ideal for this age group to
learn? In what ways schools can produce good human beings, good citizens without
adopting cast iron rules?
3.1 OBJECTIVES
z Elucidate Aims of schooling;
z Describe the various forms of education at school;
z Explain Value education, physical education and performing arts;
z Analyse the order of various information and skills; and
z Describe the importance of educational trips and learning by doing.
3.2 SCHOOL AND THE LIFE OF CHILDREN

Writing about the education of young children, Russell (1926) has discussed the
following aims of education:
i) Cultivation of intelligence is one of the major purposes of education.
ii) To discover special aptitudes in children so that they may be carefully developed
in the later years.
iii) Everybody should learn the base subjects which need not be further pursed by
those who are bad at them. Two principles determine the curriculum in the early
school years: First, what children ought to know. Second, order in which the
subjects are to be taught - teaching the easiest subjects first.
iv) Anything involving severe mental effort should not be undertaken before the age
of seven.
John Dewey (1859-1952), an American philosopher, psychologist and educational
reformer, intensely discusses the need of education to be centered at the life of the
child. Education should adopt the spontaneous ways that the children themselves
adopt to learn from their surroundings. Dewey strongly opposed the idea of ‘drawing
out’ something from the minds of child. The young child, he writes, “is already
running over, spilling over with the activities of all kinds. He is not purely latent being
whom the adult has to approach with great caution and skill in order gradually to
draw out some hidden germ of activity.” The role of education is that of giving
direction to their activities. Dewey has enumerated following instincts that one needs
to recognise and shape by various facts, materials and conditions:
36
Social Instinct: shown in conversation, personal intercourse and communication. Schooling and
Development
Language Instinct: the simplest form of the social expression of the child- the
greatest of all educational resources.
Constructive Instinct: the instinct of making, expressed first in play, in movement,
gesture, and make believe and later becomes more definite, seeks outlet in shaping
materials into tangible forms.
Investigation Instinct: the child has not much instinct for abstract inquiry. It grows
out of the combination of the constructive impulse with the conversational. There is
no difference for a child between experimental science and the work done in the
carpenter shop.
Expressive Instinct or art instinct: grows out of the communicating and constructive
instincts. It is their refinement and full manifestation. For example, they make the
construction adequate, full, free and flexible, and give it a social motive.
Schooling should aim at providing a full bloom to the instincts in a healthy way. By
recognising the fields of interest it furthers the development in the direction which may
give a child purpose of life.
1) Which of the following is NOT the aim of schooling in middle childhood?
a) Cultivation of intelligence
b) Discovery of special aptitudes in children
c) The easiest subjects should be taught first.
d) Specialised subjects should be taught
2) The instinct to use paper and pencil shows primarily
a) Expressive instinct b) Social instinct
c) Language instinct d) Constructive instinct
3) Curiosity is another name for
a) Expressive instinct b) Social instinct
c) Investigation instinct d) Language instinct
3.3 BASIC SCHOOL SKILLS - THE 3RS AND A C

By the time a child is six years old he knows how to read and write; certain accuracy
in sense-perception and rudiments of drawing, singing and dancing and a power of
concentrate upon educational activities is developed. But the child will not be very
perfect in all these respects at six years of age. Further teaching is required in all of
them for some years to come.
3.3.1 Learning to Read

Reading is a basic intellectual skill that is associated with modern schooling. All the
education is based on the ability to read what has been given in the books. A child’s
performance in other subjects also depends on the successful comprehension of what
is written. Reading is taught in progressive steps. First, associating names for things 37
Development During Early develop before six years age. Second, alphabet and letter sound associations are
learned. Next, the child learns to pronounce common letter groups. The reading of
simple text follows it. A fifth and sixth grader is generally fluent in reading like an
adult. Good reading includes clear pronunciation, adequate voice modulation,
recognising the emotional overtones in text, recognising the pauses and maintaining
adequate speed so that a listener may follow what is spoken to. These skills can be
developed by enacting the literary works, like stories and dramas. There may be
some pronunciation mistakes when a child reads a word for the first time, but as he
learns how to pronounce it, it is not prone to be forgotten. It is learnt forever.
Development in reading can differ for different learners. Poor reading comprehension
can be improved with the help of some techniques. But some children may not be
motivated enough to learn this intellectual skill at the beginning. Reading text may be
extremely boring to them. For such children reading books of their interest at home
by mother or father or other family members may be a better way to develop an
interest for reading rather than forcing it through school work.
3.3.2 Learning to Write

Writing skills, like reading, are developed by practice and an organised plan. There
are differences between various thinkers on how to teach writing. Some favour the
spontaneous development through expression of thoughts and activities at school.
Others favour the study of literature for developing good writing skills. The refined
skills of writing, Dewey suggests, comes when the language instinct is appealed in
social way. The child always has something in his mind to talk about, a thought to
express. Reading and writing as well as the oral use of language may be taught on
the basis of the fact that the language is guided by realities.
The other point of view, supported by Russell, considers reading of literature necessary
for good linguistic skills to be developed. Russell believes that expression of thought
in speaking and writing should come without effort, in spontaneous manner, but it is
difficult in a society that has lost its primitive aesthetic impulses. In such societies it
is essential to produce a habit of thought which can be generated by intimate
knowledge of good literature. Reading of literature purports other objectives as well
that we will discuss later.
However, there are some ways to encourage good writing skills:
Writing exercises should be based on the activities of children, either personal or
classroom activities.
Children should know writing for different purposes takes different forms: to record
ideas, to write something imaginative, to ask for information, to have fun and so on.
Before giving assignment, teacher should discuss the purpose of the work and can
also give some points to be elaborated.
Once the child begins writing, it should not be interrupted.
Children should be given time for revision, to reorganise and re-evaluate the piece.
Display or publish all papers, avoid giving importance to top students.
Plan reading and oral exercises around writing activity.
3.3.3 Developing Math Skills

38 “Arithmetic is a bugbear of childhood - I remember weeping bitterly because I could
not learn the multiplication table” (Russell). But, Russell adds, if it is tackled gradually Schooling and
Development
and carefully, there is no need of the sense of blank despair. In Russell’s views,
arithmetic affords the natural introduction to accuracy. The answer to a sum is either
right or wrong, never ‘interesting’ or ‘suggestive’. This aspect makes arithmetic an
important element in early education. But its difficulties should be carefully graded.
Not too much time at a stretch should be devoted to them.
The formal teaching of geometry and algebra begins only after middle childhood.
Success with numbers also improves the speed with other school work. Training
computation skills with abacus to the groups of children from first graders to fifth
graders have shown tremendous improvement in children’s ability to add, subtract
and multiply. Teaching mathematics with concrete objects can bring more productive
results than teaching through paper-pencils.
1) What do you mean by 3Rs in elementary education?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) What are the aims that reading skill fulfils?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
3) What steps will you take for the normal development of writing skills in the
third and fourth grade students?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4) Ask ten five grade students the words they find difficult to spell in Hindi and
in English. Make a list of such words. On the basis of this list state,
i) Do all children find the same words difficult?
ii) What are the individual differences?
iii) What are the differences between the difficulty in spellings in Hindi and
in English?
iv) Is there any relationship between writing correct spellings and intelligence?
Elaborate with examples.
3.3.4 Computer Skills

Computer literacy has been added in schools as a basic skill together with reading,
writing and arithmetic. There are two functions related to computers:
z Computer as a machine to be understood and mastered.
39
z Computers as an aid in teaching.
Development During Early For the first purpose, it need not be included as a subject to be taught. Children can
be provided these machines and some time to explore these machines. Teaching of
computers as a subject should not be started before fourteen. Children enjoy working
with and exploring these machines. As a teaching aid, it is a source of tremendous
information. Care should be taken regarding the content children can access to and
time devoted. Around the age of 11 or 12 most of the children today are familiar with
various operations and functions of computers. But these computing machines may
cause severe problems in the normal physical and social development if children give
too much time to them.
While computers certainly reinforce learning and provide opportunity to explore, they
don’t seem to accelerate the acquisition of knowledge (Greenfield, 1984)1.
3.4 TEACHING FOR KNOWLEDGE

Development of intellectual faculties is based on the development of intelligence.
Russell defines intelligence as including both actual knowledge and receptivity to
knowledge. He suggests that it is not possible to train intelligence without imparting
information. Without intelligence our complex modern world can not exist, still less
can it make progress. Intellectual development depends on the curriculum of young
children: What is taught and how? How can we take maximum benefit from curriculum
to make the child learn, not for exams but for the pleasure of knowing?
We have already discussed arithmetic, reading and writing. In this section, we take
the subjects like: geography, history, science and languages. The first is geography.
Geography is all about places, lands, forests, trees, rivers, mountains, weather and
all about our Earth. Children’s first love for the knowledge of this kind can be seen
in their love for trains, airplanes and traveling.
When they learn this subject only through books and question-answers, the natural
curiosity to a vast area of knowledge is lost. The knowledge is difficult to be
imparted by instruction without curiosity.
Geography should be taught partly through the pictures and tales about travelers,
and partly by cinema, showing what a traveler sees on his journey. Geography should
be given a large place in the teaching of young children. Later on, they should be
given books with pictures, maps and elementary information about different parts of
the world. They should be instructed to put together little essays about the peculiarities
of various countries.
At a slightly more advanced stage, history can be introduced. It should follow after
geography because the sense of time is rudimentary at first. It should be started with
the illustrated stories of eminent personalities. Stories about Rani Laxmi Bai, Raja
Ram Mohan Roy, S. Radhakrishnan, Ramanujam, Newton, Columbus, Darwin and
others, will be extremely interesting to young children. Necessary simplifications,
pictures and cinema, if possible, will make the history a favourite to the young minds.
Visits to the places of historical importance will be educative. Care must be taken
in teaching history to not to introduce topics interesting to elders before the child is
mature to understand them.
Two aspects are first relevant and interesting for the children to know:
The general pageant and procession, from geology to man, from savage man to
civilised man and so on.
40
The dramatic story telling of incidents which have a sympathetic hero.
History tells about the journey of man from the savage life to modern advances: the Schooling and
Development
discovery of fire, writing and printing, cities and architecture, agriculture and industries,
scientific and technological advances, land and air travel; the conquest of human race
fighting against chaos outside and darkness within: the rise and fall of civilisations,
wars and racial divisions between nations; and the true conquerors who dispelled the
darkness within and without: Buddha and Socrates, Archimedes, Galileo and Newton,
Ambedkar and Gandhi; history creates a link between and individual and the entire
humanity.
Science Teaching: The teaching of science is very basic at this stage. Formal
teaching of proper physics and chemistry begins only after fourteen. The sections
‘learning by doing’ should be practiced by every teacher to develop true spirit of
observation and experimentation. Teaching of science contributes to the development
of imagination as much as the poetry and stories, if taught properly it can contribute
more to imagination than poetry and stories. Knowing about the sun, the planets,
some rudimentary interest in the functioning of machines, man and nature, man and
his body and health, knowledge all these things lay a strong foundation for curiosity
and aptitude for science.
Language Teaching: Teaching of languages should be started at the very young
age. In childhood it is possible to learn to speak a foreign language perfectly which
can be difficult to be achieved in later years. Teaching of language should be free
from mental fatigue. It can be possible with the games which depend upon the
understanding the language and answering the questions and solving the puzzles, and
with plays and acting. Languages learnt at this time are learnt perfectly and with less
waste of educational time than at any subsequent period.
Literature: Teaching of literature aims at: training for memory when children learn
poems and text by heart and the development of sensitivity to the beauty of language
in speech and writing. Learning by heart should be associated with acting. The play
will be in their thoughts for along time. Good literature is intended to give pleasure
and if children cannot derive pleasure from it they are not likely to derive benefit. But
the content should be chosen carefully.
3.5 VALUE EDUCATION

Education should aim at developing ideal character. Ideal character can be assumed
to have many virtues. Four characteristics discussed by Russell seem to encompass
all the rest: Vitality, courage, sensitiveness and intelligence. All the four qualities can
be made common by proper physical, emotional and intellectual care of the young.
i) Vitality: Vitality is rather a physiological than a mental characteristic; it is presumably
always present where there is perfect health. Where it exists, there is pleasure in
feeling alive, quite apart from any specific pleasant circumstances. It makes it easy
to take an interest in whatever occurs and thus promotes objectivity, interest in
outside world and power of hard work. Vitality is a safeguard against envy, because
it makes one’s own existence pleasant.
ii) Courage: courage is a major ingredient in a perfect character. Two forms of
courage are: absence of fear and the power of controlling fear. Combination of self-
respect with an impersonal outlook to life is the major requirements of universal
courage. Parental love, knowledge, and art are some of the sources which take us
beyond self. ‘The perfection of courage is found in the man of many interests, who
feels his ego to be but a small part of the world’ (Russell, 46). This state can be
41
achieved only when the instinct is free and intelligence is active.
Development During Early iii) Sensitiveness: It is assumed to be a corrective of mere courage. Courageous
behaviour should not be based on ignorance. Sensitiveness belongs to emotions. If
sensitiveness is to be good, the emotional reaction must be in some sense appropriate.
Pleasant behaviour and sympathy are desirable forms of sensitivity.
iv) Intelligence: Intelligence is an aptitude for acquiring knowledge. This aptitude is
acquired both by exercise and information. The objective of imparting information is
fulfilled through subjects as we have already discussed. The aptitude for acquiring
knowledge can be developed by giving direction to curiosity that is the foundation
of intellectual life.
vi) Curiosity about general propositions shows a higher level of intelligence than
curiosity about particular facts. Curiosity must be associated with the habits of
observation, belief in the possibility of knowledge, patience and industry. These
things will develop naturally with proper intellectual education. Open-mindedness and
co-operation develops with the development of intelligence.
All the above values can create a society with ideal characters. These qualities
cannot be imparted through books. It is where the personality of teacher is important.
Emotions are contiguous in character. These values automatically pass from the
teacher to a disciple if a teacher practice these values and sincerely works for their
cultivation without making his disciples consciously aware of the exercise.
There is one more thing that we often hear of, i.e. discipline. Discipline and order
are important. But it depends more on our aim. Dewey says, “If you have the end
in view of forty or fifty children learning certain set lessons, to be recited to a teacher,
your discipline must be devoted to securing that result. But if the end in view is the
development of a spirit of social cooperation and community life, the discipline must
grow out of and be relative to it”. In Dewey’s views, school classroom is just like
a busy workshop where there is no silence, there is a certain disorder, confusion,
bustle that results from activity. Deeper and wider discipline, Dewey added, lies in
constructive work directed towards a purpose.
3.6 OTHER SUBJECT TEACHING

3.6.1 Physical Education
Physical education completes the education together with education for knowledge
and education of values. Sport activities at this age fulfill two purposes: inculcation
of values and fullness of growth. Being part of a team and working for a common
aim naturally instills co-operation. Budding powers of children find a full bloom
through physical movements. Physical education is not only about sports it is about
health and hygiene also: inculcating good habits, personal cleanliness and how to
safeguard oneself from common diseases.
3.6.2 Teaching for Pleasure

Dance and music are two recommended activities that are good for body and
training for the aesthetic sense, besides being a great pleasure to children. “Collective
dance is a form of co-operation that young children easily appreciate” (Russell).
Singing should begin a little later than dancing because its rudiments are more difficult
than dancing and because it does not give muscular delight like dancing. After nursery
rhymes, they should learn beautiful songs. But more difficult singing should be reserved
for older children and it should not be enforced.
42
3.6.3 Educational Excursion Schooling and
Development
Educational excursions or trips are meant to make children familiar about their
surroundings, about processes involved in creating and producing the things that they
use. How do they get things they eat? For this they need to know about agriculture.
Teaching from books will never be complete until children see the process themselves.
Stories about printing will be helpful only when they see the process. It is true about
everything in their surrounding: from historical places to libraries; forests to fields,
from villages to cities and so on. If the knowledge is imparted first through words
and then children get an opportunity to see and experience, there will be the possibility
that all the natural curiosity about the things to be learned has been lost. Words at
this stage are still difficult to tell the children all the colors of life that they have before
them. Small trips to nearby places will help a lot to maintain their curiosity and kindle
their willingness to learn more. Dewey discussed an example of a child for whom it
was very difficult to believe that the river Mississippi taught in the class is the same
river that he sees everyday in his way to school. This difficulty can be related in
conceptualising all that is in the books. If trips are not possible for certain topics,
cinema and pictures can compensate for this.
3.7 LET US SUM UP

Middle childhood is the time for shaping children’s abilities, giving proper direction
to their curiosities and instincts, making them strong emotionally and intellectual.
Children’s mind is prepared to learn new skills, taking responsibilities and habits of
observation. All these goals can be accomplished through schooling. Schooling is the
process of preparing young minds for future life so that they can live a healthy, happy
and useful life. The teacher is important for children at this stage. A teacher like an
artist sets the notes of children’s mental and emotional life perfectly. He acts like a
leader who knows what decisions are going to be important for children. On the
whole, in an efficient teacher’s hands, the process of schooling prepare the child
successfully for further specialised education.

1) What should be aims of schooling in middle childhood?
2) What are the basic school skills that children acquire during middle childhood?
3) What subjects should be taught to the children at the ages between 6 to 12
years. Elaborate your answer with examples.
4) Write an essay on the contribution of schooling in the development of children.
Contrast between ideal and practical state of affairs.
5) Write short notes on the following:
(i) Educational excursion (ii) teaching for pleasure
6) What do you mean by value education. Do you think that we need it now more
than ever? In what ways do you recommend value education can be imparted?
3.9 GLOSSARY
Schooling : the process of development of abilities by
explicit instruction. The concept of schooling
refers to the institutionalised nurturance of
children’s abilities through education. 43
Development During Early Social instinct : natural urge in children expressed through
conversation, personal intercourse and
communication.
Language instinct : the simplest form of the social expression of
the child. Language instinct provides the greatest
of all educational resources.
Constructive instinct : the instinct of making. Expressed first in play, in
movement, gesture, and make believe and later
becomes more definite, seeks outlet in shaping
materials into tangible forms.
Investigation instinct : the child has not much instinct for abstract
inquiry. It grows out of the combination of the
constructive impulse with the conversational.
Intelligence : refers to both actual knowledge and receptivity
to knowledge.
Value education : education aimed at the development of ideal
character.

Dewey, John (2008). The School and Society (first published in 1900). New Delhi:
Aakar Books
Mukunda, Kamala, V. (2009). What did you ask at school today? A handbook
of child learning, Harper Collins Publishers India.
Russell, B (1926). On Education: Especially in Early Childhood. London: Unwin
Paperbacks

QUESTIONS
1) d) specialised subjects should be taught, 2) a) Expressive instinct 3) c)
Investigation instinct
Endnotes
1
Greenfield, P. M. (1984) Mind and Media: the effects of television, video games and computers.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
44
UNIT 4 IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS
IN SCHOOL CHILDREN AND
REMEDIAL MEASURES
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Exceptional Children
4.3 Learning Disabilities (LD)
4.3.1 Characteristics of Learning Disabled Children
4.3.2 Causes of LD
4.3.3 Identification Process of LD
4.3.4 Remedial Programme for LD
4.4 Mental Retardation (MR)

4.4.1 Identification Process of MR Children
4.4.2 Remedial Measures for MR
4.4.3 Effective Teaching Strategies
4.5 Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder

4.6 Orthopedically Handicapped
4.7 Hearing and Visual Impairments
4.7.1 Visual Impairments
4.7.2 Role of the Teacher
4.8 Gifted and Talented Children

4.9 Integration
4.10 Let Us Sum Up
4.12 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Schooling, we discussed in the previous unit, is the process whereby society provides
its younger members means to live a cultured and happy life. Schooling as a formal
institution contributes by intellectually, emotionally, socially and physically transforming
children as responsible citizens and individuals. It systematically nurtures their curiosity
and by teaching basics gives them a desire to learn more. This desire to learn more
differentiates an educated from an uneducated. But all the children may not learn
equally. The individual differences exist among them, we all know. But the degree of
individual differences may be such which makes it mandatory to provide individualised
45
educational program to facilitate learning. There exists a group of children for whom
Development During Early it is difficult to learn like an average children of the same age. Such children are called
‘exceptional children’ or ‘children with special needs’. Education of these children is
called ‘special education’. The exceptionality may be positive or negative. On the
one end of it we have ‘gifted children’ and on the other extreme we have ‘children
with learning disabilities’ and other impairments. Children at both the ends find it
difficult to adjust in their group in terms of learning or socially and emotionally. For
an educator, it is important to find out the type of difficulty a child is facing. Early
recognition of the problems and timely remedial measures could help the child in
benefiting from the whole learning process.
In this unit, we will discuss problems in school children and what diagnostic and
remedial measures should be taken by an educator to maximise the learning output
of children with difficulties.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
z define Exceptional children
z describe children with physical handicaps and perceptual difficulties (blind and
deaf);
z define Attention deficit and hyperactive children;
z describe Mentally retarded children;
z explain Diagnostic and remedial measures by educators; and
z analyse the issue of Integrated education and mainstreaming.
4.2 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

Kirk (1972: 4)1 defines an exceptional child as, “child who deviates from the average
or normal child (1) in mental characteristics, (2) in sensory abilities, (3) in neuromuscular
or physical characteristics, (4) in social or emotional behaviour, (5) in communication
abilities, or (6) in multiple handicaps to such an extant that he requires a modification
of school practices, or special education services, in order to develop to his maximum
capacity”.
From the above definition we come to know that
Exceptional children can not profit from the regular school program. Special methods
and materials are required to teach them.
The exceptionality may be due to problems in vision, hearing, perceptual-motor,
movement related, communication, intelligence, socio-emotional.
Exceptionality has a positive dimension (gifted or talented children) and a negative
dimension (handicapped, learning disability, behavioural problems etc.).
There is another group of children referred as children at risk. Such children have
no learning disability, but they are at a risk to develop it later. The risk factor may
be caused by conditions during birth, nurturing, or environment. This group includes
students experiencing learning, socialisation and maturational difficulties and difficulties
in general classroom.
46
Special education is defined as individualised educational instruction designed to Identification of Problems
in School Children and
meet the unique educational and related needs of students with disabilities. Remedial Measures
Special education is provided for the following groups of students:

Group A Group B
1) Learning disabled Gifted and talented
2) Speech or language impaired
3) Mentally Retarded
4) Emotionally or behaviourally disturbed
5) Physically impaired
6) Autistic
7) Deaf-Blind
8) Traumatic brain disordered
9) Severely Multiple handicapped
Self Assessment Questions 1
Choose the right sentence
1) Special educational programs will be required for
a) Children with learning disabilities
b) Physically impaired children
c) Emotionally and behaviourally impaired children
d) All of the above
2) Exceptional children are those who
a) Can profit from the regular school program
b) Can not profit from the regular school program and the deviations can be
positive or negative
c) Only those who deviate positively from the average same age group
children
d) Only those who deviate negatively from the average same age children
3) An educator should aim at
a) Discouraging individual differences
b) Carefully observing the degree and kind of individual differences and
designing individual program to suit the needs of children
c) Only b
d) Both a and b
47
School Years (6-11 Years) 4.3 LEARNING DISABILITIES (LD)
Pioneering work to define the nature and causation of the concept learning disability
is credited to William Cruickshank in 1950s and 1960s. Samuel Kirk, in 1968,
officially sanctioned the term specific learning disability.
Learning disability (Reber and Reber, 2001: 391) is “a syndrome found in children
of normal or above intelligence characterised by specific difficulties in learning to read
(dylexia), to write (dysgraphia) and to do grade appropriate mathematics (dyscalculia)”.
LD children may show following characteristics (learning disability is often abbreviated
as LD):
z LD is a chronic condition of probable neurological origin
z It varies in its manifestation and severity
z It influences individual’s self-concept
z It primarily excludes other disability categories
z An untreated or poorly treated LD can have adverse effects on educational,
vocational, social and activities of daily living.
z LD can also be defined as one or more significant defects in essential learning
processes.
4.3.1 Characteristics of LD Children

The characteristics of the learning disabled children are:
z LD is a mixed group of disorders.
z Learning disability may transcend the school setting and persist in adulthood
z LD children are normal in intellectual functioning. LD mainly lies in their way of
learning and in their perceptual systems.
z Behavioural problems are not initial components of their behaviour, they may
feel frustrated due to the gap in learning but they might show emotional problems.
z Boys are more likely to be characterised as LD than girls.
z LD may range from mild to severe. Some student may be passive or inactive,
and other may show higher level of physical activity than other students.
z Students may show problem in one area not in the other.
z Delay in developmental milestones.
Behaviour and affective characteristics: hyperactivity or hypoactivity, act impulsively,
may overreact with intense and surprising emotions which affect their social adjustment.
Disorders of attention: LD children show problems in sustaining attention (the ability
to focus on information), easily distracted, have short attention span
Perceptual motor impairment: Students with learning disabilities often experience
poor auditory and/ visual discrimination. They may show problems in directional
orientation. They tend to be awkward, clumsy and uncoordinated. They often have
poor handwriting.
48
Disorders of memory and thinking: problems in short or long term memory (acquiring Identification of Problems
and recalling information) and in metacognition. Metacognition is an ability to monitor Remedial Measures
and evaluate one’s actions. Organising, categorising, arranging and planning will not
be adequate.
Specific academic problems (especially in linguistic and calculation skills): LD children
are often several years behind their peers in reading, comprehension, fluency and
spelling, experience word, letter, number and sound reversals. Dyslexia is characterised
by serious reading problems. LD students may have problems identifying words and
understanding what they read. Oral and written language difficulties compound reading
problems. Written language problems include poor handwriting, spelling, sentence
structure, and composition skills. These students may have problems in recalling math
facts, writing numbers legibly, learning arithmetic concepts and abstract math reasoning.
Disorders of speech and learning speech sounds: may repeat sounds, stumble over
words and have halting speech; difficulties in understanding pragmatic aspects of
language and also show word finding difficulties
Some central nervous system signs or irregularities
It should however be kept in mind that (i) all LD students do not share all the above
characteristics; (ii) some of the above characteristics may be found in students who
do not show LD.
4.3.2 Causes of LD
Environmental model holds poor learning environment, unstable families,
disadvantaged environments and faulty school instruction responsible for LD. This
model is important because improvement of LD according to this model lies in the
change in environment: proper schooling and removal of unhealthy influences.
Brain Damage model suggests that 20 percent of students with LD have sustained
brain damage or neurological damage. The term minimal brain dysfunction is often
used because of the lack of proper neurological causes. It is assumed that the child
may have experienced injury to central nervous system during birth or before birth.
Organic and Biological Model suggests that chemicals used in food coloring and
flavoring substances, imbalances in neurotransmitters and vitamin deficiency (especially
B complex) could cause LD. Developmental or maturation unpreparedness for certain
tasks is also believed to underlie some LDs.
Genetic Model suggests an inherited genetic influence may be cause reading and
language problems. More research is required to discover the relationship between
genetic inheritance and specific LD.
The causes of LD may be embedded in the child as well as in the environment and
may be complicated by organic, genetic or biological anomalies.
4.3.3 Identification Process of LD

Early detection or screening is dependent on early observation of behavioural and
learning characteristics by class teacher who should possess the knowledge of the
symptoms and characteristics of specific learning problems.
A multidisciplinary team including class teacher, school psychologist and other clinical
personnel must determine the degree of disability.
49
Development During Early Measurements of achievement by teacher made tests, curriculum-based measurement
and standardised test is highly recommended. The following tests are used for the
assessment and identification of LD:
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) for the assessment of cognitive
abilities (Wechsler, 1993)2.
Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-III) for the assessment
of achievement in reading, writing and mathematics by age and grade level (Woodcock
& Mather, 1989)3.
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills for the assessment of a variety of skill
sequences in readiness, reading, language arts and math (Brigance, 1983)4.
4.3.4 Remedial Programs for LD

Individualised teaching program is required so that the child may get specific instruction
in the areas of specific need, like reading, writing or math. Following methods are
used as special techniques to teach the children with special needs:
Direct Instruction: This is a highly structured and organised teaching strategy which
is started after the analysis of learning problems with specific learning tasks. It is
carried on in steps with clear goals to be achieved at each step. Feedback and
corrections are used and are shown to affect children’s participation and performance
positively. Together with DI, cognitive instruction is also used. CI emphasises
attending, responding, rehearsing, recalling and transferring information.
Multisensory instructional strategies highlight learning by seeing, hearing, touching
and movement.
Study skill training or meta-cognitive skills assist students in learning how to take
notes and tests, prepare compositions, and remember to bring necessary materials.
Social skill training is used to help children in getting along with peers and adults
in various settings and circumstances.
Inclusion strategies are the provisions by state and national authorities that students
with learning disabilities should be educated with nondisabled students of their age.
Additional instructional resources can be used for children with LD while teaching
them in a general classroom. Teachers should make effort to adopt such methods as
to enhance the understanding and participation of LD children with other children.
Peer mediated instruction and computer assisted instruction are the other methods
used. For all these methods to be adequately implemented, it is extremely important
that the classroom teacher and school psychologist should be sensitive to the problems
and needs of such children and provide appropriate educational settings to LD
children.
1) Write the specific learning difficulties that the following terms denote:
a) dyslexia
b) dysgraphia
c) dyscalculia
50
Identification of Problems
2) Assertion (R): LD is defined as one or more significant defects in essential in School Children and
learning processes. Remedial Measures
Reason (R): LD children are normal in intellectual functioning. LD mainly lies

in their way of learning and in their perceptual systems.
a) Both A and R are true and R is correct reason for A.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
b) Both A and R are true. R is not a correct reason for A.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
c) A is true. R is wrong.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
d) A is wrong. R is true.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3) State whether true or false
a) Students may show problem in one area not in the other.
..............................................................................................................
b) LD is a chronic condition of probable neurological origin.
..............................................................................................................
c) WISC-III is used for the assessment of writing and mathematics.
..............................................................................................................
d) Inclusion strategy should not be emphasised by an educator.
..............................................................................................................
4.4 MENTAL RETARDATION (MR)

A child who scores below 70 on a standardised IQ test and have significant difficulties
adapting to his environment is considered mentally retarded. Classification of MR is
based on severity: mild, moderate, severe and profound.
The concept of mental retardation “is based purely on IQ test scores; no judgments
are made about origins or causes, about emotional, motivational, social or familial
factors, or about prognosis” (Reber & Reber, 2001: 430). The terms like educable
mentally retarded and trainable mentally retarded are based on the causation of MR.
Causes are divided into two broad categories: physical and cultural/familial causes.
Physical causes include genetic and chromosomal disorders and brain damage that
occurred prenatally (due to disease, malnutrition, drug exposure), during birth, or 51
Development During Early postnatally (due to accident or illness). Almost all cases of severe and profound
mental retardation have physical causes. Cultural familial causes are more insidious.
The child with cultural familial retardation shows no brain damage but may come
from deprived environments and from environments that have dysfunctional elements.
Persons with retardation are unable to make adequate degree of adjustments to
many life circumstances because of their limited intellectual and adaptive capacities.
4.4.1 Identification Process MR children

Two types of assessments are required for children to be identified as retarded:
intelligence and adaptive behaviours. A student may not be labeled on the basis of
one test. Comprehensive testing includes observation of behaviour by teacher,
curriculum based assessments, interviewing and standardised tests.
Some of the widely used intelligence tests are: the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
(Thorndike, Hagen & Sattler, 1986)5, The Revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children –III, The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)6
Checklist are used to assess adaptive behaviour. Some frequently used checklists
are:
The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale7: questions in this checklist are related to
age appropriate self-help, locomotion, communication, occupation, socialisation and
self-direction skills.
The Adaptive Behaviour Scale-Public School Version (ABS-PS): This scale is an
outgrowth of a project begun in 1965 by Parsons State Hospital and the American
Association on Mental Retardation to develop a measure of adaptive behaviour to
be used for patients with disabilities. It was revised in 1974 by Lambert in order to
use it public school children (Lambert, Mihira & Leland, 1993)8. Using class teacher
as informant, this test measures: independent functioning, physical development,
economic activity, language development, economic activity, language development,
numbers and time, vocational activity, self-direction, responsibility and socialisation
are included in Part I. Part II measures violent and destructive behaviour, antisocial
behaviour, rebellious behaviour, withdrawal, stereotyped behaviour, odd mannerisms,
inappropriate interpersonal manners, unacceptable vocal habits, unacceptable
tendencies, hyperactive tendencies, psychological disturbances and medication use.
4.4.2 Remedial Measures for MR

Services for children with mental retardation begin with early intervention programs
that focus on providing guidance for families. Preschool programs focus on school
readiness and socialisation activities. Regular classroom programs for mild and
moderate retardation provide individualised academic and other functional programs
and interaction with nondisabled peers. Resource room programs are provided for
remedial help to some students. Self-contained classroom program is provided to
moderate and severely retarded children as a segregated classroom. The programs
focus on age appropriate and developmentally appropriate skills.
The curriculum can be designed to meet the needs of children and should be organised
around the behaviours and information needed for adequate functioning. It should
also accommodate traditional subjects, such as reading, arithmetic, science, health
and other subjects to facilitate proper adjustments. Full inclusion programs and
individualised education programs are both used together to give better results.
52
Behaviour therapy programs are used to decrease disruptive and inappropriate Identification of Problems
behaviours and emotional disturbances. Behaviour modification techniques help students Remedial Measures
to attend the learning tasks, maintain attention and shape new learning behaviours.
4.4.3 Effective Teaching Strategies

i) A teacher can use same instructional programs can be used for retarded children
as used for non-retarded, but they may require more time and effort to learn.
ii) The focus of the curriculum should be on functional tasks. For instance, functional
reading may include signs for one student and sections of newspaper for another.
iii) The teacher must have the knowledge of each student’s ability so that programs
could be designed to meet their individual needs.
iv) The teacher must structure learning situation and reduce distractions.
v) The teacher must present material clearly, sequentially and with positive
reinforcement for correct responses.
vi) In case of incorrect responses, the teacher should encourage the student to
make further effort and reevaluate the program whether it is appropriate for the
student.
4.5 ATTENTION DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY

DISORDER
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD is the term used to describe children
whose ability to learn and profit from new experiences is impaired by their distractibility,
impulsiveness, lack of concentration, restlessness, inappropriate talking and lack of
regard for inappropriate situations (DSM-III-R, 1987).
ADHD children can be inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive. Following symptoms
characterise a inattentive child:
z Fail to close attention to details leading to careless mistake.
z Having difficulty sustaining attention to tasks or to play activities.
z Having difficulty in listening what is being said.
z Having difficulty following through and completing homework assignments.
z Having difficulty in organising tasks.
z Avoiding tasks that require strenuous activity.
z Losing materials that are necessary for the tasks they need to complete.
z Easily distracted by extraneous activity.
z Forgetting schedules for daily activities.
z Hyperactive-impulsive children display excessive energy and are restless and
agitated. They may show the following behaviours:
z Fidgets and squirms in seat
z Leaves desk or seat in the classroom at inappropriate times
53
Development During Early z Runs or climbs in situations when it is inappropriate
z Avoids engaging in quiet leisure activities
z Talks excessively
z Blurts out answers impulsively, often before the question has been completed
z Displays difficulty waiting in lines and taking turns
z Butts into conversations or other people’s games, interrupting and intruding on
others.
These symptoms must be persistent and extreme to the extent that the student cannot
function adequately.
There is no agreement between professionals regarding the etiology of ADHD. It is
viewed as a result of medical disorder rather than a pure behavioural problem. The
neurological causes may be related to the structure of the brain, chemical imbalances,
some functions of the brain or combination of these and other factors. Poor diet and
poor parenting may underlie the disorder.
Following is one sequence for assessment and identification:
z Administering and collecting rating scales from relevant persons
z Orienting the family and the student to the evaluation
z Interviewing the student
z Administering standardised tests, such as IQ, achievement and continuous
performance
z Conducting direct observations in several settings including school, community
and home if possible.
z Interviewing the parents
z Conducting a medical evaluation
z Integrating all the data
z Giving feedback and recommendations to the team
z Programs for treatment and education of children with ADHD.
Medical management: involvement of a physician who determines whether or not
medication may be effective for controlling hyperactivity.
Psychological counseling helps the student understand and cope with ADHD and the
negative effects that often result even before the problem is recognised. It is most
effective when the child’s family is also involved.
The arrangement of the environment (classroom or school) in a manner that enhances
the is student’s success. Teachers need to permit students to move when necessary
and work where they can most effectively.
Educational planning accomplished most effectively by multidisciplinary team.
Individualised education programs are designed to address the needs of the students
with ADHD.
54
Behaviour management instruction helps the child recognise behaviours that interfere Identification of Problems
with normal functioning. Behaviour modification techniques are used to encourage Remedial Measures
and organise activities appropriate in a situation.
1) Write four strategies used to identify problems of students.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) What is the difference between inattentive and hyperactive impulsive children?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
3) What do you understand by individualised educational programs?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4) What help can be taken from computer assisted instruction for children with
various disabilities. Would you recommend it for all the students without
discrimination?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4.6 ORTHOPEDICALLY HANDICAPPED

Many muscle and bone disabilities in childhood create problems of adjustment in
school and may also affect their education achievement.
Cerebral Palsy (CP) Palsy refers to the lack of muscle control and cerebral denotes
brain.
Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects movement and posture as a result of
damage to those areas of brain that control movement. The brain injury, usually
caused by oxygen deprivation, can occur prior to birth, during birth or soon after
birth. Cerebral palsy is not a disease. It does not become progressively worse, nor
is it infectious in any form. It is not hereditary. There are three types of cerebral palsy
depending on which areas of are affected: 55
Development During Early Spastic: hypertonic form, characterised by stiff, tense, and poorly coordinated
movements
Athetoid: low tone form, characterised by purposeless uncontrolled involuntary
movements and contorted purposeful movements.
Ataxic: characterised by balance problems, poor depth perception, and poor fine
and gross motor skills.
Mixed types of symptoms can also occur.
The problems associated with poor movement and balance skills may complicate
educational activities. They may also show sensory and communication problems.
Other physical ailments are brain injury, poliomyelitis, muscular dystrophy, and multiple
sclerosis.
Together with regular medication and health check ups these children may also need
specialised instructional help and some technical equipment to assist them. But a
teacher’s effective strategies will be more required as the students live a stressful life
due to the ailments. A teacher should take care of the following:
i) The teacher should be familiar to the condition of the student. The information
can be obtained from the parents or the student. Without adequate knowledge
of the student’s condition, strategies and programs will be difficult to be planned.
ii) Permit the use of computers, calculators, watches that have database, recorders
and other equipment that will facilitate learning.
iii) Organise the furniture and other objects in the rooms so that the students with
extra equipment (wheelchair, standing board, computers etc.) can move with
ease.
iv) Pace the lessons so that the student with a physical disability can have a rest
time between lessons.
v) Ensure that the student understands the directions well.
vi) Have the student do assignments that are necessary, if he miss the school. Do
not give him extra drill and practice.
vii) Counselor or the mental health professionals can be approached for an advice.
Teacher should support the student learn and should avoid making complaints
to family.
4.7 HEARING AND VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS

A small percentage of school children do not hear or see well. Some children are
born blind or deaf while other sustain injuries or illness/infections that affect their
vision or hearing. The detection of mild to moderate sensory impairment is challenging.
It often goes unheeded and the child may be misdiagnosed as mentally retarded.
Hearing loss is much common than blindness. The most severely affected area of
development for a person who is hearing impaired is the comprehension and use of
oral language. Hearing impaired child will not develop language without extensive
training. It is difficulty to measure such children on intellectual abilities which further
makes it complicated to design an educational program for them. Five basic educational
56 options are available to students with learning impairment:
i) Full time placement in a regular classroom Identification of Problems
ii) Part time placement in a regular classroom and part time placement in a special Remedial Measures
educational classroom
iii) Special class placement in a regular school
iv) Separate day school placement
v) Separate residential school placement.
Academic curriculum for the hearing impaired may be same as the hearing students.
Teachers can use specific methods to teach them. But, for one reason curriculum
may not be the same for such students as they might have started their formal later
than the normal students. The educational approaches for hearing impaired significantly
than normal hearing children. Oral / aural approaches emphasise oral language as a
means to transfer information. For the students who are hard of hearing oral language
is used and amplification in the form of hearing aids and other sensitive amplification
devices are employed. Students are encouraged to use their voices when they speak.
Manual approaches rely more exclusively on sign language and non-oral means to
communicate information to students. The use of sign languages as a means of
instruction is currently being preferred in all educational programs for hearing impaired.
Audio-verbal training is also provided to students to make better use of their residual
hearing. Many students with hearing impairments have more auditory potential than
they actually use. Speech reading, cued speech, sign language, finger spelling and
total communication are the approaches used. Technical devices like cochlear implants,
computers and assistive communication devices will also prove greatly beneficial.
Teachers after choosing appropriate methods, approaches and technical assistive
devices, should keep in mind that
i) If interpreter is used, the general lesson will be discussed with the interpreter
before delivery in the class.
ii) Face the student when speaking; don’t speak when facing the blackboard.
iii) Use videotapes and films with captioning
iv) If using sign language, wear clothing that contrasts with you skin colour.
v) Have a system in place for identifying cues in schools that are only conveyed
by sounds, such as bells, fire alarms and intercom announcements.
vi) Be aware of the extraneous noises in the classroom that can be distracting for
the students with hearing aids.
vii) Allow the students to move freely about the class room so that they can speech-
read from other students as well as the teacher.
viii) Make sure that the classroom is well lit with the light on your face not behind
you.
The most important task for educators is to develop methods to determine which
approach may be more suitable to provide the student the best educational opportunity
to learn. So far, it has been observed that some students become frustrated with oral
instruction while other students may develop some oral skills with this approach.
4.7.1 Visual Impairments

The blind students have severely impaired vision. They must be taught to read by
Braille. Partially sighted can use magnifying glass to read print or they can use books
with larger prints. 57
Development During Early Following needs in various areas for visually impaired children have been identified:
Needs of students with visual impairments
Concept Development and academic Communication skills

skills Handwriting, use of Braille writer, use of
Maximum use of vision, determination of slate and stylus, use of word processors, use
learning mode, academic support, listening of adaptive equipment, note taking skills
skills, organisation and study skills,
Social/emotional skills Sensory motor skills
Knowledge of self, knowledge of human Development of gross motor skills, fine
sexuality, knowledge of others, interaction motor skills, identification of textures
skills tactually and underfoot, identification of
kinesthetic sources, identification of
olfactory sources
Orientation and mobility skills Daily living skills
Development of body image, concrete Personal hygiene, eating, dressing, clothing
environment, spatial concepts, directional care, money identification and
concepts, traffic control, use of long cane, management, use of telephone, time and
public interaction skills, independent travel calendar activities, knowledge and use of
in a variety of environments community services
Career and vocational skills
Awareness of works people do, awareness of works that visually impaired can do, laws
related to employment, work experience
4.7.2 Role of the Teachers

i) Teachers should eliminate the clutter in the classroom so that the students can
move without hurdles. Make tactile map of the classroom, school and other
places so that the student will know how to easily move through the areas.
ii) Allow the student with visual impairment to use a computer with a speech
synthesizer. Braille printer may be useful for proof reading.
iii) Teacher should learn some braille. Students do not spell words in letter to letter
correspondence with English.
iv) Other students can read assignments for visually impaired that are not available
in Braille. Audio tapes can also be prepared for such assignments.
v) Recognise that some vocabulary words men nothing to a person who has never
seen them.
vi) If the student has some vision, use large print with lots of contrasts such as
black letters on yellow paper.
4.8 GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

Lewis Terman (1925), in a classic study on the development of intelligence, followed
the development of more than 1500 children who scored genius range of intelligence.
From his findings and others, an agreed on definition of giftedness has evolved.
Gifted children are those who demonstrate achievement or potential in any of the
following areas, singly or in combination:
i) General intellectual ability (high IQ or achievement test scores)
ii) Specific academic aptitude (excellence in certain subject areas such as mathematics
58 or science)
iii) Creative or productive thinking (the ability to discover new things and find new Identification of Problems
alternatives, the ability to look at life in new ways) Remedial Measures
iv) Leadership ability (the ability to help solve problems)

v) Visual or performing arts (talents in art, music, dance, drama and related
disciplines)
vi) Psychomotor ability (excellence in sports).
Gifted children come from all levels of society, all races and all ethnic groups. Gifted
children process information differently than non-gifted children. Options for educating
gifted children include early admission to school, acceleration and enrichment.
Some gifted children may have trouble in social adjustment and may also show
emotional disturbances. They may also feel boredom with regular curriculum. High
development rates may be perceived by other children as showoff.
If the talent of some gifted children is not nurtured and developed through guidance
and enrichment, it will be a great loss to society as well as the individual who might
have a successful and happy life otherwise.
Enrichment is an attempt to broaden a child’s knowledge by a variety of methods.
It refers to the attempts made by the teacher within the classroom setting to add
depth, detail and challenges to the curriculum for students at a given age. Special
activities may be provided like independent study with advanced text or independent
small projects. To be successful enrichment activities need a purpose and specified
outcomes. These activities should be well planned and organised keeping in view the
talent of the student and his maturity level; otherwise these will be boring and useless
to the children.

i) Teacher should readily provide resource materials like reference books and
computers.
ii) Allow students to express their interests in the subject being taught in the class
iii) Students who have done extra research on subjects should be allowed to
display it to others.
iv) Divergent thinkers should be allowed to speak and add to the class discussion.
Then guide them to find more information.
v) Guests speakers may be called on t speak on a subject of particular interest
vi) Praise and encourage novel ideas and ways of completing assignments
vii) Student may be allowed to go to advanced classes, when the subject of his
interest has been taught, where he had already excelled by self-study.
viii) Arrange the reading materials in the libraries to be used by the students
ix) Provide training to the artistic talents like music and painting or other arts.
x) Ensure that the gifted and talented student has a firm grasp of the core material
as well as the enrichment curricula.
59
School Years (6-11 Years) 4.9 INTEGRATION
During the past few centuries, schooling and educating the exceptional children have
seen a movement of inclusion the children with problems (physical, behavioural,
social, perceptual, learning or intellectual) in the same classroom and school settings
with their peers. Integration is a process of providing equal opportunities to all the
children by equalising and mainstreaming, thus eradicating the pain caused by exclusion.
The assumption behind the integrated schooling is that of the refining instructional
procedures to such a limit that they can be made suitable to each and every student’s
needs. Secondly, while exceptional children learn and are educated with the normal
children, their needs may be fulfilled by individualised instruction programs, providing
the equipments and materials as per their requirements. The teacher must be sensitive
to the abilities and disabilities of children and trained to attend various problems in
school children.
4.10 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we discussed about the problems that may be faced during school years.
Schooling a process of imparting knowledge, sharpening cognitive tools and shaping
a person socially and emotionally. But we know that the process of learning is not
the same to all the children. Some children learn slowly and some learn very fast.
Both the groups on the extreme are included in the exceptional children. We discussed
children with learning disabilities, visual and hearing impairments, attention and
hyperactivity disorders, orthopedically handicapped children and mental retardation.
Apart from these, there are children with emotional and social disturbances and
language, speech and communication disorder. Gifted children represent the small
group of talented children who strongly need enrichment activities so that their talents
could be nurtured.
All the impairments interfere with the normal educational achievement and social
adjustment. A teacher’s role is important in diagnosis, and more than that, in designing
individualised instructional programs. Care must be taken not to generalise and
misdiagnose any condition. Schooling deals directly with the most sophisticated thing
in the world, i.e., the human mind. So every activity, inch by inch, should be well
planned and organised.

1) What do you mean by learning disability? What are the instructional procedures
used for students with learning diability?
2) What is cerebral palsy? What kind of instructional scheme could be followed
for the student who finds it difficult to read and write?
3) What do you mean by mental retardation? How MR children can be integrated
into a normal school? What would be specific things that a teacher should take
care of?
4) What is ADHD? Write an essay explaining the specific programs for such
children in school and in families.
5) How societies on the whole can be made responsible to take care of children
and to provide all the children equal opportunities to grow, develop and learn?
60
6) How could inclusion programs benefit students with hearing and visually impaired Identification of Problems
children? Remedial Measures
7) What kind of enrichment programs can be designed to benefit gifted and talented
children?
8) Write short notes on the following:
a) Enrichment, b) Integration, c) Special Education
4.12 GLOSSARY
Exceptional children : children who deviate from the average or normal
child in mental characteristics, sensory abilities,
neuromuscular or physical characteristics, social
or emotional behaviour, in communication
abilities, or in multiple handicaps to such an
extant that he requires a modification of school
practices or special education services, in order
to develop to his maximum capacity.
Special education : individualised educational instruction designed
to meet the unique educational and related
needs of students with disabilities.
Learning disability : found in children of normal or above intelligence
characterised by specific difficulties in learning
to read (dylexia), to write (dysgraphia) and to
do grade appropriate mathematics (dyscalculia).
Mentally retarded : A child who scores below 70 on a standardised
IQ test and have significant difficulties adapting
to his environment is considered mentally
retarded.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity : children whose ability to learn and profit from
disorder (ADHD) new experiences is impaired by their
distractibility, impulsiveness, lack of
concentration, restlessness, inappropriate talking
and lack of regard for inappropriate situations.
Enrichment : an attempt to broaden a child’s knowledge by
a variety of methods. It refers to the attempts
made by the teacher within the classroom setting
to add depth, detail and challenges to the
curriculum for students at a given age.
Integration : a process of providing equal opportunities to
all the children by equalising and mainstreaming,
thus eradicating the pain caused by exclusion.
4.13 SUGGESTEDREADINGS
Dash, M. (2005). Education of Exceptional Children. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers
& Distributors.
61
Development During Early Hallahan, D. P., Kaufman, J. M. & Lloyd, J. W. (1985). Introduction to Learning
Disabilities. Second Edition. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Reber, A. S. & Reber, E. (2001). The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology. Third
Edition. Penguin Books
Skinner, C.E. (ed.) (2001). Educational Psychology. Fourth Edition. New Delhi:
Prentice Hall of India.
A Teacher’s Handbook on IED (1988), NCERT, New Delhi.

QUESTIONS
SAQ 1: 1) d, 2) b, 3) c.
SAQ 2: 2) a, 3) True, True, False, False
Endnotes
1
Kirk, S. A. (1972). Educating Special Children (2nd Ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
2
Wechsler, D. (1993). The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. San Antonio, TX:
Psychological Corporation.
3
Woodcock, R. W. & Mather, N. (1989). The Woodcock-Johnson psycho-educational Battery-
revised. Allen, TX: DLM Teaching Resources.
4
Brigance, A. (1983). Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills. North Billerica, MA:
Curriculum Associates.
5
Thorndike, R. L., Hagen, E. P., Sattler, J. M. (1986). Technical Manual: The Standford-Binet
Intelligence Scale (4th ed.). Chicago: Riverside.
6
Kaufman, A. & Kaufman, N. (1983). Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, interpreting
manual. Circle Pine, MN: American Guidance Service.
7
Sparrow, S. S., Balla, D. A. & Cuccheti, D. V. (1984). Vineland adaptive behaviour scales:
Interview edition, survey form manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
8
Lambert, N. K., Mihira, K., & Leland, H. (1993). Adaptive Behaviour Scale-School (2nd ed.).
Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
62
UNIT 1 PHYSICAL CHANGES
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Adolescent Development
1.2.1 Meaning and Definition
1.2.2 Early Adolescence (12-14 years)
1.2.3 Middle Adolescence (14-17 years)
1.2.4 Late Adolescence (17- 19 years)
1.3 Physical Development

1.3.1 Puberty
z Adolescent Males
z Adolescent Females
1.4 Let Us Sum Up

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Adolescence can be understood as a phase of transition from child to an adult. This
period generally extends from 12 to 19 years of age, which is broadly categorised
into three stages, viz., early adolescence, middle adolescence and late adolescence.
Teenagers experience some physical milestones as they move from childhood to
adolescence. Normal growth during adolescence includes both an increase in body
size and sexual maturation (puberty).
During adolescence, boys and girls reach adult height and weight. Adolescence is the
time for growth spurts and puberty changes. An adolescent may grow several inches
in several months followed by a period of very slow growth, and then have another
growth spurt.
Puberty happens to all individuals, whether boys or girls. In girls, it may start at
the age of 9 or 10 and in boys it may begin around 12 or 13 years, although there
is variation in the age from one person to the other. Girls experience puberty as
a sequence of events, but their pubertal changes usually begin before boys of the
same age.
In this unit, we will discuss the various physical development that takes place during
adolescence and some ways to understand the complex nature of teens.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
z define the meaning and definition of adolescent development;
z describe the physical changes occurring during adolescence;
z explain some of the reactions to the physical changes during adolescence; and
5
z analyse the factors that contribute to these physical changes.
Development During
Adolescence 1.2 ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
1.2.1 Meaning and Definition
Adolescence is the phase of transition from being a child to an adult. It extends from
12 to 19 years of age and it can be broadly categorised into three stages – early
adolescence, middle adolescence and late adolescence. This transition involves
biological (i.e. pubertal), psychological and social changes. Just before reaching
adulthood, the youngster’s behaviour seems to be confusing to parents. Parents find
this to be a stormy period because it appears, as if there is nothing that parents say
or do is right for the adolescents.
1.2.2 Early Adolescence (12-14 years)

Early adolescence is a contradictory phase. It is a phase when the child is not yet
mature and at the same time she is no longer a child. They insist that they have grown
up enough to be independent, while parents do not provide them much freedom. This
is the time the youngster finds the drastic physical changes as a source of irritation.
Some who are physically not well grown feel somewhat inferior to others. There is
a fear that they may remain short and small and become the target of ridicule of the
peers. There is a lot of confusion, hesitation and a search for one’s own real identity.
This arises due to the fact that though physically they look like an adult, mentally they
are still children. Parents and elders treat them at one time as a grown up and at
other time as a child. This causes problems in identity – as to ‘Who am I?’ and
‘What am I?’ etc.
Adolescence is the time when all of a sudden the world starts looking different. The
youngster faces considerable competition. The sheer innocence of friendship is lost.
Several new kinds of fantasies beyond the fun fantasy of Tom and Jerry start taking
a toll on the mind of the youngster. This is the time when the individual needs
understanding parents. This is the time in their life when they start thinking about their
future.
1.2.3 Middle Adolescence (14-17 years)

Middle adolescence is the phase, when a child is on the road to transformation.
There are whole lot of changes that occur, be it, physical, mental, cognitive or sexual.
While most of the girls cross their puberty stage, boys are still on the road of
maturing physically. It is that time of life, when the young individual is most concerned
about one’s look, body and appearance. Middle adolescent is the time when, the
teenagers are developing their unique personality and opinions.
Friends play a pivotal role during these years. Young teenagers take great care to
maintain their identity in the peer group.
Competitiveness also becomes a major priority in the life of middle teens. Many of
them try to analyse the experiences they are going through and try to understand their
inner turbulence by writing diaries and journals. Remember, middle teens are more
capable of setting goals. However, the goals they set are often too high and as a
result are unable to reach the goal and feel frustrated and disappointed. Withdrawal
from the parents is also one of the key characteristics found in children of this age.
That is they reduce their dependency on their parents and try to take decisions for
themselves.
6
1.2.4 Late Adolescence (17-19 years) Physical Changes
A late adolescent is closer to adulthood and the youngster develops a firm identity
and more stable interests. Soon to be adults they attain greater emotional stability
and have a more developed sense of humor. They are able to delay their gratifications
of their desires, and are able to think ideas through. They learn to express their
feelings in words, compromise and make independent decisions. Unlike the earlier
stages of childhood, late adolescents show greater concern for others. They become
more self-reliant and take pride in their work. They start finalising their thoughts
about the role they want to play in their lives and become more concerned about
their future. Table below presents the details regarding heights and weights of
adolescents during this period.
Table 1: Reference Body Weights and Heights of Adolescents according
to NCHS
Age (Years) Boys Girls

Height (cm) Weight (kg) Height (cm) Weight (kg)
12 + 147 37.0 148 38.7
13 + 153 40.9 155 44.0
14 + 160 47.0 159 48.0
15 + 166 52.6 161 51.4
16 + 171 58.0 162 53.0
17 + 175 62.7 163 54.0
18 + 177 65.0 164 54.4
This table gives an outline of average proportion of weight and height for both boys
and girls in different age group.
1.3 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Adolescence is characterised by dramatic physical changes moving the individual
from childhood into physical maturity. Teenagers experience some physical milestones
as they move from childhood to adolescence. Normal growth during adolescence
includes both an increase in body size and sexual maturation (puberty). The timing
and the speed with which these changes occur vary and are affected by both heredity
and environment.
During adolescence, boys and girls reach adult height and weight. Early, prepubescent
changes are noted with the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics.
Adolescence is the time for growth spurts and pubertal changes. An adolescent may
grow several inches in several months followed by a period of very slow growth, and
then have another growth spurt. Changes with puberty may occur gradually or
several signs may become visible at the same time.
There is a great amount of variation in the rate of changes that may occur. Some
adolescents may experience these signs of maturity sooner or later than others. It is
important to remember that these changes happen at different times for everyone.
Being smaller or bigger than other girls or boys is normal as each child experiences
puberty at his/her own time.
Sexual and other physical maturation that occurs during puberty results from hormonal
changes. As the adolescent nears puberty, the pituitary gland increases the secretion
of a hormone called follicle-stimulating hormon (FSH). This hormone then causes 7
Development During additional effects. In girls, FSH activates the ovaries to start producing estrogen. In
Adolescence
boys, FSH causes sperm to develop.
The following are the average ages when puberty changes may occur:
Adolescent Males: Height: 4 to 12 inches
Age of Puberty: 9.5 to 14 years
First pubertal change: enlargement of the testicles
Penis enlargement: begins approximately one year after the testicles begin enlarging
Appearance of pubic hair: 13.5 years of age
Hair under the arms, on the face, voice change, and acne: 15 years of age
Nocturnal emissions (or wet dreams): 14 years of age
In boys, it is difficult to know exactly when he has reached puberty. There are
changes that occur, but they occur gradually over a period of time rather than as a
single event.
The following are additional changes that may occur for the male as he experiences
the changes of puberty:
His body size will increase, with the feet, arms, legs, and hands sometimes growing
“faster” than the rest of the body. This may cause the adolescent boy to experience
a feeling of clumsiness.
Some boys may get some swelling in the area of their breasts as a result of the
hormonal changes that are occurring. This is common among teenage boys and is
usually a temporary condition.
Voice changes may occur, as the voice gets deeper. Sometimes, the voice may
“crack” during this time. This is a temporary condition and will improve over time.
Not only will hair begin to grow in the genital area, but males will also experience
hair growth on their face, under their arms, and on their legs.
As the hormones of puberty increase, adolescents may experience an increase in oily
skin and sweating. This is a normal part of growing. It is important to wash daily,
including the face. Acne may develop.
As the penis enlarges, the adolescent male may begin to experience erections. This
is when the penis becomes hard and erect because it is filled with blood. This is due
to hormonal changes and may occur when the boy fantasizes about sexual things or
for no reason at all. This is a normal occurrence.
During puberty, the male sex organs begin producing sperm. Semen, which is composed
of sperm and other bodily fluids, may be released during an erection. This is called
ejaculation. Sometimes, this may happen while the male is sleeping. This is called a
nocturnal emission or “wet dream.” This is a normal part of puberty and will stop
as the male gets older.
Adolescent Females: Height: 2 to 10 inches
Age of Puberty: 8 to 13years of age
8
First pubertal change: breast development
Pubic hair development: shortly after breast development Physical Changes
Hair under the arms: 12 years of age

Menstrual periods: 10 to 16.5 years of age
Girls experience puberty as a sequence of events, but their pubertal changes usually
begin before boys of the same age. Each girl is different and may progress through
these changes differently.
The following are additional changes that may occur for the female as she experiences
the changes of puberty:
There may be an increase in hair growth, not only the pubic area, but also under the
arms and on the legs.
The females’ body shape will also begin to change. There may be not only an
increase in height and weight, but the hips may get wider. There may also be an
increase in fat in the buttocks, legs, and stomach. These are normal changes that may
occur during puberty. Her body size will increase, with the feet, arms, legs, and
hands beginning to grow in advance of the body. This may cause the adolescent girl
to experience a time of feeling clumsy. As the hormones of puberty increase, adolescents
may experience an increase in oily skin and sweating. Acne may develop.
Adolescent girls will also experience menstruation, or menstrual periods. This begins
when the body releases an egg from the ovaries. If the egg is fertilized with a sperm
from a male, it will grow into a baby inside the uterus. If the egg is not fertilized, the
endometrial lining of the uterus is not needed and is shed through the vagina as fluid.
The fluids are bloody and are usually released monthly. After a girl begins to menstruate,
she is able to get pregnant.
1) Define and discuss the characteristics of each in brief:
a) Late Adolescence
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
b) Early Adolescence
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
c) Middle Adolescence
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) Complete the sentences
a) Adolescence is the phase of______________________________
b) They may lead to few health problems such as_____________ during
this stage.
9
Development During
Adolescence c) There is lot of confusion in this stage because ________________
________________________________________
3) Describe the physical changes that occur during adolescence, in both males
and females separately.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
1.3.1 Puberty
Puberty is the stage of life during which you become biologically and sexually mature.
Puberty is the one to three-year process of hormonal and physical change that
causes the young person to reach sexual maturity; girls usually enter it about a year
earlier than boys. It is the entry into adolescence, a period of tremendous changes
in the body, emotions, attitude, values, intellect and relationships. This is the transition
from the world of the child that gives way to the world of the adult.
Puberty happens to all individuals – boys and girls. In girls, it may start at the age
of 9 or 10 and in boys it may begin around 12 or 13 years, although there is
variation in the age from one person to the other.
Puberty is often talked about as a period of turbulence and trials because the child
begin to develop a sex drive, experience mood swings, develop relationships with
people of the same and/or opposite gender, and face different kinds of pressure at
home and at school. Change is always a difficult process, but is an inevitable part
of life. Without change and without pain there is no journey, there is no quest, there
is no progress. Holding on to the past can be comfortable and secure, and the future
often appears uncertain; but tries to think of it as an exciting adventure into and with
you.
Most adolescents feel that they do not get adequate information about the changes
they are going through, and they feel that the adults around are not understanding.
So there is worry, fear, and insecurity. However, feelings like this are normal during
puberty.
Some of the greatest anxiety at this stage is about our physical body because it is
changing and growing in new and uncertain ways; it appears to have a life of its own
and nothing what we think or feel can stop its rate of change. Understanding these
physical changes helps in realising that you are not alone in this journey, and will help
the youngster make their way through the turbulent sea of adolescence.
There are some very visible and invisible changes that occur in an individuals body.
Some changes occur silently without you realising them, and there are other more
obvious changes that are loud and confusing. Though the external feeling is confusion
or awkwardness, there is an internal chemistry that is in harmony, all changes
are interconnected and proceed smoothly within. What it all reveals is the miracle of
life and the mystery of the human body as it prepares itself for change and choice
and growth.
Puberty in boys and girls begins in a tiny corner of the brain called the pituitary
10
gland, chemical messengers called hormones are send to the reproductive organs
to release another set of hormones, which leads to changes in the body. In boys, Physical Changes
the hormone that creates these changes is called testosterone, and in girls it is estrogen.
Adolescent Males: Changes in the male body start between the age of 12 and 14
years. Different boys react differently to the changes, and the changes happen at
different times to all of us. This is reflective of our uniqueness, and since all of us are
different there can really be no “standard” to compare ourselves to.
i) The penis: The penis has two main parts, a head (tip or glans) and a shaft. The
head of the penis, particularly its rim is much more sensitive than the shaft. The
penis is used for two things, urinating and penetrative intercourse. Usually penises
are not straight, some tilt to the left and others to the right. There is no need
to worry about it.
Angle or tilt, all of us feel uncomfortable or insecure about how the penis is
shaped and how it looks. To reproduce, the male penis must be inserted into
the woman’s vagina where sperm (testicles) are released, which will eventually
meet and fertilize the egg.
ii) Foreskin: The penis is covered with fine loose skin. The skin that surrounds the
head of the penis is loose and is called the foreskin. The foreskin usually does
not fully retract for several years and should never be forced. The foreskin can
be retracted when it’s inside surface separated from the glands and the opening
widens. This usually happens by age 18. Once a boy discovers that his foreskin
is retractable, he can easily learn to care for himself. When the Foreskin is fully
retractable, it is important to wash underneath it everyday, so as to prevent
SMEGMA (a white waxy substance consisting of natural secretions and shed
skin cells) from forming. Good general hygiene and common sense are key to
preventing infection and disease.
iii) The testicles: Men have two testicles, which hang in a sack called the scrotum.
The testicles produce tadpole-shaped sperm, which join with a woman’s eggs
to make babies. Sperms are contained in fluid called semen. The scrotum hangs
outside the body because sperm need to be kept cooler than your internal body
temperature, to prevent them from getting damaged. The scrotum is usually
darker in color than the surrounding skin. One testicle always hangs lower than
the other, this is so that they don’t bash into each other when you are running
or playing. The testicles are connected to the penis by a long thin tube. Both
urine from the bladder and semen pass down this tube through the penis. This
tube is called the urethra.
iv) Erections: Normally a mans penis is soft and hangs down, but different kinds
of sensations and feelings – physical, psychological, or sensual - can lead to an
erection. An erection occurs when a nerve centre at the base of your spinal cord
sends out impulses to your penis, filling it up with blood. At this point the penis
gets stiff, grows longer and wider, sticks upward and outwards from the body
and the foreskin stretches, leaving the head of the penis exposed. The muscles
at the base of your penis tighten, so that blood can’t drain back out. There are
no muscles in the penis itself, it is a kind of a sponge (that is why you can’t
move it very much when soft!). Erections are unreliable and can come and go
without warning.
v) Ejaculation: Ejaculation is the emission of semen from the penis. This is essential
for reproduction, and it also leads to a feeling of sexual pleasure – a combination
of physical sensations and intense emotional feelings. During this time 3-15 11
Development During contractions occur. Each last about a second and the first three are usually the
Adolescence
most intense. To achieve ejaculation there must be stimulation and erection of
the penis. When a man ejaculates, he releases on average a teaspoonful of
semen containing up to 300 million sperm. Ejaculation is not always voluntary.
For example, sometimes, while sleeping men can ejaculate. Although the semen
comes out of the penis through the urethra (through which urine too comes out),
there is no chance of any urine coming out during ejaculation as a muscle closes
the bladder off. After ejaculation, the semen is stored again at the base of the
penis, until the next one.
While the male child is developing in the uterus, the testicles are already secreting
the male hormone, testosterone, which after 13-14 years kick in and steer the
baby towards becoming a boy and man. During childhood, the sex gland remains
inactive and makes neither hormones nor sperm. During puberty, the testicles
begin to be active again under the influence of a secretion from the pituitary
gland, which is tucked away in a small part of the brain. The testicles produce
testosterone, which is circulated throughout the body in the blood. Under its
influence the boy is transformed into a man over a period of years.
Most changes in boys are all external and visible unlike with girls where most
changes happen inside the body.
vi) The genitals: It is commonly believed that the first sign of puberty is enlargement
of the testicles. They may double or quadruple. At the same time, theskin
of the scrotum changes, the colour deepens becoming darker and its texture
gets wrinkled. Sometime after this the penis starts to enlarge, becoming first
longer and then broader. The final size is reached at the end of your growth
spurt, which usually happens when you are 15-16 years old, but sometimes
earlier or later.
vii) Wet dreams: During puberty a boy becomes ready to reproduce since he can
now produce and release sperm. At this stage wet dreams occur often in nearly
all boys. At night there is an involuntary release of semen (ejaculation) during
sleep, either during an erotic dream, or sometimes even in the absence of an
erotic stimulation. This happens because there is a build-up of semen in the
body and it needs to be released.
Boys wake up in the morning to find a sticky or dry residue of semen on the
sheet, which is embarrassing, awkward, and even frightening. Wet dreams are
a signal that you are growing up, which stops after a while.
viii) Growth Spurt: Boys begin growing later than girls and carry on for longer, after
the girls have stopped growing. The growth spurt in boys begins around 13-
14 years and ends at 16-17 years. There is a sudden increase in height and
weight, the chest expands and becomes broader, and the arms and legs fill out
and become more muscular. Due to the influence of testosterone the larynx (the
voice centre in the throat) expands, and the voice cracks before it deepens. This
is another awkward phase but nit soon evens out to a voice cracks before it
deepens. The aureole surrounding the nipples generally doubles in size during
puberty. During this period hair starts growing on different part of the body, like
legs, arms, chest, groin, armpits and face. Hair on face starts as a fine fuzzy
layer and then becomes tougher and thicker as he starts shaving. Pimples, spots
and blackheads may grow on face, neck, chest and back. These are by-
products of androgens (male hormones that are responsible for most of the
12
changes in adolescents’ body).
ix) Body Odour: The adolescents sweat glands (under their arms and in genital Physical Changes
areas) are becoming more active. When sweat comes into contact with
bacteria on the skin it creates an unpleasant smell, both in adolescent boys and
girls.
x) Pimples: The oil glands or ‘sebaceous glands’ produce an oily substance called
sebum. If the sebum blocks the pores on the skin and combines with the
bacteria, you can get pimples.
xi) Sexual Feelings: During puberty and adolescence, sexual thoughts and fantasies
become more frequent and become aware of sexual stimuli around.
These sexual feelings and fantasies are also normal, and is common among all
girls and boys at this stage.
Adolescent Females
Changes in the female body can be considered in terms of visible and invisible
changes..
The invisible changes: There are some invisible change that happens in a young
girl’s body in their reproductive organs like ovaries, uterus and vagina. These are the
changes that are also having an impact on the visible changes in her body.
i) Ovaries: There are two ovaries in a young girls body, one on either side of the
uterus and below the fallopian tube. These organs are located in the lower
abdomen. Ovaries are about an inch long, approximately the size and shape of
an almond and contain tiny egg cells. All the eggs are in a ‘frozen’ state before
puberty. At puberty each ovary alternatively releases an egg or ovum every
month, however sometimes two or more ova (the plural of ovum) may get
released from the ovaries.
The hormone called estrogen is also produced in the ovary. The pituitary gland
sends the message to the ovaries to produce this hormone. Estrogen is responsible
for making a girl grow up to have a woman’s body and make it possible for
her to have children.
ii) Uterus: The uterus is called a womb. Its an upside-down pear-shaped structure
inside a women’s abdomen, which is hollow and made of smooth muscles. This
is where the baby grows, and during pregnancy the uterus expands to
accommodate a full grown fetus (an unborn child). The uterus is wider at the
top and narrows into a neck called the cervix, which opens into the upper end
of the vagina.
iii) Fallopian Tube: The fallopian tubes are called uterine tubes or oviducts. The
two fallopian tubes are trumpet shaped and are located close to their respective
ovaries. These tubes open on each side into the upper end of the uterus. The
fallopian tubes pick up the eggs released in their respective ovaries and push it
into the uterus and it takes 3 to 7 days for ovum to reach the uterus.
iv) Vagina: The vagina is the passageway or a muscular tube extending from the
cervix to the external genitals. The opening of the vagina is between the urinary
opening and the anus. Every women has three opening in the genital area and
these are :
13
Development During a) urinary opening which is for the passage for urine
Adolescence
b) vaginal opening which is for:
c) passage for period/menstrual flow
d) passage through which baby comes out at birth
e) opening for sexual intercourse
f) Male sperm travel through it to fallopian tubes.
The external genitals structure also consists of a clitoris, which is a small cylindrical
body and is situated above the urinary opening. It exists to provide women with
sexual pleasure.
Near the opening of the vagina is the porous membrane called the Hymen, it stretches
from one wall of vagina to the other. The hymen tears or gets ruptured during the
first penetrative sexual act (intercourse) and is accompanied with little bleeding and
pain.
The visible changes: There are some visible changes in female body, these are
discuss here:
i) The Growth Spurt: There is sudden increase in height and the body fills out.
The greatest increase in height occurs around 10 to 11 years for girls. A
girl usually stops growing between 16-18 years. Along with height the young
girls note changes in the pelvic bones and hips widening.
ii) Breast: Breast will start to develop and will become larger and fuller. They
enlarge with a deposit of fat, they become soft and rounded during this stage.
Breasts have milk glands and milk tubes that open into the nipples.
iii) Hair Growth: Youngsters can notice hair growing on their arms, underarms,
legs, upper lips, etc. Hair grows in the pubic area, this is a V-shaped area above
the vagina. This is called pubic hair and it is thicker, curlier and coarser than the
hair on head.
iv) Body Odour: The adolescents’ sweat glands (under their arms and in genital
areas) are becoming more active. When sweat comes into contact with bacteria
on the skin it creates an unpleasant smell, both in adolescent boys and girls.
v) Pimples: The oil glands or ‘sebaceous glands’ produce an oily substance called
sebum. If the sebum blocks the pores on the skin and combines with the
bacteria, the person can get pimples.
vi) Sexual feelings: At this stage the young girls may start to feel sexually aroused,
and spend time in a fantasy world thinking about love and sex. The movements
of hormones inside make the youngster feel more sexual and the body is changing.
1) Define and discuss puberty.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
14
Physical Changes
2) What are visible and invisible changes occurring during adolescence? Explain.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Discuss the following terms:
Growth spurt
Pimples
Sexual feelings
Body odour
1.4 LET US SUM UP

According to the study of the entire unit, we can understand that adolescence is the
phase of transition from being a child to an adult. In this period teenage or adolescence
is generally extended from 12 to 19 years of age and which is broadly categorised
into three stages viz., early adolescence, middle adolescence and late adolescence.
Adolescence is characterised by dramatic physical changes moving the individual
from childhood into physical maturity. Teenagers experience some physical milestones
as they move from childhood to adolescence. Normal growth during adolescence
includes both an increase in body size and sexual maturation (puberty). There are
several marked changes during this period in the lives of both adolescent males and
females.
Boys and girls begin the growth spurt at different ages, girls, on average, begin two
years earlier than boys and complete them earlier as well. Boys and girls also begin
to go through puberty during adolescence. Menstruation is just one of several changes
in puberty that are related to the development of primary and secondary sex
characteristics. Boys’ penises and scrotums begin to grow at an accelerated rate
around age 12 and reach adult size 3 or 4 years later. Spermarche occurs after boys’
penises enlarge about the age of 13. Secondary sex characteristic development is
characterised by growth of pubic hair and growth of underarm and facial hair. For
girls, early maturation might offer increased popularity and an advanced social life,
but they might also experience embarrassment over the changes in their bodies,
which make them different from their peers. Late maturation can put boys at a
distinct physical and social disadvantage, which can affect self-esteem and leave
lasting, negative effects. Girls who mature late might suffer neglect by their peers of
both sexes, but ultimately they appear to suffer no lasting ill effects and may even
benefit from late maturation in the long run.

1) Define and describe the period of adolescence.
2) What are the characteristic changes that take place during this period?
3) What are the changes that occur in the males during this period?
15
4) What are the changes that office during this period?
Development During
Adolescence 1.6 SUGGESTED READINGS
Nielsen, Linda,(1996). Adolescence: A Contemporary View, (3rd edition) Harcourt
Brace College Publishers.
Meese, Judith L. (2004). Child and Adolescent Development for Educators. (3rd
edition). McGraw Hill College, USA.
16
UNIT 2 COGNITIVE CHANGES
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Cognitive Development
2.2.1 Cognitive Development in Adolescence
2.2.2 Early Adolescence
2.2.3 Middle Adolescence
2.2.4 Late Adolescence
2.3 Piaget’s Theoretical Approach on Cognitive Development

2.4 Information Processing Perspective
2.4.1 Information Processing
2.4.2 Information Processing Theory
2.4.3 Information Processing Model
2.5 School Performance and Cognitive Development

2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.9 Answers of the Self Assessment Questions
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is the developmental stage between childhood and adulthood; it generally
refers to period ranging from ages 12 through ages 19. Although its beginning is
balanced with the beginning of puberty, adolescence is characterised by psychological
and social stages as well as by biological changes.
Adolescence can be prolonged, brief or virtually non existent, depending on the type
of culture in which it occurs. In societies that are simple, for example, the transition
from childhood to adulthood tends to occur rather rapidly, and is marked by
traditionally prescribed passage rites. Psychologists have discussed four areas that
especially touch upon adolescent behaviour and development: physiological changes
and growth, cognitive or mental development, identity or personality formation and
parent- adolescent relations. In this unit, we will discuss on the cognitive development
and changes during adolescence.
Cognitive development refers to the development of the ability to think and reason.
It refers to how a person perceives, think, and gains understanding of his/her world
through the interaction of genetic and learned factors. It takes a fast pace during
adolescence. Teenagers accumulate general knowledge and start applying the learned
concepts to new tasks.
During early adolescence, they use more complex thinking, they are focused on
personal decision making in school and home environments. With some experience
in using more complex thinking processes, the focus of middle adolescence often
expands to include more philosophical and futuristic concerns. During late adolescence, 17
Development During complex thinking processes are used to focus on less self-centered concepts as well
Adolescence
as personal decision making.
In the theory of cognitive development, Piaget discusses about the four distinct,
universal stages, each characterised by increasingly sophisticated and abstract levels
of thoughts. These stages always occur in the same order, and each builds on what
has been learned in the previous stage.
Adolescents, ages 12 through 19, are and should be at the “formal operations” stage
of Piaget’s cognitive development theory. It is characterised by an increased
independence for thinking through problems and situations. Adolescents should be
able to understand pure abstractions, such as philosophy and higher math concepts.
During this age, children are able to learn and apply general information needed to
adapt to specific situations. They are able to learn specific information and skills
necessary for an occupation.
Adolescent egocentrism is also characterised by an imaginary audience with an
increased self consciousness. They consider that their people around them especially
peers observe their activities and may comment on them.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and describe the meaning of cognitive changes that takes place in
adolescence;
z describe the cognitive development during adolescent years;
z explain Piaget’s theoretical approach on cognitive development;
z describe the information processing perspective in cognitive development; and
z analyse the school performance and cognitive development during adolescence.
2.2 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

The term “cognition” refers to all processes by which the sensory input is transformed,
reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used. It is concerned with these processes
even when they operate in the absence of relevant stimulation, as in images and
hallucinations. Cognitive psychology is a discipline within psychology that investigates
the internal mental processes of thought such as visual processing, memory, thinking,
learning, feeling, problem solving, and language.
Cognitive psychology is different from previous psychological approaches in two
major ways: (i) It accepts the use of the scientific method, and (ii) It generally rejects
introspection as a valid method of investigation. Unlike Freudian approach it does
not belive in symbolism. It explicitly acknowledges the existence of internal mental
states (such as belief, desire and motivation). It is believed that cognitive development
takes place during adolescence at a more rapid pace and the ability to think,
contemplate and analyse etc. become all the more sharp.
2.2.1 Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Cognitive development refers to the development of the ability to think and reason.
18 through the interaction of genetic and learned factors. It takes a fast pace during
adolescence. Teenagers accumulate general knowledge and start applying the learned Cognitive Changes
concepts to new tasks. Interest in learning life skills, such as cooking, fixing things,
driving and so on, from adults at home and else where is also seen during these
years. In terms of school, there is a great transition for the budding adult. As
performance improves so does the individual’s understanding of complex materials.
Adolescence is the developmental stage between childhood and adulthood. It generally
refers to a period ranging from age 11 or 12 through ages 19 or 21. Adolescence
marks the beginning development of more complex thinking processes called as
formal logical operations. This includes (i) abstract thinking (thinking about possibilities),
(ii) the ability to reason from known principles (form own new ideas or questions),
(iii) the ability to consider many points of view according to varying criteria (iv)
compare or debate ideas or opinions), and (v) development of the ability to think
about the process of thinking. In addition to these, a sense of ego and personal
uniqueness also develop in the youngster, who starts thinking that no one can really
understand her/him.
Some common indicators of the youngsters progression from more simple to more
complex cognitive development include the following:
2.2.2 Early Adolescence

During early adolescence, the youngsters are able to use more complex thinking.
They are focused on personal decision making in school and home environments.
z They begin to demonstrate use of formal logical operations in school work.
z They begin to question authority and society standards.
z They begin to form and verbalize their own thoughts and views on a variety of
topics, usually more related to their own life, such as:
which sports are better to play.
which groups are better to be included in.
what personal appearances are desirable or attractive.
what parental rules should be changed.
2.2.3 Middle Adolescence

With some experience in using more complex thinking processes, the focus of middle
adolescence often expands to include more philosophical and futuristic concerns,
including the following:
z They often question more extensively.
z They often analyse more extensively.
z They think about and begin to form their own code of ethics (i.e., What do I
think is right?).
z They think about different possibilities and begin to develop their own identity
(i.e., Who am I?).
z They think about and begin to systematically consider possible future goals (i.e.,
What do I want?).
19
Development During z They think about and begin to make their own plans.
Adolescence
z They begin to think on long term basis.
z The use of systematic thinking begins to influence relationship with others.
2.2.4 Late Adolescence

During late adolescence, complex thinking processes are used to focus on less self-
centered concepts as well as personal decision making, which include the following:
z They start thinking more about global concepts such as justice, history, politics,
and patriotism.
z They often develop idealistic views on specific topics or concerns.
z They debate and discuss a great deal and also show intolerance to opposing
views.
z They begin to focus their thinking on making career decisions.
z They begin to focus their thinking on emerging role in adult society.
Adolescence can be prolonged, brief, or virtually nonexistent, depending on the type
from childhood to adulthood tends to occur rather rapidly.
Adolescents become capable of logical thought. However, they may not necessarily
demonstrate such thinking. Adolescents’ understanding of how they and others think
continues to change and develop. Younger children take what has been described as
realistic approach to knowledge. They y believe that knowledge is a property of the
real world and that there are definite facts or truths that can be acquired. Older
children or preadolescents become aware of the fact that experts often disagree, this
leads them to develop a realistic approach, which recognises that different people
may interpret the same information in contrasting ways.
Preadolescents go a bit farther, adopting a defended realism approach, which
recognises the difference between facts and opinions. Adolescents realise that there
is no secure basis for knowledge or for making decisions. They adopt an approach
that is described as dogmatism-skepticism, in which, they alternate between blind
faith in some authority and doubting everything. Later, some adolescents realise that
while there is no absolute truths, there are better or worse reasons for holding certain
views, an approach known as post skeptical rationalism.
Cognitive development continues throughout adolescence and results, in more mature
modes of thought.
2.3 PIAGET’S THEORETICAL APPROACH ON

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980), was the most well known and influential
theorist for cognitive development. Piaget was interested in how children reacted to
their environments. He proposed a more active role for them as suggested by
learning theory. He envisioned a child’s knowledge as composed of schemas, basic
unit of knowledge used to organise past experiences and serve as a basis for
understanding new ones.
20
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature Cognitive Changes
and development of human intelligence first developed by Jean Piaget. It is primarily
known as a developmental stage theory, but in fact, it deals with the nature of
knowledge itself and how humans come gradually to acquire it, construct it, and use
it. Moreover, Piaget claims the idea that cognitive development is at the centre of
human organism and language is contingent on cognitive development.
of thoughts. These stages always occur in the same order, and each builds on what
has been learned in the previous stage.
The stages are:
z Sensorimotor Stage (infancy): In this period, there are six sub-stages,
intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity without the use of symbols.
Knowledge of the world is limited, but developing, because it is based on
physical interactions and experiences. Children acquire object permanence at
about seven months of age (memory). Physical development (mobility) allows
the child to begin developing new intellectual abilities. Some symbolic (language)
abilities are developed at the end of this stage.
z Pre-operational stage (toddlerhood and early childhood): In this period,
there are two sub stages, intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols,
language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed, but thinking
is done in a non-logical, non-reversible manner. Egocentric thinking predominates.
z Concrete operational stage (elementary and early adolescence): This stage
is characterised by seven types of conservation (number, length, liquid, mass,
weight, area, and volume), intelligence is demonstrated through logical and
systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects. Operational
thinking develops (mental actions that are reversible). Egocentric thought
diminishes.
z Formal operational stage (adolescence and adulthood): In this stage,
intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract
concepts. Early in the period there is a return to egocentric thought. Only 35
percent of high school graduates in industrialised countries obtain formal
operations; many people do not think formally during adulthood.
necessary for an occupation. A major component of the passage through adolescence
is a cognitive transition. During this stage adolescents think in ways that are more
advanced, more efficient, and generally more complex as compared to children.
This ability can be seen in five ways:
1) During adolescence individuals become better able than children to think about
what is possible, instead of limiting their thought to what is real. Whereas
children’s thinking is oriented to the here and now—that is, to things and events
21
Development During that they can observe directly—adolescents are able to consider what they
Adolescence
observe against a backdrop of what is possible; they can think hypothetically.
2) During the passage into adolescence, individuals become better able to think
about abstract ideas. For example, adolescents find it easier than children to
comprehend the sorts of higher-order, abstract logic inherent in puns, proverbs,
metaphors, and analogies. The adolescent’s greater facility with abstract thinking
also permits the application of advanced reasoning and logical processes to
social and ideological matters. This is clearly seen in the adolescent’s increased
facility and interest in thinking about interpersonal relationships, politics, philosophy,
religion, and morality.
3) Teenagers begin to think more often about the process of thinking itself, or
metacognition. As a result, adolescents may display increased introspection and
self-consciousness. Although improvements in metacognitive abilities provide
important intellectual advantages, one potentially negative byproduct of these
advances is the tendency for adolescents to develop a sort of egocentrism, or
intense preoccupation with the self.
4) Thinking tends to become multidimensional, rather than limited to a single issue.
Whereas children tend to think about things one aspect at a time, adolescents
can see things through more complicated lenses. Adolescents describe themselves
and others in more differentiated and complicated terms and find it easier to
look at problems from multiple perspectives. Being able to understand that
people’s personalities are not one-sided or that social situations can have different
interpretations depending on one’s point of view permits the adolescent to have
far more sophisticated and complicated relationships with other people.
5) Adolescents are more likely than children to see things as relative, rather than
absolute. Children tend to see things in absolute terms—in black and white.
Adolescents, in contrast, tend to see things as relative. They are more likely to
question others’ assertions and less likely to accept facts as absolute truths. This
increase in relativism can be particularly exasperating to parents, who may feel
that their adolescent children question everything just for the sake of argument.
Difficulties often arise, for example, when adolescents begin seeing their parents’
values as excessively relative.
Egocentrism in Adolescence
An important aspect of the psychosocial development contributing to the adolescent
period is adolescent egocentrism. According to Elkind (1967), adolescent egocentrism
includes a belief system carried by adolescents that makes them consider themselves
as special and unique. This feeling is accompanied by the acquisition of many new
psychological abilities.
increased self consciousness. They consider that people around them especially
peers observe their activities and may comment on them. They are extremely conscious
of what others think of them, their appearance and everything related to themselves.
This way they perceive themselves as seen by them contributing to the development
of self confidence.
22
Cognitive Changes
1) Answer the following in True (T) or False (F):
z Adolescence is the period from age 12-19 years. ( )
z Early adolescence uses more complex thinking, focus and
expands them futuristic and philosophical concern. ( )
z Adolescence becomes capable of logical thoughts. ( )
z Adolescence egocentrism is characterised by an increased self
consciousness. ( )
z Egocentric thinking predominates in concrete operational stage. ( )
2) Fill in the blanks:
z The development of the ability to think and reason is known as
______________________.
z Individuals in ___________________ focus on less self centred concept.
z Piaget discusses ___________ distinct stages about cognitive
development.
z Early in the period of formal operational stage there is a return to
____________________.
z Aspects of psychosocial development (i.e, belief systems) contributing to
adolescence period is ____________________.
2.4 INFORMATION PROCESSING PERSPECTIVE

2.4.1 Information Processing
detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which
happens (changes) in the universe, from the falling of a rock (a change in position)
to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system. In the latter case, an
information processor is changing the form of presentation of that text file. Latent and
manifest information is defined through the terms of equivocation (remaining uncertainty,
what value the sender has actually chosen), dissipation (uncertainty of the sender
what the receiver has actually received) and transformation (saved effort of questioning,
that is equivocation minus dissipation).
When we deal with information, we do so in steps. One way to think of this is to
picture the process of acquiring, retaining, and using information as an activity called
information processing. Information comes from the outside world into the sensory
registers into the human brain. This input consists of things perceived by our senses.
We are not consciously aware of most of the things we perceive; we become aware
of them only if we consciously direct our attention to them. When we do focus our
attention on them, they are placed in our working memory.
23
Development During
Adolescence
A Model of Human Information Processing

Another name for our working memory is short-term memory. Our working memory
has a very limited capacity – we can attend to only about seven items at a time.
Therefore, we must take one of the following actions with regard to each piece of
information that comes into this short-term storage area: (1) continuously rehearse it,
so that it stays there; (2) move it out of this area by shifting it to long-term memory;
or (3) move it out of this area by forgetting it.
Long-term memory, as its name implies, stores information for a long time. The
advantage of long-term memory is that we do not have to constantly rehearse
information to keep it in storage there. In addition, there is no restrictive limit on the
amount of information we can store in long-term memory. If we move information
to long-term memory, it stays there for a long time - perhaps permanently! To make
use of this information in long term memory, we must move it back to our working
memory, using a process called retrieval.
Information processing can be viewed as parallel to the way in which an executive
manages a business. Information comes into the business across the executive’s desk
- mail, phone calls, personal interactions, problems, etc. (This is like short-term
memory.) Some of this information goes into the waste basket (like being forgotten),
and some of it is filed (like being stored in long-term memory). In some cases, when
new information arrives, the executive gets old information from a file and integrates
the new information with the old before refilling it. (This is like retrieving information
from long-term memory to integrate it with new information then storing the new
information in long-term memory.) On other occasions the executive may dig out the
information in several old files and update the files in some fashion or integrate them
in some way to attack a complex problem. The business of human learning operates
in much the same manner.
2.4.2 Information Processing Theory

The information-processing theory is associated with the development of high-speed
computers in the 1950s. Researchers—most notably Herbert Simon and his
colleagues—demonstrated that computers could be used to simulate human intelligence.
This development led to the realisation that computer-oriented information-processing
models could provide new insight into how the human mind receives, stores, retrieves,
and uses information. The information-processing theory was one of several
developments that ended the decades-long dominance of behaviourism in American
24 psychology. It focused on innate mental capacities, rather than on conditioned,
externally observable behaviour. By enabling experimental psychologists to test theories Cognitive Changes
about complex mental processes through computer simulation, information-processing
models helped reestablish internal thought processes as a legitimate area of scientific
inquiry.
The information processing theory is an approach to the cognitive development of a
human being, which deals with the study and the analysis of the sequence of events
that occur in a persons mind while receiving some new piece of information. In short,
it is the analysis of the way a human being learns something new. There is a fixed
pattern of events that take place in such a situation, and by knowing this pattern we
can enable children and people with special abilities to learn new things faster.
The information processing theory laid down by experts in psychology claims that the
human mind is very similar to that of computers, as far as information processing and
analysis is concerned. They also say that any new piece of information that enters
the brain is first analysed and then put through the test of several benchmarks before
being stored in some vestibules of the memory. Since these actions occur at a very
fast speed, we are unable to notice them in action.
The sensory perceptors of a human being function in the same way as the hardware
of a computer does, and the mindset and the rules and strategies adopted by the
person while learning is equivalent to the software used by computers. The information
processing system of a person can thus be enhanced if these perceptors and rules
are altered.
2.4.3 Information Processing Model

There is a fixed structure that the information processing theory follows, and it is
divided into the following four parts.
z The store model : This is a breakdown of the model which states that the
information that has been received can be stored in any of the processing units,
or the channels through which it passes. These channels are the sensory register,
short-term memory and long-term memory.
z The sensory register : This is that part of the mental processing unit that receives
all information and then stores it temporarily or permanently.
z Short-term memory : That part of the sensory register where the information is
stored temporarily. Once the decision has been made regarding the information,
the information will either be discarded or transferred to the long-term memory.
z Long-term memory : The part where all the information is permanently stored.
It can be retrieved later as and when the need arises.
The four main beliefs of the information-processing approach include the
following:
1) When the individual perceives, encodes, represents, and stores information from
the environment in his mind or retrieves that information, he is thinking. Thinking
also includes responding to any constraints or limitations on memory processes.
2) The proper focus of study is the role of change mechanism in development.
Four critical mechanisms work together to bring about change in children’s
cognitive skills: encoding, strategy construction, automatisation and generalisation.
To solve problems effectively, children must encode critical information about a
problem and then use this encoded information and relevant prior knowledge to
construct a strategy to deal with the problem. 25
Development During 3) Development is driven by self-modification. Like Piaget’s theory of cognitive
Adolescence
development, the information-processing approach holds that children play an
active role in their own development. Through self-modification, the child uses
knowledge and strategies she has acquired from earlier problem solution to
modify her responses to a new situation or problem. In this way, she builds
newer and more sophisticated responses from prior knowledge
4) Investigators must perform careful task analysis of the problem situations they
present to children. According to this view, not only the child’s own level of
development but the nature of the task itself constraints child’s performance.
Thus a child may possess the basic ability necessary to perform a particular task
when it is presented in a simple form, without unnecessary complexities. However,
if extra or misleading information is added to the same task, the child may
become confused and be unable to perform it.
2.5 SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND COGNITIVE

DEVELOPMENT
During adolescent years, there are many reasons for teens to under perform at
school as is given below:
i) A lack of motivation to do well
ii) Problems at home or with peers
iii) Poor work habits or study skills
iv) Emotional and behaviour problems
v) Learning disabilities (such as dyslexia)
vi) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
vii) Mental retardation or below average intelligence
viii) Other medical problems, including anxiety and depression.
Adolescent’s achievement motivation focuses on adolescents’ beliefs, values, and
goals. These beliefs, goals, and values changes during early and middle adolescence
which lead to decline in their motivation during this period.
Specifically, early adolescents have lower perceptions of their competence for different
school subjects than do their younger peers. Adolescent’s valuing of different school
subjects often declines as they move through school, with the declines especially
marked across the transition to middle school. Their intrinsic motivation for learning
often decreases as well.
The most important implication of this work for middle school counselors is that
motivational problems can become more central during early adolescence. This can
be a time period in which adolescence motivation declines in significant ways.
Counselors can help identify children most at risk of becoming demotivated at school,
and work with teachers to help foster these adolescents’ motivation.
The early adolescent period is marked by many changes in biological and psychological
characteristics and in relations with peers, teachers, and counselors. The transition to
middle school can be difficult for early adolescents, especially those struggling with
26
the changes in other areas of their lives.
Middle school counselors and teachers can ease this transition and help early Cognitive Changes
adolescents negotiate successfully the many changes they experience. This can be
accomplished by
a) cooperation among counselors, teachers, and administrators;
b) involvement of parents;
c) programs and curricula to foster students’ development in multiple domains (i.e.,
academic, social, career);
d) responsive counseling to assist with personal issues;
e) cultural awareness and sensitivity; and
f) advocacy for and attention to the diverse needs of all students.
A focus on the particular developmental issues that early adolescents face should be
an important part of all middle school counseling programs.
z Information processing is the change of information in any manner
detectable by an observer. ( )
z Information comes from inside ourselves into the sensory registers in the
human brain. ( )
z Long term memory stores information for long time. ( )
z Sensory register is the mental processing unit that receives all information
and stores it. ( )
z Information processing theory focused on externally observable behaviour.
( )
z When the things are present in our conscious mind, and when we do
focus on them, they are placed in our _________________.
z When we get information from long term memory and focus attention on
them, this process is called _______________.
z ______________________________ is the analysis of the way human
being learns something new.
z Mails, phone calls, etc. are ________________ memory.
z Adolescents tend to under perform due to lack of _______________.
2.6 LET US SUM UP

Adolescence can be prolonged, brief or virtually non existent, depending on the type
from childhood to adulthood tends to occur rather rapidly, and is marked by
traditionally prescribed passage rites.
27
Development During Cognitive development refers to the development of the ability to think and reason.
Adolescence
through the interaction of genetic and learned factors. It takes a fast pace during
adolescence.
The early adolescent period is one marked by many changes in biological and
psychological characteristics and in relations with peers, teachers, and counselors.
The transition to middle school can be difficult for early adolescents, especially those
struggling with the changes in other areas of their lives. Middle school counselors and
teachers can ease this transition and help early adolescents negotiate successfully the
many changes they experience. Particular recommendations to accomplish this include
(a) cooperation among counselors, teachers, and administrators; (b) involvement of
parents; (c) programs and curricula to foster students’ development in multiple domains
(i.e., academic, social, career); (d) responsive counseling to assist with personal
issues; (e) cultural awareness and sensitivity; and (f) advocacy for and attention to
the diverse needs of all students. A focus on the particular developmental issues that
early adolescents face should be an important part of all middle school counseling
programs.
necessary for an occupation.
Adolescence can be prolonged, brief, or virtually nonexistent, depending on the type
from childhood to adulthood tends to occur rather rapidly.
Adolescents become capable of logical thought. However, they may not necessarily
demonstrate such thinking. Adolescents theory of mind their understanding of how
they and others think- continues to change and develop.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature
and development of human intelligence first developed by Jean Piaget. It is primarily
known as a developmental stage theory, but in fact, it deals with the nature of
knowledge itself and how humans come gradually to acquire it, construct it, and use
it. Moreover, Piaget claims the idea that cognitive development is at the centre of
human organism and language is contingent on cognitive development.
of thoughts.
of self confidence.
The information processing theory is an approach to the cognitive development of a
human being, which deals with the study and the analysis of the sequence of events
28
that occur in a persons mind while receiving some new piece of information. In short,
it is the analysis of the way a human being learns something new. There is a fixed Cognitive Changes
pattern of events that take place in such a situation, and by knowing this pattern we
can enable children and people with special abilities to learn new things faster.

1) Define cognitive development in children
2) What are the unique features of cognitive development during adolescence?
3) Describe Piaget’s approach to cognitive development during adolescent stage of
development.
4) What is information processing approach to cognitive development during
adolescence.
5) Relate cognitive development and defects thereof to school performance during
adolescence.

Bruner, J. (1966). Studies in Cognitive Growth : A Collaboration at the Center
for Cognitive Studies. New York: Wiley & Sons.
David Pruitt, M.D (2000). Your Adolescent: Emotional, Behavioural, and
Cognitive Development from Early Adolescence Through the Teen Years, Imprint:
Harper Paperbacks, NY
2.9 ANSWERS TO THE SELF ASSESSMENT

QUESTIONS
1) z True
z False
z True
z True
z False
2) z Cognitive development
z Late adolescence
z Four
z Egocentric thought
z Adolescent egocentrism
3) z True
z False
z True
z True
z False 29
Development During 4) z Working memory
Adolescence
z Retrieval
z Information processing theory
z Short term
z Motivation
30
UNIT 3 IDENTITY SELF CONCEPT, SELF
ESTEEM, PEER GROUP
RELATIONSHIP
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Identity in Adolescence
3.3 Identity Crisis
3.3.1 Marcia’s Identity Statuses
3.4 Social Development

3.5 Self Concept and Self Esteem in Adolescence
3.5.1 Signs of Negatives Self Concepts in Adolescents
3.5.2 Egocentrism in Adolescence
3.6 Let Us Sum Up

3.0 INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is known to be a period of exploratory self-analysis and self-evaluation
ideally culminating in the establishment of a cohesive and integrative sense of self or
identity. The search for identity, during the adolescent period, is very much affected
by the social world: peers, parents, schools, and neighborhoods.
Identity formation involves the successful negotiation of a variety of activities and
relationships during adolescence, including school achievement, social relations with
others, and development of career interests and choices, along with a great deal of
exploration of different activities and roles. One’s gender, ethnicity, and sexual
orientation all are important to adolescents’ developing identity. Integrating these
experiences and characteristics into a coherent sense of self is fundamental to identity
formation, and researchers have proposed different phases of the identity development
process. Adolescents’ focus on identity as their understanding of that childhood is
ending and the adult phase of their life is about to begin.
Identity development involves two steps. First, the adolescent must break away from
childhood beliefs to explore alternatives for identity in a particular area. Second, the
adolescent makes a commitment as to their individual identity in that area. Some
aspects of identity, especially among young adolescents, may be foreclosed. The
foreclosure status is when a commitment is made without exploring alternatives.
Identity achievement during adolescence serves as a basis for our adult expectations
and goals for us. As individuals enter early adulthood they use their current
understanding of whom they are to develop a lifespan construct which serves as the
link between the identity developed in adolescence and the adult self. The lifespan
construct is an integration of an individual’s past, present, and culture.
31
Development During An identity crisis is a term in an epigenetic and social psychological theory in which
Adolescence
an individual loses a sense of personal sameness and historical continuity. The term
was coined by the psychologist Erik Erikson. According to Erikson, an identity crisis
is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.
According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration
of different ways of looking at oneself. Erikson’s interest in identity began in childhood.
Erikson described identity as “a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of
personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and
continuity of some shared world image.
In Marcia’s model, identity involves the adoption of 1) a sexual orientation, 2) a set
of values and ideals and 3) a vocational direction. A well-developed identity gives
on a sense of one’s strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness.
The self-concept is the accumulation of knowledge about the self, such as beliefs
regarding personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles.
In adolescence, the self-concept becomes more abstract, complex, and hierarchically
organised into cognitive mental representations or self-schemas, which direct the
processing of self-relevant information.
Self-concept or self-identity is the sum total of a being’s knowledge and understanding
of his or her self. The self-concept is different from self consciousness, which is an
awareness of one’s self. Components of the self-concept include physical,
psychological, and social attributes, which can be influenced by the individual’s attitudes,
habits, beliefs and ideas. These components and attributes can not be condensed to
the general concepts of self-image and the self-esteem.
Self-concept refers to self-evaluation or self perception, and it represents the sum of
an individual’s beliefs about his or her own attributes. Self concept reflects how an
adolescent evaluates himself or herself in domains (or areas) in which he or she
considers success important. An adolescent can have a positive self-concept in some
domains and a negative self-concept in others.
of self confidence.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and describe identity and identity crisis in adolescents;
z explain Marcia’s identity crisis;
z analyse social development and egocentrism in adolescents; and
z explain self-concept and self-esteem during adolescence.
3.2 IDENTITY IN ADOLESCENCE

32 ideally culminating in the establishment of a cohesive and integrative sense of self or
identity. This process involves the exploration and testing of alternative ideas, beliefs, Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
and behaviours, marking this period as one of both dramatic change and uncertainty. Relationship
Erikson provided perhaps the most widely recognised theoretical framework for
conceptualising the transformation of the self during adolescence. This framework
provides for the development of a sense of one’s individuality (self-sameness) and
continuity with significant others.
Identity is a new way of thinking about oneself that emerges during adolescence.
Identity involves a sense of self-unity, accompanied by a feeling that the self has
continuity over time. A firmly established identity also provides a sense of uniqueness
as a person. According to Erikson’s psychosocial model of development, identity
must be perceived by the individual, but also recognised and confirmed by others.
Thus, the process of establishing an identity involves “Integrating into a coherent
whole one’s past experiences, ongoing personal changes, and society’s demands and
expectations for one’s future”
The process of developing an identity begins with the infant’s discovery of self,
continues throughout childhood, and becomes the focus of adolescence. Erik Erikson,
identified the goal of adolescence as achieving a coherent identity and avoiding
identity confusion. Identity is multidimensional and may include physical and sexual
identity, occupational goals, religious beliefs, and ethnic background. Adolescents
explore these dimensions, and usually make commitments to aspects of their identity
as they move into early adulthood.
Identity development begins with children’s awareness that they are separate and
unique individuals. First indications of this awareness are evident in infancy when
children begin to recognise themselves. They recognise the reflected image as
themselves. Also, the words “me,” “I,” and “mine” emerge very early in children’s
language. These findings are consistent with Erikson’s psychosocial stage of autonomy
versus shame and doubt, when infants establish their identity as independent persons.
During childhood, self-awareness grows and changes. Preschoolers describe
themselves in terms of observable characteristics and behaviours, including physical
attributes (“I have brown eyes”), preferences (“I like to ride my bike”), and
competencies (“I can sing ‘Itsy, Bitsy Spider”’). Between ages six and twelve,
children begin to include less concrete aspects of the self in their descriptions. School-
aged children talk about their feelings (“I love my dog”) and how they fit into their
social world (“I’m the best fielder on my team”). During Erikson’s stage of initiative
versus guilt children explore their skills, abilities, and attitudes and incorporate the
information into their view of self.
As children edge closer and closer to adulthood, it seems they reach a point where
they want to be defined by anything BUT their parents. They stop wanting to spend
time with family, and may even detest being seen with their parents. “Please drop me
off a block from school, Mom. I want to walk the rest of the way.” These words
are painful to a mother who has devoted many years of her life to meeting all of her
teenage son’s needs. Suddenly, he’s embarrassed to be seen in the same car with
her.
The process of separation from parents is a natural one. Erik Erikson was the first
major psychological theorist to develop the notion of an adolescent “identity crisis.”
In his view, all of the earlier crystallisations of identity formed during childhood come
into question during adolescence with the overwhelming combination of physical
changes, increased sex drive, expanded mental abilities, and increasing and conflicting
33
social demands. To develop a sense of identity amidst the confusion, Erikson stated
Development During in Identity: Youth and Crisis that adolescents need to try on a variety of roles and
Adolescence
“must often test extremes before settling on a considered course.”
At this stage, adolescents often reject their parents, and all that they stand for so that
they can make a clean break from childhood as they attempt to form an identity of
their own. They are hungry for role models and can be rather indiscriminate about
where they find them. With their sense of identity in flux, teens will often turn to peer
groups for that missing sense of belonging. This explains some of the cult-like tendencies
amongst early adolescents to worship the same heroes (movie stars, singers), wear
the same clothes and “rebel” against traditional authority. The interesting thing about
this so-called rebellion is that it’s often actually another form of conformity — Gina
wants a tattoo or a navel ring because everyone else is getting them. Everyone has
platform shoes so she’ll feel like an outcast if she’s not wearing them.
At this stage of development (usually early teens), role models can make a critical
difference in choices adolescents make, choices that could affect the course of their
lives. At this age, teens have a strong need to idealize others, especially those who
are older and more worldly, qualities they desperately want to possess. They can be
as easily awed by an older (that is, 18- or 19 year-old) guy who drives a fancy car
and pushes drugs, as by a sports hero who espouses clean living, hard work and
dedication.
The physical, cognitive, and social changes of adolescence allow the teenager to
develop the identity that will serve as a basis for their adult lives. During Erikson’s
stage of identity versus role confusion, adolescents’ description of self expands to
include personality traits (“I’m outgoing”) and attitudes (“I don’t like stuck-up
people”). The emergence of abstract reasoning abilities allows adolescents to think
about the future and experiment with different identities.
Identity development involves two steps. First, the adolescent must break away from
childhood beliefs to explore alternatives for identity in a particular area. Second, the
adolescent makes a commitment as to their individual identity in that area. Some
aspects of identity, especially among young adolescents, may be foreclosed. The
foreclosure status is when a commitment is made without exploring alternatives.
Identity achievement during adolescence serves as a basis for our adult expectations
and goals for us. As individuals enter early adulthood they use their current
understanding of whom they are to develop a lifespan construct which serves as the
link between the identity developed in adolescence and the adult self. The lifespan
construct is an integration of an individual’s past, present, and culture.
3.3 IDENTITY CRISIS

Are you unsure of your role in life? Do you feel like you don’t know the ‘real you’?
If you answer yes to the previous questions, you may be experiencing an identity
crisis. Theorist Erik Erikson coined the term identity crisis and believed that it was
one of the most important conflicts people face in development.
An identity crisis is a term in an epigenetic and social psychological theory in which
an individual loses a sense of personal sameness and historical continuity. The term
was coined by the psychologist Erik Erikson.. According to Erikson, an identity crisis
is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.
34 of different ways of looking at oneself. Erikson’s interest in identity began in childhood.
Erikson described identity as “a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and Relationship
continuity of some shared world image. As a quality of unself-conscious living, this
can be gloriously obvious in a young person who has found himself as he has found
his communality. In him we see emerge a unique unification of what is irreversibly
given—that is, body type and temperament, giftedness and vulnerability, infantile
models and acquired ideals—with the open choices provided in available roles,
occupational possibilities, values offered, mentors met, friendships made, and first
sexual encounters.”
In Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, the emergence of an identity
crisis occurs during the teenage years in which people struggle between feelings of
identity versus role confusion. Researcher James Marcia (1966, 1976, 1980) has
expanded upon Erikson’s initial theory.
James Marcia argued that identity could be viewed as a structure of beliefs, abilities
and past experiences regarding the self. “The better developed this structure is, the
more individuals appear to be of their own strengths and weaknesses. The less
developed this structure is, the more confused individuals seem to be about their own
distinctiveness from others and the more they have to rely on external sources to
evaluate themselves.” Identity is a dynamic, not static psychological structure. The
formation of identity in adolescence sets the stage for continual changes in the content
of identity through the adult years.
3.3.1 Marcia’s Identity Statuses

James Marcia refined and extended Erikson’s work on identity. In Marcia’s model,
identity involves the adoption of 1) a sexual orientation, 2) a set of values and ideals
and 3) a vocational direction. A well-developed identity gives on a sense of one’s
strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. A person with a less well-developed
identity is not able to define his or her personal strengths and weaknesses, and does
not have a well articulated sense of self.
Marcia (1966) operationalised the stage progression theory of identity development
proposed by Erikson by identifying four identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure,
moratorium, and achievement. Through the use of a semistructured interview, an
individual could be assigned an identity status on the basis of the evidence of crisis
and commitment in the domains of occupation, religion, and politics. Since its inception,
Marcia’s interview has stimulated a wide range of research in the area of identity
formation.
To better understand the identity formation process, Marcia conducted interviews
with young people. He asked whether the participants in his study (1) had established
a commitment to an occupation and ideology and (2) had experienced, or were
presently experiencing, a decision making period (adolescent identity crisis). Marcia
developed a framework for thinking about identity in terms of four identity statuses.
It is important to note that these are NOT stages. Identity statuses should not be
viewed as sub stages in a sequential or linear process.
i) Foreclosure: These people have made commitments to an occupational future,
but have not experienced an identity crisis. They have conformed to the expectations
of others concerning their future. For example, an individual may have allowed a
parent to decide what career they will pursue. These individuals have not explored
a range of options (experience an “identity crisis”).
35
Development During ii) Diffusion: The young person has not made a commitment, and may or may not
Adolescence
have experienced an identity crisis. He or she appears to have given up any attempt
to make the commitments needed for developing a clear sense of identity as Marcia
defines the term.
iii) Moratorium: Individuals in moratorium are actively exploring alternative
commitments, but have not yet made a decision. They are experiencing an identity
crisis, but appear to be moving forward toward identity formation, making
commitments.
iv) Achievement: The individual has experienced an identity crisis and has made
commitments necessary for building a sense of identity as described above.
The core idea is that one’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and
commitments made regarding certain personal and social traits. The work done in
this paradigm considers how much one has made certain choices, and how much he
or she displays a commitment to those choices. Identity involves the adoption of
1) a sexual orientation, 2) a set of values and ideals and 3) a vocational direction.
A well-developed identity gives on a sense of one’s strengths, weaknesses, and
individual uniqueness. A person with a less well-developed identity is not able to
define his or her personal strengths and weaknesses, and does not have a well
articulated sense of self.
1) Discuss the following in one or two sentences:
z Identity
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Identity crisis
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Identity statuses
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Role confusion
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3.4 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Adolescence is a time when parental influences decrease and peer influences increase.
Adolescence is a time when the individual searches for her own identity. These
happens by the youngsters interactions with her peers and many outsiders including
her teachers, neighborhood adults and others. Same sex hero worship is quite common
during this period. Also they are highly swayed and impressed by the idealism of
36
hero’s and social workers. At this age they enjoy doing work for others, and love
to serve the community. They take up examples of great pioneers and try to mould Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
themselves like them. They may also like to imitate film heroes and try to do things Relationship
like them. All these efforts contribute in a bog way to the youngsters self identity.
Adolescence begins with the physical changes that lead to sexual maturity however
studies in the recent years have shown that puberty is occurring at an earlier age so
also the physical development.
Adolescents experience many moods and are more prone to mood swings (Myers,
2004). The cognitive development that takes place during this time gives adolescents
the ability to reason. These advancing reasoning skills allow adolescents to ponder
several options and possibilities to many social situations and experiences. They are
able to think more logically than when they were younger. They are also able to think
hypothetically, even abstractly.
3.5 SELF CONCEPT AND SELF ESTEEM IN

ADOLESCENCE
Self-concept-the way in which one perceives oneself-can be divided into categories,
such as personal self-concept (facts or one’s own opinions about oneself, such as
“I have brown eyes” or “I am attractive”); social self-concept (one’s perceptions
about how one is regarded by others: “people think I have a great sense of humor”);
and self-ideals (what or how one would like to be: “I want to be a lawyer” or “I
wish I were thinner”).
Self-concept or self-identity is the sum total of a being’s knowledge and understanding
of his or her self. The self-concept is different from self consciousness, which is an
awareness of one’s self. Components of the self-concept include physical,
psychological, and social attributes, which can be influenced by the individual’s attitudes,
habits, beliefs and ideas. These components and attributes can not be condensed to
the general concepts of self-image and the self-esteem.
Teachers, administrators, and parents commonly voice concerns about students’ self-
esteem. Its significance is often exaggerated to the extent that low self esteem is
viewed as the cause of all evil and high self-esteem as the cause of all good.
Promoting high self-concept is important because it relates to academic and life
success. Although the terms self-concept and self-esteem are often used
interchangeably, they represent different but related constructs. Self-concept refers
to a student’s perceptions of competence or adequacy in academic and nonacademic
(example, social, behavioural, and athletic) domains and is best represented by a
profile of self-perceptions across domains. Self-esteem is a student’s overall evaluation
of him- or herself, including feelings of general happiness and satisfaction.
37
Development During Self-concept and academic achievement: Self-concept is frequently positively
Adolescence
correlated with academic performance, but it appears to be a consequence rather
than a cause of high achievement. This is a common assumption that an individuals
high academic performance results in their self concept. Whereas, the high academic
performance is the result of individual’s self concept.
Self-concept and aggression: Another popular assumption is that aggressive students
have low self-concept and use aggression as a means of raising it.
Self-concept, depression, and use of illegal substances: Low self-concept is often
considered a defining characteristic of depression, but the evidence for this is weak.
Similarly, although some evidence suggests that low self-concept may be a weak risk
factor for smoking in girls, the relationship between self-concept and the use of
alcohol and illegal drugs has little support.
An adolescent’s self-concept is dynamic, and causality is complex. That is, problems
and difficulties can lower self-concept; but low self-concept can also cause problems.
For adolescents, having a high academic self-concept is associated with positive
academic performance and having a high physical self-concept is related to increased
physical activity, for example.
3.5.1 Signs of Negative Self Concept in Adolescents

Several signs may indicate that an adolescent has a negative self-concept. These may
include one or more of the following:
z Doing poorly in school;
z Having few friends;
z Putting down one self and others;
z Rejecting compliments;
z Teasing others;
z Showing excessive amounts of anger;
z Being excessively jealous;
z Appearing conceited; or
z Hesitating to try new things.
Strategies that can be used to improve an adolescent’s self-concept include providing
praise for accomplishments, praising effort, working with the individual to encourage
improvement in areas where he or she feels deficient, and refraining from using
negative feedback.
Self esteem is the one important factor required by anybody to succeed in life. It is
a well proven concept that if you can build self esteem at your adolescent period it
will last all through your life. Adolescence is one period in which boys and girls faces
with many problems and issues. It is necessary that adolescent self esteem to be at
top to face the problems faced with adolescent period. Many teenagers will have low
self esteem and it is imperative to know major reasons for low self esteem and find
out ways and means to combat the low self esteem. It is highly advisable to make
dedicated efforts to bring up the self esteem.
38
There are many causes for the lack of self esteem. Let us review some of them. Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
z Hereditary is a main factor for low self esteem. If the parents are introverts and Relationship
they never mingle with people for fear of their inability, the chances that children
have low esteem are more.
z The living conditions: The surrounding in which you live also affects the lack
of self esteem. If the child is brought up in a poor environment without giving
proper attention to make him excel in his fields or deprived of doing good
activities, the low self esteem at the adolescent stage is possible.
z Lack of proper education: is another factor affecting the self esteem. Uneducated
children will develop lack of self esteem as they will face problems in interacting
with the educated of their age.
z Physiological: Adolescence is a period when major physical changes occur in
boys and girls. The gender hormones start the functioning in full swing during this
period. Many children face problems during this change unable to cope with the
changes occurring in their body and behaviour.
z Societal implications: During the adolescent stage of a child, society put many
restrictions in their behaviours and attitudes. Girls will be automatically tempted
to move away form the boys and boys are restricted to mingle with girls during
the period. This makes them feel that there are some things to be afraid. This
will automatically make them fear in a natural interaction.
z Fear about future: During the late periods of adolescence, the children will
seriously think about their future and in many cases they will get depressed of
their future. Unemployment, dating problems, insecurity, lack of financial
backgrounds and many such factors make the adolescents afraid of facing the
world.
z Diseases and other physical ailments: These children will be thinking that they
are debris in the world. These thinking processes make them to keep away
from others and they can become agitated.
There are many such reasons for low self esteem of adolescents. If proper care is
not given, the low self esteem gradually will lead to many physical and mental
ailments. It is important to bring up the adolescents with high self esteem.
3.5.2 Egocentrism in Adolescence

An important aspect of the psychological development contributing to the adolescent
period is adolescent egocentrism. According to Elkind (1967), adolescent egocentrism
includes a belief system carried by adolescents that makes them consider themselves
as special and unique. This feeling is accompanied by the acquisition of many new
psychological abilities.
of what others think of them, their appearance and everything related to them selves.
of self confidence.
39
Development During
Adolescence Self Assessment Questions
1) Discuss the following in one or two sentences:
z Self concept
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Self esteem
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Adolescent egocentrism
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Negative self-concept
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3.6 LET US SUM UP

ideally culminating in the establishment of a cohesive and integrative sense of self or
identity. The search for identity, during the adolescent period, is very much affected
by the social world: peers, parents, schools, and neighborhoods.
This process involves the exploration and testing of alternative ideas, beliefs, and
behaviours, marking this period as one of both dramatic change and uncertainty.
Erikson provided perhaps the most widely recognised theoretical framework for
conceptualising the transformation of the self during adolescence.
As children edge closer and closer to adulthood, it seems they reach a point where
they want to be defined by anything BUT their parents. They stop wanting to spend
time with family, and may even detest being seen with their parents. “Please drop me
off a block from school, Mom. I want to walk the rest of the way.” These words
are painful to a mother who has devoted many years of her life to meeting all of her
teenage son’s needs. Suddenly, he’s embarrassed to be seen in the same car with
her.
The process of separation from parents is a natural one. Erik Erikson was the first
major psychological theorist to develop the notion of an adolescent “identity crisis.”
In his view, all of the earlier crystallisations of identity formed during childhood come
into question during adolescence with the overwhelming combination of physical
changes, increased sex drive, expanded mental abilities, and increasing and conflicting
social demands. To develop a sense of identity amidst the confusion, Erikson stated
in Identity: Youth and Crisis that adolescents need to try on a variety of roles and
“must often test extremes before settling on a considered course.”
of different ways of looking at oneself. Erikson’s interest in identity began in childhood.
Erikson described identity as “a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of
personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and
40 continuity of some shared world image. As a quality of unself-conscious living, this
can be gloriously obvious in a young person who has found himself as he has found Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
his communality. In him we see emerge a unique unification of what is irreversibly Relationship
given—that is, body type and temperament, giftedness and vulnerability, infantile
models and acquired ideals—with the open choices provided in available roles,
occupational possibilities, values offered, mentors met, friendships made, and first
sexual encounters.”
Marcia (1966) operationalised the stage progression theory of identity development
proposed by Erikson by identifying four identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure,
moratorium, and achievement. Through the use of a semistructured interview, an
individual could be assigned an identity status on the basis of the evidence of crisis
and commitment in the domains of occupation, religion, and politics. Since its inception,
Marcia’s interview has stimulated a wide range of research in the area of identity
formation.
Self esteem is the one important factor required by anybody to succeed in life. It is
a well proven concept that if you can build self esteem at your adolescent period it
will last all through your life. Adolescence is one period in which boys and girls faces
with many problems and issues. It is necessary that adolescent self esteem to be at
top to face the problems faced with adolescent period. Many teenagers will have low
self esteem and it is imperative to know major reasons for low self esteem and find
out ways and means to combat the low self esteem. It is highly advisable to make
dedicated efforts to bring up the self esteem.

1) Define identity, self concept and self esteem.
2) In what ways the peer group relationship contributes to development of self
esteem, self concept and indentity?
3) What is Marcia’s concept of self?
4) What is social identity?
5) How is identity crisis resolved?

David Pruitt, M.D (2000). Your Adolescent: Emotional, Behavioural, and
Cognitive Development from Early Adolescence Through the Teen Years, Imprint:
Harper Paperbacks, NY
Burns, R. B. (1979). “The self-concept in theory, measurement, development and
behaviour.” London:
41
UNIT 4 CHALLENGES AND ISSUES IN
ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Challenges of Adolescence
4.2.1 Coping with the Loss of Normalcy
4.2.2 Acknowledging Sexuality
4.2.3 Change in Point of View
4.2.4 High Risk Behaviours
4.3 Let Us Sum Up

4.6 Answers to the Self Assessment Questions
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Adolescence can be described as a phase of life beginning in biology and ending in
society. Adolescence may be defined as the period within the life span when most
of a person’s biological, cognitive, psychological, and social characteristics are changing
from what is typically considered childlike to what is considered adult-like. For the
adolescent, this period is a dramatic challenge, one requiring adjustment to changes
in the self, in the family, and in the peer group. In contemporary society, adolescents
experience institutional changes as well. Among young adolescents, there is a change
in school setting, typically involving a transition from elementary school to either
junior high school or middle school; and in late adolescence, there is a transition from
high school to the worlds of work, university, or childrearing.
Understandably, then, for both adolescents and their parents, adolescence is a time
of excitement and of anxiety; of happiness and of troubles; of discovery and of
bewilderment; and of breaks with the past and of links with the future. Adolescence
can be a confusing time—for the adolescent experiencing this phase of life, for the
parents who are nurturing the adolescent during his or her progression through this
period, and for other adults charged with enhancing the development of youth during
this period.
The hopes, challenges, fears, and successes of adolescence have been romanticised
or dramatised in novels, short stories, and news articles. It is commonplace to survey
a newsstand and to find a magazine article describing the “stormy years” of
adolescence, the new crazes or fads of youth, or the “explosion” of problems with
teenagers (e.g. crime or sexuality).
Until the past 20-25 years, when medical, biological, and social scientists began to
study intensively the adolescent period, there was relatively little sound scientific
information available to verify or refute the literary characterisations of adolescence.
Today, however, such information does exist, and it is clear that although adolescence
42
presents many challenges, the evidence is not consistent with the frequently reported
belief that adolescence is a protracted period of storm and stress for most individuals.
Adolescents yearn to develop a unique and independent identity, separate from their Challenges and Issues in
Adolescents Development
parents. Yes, they love their parents, but they do not simply want to follow in their
foot steps. They challenge their parents in any way they can. They disobey their
rules; criticize their “old fashioned” values; they discard their suggestions.
Experienced parents know that sometimes they have to be very “political” approaching
their adolescent children, if they are going to get their point across. On the other
hand, adolescents give a lot of credit to their peers. They yearn to belong to a peer
group which would define and support their identity. They may attempt to do things
very much out of character just to gain the approval and acceptance of their peers.
They tend to hide their weaknesses and exaggerate their strengths. Of course, what
adolescents consider as “weakness” or “strength” may sometimes shock their parents.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and describe the challenges and various issues faced by an adolescent;
z explain how to cope with the loss of normalcy;
z analyse the causes underlying the acknowledging of sexuality and high risk
behaviours; and
z explain the reasons for the the change in their point of view.
4.2 CHALLENGES OF ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence may be defined as the period within the life span when most of a
person’s biological, cognitive, psychological, and social characteristics are changing
in the self, in the family, and in the peer group. In contemporary society, adolescents
experience institutional changes as well. Among young adolescents, there is a change
in school setting, typically involving a transition from elementary school to either
junior high school or middle school; and in late adolescence, there is a transition from
high school to the worlds of work, university, or childrearing.
Adolescence is a period that is full of challenges. This is a time when a teenager
undergoes a lot of changes, physically, chemically and emotionally. The adolescent’s
life changes dramatically wherein he or she starts having increased hormone levels,
the thought process changes, and so also the social life. The teenager has to deal
with all these changes at the same time, and this can be extremely challenging.
During adolescence, parents should play a highly supportive role. They have all the
necessary experience, resources and maturity to make this transition as easy as
possible. Parents have to first of all understand the convoluted and conflicting
requirements of a teenager.
During adolescence, a teenager is trying to carve out his or her own identity that is
completely separate from their parents. No doubt teenagers love their parents, but
they do not want to follow in the foot steps of the parents. They try to challenge their
parents’ authority in every possible way and also pay no heed to suggestions given
by their parents. Instead adolescents prefer to spend more time with their peers and
give all the credit to them. They yearn to be accepted by their peers and go out of
their way to gain this acceptance. They end up highlighting their strengths and playing
down their weaknesses. 43
Development During Another challenge during adolescence is shunning social interaction with parents and
Adolescence
other adults. They prefer to be with their peers. However, this same preference can
also lead to anxiety and depression among some adolescents.
There are multiple pathways through adolescence. Interindividual (between-person)
differences and intra-individual (within-person) changes in development are the “rule”
in this period of life. Normal adolescent development involves such variability.
Temperamental characteristics involving mood and activity level are good example.
There are differences among adolescents in such characteristics, which may influence
adolescent behaviours such as substance use and delinquency. There is also diversity
between and within all ethnic, racial, or cultural minority groups. Therefore,
generalisations that: confound class, race, and/or ethnicity are not useful.
Adolescence is full of challenges for any individual. The change is fast, everywhere,
and hard to keep up with: The body changes in response to increasing levels of sex
hormones; the thinking process changes as the child is able to think more broadly
and in an abstract way; the social life changes as new people and peers come into
scope. Yet the child needs to deal with every single one of these changes, all at the
same time! With their willingness to help, that’s where the parents come in, who have
“been there”, with the life experience, maturity and resources. So, how can parents
help? Recognising the complex and sometimes conflicting needs of an adolescent
would be a good point to start. Adolescents yearn to belong to a peer group which
would define and support their identity. They may attempt to do things very much
out of character just to gain the approval and acceptance of their peers. They tend
to hide their weaknesses and exaggerate their strengths. Of course, what adolescents
consider as “weakness” or “strength” may sometimes shock their parents.
Youngsters with autism bring their special flavor to the adolescence, essentially
determined by the levels of three ingredients: interest, avoidance and insight.
Level of interest: Since all forms of autism has an impact on social development by
definition, most adolescents with moderate to severe autism will show little or no
interest in others. They may seem to be totally unaware of their peers’ presence or
they may appear indifferent when peers try to interact. As autism gets less severe,
the level of interest in peers usually increases. For these youngsters, the quality of
social interactions mostly depends on the levels of avoidance and insight.
Level of avoidance: In the social development of adolescents who show some
interest in peer interactions, social anxiety and resultant avoidance play an important
role. Some youngsters get very nervous just with the thought of approaching others
and may choose to avoid it at all costs. Their avoidance may appear as if they are
not interested in others. It is important to differentiate this since anxiety can be
treated much more easily than genuine lack of interest.
For adolescents with autism who show interest in peers and do not avoid contact,
the quality of social interactions will depend on the level of insight.
Level of insight: Yet some adolescents with autism will not avoid interacting with
others; younger, older or similar age. Rather, they are eager to communicate, though,
often in a clumsy, in-your-face way. The level of their insight into their social disability
will then become the determining factor of their social success. If they are unaware
of their shortcomings in gauging the social atmosphere and reading social cues, they
may inadvertently come across as rude, insulting or boring.
They may miss subtle criticism, sarcasm or tease. As they develop better insight, they
44
become more motivated to learn which had not come naturally and intuitively. They Challenges and Issues in
also have a better chance to work through a sense of loss, common to all disabilities.
4.2.1 Coping with the Loss of Normalcy

Regardless of the individual developmental route, most children with autism start
realising that they are not quite like others at some point during their adolescence.
A few factors seem to facilitate the process:
A higher level of interest in others
A higher level insight into difficulties in social interaction
A higher IQ
Once the adolescent realises that he has significant difficulties in conducting social
relationships compared to his peers, he needs deal with this loss, just like dealing
with another loss. Understanding the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of an adolescent
with autism is the necessary first step in helping him out and being there for him.
Considering this coping process in a few stages may make the caregivers’ job easier:
Anger
Denial
Depression
Acceptance
Adaptation
Most commonly, the adolescent will not go through these stages one after another,
but rather display a larger or smaller aspect of each at any given time. This is a
painful process for not only the adolescent but for others who care for him as well.
Parents may find themselves compelled to forget the whole thing and act as if nothing
is happening. Denial is one form of getting over the problem. It is important for the
parents to help the youngster not to deny but to face the problem and handle it
squarely. If parents handle the problems calmly and in a matter of fact manner, this
will encourage the adolescent to also follow similar approach. Help the youngster
to talk about his anger and frustration, which will in turn help the adolescent get
closer to the acceptance and adaptation. Parents do not have to bring up any topic
or take initiative and give an impression of intrusion; instead if they give a good
listening and show patience to the youngster when he or she brings about a problem,
will go a long way in easing the situation.
When the youngster is making statement about the problem, stay on the problem
without changing the topic unless the youngster changes the topic. This would give
confidence and trust to the youngster in regard to the parents that they would listen
to him and he can trust them to be patient with his anxiety and concerns. This adds
to the youngster’s self esteem also.
It is important for the parents to be in line with the youngster, listen to the difficulties
and not to trivialise or minimise the problem, but understand the problem entirely
from the point of view of the youngster. At the same time parents should also not
allow the youngster to exaggerate an issue. They should provide the youngster cues
for reality testing in a gentle way.
Where the parents find the youngster not coming forth frankly with the problem or
finds the youngster hesitating a great deal, every effort should be made to offer the 45
Development During option of counseling, since sometimes it is easier to talk to a stranger. However, the
Adolescence
parents should never push the idea directly even if they feel that their child clearly
needs professional help.
If parents find the youngster depressed, they could consult a psychiatrist and get the
needed medication to overcome the depression. It is important for the parents to
look for the following common symptoms of clinical depression. If five or more of
these are present week after week, then it is indicative of definite depression and the
youngster needs immediate help. The symptoms to look for are given below:
z Appearing sad for most of the time;
z Becoming irritable and angry in regard to flimsy issues, so that family members
avoid the youngster lest the latter becomes very angry or upset.
z Not being able to fall asleep, waking up in the middle of the night and having
difficulty falling back to sleep;
z Complaining that he is tired all the time and wanting to take naps during the day;
z Eating less or more than usual;
z Putting himself down, saying he is stupid;
z Making remarks like they hate life, they hates the counselor, parents etc.
z You, nobody loves him, or wishing he was dead;
z Losing interest in activities he usually enjoys;
z Withdrawing self from the rest of the family, refusing to participate in group
activities;
z Blaming self unfairly for anything that goes wrong.
z Most adolescents with autism excel in one or two subjects. They tend to
accumulate a lot of information on the subject and love to talk about it over and
over.
Unfortunately, after one point family members end up losing interest and start getting
bored to death. Rather than avoiding the subject, try finding out new ways to engage
the youngster in the subject. Structure the topic in a different way. Find a way to
challenge the youngster. Be creative and let the sky be the limit! If the youngster
finds that parents are interested, that will make the youngster feel better about self,
realising that the youngster’s mastery his mastery on the subject will boost his self-
esteem.
Many adolescents with autism resolve their sense of loss by turning the issue upside
down: Rather than clinging to depression and despair, they find their identity in
autism. They get in touch with other youths with autism. They take on themselves
educating their peers about autism at school. They set up web sites, chat rooms and
even write books about it. They gather support for a better understanding and
treatment of autism.
Encouraging the youngster, your child, providing him means to this end and removing
the obstacles in front of him may turn out to be the best antidepressant treatment
ever. All this may seem remote and you may not know where to start.
46
4.2.2 Acknowledging Sexuality Challenges and Issues in
In contrast with their rather slow social development and maturation, adolescents
with autism develop physiologically and sexually at the same pace as their peers. As
their sons and daughters with autism grow older and display sexualised behaviour,
many parents find themselves worrying that their child’s behaviour will be
misunderstood or that their child will be taken advantage of.
For instance, they may be worried that their daughter will get pregnant or their son
will impregnate someone else’s daughter. Another concern may be that their child
will not have the opportunity of enjoying sexual relationships; or that their child will
contract sexually transmitted diseases etc.
While some parents get concerned that their children show no interest in sexual
matters, others have to deal with behaviours like the following:
z touching private parts of own in public;
z stripping in public;
z masturbating in public;
z touching others inappropriately;
z staring at others inappropriately; and
z talking about inappropriate subjects.
Talking about sex, especially the sexuality of the adolescent makes the parents feel
uncomfortable. Even though parents wish that their youngster have safe and fulfilling
sexual lives, we hope the issue just gets resolved by itself, or at least somebody else
takes the responsibility of resolving it.
They may find themselves lost trying to imagine their children having significant
problems such as inability to carry on a simple conversation, building relationships
that may lead to healthy sexuality. Parents may find it comforting to believe that their
children do not have sexual needs and feelings, and avoid bringing up the subject
in any shape or form.
They may feel uneasy about sex education, believing that ignorance will prevent
sexual activity.
The main issue is for the parents to make up their mind regarding addressing the
sexual issue rather than avoid it. They have to set up a time with their child to talk
about sexuality, rather than making a few comments about it when the issue is hot.
There is no point talking about the issue when it is raw and right after the incident.
when everybody feels quite emotional about what just has happened.
It is important for parents to ask direct questions about what the youngster knows
about sex, his desires and worries. It is for the parents to inform the youngster and
tell him or her they parents think should be his first step. After inquiring and talking
about the normal behaviour, the parents should set realistic but firm limits about
inappropriate behaviour.
Seeing parents level of comfort around the issue, the youngster will get the message
that it is OK to have sexual feelings and it is OK to talk about them. Getting this
message alone will bring the tension around sexuality a few notches down. If this
approach is fair, parents should not feel shy about asking for help. Other parents with 47
Development During adolescent children would be a good starting point. Another is the youngster’s school
Adolescence
may also be able to help. Finally, parents may inquire about professional help which
should provide:
z an individualized sexuality assessment
z sex education based on individual needs
z utilise behavioural modification techniques to discourage inappropriate sexual
behaviour and promote appropriate sexual behaviour.
4.2.3 Change in the Point of Views

In this period, adolescents manifest clear sexual identity and are concerned with
serious relationships. They are able to love others tenderly and have a capacity for
sensual love. Self-esteem and personal dignity become important to them. They want
that they should be respected and treated as adults. They can even offer useful insight
on many things, and can set goals for themselves and follow them through. By this
time, teenagers learn self-regulation and accept social institutions and cultural traditions
more easily. There can be mental and emotional problems involved, but most of them
are treatable with the help of an expert professional.
4.2.4 High-risk Behaviours

Late adolescence represents a unique period of transition between youth and
adulthood. These youngsters are usually considered to be a healthy group but may
also develop many chronic medical problems around this time.
A few health problems, such as eating disorders, are actually unique to this group of
late adolescents. They are constantly concerned about their looks and do not want
to become obese. Thus they tend to starve at this time and develop eating disorders.
Also this is the age when they develop high-risk behaviours. They experiment with
drugs, alcohol, smoking, adventurous sport and many more. Many of these behaviours
are a challenge to the existing norms and systems. They tend to defy the norms and
take risks. Through such behaviours they try to convince themselves and their peers
and parents that they are grown ups.
During adolescence, children develop the ability to:
z Comprehend abstract concepts, such as higher mathematical concepts, and
develop moral philosophies, including rights and privileges
z Establish and maintain satisfying personal relationships by learning to share
intimacy without inhibition or dread
z Move gradually towards a more mature sense of identity and purpose
z Question old values without a sense of dread or loss of identity
i) An early adolescent is the time when there is a transition from high school
to the world of university. ( )
ii) The teenage has to deal with all changes at the same time which is
48 extremely challenging. ( )
Challenges and Issues in
iii) Adolescents yearn to develop a unique independent identity separate Adolescents Development
from their parents. ( )
iv) Adolescents are able to love others tenderly and have a capacity for
sensual love. ( )
v) Early adolescents commonly experience with drugs, alcohol, smoking
adventure sports, etc. ( )
i) Adolescence is a period when a person changes in ___________,
______________, _________________ and ________________
characters.
ii) Sexuality of adolescents makes the parents feel ________________.
iii) _________________ and personal dignity becomes important to
adolescents.
iv) Adolescents are a period that is full of _______________.
v) Adolescents in order to look good tend to starve and may develop
___________________.
4.3 LET US SUM UP

Adolescence can be described as a phase of life beginning in biology and ending in
society. Adolescence may be defined as the period within the life span when most
of a person’s biological, cognitive, psychological, and social characteristics are changing
in the self, in the family, and in the peer group.
Understandably, then, for both youngsters and their parents, adolescence is a time
of excitement and of anxiety; of happiness and of troubles; of discovery and of
bewilderment; and of breaks with the past and of links with the future. Adolescence
can be a confusing time—for the adolescent experiencing this phase of life, for the
parents who are nurturing the adolescent during his or her progression through this
period, and for other adults charged with enhancing the development of youth during
this period.
The hopes, challenges, fears, and successes of adolescence have been romanticised
or dramatised in novels, short stories, and news articles. It is commonplace to survey
a newsstand and to find a magazine article describing the “stormy years” of
adolescence, the new crazes or fads of youth, or the “explosion” of problems with
teenagers (e.g. crime or sexuality).
Adolescents yearn to develop a unique and independent identity, separate from their
parents’. Yes, they love their parents, but they don’t simply want to follow their foot
steps. They challenge their parents in any way they can. They disobey their rules;
criticize their “old fashioned” values; they discard their suggestions.
During adolescence, parents should play a highly supportive role. They have all the
necessary experience, resources and maturity to make this transition as easy as
possible. Parents have to first of all understand the convoluted and conflicting
requirements of a teenager. 49
Development During During adolescence, a teenager is trying to carve out his or her own identity that is
Adolescence
completely separate from the parents. No doubt teenagers love their parents, but
they do not want to follow in the foot steps of the parents. They try to challenge their
parents’ authority in every possible way and also pay no heed to suggestions given
by their parents.
Youngsters with autism bring their special flavor to the adolescence, essentially
determined by the levels of three ingredients: interest, avoidance and insight.
Regardless of the individual developmental route, most children with autism start
realising that they are not quite like others at some point during their adolescence.
Once the adolescent realises that he has significant difficulties in conducting social
relationships compared to his peers, he needs deal with this loss, just like dealing
with another loss. Understanding the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of an adolescent
with autism is the necessary first step in helping him out and being there for him.
In this period, adolescents manifest clear sexual identity and are concerned with
serious relationships. They are able to love others tenderly and have a capacity for
sensual love. Self-esteem and personal dignity become important to them. They want
that they should be respected and treated as adults. They can even offer useful insight
on many things, and can set goals for themselves and follow them through. By this
time, teenagers learn self-regulation and accept social institutions and cultural traditions
more easily. There can be mental and emotional problems involved, but most of them
are treatable with the help of an expert professional.
Late adolescence represents a unique period of transition between youth and
adulthood. They are usually considered to be a healthy group but many chronic
medical problems may also begin during this time.

1) What are the various Challenges of Adolescence?
2) How do youngsters cope with the Loss of Normalcy?
3) How to make youngsters acknowledge sexuality?
4) What are the various types of change in the youngster’s point of view?
5) What are high risk behaviours? Give suitable examples and discuss the remedial
measures and preventive measures.

QUESTIONS
1) i) False
ii) True
iii) True
iv) True
v) False
50
2) i) Biological; cognitive; psychological; and social Challenges and Issues in
ii) Uncomfortable
iii) Self-esteem
iv) Challenges
v) Eating disorders
51
UNIT 1 PHYSICAL CHANGES (EARLY
ADULTHOOD, MIDDLE AGE, OLD
AGE)
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Early Adulthood
1.2.1 Physical Changes
1.3 Middle Age/ Middle Adulthood
1.4 Old Age
1.5 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Answer to the Self Assessment Questions
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The distinction between childhood and adulthood varies considerably among cultural
and social groups. The personal and social significance of the passage of years is
shaped by the cultural age system. All societies divide the lifespan into recognised
stages. These life stages or periods are marked by certain physical, psychological
and social milestones. The life stages are commonly identified as prenatal stage (from
conception until birth), infancy (from birth to the end of second year of life), early
childhood (ages three to six years), middle childhood (six years until puberty),
adolescence (start of puberty to adulthood), young adulthood (ages twenty to forty),
middle adulthood (ages forty to sixty-five) and later adulthood or old age (sixty-five
and older). This unit will help you understand the physical changes of all the three
stages of adulthood.
Early adulthood is the stage of our life between the ages of about 20-40 years old,
who are typically vibrant, active and healthy, and are focused on friendship, romance,
child bearing and careers. It is the first stage of adulthood in which the body physically
changes and is one of the hardest times in our lives after teenage years. In this stage,
a person may continue to add a bit of height and weight to her teenage frame. The
body continues to undergo significant hormonal changes.
In middle adulthood, an important challenge is to develop a genuine concern for the
welfare of future generations and to contribute to the world through family and work.
Midlife is also viewed as a period of creativity and significant contribution to society.
It is found that the best works of scientists, writers and artists are produced during
the late forties and early fifties. Middle adulthood is the second stage of adulthood
in which one of the most noticeable change is loss of elasticity in the skin, especially
in the face. This results in lines and wrinkles that are seen as one of the first signs
of ageing.
5
Adulthood and Ageing Late adulthood or old age is the period of life in every individual that follows the
period of his or her life after he/she turns 65 years of age. Old age consists of ages
nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the
human life cycle. This period is marked by the process of growing old, resulting in
part from the failure of body cells to function normally or to produce new body cells
to replace those that are dead or malfunctioning.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
z discuss and understand the period of early adulthood;
z understand the physical changes during early adulthood;
z discuss and understand the period of middle adulthood;
z understand the physical changes during middle adulthood;
z discuss and understand the period of old age; and
z understand the physical changes during old age.
1.2 EARLY ADULTHOOD

changes and is one of the hardest times in our lives after teenage years. One has to
deal with so much in this time and it seems to be real time of self search as well as
preparation. During this time in our life we find ourselves with a new sense of
independence and for the first time in life we really feel free. However, along with
that comes a lot of added personal responsibility to both ourselves and others and
we really begin to learn more about ourselves as well as others through social
interaction.
During the period of young adulthood one sees himself or herself as an autonomous
and independent adult. In this period the individual becomes financially less dependent
on the parental family. A major development task is during this period is the choice
of a career. Young men and women tend to settle down in a career of their choice.
In addition a young adult tries to settle down and start a family life. They are also
concerned about various social issues and forming close relationships with one’s
professional peers and members of community. The duties of a person demand two
fold responsibilities which are towards oneself as well as the society.
The stage of young adulthood is characterised by new tasks and challenges in life
such as establishing financial and emotional independence and entering into marital
relationship. Unemployment and marital discord are two typical crisis conditions
during early adulthood.
According to Erickson, this period is characterised by a crisis of intimacy versus
isolation. The young adults must develop the ability to form deep intimate relationships
with others particularly in marriage. Otherwise, they can become socially and
emotionally isolated. Most young adults develop a dream of future accomplishments
or a vision of what they want to achieve as a life goal. Such dreams motivate the
young adults towards goal directed efforts. Occupational and marital choices and
establishment of social and economic independence are some major tasks of early
6
adulthood.
According to Sigmond Freud, adulthood is a time for work and love. Our lives Physical Changes (Early
Adulthood, Middle Age,
centers around our careers and relationships, leaving less time for anything else. Old Age)

In this stage, a person may continue to add a bit of height and weight to her teenage
frame. The body continues to undergo significant hormonal changes. These changes
may make beards grow a bit thicker and the voice to become a slightly deeper and
richer. This is the period in which women usually have children so it is the time in
which women gain a little weight and finish their full breast development.
The Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood
The age period from 18 to 25 years has been labeled as “emerging adulthood” as
individuals have often left dependency of childhood but have not yet assumed adult
responsibilities.
Females reach their adult heights by age 18, and, except for some males who
continue to grow in their early 20s, most have reached their adult heights by the age
of 21. However, muscles continue to gain mass- especially among males, and both
genders continue to add body fat. Average weight gain for both men and women
is about 15 pounds.
1.3 MIDDLE AGE/ MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

This period is aged between 40-60 years of life.
Erik Erickson refers to the problem posed at this stage as generativity versus self
absorption. He characterises the middle adulthood as a phase of crisis. Unless a
person makes this period of meaningful contribution he or she may become
preoccupied with selfish needs and desires. The midlife transition is also the period
of turbulence of the forties.
From the period of twenties and thirties, the individual arrives at middle age in the
forties and fifties. Middle age is characterised by competence, maturity, responsibility
and stability. This is the time when one wants to enjoy the success of job, satisfaction
derived from the family and social life. People look forward to the success of their
children. Attention gets more focused on health, the fate of children, ageing parents,
the use of leisure time and plans of old age.
Midlife is also viewed as a period of creativity and significant contribution to society.
It is found that the best works of scientists, writers and artists are produced during
the late forties and early fifties.

Individuals vary in the rate at which the changes occur, all middle aged people notice
signs of deterioration in some aspects of their physical functioning. Very often, during
the early thirties individuals make a reappraisal of their choices and seek to make
specific changes in their career choices as well as their social relations. These
experiences are described as “age thirty transition”. In the 40s, for example, there
is usually a decline in near vision a condition known as presbyopia. The lens of the
eyes become less elastic and loses its ability to accommodate to objects at dose
range. Reading glasses or bifocal may be required for the first time. The individual 7
Adulthood and Ageing may also notice increased sensitivity to glared-on the windshield of the car, for
example, or in brightly lit stores. In their 50s people often find that it takes their eyes
longer to adapt to the change in illumination when they enter a darkened theater or
when they go outside on a bright sunny day. Some degrees of hearing loss is also
found in many people over 50.
Middle adulthood is the second stage of adulthood in which one of the most noticeable
change is loss of elasticity in the skin, especially in the face. This results in lines and
wrinkles that are seen as one of the first signs of ageing. Most individuals get a little
shorter through the years. Hair starts graying, skin is wrinkling, bodies are sagging
and teeth are yellowing. Some adults strive to make themselves look younger by
having plastic surgery, dying their hairs, wearing wigs, joining exercise programs or
taking heavy vitamin doses.
Men usually gain weight in the abdominal region, while women gain weight in the hips
and thighs. Strength and flexibility in both genders wane. Men during this period
show greater concern towards their health, strength, power and sexual potency.
For women, menopause occurs between the ages of forty-five and fifty. Women
usually experience hormonal changes during this period that result in the loss of the
ability to reproduce, a process called menopause. Menopause is supposed to be
accompoanied by some distressing physical and psychological symptoms in women.
Both genders may experience graying of the hair or hair may be thin.
1) Answer the following in True or False:
i) Young adults are vibrant, active and healthy.
ii) Young adults tend to get isolated due to crisis.
iii) Individual add a bit of height during middle adulthood.
iv) Attention gets focused on health and fate of children during middle age.
v) Individuals in middle age are unstable.
i) A decline in near vision is a condition known as ____________________.
ii) During middle age, there is a loss of _____________________ in skin.
iii) Women between the ages of 45 and 50, experiences ________________.
iv) Early adult’s focus on friendship, romance, _____________________
and careers.
v) Individuals due to crisis, tends to get ___________________________
during middle adulthood.
1.4 OLD AGE

Late adulthood or old age is the period of life in every individual that follows the
human life cycle. People can be considered old because of certain changes in their
8 activities or social roles. Old people have limited regenerative abilities and are more
prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults. For example, people Physical Changes (Early
can be considered as old when they become grandparents, or when they begin to Old Age)
do less or different work, or when they get to the age of retirement.
This period is marked by the process of growing old, resulting in part from the failure
of body cells to function normally or to produce new body cells to replace those that
are dead or malfunctioning. This in turn results in significant physical, psychological
and cognitive changes, like cardio-vascular, digestive malfunctioning, depression, and
impaired memory functioning and so on.

As an individual moves towards their old age, there are changes which occurs
naturally and not due to any disease. These changes include sensory changes, digestion,
circulation and sexuality. The physical changes that occur in the bodies of the individuals
can be divided into two main categories – external changes and internal changes.
These changes are the outward signs of ageing, and are quiet obvious to notice. They
consists of changes in hair, skin, posture, etc. most people’s hair becomes distinctly
gray and eventually turns white, and it may also thin out. The skin becomes less
elastic, more wrinkled, dry and thin. The wrinkles are formed partly because of loss
fatty tissue under the skin.
Functional age is the actual competence and performance a person displays, regardless
of chronological age. People age biologically at different rates:
Young-old elderly appear physically young for their years.
Old-old elderly appear frail and show signs of decline.
Sensory Changes
Human receives and process information from the environment through hearing,
vision, taste, smell and touch. With ageing, these senses are often diminished and
incoming information may be distorted or difficult to understand. As a result, the
older person may give up some enjoyable activities or lose contact with friends and
family who are important sources of support.
Hearing
Hearing loss affects the older persons ability to talk easily with others. According to
studies, about 30% of people over 60 have a hearing impairment, but about 33%
of those 75 to 84, and about half of those over 85, have hearing loss. For example,
older people have trouble hearing higher pitched tones. They also may not be able
to make out sounds or words when there is background interference
Older persons may be frustrated or embarrassed about not being able to understand
what is being said. They may have to ask people to repeat themselves, or endure
shouting when a speaker tries to be heard. Older persons may hold back from
conversation out of a fear of making inappropriate comments. They may tire from
concentrating and straining to hear. As a result, the older person may withdraw from
friends and family and outside activities.
Vision
Even though changes to the eye take place as a person ages, many older people
have good-to-adequate vision. Nevertheless, beginning in the late 30s and early 40s,
an individual may begin to notice some changes. She or he may have to hold the 9
Adulthood and Ageing paper farther away to read it due to changes in the ability of the lens to change its
shape to accommodate to distance.
With ageing, peripheral vision is reduced. A person may need to turn her or his head
to see to the sides. The flexibility of the eye decreases and it takes an older person
more time to accommodate to changes in light. Adaptations in lifestyle and behaviours
must be made to cope with this change. An individual might give up driving at night.
Placing more lights evenly around the room so that the entire room is lit is also
helpful.
Degeneration of eye muscles and clouding of the lens are associated with ageing.
Several changes in vision result from this. Older people tend to have trouble focusing
on near objects, but eyeglasses may correct this problem. In addition, the ability to
see colors changes with age as the lens yellows. Red, yellow, and orange are easier
to see than blue and green. This is why fabrics in warmer shades may be more
appealing to the older person.
i) Cataracts are cloudy areas in the lens which blur vision and can cause blindness
if there is no surgery. There is poorer dark adaptation when coming in from the
light. Depth perception is also compromised since binocular vision declines, as
well as visual acuity.
ii) Macular degeneration occurs when light-sensitive cells in the macula, the central
region of the retina break down, resulting in blurry central vision, and eventual
blindness. A diet high in anti-oxidants can delay this condition. Driving may need
to be curtailed at a certain point, as the older driver has a harder time discriminating
the road distractions and signs. This is a hard thing to give up, since it signals
physical dependence on others. Elders also are at higher risk of stumbling and
serious falls at this point, as they don’t see changes in the floor and accommodate
smoothly.
Taste and Smell
Some loss in taste sensitivity takes place with ageing. However, the loss is minor and
does not seem to occur in most people until well after 70. There is also a loss of
smell, but this is not severe.
Nevertheless, older people often complain that their meals are tasteless or that they
no longer like their favorite foods. Most experts feel that these complaints are caused
by a sense of loneliness at meals, or an unwillingness or inability to cook. Also, older
persons may not buy more enjoyable foods when they have difficulty chewing due
to poor dentures or dental problems, or are stretching their food dollars due to a
limited budget.
Touch
The skin serves a protective function by buffering us from the environment. Skin
changes leave the older person vulnerable to discomfort and harm. Due to reduced
sensitivity, heat sources such as heating pads, hot water bottles, and pot handles can
hurt the skin before the elder realises that damage is occurring.
An older person may develop a greater sensitivity to cool temperatures and drafts.
This is caused by a decline in sweat gland activity, a decrease in the ability to
maintain a normal body temperature due to poorer circulation, and a thinning of the
skin. Wrinkling, drying, and scaling also occur. The skin tears and breaks more
10 easily, increasing the chance of injury and infection.
The sensation of touch connects us with others no matter what our age. Thus, touch Physical Changes (Early
is important in maintaining the elder’s emotional well-being. Use of touch during Old Age)
communication should be practiced to show that you are there for support and that
you care.
Changes in Bones and Muscles
Ageing adults, especially the very old, are vulnerable to broken bones. In addition,
joints stiffen and connecting ligaments between bones lose their elasticity. Hand and
foot pain may result.
Although there is no known way to prevent sometimes painful changes in ageing
muscles, bones, and ligaments, regular exercise helps to assure continuing mobility in
old age. Most physicians feel that walking, along with adequate rest and a nutritious
diet, are tremendously valuable for maintaining mobility and fitness in the later years.
It is very important to prevent falls. Due to changes in bone mass and strength, falls
often result in injury, hospitalisation, and continued declines in health.
Teeth and Mouth
Older adults are more likely to lose teeth to gum disease than to problems with the
teeth themselves. However, with proper personal care, regular checkups, and improved
dentistry methods, older people are more able to retain their natural teeth throughout
their lives. Older people who do lose their teeth may now expect and demand
comfortable, well-fitting, and durable dentures.
Digestion
The digestive system is very sensitive to emotions. An older person may experience
an upset stomach or lack of appetite when lonely, depressed, or worried. Regular
contact with friends and relatives, through visits and telephone calls, can help prevent
these problems.
It is fairly common for older people to have less frequent bowel movements and to
suffer from constipation. This is due to changes in tissue and muscles and reduced
thirst. Regular exercise, such as a daily walk, can prevent constipation. A well-
balanced diet that includes adequate fiber and fluid intake also encourages normal
bowel function and minimises the need for laxatives. In contrast, self-prescribed
laxatives are an expensive substitute for foods that naturally keep the gastrointestinal
system running smoothly, such as bran cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Overuse of
laxatives can interfere with the availability of nutrients for healthy body functioning.
Adequate fluid intake is essential for maintaining proper body temperature and
functioning of the digestive system. However, some older people make the mistake
of limiting their fluid intake in order to avoid frequent urination. Dehydration is a
serious problem for the elderly. This is due to their decreased sense of thirst and
reduced capacity to conserve water. In addition, laxative abuse, diuretic therapies,
infections, immobility, or excessive use of alcohol or caffeine tend to promote
dehydration.
Circulation
The older heart slows down and is less able to pump blood through the body than
the younger heart. This results in older people having less energy and stamina for
physical work. Decreased circulation also contributes to cold sensitivity, particularly
in the hands and feet. Because oxygen necessary for proper physical and cognitive 11
Adulthood and Ageing functioning is carried through the blood, the elder with poor circulation may experience
forgetfulness and other symptoms of poor cognition.
Blood vessels, which play an important role in the circulation of blood throughout the
body, lose elasticity as we age. This causes blood to tend to “pool” in the feet and
legs. This means that swelling (edema) may occur in the extremities. Consequently,
the heart, which undergoes muscle changes as we age, must pump harder in order
to carry the blood to all parts of the body.
Changes in circulation make the older person more susceptible to the development
of “little strokes” (TIAs) than when younger. Symptoms of such episodes include
headache, vision disturbances, loss of balance, confusion, and dizziness when standing
quickly from a sitting or reclining position. Because “little strokes” can be harbingers
of a larger stroke, consult with the older person’s primary health care provider,
should these occur.
Many older people are on medications that impact circulation. Be familiar with these
medications, and their side effects. This may prevent complications, which may arise
from their use.
Pressure ulcers, a skin problem found in people with limited mobility, are due to
impaired circulation. When an older person is unable to move about, tissue may die
due to lack of an adequate blood supply to the skin. Areas particularly susceptible
to these ulcers are those over bony prominences such as hips, shoulders, elbows,
knees, ankles, and the heels of the feet.
Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems
They are affected by ageing as the heart muscle becomes more rigid and some cells
enlarge, thickening the left ventricle. Arteries stiffen and accumulate plaque. So the
heart pumps with less force, and blood flow slows. So during activity, sufficient
oxygen may not be delivered to critical tissues. Lung tissue also loses elasticity and
capacity is reduced by half. The blood absorbs less oxygen and expels less carbon
dioxide. People feel more out of breath when exercising. This is more of a problem
for people who have smoked, had a high-fat diet, or been exposed to pollutants.
Exercise facilitates respiratory function.
Immune system declines as T cells become less effective.
Auto-immune response is a problem when the immune system turns against normal
body tissues. This puts elders at risk of infectious diseases, CVD, cancers, rheumatoid
arthritis, or diabetes. The more impaired the immune system is, the more at risk the
person is to a variety of agents.
Sleep is essential for healthy functioning all one’s life, but as we age, sleep is harder
to come by, as elders sleep less, more lightly, and have more trouble going to sleep.
Men seem to have more sleep problems than women, due to the enlargement of the
prostate gland and the need to urinate more often at night.
Sleep apnea is a condition where breathing ceases for 10 sec. or more, causing the
person to awaken with a start to breathe again. This afflicts more men than women,
but overweight people have problems with this condition, as more weight is pressing
on the lungs, requiring more effort to keep breathing. Legs also move rapidly during
the night- “restless legs” and this can disrupt sleep, too. Unfortunately poor sleep can
afflict daytime energy, resulting in a cycle of downward energy, even depression.
12
More prescriptions for sleep aids are given to older adults, but they can have Physical Changes (Early
rebound effects later with greater insomnia. Old Age)
Sexuality
Sexual desires and the physical capacity to engage in sex continue throughout life.
Loss of interest in sex is usually due to emotional causes, drug use, or disease, and
not necessarily to ageing. Changes in sexual response and in the sex organs lead to
changes in frequency and pattern of performance. However, the older person’s own
health and a healthy and willing partner are important factors in sexual expression.
Sharing feelings and closeness with another person are very important to sustaining
emotional and physical intimacy.
Physical Disabilities
They do increase toward the end of the lifespan, especially illnesses such as CVD
and cancer. Respiratory diseases also climb in late adulthood – emphysema is caused
by loss of elasticity in lung tissue – most result from smoking. As the immune system
declines, more people are at risk of pneumonia, severe lung inflammation. Stroke is
4th most common killer in the elderly. There is a blockage of blood flow in the brain
which leads to death of neural tissue and accompanying loss of function. Osteoporosis
rises in late adulthood, as well as arthritis. Adult-onset diabetes and unintentional
injuries also increase in late adulthood. These illnesses are not caused by ageing, but
are related to age – they occur more often in the aged.
Primary ageing – biological ageing that occurs even in the context of good health.
Secondary ageing – is declines in function due to hereditary defects and negative
environmental influences, poor diet, lack of exercise, disease, substance abuse,
environmental pollution, and stress.
Arthritis is a condition of inflamed, painful, stiff or swollen joints and muscles. There
are two forms:
Osteo-arthritis is the most common type – due to deteriorating cartilage on the ends
of bones – “degenerative joint disease”. Cartilage that cushions the bones in joints
deteriorates, so there is more discomfort with movement. Obesity can place abnormal
pressure on joints and damages cartilage, too.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that involves the whole body. There
is inflammation of connective tissue, there is stiffness, inflammation, and aching.
Deformed joints develop, reducing mobility.
Adult-onset diabetes occurs when the insulin output of the pancreas can’t control
blood sugar after a meal. High blood sugar damages the blood vessels, increases risk
of stroke, heart attack, circulatory problems in the legs, and injury to the eyes,
kidneys, and nerves. If there is severe loss of blood flow, it can result in amputations
and blindness. It may require oral insulin or even shots to maintain blood sugar in the
healthy range.
Unintentional injuries- death rate from injuries increases after age 65- mostly due to
car collisions and falls.
Motor vehicle accidents are responsible for ¼ of injury mortality later in life. But
older adults have higher rates of traffic tickets, accidents, and fatalities per mile
driven than any other age group, except for teens. Deaths due to injury are greater
13
Adulthood and Ageing for men than women in late life. Driving is especially impaired as vision is impaired.
They also have a slower reaction time, and don’t always read and interpret road
signs effectively. They are also at risk on foot at intersections when they can’t
determine when to walk.
Falls – 30% of those over 65, and 40% of those over 80 have had a fall within the
past year. Serious injury results about 10% of the time- most commonly a hip
fracture. This type of break increases 20% from 65 to 85. It associates with a 12
– 20% increase in mortality. Half never regain the ability to walk without assistance
again. Unfortunately, once someone falls, s/he will tend to avoid activities that may
be associated with instability, so they restrict social contact and exercise.
Prevention may entail corrective eyewear, improved safety in the home or car, and
other family members taking on some of the responsibility for the elder’s transportation.
3) Answer the following in True or False:
i) Old age starts from the age of 50 years. ( )
ii) Old people have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to
disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults. ( )
iii) Young-old elderly appear frail and show signs of decline. ( )
iv) With ageing, peripheral vision is reduced. ( )
v) The older heart slows down and is less able to pump blood through the
body than the younger heart. ( )
i) Degeneration of eye muscles and ________________ of the lens are
associated with ageing.
ii) The skin serves a ________________ function by buffering us from the
environment.
iii) Regular exercise, such as a daily walk, can prevent ______________.
iv) Immune system declines as _________________ become less effective.
v) ________________ is a condition of inflamed, painful, stiff or swollen
joints and muscles.
1.5 LET US SUM UP

changes and is one of the hardest times in our lives after teenage years. During the
period of young adulthood one sees himself or herself as an autonomous and
independent adult. In this period the individual becomes financially less dependent on
the parental family. A major development task is during this period is the choice of
a career. The stage of young adulthood is characterised by new tasks and challenges
in life such as establishing financial and emotional independence and entering into
marital relationship. Unemployment and marital discord are two typical crisis conditions
during early adulthood.
14
Females reach their adult heights by age 18, and, except for some males who Physical Changes (Early
continue to grow in their early 20s, most have reached their adult heights by the age Old Age)
of 21. However, muscles continue to gain mass – especially among males, and both
genders continue to add body fat. Average weight gain for both men and women
is about 15 pounds.
This period is aged between 40-60 years of life. From the period of twenties and
thirties, the individual arrives at middle age in the forties and fifties. Middle age is
characterised by competence, maturity, responsibility and stability. This is the time
when one wants to enjoy the success of job, satisfaction derived from the family and
social life. People look forward to the success of their children.
Middle adulthood is the second stage of adulthood in which one of the most noticeable
change is loss of elasticity in the skin, especially in the face. This results in lines and
wrinkles that are seen as one of the first signs of ageing. Most individuals get a little
shorter through the years. Hair starts graying, skin is wrinkling, bodies are sagging
and teeth are yellowing. Some adults strive to make themselves look younger by
having plastic surgery, dying their hairs, wearing wigs, joining exercise programs or
taking heavy vitamin doses.
Late adulthood or old age is the period of life in every individual that follows the
human life cycle. People can be considered old because of certain changes in their
activities or social roles. Old people have limited regenerative abilities and are more
prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults.
Functional age is the actual competence and performance a person displays, regardless
of chronological age. The ageing body does change. Some systems slow down,
while others lose their “fine tuning”. Slight gradual change is common, and most of
these are not problems to the person who experiences them. Serious and dramatic
change may indicate serious health problems.
As an individual moves towards their old age, there are changes which occurs
naturally and not due to any disease. These changes include sensory changes, digestion,
circulation and sexuality. The physical changes that occur in the bodies of the individuals
can be divided into two main categories – external changes and internal changes.
These changes are the outward signs of ageing, and are quiet obvious to notice. They
consists of changes in hair, skin, posture, etc. most people’s hair becomes distinctly
gray and eventually turns white, and it may also thin out. The skin becomes less
elastic, more wrinkled, dry and thin. The wrinkles are formed partly because of loss
fatty tissue under the skin.

1) What are the physical changes that take place in early adulthood?
2) What are the developmental tasks during this period?
3) What are the physical changes that take place in middle adulthood?
4) What are the developmental tasks of this period?
5) What are the physical changes that take place during old age?
15
6) What are the developmental tasks of this period?
Adulthood and Ageing
QUESTIONS
1) i) True
ii) True
iii) False
iv) True
v) False
2) i) Presbyopia
ii) Elasticity
iii) Menopause
iv) Child Bearing
v) Self absorption
3) i) False
ii) True
iii) False
iv) True
v) True
4) i) Clouding
ii) Protective
iii) Constipation
iv) T Cells
v) Arthritis

Stuart-Hamilton, Ian (2006). The Psychology of Ageing: An Introduction. London:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Diane F. Gilmer; Aldwin, Carolyn M. (2003). Health, illness, and optimal ageing:
biological and psychosocial perspectives. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications
16
UNIT 2 COGNITIVE CHANGES (EARLY
AGE)
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Early Adulthood
2.2.1 Cognitive Changes
2.3 Middle Adulthood
2.4 Old Age
2.5 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Young adulthood is a time when most of us finish school, find a career we enjoy, and
create a family of our own. The cognitive stages during the early adulthood can be
discussed as a period of realistic and pragmatic thinking; reflective and relativistic thinking.
According to Piaget, he thought that young adults were quantitatively advanced in their
thinking (they have more knowledge), however, they are qualitatively similar. He also
believed that adults increase their knowledge in a specific area.
In this unit we will be dealing with all the three stages of adulthood and examine the
physical, cognitive and other changes that come about. Particularly the focus will be on
cognitive development.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and describe the period of early adulthood;
z describe the cognitive changes during early adulthood;
z explain the characteristics of middle adulthood;
z delineate the cognitive changes during middle adulthood;
z define and describe the period of old age; and
z analyse the cognitive changes during old age.
2.2 EARLY ADULTHOOD

create a family of our own. Physically, it is a time where we are our healthiest and will
reach our peak performance. Cognitively, it is a time to grow up and make life decisions. 17
Adulthood and Ageing Socioemotionally, it is a time to take on roles of independence, lifestyles, marriage, and
family.
According to Erik Erikson’s eight stages of development, this is a time of intimacy vs.
isolation. One either gets involved in an intimate relationship or isolates oneself. According
to the literature, many areas of development are paramount during early adulthood.
The cognitive stages during the early adulthood can be discussed as a period of realistic
and pragmatic thinking; reflective and relativistic thinking. According to Piaget, he thought
that young adults were quantitatively advanced in their thinking (they have more
knowledge), however, they are qualitatively similar. He also believed that adults increase
their knowledge in a specific area.
Between the ages of 35-60, we find vast changes in many areas of our lives. The most
obvious changes related to our lifestyle include: physical development and health, career
and finances, marraige, and leisure activities. For many, midlife is a time when they start
to think about “how much time they have left”. Individuals begin to reexamine their
lives, their relationships, their work, and even to question the meaning of it all. This
process has been referred to as a mid-life crisis. Clearly, middle adulthood is a time
change and development.
Middle adulthood is the period in which an individual changes in their cognitive
functioning as concerned to their intelligence: crystallized and fluid; information processing
and memory; expertise; career, work and leisure; religion, health and coping; and meaning
in life.
While the adult years are generally a time of vitality and good health, their are health
concerns. The main health problems of middle adulthood are cardiovascular disease,
cancer, and menopause. Another major problem that effects health and behaviour is
stress. Overall this is a time of major change and development physically and mentally.
During the middle adult years there is a noticeable change in how adults view their
careers. By this time most individuals have settled into their careers and between the
ages of 40-45 have ceased to advance up the career ladder. In general, job satisfaction
and commitment tend to be high and continue to increase into our sixties.
It is also at this time that adults adjust their idealistic hopes to realistic possibilities. This
adjustment to attainable goals is dependent on how much time is left before retirement,
with retirement planning being a major area of financial concern. These reassesments
may lead to stress and sadness over unaccomplished goals, which for a small few may
lead to a midlife career change.
Crystallized intelligence improves through middle age and on. The ability to remember
and use information acquired over a lifetime is increased, and also depends on education
and culture of the individual. An individual is able to use stored information’s and process
automatically in their daily lives.
Many psychologists believe that fluid intelligence was primarily genetic and that
crystallized intelligence was primarily learned. This nature-nurture distinction is probably
invalid, in part because the acquisition of crystallized intelligence is affected by the
quality of fluid intelligence.
Another financial adjustment that tends to take place for many midadults is the planning
for college and setting aside the necessary funds for their children. In response to these
growing financial needs and greater free time, due to their children getting older, many
women enter or reenter the workforce. In short, this tends to be a time of career and
18 financial readjustment and planning for both men and women.
Leisure holds an important place in helping adults to deal with life experiences. Not Cognitive Changes (Early
only does leisure enhance ones well-being it is also a buffer to the stresses of life. Old Age)
which are typically vibrant, active and healthy, and are focused on friendship, romance,
changes and is one of the hardest times in our lives after teenage years. One has to deal
with so much in this time and it seems to be real time of self search as well as preparation.
During this time in our life we find ourselves with a new sense of independence and for
the first time in life we really feel free. However, along with that comes a lot of added
personal responsibility to both ourselves and others and we really begin to learn more
about ourselves as well as others through social interaction.
create a family of our own. Physically, it is a time where we are our healthiest and will
reach our peak performance. Cognitively, it is a time to grow up and make life decisions.

The cognitive stages during the early adulthood can be discussed as a period of realistic
and pragmatic thinking; reflective and relativistic thinking. According to Piaget, he thought
that young adults were quantitatively advanced in their thinking (they have more
knowledge), however, they are qualitatively similar. He also believed that adults increase
their knowledge in a specific area.
Realistic and Pragmatic Thinking
Realistic thinking means looking at all aspects of a situation (the positive, the negative,
and the neutral) before making conclusions. In other words, realistic thinking means
looking at yourself, others, and the world in a balanced and fair way.
Some experts argue that the idealism of Piaget’s formal operational stage declines in
young adulthood, replaced by more realistic, pragmatic thinking. Schaie argues that
adults use information differently than adolescents.
According to K.Warner Schaie, adults progress beyond adolescents only in their use
of intellect. We typically switch from actually acquiring knowledge to applying that
knowledge in our everyday lives. To support his theory of development, he included
the following two stages to describe the cognitive changes in adults:
z Achieving Stage
Involves applying ones intelligence to situations that have profound consequences on
achieving long term goals, such as those involving careers. This stage of development
includes mastering the cognitive skills needed to monitor one’s own behaviour. Young
adults in this stage will also acquire a considerable amount of independence.
z Responsibility Stage
This stage of development begins in early adulthood and extends into middle adulthood.
This is the time when a family is established and attention is given to the needs of a
spouse and children. Young adults incur social responsibilities, deal with starting a career,
and must take on some level of responsibility for others at work and in the community.
According to Labouvie-Vief, there are many changes that take place in the thinking of
young adults, including a new integration of thought. Young adults rely less on logical
analysis when solving problems. Idealised logic is replaced with commitment, and youth 19
Adulthood and Ageing focus their energy on finding their niche in the work place and society. During young
adulthood, logical skills don’t decline because cognitive abilities are strong.
Reflective and Relativistic Thinking
William Perry said that adolescents often engage in dualistic, absolute thinking, whereas
adults are more likely to engage in reflective, relativistic thinking. The term dualistic
thinking is used to describe an adolescents view of the world. Everything is seen in the
polar terms or opposites. Examples for this are right/wrong or good/bad.
As youth mature, dualistic thinking is replaced by multiple thinking. They gradually
become aware of the diversity of opinion in other people and realise that authority may
not have all the answers. Young adults begin to create their own style of thinking, and
believe that others are entitled to the opinion they hold and that one opinion is good as
anyone’s else’s. This leads to the next form of thinking, relative subordinate thinking.
Here, personal opinions begin to be challenged by others, and a logical evaluation of
knowledge is actively pursued. This leads to the final form of thinking, which is full
relativism. In this stage of thinking, young adults completely understand that truth is
relative, and knowledge is constructed and not given, contextual and not absolute.
Post formal thought is qualitatively different than Piaget’s formal operational thought. It
involves understanding that the correct answer to a problem requires reflective thinking,
may vary from one situation to another, and that the search for truth is often an ongoing,
never-ending process. Along with this is the belief that solutions to problems need to be
realistic and that emotion and subjective factors can influence thinking.
2.3 MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old
age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third
quarter of the average life span of human beings.
This period is aged between 40-60 years of life.
From the period of twenties and thirties, the individual arrives at middle age in the
forties and fifties. Middle age is characterised by competence, maturity, responsibility
and stability. This is the time when one wants to enjoy the success of job, satisfaction
derived from the family and social life. People look forward to the success of their
children. Attention gets more focused on health, the fate of children, ageing parents, the
use of leisure time and plans of old age.
Middle aged adults often show visible signs of ageing such as loss of skin elasticity and
graying of hair. Physical fitness usually wanes, with a 5-10kg accumulation of body fat,
reduction in aerobic performance and a decrease in maximal heart rate. Strength and
flexibility also decrease throughout middle age. However, people age at different rates
and there can be significant differences between individuals of the same age.
Midlife is also viewed as a period of creativity and significant contribution to society. It
is found that the best works of scientists, writers and artists are produced during the
late forties and early fifties.
The changes that occur from adolescence to young adulthood may be stressful at times,
but between the ages of 19 and 30 we are at our prime physically, and our cognitive
skills are becoming finalised. Sure, sometimes it seems like we’re dealing with a million
20 things all at once and that one of any number of things could change the rest of our lives,
but that’s the best part about it. Young adulthood is when (most of us) decide exactly Cognitive Changes (Early
what it is that we want to do with the rest of our lives whether it’s raise a family, start a Old Age)
career, or both.

Middle adulthood is the period in which an individual changes in their cognitive
functioning as concerned to their intelligence: crystallized and fluid; information processing
and memory; expertise; career, work and leisure; religion, health and coping; and meaning
in life.
Intelligence
Cognitive development is multidirectional. It gains in some area and losses in others.
Cross sectional measures of intelligence show decreases with age. There may be cohort
effect of better or more schooling. Longitudinal measures show increase, at least until
the age of 50s. It may be inflated due to practice effects and attrition. Cognitive abilities
are more likely to increase than decrease, with exception of arithmetic skills, which
begin to shift slightly downwards by age 40.
Fluid intelligence refers to our ability to see relationships, use abstract reasoning, and
analyse information. Crystallized intelligence refers to our ability to use knowledge,
experience, vocabulary, and verbal memory (Horn & Hofer, 1992). Fluid intelligence
declines with age, but crystallized intelligence continues to grow as we learn more during
middle age.
z Fluid Intelligence
Fluid intelligence is the flexible reasoning and is made up of the basic mental abilities
such as inductive reasoning, abstract thinking and speed of thinking required for
understanding any subject. It is fast and abstract reasoning, in adults, there is a decline
with age. It includes nonverbal abilities and nonverbal puzzle solving, novel logic
problems; allows best works at age 20s and 30s by mathematicians, scientists and
poets.
Fluid intelligence peaks during the early adulthood and then declines ability to apply
mental powers to new problems, perceiving relationships, forming concepts and drawing
inferences. It declines probably due to changes in brain. These differences might be due
to cohort effects related to educational differences rather than to age.
z Crystallized Intelligence
Crystallized intelligence is the verbal reasoning that holds across the lifespan which
reflects accumulated knowledge and vocabulary. It allows best works at age of 40s,
50s, and older by historians, philosophers, prose writers. It refers to the accumulation
of facts, information and knowledge that comes with education and experience within a
particular culture.
Crystallized intelligence improves through middle age and on. The ability to remember
and use information acquired over a lifetime is increased, and also depends on education
and culture of the individual. An individual is able to use stored information’s and process
automatically in their daily lives.
Many psychologists believe that fluid intelligence was primarily genetic and that
crystallized intelligence was primarily learned. This nature-nurture distinction is probably
invalid, in part because the acquisition of crystallized intelligence is affected by the
quality of fluid intelligence. 21
Adulthood and Ageing Fluid intelligence declines during adulthood, although this decline is temporarily masked
by an increase in crystallized intelligence.
IQ tests may lack ecological validity as the reaction time slows down with age and
results may be due to physical changes and not cognitive changes.
Robert Sternberg proposed that intelligence is composed of three distinct parts:
z Analytic / Academic
It consists of mental processes that foster efficient learning, remembering and thinking.
Multiple choice tests, with one and only one right answer reward analytic intelligence.
They tend to have an extensive, highly organised knowledge of a particular domain and
increase in work satisfaction. There is a greater commitment towards the job. They
have greatest physical and psychological well-being. The current middle-aged worker
faces more challenges, and increased career challenges lead to career changes. The
midlife career changes can be self-motivated or imposed by others.
z Creative
Creativity is another important adult skill related to intelligence. Like intelligence, though,
it is hard to agree what it is. We know that some kinds of creativity, like writing, peaks
during middle adulthood. Creativity and practical intelligence often combine to create
people we call experts in their fields, whether repairing cars, farming, writing, or designing
a spacecraft.
It involves the capacity to be flexible and innovative when dealing with new situations.
Expertise increases in the middle adulthood years. They tend to use the accumulated
experience of their life situations to solve problems. There is more creativity and flexibility
in their domain than novices.
They prefer to make their own decisions and plans. They prefer their own judgment to
that of others and don’t tend to back down in the face of criticism or disagreement.
They are most resourceful when faced with unique circumstances or problems. They
show an imaginative use of many different words. They show more flexibility in their
approach to problems, are eager to try new avenues, and are not bound to rules or
accepted ideas of the way things work. They show originality and do not often come up
with off the shelf solutions.
z Practical
It enables the person to adapt his/her abilities to contextual demands. They tend to
have a pleasant time after work. They have more time and money to pursue activities
and interests. There is decreased rate of heart disease and death due to vacations and
leisure. During this time they are preparing themselves for retirement.
Information Processing and Memory
During the middle adulthood the speed of information processing, reaction time, and
memory declines. The use of effective memory strategies can decrease the decline.
Religion, Health, Coping and Meaning in Life
Religion and spirituality is an important dimension of life during this stage. A significant
increase in religiosity and spirituality is seen during middle age. There is an individual
difference in religious interest, as the females show a stronger interest in religion than
males do. Positive association of religious participation and longevity is noticed. Religion
22 promotes physical and psychological health and positive functions of religious coping.
According to Victor Frankl, the examining of the finiteness of our existence leads to Cognitive Changes (Early
exploration of meaning in life. Many middle-aged individuals increasingly examine life’s Old Age)
meaning.
1) Answer the following statements with True or False:
i) Young Adults is the time of freedom and when they find a sense of
independence. ( )
ii) Piaget thought that young adults are not quantitatively advanced in their
thinking. ( )
iii) William Perry gave views about realistic thinking. ( )
iv) As youth mature, dualistic thinking is replaced by multiple thinking.
( )
v) Crystallized intelligence is in peak during middle adulthood. ( )
i) Creativity involves the capacity to be ____________ and innovative when
dealing with new situations.
ii) ________________________ refers to our ability to see relationships,
use abstract reasoning and analyse information.
iii) _____________________ means looking at all aspects of situations before
making conclusions.
iv) Cognitive development is ________________________.
v) Religion and _____________________ is an important dimension of life
2.4 OLD AGE

Late adulthood (old age) is generally considered to begin at about age 65. Erik Erikson
suggests that at this time it is important to find meaning and satisfaction in life rather than
to become bitter and disillusioned, that is, to resolve the conflict of integrity vs. despair.
Despite the problems associated with longevity, studies of people in their 70s have
shown that growing old is not necessarily synonymous with substantial mental or physical
deterioration. Many older people are happy and engaged in a variety of activities.
Gerontology, an interdisciplinary field that studies the process of ageing and the ageing
population, involves psychology, biology, sociology, and other fields.
Late Adulthood is the period in an individual’s life beginning at ages sixty or seventy and
ending at death. This life period, like any other, is one of continuing change and adjustment
both in the physical and the psychosocial realms.
Theories of successful ageing include the following:
The disengagement theory states that as people age, their withdrawal from society is
normal and desirable as it relieves them of responsibilities and roles that have become
difficult. This process also opens up opportunities for younger people; society benefits
as more-energetic young people fill the vacated positions.
The activity theory contends that activity is necessary to maintain a “life of quality,” 23
Adulthood and Ageing that is, that one must “use it or lose it” no matter what one’s age and that people who
remain active in all respects—physically, mentally, and socially—adjust better to the
ageing process. Proponents of this theory believe that activities of earlier years should
be maintained as long as possible.
Ageism may be defined as the prejudice or discrimination that occurs on the basis of
age. Although it can be used against people of all ages, older people are most frequently
its target and it may often result in forced retirement. Stereotyping of the elderly is also
an aspect of ageism, as seen in such a statement as “He drives like a little old lady.”

Cognitive development is a general loss cognitively as people move closer to the end of
life. The study of cognitive changes in the older population is complex. Response speeds
(neural and motor) have been reported to decline; some researchers believe that age-
related decrease in working memory is the crucial factor underlying poorer performance
by the elderly on cognitive tasks.
Selective optimisation with compensation is one means of making best use of their
cognitive skills. They narrow their goals, select personally valued activities so as to
optimise or maximise returns from their energy. They find means to compensate for
losses.
Factors related to Cognitive change – mentally active people are likely to maintain their
cognitive abilities into advanced old age. Retirement can bring about changes in cognitive
abilities depending on how those years are used. Terminal decline is a steady, marked
decrease in cognitive functioning prior to death.
Memory
The older adults are taking in information more slowly, and they use strategies less,
can’t inhibit irrelevant information and retrieve important information from long-term
memory. So memory failure increases. Slower processing speed means there will be
less retained from current activities. They also forget context, which helps us recall
information. Recognition memory does not decline as much as free recall.
z Deliberate vs. automatic memory
Implicit memory is memory without conscious awareness. This memory is more
intact than deliberate memory, trying to recall information.
z Associative memory
Associative memory deficit is a problem creating and retrieving links between
pieces of information. This is more common for elders.
z Remote memory is very long-term recall. It is not any clearer than recent recall for
seniors, even though the myth is that seniors remember the past better than recent
events.
z Autobiographical memory is memory for your own personally experienced events.
Seniors best recall their adolescent and early adulthood experiences better than
later life experiences. There was a lot of novelty in those times, as well as life
choices being made- spouses, jobs, educational choices. These experiences were
more emotionally charged, so they are remembered better. They become part of
a person’s life story, and are remembered often.
z Prospective memory is remembering to do planned activities in the future. There is
more forgetfulness and absentmindedness as people age. They tend to do better
24 on event-based memory tasks than time-based tasks.
Language processing Cognitive Changes (Early
The two aspects of language processing diminish in older age: finding the right words Old Age)
and planning what to say and how to say it. Their speech will have more pronouns,
unclear references, they will speak more slowly, pause more often, and have trouble
finding the right words. There will be more hesitations, false starts, sentence fragments,
word repetitions as they age. They tend to simplify their grammatical structures, so they
can better retrieve the words they want.
Problem solving
The problem solving declines in late adulthood so married people tend to collabourate
more in problem-solving. They will be better at solving problems they think are under
their control. They will make more rapid decisions in areas of health, as that is an area
they feel they have learned a lot about.
Wisdom includes practical knowledge, ability to reflect on and apply that knowledge,
emotional maturity, listening skills, and creativity in a way that helps others. This does
increase with age. It occurs as people deal with more difficulties in life and find various
means to adapt to change. Those with wisdom tend to have better education and are
physically healthier. It requires insight into the human condition and often follows that
people with this ability are found in high positions in business and politics and religion.
z Knowledge about fundamental concerns of life: human nature, social relationships,
emotions.
z Effective strategies for applying that knowledge to making life decisions, handling
conflict, giving advice.
z A view of people that considers multiple demands of their life contexts.
z Concern with ultimate human values, the common good, respect for individual
differences in values.
z Awareness and management of the uncertainties of life – many problems have no
perfect solution.
Intellectual changes in late adulthood do not always result in reduction of ability.
While fluid intelligence (the ability to see and to use patterns and relationships to
solve problems) does decline in later years, crystallized intelligence (the ability to
use accumulated information to solve problems and make decisions) has been shown
to rise slightly over the entire life span. K. Warner Schaie and Sherry Willis reported
that a decline in cognitive performance could be reversed in 40% to 60% of elderly
people who were given remedial training.
Retirement
Retirement at age 65 is the conventional choice for many people, although some
work until much later. People have been found to be happier in retirement if they are not
forced to retire before they are ready and if they have enough income to maintain an
adequate living standard. Chronic health problems such as arthritis, rheumatism, and
hypertension increasingly interfere with the quality of life of most individuals as they age.
Widowhood
Women tend to marry men older than they are and, on average, live 5 to 7 years longer
than men. One study found ten times as many widows as widowers. Widowhood is
particularly stressful if the death of the spouse occurs early in life; close support of
friends, particularly other widows, can be very helpful. 25
Adulthood and Ageing Death and dying
Death and dying has been studied extensively by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, who suggested
that terminally ill patients display the following five basic reactions.
z Denial, an attempt to deny the reality and to isolate oneself from the event, is
frequently the first reaction.
z Anger frequently follows, as the person envies the living and asks, “Why should I
be the one to die?”
z Bargaining may occur; the person pleads to God or others for more time.
z As the end nears, recognition that death is inevitable and that separation from
family will occur leads to feelings of exhaustion, futility, and deep depression.
z Acceptance often follows if death is not sudden, and the person finds peace with
the inevitable.
People who are dying are sometimes placed in a hospice, a hospital for the terminally
ill that attempts to maintain a good quality of life for the patient and the family during the
final days. In a predictable pattern after a loved one’s death, initial shock is followed by
grief, followed by apathy and depression, which may continue for weeks. Support
groups and counseling can help in successfully working through this process.
Cognitive interventions
Lifelong learning
z Types of programs include Elderhostel, which encourages older adults to live on
college campuses and take courses from experts, as well as travel the world.
Many universities offer classes at low or no cost for seniors.
z Benefits of continuing education include learning new information, understanding
new ideas, making new friends, and developing a broader perspective on the
world. This may serve to shake up their stereotypes and value diversity in a new
way.
3) Fill in blanks:
i) The study of the process of ageing and the ageing population is called
__________________.
ii) Ageism is defined as the ___________________ that occur on the basis
of age.
iii) ________________________ is the memory without conscious
awareness.
iv) ________________ memory is very long term recall.
v) ________________ memory is remembering to do plannedc activities in
the future.
2.5 LET US SUM UP

26 create a family of our own. Physically, it is a time where we are our healthiest and will
reach our peak performance. Cognitively, it is a time to grow up and make life decisions. Cognitive Changes (Early
Socioemotionally, it is a time to take on roles of independence, lifestyles, marriage, and Old Age)
family.
Erik Erikson, a prominent theorist in the field of emotional development, assigns specific
goals to different periods of life. Those in early adulthood are said to be struggling with
intimacy as opposed to isolation. This refers to the desire for a stable long-term
relationship. Those who have achieved intimacy are thought to host a range of positive
attributes, such as confidence and acceptance. Alternatively, those in isolation are more
likely to fear loneliness and abandonment. Intimacy requires an individual to sacrifice
some of his independence for another person. After successfully traversing the struggle
of isolation and intimacy, an individual will deal with generativity, which is the desire to
improve society for future generations.
Between the ages of 35-60, we find vast changes in many areas of our lives. The most
obvious changes related to our lifestyle include: physical development and health, career
and finances, marraige, and leisure activities. For many, midlife is a time when they start
to think about “how much time they have left”. Individuals begin to reexamine their
lives, their relationships, their work, and even to question the meaning of it all. This
process has been referred to as a mid-life crisis. Clearly, middle adulthood is a time
change and development.
One of the major aspects of middle adulthood are the physical and biological changes
that occur in the body. Two of the most noticeable changes are seeing and hearing.
Each of these begin to decline in the middle years. One of the physical changes that
occur is in height. Most individuals get a little shorter through the years. Also, hair is
graying, skin is wrinkling, bodies are sagging, and teeth are yellowing. Some adults
strive to make themselves look younger by having plastic surgery, dying their hair, wearing
wigs, joining exercise programs, or taking heavy vitamin doses.
While the adult years are generally a time of vitality and good health, their are health
concerns. The main health problems of middle adulthood are cardiovascular disease,
cancer, and menopause. Another major problem that effects health and behaviour is
stress. Overall this is a time of major change and development physically and mentally.
It is also at this time that adults adjust their idealistic hopes to realistic possibilities. This
adjustment to attainable goals is dependent on how much time is left before retirement,
with retirement planning being a major area of financial concern. These reassessments
may lead to stress and sadness over unaccomplished goals, which for a small few may
lead to a midlife career change.
Another financial adjustment that tends to take place for many mid adults is the planning
for college and setting aside the necessary funds for their children. In response to these
growing financial needs and greater free time, due to their children getting older, many
women enter or reenter the workforce. In short, this tends to be a time of career and
financial readjustment and planning for both men and women.
Adults demonstrate much variation in their intimate lifestyles. Nearly all of us are married
at least some time during our adult lives. Many marriages either improve or deteriorate
during middle age. If a couple form a relationship appropriate to this new period of life,
their marriage will likely grow stronger. But if they cannot adapt to the new conditions
of their lives, their marriage may develop problems. Regardless, intimacy, marriage,
and family concerns are a priority during middle adulthood. Some specific issues include
the empty nest syndrome, late parenting, divorce, sexuality, remarriage, and grand
parenting. 27
Adulthood and Ageing Late adulthood (old age) is generally considered to begin at about age 65. Erik Erikson
suggests that at this time it is important to find meaning and satisfaction in life rather than
to become bitter and disillusioned, that is, to resolve the conflict of integrity vs. despair.
Late Adulthood is the period in an individual’s life beginning at ages sixty or seventy and
ending at death. This life period, like any other, is one of continuing change and adjustment
both in the physical and the psychosocial realms.
Cognitive development is a general loss cognitively as people move closer to the end of
life. The study of cognitive changes in the older population is complex. Response speeds
(neural and motor) have been reported to decline; some researchers believe that age-
related decrease in working memory is the crucial factor underlying poorer performance
by the elderly on cognitive tasks.
Retirement at age 65 is the conventional choice for many people, although some
work until much later. People have been found to be happier in retirement if they are not
forced to retire before they are ready and if they have enough income to maintain an
adequate living standard. Chronic health problems such as arthritis, rheumatism, and
hypertension increasingly interfere with the quality of life of most individuals as they age.

1) Discuss critically the cognitive changes in ealry adulthood.
2) What are the important cognitive changes that come about in middle adulthood?
3) How does old age affect cognitive development?
4) Compare age differences in implicit and explicit memory.
5) How does each part of information procesing system such as the sensory register,
short term and long term memory knowledge base etc.?

P.J. Whitehouse and G.C.Gilmore (eds) (1989). Memory, Ageing and Dementia.
New York, Springer
S.L.Willis and J.D.Reid (Eds) (1999). Life In the Middle . San Diego, CA, Academic
Press.
Lachman, M.E.(Ed). (2001). Handbook of Midlife Development. New York, Wiley.

QUESTIONS
1) i) True
ii) False
iii) False
iv) True
v) True
2) i) Flexible
28 ii) Fluid intelligence
iii) Realistic Thinking Cognitive Changes (Early
iv) Multidimensional Old Age)
v) Spirituality
3) i) Gerontology
ii) Prejudice
iii) Implicit memory
iv) Remote
v) Prospective
29
UNIT 3 PSYCHOSOCIAL CHANGES (EARLY
AGE)
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Development During Adult Years
3.2.1 Stage Theories versus the Contextual Approach
3.3 Psychosocial Changes During Early Adulthood
3.3.1 Eric Erikson’s Theory
3.3.2 Levinson’s Seasons of Life Theory
3.3.3 Attachment Patterns and Romantic Relationships
3.4 The Family Life Cycle
3.5 Psychosocial Changes During Middle Adulthood
3.5.1 Four Developmental Tasks of Middle Adulthood
3.5.2 Individual Differences in Personality Traits
3.5.3 Changing Parent-child Relationships
3.6 Psychosocial Changes During Old Age

3.6.1 Stability and Change in Self-Concept and Personality
3.6.2 Relationships in Late Adulthood
3.6.3 Retirement and Leisure
3.7 Let Us Sum Up

3.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will be dealing with development during adult years. The period of
adulthood is marked by society’s expectation of performing one’s duty as an adult.
Some special roles and relationship like family and career are the major milestones of
adulthood. While discussing development during adult years stage theories will be put
forward to explain the adult years. This will be seen in contrast to the contextual
theories. This unit will discuss psychosocial changes during early and middle adulthood
and the various changes that come about as one grows older. Finally the unit will
discuss the various growth and development issues related to old age.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
z describe the development during adult years in terms of stage vs Contextual
theories;
z explain the psychosocial changes during early adulthood;
z delineate the psychosocial changes during middle adulthood; and
30
z analyse the psychosocial changes during old age.
Psychosocial Changes
3.2 DEVELOPMENT DURING ADULT YEARS (Early Adulthood, Middle
Age, Old Age)
The spurt of growth during adolescence stabilises by adulthood and the individual looks
forward to more concrete roles in the society. The capabilities and behaviours of the
individuals continue to change as they grow older not only because of the biological
growth process but also because of their understanding and the way they interact with
their environment.
In the Indian tradition the period of adulthood is referred to as Grihastha ashram. During
this stage an individual enters the social life and accepts responsibilities of family, marriage
and entering into one’s career. The stages of adulthood have sub periods such as young
adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood.
Perhaps middle adulthood is best known for the midlife crisis. This is a time of
reevaluation that leads to questioning long held beliefs and values. The midlife crisis
may also result in a person divorcing his or her spouse, changing jobs, or moving from
the city to the suburbs.
Typically beginning in the early or mid 40s, the crisis often occurs in response to a sense
of mortality, as middle age persons realise that their youth is limited and that they have
not accomplished all of their desired goals in life. Of course, not everyone experiences
stress or upset during middle age, instead they may simply undergo a midlife transition,
or change, rather than going through the emotional upheaval of a midlife crisis.
Other middle age adults prefer to reframe their experience by thinking of themselves as
being in the prime of their lives rather than in their declining years.
The field of life-span development seems to be moving away from a normative crisis
model to a timing of events model, so as to explain such events as the midlife transition
and the midlife crisis. The former model describes psychosocial tasks as occurring in a
definite age related sequence, while the latter describes tasks as occurring in response
to particular life events and their timing. In other words, whereas the normative crisis
model defines the midlife transition as occurring exactly between ages 40 and 45, the
timing of events model defines it as occurring when the persons begin the process of
questioning their own life desires, values, goals, and accomplishments.
Later adulthood or the period of old age begins at the age of sixty. During this stage
most individuals lose their jobs because they retire from active service. They begin to
fear about their physical and psychological health. In our society, the elderly are typically
perceived as not so active, deteriorating intellectually. They tend to become narrow
minded and seem to attach significance to religion. Many of the old people lose their
spouses and suffer from emotional insecurity. However, this may not be true of everybody.
Many people at the age of sixty or above remain very healthy and active in life. The life
style including exercise, diet, and regular health check up helps people to enjoy meaningful
and active life.
Involvement in grand parenting helps elderly satisfy many of their personal and emotional
needs. Grandparents can serve as important role models. Old people find these roles
emotionally self fulfilling and tend to derive self satisfaction through achievement of their
grand children.
Successful ageing occurs when elders have developed many ways to minimize losses
and maximise gains.
How and why does a change occur during our adult years? Is it purely the result of
biological processes, alteration in our bodies and brains as we grow older? Certainly, 31
Adulthood and Ageing such changes must play an important role, but are they the entire story? Let’s discuss
these important questions according to psychologist’s stage theories or contextual
approach.
3.2.1 Stage Theories Versus the Contextual Approach

Stage Theories: Stage theories suggest that all human beings, no matter where or
when they live, move through an orderly progression of stages in their development.
The individual grows in a systematic process. According to Eric Erikson’s eight stages
of life, development proceeds through a series of distinct stages, each defined by a
specific crisis. These crisis, in return results from the fact that as an individual grows
older, they confront new combinations of biological drives and societal demands. The
biological drives reflect the expectations and requirements of society for people at
different ages.
During adulthood, every individual passes through three major crises. The first of these
is the crises of integrity versus isolation. During late adolescence and early adulthood,
individual must develop the ability to form deep, intimate relationships with others. This
does not simply mean sexual intimacy, rather, it involves the ability to form strong
emotional attachment to others. In other words, the first crisis of adult life centers in the
capacity to love, to care deeply and consistently with others. People who fail to resolve
it successfully will live in isolation, unable to form truly intimate, lasting relationships.
Erikson labeled the second crisis of adult life, that is the crisis of generativity versus
absorption. The need for individuals to overcome selfish, self-centered concerns and to
take an active interest in helping and guiding the next generation. For parents, such
activities are focused on their children. After children have themselves grown up into
adults, however, the tendency towards the generativity may involve serving as mentor
or guide for members of younger generation, helping them in their careers and lives.
People who do not become parents can express generativity by providing help and
guidance to young people such as students, younger co-workers, nieces and nephews,
and so on. Individuals who successfully resolve this crisis become absorbed in their
own lives and gradually cut themselves off from an important source of growth and
satisfaction.
Erikson termed the final crisis of adult development as integrity versus despair. Individuals
in this stage reach the final decades of their life and look back and analyse themselves
with questions like “Did my life have any meaning?” “Did my being here really matter?”
If the individual is able to answer “yes” for the questions, and to feel that they have
reached many of their goals, they attain a sense of integrity. If, instead, they find their
lives to be lacking on such dimensions, they may experience intense feelings of despair.
Successful resolution of this final crisis can have important effects on how individuals
come to terms with their own mortality, the inevitable fact of death, and on their
psychological and physical health during the final years.
According to Erikson and others who view adult development in terms of discrete
phases or stages, development during human adult years follows an orderly plan,
reflecting the fact that at different times in people’s lives, everyone experiences the
same problems, events, challenges, or as mentioned crises. The way in which an individual
deals with each of these turning points determines the course and nature of people’s
lives from that point on.
Contextual Approach: Contextual theories of development take careful account of
many of the differences that exist in one’s life and situations. The context and situation
of each individual varies a great deal and these in fact account for the individuals to
32 experience the crises in their life differently.
Contextual theories of development hold that it is the context or environment under Psychosocial Changes
(Early Adulthood, Middle
which a child grows, that is more important than inbuilt mechanisms. These theorists Age, Old Age)
believe that infants and children develop and grow according to the environmental and
contextual influences they are exposed to and that these contextual factors are what
makes them fully functioning adults or disordered adults. Biological influences are seen
as secondary if not completely ignored.
Two of the most important contextual theories were put forward by American
psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner and Lev Vygotsky. According to Bronfenbrenner’s
theory development is influenced by experiences arising from broader social and cultural
systems as well as a child’s immediate surroundings. Ecological Systems Theory, also
called “Development in Context” or “Human Ecology” theory, specifies four types of
nested environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the
systems.
This ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner presents the sociocultural view of development
which focuses on the changing relations between individuals and the environments in
which they live. It consists of five environmental systems ranging from the individual’s
direct interactions with social agents to the broad-based inputs of culture. The five
systems in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory are the microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
The microsystem in ecological theory is the setting in which an individual lives
(Bronfenbrenner 1979). This context includes the person’s family, peers, school,
neighbourhood, etc. is the immediate environment in which a person is operating. The
individual directly interacts with this environment and the latter has a direct impact on a
child’s biological and psychological development. The key concept is the “direct contact”
between the child and the niche. The mesosystem in ecological theory involves linkages
between Microsystems. Behaviourists like John Watson and B.F. Skinner defined
environment as “any and all external focuses that shape the individual’s environment”.
While environment is extremely important , there are others who are of the view that the
individual in addition has an important role to play.
That is, it is not just that he/she gets influenced by environment, but the developing
individual is not all passive but actively influences also the environment in which he/she
grows up .
1) Delineate the Characteristic features of development during early adulthood.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) What are the important features of development during midyears and old age?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Describe the stage theory of development.
..................................................................................................................... 33
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
4) How does stage theory differ from contextual theory?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3.3 PSYCHOSOCIAL CHANGES DURING EARLY

ADULTHOOD
Early adulthood is the stage of our life between the ages of about 20-40 years old, who
are typically vibrant, active and healthy, and are focused on friendship, romance, child
bearing and careers. It is the first stage of adulthood in which the body physically
changes and is one of the hardest times in our lives after teenage years. One has to deal
with so much in this time and it seems to be the time for self search as well as preparation
for the future coming years of old age.
During this time in one’s life, people find themselves with a new sense of independence
and for the first time in life they really feel free. However, along with that comes a lot of
added personal responsibility to both individuals and others and the persons really
start learning more about themselves as well as others through social interaction.
3.3.1 Eric Erikson’s Theory

According to Erikson, the socialisation process consists of eight phases – the “eight
stages of man.” His eight stages of man were formulated, not through experimental
work, but through wide - ranging experience in psychotherapy, including extensive
experience with children and adolescents from low - as well as upper - and middle -
social classes. Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a “psychosocial crisis,” which
arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be satisfactorily negotiated.
These stages are conceived in an almost architectural sense: satisfactory learning and
resolution of each crisis is necessary if the child is to manage the next and subsequent
ones satisfactorily. It is like the foundation of a house which is essential to the first floor,
which in turn must be structurally sound to support the second floor as it gets built up.
Some of the important crises of the adulthood include the following:
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Intimacy requires that an independent persons give up some of their independence and
redefine their identity to include the interests of another person or others in their lives.
The adult life is a conflict of intimacy vs. independence, and includes differing needs
for connection, fears of abandonment or being overwhelmed, and it’s a challenging
work in progress.
People who have achieved intimacy are cooperative, tolerant, and accepting of
differences. They can accept times of aloneness without fear of loneliness. If there is
too great a sense of isolation, there will be fears of forming close ties, due to fears of
loss of identity or freedom.
Such people are more competitive than cooperative. They get easily threatened if any
person gets too close, and not accepting of another’s differences. If there is successful
34
resolution of this conflict, a person can go on to develop generativity, which means
caring for the next generation and helping to improve society. In women, child bearing Psychosocial Changes
usually occurs in the 20s and 30s, while contributions to society may occur later. As Age, Old Age)
children come into the picture, values and focus will shift with those demands.
3.3.2 Levinson’s Seasons of Life Theory

Levinson sought to find a common path of change in adulthood. He believed that there
were stages with tasks inherent to each one. He was of the view that each stage began
with a transition, lasting about 5 years. Between transitions there are periods of 5 – 7
years that are stable, during which a person builds a life structure.
Life structure is the underlying design of a person’s life, which involves relationships
with significant others and occupations. This structure is designed to harmonize inner
and outer demands to enhance quality of life. Early adulthood is the time of greatest
energy, contradiction and stress. It is also a time of intense satisfaction, as a person
charts his/her own course in love, sexuality, family, occupation, setting life goals, etc.
Dreams and mentors: In Levinson’s theory, during the early adult transition (age 17
– 22) most people construct a dream, an image of themselves in the adult world that
will guide their decision making. The more specific the dream, the more motivating it is.
Men’s dreams are said to be more individualistic and often entail success in business
and career. On the other hand if they include women, their dreams are invariably related
to their being supporters of their goals.
Age-30 transition serves as a time to reevaluate their life structure. If the person is still
single, she/he will begin looking for a partner. Women who had immersed in marriage
and child-bearing may begin to assert more individualistic goals. This period can be a
real crisis if neither relationships nor occupation is successful.
Settling down for Men means focusing on certain relationships and aspirations, and
leaving others behind. They try to establish a niche in society consistent with their values:
family, wealth, power, achievement.
Continued instability for Women occurs as women often get side-tracked from a
professional focus by child-bearing and family responsibilities. Most women don’t attain
the stability that men achieve in the early 30s until middle age.
The Social clock is the age-graded expectations that we hold for life events, such as
first job, getting married, having children, buying a house, retirement. Women who
followed a feminine social clock (marriage and child bearing in the 20s) are considered
to be responsible, self-controlled, tolerant, and caring, but do seem to feel their self-
esteem decline, and are said to feel more vulnerable as they aged.
Women who followed a masculine social clock (early career development) became
more dominant, sociable, independent, and intellectually effective. Women who had
not followed a social clock are said to be suffering from self-doubt, feelings of
incompetence, and loneliness.
Close relationships require finding a partner, building emotional bonds, and learning
how to engage in true intimacy with another person.
Romantic Love entails finding a partner to share one’s life and dreams with. It enhances
self-concept and well-being.
Selecting a mate usually means finding someone of similar background, age, ethnicity,
socio-economic status and religion, in places where people like that congregate. It
requires some physical proximity to develop a meaningful relationship. 35
Adulthood and Ageing Components of love: The triangular theory of love (Sternberg) suggests love has 3
components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. Intimacy has to do with emotions of
tenderness, warmth, concern for others, desire for partner to reciprocate. Passion is
the sexual component, as well as romance, which is the physical arousal component.
Passionate love is the stuff of the beginning of a relationship – the courting, sexual
attraction. It declines as the partner becomes more known, less idealised. Few long-
term relationships maintain this level of attraction.
Companionate love is formed with intimacy and commitment, as partners develop
warm, trusting affection and offer caregiving. Solid long-term relationships involve both
types of love at different stages. It requires this glue to hold a couple together as the
newness of a relationship wears off. Commitment determines if a relationship will survive.
Communication of commitment requires warmth, forgiveness, sensitivity, acceptance,
and respect.
3.3.3 Attachment Patterns and Romantic Relationships

Early attachment patterns predict the quality of later intimate relationships. That early
attachment bond sets up an internal working model, or expectations about love figures.
It also relates to quality of parenting and attachments formed in those relationships.
The attachment is itself of various types which are discussed below:
i) Secure attachment – those with secure attachments to a caregiver viewed
themselves as likable, open to others, comfortable with intimacy, with few fears of
abandonment or intimacy. They describe their love relationships as trusting, happy,
and the partner as a friend. They were willing to turn to the partner for comfort,
and they described satisfying sexual behaviour.
Avoidant attachment – those with an avoidant attachment history (demanding,
disrespectful, critical parents) had internal models heavy on independence,
mistrusting of partners, and anxious about people getting too close. They believe
others dislike them and true love is hard to find or doesn’t last. Their relationships
are characterised by jealousy, emotional distance, little enjoyment of physical
contact. They may become workaholics or engage in affairs to prove their theory
that love can’t be counted on.
ii) Resistant attachment – this includes parents who were unpredictable or unfair.
These people set up intense relationships characterised by fears of abandonment
and smothering of the partner. They experienced extreme highs and lows in a
relationship. They have poor boundaries with others, disclosing inappropriately to
others too early in the relationship.
Characteristics of the partner also affect romantic relationships. Those partners who
feel internal security about themselves fostered security in their partner. So a healthy
relationship can help a person from a troubled background overcome some of the
deficits of their background.
Friendships are usually similar in background, age, interests and needs. Friends offer
affirmation and acceptance, support during difficulty. Sharing deep feelings and needs
may be more open in a friendship than a marriage, especially for women.
Same-sex friendships are more intimate for women than men. Women enjoy just talking,
while men choose to do some activity together, especially sports. Unfortunately men
feel competitive with other men, so they describe barriers to deep friendships with
36 other men, in the form of resistance to revealing any vulnerabilities or needs unmet.
Other-sex friendships occur less often and don’t last as long as same-sex friendships. Psychosocial Changes
Men and women disclose more to women, but women can learn important things about Age, Old Age)
male motivations and taking a more objective stance from a male friend.
Siblings as friends – especially sisters become companions in adulthood. Rivalries from
the past subside as sibs develop a different type of supportive relationship. Close sib
relationships predict mental health.
1) According to Erikson’s theory indicate the conflict cum crisis that takes place
during adulthood.
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2) Put forward Levinson’s theory and its features in adult development.
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3) What is meant by social clock? How is it important for development in adulthood?
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4) Describe attachment patterns and romantic relationships.
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3.4 THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE

This is a sequence of phases in the development of most families. Early adulthood,
people live on their own, then marry and bear children. In middle age children leave
home, parenting responsibilities diminish and people spend more time and money on
themselves if they don’t have to care for an elderly parent, finally retiring, getting older,
and loss of a spouse.
Leaving home happens more often at earlier ages now than in the past. People leave
for school, military, and for jobs, so they leave at different ages. Youth in chaotic and
disturbing homes leave home earlier to escape the tension. Most leave home to experience 37
Adulthood and Ageing their independence, even though that may mean living with a number of roommates to
be able to afford it. If there are financial setbacks, however, most people feel they can
return home if they have to.
Joining of families in marriage – people are waiting longer to marry today: ages 25
(M) and 27 (W). Marriage represents connection between 2 family systems, with all
the traditions and expectations inherent.
Marital roles encompass meals, time together and apart, leisure time decisions, sexual
needs, financial decisions. Some of these things are not as emotionally charged as others,
but the partners rarely know which topics are potential explosions until they face them.
Without good communication and negotiation skills, the openness of the marriage will
be compromised.
Traditional marriages involve a clear division of labour between husband and wife.
Man’s responsibilities include economic provision; woman’s responsibilities have to do
with making a home and providing for children.
Egalitarian marriages have spouses relating as equals, with power and authority being
shared. Both partners try to balance devotion to work with family responsibilities. Better-
educated women expect this sort of marriage. Even so, division of labour in the home
may not be equal.
Marital satisfaction – Men relate being happier in marriage than women. Being married
enhances men’s health, due to feelings of attachment, belonging, social support. Women
need a certain relationship quality to feel satisfied in a relationship. So women suffer
more when the relationship is having problems. Women also suffer under multiple role
demands, feel overwhelmed by the needs of all the people in their circle. Women are
more willing to work on the relationship through discussion, but men are more willing to
withdraw from conflict, leading to frustration in the women.
Parenthood has become an active choice for couples, as birth control is available and
effective today. There is less stigmatisation for couples who remain childless. The decision
to have children is based on financial circumstances, religious values, health concerns.
Women with more traditional identities usually choose to have children. Those with high
status, demanding jobs choose less often to have children.
Advantages of having children include warmth and affection, the fun that children offer,
learning experiences, desire to pass on values, family name, feelings of accomplishment
in raising successful children.
Disadvantages of having children include loss of freedom, burdens financially and in
being tied down. The conflict between work responsibilities and family also is cited as
a problem.
Transition to parenthood occurs in all areas: loss of sleep, new tasks and responsibilities,
less time for the couple, increased expenses. The roles become more traditional, even
for egalitarian couples, so this can impose frustration on the couple. Loving, supportive
marriages can usually manage the strain and will describe themselves as happy. Troubled
marriages seem to become more distressed after a baby. Husband’s negativity or out-
of-control conflict predicts a drop in mother’s satisfaction. The greater the difference in
caregiving responsibilities, the greater the decline in marital satisfaction after childbirth.
Interventions such as group experiences with other couples can get fathers more involved
and enhance the father’s appreciation of what caregiving entails, increasing affirmation
of mother, and satisfaction.
38
Career development aids in establishing a satisfying identity- as adults with satisfying Psychosocial Changes
work develop skills, sense their accomplishments, make friends and feel more financially Age, Old Age)
independent and secure.
Establishing a career
Men enter their careers earlier, as soon as they finish school, and they stay in the
marketplace continuously. Promotion often seems to depend on job commitment and
competitiveness in the worker. Very successful men emphasise their jobs over family
responsibilities and leisure activities. Also a sense of self-efficacy makes a difference in
promotion. Those people with fears of failure will tend to set lower goals for themselves.
Combining work and family
Dual-career marriage are challenging, particularly for women who carry so many role
responsibilities- role overload. This links to stress, poorer marital relationships, poorer
parenting, and child behaviour problems. It is particularly a problem for people in poorer
paying jobs, with fewer options about child care, time off, etc. Career decisions are
more flexible for professional people, but moves are difficult, since both careers must
be considered. Women are particularly afflicted with overload.
1) Elucidate the family life cycle during adulthood and related factors.
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2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of having children early?
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3) What are the transitional aspects involved in parenthood?
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4) Discuss career development during adulthood.
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3.5 PSYCHOSOCIAL CHANGES DURING MIDDLE
ADULTHOOD
Eric Erikson’s Theory
Erikson stated that the primary psychosocial task of middle adulthood—ages 45 to
65—is to develop generativity, or the desire to expand one’s influence and commitment
to family, society, and future generations. In other words, the middle adult is concerned
with forming and guiding the next generation. The middle adult who fails to develop
generativity experiences stagnation, or self-absorption, with its associated self-indulgence
and invalidism.
Generativity means reaching out to others in ways that give to and guide the next
generation. In early adulthood it occurs as parents train children and develop a career.
In midlife this extends beyond the nuclear family to a community or social group. Now
people are trying to integrate their goals with the welfare of the larger world. Generativity
includes all things people generate that can outlive them and improve society. Parenting
is one way, but there are other ways, such as mentoring in the workplace, volunteering,
community involvement, creative endeavors. People need to be needed and feel like
their lives amount to something eternal.
There are certain social clock imperatives toward generativity, but there is also an
optimistic “belief in the species” that we want to be part of. This means finding ways to
be part of improving humanity. The alternative to finding a means to generativity is
stagnation- becoming self-centered and narcissistic. These people place their own
comfort/ security above challenges that include other people. There is a detachment
even from their own children, a self-centered focus on what they can get from others,
not what they can give, losing interest in being productive at work or developing their
talents. Generative people are better adjusted, low in anxiety and depression and high
in self-acceptance and life satisfaction. They are more open to others’ differences in
point of view, have leadership qualities, care about the welfare of others, and care more
about their work than financial gain. Fatherhood seems to enhance generativity in men
more than women.
Levinson’s Seasons of life – middle adulthood begins with a transition (40-45), followed
by a life structure (45-50). This structure is re-evaluated (50-55) and ends in a culminating
life structure (55-60).
Midlife Transition occurs around age 40, when people evaluate their success in meeting
their adult goals. They are realising there is more time behind them than ahead of them.
In response to the valuation of time, they often make big changes in their lives- family,
occupation. They may turn inward, focusing on their own needs, instead of allowing
themselves to be distracted by the people around them. They seem to re-evaluate
everything.
3.5.1 Four Developmental Tasks of Middle Adulthood

Following are the developmental tasks of this stage of development:
i) Young-Old- seeking new ways of being young and old- giving up some youthful
qualities that no longer seem appropriate, and transforming others, finding positive
meaning in changes.
ii) Destruction-Creation. They re-evaluate past hurtful acts- there may be attempts
to apologise and make amends, or general attempts to be kinder, more creative,
40 other-focused.
iii) Masculinity- Femininity. Middle-aged people must find a way to recognise and Psychosocial Changes
integrate the masculine and feminine aspects of their personality- men become Age, Old Age)
more empathic/ caring; women becoming more autonomous/ assertive
iv) Engagement- Separateness. Middle-aged people are trying to find a better balance
between engagement with the outside world and their interior needs. Men often
pull back from occupational ambition and achievement focus; women may shift
their interests from family to job or community and accomplishment.
Modifying the Life Structure
Gender similarities and differences are seen as people try to find a balance between
youth and age. They may face life-threatening illnesses, or have to cope with ageing
parents’ needs. Women often fear the ageing process, as our society places so much
emphasis on women’s youth and looks as their value. Women will tend to perceive
themselves as younger than they are – that gap increases with age. The more people
integrate their masculine and feminine characteristics, the more androgynous they become,
which is an adaptive approach to life.
Life Structure in Social Context is enabled through supports in the environment-
poverty, unemployment and lack of personal value subverts this process. Even high-
powered careers and great financial success can sabotage self-development, as the
focus is on material concerns, not self development.
Midlife Crisis was cited by Levinson as people moved to middle adulthood. This is the
idea that adults get to a certain point and question their life choices, resulting in a
restructuring of the personality. The changes seen were slow and steady. Changes for
men may occur around the early forties, but for women may occur in the late 40s and
50s, as they are freer from child responsibilities.
Stage vs. Life Events approach
There is controversy about whether midlife is actually a stage of development, like
Erikson described. Many theorists just seen midlife transitions as adaptations to life
events- children moving out or having to move back in, parents ageing concerns,
retirement. There certainly is no specific age when changes will occur. Most midlife
people describe troubling moments that prompt new goals and internal changes.
Stability and Change in Self-Concept and Personality
Possible Selves are all the ideas a person has about what one can become or what one
fears becoming. Possible selves generated in the 20s are varied, positive and idealistic.
As people age, possible selves become more realistic, fewer in number and more modest,
related to competence in the areas already selected. The future no longer seems to hold
endless opportunities, so people adjust to cope.
Self-Acceptance, Autonomy, and Environmental Mastery .
People become more introspective as they enter the second half of life. They have often
made choices to change their lifestyle to suit their needs.
Coping strategies. These include finding the “silver lining” in a difficult situation,
planning better ways to handle problems, evaluate alternatives to manage situations,
and use humor to express themselves more effectively.
Gender Identity shifts in response to shifting proportions of sex hormones
Women adopt more masculine traits of assertiveness and self-confidence, and men 41
Adulthood and Ageing often become more sensitive, caring, and considerate. People become more
androgynous. Men may turn to their relationships as they seen they have fewer
opportunities to develop influence at work. Women may have taken steps out of a bad
marriage and have chosen to be more autonomous and assertive to survive.
3.5.2 Individual Differences in Personality Traits

Some people maintain consistent traits over the lifetime, while others adjust in some
ways in response to life.
Relationships at Midlife
This period of the family life cycle is called “launching children and moving on.” In the
past it was known as the “empty nest,” but it is no longer seen in such a negative light,
even for women. This period may last as long as 20 years before retirement. It also
relates to establishing different relationships with children and finding new relationships
with in-laws and grandchildren. They also must cope with elderly parents and their
needs.
Marriage and Divorce
Households at this stage are well off economically compared to other age groups.
Adults between 45 and 54 have the highest annual income. This can allow for expansion
of opportunities to learn, travel, etc. If the marital relationship is shaky, many people
choose this time to divorce and start over. At midlife, divorce seems to be more
manageable emotionally.
Feminisation of poverty
This is a trend in which women who support themselves or their families have become
the majority of the adult poverty population, regardless of age and ethnic group.
Causes of divorce
Women who cite poor communication, husband’s substance abuse, husband’s physical
or verbal abuse, or their desire for autonomy will adjust better, since it indicates a
remnant of self-esteem in spite of the failure. Women who do survive divorce successfully
tend to be more tolerant, comfortable with uncertainty, nonconforming, and self-reliant.
3.5.3 Changing Parent-child Relationships

This adjustment is more positive when parents have interesting activities of their own,
beyond parenting and focus on children. Parents who relinquish authority over their
adult children will have more positive relationships with them after they move out. The
authoritative parenting style links to better contact after the child leaves home, and
better life satisfaction for the parents.
Grandparenthood is such a stage in this age, as it is a relationship with fewer responsibilities
and mostly fun. Meanings of Grandparenthood are more significant than people think
until they face that transition. The gratifications include:
z Valued elder
z Immortality through descendants
z Reinvolvement with personal past
z Indulgence
42
Grandparent-Grandchild relationships are somewhat dependent on the age of the child. Psychosocial Changes
As the child grows older, the grandparents shift from play to warmth, support, information Age, Old Age)
and advice-giving. The closer the families live geographically, the better chance the
children can relate more closely to the grandparents, especially the grandma.
Siblings report declining contact in midlife, but this increases as one or more experience
life events. Families gather for weddings, and support one another when a child divorces,
or has a baby. Siblings reconnect as their children leave home and they rediscover it’s
fun to do things together. They often reconnect in response to the parents’ illnesses or
needs. Sister relationships are usually closer than brother relationships. If only one
sibling holds the responsibility for elder care, there can be enormous resentment build
up against the other sibs.
Friendships still cleave across genders – men are more likely to bond with men, and
women with women. Women seem to have more close friends and offer and get more
emotional support than men report. Numbers of friends decline with age, since people
get more selective about friendships. If it is a close friendship, though, people will try to
maintain it with care. Friendships are sources of emotional support, pleasure and enhance
well-being.
Career Development
Job Training is less available to older workers, but if a person wants to upgrade his/her
job, training is important. Unfortunately older worker have less supportive supervisors
who tend to believe the ageing stereotypes and expect less of older workers.
Gender and Ethnicity
The Glass Ceiling is the unspoken, invisible barrier to advancement to women and
ethnic minorities. Women managers are just as effective as male managers – they tend
to be more inspiring and considerate than male managers. The current emphasis on
team building is perfect for female skills in consensus-building.
Career Change at Midlife – usually they entail leaving one line of work for a related
one. Some people find another line of work to find more stimulating work, others to
more relaxing, less rigid or demanding work. Drastic job shifts usually signal personal
crisis.
Unemployment has been a serious problem in the past 2 years as the technology industry
cratered and many jobs went with it. Highly trained and well-paid workers were suddenly
on unemployment lines. Middle-aged workers are more affected by unemployment, as
they recognise they won’t be the most employable, or they won’t command the same
salary they had before. This can seriously affect a worker’s sense of self worth at this
point.
Planning for Retirement
This is not always adequate, as people tend to believe they will work as long as they
want, but illness or family crisis will sometimes short-circuit this plan. The other aspect
of planning has to do with how one wants to spend their time. If people don’t develop
hobbies, community interests, etc., boredom can trigger depression and hopelessness.
Even the idea of relocation requires much thought, since moving to be with children
may impact that relationship very negatively.
43
1) Differentiate between generativity and stagnation.
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2) Discuss four developmental tasks of middle adulthood.
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3) Discuss an individual’s relation with siblings and friends.
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4) Discuss psychosocial changes in mid adulthood.
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5) What is the importance of Levinson’s seasons of life?
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6) Put forward the developmental tasks of mid adulthood.
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7) What is meant by modifying life structure?
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44
Psychosocial Changes
3.6 PSYCHOSOCIAL CHANGES DURING OLD AGE (Early Adulthood, Middle
Age, Old Age)
The social world of older adults is varied. In general, older adults place a high value on
spending time with friends, sometimes more so than time with family. This might be
because of life events wherein family members are not always nearby or readily available.
Also, many elders prefer not to interfere with or be a burden to their extended family.
They strive to be independent and enjoy life with members of their own cohort. Within
a marriage, couples may have trouble adjusting to retirement. This is most true for more
traditional marriages. However, evidence suggests that married persons tend to be
happier in late adulthood than single persons, though those who have never married
often cope the best with feelings of loneliness in late life.
Erikson’s Theory
Ego Integrity vs. Despair is the final stage of life. This involves coming to terms with
one’s life. If there is a sense of integrity, people feel whole, complete, and satisfied with
their life choices and achievements. They have accepted the setbacks and
disappointments and celebrated the successes and found a way to meaning within all
these life events. Everything gets put into a perspective which allows a certain contentment
with life. Increased age is associated with greater maturity and well-being. There is
even a peace about one’s mortality, even as close to the end as these people are.
Despair, on the other hand occurs when seniors feel they have made wrong decisions,
but life is too short to remedy any life directions. They display bitterness, defeat and
anxiety about death, a hopelessness.
Peck’s Theory: Three Tasks of Ego Integrity are involved in finding integrity:
Ego differentiation vs. work-role preoccupation. This task comes out of retirement,
as people who have been invested in careers find other ways to self-worth. They must
find another role to invest in and find meaning.
Body transcendence vs. body preoccupation. This task requires finding a way to
transcend physical limitations, disabilities, loss of youth and beauty, to find value in
cognitive, social strengths and relationships.
Ego transcendence vs. ego preoccupation. This task involves finding a constructive
way of facing the reality of death. Elders must find a future beyond their own mortality,
through giving back to a younger generation.
Labouvie-Vief’s Theory
Emotional Expertise. Early adulthood is all about pragmatic choices- finding ways to
solve real-world problems, at work as well as within relationships. Elders are becoming
more in touch with their feelings and must use those feelings to reflect on their life
experiences. This emotional sensitivity allows elders to detach from experiences in order
to choose better how to respond. Younger people are more impulsively emotional in
their coping and problem-solving. Elders are better at emotional self-regulation.
Reminiscence and Life Review

Reminiscence is telling stories about people and events from one’s past, and reporting
thoughts and feelings. Life review is reminiscence in which the person reflects on past
experiences, considering their meaning with the goal of achieving greater self-
understanding. Middle age was also assessed as satisfying, with childhood and
adolescence ranked as less satisfying.
45
Adulthood and Ageing 3.6.1 Stability and Change in Self-Concept and Personality
Secure and Multifaceted Self-Concept- after a lifetime of self-knowledge, people
feel more secure about whom they are, and their self-concepts become more complex
and multi-faceted.
Agreeableness, Sociability, and Acceptance of Change – there are 3 shifts in
personality at this point: a more flexible and optimist approach to life is present.
Agreeableness – generosity, acquiescence, and good-naturedness are higher for
many people at this point.
Sociability drops to some extent, as people become more selective about relationships
and significant people die or move away.
Acceptance of change seems to link to well-being. They develop a capacity to accept
life’s vagaries, and they are resilient in the face of adversity.
Spirituality and Religiosity – their sense of spirituality encompasses their lives more
meaningfully. Often there develops a sense of truth and beauty in art, nature, and
relationships. Religion gives people rituals that stabilise life and give meaning to the life
struggle. Spirituality advances to a higher level in late life- to a more reflective approach
that is more at ease with the unknowable aspects of life.
Individual differences in Psychological Well-Being- Control Vs Dependency
Dependency-support script is a script in which dependent behaviours are attended to
immediately, reinforcing the weaker member in her dependency.
Independence-ignore script is a script where independent behaviours are ignored,
also reinforcing dependency in the weaker member. Unfortunately, being dependent is
not a happy state, so the helper is often resented, even though the elder may recognise
s/he needs the help. These negative feelings can foster depression. Context makes a
difference however, since the more lovingly the help is offered, the easier it is to accept
without regret. Elders will need help, but we can offer it without expressing disgust or
impatience for their needs.
Elder Suicide is not always evident. Sometimes elders quit eating, taking care of emotional
or physical problems, refusing to take meds, refusing relationships that could be
encourageing.
Health is a strong predictor of well-being in late adulthood. When people face illness or
chronic disabilities, they feel a loss of personal control. Not only does helplessness
increase, but social isolation increases, too. Then as mental health declines, it affects
physical health, as people eat more poorly, get out less, distract themselves less from
their ailments.
Negative Life Changes occur more often in late adulthood- loss of friends, spouses,
poor health issues, financial strain and greater dependency. This issues hit women more
often, but they still report that they have people who depend on them emotionally, so
they retain some of their former identity, even though many relationships often feel
strained, due to the women’s lower ability to care for others.
Social Support and Social Interaction – social support reduces stress, so it promotes
health and well-being, and increases the odds of living longer. If elders require much
assistance from others, though, they often feel distressed that they can no longer
reciprocate.
46
3.6.2 Relationships in Late Adulthood Psychosocial Changes
Social convoy is a cluster of family members and friends who provide safety and Age, Old Age)
support. Some bonds become closer with age, others more distant, a few are gained,
and some drift away. Elders do try to maintain social networks of family and friends to
preserve security and life continuity.
Marriage – marital satisfaction rises from middle to late adulthood if perceptions of
fairness in the relationship increase. If couples engage in joint leisure activities and enjoy
more positive communication, their relationships become more satisfying.
Siblings- Bonds with sisters are generally closer than those with brothers. Siblings
enjoy reminiscing as they enter later adulthood. This allows them to feel a family continuity
and harmony, as well as begin to put their lives into a perspective as they naturally do a
life review.
Friendships function to offer intimacy and companionship, acceptance, a link to the
larger community, and protection from the toll of loss- physical and emotional. Women
are more likely to have both intimate friends and secondary friends- people who are
acquaintances they do some activities with occasionally.
3.6.3 Retirement and Leisure

Decision to retire depends on affordability, health status, opportunities to pursue
meaningful activities, early retirement benefits, gender and ethnicity. Women retire earlier
than most men because of family demands.
Adjustment to Retirement is affected by health status, financial stability, sense of
personal control over life events, including the retirement decision, characteristics of the
work they did, satisfaction derived from work, social support and marital happiness.
Leisure Activities engaged in relate to physical and mental health, but they also relate
to reduced mortality. It is best to develop hobbies and interests and volunteer activities
before retirement that can be invested in more seriously after retirement.
Successful ageing occurs when elders have developed many ways to minimize losses
and maximise gains. Social contexts can foster successful ageing. These are such things
as well-funded social security plans, good health care, safe housing that adjusts to
changes in elders’ needs, social services, opportunities for lifelong learning. Better in-
home help, adapted housing and sensitive nursing home care could make a difference in
ageing, too.
1) Differentiate between ego integrity versus despair.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) Discuss reminiscence and life review.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................... 47
3) Explain how is spirituality and religion important during the late adulthood.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3.7 LET US SUM UP

During the period of young adulthood one sees himself or herself as an autonomous and
independent adult. In this period the individual becomes financially less dependent on
the parental family. A major developmental task during this period is the choice of
career.Young men and women tend to settle down in a career of their choice. In addition
a young adult tries to settle down and start the family life. They are also concerned
about various social issues and forming close relationships with one’s professional peers
and members of community. The duties of a person demand two fold responsibilities
which are towards oneself as well as the society.
Perhaps middle adulthood is best known for its infamous midlife crisis: a time of
reevaluation that leads to questioning long-held beliefs and values. The midlife crisis
may also result in a person divorcing his or her spouse, changing jobs, or moving from
the city to the suburbs. Typically beginning in the early- or mid-40s, the crisis often
occurs in response to a sense of mortality, as middle adults realise that their youth is
limited and that they have not accomplished all of their desired goals in life. Of course,
not everyone experiences stress or upset during middle age; instead they may simply
undergo a midlife transition, or change, rather than the emotional upheaval of a midlife
crisis. Other middle adults prefer to reframe their experience by thinking of themselves
as being in the prime of their lives rather than in their declining years.
During the male midlife crisis, men may try to reassert their masculinity by engageing in
more youthful male behaviours, such as dressing in trendy clothes, taking up activities
like scuba diving, motorcycling, or skydiving.
During the female midlife crisis, women may try to reassert their femininity by dressing
in youthful styles, having cosmetic surgery, or becoming more socially active. Some
middle adult women try to look as young as their young adult children by dying their
hair and wearing more youthful clothing. Such actions may be a response to feelings of
isolation, loneliness, inferiority, uselessness, nonassertion, or unattractiveness.
The field of life-span development seems to be moving away from a normative-crisis
model to a timing-of-events model to explain such events as the midlife transition and
the midlife crisis. The former model describes psychosocial tasks as occurring in a
definite age-related sequence, while the latter describes tasks as occurring in response
to particular life events and their timing. In other words, whereas the normative-crisis
model defines the midlife transition as occurring exactly between ages 40 and 45, the
timing-of-events model defines it as occurring when the person begins the process of
questioning life desires, values, goals, and accomplishments.
Later adulthood or the period of old age begins at the age of sixty. During this stage
most individuals lose their jobs because they retire from active service. They begin to
fear about their physical and psychological health. In our society, the elderly are typically
perceived as not so active, deteriorating intellectually, narrow-minded and attaching
significance to religion. Many of the old people lose their spouses and suffer from
48 emotional insecurity. However, this may not be true of everybody. Many people at the
age of sixty or above remain very healthy and active in life. The life style including Psychosocial Changes
exercise, diet, and regular health check up helps people to enjoy meaningful and active Age, Old Age)
life.
Involvement in grand parenting helps elderly satisfy many of their personal and emotional
needs. Grandparents can serve as important role models. Old people find these roles
emotionally self-fulfilling and tend to derive self-satisfaction through achievement of
their grand children.

1) Discuss stage versus life events approach.
2) What are the differences in individual personality traits?
3) Discuss the dynamics of relationship in middle age.
4) Discuss the importance and characteristics of grand parenthood.
5) What are the psychosocial changes that occur in old age?
6) What importance has retirement in late adulthood?

Agich, G (2009). Dependence and Autonomy in Old Age. Cambridge university
Press, Cleveland
Sigelman, Carol K. & Rider Elizabeth A. (2009). Lifespan Human Development.
Wardworth, NY
49
UNIT 4 CHALLENGES AND ISSUES IN
AGEING PROCESS
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Ageing Process
4.2.1 Ageing Process in Women
4.2.2 Ageing Process in Men
4.3 Ageing Issues and Challenges in Early Adulthood
4.4 Ageing Issues and Challenges in Middle Adulthood
4.5 Ageing Issues and Challenges in Late Adulthood
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.9 Answer to the Self Check Questions
4.0 INTRODUCTION
As we age, our bodies change in many ways that affect the function of both individual
cells and organ systems. These changes occur little by little and progress inevitably over
time. However, the rate of this progression can vary differently for different persons.
The ageing process brings with it many challenges, as for instance not being physically
as strong as in the earlier years, facing different types of responsibilities , crisis and
conflicts. For tackling these challenges one must have varying coping abilities which
itself is a challenge. In this unit we will be dealing with the type of challenges one faces
as one grows old and the varying coping strategies that they need to have to overcome
the same.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and describe the ageing process in men and women;
z explain the ageing issues and challenges in early adulthood;
z analyse the ageing issues and challenges in middle adulthood; and
z explain the ageing issues and challenges in late adulthood.
4.2 AGEING PROCESS

Ageing or ageing is a process that accumulates changes in organisms or objects over
time. Human ageing process involves multidimensional changes on physical, psychological,
cultural and social levels.
As soon as an individual is born, their body begins to age. This process continues
throughout our life. Ageing is not simply about old age. It is the lifelong process by
50 which we define the social, mental, and biological stages in our lives.
A newborn baby is developing new cells and shedding dead cells daily. The “peach Challenges and Issues in
Ageing Process
fuzz” hair is replaced with new hair that is stronger and more colored. The skin begins
to adapt to the “out-of-umbilical-fluid” environment.
Bodies continue to grow in the toddler years into puberty and adolescence. Constant
changes take place in the body until the height, determined by genetics, is reached.
Then the body starts to spread a little here and there, taking a new shape of body style
in the adult years.
Changes in our body are sometimes described as deterioration, such as gray hair,
wrinkles, loss of hearing, the need for bifocals. These are just normal changes as the
body progresses. A person over the age of 50 can still be vital and healthy. Hardening
of the arteries, bone density loss, and slowing metabolism are more signs of the normal
ageing process.
Ageing retardation could stretch out our entire life cycle like a rubber band, extending
the time we spend in infancy, childhood, adolescence, prime, and senior years. Yet
there is always the risk of a serious rift between the maturity of the body/mind and the
expectations and requirements of life.
The ageing process in humans is a complex biochemical process which includes all the
changes taking place socially, psychologically and physically. The process of ageing in
the human body is inevitable and there are many signs of ageing occurring both within
and outside the human body. Ageing, also known as senescence, is a process that
every human being goes through, but the ageing process in women slightly differs from
the ageing process in men. As we age, there are a number of changes taking place in the
various systems of the human body, which may, at times cause age-related problems
and disorders.
The intensity of problems and challenges depends on a combination of both genetic and
environmental factors. Again recognising that every individual has his or her own unique
genetic makeup and environment, which interact with each other, helps us understand
why the ageing process can occur at such different rates in different people. Overall,
genetic factors seem to be more powerful than environmental factors in determining the
large differences among people in ageing and lifespan.
Heredity, diet, exercise, social involvement, and spirituality all play a large part in your
physical wellbeing. Eating right and exercising will keep your body healthier and may
stave off some of the effects of ageing, or at least slow the ageing process.
Women are naturally obsessed with their looks and their world revolves around their
looks and looks only. Ageing is an inevitable natural process and there is no treatment
for ageing process. Although, it is true that women face much different challenges than
men in ageing process, the key to fight ageing process in women, solely depends upon
her perspective about life. If she decides to age gracefully, nothing can deter her from
leading a beautiful life.
Ageing, from the male perspective, is frequently associated with loss of physical and
mental function and vitality. The implied stigma that comes with ageing often prevents
men from dealing with important health issues associated with the process.
During middle adulthood, the two primary long-term relationships characteristic are 51
Adulthood and Ageing cohabitation and marriage. Cohabitors are unmarried people living together in a sexual
relationship, often state their reason for cohabiting as either a trial for marriage or an
alternative to marriage.
Middle adulthood refers to the people who are experiencing changes and development
in their central lives. It is basically about the midlife transition or the period of life beyond
young adulthood but before the commencement of old age.
Elder care can be thought of as an umbrella of care and services for the frail elderly.
These include a broad range of services including: meals and socialisation, personal
care, light housekeeping, residential facilities, and adult day care.
The process of ageing in the human body starts at middle age around 45. The process
and its effects depend on both, the genetic as well as environmental factors and hence,
some of the aspects of the ageing process may differ from person to person. To
understand the human ageing process better, let us try and understand the cellular changes
that occur along with the ageing process.
Ageing causes some amount of reduction in the rate of human cell multiplication (cellular
senescence) and also causes some of the cells to function inappropriately. It also
interferes with the growth and development of the body tissues which leads to the
development of various immune system related disorders.
Heredity, diet, exercise, social involvement, and spirituality all play a large part in your
physical wellbeing. Eating right and exercising will keep one’s body healthier and may
stave off some of the effects of ageing, or at least slow the ageing process.
4.2.1 Ageing Process in Women

Women are considerably concerned with their looks and their world revolves around
their looks and looks only. It’s as though physical appearance is the only thing that
matters to them in the world. Obviously, when the first few physical signs of ageing start
showing up, their world is shattered into bits. Besides, being the more sensitive gender,
the emotional and psychological changes that accompany ageing are difficult to cope.
Ageing brings about changes on the physical, psychological and social front of a
woman’s life.
Physical Challenges
Menopause is the word that immediately comes to one’s mind when we say ageing
process in women. The woman’s life is divided into two phases premenopausal and
postmenopausal. The hormonal changes in the body cause many ageing problems. The
body starts losing out on bone mass and muscle strength. These weakened bones often
result in osteoporosis and arthritis, which accompany the woman throughout the rest of
her life. The skin becomes sunken and sallow and eventually, wrinkles begin to appear.
The immune system is no longer able to produce sufficient anti bodies, thereby making
the body susceptible to various illnesses. Most vital organs show diminished performance,
which affects the entire health of the woman.
Psychological Challenges
These are to an extent related to physical status of the individual. Menopause is the
buzz word here. The hormonal changes during menopause bring about plethora of
behavioural changes in a woman. The very fact that they are no longer fertile, is enough
to send many women into depression. Emotional insecurity haunts their mind due to the
fear that since she is no longer physically attractive, her spouse may not love her. She
52
may become extremely moody and irritated as she may not be able to cope with the
many changes that happen all at once in her life. Lastly, there is this daunting feeling of Challenges and Issues in
Ageing Process
ageing that she somehow relates with the ‘end’. However, some optimistic women may
take this as an opportunity to fulfill their unaccomplished dreams and lead a life the way
they always wanted to.
Social Challenges
During ageing process in women, their social life entirely depends upon their own attitude
towards life and most importantly their health. Some women, due to their poor health
or some other reason, may completely shut themselves away from the world. While the
other, more outgoing group, may engage themselves in community activities or some
hobbies and interests. Most women in this age group are financially settled and have a
family that is no longer dependent upon them. Thus, this period poses a golden chance
for them to live the life for themselves.
Ageing is an inevitable natural process and there is no treatment for ageing process.
Although, it is true that women face much different challenges than men in ageing process,
the key to fight ageing process in women, solely depends upon her perspective about
life. If she decides to age gracefully, nothing can deter her from leading a beautiful life.
4.2.2 Ageing Process in Men

men from dealing with important health issues associated with the process. Ageing
process in men has always been related with the decrease of mental and physical
functions. The ageing process in men brings physiological changes in the body. Men, in
their middle age, do bulge around the middle due to accumulation of a lot of unburned
fat and lack of exercises. Ageing process in men does not treat all the men in the same
way. The day you notice a grey hair, standing out among the rest of your black hair, you
may observe your boss, who is senior in age to you, darting from one place to another,
as if he is a 16 year old kid. This may make you wonder, how this chap is manageing to
stay so fit, at his age.
Whole health
When the ageing process starts, a whole foods diet high in fiber, low in saturated fat,
and rich in nutrients is the best health-promoting approach. Eating fresh vegetables and
fruits rich in antioxidant nutrients and fiber helps reduce the risk factors for cancer.
Consistent moderate exercise promotes cardiovascular health as well as reduces the
risk factors for obesity, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Together with an approach to stress
management, diet and exercise form the foundation of an overall health plan.
Mental health
Mental health is an important concern for many men, as Alzheimer’s Disease and
Dementia which are common to occur during this age may afflict the individual.
Maintaining mental health and function as we age is a growing concern. Herbal extracts
like ginkgo biloba and nutrients like phosphatidyl serine and DHA (docosahexaenoic
acid), a component of fish oil can greatly assist in promoting mental health and function.
Standardized ginkgo extracts help increase circulation to the brain and extremities, act
as an antioxidant in the brain and retina, and protect nerve cells through a reduction in
platelet aggregation. By promoting blood flow to the brain and reducing potential damage
to nerve cells, ginkgo supports cognitive function and can help stave off diseases such
as Alzheimer’s Disease and Senile Dementia. 53
Adulthood and Ageing Heart health
The most obvious concern for men as they age is heart health and disease. Cardiovascular
disease is still among the most common causes of death among men. Diet and lifestyle
play a significant role in the progression of cardiovascular disease and are also central
to its treatment. Natural medicines can also play a key role in helping to reduce the risk
and complications of heart disease.
High fiber foods and a reduced intake of meats high in fat combined with a program of
daily exercise and stress reduction techniques have shown very positive results in even
the worst heart disease.
Prostate health
Prostate health is a consideration for men once they reach the age of 40. Over the age
of 40, it is estimated that 60 percent of men will have an enlarged prostate (also known
as BPH, benign prostatic hyperplasia). As men age, the likelihood that they will develop
BPH increases. Although the initial symptoms of prostate enlargement may be considered
minimal, and only slightly bothersome, proactive care can greatly reduce the risk for
more serious complications.
Standardized extracts of herbs like saw palmetto, nettle, and pygeum are frequently
recommended along with pollen extracts. Natural therapies like pollen extracts and
saw palmetto can also help reduce the effects of testosterone breakdown products on
prostate cells. High levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) have been associated with
prostate cancer.
Skeletal health
Joint and bone health issues are also common problems for men in which past sports
injuries and wear and tear can lead to osteoarthritis. As one ages, our connective tissue
is not able to repair itself as efficiently as when we were younger. Additional nutrition is
often necessary to promote cartilage healing and prevent further breakdown of joint
tissue associated with osteoarthritis.
Although many men do not think about osteoporosis, it, too, is a major concern for
men as they age. Although women have bone health risks related to changes in hormone
levels, as many as one-sixth of all men will fracture a hip during their lifetime.
The ageing process is a natural one. Ageing, however, does not have to mean loss of
function or vitality. In fact, healthful eating habits in combination with focused nutrients
and herbs can combine to make the 40-plus years the best of any man’s life.
1) Discuss the ageing process in females.
.....................................................................................................................
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.....................................................................................................................
2) What are the important factors associated with ageing in males?
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54
Challenges and Issues in
..................................................................................................................... Ageing Process
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) What are the typical health issues associated with ageing ?
.....................................................................................................................
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4.3 AGEING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN

EARLY ADULTHOOD
bearing and careers. It is the first stage of adulthood in which the body physically
changes and is one of the hardest times in our lives after teenage years.
Neither intimacy nor individual development can exist alone. The birth of a child initiates
a human being into a life-long process of mutual adaptation between the child, his or her
intimate relationship partners and the broader social environment. Intimate interactions
and relationships affect adaptations to the changing needs and stresses that evolve with
each stage of development throughout one’s lifetime. Intimate interactions from early
life serve as the basis upon which relationships later in life are formed. Environmental
contingencies to which individuals must adapt are rooted in these relationships. In an
attempt to adapt to other people’s styles of relating, one must adjust his or her own
behaviours.
Maturity
Children entering adolescence must begin to adapt to the adult world and its institutions
while coming to terms with emerging parts of themselves. They discover themselves as
having new emotional and sexual needs. As they make these discoveries, adolescents
begin to realise the limitations of their parents. Taking responsibility for aspects of their
own character requires distancing from authoritative.
Friendships
Over the course of social development, the role of friends and parents changes
significantly. As an adolescent undergoes physical and emotional changes, he or she
seeks out relationships that enhance efforts to adapt to new needs and stresses.
Adolescents seek to share their thoughts and feelings with those who are experiencing
similar changes. Intimate interactions increase between friends during this stage in life
because they provide teens with opportunities for self-clarification. Through the formation
of co-constructive dialogues between friends, teens can participate together in exploring
and constructing selves.
Multiple Selves
During late adolescence, one must first confront the problem of multiple selves. For the
first time, an adolescent realises that his or her personality changes from one situation to 55
Adulthood and Ageing the next. This is the stage of life during which one looks to craft a narrative of the self
that provides a sense of sameness and continuity. The importance of intimate friendship
and romance formed during early adulthood stems from the valuable and adaptive
contribution dialogues made with friends during adolescence. Personality differences
can be identified by capacities to form intimate relationships characterised by
commitment, depth, and partner individuation based on interactions of early life.
i) Human ageing process involves __________________ changes on physical,
psychological, cultural and social levels.
ii) Eating fresh vegetables and fruits rich in ____________ nutrients helps
reduce the risk factors for cancer.
iii) High levels of ___________________ have been associated with prostate
cancer.
iv) Neither __________________ __________________ nor individual
development can exist alone.
v) Joint and bone health issues can lead to ________________________.
i) Ageing process continues throughout our life.
ii) Eating right and exercise can keep the ageing process slow.
iii) The hormonal changes in the body is not concerned with ageing problems.
iv) Prostate health is a consideration for women once they reach the age of 40.
v) The ageing process is a natural one.
3) What are the ageing issues and challenges in early adulthood?
.....................................................................................................................
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4.4 AGEING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN

MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
Middle adulthood refers to the people whom are experiencing changes and development
in their central lives. It is basically about the midlife transition or the period of life beyond
young adulthood but before the commencement of old age.
Physical Appearance
The changes in physical appearance are some of the most notable parts for many people
as they experience middle adulthood physical development. Hair begins turning gray or
white as teeth fade from white to yellow. More wrinkles appear, especially on the face,
56 and skin begins to sag.
Hearing and Vision Challenges and Issues in
Ageing Process
The ability to hear high-pitched noises disappears during middle adulthood as most
people begin recognising hearing loss around 40. Men experience twice as much hearing
loss as women during this life stage. Vision also decreases for both sexes as their ability
to focus declines, and they need brighter lights to see.
Health
This stage of development generally refers to the diseases experienced by the individuals
and the diseases are few infectious yet more chronic. Heart diseases and cancer are the
two most common sicknesses for people in midlife period. The experience of health
decline is different for men and women. Men are more prone to heart disease, cancer
and stroke especially on the incidence that men had experience or are experiencing
divorce. For women, non-fatal illnesses like goiter, gout or arthritis and lung and breast
cancer. Though death is fewer for females than in males, diabetic cases are inclined on
the female’s part more than the males. The gain or lost in this domain generally depends
on how people take care of themselves while they are still young and capable to do so.
Strength and Coordination
As adults pass through middle adulthood their strength begins to diminish as some of
their muscle is replaced with fat. Flexibility also decreases, and the reaction time of
individuals in middle adulthood decreases as well.
Sexuality
The start of middle adulthood often signifies the end of a woman’s ability to bear children.
They proceed to go through menopause during this middle-age stage in their life. Men
still possess the ability to reproduce although their fertility decreases in middle adulthood
as they age.
Disease
Diabetes, heart disease and cancer are just a few of the common diseases discovered
during middle adulthood. While chances are these diseases have been building up in an
individual throughout their life, the discovery and treatment of them often occurs when
people are in middle age.
Relationships during Middle Adulthood
During middle adulthood, the two primary long-term relationships characteristic are
cohabitation and marriage. Cohabitors are unmarried people living together in a sexual
relationship, often state their reason for cohabiting as either a trial for marriage or an
alternative to marriage.
By middle age, most of the adults are married. Marital satisfaction is often described in
terms of a U-curve: People generally affirm that their marriages are happiest during the
early years, but not as happy during the middle years. Marital satisfaction then increases
again in the later years, once finances have stabilised and parenting responsibilities have
ended.
Divorce
Middle adults are not immune to problems in relationships. The reasons for dissolving a
relationship are many and varied, just as relationships themselves differ in their make-
up and dynamics. In some cases, the couple cannot handle an extended crisis. In other
cases, the spouses change and grow in different directions. In still others, the spouses 57
Adulthood and Ageing are completely incompatible from the very start. However, long-term relationships rarely
end because of difficulties with just one of the partners. Both parties are usually responsible
for the factors that may lead to a relationship’s end, such as conflicts, problems, growing
out of love, or empty-nest issues that arise after the last child leaves his or her parent’s
home.
Love changes over time, and such changes may become evident by middle adulthood.
The ideal form of love in adulthood involves three components: passion, intimacy, and
commitment—termed consummate love, or complete love. This variety of love is
unselfish, devoted, and is most often associated with romantic relationships. Getting
started is easy; sticking to it is much harder.
For many middle-aged couples, passion fades as intimacy and commitment build. In
other words, many middle adults find themselves in a marriage typified by companionate
love, which is both committed and intimate, but not passionate. Yet a relationship that
has lost its sexual nature need not remain this way, nor do such changes necessitate the
end of a long-term relationship. In fact, many middle adult couples find effective ways
of improving their ability to communicate, increasing emotional intimacy, rekindling the
fires of passion, and growing together. The understanding that evolves between two
people over time can be striking.
Relationships that last
Long-term relationships share several factors, including both partners regarding the
relationship as a long-term commitment; both verbally and physically expressing
appreciation, admiration, and love; both offering emotional support to each other; and
both considering the other as a best friend.
Essential to preserving a quality relationship is the couple’s decision to practice effective
communication. Communication is the means by which intimacy is established and
nurtured within a relationship; it helps partners better relate to and understand each
other. Communication helps them feel close, connected, and loved.
Friends
Friends offer support, direction, guidance, and a change of pace from usual routines.
During this period, life responsibilities are at an all-time high, so having extra time for
socialising is usually rare. For this reason, middle adults may have less friends than their
newlywed and retired counterparts. Yet where quantity of friendships may be lacking,
quality predominates. Some of the closest ties between friends are formed and nourished
Children
As adults wait later to marry and start families, more and more middle adults find
themselves rearing small children. Middle adults and their adolescent children are both
prone to emotional crises, which may occur at the same time. For adolescents, the
crisis involves the search for identity; for middle adults, the search is for generativity.
These two crises are not always compatible, as parents try to deal with their own issues
as well as those of their adolescents.
Parents respond to their children’s adolescence in different ways. Some middle adults
attempt to live out their own youthful fantasies—sexual and otherwise—through their
children. They may try to make their teenage children into improved versions of
themselves. For example, some parents may force their teenagers to take music lessons
58 or make them join a sports team, while other parents may insist that their children
attend a certain college or enter the family business.
Witnessing their children on the verge of becoming adults can also trigger a midlife crisis Challenges and Issues in
Ageing Process
for some middle adults. The adolescent journey into young adulthood is a reminder to
middle-aged parents of their own ageing processes and inescapable settling into middle
and later adulthood.
Middle-aged parents typically maintain close relationships with their grown up children
who have left home. Many parents report feeling as if they continue to give more than
receive from relationships with their children, including helping with their finances or
watching their pets when they are out of town. Still, most middle adults and their grown
children tend to value their time together, even as their respective roles continue to
change.
Parents
Most middle adults characterise the relationship with their parents as affectionate. Indeed,
a strong bond is often present between related middle and older adults. Although the
majority of middle adults do not live with their parents, contacts are usually frequent
and positive. And perhaps for the first time, middle adults are able to see their parents
as the fallible human beings that they are.
One issue facing middle adults is that of caring for their ageing parents. In some cases,
adults, who expected to spend their middle-age years traveling and enjoying their own
children and grandchildren, instead find themselves taking care of their ailing parents.
Some parents are completely independent of their adult children’s support, while others
are partially independent of their children; and still others are completely dependent.
Children of dependent parents may assist them financially (paying their bills), physically
(bringing them into their homes and caring for them), and emotionally (as a source of
human contact as the parents’ social circle diminishes). Daughters and daughters-in-
law are the most common caretakers of ageing parents and in-laws.
Even though the death of a parent is never welcome, some long-term adult caretakers
express ambivalent feelings about the event. The grown children of parents dying of a
lingering illness, for example, usually do not want to see their loved ones suffer—even
if alleviation means death. These children may find themselves hoping simultaneously
for a cure and for a peaceful release from the pain that their parent is experiencing.
4.5 AGEING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN LATE

ADULTHOOD
Elder care can be thought of as an umbrella of care and services for the frail elderly.
These include a broad range of services including: meals and socialisation, personal
care, light housekeeping, residential facilities, and adult day care.
There are few physical differences among a group of first graders. But if you check out
the same group 65 years later, their physical differences outnumber their similarities.
Some will be the epitome of health, while others will be manageing one or more chronic
conditions. Some will be vigorous, while others will be lethargic.
As we get older, we become physically less like our peers. That’s because we are the
sum of our life experiences. At age six, not too much has happened to our bodies to
make us radically different from our peers. But by middle and old age, we’ve had
decades to develop and maintain habits that have an impact on our health, both negatively
and positively.
59
Adulthood and Ageing Ageing may be inevitable, but the rate of ageing is not. Why and how our bodies age is
still largely a mystery, although we are learning more and more each year. Scientists do
maintain, however, that chronological age has little bearing on biological age. The number
of candles on your birthday cake merely serves as a marker of time; it says little about
your health.
The human body goes through a variety of changes as it gets older. In general, muscles,
blood vessels and other tissues lose their elasticity. The heart becomes less efficient,
bones become weaker and the metabolism slows down.
In spite of the changes to the rest of the body, a lot of people focus primarily on changes
to their appearance as they age. These include:
Wrinkles
Fibers in the skin called collagen and elastin break down and lose strength as a person
gets older. Sun exposure throughout life contributes to this process. Without these fibers,
the skin cannot hold its shape as well. Older skin retains less fat, making it look less
supple. The pull of gravity also causes the skin to sag.
Dry skin
Older people produce less sweat and oil, causing their skin to be drier. Excessively dry
skin can emphasise the appearance of wrinkles.
Age spots
Dark spots on the skin, particularly the arms, hands, face and feet, stem from cumulative
exposure to the sun. Most people call these marks liver spots, but they are unrelated to
liver function. They actually stem from overproduction of the pigment melanin in areas
of the skin that have experienced the most exposure to the sun.
Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome
It is seen that most of the adults aged 60 and older are overweight or obese. Obesity is
related to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer, gall bladder
disease, and high blood pressure.
Women in perimenopause and menopause tend to accumulate fat around the waist and
hips, and men get the gut. The food intake should be in check by reducing calorie intake
and alcohol intake because a lot of alcohol calories go right to the gut. Also, increase in
healthy fat intake such as omega-3 fatty acids and unsaturated fats, and eliminate trans
fats completely. Foods sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup should be avoided.
The common sweetener is found in everything from sodas to breakfast cereal to low-
fat yogurt.
Arthritis
Arthritis affects nearly half the elderly population and is a leading cause of disability.
The keys to prevention is to avoid overuse, do steady, regular exercise rather than in
weekend spurts, and stop if you feel pain.
Manageing one’s weight is just as essential for joint health as cardiovascular health.
Osteoporosis and Falls
Osteoporosis and low bone mass affect most of the adults age 50 and older, most of
them are women. According to the National Osteoporosis Association, osteoporosis is
60 not part of normal ageing. Healthy behaviours and treatment, when appropriate, can
prevent or minimize the condition. Weight-bearing exercise also helps to keep bones Challenges and Issues in
Ageing Process
healthy.
Cancer
Risk for developing most types of cancer increases with age. As women age, the rate of
cervical cancer decreases, and endometrial cancer increases. The risk of prostate cancer
increases with age, and black men have a higher rate than white men. Screening should
start in your 40s, and at the very least should involve a digital rectal examination.
Lung cancer accounts for more deaths than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon
cancer combined.
Vision and Hearing Loss
Age-related eye diseases such as macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy,
and glaucoma affects people aged 40 and older. Eating foods with high antioxidant
content may be helpful in reducing vision loss due to macular degeneration. Regular eye
exams should include screening for glaucoma, which is called “the sneak thief of sight”
for the fact that the first symptom is vision loss. The disease can be arrested, but vision
lost to glaucoma cannot be restored.
The incidence of hearing loss increases with age. Hearing loss takes a toll on the quality
of life and can lead to depression and withdrawal from social activities. Although hearing
aids can help, only one out of four people use them.
High-frequency hearing loss is common in old age and made worse by a lifestyle that
includes exposure to loud sounds.
Mental Health: Memory and Emotional Well-being
Staying mentally active is as important as staying physically active. One of the perplexing
problems of ageing is Alzheimer’s disease. Depression is often underdiagnosed and
untreated. Many people mistakenly believe that depression is a natural condition of old
age. One of the biggest life changes is retirement. Many people have their sense of
worth tied up with work. In retirement, depression and suicide rates rise.
i) Diabetes, ___________________ and cancer are common diseases
discovered during middle adulthood.
ii) _____________________ is often described in terms of a U-curve.
iii) Passion fades as intimacy and _____________________ build.
iv) Older skin retains _____________ fat.
v) In retirement, depression and ____________ rates rise.
i) Men experience twice as much hearing loss as women during middle life
stage.
ii) Women are more prone to heart disease, cancer and stroke.
61
iii) Long term relationship requires long term commitment.
iv) Daughters and daughters-in-law are the most common caretakers of ageing
parents and in-laws.
v) Older people produce more of sweat and oil.
4.6 LET US SUM UP

The ageing process depends on a combination of both genetic and environmental factors.
Recognising that every individual has his or her own unique genetic makeup and
environment, which interact with each other, helps us understand why the ageing process
can occur at such different rates in different people. Overall, genetic factors seem to be
more powerful than environmental factors in determining the large differences among
people in ageing and lifespan.
Women are naturally obsessed with their looks and their world revolves around their
looks and looks only. Ageing is an inevitable natural process and there is no treatment
for ageing process. Although, it is true that women face much different challenges than
men in ageing process, the key to fight ageing process in women, solely depends upon
her perspective about life. If she decides to age gracefully, nothing can deter her from
leading a beautiful life.
Menopause is the word that immediately comes to the mind when we say ageing process
in women. The woman’s life is divided into two phases premenopausal and
postmenopausal. The hormonal changes in the body invite many ageing problems. The
body starts losing out on bone mass and muscle strength.
During ageing process in women, their social life entirely depends upon their own attitude
towards life and most importantly their health. Some women, due to their poor health
or some other reason, may completely shut themselves away from the world.
men from dealing with important health issues associated with the process.
Prostate health is a consideration for men once they reach the age of 40. Over the age
of 40, it is estimated that 60 percent of men will have an enlarged prostate (also known
as BPH, benign prostatic hyperplasia).
bearing and careers. Intimate interactions and relationships affect adaptations to the
changing needs and stresses that evolve with each stage of development throughout
one’s lifetime. Intimate interactions from early life serve as the basis upon which
relationships later in life are formed.
By middle age, most of the adults are married. Marital satisfaction is often described in
terms of a U-curve: People generally affirm that their marriages are happiest during the
early years, but not as happy during the middle years. Marital satisfaction then increases
again in the later years, once finances have stabilised and parenting responsibilities have
62 ended.
As we get older, we become physically less like our peers. That’s because we are the Challenges and Issues in
Ageing Process
sum of our life experiences. At age six, not too much has happened to our bodies to
make us radically different from our peers. But by middle and old age, we’ve had
decades to develop and maintain habits that have an impact on our health, both negatively
and positively.

1) Discuss the ageing process in humans.
2) Ageing process in male and female – discuss the differences.
3) What are the ageing issues and challenges in early adulthood?
4) Discuss the various types of illness one can suffer in middle adulthood.
5) What are the issues and challenges in late adulthood?

Stuart-Hamilton, Ian (2006). The Psychology of Ageing: An Introduction. London:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Diane F. Gilmer; Aldwin, Carolyn M. (2003). Health, Illness, and Pptimal Ageing:
Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications
4.9 ANSWER TO THE SELF ASSESSMENT

QUESTIONS
1) i) Multidimensional
ii) Antioxidants
iii) Dihydrotestosterone
iv) Intimacy
v) Osteoarthritis
2) i) True
ii) True
iii) False
iv) False
v) True
3) i) Heart disease
ii) Marital satisfaction
iii) Commitment
iv) Less
v) Suicide
4) i) True
ii) False
iii) True
iv) True
v) False 63
Definition and Concept of
UNIT 1 DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF Personality and Personality
Development
PERSONALITY AND PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definition and Concept of Personality
1.3 Personality Development
1.3.1 Biological Factors
1.3.2 Psychological Factors
1.3.2.1 Intellectual Determinants
1.3.2.2 Emotional Determinants
1.3.2.3 Excessive Love and Affection
1.3.2.4 Self-disclosure
1.3.2.5 Aspiration and Achievements
1.3.2.6 Achievements
1.3.2.7 Goal Setting
1.3.3 Environmental Factors
1.3.3.1 Social Acceptance
1.3.3.2 Social Deprivation
1.3.3.3 Educational Factors
1.3.3.4 Family Determinants
1.3.3.5 Emotional Climate of Home and Ordinal Position
1.3.3.6 Size of the Family
1.4 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 INTRODUCTION
For laypersons, the term personality is often understood in terms of being good
looking, attractive etc. They go by the impression created by the person concerned.
The ability to talk and interact with others pleasantly in addition to being good
looking, would make others say that the person concerned has a good personality.
Persons who do not have good looks or not well dressed or do not interact
adequately are considered to have poor personality. But scientifically this is not
a true concept of personality. In fact, psychologists consider any attempt to define
personality in terms of social attractiveness inadequate because of two reasons,
first it limits the number and types of behaviour considered important and worthy
for incorporation into the study of personality. Second, such notion carries the
absurd implication that some people who have unique abilities and temperament
traits are devoid of having a personality. In this unit we will be dealing with the
definition of personality as put forward by psychologists. Definition of personality
will be presented as given by Gordon Allport and there will be a discussion of
the concept of personality development. Under Personality development, various
factors contributing to the same will be discussed including the biological,
psychological and environmental factors.
5
Personality: Theories and
Assessment 1.1 OBJECTIVES
After the reading this unit, you will be able to:
• Define personality and describe the nature of personality;
• Elucidate the concept of personality;
• List the characteristic features of personality;
• Explain the factors that contribute to the development of personality; and
• Identify the environmental factors that influence personality development.
1.2 DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY

The term personality is often understood in terms of social attractiveness. A
good personality is considered to be one who impresses other people and who
has the ability to get on well with others. Those who do not possess such ability
are said to have relatively poor personality. However if one considers personality
from a scientific point of view, being attractive to others is not a true concept of
personality. In fact, psychologists consider any attempt to define personality in
terms of social attractiveness as inadequate because of two reasons, (i) it limits
the number and types of behaviours considered important and worthy for
incorporation into the study of personality and (ii) such a notion implies that
some people who have unique abilities, temperament and traits are devoid of
having a personality.
Psychologists have attempted to explain the concept of personality in terms of

individuality and consistency. We often observe that people differ a great deal in
the ways they think, feel and act and that too to different or even same situations.
This distinctive pattern of behaviour helps one to define one’s identity.
Commenting upon the notion of individuality, it has been said that each of us in
certain respects is like all other persons, like some other persons and like no
other person who has been in the past or will be existing in future (Kluckhohn &
Murray, 1953).
Another important notion in defining the concept of personality is consistency.

In other words it can be stated that the concept of personality also rests on the
observation that a person seems to behave somewhat consistently in different
situations over different time. Form this observation of perceived consistency
comes the notion of personality traits that determine the way of responding to
one’s world.
Combining these notions of individuality and consistency, personality can be

defined as the distinctive and unique ways in which each individual thinks, feels
and acts, which characterise a person’s response throughout life. In other words,
it can be said that personality refers to all those relatively permanent traits,
dispositions or characteristics within the person that give some measure of
consistency to the person’s behaviour. These traits may be unique, common to
some groups or shared by the entire species but their pattern will be different
from individual to individual.
The thoughts, feelings and actions that are perceived as reflecting an individual’s
personality typically have three characteristics
6
i) Thoughts, feelings and actions are considered as behavioural components Definition and Concept of
Personality and Personality
of identity that make distinction between individuals Development
ii) Behaviours are viewed as being primarily caused by internal rather than
environmental factors.
iii) The behaviours of the person seem to have organisation and structure.
Behaviours of an individual seem to fit together in a meaningful way. It is to be
kept in mind that the nature of behaviours is dynamic and there may occur changes
in the organisation and structure of behaviours over a period of time. It is in this
sense that Allport (1937, 1961), defined personality as the dynamic organisation
within the person of the psychophysical systems that determine the unique
adjustments to one’s environment. This suggests that there is an inner personality
that guides and directs individual’s behaviour. Allport the man who has done
more than anyone to shed light on the myriad meaning of the term personality
analysed 50 definitions of personality, and finally put forward his own definition
of personality mentioned above.
For better distinct understanding of the term personality, it is essential that it

should not be confused with character and temperament. While the term character
refers to the value judgements, which are made about a person’s moral values or
ethical behaviour, the term temperament refers to the inborn enduring
characteristics such as adaptability, irritability etc. However, both character and
temperament are vital parts of personality.

1) Who has said that personality is the dynamic organisation of traits?
a) Eysenck b) Allport
c) Murray d) None of them.
2) Which of the followings are regarded as component of behavioural

identity of personality?
a) Thoughts b) Feelings
c) Actions d) All.
3) Human behaviours are largely determined by:

a) Internal factors b) Environmental factors
c) Both d) Neither.
4) Which one is the inborn enduring characteristics of the personality?

a) Traits b) Character
c) Temperament d) None of these.
5) Personality has been understood as largely the combination of:

a) Trait and temperament b) Consistency and individuality
c) Value and attitude d) Character and temperament.
7
Assessment 1.3 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
The development of personality has been a topic of interest for the personality
psychologists right from the time the term came into existence. Psychologists
have tried to identity those factors which directly or indirectly influence the growth
and development of personality. Although there are a large number of factors,
which influence the development of personality, such factors have been broadly
grouped into three general categories and these are given below.
1) Biological factors,
2) Pscyhological factors,
3) Environmental factors.
Since these factors tend to determine the way personality develops they are also
called as determinants of personality. These three sets of factors are discussed
here in detail.
1.3.1 Biological Factors

Biological determinants also called as physical determinants emphasise that
physique and body functioning are directly responsible for personality
development. Some of these factors are: (i) Body build (ii) Physical attractiveness
(iii) Homeostasis (iv) Physical defects (v) Health conditions.
i) Body build: Body build influences personality directly by determining what
an individual can and cannot do, as well as what the individual’s reaction
will be to all those whose body builds are superior or inferior.
Some of the known body builds are (i) ectomorph (ii) endomorph, and
(iii) mesomorph.
Ectomorphs are persons who are tall and thin in their body builds. They
have been generally found to be superior to Endomorphs who have round
and soft body builds. The superiority is especially in speed and endurance.
Likewise, mesomorphs who are strong and muscular in their body builds
have been found to be superior to both ectomorphs and endomorphs in
activities like speed, endurance and agility.
It has also been reported that body build of an individual affects the person’s
self-concept, which is an important constituents of personality. This self
concept can be favourable or unfavourable. For instance if the body build
allows the person to do things that are socially desirable, prestigious and
better than others it would contribute to positive self concept about oneself.
On the other hand if it allows the person to do things which are not favourable
or positive or ends up in failure, it would lead to poor or negative self concept.
ii) Physical attractiveness: Physical attractiveness is another physical
component that affects the development of personality. An attractive person
of any age is more appealing than a person who is unattractive. Brislin &
Lewis (1968) have commented that it is very much rewarding to be with
someone who is physically attractive. Generally, it has been found that the
people tend to be more tolerant in their attitudes and judgements of an
attractive person. That is the reason why a pretty child is less likely to be
punished or criticised for troublesome behaviour than a simple looking
8
homely child. In business circle, an attractive worker may be less efficient Definition and Concept of
and less conscientious than an unattractive worker and yet, the attractive Development
worker is relatively more likely to get promotion sooner than the unattractive
one.
iii) Homeostasis: Homeostasis is another important determinant. It refers to
the maintenance of a stable internal environment through relatively having
normal temperature, normal level of blood sugar, normal level of blood
pressure, proper water balance, etc. When any of these conditions is upset,
disequilibrium starts and disturbances in homeostatis results. Homeostatis
or disturbances in it, has a significant impact upon personality both directly
or indirectly.
Directly, the effect of homeostatis is seen in relaxed, controlled and socially
acceptable behaviour patterns of the person who is feeling well both
physically and psychologically. When the level of homeostasis is disturbed,
behaviours like irritability, indigestion, insomnia and other uncomfortable
states often result.
Disturbances in homestasis
Disturbances in homestasis also affects personality indirectly. It affects
personality through the way the person reacts to what he thinks and believes
to be the attitudes of some significant people in his life. For example, a
person who is above average in physical stature in comparison to his age
and sex group, because of excessive hormonal discharge will respond to his
superior size in one of the two ways. If his superior size is viewed favourably
by others, his reaction will be positive and therefore, disturbance in
homeostasis will thus have a favourable impact upon the development of
personality. But if his size proves to be a social handicap and others ridicule
it, his reactions will be negative and the effect in the disturbance of
homeostasis will be unfavourable.
Some studies have very clearly shown that development of personality is
affected by homeostasis or lack of it. For example, when the blood sugar
goes above the normal range, depressive mental states tend to follow. Severe
deficiency in vitamin B complex results in increased level of emotionality
and depression. High blood pressure frequently produces neuroticism.
Anoxia or reduction in the amount of oxygen in the inspired air, as it happens
in asthma, causes emotional outbursts, mental confusion and self-criticism.
iv) Physical defects: Physical defects are another determiners. The first scientific
study showing the impact of physical defect upon personality has come
from Alfred Adler’s theory of organ inferiority. Today several studies have
been conducted to examine the direct and indirect impact of physical defects
upon personality. Obesity is one of the popular physical defect. Obesity
proves to be a handicap in social relationship because the obese person is
unable to keep up with his contemporaries. Obesity also affects the
personality indirectly. Awareness of unfavourable attitude towards obesity
makes the person feel not only inferior but also they develop the feeling of
being socially scorned. Not only this, some researchers have also pointed
out that massively obese individuals become more disturbed perhaps because
of less self-satisfaction and cumulative adverse comment from others.
9
Personality: Theories and Health conditions
Assessment
Health conditions also affect the development of personality. At all ages and in
both sexes good health is considered as a personality asset and poor health is a
liability. There are ample evidences to support it. Many personality changes result
from poor health conditions and tend to continue even after the illness has been
cured or its severity has been lessened. This is especially true during childhood
when the personality is in the formative stages. Many personality changes and
disturbances in adolescents and adults have their root in illnesses during the
early years of childhood (Martin & Vincent, 1960).
It has also been found that persons having illness like diabetes, etc., experience
tension and anxiety which causes frustration in dealing with the demands of
social environments. As a result of frustration, they become aggressive and often
turn their aggression towards others. Physical disturbances like the female
irregular menstrual cycle often lead to emotional instability accompanied by a
tendency to be irritable and depressed. This increases their level of emotionality
and the heightened emotionality is reflected in poor social adjustment and decrease
in social activities, ultimately affecting women’s self-concept and the attitudes
towards other people.

1) Tall and thin body builds are the characteristics of:
a) Mesomorph b) Ectomorph
c) Endomorph d) None of these.
2) Homeostatis refers to:
a) Disturbances in the internal balance of the body
b) Maintenance of a stable internal environment
c) Maintenance of even rate of oxygen utilisation
d) Maintenance of normal level of blood sugar and blood pressure.
3) Homeostasis affects the self-concept:
a) Only in a positive way b) Only in a negative way
c) Both positively and negatively d) Has no effect.
4) Which is Not the physical determinants of personality?
a) Homeostasis b) Physical attractiveness
c) Body builds d) Gender
5) High blood pressure is generally associated with causation of:
a) Neuroticism b) Depression
c) General nervousness d) None of these.
1.3.2 Psychological Factors

Several psychological factors tend to determine the development of personality.
Among those factors the following can be specially discussed because of their
importance. These include:
10
i) Intellectual determinants Definition and Concept of
ii) Emotional determinants Development
iii) Self disclosure

iv) Aspiration and achievements
The above are being discussed in the following paragraphs.
1.3.2.1 Intellectual Determinants

These are one of the important factors which influence the development of
personality. Researchers are of view that intellectual capacities influence
personality through various kinds of adjustments in life and indirectly through
the judgments other persons make of the individual on the basis of the person’s
intellectual achievements.
This judgment in turn affects the evaluation and consequently the development
of personality. Intellectually bright men and women make better personal and
social adjustments than those of average or below average intelligence.
Several studies bear testimony to the fact that bright men and women are generally
introspective, thoughtful, creative, adventuresome and have strong concern with
problems, meanings and values. They are found to show a wider interest especially
in the theoretical and aesthetic areas. Since they have greater and stronger mental
ability, they have better control over themselves.
However, having very superior intelligence affects personality development

unfavourably because it creates special problems which are not encountered by
those persons who are merely bright. These various problems result in the
development of a personality pattern, which is characterised by the traits like
negativism, intolerance, habits of chicanery, emotional conflicts, solitary pursuit,
self-sufficiency, dominance, etc. Evidences also have provided support to the
fact that intellectual capacities also influence development of values, morality
and human.
1.3.2.2 Emotional Determinants

These are other important factors that shape the development of personality.
Emotions are considered important personality determinants because they affect
personal and social adjustment. Research has shown that several aspects of
emotions like dominant emotions, emotional balance, emotional deprivation,
excessive love and affection, emotional expressions, emotional catharsis and
emotional stress directly and indirectly affect the development of personality.
Some people experience a predominance of pleasant emotions while others
experience a predominance of unpleasant emotions. This predominance affect
the development of personality. The cheerful persons are usually happy and even
when they are in a depressive mood they can see the brighter side of things.
Likewise, since apprehensive persons are full of fear, they even when there is ja
happy or enjoyable situation, feel depressed and remain afraid. Emotional balance
which is a condition in which pleasant emotions outweigh the unpleasant emotion,
is considered essential to good social and personal adjustment.
When the person encounters with obstacles and problems, unpleasant experiences
like fear, anger, envy and other negative emotions are aroused. As a consequence,
11
Personality: Theories and the person’s adjustments are adversely affected. Such conditions in the long run
Assessment
are responsible for development of many pathological traits in the person. Also
emotional deprivation of pleasant emotions like love, happiness and curiosity
also has an impact, which gradually leads to poor personal and social adjustment.
Research has revealed that impact of emotional deprivation depends upon the
extent to which a person is wmotionally deprived in addition to the duration of
emotional deprivation as well as upon the age at which it occurs. One of the
common effects of deprivation of love and affection is the development of
emotional insecurity. Much of adolescent and adult rebellion against authority
stems from emotional insecurity which has its origin in unstable affectional
relationship with parents and other members of family during early childhood
years.
1.3.2.3 Excessive Love and Affection

This also has psychologically negative effect. Sigmund Freud had earlier cautioned
that too much parental love and affection awakens a disposition for neurotic
disorders, spoils the child and makes the individual a problematic adolescent.
Strecker (1956) has pointed out that excessive mothering, that is, overprotective
mothers turn their sons and daughters into immature and dependent adults.
Emotional expression, that is, how the person expresses emotion also affects the
development of personality. If the person is able to express emotions in a socially
approved manner, that person would be judged favourably and this provides a
good mirror image of the self. Such emotional expression produces a better feeling
both physically and mentally because homeostasis can be restored.
Sanctions, control over the overt expression of emotions is often necessary to

avoid social disapproval. However, repression of emotions like anger, fear,
jealously, and envy makes the individual gloomy and morbid which ultimately
produces behaviour like extreme laziness, lack of interest in people, vacillation
of mood etc. Emotional Catharsis (release of unexpressed emotions) also
contributes to the development of good adjustment. Release of pent up emotions
allows for physical and mental homeostasis to be restored. As a consequence,
the person can judge oneself in a more realistic way.
1.3.2.4 Self-disclosure
Self disclosure is considered basic to mental health and such disclosure helps to
bring about a healthy personality pattern which is a guarantee for a socially
desirable and favourable reactions from others. Emotional stress expressed in
the form of anxiety, frustration, jealousy and envy also affect the development of
personality. A person who suffers from emotional stress makes good personal
and social adjustments. Intense emotional stress may motivate the person to go
to excesses in hope of being relieved from it. For example, the person may resort
to overeating and using drugs to dull the intense feeling of insecurity caused by
emotional stress. It has been reported that women who experience greater degree
of emotional stress during menstrual period, are found to develop depressive
tendencies. Psychologists have shown that people with low self-esteem are more
adversely affected by emotional stress than those with high self-esteem.
12
1.3.2.5 Aspiration and Achievements Definition and Concept of
These also have an effect on the development of personality. Aspiration means a Development
longing for and striving for something higher than one’s present status. Thus
aspirations are the ego-involved goals that persons set for themselves. The more
ego-involved the aspirations are, the more will be the impact upon behaviour
and therefore, greater will be the impact upon personality. There may be various
forms of aspirations such as positive aspiration (to achieve success), negative
aspiration (to avoid failure), realistic aspiration (within the range of the person’s
capacity), unrealistic aspirations (beyond the capacity of the person), remote
aspirations (to achieve a goal in the remote future) or immediate aspirations (to
achieve a goal in the near future).
The motivating power of aspiration varies. In general, remote and realistic

aspirations do provide stronger motivating forces than immediate and unrealistic
aspirations. Negative aspirations are considered weaker in providing motivating
strength than positive aspirations.
Level of aspiration, that is, the discrepancy between the goal an individual has
achieved and the goal the person hopes to reach, affects the personality in terms
of the size of the discrepancy. When the size of discrepancy is large, the person’s
self-concept is severely damaged especially if the person fails to achieve the
goal. Not only the individual will judge self as failure but others will also judge
the person as a failure in particular if others know about the person’s goal and
that goal had not been achieved.
Research studies have also shown that high aspirations are not necessarily a
source of damage to the self-concept. They may be a source of motivation and
pleasure. They may be a kind of wishful thinking that will not cause any damage
to personality so long as it remains a form of fun and play.
1.3.2.6 Achievements
These are another related factor that determine the development of personality.
Achievement can be evaluated objectively by comparing one’s performance with
those of one’s peers and subjectively, by comparing the person’s achievement
with the level of aspiration. Success and failure are the two different attitudes of
the person towards achievement. If the person is pleased with own achievement,
the achievement will be considered a success and this has a favourable impact
upon the self-concept. However if the person’s attitude towards achievement is
negative, then the achievement will not be considered a success but a failure.
Such persons will feel dissatisfied and miserable and in turn their self concept
will be adversely affected. Persons who feel that they have been successful remain
satisfied with themselves and appear to be happy.
Besides building a favourable self-concept, achievement also raises the person’s

self-esteem and increases the level of self-confidence so that the individual can
solve the many new problem of the future successfully. In addition to the personal
satisfaction that a person derives from achieving the goal successfully, the
achievement ensures that the person is appropriate in all the actions that are
taken up, which in turn produce a stabilising impact upon the behaviour.
Therefore, a successful person tends to be more relaxed than a person who has
experiences of failure.
13
Personality: Theories and 1.3.2.7 Goal Setting
Assessment
Experimental evidences have shown that one of the most important effect that
success has upon the person is that the individual becomes more realistic about
goal setting. Such persons would asset their goal to a point where they have
reasonable chances of reaching. This behaviour is an obvious characteristic of
intelligenct, well-adjusted people than of those who are poorly adjusted.
Success enhances self-concept by increasing the person’s prestige in the eyes of
others. This enhances social acceptance and strengthens the individual’s self-
concept. But too much success during early years of life may, in fact, weakens
the person’s motivation to do one’s best. It may cause the person to loose some
of the new motivations which can be generated by early achievement.
Extraordinary achievement even may prove to be more harmful than helpful to
social relationship and not only that, it may arouse jealousy and resentment among
those persons who are socially related to the person but somehow less successful.
Failure is another constituent of achievement. It is always ego-deflating. Failure
undermines the self-confidence and self-esteem. Gradually, it destroys the person’s
belief that she or he can do something to achieve and this, in effect, weakens the
motive to achieve even those things which are within his or her capability. Severe
and repeated failure causes stress, anxiety and tension. Sometimes such repeated
failures cause so intense stress and anxiety that it produces psychosomatic illness
or leads to a defeatist attitude, which strengthens the person’s belief in his or her
inadequacy and intensifies the poor personal and social adjustment. Research
have revealed that one of the most damaging aspects of failure is somehow not
achieving the desired goal and social recognition, especially when the person
hoped to do so. This sense of dissatisfaction is intensified by the realisation that
others with whom the person has competed, have achieved the success much
earlier than him or her. Under such conditions, the impact upon the self concept
is highly unfavourable.
By contrast, one of the greatest source of satisfaction is to achieve success,
recognition and prestige much earlier than anticipated and earlier than one’s
competitors. This condition has favourable impact upon the self-concept.
Sometimes it may be so much favourable that it may lead to the delusion of
grandeur and superiority complex and this condition, in the long term, may
counteract favourable social judgement and prove damaging to the self-concept.
1) Markedly superior intelligence leads to a personality pattern which is
characterised by :
a) negativism b) Intolerance
c) emotional conflicts d) All the above.
2) Which one of the followings is known as mental health insurance ?
a) Emotional balance b) Tolerance
c) Envy tolerance d) None of these.
3) Emotional starvation occurs due to :
a) Emotional deprivation b) Deprivation of love
c) Emotional imbalance d) None of these.
14
4) Which one qualifies to be called as emotional stress ? Personality and Personality
Development
a) a specific state of heightened emotionality
b) a generalised state of heightened emotionality
c) a generalised state of emotional imbalance
d) none of these above condition.
5) Who are more adversely affected by stress ?
a) people with high self-esteem
b) people with high emotional catharsis
c) people with low self-esteem
d) people with poor emotional catharsis.
1.3.3 Environmental Factors

Besides physical and psychological factors, some environmental factors have
been isolated and shown to have a significant impact upon the development of
personality. Under environmental determinants, the following four sets of factors
have been primarily emphasised :
1.3.3.1 Social Acceptance

These are one of the major environmental determinants. Every person lives in a
social group, which judges the person’s behaviour in terms of the person’s
conformity to group expectations regarding proper performance behaviour and
appropriate role playing. Thus social judgement serve as basis for self-evaluation.
In this way, the social group tends to influence the development of self-concept.
The degree of influence the social group has on personality development depends
not alone on how well accepted the individual is but also on how much importance
social acceptance has for the individual. If the person places more value on group
acceptance, that person will be more willing to be influenced by the group. Persons
who are widely accepted and liked by the group, are likely to respond in a
congenial and friendly spirit than those who experience hostility, disregard and
rejection in the group.
In fact, how much influence social acceptance has on behaviour depends upon
two conditions: how much security a person has in his/her status in the group
and what importance he/she attaches to the social acceptance. If the person feels
fully secure in the status, which would make the person free to act as he/she
wishes and will not be greatly influenced by suggestions from others. Likewise,
if the person attaches more value to the social acceptance, he/she will also be
more susceptible to be in line with the group members.
Persons whose social acceptance is very high, they are generally more outgoing,
more flexible, more active and daring than those who are only moderately socially
accepted or moderately popular. However, such persons often fail to establish
close relationship with people. They also fail to show emotional warmth which
is considered essential to close and intimate personal relationship. This sense of
aloofness usually comes from a feeling of superiority.
15
Personality: Theories and One extreme opposite of social acceptance is social isolation. If a person develops
Assessment
the feelings of rejection due to social isolation when in fact they want to be
accepted, would develop the feeling of resentment against those who have rejected
them. Such people are often depressed, sad and unhappy. They may develop
sour-grapes attitude towards social activities. Such social rejection may lead the
persons to become juvenile delinquents or criminals in the long run. Researchers
have further shown that if early social experiences of the persons are favourable,
they are likely to become social and if their experiences are unfavourable, they
are likely to develop an unsocial or antisocial personality.
1.3.3.2 Social Deprivation

This is another environmental factor, which is said to influence the development
of personality in massive and significant way. Social deprivation means being
deprived of opportunities for various types of social contacts including love and
affection. Social deprivation causes social isolation which has an adverse effect
on personality. Social deprivation has proved most damaging for two age groups—
the very young and the elderly. The young children who are deprived of contacts
with parents / guardians fail to develop healthy and normal personality. Their
behaviour is socially disapproved and they are also unfavourably judged by others.
Social deprivation in elderly people make them self-bound and selfish, which
gradually lead to unfavourable social and self judgements. It has also been
observed that social deprivation is far more damaging to people who want and
also need social contacts for happiness than those who are self-sufficient or who
voluntarily withdraw. For example, when elderly persons voluntarily decide on
their own to withdraw from social activities, they are far happier and relatively
well adjusted in comparison to those whose withdrawal is involuntary. If social
deprivation is extensive and prolonged, it gradually leads to unhealthy social
attitudes and mental illness.
1.3.3.3 Educational Factors

Another important factor, which influences the development of personality is
the educational factors. Schools, colleges and teachers have significant impact
upon the individual’s development of personality. The impact of educational
institution upon personality development is largely determined by the students’
attitude towards school and colleges, towards peers, towards teachers and also
toward the value of education. When these attitudes are favourable, the students
usually enjoy their academic activities and have a warm and friendly relationship
with teachers and their peers. This has a very favourable impact upon the
development of personality by producing stronger sense of self-confidence and
self-esteem.
The reverse is true when there is unfavourable attitudes amongst students towards
education and educational institutions, teachers and peers etc. . Research studies
have further revealed that if the students are physically and psychologically ready
to enter the school or colleges, their attitude tend to be far more favourable.
Attitude towards educational institution is greatly influenced by emotional climate
of the institution, which affect the level of motivation, students’ classroom
behaviour and their general emotional reactions. Through these various
behavioural patterns, the emotional climate of the educational institution affects
the students’ self-evaluation and the evaluation others make of them.
16
Another important factor of educational determinants that affect personality is Definition and Concept of
student-teacher relationship, which is largely dependent upon the teacher’s Development
treatment of the students, upon students’ attitude toward particular teachers and
on their teaching as well as the disciplinary techniques used by the teachers
including the cultural stereotypes of teachers as a group. These attitudes, in turn,
affect the quality of the student’s academic work which becomes the basis of
evaluation of self and social evaluation. Teacher student relationship affect the
students’ personality through its impact upon students’ motivation for academic
achievement. When the students see that their relationship with the teacher is
warm and friendly, their achievements are far better than when they perceive the
relationship as hostile, punitive and rejecting. This boosts their self-concept by
enhancing self confidence and self esteem.
1.3.3.4 Family Determinants

This is another important class of factors that influence development of
personality. The influence of family on personality development is maximal at
all ages. The family affects the development of personality both directly or
indirectly. Direct influence of family upon personality comes chiefly through
different child-training methods which are used to mould the personality pattern,
and the communication of interest, attitude and values between members of the
family. Strict, demanding, punitive and inhibiting parents / guardians tend to
encourage their children for depending upon external controls to guide their
behaviour. As a result, when the children are outside the direct control of their
parents/guardian, they tend to show impulsiveness in their behaviour.
Indirectly, through identification with parents, children develop a personality

pattern similar to that of their parents. Experimental studies reveal that through
imitation also, a certain personality pattern develops. For example, living with
parents who are anxious, nervous and lacking the sense of humor produces in
the children a sense of nervousness and frequent outburst of temper. Likewise,
living with warm, affectionate, loving and interested parents generally produces
a social and gregarious persons. Such persons also develop an interest of welfare
and affection for persons outside the home as well.
1.3.3.5 Emotional Climate of Home and Ordinal Position

A very important factor in the development of personality is the emotional climate
at home as well as the ordinal position of the individual concerned within his
family. Ordinal position refers to the eldest or youngest or middle or 2nd or 3rd
child in the family. If the home climate is favourable, the person will react to
personal problems and frustrations in a calm way and to people in a tolerant and
cooperative way. On the other hand if emotional climate of home is full of friction
and conflicts, the person is more likely to develop a sense of hostility and may
often tend to react to people in an aggressive way.
Ordinal position also affects the development of personality. Studies have revealed
that the firstborns tend to be more conforming and dependent than later borns.
They are more affiliative, more susceptible to group pressures and more
introverted. Firstborns who achieve greater success than the later born siblings
tend to be selfish and self centred. They show their feeling of superiority about
their achievements by making criticism of others. Despite the feelings of
superiority, they continue to suffer from a feeling of insecurity which had
17
Personality: Theories and developed earlier when they were replaced by younger siblings towards which
Assessment
parents started giving more attention, love and affection. This feeling of insecurity
is responsible for poor personal and social adjustment of the firstborns.
The major personality characteristics of lastborn, as shown by the various

researches, are dependency, affiliative need, lack of self-confidence, lack of
frustration tolerance, defiance of authority, etc. In comparison to the firstborns,
most lastborns have relatively weak achievement motivation. They are generally
not pressed by the members of the family to achieve more nor do most families
care to provide them with the opportunities that were provided to the firstborns.
So far as the middle born or second borns are concerned, they are found to be
generally less family oriented and more peer oriented. From their peer relationship,
they develop such personality traits which produce better personal and social
adjustment. As a result, they are more popular among the peers in comparison to
the first or lastborn.
1.3.3.6 Size of the Family

This factor also affects the development of personality. In larger families parents
have little time to protect any child. As such, children learn to be independent
and show maturity in their behaviour at an earlier age as compared to children of
smaller families. However, larger families encourage certain personality
characteristics that may hamper good personal and social adjustments. For keeping
the home environment reasonably calm, parents of larger families generally adopt
authoritarian method of control, which produces a strong sense of resentment
and rebellion among children. In small families since parents devote enough
time to care and provide proper guidance to each child, this produces self-
confidence, self-assurance and eliminates the feeling of inadequacy which may
come when the child is left to meet the problem alone. However, due to strict
competition for getting parental attention, affection and approval in small families,
jealousy and envy especially against the firstborns who are perceived to be parents’
favourite, damages the self-concept of the concerned individual.
We have seen that the development of personality is shaped by a set of three

factors, namely, physical or biological factors, psychological factors and
environmental factors. There are psychologists like J.B. Watson, father of
Behaviourism, who have outright emphasised upon only one factor, that is
environmental factor ignoring the role of other two sets of factor in development
of personality. He had emphatically proclaimed that give him a child, he will
make him either a doctor or a beggar or a engineer or a thief irrespective of his
abilities. Today there is little support for such statement and there is almost an
unanimity among the personality psychologists regarding the basic view that the
physical or biological factors provide a boundary for the development of
personality and within this general boundary, personality is developed or shaped
under the influence of various psychological and environmental factors. Therefore,
it can be concluded that development of personality can be explained in terms of
the following equation:
Personality Development = Physical determinants × Psychological determinants

× Environmental determinants
18
Self Assessment Questions 4 Personality and Personality
Development
1) Social deprivation generally leads to :
a) Social rejection b) Social discrimination
c) Negative self-concept d) None of these.
2) Mohan, leader of a group, is more colourful, more flexible, more active
in his approach. It all happens because he has :
a) Social acceptance b) Social support
c) Social status d) All the above.
3) Within a group when the person status changes such as from follower
to leader or the vice versa, it is termed as :
a) Social mobility b) Changes in group status
c) Social stereotype d) None of these.
4. Which has the most lasting impact upon the development of personality
of a student ?
a) Academic success b) Teacher’s attitude and behaviour
c) Teacher-studente relationship d) All of the above.
5) Which size of the family is considered ideal for development of pesonality?
a) Small families b) Medium-size families
c) Large families d) None.
1.4 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we learnt about personality. We pointed out as to how the term
personality is often understood in terms of social attractiveness. We pointed out
the scientific approach to personality development which explain the concept of
personality in terms of individuality and consistency. Another important notion
in defining the concept of personality is consistency. Combining these notions
of individuality and consistency, personality can be defined as the distinctive
and unique ways in which each individual thinks, feels and acts, which
characterise a person’s response throughout life. In other words, it can be said
that personality refers to all those relatively permanent traits, dispositions or
characteristics within the person that give some measure of consistency to the
person’s behaviour. These traits may be unique, common to some groups or
shared by the entire species but their pattern will be different from individual to
individual.
Behaviours of an individual seem to fit together in a meaningful way. It is to be

kept in mind that the nature of behaviours is dynamic and there may occur changes
in the organisation and structure of behaviours over a period of time. It is in this
sense that Allport (1937, 1961), defined personality as the dynamic organisation
within the person of the psychophysical systems that determine the unique
adjustments to one’s environment.
Then we took up personality development and pointed out as to how psychologists

have tried to identity factors which directly or indirectly influence the growth
and development of personality. Although there are a large number of factors, 19
Personality: Theories and which influence the development of personality, such factors have been broadly
Assessment
grouped into three general categories and these are given below.
i) Biological factors
ii) Pscyhological factors and
iii) Environmental factors.
Since these factors tend to determine the way personality develops they are also
called as determinants of personality. These were discussed in detail. Biological
factors consisted of body build, physical attractiveness, homeostasis, physical
defects and health conditions. The psychological factors consisted of intellectual
factors, emotional factors including excessive love and affection, self disclosure,
aspiration and achievement and goal setting behaviour. and environmental factors
consisted of social acceptance, social deprivation, educational factors, family
emotional climate, ordinal position of the individual in the family and size of the
family. Finally it was concluded that personality development takes place through
learning processes including imitation.

1) Define personality. Citing example, make distinction between temperament
and character.
2) Discuss the physical or biological determinants of personality development.
3) Outline the role of psychological determinants of personality development.
4) Discuss the role of environmental determinants in shaping personality
development.
5) Enumerate the basic formula : Personality Development = Physical
determinants × Psychological determinants × Environmental determinants

Coon, D. (2007). Introduction to Psychology: Thompson.
Wood, S.E. & Wood, E.G. (1996). The World of Psychology: Allyn & Bacon
Ryckman, R.M (1993). Theories of Personality: Brooks / Cole Publishing
Company.

QUESTIONS
1) 1. (b) 2 (d) 3. (a) 4. (c) 5. (b)
2) 1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (c) 4. (d) 5. (a)
3) 1. (d) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (b) 5. (c)
4) 1. (c) 2. (a) 3. (a) 4. (c) 5. (d)
20
UNIT 2 STATE/TRAIT APPROACHES TO Personality and Personality
Development
PERSONALITY
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Type Approaches to Personality
2.3 Trait Approaches/Theories
2.3.1 Allport’s Trait Approach
2.3.1.1 Common and Individual Traits
2.3.1.2 Cardinal Traits
2.3.1.3 Central Traits
2.3.1.4 Secondary Traits
2.3.2 Cattell’s Trait Approach
2.3.3 Eysenck’s Type/Trait Hierarchy
2.3.3.1 Extraversion/Introversion
2.3.3.2 Psychoticism/Impulse Control
2.3.3.3 Inhibition Theory
2.3.3.4 Arousal Theory
2.3.4 Guilford’s Trait Theory
2.3.4.1 Physiological and Morphological Traits
2.3.4.2 Needs, Interests, Attitudes
2.3.4.3 Aptitudes
2.3.4.4 Temperament
2.3.5 Five Factor Model
2.3.5.1 Extraversion (E)
2.3.5.2 Neuroticism (N)
2.3.5.3 Consientiousness (C)
2.3.5.4 Agreeableness (A)
2.3.5.5 Openness (O)
2.4 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
A large umber of approaches to studying the personality have been put forward
by many theorists. One of these is the type and trait approaches and these have
been especially attributed to a few major theorists. In this unit we will take up
first of all the Type approaches to personality and herein we will discuss the triat
approach by Allport to describe personality. This will be followed by the trait
approach by Cattell who gave emphasis on source and surface traits. Following
this we will be dealing with Eysenck’s trait and type approach to personality.
Next will be the discussion of Guilford’s theory which again is a trait approach.
This is followed by the relatively more recent Five Facotr Model of personality.
21
• Define personality;
• Describe Allport’s trait theory approach;
• Elucidate the factors contributtuing to Allport’s theory of personality;
• Describe Cattell’s trait theory to understanding personality;
• Explain the factors contributing to Cattell’s personality theory;
• Elucidate Eysenck’s theory of trait and type apprioach;
• Explain the factors contributing to Extraversion, neuroticism and
psychoticism;
• Elucidate the Trait approach of Guilford to personality;
• Analyse the factors contributing to Guilford’s idea of personality
development;
• Elucidate the Five Factor Model of personality; and
• Describe and analyse OCEAN.
2.2 TYPE APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY

The earliest effort to explain human behaviour involved the use of personality
typologies, which classified behaviour into discrete, all-or-nothing categories.
For example, Hippocrates a Greek Physician (and later on Galen, too) classified
individuals into four exclusive types according to four basic internal fluids or
humors, each associated with a particular temperament. These four basic fluids
were : blood, phelgm, black bile and yellow bile. The dominance of any one
fluid led to a particular personality temperament. For example, dominance of
blood produced Sanguine temperament (cheerful and active), dominance of
phelgm produced Phlegmatic temperament (apathetic and sluggish), the
dominance of black bile produced Melancholic temperament (sad and brooding)
and dominance of yellow bile produced Choleric temperament (irritable and
exitable). This is known as four-humor theory and remained popular for centuries
although today it is regarded as a baseless theory because it has been established
now that personality and moods are not driven by bodily fluids. Later on the
basis of observation of patients, Hippocrates pointed out that people with short
and thick bodies were prone to stroke and those with tall, thin bodies to
tuberculosis.
Another interesting typologies were that of William Sheldon, a U.S.A. Physician.

He tried to relate physique to temperament. On the basis of somatotype (body
build), he assigned each individual to one of the three categories , viz., (i)
ectomorphic (thin, long and fragile), (ii) endomorphic (fat, soft and round) and
(iii) mesomorphic (muscular, strong and rectangular). According to Sheldon,
ectomorphs are artistic, brainy and introverted, endomorphs are relaxed, fond of
eating, sleeping and sociable whereas mesomorphs are affective, dominant, filled
with energy and courage.
22
Sheldon’s theory has not been substantiated and has proved of little value in State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
predicting individual behaviour (Tylor, 1965). In addition, people belonged to
many different shape and size and not all can be fitted to the Sheldon’s three
types.
MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) typology is another typology which is

modern one and based upon Carl Jung’s theory of personality types. Using the
MBTI, individual’s selfreported preferences are used to assess four dimensions
of personality: E or I (Extraversion- Introversion), S or N (Sensing or Intution),
T or F (Thinking-Feeling) and J or P (Judgement-Perception). The MBTI identifies
16 types of personality based on Jung’s distinctions between E-I, S-N and T-F, as
well as upon Isobel Myer’s distinction between J-P. The J-P distinction indicates
as to whether an individual’s orientation toward the external world comes from
rational (judging) or the irrational (perceiving) function pair. If a person takes
MBTI, he would be assigned to only one pole of each dimension and the
combination of dimensions would determine which of the sixteen types best
describes him. For example, a person who receives ESFP (Extraverted-Sensing-
Feeling-Perception) classification would be characterised as outgoing, easygoing,
accepting, friendly and would be considered best in situations that need sound
common sense and practical ability with people as well as with things.
The Myers-Briggs is a very good type system because its categories are distinct
or discontinuous and people of any one type are supported to be very much like
each other that help them to be distinguished from other types. Critics of MBTI
state that while the four dimensions are informative, persons should be described
according to their actual scores on each dimension rather then being mixed into
types.
Type approach to personality apparently fails in its mission to provide a

satisfactory classification system because there are many people who cannot be
fitted into prescribed type. Today, psychologists prefer to describe people not in
terms of type rather in terms of traits. Types are not descriptive of the persons. In
fact, they rob the uniqueness of persons by placing the persons into a perconceived
category. Thus type exists in the eye of beholder whereas traits exist within the
people.
2.3 TRAIT APPROACHES/THEORIES

These approaches explain personality in terms of traits, which are defined as
relatively stable and consistent personal characteristics. Trait approach attempts
to explain personality and differences between people in terms of their personal
characteristics, to devise ways of measuring individual differences in personality
traits and to use these measures for understanding and predicting a person’s
behaviour. Type approach assume that there are separate, and discontinuous
categories into which persons fit whereas trait approach assumes that there are
continuous dimensions such as warmth, extraversion, etc. that vary in quality as
well as degree.
Under the trait approach, the viewpoints of Allport, Cattell, Eysenck Guilford,
and the Five Factor Model would be discussed in detail.
23
Personality: Theories and 2.3.1 Allport’s Trait Approach
Assessment
Allport is regarded as one of the most important and influential personality
theorists. Several years ago, Allport went through the English Dictionary and
painstakingly recorded a list of 17,953 words that described personal traits (Alport
& Odbert, 1936). Obviously it would be impractical to describe persons in terms
of where they fall on roughly 18,000 traits. However, on the basis of these words,
attempt was made to propose traits like dominance, friendlines, self-esteem, etc.
This is called lexical approach to define personality trait.
Fort Allport, traits are the building blocks of personality as well as the source of
individuality. He is known as idiographic trait theorist who has a strong belief
that each person has some unique as well as some common characteristics that
together form a unique combination of traits. For Allport, trait is something that
exits but remains invisible. It is located somewhere in the nervous system
(Ryckman, 1993).
We infer the existence of a trait by observing consistencies in the behaviour of

the person. Dissimilar stimuli tend to arouse a trait readiness within the person
and then trait manifests itself through the varieties of different responses. All
these responses are equivalent in the sense that they serve the function of
expression of trait.
To illustrate this, let us take an example of an employee working in the university

office. His shyness is inferred from his inability to establish friendship with
others, his avoidance of social gatherings of the employees, his enjoyment with
solitary entertainment activities and his unwillingness to participate in discussion,
etc.
2.3.1.1 Common and Individual Traits

Allport recognised two major categories of traits:
i) Common traits and
ii) Individual traits.
Common traits are those traits which we share in common with many others in
our culture. For example being quiet, showing due respect to seniors and making
polite behaviour to others are the traits we share with others in Indian culture.
This illustrates the common traits.
Individual traits or also called personal dispositions are those traits which are
unique to the person concerned and Allport regarded individual traits to be more
important than common traits.
According to him, there are three types of individual traits
2.3.1.2 Cardinal Traits

A cardinal trait is a trait which is so pervasive, dominant and outstanding in life
that every behaviour seems traceable to its influence. Most people do not have
cardinal traits but those who have them, are well-known by those traits. For
instance, Mahatma Gandhi was having the cardinal traits of peace-loving and
strong faith in non-violence for which he is well known.
24
2.3.1.3 Central Traits State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
Central traits are those traits which are generally listed in a carefully written
letter of recommendation. In fact, any trait name like friendliness, dominance,
self-centeredness would be the example of central trait. Every person has several
central traits and there are five to ten most outstanding traits in each person
around which a person’s life focuses.
2.3.1.4 Secondary Traits

Secondary traits are traits which are less conspicuous, less consistent, less
generalised and less relevant to the definition of personality. For example, food
habits, hair style, and specific attitudes are examples of secondary traits.
All these traits are dynamic in the sense that they possess motivational power.
Those individual traits or dispositions which are intensely experienced are said
to be more motivational. Those individual traits which are less intensively
experienced though possessing more motivational power are said to be more
stylistic.
Whether motivational or stylistics, some individual traits are close to the core of
the person’s personality whereas some are at the periphery.
According to Allport, all these individual traits form structure of personality

which, in turn, determines the behaviour of an individual. In his view only by
focussing upon the uniqueness of the individual, a scientific and substantial
understanding of personality is possible.
Allport also held that personality is not a mere bundle of unrelated traits, rather
it embodies a unity, consistency and integration of traits. This integration work
is accomplished by self or ‘Proprium’ as Allport has named it. In his view the
Proprium or self develops continuously from infancy to death and during this
period it moves through a series of stages.

1) Allport was supporter of:
a) Nomothetic approach to personality
b) Trait approach to personality
c) Idiograhic approach to personality
d) Both b and c
2) Your hair style will be the example of:
a) Cardinal trait b) Secondary trait
c) Central trait d) None of these
3) Allport emphasised more upon:
a) Common trait b) Individual traits
c) Proprium e) None of these.
25
Assessment 4) Following Allport, the trait which is a defining characteristic of one’s
personality is :
a) Individual trait b) Common trait
c) Cardinal trait d) Secondary trait.
5) You have just been told by counsellor that on the basis of Myers-Briggs
personality test you are an ESTP. Your counsellor apparently favours
which of the following approaches to personality :
a) Trait approach b) Type appraoch
c) Psychodynamic approach d) Type approach
2.3.2 Cattell’s Trait Approach

Raymond Cattell (1950) considered personality to be a pattern of traits providing
the key to understanding it and predicting a person’s behaviour. According to
him, traits are relatively permanent and broad reaction tendencies of personality.
They serve as the building blocks of personality. He distinguished between (i)
surface trait and source trait, (ii) constitutional and environmental-mold traits
(iii) ability, temperament and dynamic traits.
i) Surface traits and source traits

The observable qualities of a personality like kindness, honesty, helpfulness,
generosity, etc. are named as surface traits. Allport has called these qualities or
traits as central traits. Using questionnaires and observations, Cattell studied
several thousand people and he reported certain cluster of surface traits that
appeared together from time to time. He further reported that these were the
clear evidence of some deeper, more general underlying personality factors, and
he referred to these as source traits.
Source traits make up the most basic structure of personality and are the underlying
factors that are responsible for the inter-correlation among surface traits. Although
source traits are smaller in number than surface traits, yet they are better predictors
of human behaviour. We all possess the same source traits but we do not possess
them in the same amount. For example, intelligence is an example of source trait
and everyone of us possesses this but we all do not possess intelligence in the
same amount.
Cattell found 23 source traits in normal persons and 16 of which he studied in
detail. These 16 basic source traits were then used in the construction of the
Sixteen Personality (16PF) Questionnaire popularly knows as “16 PF test”. The
sixteen factors identified by Cattell include (i) Reserved vs outgoing, (ii) less
intelligent vs more intelligent, (iii) emotional vs. stable (iv) humble vs. assertive,
(v) sober vs. happy-go-lucky, (vi) expedient vs. conscientious, (vii) shy vs.
ventursame, (viii) tough-minded vs. tender-minded, (ix) trusting vs. suspicious,
(x) practical vs. imaginative, (xi) forthright vs. shrewd (xii) placid vs.
apprehensive, (xiii) conservative vs. experimenting, (xiv) group-tied vs. self-
sufficiency, (xv) casual vs. controlled, and (xvi) relaxed vs. tense.
In addition to these 16 factors measured by personality test, Cattell, on the basis
of his subsequent researches proposed seven new factors : excitability, zeppia
vs. Coasthenia, boorishness vs. mature socialisation, sanguine casualness, group
26 dedication with sensed inadequacy and social panache vs. explicit expression.
Although the sixteen source traits utilised in 16PF can be used to make distinction State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
between normals and neurotics, they fail to assess all aspects of deviant behaviour
as well as the characteristics of psychotics. Using factor analysis to the surface
traits of the normal and abnormal personality spheres, Cattell derived 12 new
factors that measure psychopathological traits, such as hypochondriasis,
zestfulness, brooding discontent, anxious depression, energy euphoria, guilt and
resentment, bored depression, paranoia, psychopathic deviation, schizophremia,
psychesthenia and general psychosis. All these traits are in bipolar format. These
12 factors have been combined with 16 PF in the construction of new test called
Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ). With the construction of CAQ, Cattell
was of the view that he has identified major source traits of both normal and
abnormal personality.
ii) Constitutional and environmental traits

Cattell also distinguished between constitutional traits and environmental mold
traits. Constitutional traits are those traits which are determined by nature or
biology whereas environmental mold traits are those which are determined by
nurture that is by experience gained in interaction with environment.
Most surface traits, for Cattell, reflects a mixture of both heredity (nature) and
environment (nurture). However, he further points out that there are some source
traits which derive solely from within the individual (biology of the individual)
and there are some source traits which derive solely from source derived only
from environmental factors. Through a complicated statistical technique called
MAVA (Multiple Abstract Variance Analysis), he was able to assess the degree
to which various traits are determined either by environmental or genetically
determined factors. MAVA is based upon the comparisons between people of the
same family either reared together or reared apart or between members of different
families reared either together or apart.
iii) Ability, temperament and dynamic traits

Cattell has further subdivided traits into ability traits, temperament traits and
dynamic traits.
Ability traits refer to the person’s skill in dealing with the environment and the
goals set therein. Intelligence is an example of ability trait.
Temperament traits refer to stylistic tendencies that largely show how a person
moves towards a goal. Being moody, irritable, easygoing are examples of
temperament trait.
Dynamic traits are the person’s motivation and interest which set the person in
action toward the goal. A person may be characterised as being power-seeking,
ambitious or sports-oriented. This relfects the dynamic trait. The important
dynamic traits in Cattell’s system are of three types, viz. (i) attitudes, (ii) ergs
and (iii) sentiments.
Attitudes are dynamic surface traits which display specific manifestations of

underlying motives. Ergs are constitutional dynamic source trait. It is through
ergs that cattell has given due recognition to innately determined but modifiable
impellents of behaviour. Ten ergs like hunger, sex, gregariousness, parental
protectiveness, curiosity, escape, pugnacity, acquisitiveness, self-assertion and
27
Personality: Theories and narcissistic sex have been recognised by Cattell. Sentiment focusses on social
Assessment
object and it is an environmental mold dynamic source trait. Thus it is more or
less parallel to ergs except that it results from experimental or socio-cultural
factors.
1) The inter-correlation among surface traits leads to development of an
inference about:
a) Temperament trait b) Erg
c) Source trait d) None of there
2) Erg belongs to the category of:
a) Temperament trait b) Dynamic trait
c) Ability trait d) None.
3) Which of the following is not assessed by clinical Analysis
questionnaire?
a) Energy Euphoria b) Bored dpression
c) Schizophrenia d) Shyness.
4) Friendliness is an example of:
a) Source trait b) Surface trait
c) Temperament trait d) None.
5) According to Cattell which trait causes behaviour for predictable
purposes:
a) Surface trait b) Abiity trait
c) Source trait d) Dynamic trait.
2.3.3 Eysenck’s Type/ Trait Hierarchy

British Psychologist Hans Eysenck (1990) had a strong belief that personality is
largely determined by genes and that the environmental factors have very little
role to play in it. He opined that personality is more or less stable and enduring
organisation of a person’s character, temperament, intellect and physique. In this
definition, he has emphasised upon traits (stable and enduring characteristics)
which when clustered together, constitutes a type.
Eysenek’s viewpoint is personality is hierarchically organised, consisting of types,

traits and habits. At the lowest level of Eysenck’s hierarchy are the single responses
like action or thoughts. Regularly occurring responses form habits and related
habits form traits and several traits clustered together constitute a type or also
known as super factors.
Thus types are most abstract, followed by traits and then by habits and then
finally by responses at the beginning level. In fact, each of the ‘type’ concepts is
based on a set of observed inter correlations among various traits. Each ‘trait’ is
inferred from inter correlations among habitual responses. Habitual responses
are, in turn, based upon specific observable responses.
28
Thus the entire process can be explained through an example. It is known that State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
‘extraversion’ is based upon observed inter correlations among the traits like
liveliness, sociability, activity, and excitability. Each of these traits is inferred
from inter correlations among habitual responses such as for instance going to
club, liking to talk with people, taking part in any social activity on the spur of
the moment and so forth. These habits are themselves inferred from some
observable specific responses like real occasion where the person actually went
to club, talked with people, participated in group discussion, etc.
Based upon numerous factor analyses on personality data gathered from different
populations, Eysenck derived two major factors or dimensions of personality,
viz.,
i) Extraversion/Introversion
ii) Neuroticism/stability.
Later, on the basis of other statistical analysis, he postulated a third dimension,
viz.,
iii) Psychoticism/Impulse control.
These three dimensions, according to Eysenck, are the major individual difference
types considered most useful in describing personality functioning. To measure
these three dimensions of personality, Eysenck developed a paper and pencil
test. The latest version of the test has been named as Eysenck Personality
Questionnaire (EPQ).
2.3.3.1 Extraversion/Introversion
Extraverts are individuals who are sociable and impulsive and who like excitement
and oriented toward external reality. Introverts are introspective persons who are
more oriented toward inner reality and tend to exhibit preference towards a well-
ordered life. Neurotics are emotionally unstable persons. The hallmark of most
neurotics is that they exhibit an anxiety level disproportionate to the realities of
the situation. Some neurotics may exhibit obsessional or impulsive symptoms
and some may show unreasonable fear of objects, persons, places, etc. However,
there are neurotics who are free from the burden of anxiety and fear and in this
group, psychopaths are placed who fail to assess the consequences of their actions
and who behave in antisocial manner regardless of the punishment they get
(Eysenck, 1965).
2.3.3.2 Psychoticism/Impulse Control

Psychotics are characterised by traits such as being insensitive to others, hostile,
at times cruel and inhuman. Despite all the psychopathological traits, Eysenck
believed that psychotics tend to be creative (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985). He
based his conclusion on his work with schizophrenics who gave many original
responses on the Rorschach test.
2.3.3.3 Inhibition Theory

Eysenck developed a theory called inhibition theory to explain why people who
differed along the various dimensions should behave differently from one another.
According to Eysenck, individual differences along the extraversion/introversion
dimension are strongly determined by heredity and have their basic origins in
the cerebral Cortex of the central nervous system.
29
Personality: Theories and Drawing upon the work of Tephlov (1964) and Pavlov (1927), Eysenck pointed
Assessment
out that extraverts have relatively stronger inhibitory processes and very weak
excitatory processes. Besides, their nervous systems are strong which forces them
to tolerate a large capacity of stimulation. Introverts, on the other hand, have
very strong excitatory processes and weak inhibitory processes. Apart from this,
their nervous system is weak which means that they have a small capacity to
tolerate stimulation. Thus the brains of extraverts react more slowly and weakly
towards stimuli thereby creating a strong desire for strong sensory stimulation
which causes them to seek excitement by going to parties, making new friends,
and attending to various types of meeting, etc. On the other hand, introverts are
more cortically aroused and their brains react quickly and strongly to stimuli. As
such, they tolerate relatively small amount of stimulation. Consequently, strong
stimulation from the environment proves to be aversive for them and they tend
to spend more time in aloof activities like reading, writing, playing chess, etc.
2.3.3.4 Arousal Theory

Recently, inhibition theory has been replaced by arousal theory by Eysenck
because inhibition and excitation although were very useful concepts, were found
to be extremely difficult to assess. Arousal theory has the advantage of identifying
the physiological systems underlying individual differences in extraversion /
introversion and neuroticism / stability. According to arousal theory, differences
in the behaviour of introverts and extraverts are due to the various parts of
Ascending Rreticular Activating System (ARAS) which is a network of fibers
going upward from the lower brain stem to the thalamus and cortex. Some other
fibers descend from the lower brain stem which influences the activities of bodily
muscles and autonomic nervous system. At the same time, such descending fibers
can also modulate the activity of the brain stem.
Thus the relation between ARAS and cortex become reciprocal, that is , ARAS
activate the cortex, which, in turn, influences ARAS either by increasing or
inhibiting the excitability. Eysenck was of view that introverts have innately
higher levels of arousal than extraverts. As a result, they are more likely to be
sensitive to stimulation. In arousal theory, Eysenck tends to make it explicit that
the seat of neuroticism lies in visceral brain or limbic system.
All structures of visceral brain such as hipocampus, amygdala, cingulum, septum

and hypothalamus are involved in generating emotionality. Since visceral brain
and ARSA are only partially independent from each other, cortical and autonomic
arousal can also be produced by activities of the visceral brain. In particular,
such activities produce arousal in sympathetic nervous system, causing increase
in heart rate, breathing rates and loss of digestion, etc. People showing higher
degree of neuroticism generally have lower thresholds for activity in visceral
brain and greater responsivity of sympathetic nervous system. That is the reason
why neurotics are innately more reactive rather overreacting to even mild forms
of stimulation.
1) What is the correct sequence of organisation in Eysenck type-trait
hierarchy?
a) Trait-Type-Habit-Response
b) Response-Habit-Trait-Type
30
State/Trait Approaches to
c) Type-Trait-Response-Habit Personality
d) Habit-Response-Trait-Type.
2) Which of the followings is Not assessed by EPQ?
a) Extroversion b) Psychoticism
c) Neuroticism d) Pscyhopathic tendencies.
3) According to Eysenck, which are is Not the characteristic of Psychotics?
a) Psychotics are creative people
b) Psychotics are hostile and cruel
c) Psychotics are inhumane
d) Psychotics are oriented toward inner reality.
4) Who claimed that personality can best be understood by assessing people
on two dimensions: Extroversion and Neuroticism ?
a) Allport b) Cattell
c) Eyesenck d) Jung.
5) According to arousal theory of Eysenck, which one is regarded as the
seat of neuroticism ?
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2.3.4 Guilford’s Trait Theory

J.P. Guilford is another important psychologist who have tried to analyse and
predict about personality on the basis of traits. The importance of trait for
Guildford’s view about personality can be understood from his definition of
personality which states that an individual personality is nothing but the
individual’s unique pattern of traits. Trait, for him, is any distinguishable, relatively
enduring way in which one person differs from another.
Using factor analysis, Guilford came to the conclusion that there are seven
modalities of traits, that is (i) morphological, (ii) physiological, (iii) needs, (iv)
interest, (v) attitudes (vi) aptitudes and (vii) temperament. The first two are the
somatic traits whereas the last five are behavioural aspects of personality.
Guilford has emphasised that these modalities should not be regarded as seven
separate constituent parts of personality but personality must be seen as integrated
whole and these seven modalities can be seven different directions from which
the whole can be viewed. In other words, personality is not the sum total of
seven traits but rather a whole or single entity which can be looked at from at
least seven different angles. These seven traits are briefly discussed below.
31
Personality: Theories and 2.3.4.1 Physiological and Morphological Traits
Assessment
Physiological traits and morphological traits together are called somatic traits.
Physiological traits refer to physical functions such as heart rate, breathing rate,
hormone level, blood sugar and so forth. Morphological traits, on the other hand,
refer to physical attributes such as physique, head size, length of hand and leg,
size of ear, curvature of spine, etc. Guilford (1959) reported very little substantial
relationship between these two types of traits, that is, morphological traits and
physiological traits although Sheldon (1942) earlier had reported a high correlation
between physique and temperament.
2.3.4.2 Needs, Interests and Attitudes

Needs, interests and attitudes are regarded as hormetic (adaptive responses)
dimensions of personality by Guilford. These hormetic traits, therefore, instigate
action because they are more or less directly related to motivation.
Needs are said to be relatively permanent dispositions that motivate the person
towards certain condition. For example, prestige is one need and it instigates
action towards getting social prestige. Likewise to get food is a need, which
motivates a hungry person toward securing a full stomach.
Interests are person’s generalised behaviour tendency to be attracted by some

stimuli. Thus, for Guilford, interest are general rather than specific traits and
valued positively rather than negatively. Besides, interest also refers to liking to
perform some activities. All such interests contribute to causation of behaviour.
Attitudes also instigate behaviour and they are defined as a disposition to favour
or not to favour a social object or social action. Since attitudes involve belief,
feelings and action, therefore, they are cognitive, affective and conative, too.
One’s view about premarital sex, divorce and equal right to women can be the
example of attitudes. Having a particular attitude forces the person to think, feel
and act accordingly.
2.3.4.3 Aptitudes
Aptitudes refer to how well an individual can perform a given activity and they
represent a dimension of ability though they are more specific than abilities. It
means that all aptitudes are abilities but not all abilities are aptitude. For example,
a tall person may have the ability to reach at the highest shelf but this could not
be considered his aptitude. On the basis of factor analysis, Guildford (1959)
identified three primary aptitudes, viz., (i) Perceptual aptitudes, (ii) Psychomotor
aptitudes and (iii) intelligence.
Perceptual aptitudes relate to the various sense modalities and include factors
like visual, auditory and kinesthetic sensitivity.
Psychomotor aptitudes are abilities shown by physical educators, dance instructors

and athletic coaches. Human engineers also need psychomotor aptitudes because
they have to design machine in such a way that they must be operated conveniently.
Intelligence is a general aptitude. Guilford developed his famous Structure-of-

intellect model based upon three primary parameters of operations, products and
contents. Originally, there were five categories of operation and six categories of
32
product and four categories of content in this model. The result was 5 × 6 × 4 State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
=120 factors or components of intelligence. Shortly before his death, Guilford
(1988), however, expanded the total number from 120 to 180 abilities or factors
when he raised the categories of operation from five to six by dividing one of the
component of operation, that is, memory into two : Memory recording and
Memory relation. The total number of categories of contents was also changed
from four to five. Thus now the total factors constituting intelligence became
6 × 6 × 5 = 180.
2.3.4.4 Temperament
According to Guilford (1959) temperament refers to the manner in which the
individual performs a behaviour. Whether a person is impulsive, tolerant,
deliberate or critical in his or her behaviour, is all indicative of the person’s
temperament. Temperament has been assessed by varieties of inventories in which
Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey (GZTS) became very popular.
GZTS assesses 10 bipolar traits of temperament : General activity vs. Inactivity

(G), Restraint vs. Impulsiveness (R), Ascendance vs. submissiveness (A),
Sociability vs. Shyness (S), Emotional stability vs. Depression (E) Objectivity
vs. Subjectivity (O), Friendliness vs. Hostility (F), Thoughtfulness vs.
Unreflectiveness (T), Personal relations vs. Criticalness (P) and Masculinity vs.
Feminity (M).
Guilford has pointed out that there are three levels of trait generality : hexic
level, primary trait level and type level. Hextic trait is displayed by the person
only in specific situations. For example, Mohan who is generally shy and reserved
person, may show dominance and aggression before his friends for wining the
competition. Here dominance and aggression are examples of hexic level trait
and determine his specific actions.
Primary traits are manifested in broader range of behaviour than are hexic traits.
For example, when Shyam shows dominance and aggression most of the time in
his behaviour, it means these two are his primary traits. Guilford further has
opined that primary traits are determined to some extent by types. When a person’s
behaviours generally revolve around any single disposition, he is said to be
manifesting a type upon which Guilford did not give as much emphasis as it had
been done by Eysenck. Thus types are composed of primary traits which have
positive intercorrelations. An extravert type, for example, may be recognised
through observation of high correlations among the primary traits of sociability,
orientation towards external reality, impulsiveness, love for contacting other
people, tolerance for pain, etc.
1) Which of the followings is Not a hormetic trait ?
a) Interest b) Need
c) Attitude d) Aptitude
2) Physicque is an example of:
a) Hormetic trait b) Physiological trait
c) Morphological d) None.
33
Assessment 3) How many abilities have been identified by Structrue-of-intellect model?
a) 120 b) 160
c) 180 d) 140
4) Physical functions like heart rate, breathing rate, brain wave patterns
are all covered by :
a) Morphological traits b) Physicologial traits
c) Hormetic traits d) Behavioural traits.
5) Which of the followings is not assessed by GZTS?
a) Masculinity – feminity b) Friendliness – hostility
c) Practical – imaginative d) Sociability – shyness.

Today, the most talked about trait approach to personality is the Five Factor
Model (FFM) also known as the Big Five. As its name implies, according to this
model there are five broad personality factors, each of which is composed of
constellation of traits. Based on his own researches as well as researches of others
in 1981, Goldberg pointed out that it is possible to prepare a model for structuring
individual differences among traits of personality. Big Five was meant to refer to
the finding that each factor subsumes a large number of specific traits. In fact,
the Big Five are almost as broad and abstract as Eysenck’s superfactors. Those
Big Five dimensions of personality using the names assigned by MC Crae and
Costa (1987) are as under :
2.3.5.1 Extraversion (E)

This factor assesses the quality and intensity of interpersonal interaction. High
scorer in this factor is characterised by being sociable, active, talkative, person-
oriented, optimistic, fun-loving and affectionate, whereas low scorer is
characterised by being reserved, sober, aloof, task oriented, retiring and quiet.
Thus this factor contrasts extraverted traits with introverted traits.
2.3.5.2 Neuroticism (N)

This factor assesses adjustment vs. emotional instability. Persons high on
neuroticism are prone to emotional instability. Such persons tend to experience
negative emotion and are characterised by being moody, irritable, nervous,
insecure, and hypochondriacal. Low scorers on this dimension are characterised
by being calm, relaxed, unemotional, hardy, self-satisfied etc. Thus this factor
differentiates people who are emotionally stable from those who are emotionally
unstable.
2.3.5.3 Consientiousness (C)

This factor mainly assesses the person’s degree of organisation, persistence and
motivation in goal directed behaviour. In other words, this factor describes task
and goal directed behaviours and the socially required impulse control behaviour.
This factor easily differentiates individuals who are dependable, organised, hard
working, responsible, reliable and thorough (high scorers) from those who are
undependable, disorganised, unreliable, impulsive, irresponsible, lazy and
negligent (low scorers).
34
2.3.5.4 Agreeableness (A) State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
This factor assesses the person’s quality of interpersonal orientation ranging from
compassion to antogonism in thinking, feeling and action. High scorer on this
factor would be characterised by soft-hearted, good-natured, trusting, helpful,
straightforward and forgiving whereas the low scorer would be characterised by
cynical, suspicious, uncooperative, vengeful, irritable and manipulative.
2.3.5.5 Openness (O)

This factor assesses proactive seeking and appreciation of experience for its own
sake as well as tolerance for and exploration for the something new and unfamiliar.
High scorers would be characterised by being good-natured, warm, sympathetic
and cooperative whereas low scorers would be characterised by being unfriendly,
aggressive, unpleasant, argumentative, cold and even hostile.
First letters of the Big Five dimensions can be reordered to spell out the word
OCEAN—an easy way to keep them in memory.
For assessing these Big Five dimensions, Goldberg (1992) has developed a
questionnaire named Transparent Bipolar Inventory. Still another much more
popular questionnaire to assess Big Five has been developed by Costa and McCrae
(1992). This questionnaire has been named as the NEO-Personality Inventory
(NEO-PI-R). Originally, this inventory assessed only N, E and O but later on the
other two factors such as A and C were also included. In this new inventory each
dimension or factor is defined by six facets and each facet is measured by 8
items. Therefore, the latest version of NEO-PI-R consists of a total of 240 items
(5 factos × 6 facets × 8 items). On the basis of several studies, McCrae and Costa
(1990) are convinced that these five factors as measured by NEO-PI-R are
sufficient for describing the basic dimensions of personality. In fact, they go
beyond this to say that, “no other system is as complete and yet so parsimonious”.
In making a fair evaluation to trait approach, it can be said that longitudinal

studies support trait approach. McCrae and Costa (1990) have studied personality
traits of persons over time and have found them to be stable for a periods of 3 to
30 years. They have opined that stable individual differences in basic dimensions
are universal feature of adult personality. Despite this, critics are of view that
trait approach, like type approach, don’t explain the causes or development of
personality. It simply identify and describe characteristics, which are correlated
with behaviour. Moreover, critics of trait perspective further say that the
consistency of our behaviour across situations is very low and therefore, not
predictable on the basis of personality traits. Initially, one of the severest critics
of trait approach was Walter Mischel (1968) who claimed that the situation, and
not our traits, determines the behaviour.
Thus his stand initiated person situation debate, that is, question of relative
importance of person and situation in determining the behaviour of the persons.
Now Mischel has modified his original position and has proclaimed that behaviour
is shaped by both the person (traits) and the situation. Other psychologists have
also provided support for the view that there are some internal traits which strongly
influence behaviour across different situations (Carson, 1989; McAdams, 1992).
35
Assessment Self Assessment Questions 5
1) Which of the followings is not assessed by Five factor model ?
a) Neuroticism b) Psychoticism
c) Agreeableness d) Conscientiousness.
2) The latest version of NEO-PI-R measures the dimensions of personality
through :
a) Six facets b) Five facets
c) Seven facets d) Four facets.
3) Who developed Transparent Bipolar Inventory ?
a) McCrae and Costa b) Goldbeng
c) Eysenck d) None of these.
4) Who has been considered as the most severest critics of trait appraoch?
a) Campbell b) Hawley
c) Mischel d) None of these.
5) High scorers on Agreableness dimension of Big Five model would be
characterised by being :
a) good-natured, trusting and soft-hearted
b) organised, reliable and hard-working
c) curious, creative and untraditional
d) active, talkative and fun-loving
2.4 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we learnt that the earliest effort to explain human behaviour involved
the use of personality typologies, which classified behaviour into discrete, all-
or-nothing categories. The first was the four-humor theory and remained popular
for centuries although today it is regarded as a baseless theory because it has
been established now that personality and moods are not driven by bodily fluids.
This was followed by Sheldon’s somatotype (body build) based theory of
personality. Sheldon assigned each individual to one of the three categories ,
viz., (i) ectomorphic (thin, long and fragile), (ii) endomorphic (fat, soft and round)
and (iii) mesomorphic (muscular, strong and rectangular). According to Sheldon,
ectomorphs are artistic, brainy and introverted, endomorphs are relaxed, fond of
eating, sleeping and sociable whereas mesomorphs are affective, dominant, filled
with energy and courage.
MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) typology is another typology which is

modern one and based upon Carl Jung’s theory of personality types. The four
dimensions of personality that are assessed here are : E or I (Extraversion-
Introversion), S or N (Sensing or Intution), T or F (Thinking-Feeling) and J or P
(Judgment-Perception). The MBTI identifies 16 types of personality based on
Jung’s distinctions between E-I, S-N and T-F, as well as upon Isobel Myer’s
distinction between J-P.
36
Since the type theories robbed the uniqueness of persons by placing the persons State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
into a perconceived category, the trait theories came about. Trait approaches
explain personality in terms of traits, which are defined as relatively stable and
consistent personal characteristics. Trait approach attempts to explain personality
and differences between people in terms of their personal characteristics, to devise
ways of measuring individual differences in personality traits and to use these
measures for understanding and predicting a person’s behaviour. Under the trait
approach, we considered the viewpoints of Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, Guilford,
and the Five Factor Model would be discussed in detail.
For Allport, traits are the building blocks of personality as well as the source of
individuality. For Allport, trait is something that exits but remains invisible. It is
located somewhere in the nervous system (Ryckman, 1993). Allport recognised
two major categories of traits Common traits and Individual traits. He classified
individual traits further into three types, viz. cardinal tratis, central trait and
secondary trait.
All these traits are dynamic in the sense that they possess motivational power.
Those individual traits or dispositions which are intensely experienced are said
to be more motivational. Those individual traits which are less intensively
experienced though possessing more motivational power are said to be more
stylistic.
According to Allport, all these individual traits form structure of personality

which, in turn, determines the behaviour of an individual. In his view only by
focussing upon the uniqueness of the individual, a scientific and substantial
understanding of personality is possible.
We then learnt about Cattel’s Trait theory. Raymond Cattell (1950) considered
personality to be a pattern of traits providing the key to understanding it and
predicting a person’s behaviour. According to him, traits are relatively permanent
and broad reaction tendencies of personality. They serve as the building blocks
of personality. He distinguished between (i) surface trait and source trait, (ii)
constitutional and environmental-mold traits (iii) ability, temperament and
dynamic traits.
Cattell found 23 source traits in normal persons and 16 of which he studied in

detail. These 16 basic source traits were then used in the construction of the
Sixteen Personality (16PF) Questionnaire popularly knows as “16 PF test”. In
addition to these 16 factors measured by personality test, Cattell, on the basis of
his subsequent researches proposed seven new factors. Using factor analysis to
the surface traits of the normal and abnormal personality spheres, Cattell derived
12 new factors that measure psychopathological traits. Cattell also distinguished
between constitutional traits and environmental mold traits. Cattell has further
subdivided traits into ability traits, temperament traits and dynamic traits.
Dynamic traits are the person’s motivation and interest which set the person in
action toward the goal. The important dynamic traits in Cattell’s system are of
three types, viz. (i) attitudes, (ii) ergs and (iii) sentiments.
We then learnt about Eysenck’s Type Trait Hierarchy theory. British Psychologist
Hans Eysenck (1990) had a strong belief that personality is largely determined
by genes and that the environmental factors have very little role to play in it. He
37
Personality: Theories and opined that personality is more or less stable and enduring organisation of a
Assessment
person’s character, temperament, intellect and physique. In this definition, he
has emphasised upon traits (stable and enduring characteristics) which when
clustered together, constitutes a type.
Eysenek’s viewpoint is personality is hierarchically organised, consisting of types,

traits and habits. At the lowest level of Eysenck’s hierarchy are the single responses
like action or thoughts. Regularly occurring responses form habits and related
habits form traits and several traits clustered together constitute a type or also
known as super factors. Later, on the basis of other statistical analysis, he
postulated a third dimension, viz., Psychoticism/Impulse control. These three
dimensions, according to Eysenck, are the major individual difference types
considered most useful in describing personality functioning. To measure these
three dimensions of personality, Eysenck developed a paper and pencil test. The
latest version of the test has been named as Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
(EPQ).
Recently, inhibition theory has been replaced by arousal theory by Eysenck

because inhibition and excitation although were very useful concepts, were found
to be extremely difficult to assess. According to arousal theory, differences in
the behaviour of introverts and extraverts are due to the various parts of Ascending
Rreticular Activating System (ARAS) in the nervous system.
Eysenck’s theory was followed by learning about Guilford’s trait theory. Guilford
defined personality as the individual’s unique pattern of traits. Trait, for him, is
any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one person differs from
another. Using factor analysis, Guilford came to the conclusion that there are
seven modalities of traits, that is (i) morphological, (ii) physiological, (iii) needs,
(iv) interest, (v) attitudes (vi) aptitudes and (vii) temperament. The first two are
the somatic traits whereas the last five are behavioural aspects of personality.
Guilford emphasised that these modalities should not be regarded as seven
separate constituent parts of personality but personality must be seen as integrated
whole and these seven modalities can be seven different directions from which
the whole can be viewed. Guilford also pointed out three levels of trait generality:
hexic level, primary trait level and type level.
Today, the most talked about trait approach to personality is the Five Factor
Model (FFM) also known as the Big Five. As its name implies, according to this
model there are five broad personality factors, each of which is composed of
constellation of traits. Based on his own researches as well as researches of others
Goldberg pointed out that it is possible to prepare a model for structuring
individual differences among traits of personality. Big Five was meant to refer to
the finding that each factor subsumes a large number of specific traits. In fact,
the Big Five are almost as broad and abstract as Eysenck’s superfactors. Those
Big Five dimensions of personality using the names assigned by MC Crae and
Costa (1987) are Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N), Consientiousness (C),
Agreeableness (A), Openness (O)
First letters of the Big Five dimensions can be reordered to spell out the word
OCEAN—an easy way to keep them in memory.
For assessing these Big Five dimensions, Goldberg (1992) has developed a
questionnaire named Transparent Bipolar Inventory. Still another much more
38
popular questionnaire to assess Big Five has been developed by Costa and McCrae State/Trait Approaches to
Personality
(1992) named as the NEO-Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). Originally, this
inventory assessed only N, E and O but later on the other two factors such as A
and C were also included.

1) Make distinction between individual traits and common traits. Following
Allport, discuss the different types of individual traits and their importance
in predicting human behaviour.
2) Explain viewpoints of Cattell regarding traits as being one of the determiners
of human behaviour.
3) Do you find Eysenck’s type-trait hierarchy a satisfactory explanation for
making prediction about human behaviour ?
4) Discuss the different trait modalities as outlined by J.P. Guilford for
understanding and predicting human behaviour.
5) Discuss the role of five-factor model in understanding human behaviour.
6) Do you find trait perspective a satisfcatory explanation for explaining
personality. Give reasons.

Zimbardo, P.G. & Weber, A.L. (1994). Psychology: Harper Collins
Baron, R.A. (2005). Pscyhology: Pearson Education
Santrock, J.W. (2006). Psychology: Essentials: Tata McGraw-Hill
Wade, G. & Tavris, C. Psychology: Pearson Education.

QUESTIONS
1) 1. (d) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (c) 5. (b)
2) 1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (d) 4. (a) 5. (c)
3) 1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (d) 4. (c) 5. (c)
4) 1. (a) 2. (c) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (c)
5) 1. (b) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (c) 5. (a)
39
Assessment UNIT 3 ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Needs and Aims of Assessment
3.3 Methods of Personality Assessment
3.3.1 Interviews
3.3.2 Projective Techniques
3.3.3 Classification of Projective Techniques
3.3.4 Association Technique
3.4 Ink Blot Technique
3.4.1 Construction Technique
3.4.2 Completion Technique
3.4.3 Expressive Techniques
3.4.4 The Rorschach Inkblot Technique
3.4.5 The Holtzman Inkblot Test
3.4.6 The TAT
3.4.7 The Sentence Completion Tests
3.4.8 Limitations of the Projective Tests
3.5 Behavioural Assessment
3.5.1 Limitations of Behavioural Assessment
3.6 Personality Inventories
3.6.1 The Mmpi – 2
3.6.2 Limitations of Personality Inventories
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.9 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Personality assessment refers to the estimation of one’s personality make up,
that is the person’s characteristic behaviour patterns and salient and stable
characteristics. As there are different theoretical accounts of personality, and the
question is how do people find out what kind of personality they have? The
methods of estimating or measuring or assessing personality vary according to
the theory of personality used to develop those methods.
However, most of the psychological professionals doing personality assessment

do not necessarily tie themselves to one theoretical view point only, rather they
prefer to take an eclectic view of personality. The eclectic view is a way of
choosing the parts of different theories that seem to best fit a particular situation,
rather than using only me theory to explain a phenomenon.
In fact, looking at behaviour from different perspectives can often bring insights
into a person’s behaviour that would not easily come from taking only one
40
perspective (Ciccarelli and Meyer, 2006). Therefore, many of the professional Assessment of Personality
doing personality assessment use different perspectives and also take on different
techniques for its assessment.
It is also important to note here that personality assessment may also differ with
respect to the purposes for which its is done. For example, if the purpose is self-
understanding, the person may select different tests/inventories, if the purpose is
to classify person’s as per their personality traits a different set of tests may be
useful. Finally, if the purpose is diagnostic (clinical psychologist, counselors
etc.) an entirely different set of tests may be more useful.
There are several tests/inventories which are available for the assessment of
personality. Broadly, these can be grasped into one of the three categories. These
are the subjective, objective and projective methods. The subjective approach
incorporates the assessment of one’s personality taking his/her work into account
e.g. what he or she had done throughout his/her life. It may also consider his/her
autobiographical accounts and biographies etc. But there is a major limitation of
it that there are possibilities that the person may exaggerate his/her strengths and
may minimise the account of his/her limitations and therefore we may be devoid
of the true picture of personality. In personality assessment the effort is to make
the assessment free from bias of any sort both from the subject/participant (whose
personality is to be assessed) and from that of the assessor. It presents that there
are so many such test/inventories whereby we can assess personality of a person
objectively and these are the important tools for the purpose. While some tests
assess the surface characteristics, others uncover the underlying aspects of
personality. Among the major procedures that are in use currently, the important
ones are those based on content relevance, empirical criterion keying, factor
analyses, and personality theory. Personality assessment may differ in the purposes
for which they are conducted. Personality assessment is used in the diagnosis of
personality disorders by clinical and counseling psychologists, psychiatrists; and
other psychological professionals.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define personality assessment;
• Explain the prominent features of personality assessment;
• Explain the aims of personality assessment;
• Explain the various methods used in the assessment of personality;
• Differentiate between different types of tools of personality assessment;
• Explain projective techniques in detail; and
• Explain objective techniques in detail.
3.2 NEEDS AND AIMS OF ASSESSMENT

Testing is becoming more and more important with each growing area of
psychology. Traditionally, tests were employed only to measure individual
differences or intraindividual reactions under different circumstances. The nature
and extent of individual differences, their possessed psychological traits,
41
Personality: Theories and differences among various groups etc. are becoming some of the major
Assessment
components demanding assessment as an aid of measurement.
Personality testing is an essential pre-requisite for identifying the various

constituents of personality. Testing in personality provides measures of emotional
and motivational traits of personality.
3.3 METHODS OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT

Some of the important tests and techniques measuring personality include (i)
Interviews (ii) Projective techniques (iii) Association techniques (iv) Expressive
techniques
3.3.1 Interviews
Interview is a method of personality assessment in which the interviewee has to
answer the questions asked by the professional, in a structured or unstructured
fashion. Some therapists note down the answers of the interviewee in a survey
process. This type of interview is unstructured in manner and moves naturally.
Limitations of Interviews
Interview by the psychologist demands the report of innermost feeling, concerns
and urges on the part of client. This is something that can be known directly by
the client/interviewee and thus, the problems encountered with self report data
like survey are faced with interviewing also. Interviewees/Clients can misinform,
lie, distort the actual facts or reality and hide the true information for social
desirability. Also, biases can occur on the part of the interviewers as their personal
belief system or prejudices may put obstacles in the interpretation of the
information given by the interviewee.
Halo effect is the other problem with interviews. Halo effect is a tendency to
form a favorable or unfavorable impression of someone at the fist meeting and
after that first impression all of the comments and behaviour of that person are
interpreted in agreement with the impression. Those who make a good first
impression due to clothing, physical appearance or some other characteristic
seem to have a “halo” for everything they do in a positive light.
3.3.2 Projective Techniques

These techniques are assumed to reveal those central aspects of personality that
lie in the unconscious mind of an individual. Unconscious motivations, hidden
desires, inner fears and complexes are presumed to be elicited by their unstructured
nature that affect the client’s conscious behaviour. The assignment of a relatively
unstructured task is a major distinguishing feature of projective techniques.
An unstructured task is one that permits an endless range of possible responses.

The underlying hypothesis of projective techniques is that the way the test material
or “structures” are perceived and interpreted by the individual, reflects the
fundamental aspects of her or his psychological functioning. In other words, the
test material serves as a sort of screen on which respondents “project” their
characteristic thought processes, anxieties, conflicts and needs .
42
Clients are shown ambiguous visual stimuli by the psychologist and are asked to Assessment of Personality
tell what they see in that stimuli. It is presumed that the client will project the
unconscious concerns and fears onto the visual stimulus and thus the psychologist
can interpret the responses and understand the psychodynamic underlying the
problem of the client. Tests that utilise this method are called projective tests.
These tests, besides their function of exploring one’s personality, also serve as a
diagnostic tool to uncover the hidden personality issues.
The history of projective techniques began in the beginning of the 15th century
when Leonardo da Vinci selected pupils on the basis of their attempt to find
shapes and patterns in ambiguous form (Piotrowski, 1972). In 1879, a Word
association test was constructed by Gallon. Similar tests were used in clinical
settings by Carl Jung. Later, Frank (1939, 1948) introduced the term projective
method to describe a range of tests which could be used to study personality
with unstructured stimuli.
This way, the individual has enough opportunity to project his own personality
attributes which in the course of normal interview or conversation the person
would not reveal. More specifically, projective instruments also represent
disguised testing procedures in the sense that the test takers are not aware of the
psychological interpretation to be made of their responses.
Rather than measuring the traits separately the attention is focused on the
composite picture. Finally, projective techniques are an effective tool to reveal
the latent or hidden aspects of personality that remain embedded in the
unconscious until uncovered. These techniques are based on the assumption that
if the stimulus structure is weak in nature, it allows the individual to project his/
her feelings, desires and needs that are further interpreted by the experts.
1) What is the need for Personality Assessment?
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2) How can personality assessment prove to be an aid in understanding
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Assessment 3) What is the underlying approach behind personality testing?
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4) What is projective technique?
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Various types of projective techniques have been classified into several categories
by psychologists.
i) Constructive: It includes all those tests and situations where the construction
of some specific task is to be done by the examinee. The subject needs to
frame a structure upon the situation presented by the examiner, and be asked
to draw a human figure allowing the person to freely express the examiner’s
inclination.
ii) Constitutive: This category includes those tests which require the examinee
to constitute structures upon some given unstructured materials, as for
example, The Rorschach Ink Blot technique. In this test the examinee
imposes own structure upon the unstructured ink blots (Zubin, Eros and
Schumer, 1965) and the subject’s responses are scored and interpreted.
iii) Cathartic: It includes those situations where the examinee can release his
wishes, inner demands, conflicts etc. through some manipulative tasks.
iv) Interpretative: It includes those test situations where the examinee has to
add a detailed meaning to the given situation. For example, the Thematic
Apperception Test (TAT) and the Word Association Test.
v) Refractive: This category includes all those techniques through which the
examinee gets the opportunity to depict his personality in the form of
drawing, painting etc. Frank cited that graphology is the best example of
this category.
If we evaluate Frank’s classification, it is obvious that it consists of several
limitations. The biggest one is that according to his classification, same test can
be included in two or more categories, causing considerable overlap. This way,
Frank’s classification is not a popular classification of projective methods.
44
3.3.4 Association Techniques Assessment of Personality
This category includes all those situations where responses are to be given by
the examinee in the form of associations which he makes after seeing or listening
to the stimulus material . E.g. The Word Association Test etc. In the Word-
Association test, the examinee is provided with a number of words in the form
of a list and he is required to utter the very first word that comes to his mind on
listening the stimulus word. The responses in accordance with the reaction time
are used for the analysis of personality of the individual.
3.4 INK BLOT TECHNIQUES

The Ink blot techniques consist of two popular techniques, that is, The Rorschach
Test and The Holtzman Ink blot test. In these tests the examinee has to respond
to an unstructured situation composed of some ink blots.
3.4.1 Construction Techniques

All those situations are included here in which a story is constructed by the
examinee on seeing the stimulus material within some given time limit. The
themes and mode of responding are considered relevant in such tests. The
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Object Relations Test are some of the
examples of construction techniques. Some other tests like Draw-A-Person test
are also included in this category. In all these tests, the examinee constructs or
produces simple/complex statements in a story form or draws some picture or
person.
3.4.2 Completion Techniques

These include the situations where some incomplete sentences are presented to
the examinee and he can complete them in the form he desires. For example
I want ………..,
I feel excited about…………………..
The subject has to fill up the blanks and the responses given by the examinee are
recorded and analysed to get a picture of the individual’s personality. For example,
Rotter’s Incomplete Sentences Blank. Some people consider it as a semi projective
technique.
3.4.3 Expressive Techniques

These include those tests where some manipulative tasks are used by the examinee
to depict his or her personality. Some interaction with the given material is the
theme of these techniques. Some of the common expressive techniques include
role playing, finger painting, play, drawing etc. The characteristic feature of
expressive techniques is that the examiner pays much attention to the manner in
which the given materials are manipulated by the examinee.
3.4.4 The Rorschach Inkblot Test

Rorschach inkblot test was developed in 1921 by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann
Rorschach. It consists of 10 inkblots, five in black ink on a white background
and five in colored inks on a white background. The Rorschach test is a measure
of both the intellectual and non intellectual personality traits. While developing
45
Personality: Theories and this technique, Rorschach experimented with a large number of ink blots which
Assessment
were administered to different psychiatric groups. On the basis of such clinical
observations various psychiatric syndromes that differentiate response
characteristics were taken up in the scoring system.
In the test , the subjects are asked to simply state whatever each inkblot looks
like to them. Responses are scored by the psychologists using predetermined
categories, on key factors such as color and shape, movement, whether the whole
or part blot has been seen, and whether the response is given in content to the
whole or to peculiar details in the blot.
These blots are frequently used for personality description, diagnosis of mental
disorders and for behaviour predictions (Watkins et al, 1995; Wiener, 1997).
The whole procedure of The Rorschach Test is a combined set of three
components, viz., performance proper, inquiry, and scoring. Let us deal with
each of these one by one.
Administration of Rorschach test

The administration of the Rorschach test can be put be up in two stages as given
below.
a) Performance proper
The examinee is asked to get seated and rapport is established with him. First
plate is then handled to the client with the question “What do you think this
could be?” During the process the examinee needs to be careful about the
following things:
1) Reaction time which means the time gap between the card presentation and
examinee’s response. Exclamations and comments are excluded from
scoring.
2) The position of the card is also taken account of while examinee is responding
and are scored as v, ^, <, >.depending on the direction in which the card is
turned.
3) The responses are recorded verbatim for the reason that the examiner can
read it and analyse the same effectively.
4) The total time for which the card is kept by the subject is also recorded. The
time lapsed between the presentation of the card and the first response the
subject gives is called the reaction time.
On completion of the first plate, the second plate is given to the examinee and
similarly all the 10 plates are presented in a sequential manner. The total number
of responses is also termed as response productivity ratio and is coded as R. On
a Rorschach protocol, for most adults the score varies from 15 to 30. Vague and
uncertain response by the examinee is noted down to be clarified in the second
stage of administration, that is, the inquiry stage.
Inquiry
It is the second stage of administration of the Rorschach test. It is taken up after
obtaining responses on all the ten cards during “performance proper”. The basic
purpose of conducting inquiry is to collect all the necessary information for the
accurate scoring of the responses. Here, a location sheet is presented before the
46
examinee and he is asked to locate the part on the basis of which he has responded, Assessment of Personality
so as to maintain a permanent record of the area of the blot used by the subject in
responding. The questions framed for the inquiry stage are based on the examiner’s
skill and expertise.
Scoring of Rorschach test

The major differences among the various scoring systems of the Rorschach test
flourished in 1930s to the 1960s. There is also the focus of concern for Rorschach
interpretation based either on the content of the responses or on their formal
characteristics, such as location, determinants, form quality, and the various
quantitative summaries derived from the responses, that is, the content.
Scoring of location is important. Location refers to that part of the plot with
which each response of the subject is associated. For example, whether the whole
blot or a common detail or a usual detail has been used by the respondent and are
scored as W, D ,d, Dd etc. The determinants of the response include form, color
shading and “movement” and are coded as F,C,S,M etc. The respondent’s
perception of the blot as a moving object is scored in context of “movement”.
The various types of movement include human movement, animal movement
etc.
The form quality of responses may depict the precision with which the response
match the location used, to their originality.
The treatment of content also varies from one Rorschach system to another except
some major regularly employed categories. Some of the main categories are
human figures, human details, animal details etc. and are coded as H, A , Hd, Ad
etc. Some other broad scoring categories may include art objects, plants, maps,
landscapes, clothing etc. For each of the 10 cards, certain specific responses are
scored as popular because of their common occurrence and thus, constitute the
popularity score.
Qualitative interpretations of the Rorschach scores include the association of
“whole” responses with conceptual thinking. The colour responses given by the
subject are indicative of the subject’s emotionality and fantasy life. The entire
response for all the 10 cards including the enquiry are integrated together to
interpret the psychodynamics underlying the problem and also decide upon the
diagnostic issues.
However, after a prolonged use of the Rorschach test as a psychometric
instrument, some of the researchers found a number of difficulties inherent in
the method itself, such as the variability in the total number of responses, examiner
effects and interdependence of scores etc. The five major Rorschach systems in
use developed in the United Sates show vast differences which were documented
by John E. Exner, Jr. (1969). He, with his extensive investigations of clinical
use of the Rorschach Test came up with a single, distilled system encompassing
all the useful features being possessed by the method. Questions are also asked
about the reliability and validity of the assessment done through the Rorschach
Test.
In this context, it is pertinent to mention here that the Rorschach Ink blot test
was never developed as a psychometric tool, rather, it was developed as an
instrument to aid in the clinical diagnosis.
47
Personality: Theories and To briefly state about this test, it can be concluded that more research still needs
Assessment
to be conduced to invent a standard method of administration and scoring of the
Rorschach. Test.
3.4.5 The Holtzman Inkblot Test

Holtzman et. Al. (1961) developed an inkblot test known as the Holtzman Inkblot
Test (HIT). This test was developed by Holtzman in order to remove the inherent
technical difficulties of the Rorschach like unlimited number of responses, poor
scorer reliability etc. There are two parallel forms (A and B) having 45 cards,
both colored and achromatic and markedly asymmetric. One response per card
is taken by the respondent. Each response is followed by a two fold simple
question : where was the percept represented in the blot and what the percept
suggests about the blot ? All the responses are then classified under 22 response
variables.
It has been found by many researchers that Holtzman test appears to be better
standardised than the Rorschach test. Also the scorer reliability of the HIT is
highly satisfactory validity data on HIT have also yielded satisfactory results. It
has also overcome the problem of productivity ratio by specifying the number of
responses.
Recently, Holtzman (1988) has also developed a variant of HIT called HIT 25.
Consisting of 25 cards. It has been found to be successful in diagnosing
schizophrenia.
3.4.6 The TAT

This test was developed by Henry Murray and his colleagues (Morgan and Murray,
1935). The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) consists of 20 pictures which are
all black and white. The people depicted in the picture are deliberately drawn in
ambiguous situations. After showing the picture, a story is to be told by the
client about the person or people in the picture. They have to say what is happening
in the picture, what has caused the event and what could have taken place in the
past and what would happen in the future. The story narrated by the client is
interpreted by the psychologist, who tries to look for revealing statements and
projection of the client’s hidden emotions onto the characters in the pictures. In
the original interpretation method of TAT scores, the examiner first determines
who is the “hero”, the character of either sex with whom the respondent
presumably identifies himself or herself. The content of the stories is then analysed
in reference to Murray’s list of “needs” and “press”. Achievement, affiliation
and aggression are the examples of needs whereas “press” refers to environmental
forces that may facilitate or interfere with need satisfaction.
However, TAT has been used extensively in the research of personality but the
high variations in administration and scoring procedures associated with TAT
has made it quite difficult to investigate the psychometric properties of the TAT.
Nevertheless, the value of Thematic Apperception Techniques has been confirmed
and also the clinical utility of various versions of the TAT both for traditional
and specific applications have been established.
3.4.7 The Sentence Completion Tests

Other than these two well-known projective tests, there are some other types of
projective tests which include Sentence Completion test, Draw-A-Person test,
48
and House-Tree-Person Test. In the sentence completion test, verbal material is Assessment of Personality
used. Various incomplete sentences are given to the subject to complete them.
Some of the incomplete sentences are like example given below:
I feel very …….,
I wish my mother….
The subject is asked to complete the sentence the way he/she desires. In the
Draw-A-Person and House-Tree-Person, the client is supposed to draw the named
items on a white sheet.
3.4.8 Limitations of the Projective Tests

Projective tests are basically subjective in nature and the interpretation of the
answers of clients needs deep analytic and artistic traits. Reliability and validity
related problems always exist in projective tests. There are no standard grading
scales for projective tests. Person’s varying mood may decide the person’s answer
which may vary considerably from one day to another.
Some situational variables like the examiner’s physical characteristics are likely
to influence the responses on projective techniques. It has also been seen that the
changed instructions on the part of examiner also influence the examinee’s scores
on projective techniques to a great extent.
Finally, in the words of Eysenck (1959), projective techniques can be summarised

as those in which the relationship between projective indicators and personality
traits have not been demonstrated by any empirical evidences.
A number of evidences show that most studies of projective techniques are guided
by methodological flaws and are ill designed.
Projective techniques are not guided by any consistent, meaningful and testable
theories.
There is no evidence showing a relationship between global interpretation of

projective techniques by experts and psychiatrists.
Generally, projective techniques have poor predictive ability regarding failure or

success in various walks of life.

1) Define Projective techniques as a tool of assessment.
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Assessment 2) Explain various projective techniques in detail.
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3) Discuss the classification of projective techniques according to various
researchers.
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4) Critically evaluate various personality testing procedures.
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3.5 BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENT

Behaviorists assume that personality is a composite set of learned responses to
stimuli in the environment, they undertake to watch such behaviour as a preferred
method to study.
One of the methods is direct observation, that requires the psychologist to observe
the client while engaged in ordinary, daily-routine behaviour, at home, school,
workplace or any other natural setting.
Among other methods often used by behavioural therapists are rating scales and
frequency counts. In a rating scale, either the psychologist or the client assigns a
numeric rating or some specific behaviour. On the other hand, in a frequency
count, the frequency of certain behaviours in a specified time limit is counted.
Both rating scales and frequency counts are being used by educators in the
diagnosis of various behavioural problems like attention deficit disorder etc.
3.5.1 Limitations of Behavioural Assessment

Observer bias is the major limitation of behavioural assessments.
In observational method, there is no control over the external environment and

50 this may lead to interpret the events in fruitless direction.
Assessment of Personality
3.6 PERSONALITY INVENTORIES
Personality inventory is a printed form that consists of a set of statements or
questions applying to human behaviour. The list of questions is a standard one
and requires specific answers such as “yes”, “no” and “cannot decide”. As the
questions demand close-ended answers, these assessments are quite objective in
nature.
Cattell’s 16PF is one such personality inventory. NEO-PI by Costa and McCrae
(2000) has been revised, which is based on the five factor model of personality
traits. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is another commonly used inventory.
Introversion, Extraversion (I/E) is a classic dimension that began with Jung and
is represented in nearly every personality theory, including the Big Five. The
sensing / intuition (S/I), thinking / feeling T/P), Introversion / Extroversion (I/E)
and Perceiving/Judging (P/J) are the four dimensions that can differ for each
individual resulting in ISTJ, ISTP, ISFP, ISFJ personality types possibly (Briggs
and Myers, 1998). For example, an ESTJ is an organiser, practical in nature and
energetic in activity, an ESTJ is also a good school administrator.
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1993), the California

Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1995) and the Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (Cattell, 1994) are some other common personality tests.
3.6.1 The MMPI-2

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Version-II or MMPI-2 is the most
common personality inventory. It tests specifically, the abnormality inventory. It
tests specifically, the abnormal behaviour patterns in personality MMPI-2 consists
of 567 statements such as “I believe I am being plotted against”. The answers to
the statements must be in “true”, “false”, or “cannot say”. It has 10 clinical scales
and eight validity scales besides various subscales. Each scale tests a particular
kind of behaviour. Ranging from mild to more serious disorders such as
schizophrenia and depression, are assessed using this inventory.
Validity scales ascertain that whether the person taking the inventory is responding
honestly or not. For example, if one of the statements is “I am contended with
whatever I have” and a person responds “true” to that statement, gets into suspicion
that the person is lying. If several of validity scale questions are answered in this
manner, it clearly depicts that the person is not being honest.
3.6.2 Limitations of Personality Inventories

Personality inventories have certain advantages over projective tests and
interviews in the sense that inventories are standardised. Also, observer bias and
interpretation bias are not possible due to their objective frame. Inventories are
also superior to projective tests in terms of validity and reliability (Anastasi &
Orbina, 1997).
However, there are some problems with inventories too. Even though, good at
validity end, some people still fake their answers and respond in socially
acceptable ways. Also, some people follow a regular course of answering the
statements without actually considering them, there as others may pick statements
to answer at random rather than answering each and every statement. 51
Personality: Theories and Though, the tasks of personality assessment and measurement is a skilled and
Assessment
sophisticated one, today predictions of behaviour are based on measurement of
personality.
1) Explain the meaning of personality inventories.
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2) Discuss the nature of personality inventories.
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3) Critically evaluate different personality inventories.
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4) Critically evaluate behavioural assessment method.
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3.7 LET US SUM UP

All types of personality tests available possess certain difficulties which are both
of theoretical and practical in nature. Every approach comes up with certain
advantages and disadvantages. However, personality measurement research has
gained enough importance. Still various devices are in the process of
improvement.
52
Some upcoming trends in personality testing include increasing evidence of Assessment of Personality
mutual influence between emotional and cognitive traits. Second, development
of a comprehensive model relating to human activity subsuming all sorts of
basic research on both emotional and cognitive traits.

1) What are the advantages and limitations of using interviews as a tool of
personality assessment?
2) How can projective tests be used to explore personality?
3) What are the problems encountered in using projective tests?
4) How can behavioural assessments be used in personality testing?
5) What are the different kinds of personality inventories used in personality
assessment?
5) How can further research in personality testing prove useful in enriching the
existing personality assessment procedures?
3.9 GLOSSARY
Method : Procedures of gathering information in
any field of study.
Interview : A method of personality assessment in

which the interviewer asks questions to
the clients and the client is allowed to
answer either in a structured or an
unstructured fashion.
Halo effect : Tendency of an interviewer to allow

positive characteristics of a client to
influence the assessments of client
behaviour and statements.
Projective tests : Assessment of personality that presents

ambiguous visual stimuli to the client and
ask the client to respond with whatever
comes to his mind.
Rorschach ink blot test : Projective test that uses 10 ink blots as
the ambiguous stimuli.
Thematic Apperception test : Projective test that uses 20 pictures of

persons in ambiguous situations as the
visual stimuli.
Personality Inventory : Paper and pencil tests that consist of

statements requiring a specific and
standardised response from the person
taking the test.
53
Assessment 3.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES
Anastasi, A. (1997). Psychological Testing. New York: Macmillan.
Ciccarelli, S.K. and Meyers, G.E. ( 2006) Psychology. New Delhi : Pearson
Education.
References
Butcher, J.N.,& Rouse, S.V.(1996). Personality: Individual differences and clinical
assessment. Annual Review of Psychology, 47,87-111.
Camara,W.J.,Nathan,J.S.,& Puente,A.E. (2000). Psychological test usage:
Implications in professional psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice, 31(2), 141-154.
Exner, J.E.Jr.(1966). The Rorschach systems.New York: Grune & Statton.
Eysenck, H.J.,& Eysenck, S.B.G.(1993). Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
[Revised]. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Gough,H.G.(1995).California Psychological Inventory(3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA:
Consulting Psychologist –Press.
Holtzman, W.H., Thorpe, J.S. ,(1961). Inkblot perception and personality-
Holtzman Inkblot technique. Austin: University of Texas Press
Wiener, I.B. (1997).Current status of the Rorschach Inkblot Method. Journal of
Personality Assessment,68,5-19.
54
UNIT 4 KEY ISSUES IN PERSONALITY
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Genes and Personality
4.2.1 Nature vs. Nurture Debate
4.2.2 The Nature Theory – Heredity
4.2.3 The Nurture Theory – Environment
4.2.4 Twin Studies
4.2.5 Infant Shyness
4.2.6 Anti-social Personality Disorder
4.2.7 Family Studies
4.3 The Person-Situation Controversy
4.3.1 The Behavioural Consistency Controversy
4.4 Interactionist Approach to Situation versus Person Debate
4.5 Nomothetic Approach versus Idiographic Approach to Personality
4.5.1 Nomothetic Approach
4.5.2 Idiographic Approach
4.6 Cross Cultural Issue
4.7 Personality Traits and Five Factor Model
4.7.1 The Five Factor Model Across Cultures
4.8 Issues Relating to Theoretical Models
4.9 Let Us Sum Up
4.11 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Besides the grand theories in personality, there is much more to be incorporated
in the study of personality. There are several issues in the study of personality
that have either remained unresolved or are still in the process of resolution.In
this unit you will learn about the impact of heredity on personality and the various
research studies that have been conducted to ascertain the relationship between
these two factors. The unit also gives a glimpse of the heredity versus environment
debate and points out the many research work in regard to this area and the
conclusions that have been arrived at based on the research. An attempt has also
been made in this unit to present the person versus situation controversy wherein
it has been pointed out as to how the consistency in behaviour across situations
is questioned. The interactionist approach in regard to this issue has been
elaborated. This unit also presents the idiographic versus nomothetic approach
to personality in which context the cross cultural issues have also been dealt
with. The research in the five factor model’s explanation of personality have
been listed and it has been pointed out as how this theory has been more popular
and the reasons for the same.
55
• Describe the various issues in personality;
• Explain the controversies in the study of personality;
• Analyse the various sub-issues still unanswered in the field of personality;
and
• List out the ways to fill up the lacunae existing in personality research.
Some of the major issues in personality research are being discussed in the
following sections:
4.2 GENES AND PERSONALITY

Nature versus nurture is probably the oldest issue in psychology. This is an age
old dispute among behavioural psychologists, philosophers, theologians, and
theorists of consciousness. “Nature versus nurture” is a term coined by the English
Victorian Polymath Francis Galton regarding the influence of heredity and
environment on the development of personality. .
4.2.1 Nature versus Nurture Debate

The nature versus nurture debate basically relates to the relative importance of
an individual’s inherent traits versus the personal experiences that lead to
individual differences in physical and behavioural traits.
Some scientists are of the view that genetic predispositions or even animal
instincts are the push factors behind people’s behaviour. Others believe that the
way one behaves is directly dependent upon the manner in which the person has
been taught to behave. The former is known as the “nature” theory of human
behaviour whereas the latter is termed as the “nurture” theory of human behaviour.
Sir Francis Galton was fascinated by the idea of genetic pre-programming and
tried to uncover the predestined ways of human beings. However, many of his
experiments proved ill-conceived but yet his contribution has been vital to the
study of personality issues. The technique of finger printing and the Word
Association Test are the end products of Galton’s contribution.
It has been stated that at the time of birth the child has no specific traits except
that it functions through its reflexes. As the child grows day by day, and in the
process of socialisation it learns many things in regard to the environemtn. It is
said that the child thus at birth is in a blank state of mind or ‘tabula rasa’, and
whatever one wants to put into it, the same would be absorbed and the child’s
behaviour accordingly will change. This view which holds that “nurture” yields
all or almost all the behavioural traits in the individual child. Thus the
environment (nurture) plays a significant role in the development of the child’s
personality.
However, the fast growing understanding of the human genome has come up
with the information that both the sides are right in their own part. Whereas
nature provides us with inherent abilities and traits, nurture reshapes these genetic
tendencies and molds them with progressive learning and maturity. This view
56
point which agrees that both nature and nurture play crucial roles in human Key Issues in Personality
personality development has come to be known as interactionism.
4.2.2 The Nature Theory – Heredity

It has been demonstrated by scientists that traits such as eye color and hair color
are decided by specific genes that are embedded and encoded in each human
cell. The things have been taken a step further by the nature theory that formulates
in more recent times it has also been shown that the more abstract traits such as
intelligence, personality, aggression and sexual orientation are also encoded in
an individual’s DNA. This has led to the concept of behavioural genes which
can justify criminal acts or criminal behaviours.
Another debated issue in context of nature theory is the occurrence of “gay gene”
that points to a genetic component to sexual orientation.
If there is no role of genetics, then fraternal twins brought up under the same
environmental conditions, would be alike, even though differences exist in their
genetic make up. But, according to the studies, they closely resemble each other
as compared to non-twin brothers and sisters.
4.2.3 The Nurture Theory – Environment

The proponents of the nurture theory are of the view that genetic tendencies
ultimately do not matter. They believe that our behavioural aspects originate
only from the environmental forces in our upbringing.
American psychologist John Watson, a strong proponent of environmental

learning, demonstrated that disorders like phobia could also be explained by
classical conditioning.
Today, known as the Father of Behavioral Science, B.F. Skinner proved that
human behaviour could be conditioned in much the same way as animals.
Even if reared apart, identical twins should have been exactly the same in all
respects if environment had no role to play.
4.2.4 Twin Studies

Twin studies are an important tool in resolving the nature versus nurture argument.
Identical twins or Monozygotic twins, are siblings who have exact duplicates of
their genotypes. They best indicate that whether biological dispositions affect
traits and psychopathology in human beings.
Fraternal twins, disygotic twins share exactly half the number of genes with
each other. They are a very good basis for comparison of identical twins. Twin
studies usually rely on samples of identical and fraternal twins. Some of the
important studies on twins and related findings are presented below.
A study was conducted to determine the heritability of attitudes among twins, as

well as the genetic variables, such as intelligence, that can play a role in affecting
the attitudes among pairs of twins. The results of the study showed partial
correlation between the attitudes of the participants with their genetic factors.
Also, correlation existed between the attitudes related to self-reported perspectives
or to activities. For example, the subjects were asked to rate themselves on the
57
Personality: Theories and trait of sociability through a survey. The trait was correlated with 5 out of 6
Assessment
attitudes factors that the subjects had towards sociability.
It was also found that non-shared environment experiences between pairs are
the strongest cause of attitude variances that overshadowed genetic predispositions
as well as shared environment experiences (Olson et al., 2001). Non-shared
environment refers to a condition in which something in the environment directly
affects one twin but no impact occurs on the other at all (Van denOord, 2000).
A Swedish study was conducted to measure personality traits of extraversion

and neuroticism among the twin pairs, impulsivity trait and family environment
and socio-economic status. The findings showed that the genotypes and the
environment interaction is an important concept in twin studies as it can also be
applied to the way people with the same genotypes might respond to similar
environment.
Our particular genotype environment, labeled Type I, indicates that the

environment plays a more significant role with a genotype for low scores on a
specific personality trait. It means that individuals with low genotypes for
extraversion would also score low on extraversion. Type-II genotype that is, the
environment interaction, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite of Type-I.
4.2.5 Infant Shyness

An adoption study was conducted to uncover the reasons behind why some infants
are open and responsive to attention, some take a bit longer to open up while
some others are withdrawn. It is difficult to tell whether babies are shy because
of the environment in which they are brought up as their mothers are shy or
because they inherit the shyness traits from their mothers.
Adoptive parents were given questionnaires that asked them to rate their infants
on the measure of shyness. The results revealed that in non-adoptive families,
the parents with high shyness rates also had shy infants. One significant conclusion
revealed that those biological mothers who rated high on shyness, had their
adopted babies as also shy. This shows some evidence of the effect of a genetic
link on family environment (Daniels & Plomin, 1985).
4.2.6 Anti-social Personality Disorder

Attempts have been made to see whether children who are at risk for antisocial
personality disorder develop symptoms in an adoptive family or gets protection
against the disorder in such environment. Results have revealed that anti-social
personality disorder is more prevalent in adopted children having biological risk
factors. Results further revealed that if both the biological parents and adoptive
parents come from criminal background, there is high incidence of an element
of criminal tendencies in the offspring.
For various reasons the interpretation of the results of adoption studies is very
difficult and valid conclusions cannot be made. Genetic factors are “simulated”
when the adoptive family environment is similar to the biological environment.
4.2.7 Family Studies

However, not as valid as twin and adoption studies, but still family studies play
an important role in resolving the heredity versus environment debate. These are
58
mainly used to identify the degree of risk of developing mental disorders by Key Issues in Personality
relatives and other family members. Such studies are mainly used to determine
the risk of inheritance of mental disorders to offspring within families. These
types of studies are performed using molecular genetic studies where the DNA
from the participant’s blood samples is taken and the observed behaviour is
projected.

1) What role does heredity play in the shaping of one’s personality?
...............................................................................................................
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2) What role does environment play in the constitution of one’s personality?
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3) Discuss the nature-nurture debate in the study of personality.
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4) How do genes affect the psychopathology of behaviour?
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5) What does the genotype – environment interaction convey regarding
personality?
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59
Assessment 4.3 THE PERSON-SITUATION CONTROVERSY
The person situation debate was sparked off by a prominent book by Mischel in
1968, in which the trait approach to personality was targeted. According to
Mischel, the traits when rated, do not predict the actual behaviour. Opposed to
Mischel’s view, Epstein, in 1983, argued that although traits do not predict single
behaviour, they are good at predicting aggregates of such behaviours.
Broady and Ehrlichman (1998) devised the following hypothetical study to test
whether traits are good at predicting behaviour across not only in the same
situation, but also across different situations. For this, the following steps were
taken:
Step 1: Obtained measures of behaviour for a group of individuals in each of

twenty situations that were assumed to be relevant to the trait of conscientiousness.
Step 2: Assumed further that each individual has been observed several times in
a situation and that the measure of behaviour in a situation for each individual is
based on an aggregate index of behaviour.
Step 3: The set of situations was divided into two arbitrary groups of ten each.
Step 4: Obtained two aggregated indices of conscientiousness for each individual

by averaging the person’s score for each of the two groups of ten situations.
Step 5: Obtained a correlation between the two indices.
Step 6: Obtained an overall index of conscientiousness for each individual by

averaging the aggregated behavioural measures for each of the twenty situations
studied.
The findings showed that the person situation debate was an extended
disagreement, originally between social psychologists and personality
psychologists, on whether the “situation” or the personality traits are more
predictive of people’s behaviour.
Mischel argued that (1) literature review shows that personality traits only have
a correlation of about .30 with how people behave in a given situation, and (2)
the cross-situational consistency of behaviour is also just .20-.30. So, he concluded
that situations, rather than personality traits are better predictors of behaviour.
These arguments further generated a lot of response from personality
psychologists using trait questionnaires for several decades. Those on the side of
personality argued that the low personality-behaviour correlations do not prove
that situational variables are more valuable.
The actual relationship between personality and behaviour was found to be higher
than .40.
Personality is a stronger predictor of behaviour across all situations but not a
strong predictor of an individual’s behaviour at a specific time in a specific
situation.
Personality traits are the most useful psychological tools that predict behaviour
60
most strongly.
4.3.1 The Behavioural Consistency Controversy Key Issues in Personality
Departing from the trait approaches view that internal relatively stable forces of
personality exert a consistent effect on behaviour, another view proposes that no
consistent traits are reflected by an individual’s responses to any situation, rather
traits vary according to the situation.
Hartshorne and May (1928) conducted a classic study on honesty in children.

Children were exposed to situations where they could get a chance to behave
dishonestly and that too without getting detected. The results showed that the
children were not consistent on either of the ends (honestly or dishonesty), but
they behaved specific to the situation. It was proposed by Walter Mischel (1968,
1978) that people can learn to make quite different responses to similar stimuli
as per past reinforcements provided to them. So, before deciding a person’s
response to any specific stimuli, the perceptual and cognitive process should be
taken into account.
According to Mischel, the significance of situational variables or personality

variables should be determined while conducting research in personality. It is
basically determined by the strength and weakness of the situation. If everyone
makes the same interpretation and draws uniform expectancies to a situation
presented to them, then situational variables stand more important. On the other
hand, ambiguity in situations represents greater influence of personality variables
in behaviour.
Later on Mischel (1985) also proposed that people exhibit consistent modes of
responding, implying that consistency appears in situations where people behave
inadequately. Researchers like Magnusson and Endler (1977) also believe that
prediction of behaviour is done not only in terms of traits or situations alone,
rather some combination (interaction) of the two must be attended and referred
to. Various theories are now being developed that follow the interactionist
approach.
4.4 INTERACTIONIST APPROACH TO

SITUATION VS. PERSON DEBATE
If one formulates that traits and situations interact to influence behaviour, then
the formula for this could be as given below:
Behavior = personality × appraisal of the situation.
It is an important fact that individual differences exist in personality-situation
relationship. High self monitors try to adapt more to the situation and thus, display
less consistency across situations in their behaviour.
Thus one may state that some individuals show more consistent behaviour and
that traits do not influence behaviour consistently and emerge only in some
situations. Another aspect is that whatever people do, it exhibits their traits. e.g.
choice of careers, choice of lifestyle etc.
Almost all researches have demonstrated that personality traits exist and are
predictive of behaviour. Some research has shown the correlation between
situations and behavioural outcomes to be ranging from 0.36 to 0.42 which is
61
Personality: Theories and almost identical to predictive power of personality traits. How far situations
Assessment
determine behaviour even against one’s value system is an important issue here.
In this context, one of the studies was on the obedience factor carried out by
Stanley Milgram in which he used fake electric shock to study how people react
when they cause harm to others. Given in the box below is the experiment:
The psychologist Stanley Milgram created an electric ‘shock generator’ with
30 switches. The switch was marked clearly in 15 volt increments, ranging
from 15 to 450 volts.
He also placed labels indicating the shock level, such as ‘Moderate’ (75-
120 Volts) and ‘Strong’ (135-180 Volts). The switches 375-420 Volts were
marked ‘Danger: Severe Shock’ and the two highest levels 435-450, was
marked ‘XXX’.
The ‘shock generator’ was in fact phony and would only produce sound
when the switches were pressed.
40 subjects participated all males. They thought they were going to participate
in an experiment about ‘memory and learning’. Next, the subject met an
‘experimenter’, the person leading the experiment, and another person told
to be another subject. The other subject was in fact a
confederate(experimenter’s man) acting as a subject. He was a 47 year old
male accountant.
The two subjects (the real subject and the confederate subject) drew slips of
paper to indicate who was going to be a ‘teacher’ and who was going to be
a ‘learner’. The lottery was in fact a set-up, and the real subject would always
get the role of ‘the teacher’.
The teacher saw that the learner was strapped to a chair and electrodes were
attached. The subject was then seated in another room in front of the shock
generator, unable to see the learner.
The Stanley Milgram Experiment aimed at getting an answer to the question:
“For how long will someone continue to give shocks to another person if
they are told to do so, even if they thought they could be seriously hurt?”
(the dependent variable)
Remember that they had met the other person, a likable stranger, and that
they thought that it could very well be them who were in the learner-position
receiving shocks.
The subject was instructed to teach word-pairs to the learner. When the
learner made a mistake, the subject was instructed to punish the learner by
giving him a shock, 15 volts higher for each mistake.
The learner never received the shocks, but pre-taped audio was triggered
when a shock-switch was pressed.
If the experimenter, seated in the same room, was contacted, the experimenter
would answer with predefined ‘prods’ (“Please continue”, “Please go on”,
“The experiment requires that you go on”, “It is absolutely essential that
you continue”, “You have no other choice, you must go on”), starting with
the mild prods, and making it more authoritarian for each time the subject
contacted the experimenter.
62
Key Issues in Personality
If the subject asked who was responsible if anything would happen to the
learner, the experimenter answered “I am responsible”. This gave the subject
a relief and many continued.
During the Stanley Milgram Experiment, many subjects showed signs of
tension. 3 subjects had “full-blown, uncontrollable seizures”.
Although most subjects were uncomfortable doing it, all 40 subjects obeyed
up to 300 volts.
25 of the 40 subjects continued to complete to give shocks until the maximum
level of 375 volts was reached.
Before the Stanley Milgram Experiment, experts thought that about 1-3 %
of the subjects would not stop giving shocks. They thought that you’d have
to be pathological or a psychopath to do so.
Still, 65 % never stopped giving shocks. None stopped when the learner
said he had heart-trouble. How could that be?
We now believe that it has to do with our almost innate behaviour that
we should do as told, especially from authority persons.
Source: http://www.experiment-resources.com/stanley-milgram-experiment.
html#ixzz13wADcJx9
However, the end of the debate was not completely one sided. It has also been
argued that trait psychologists could still not explain why behaviour has low
consistency over short periods, remaining at 0.30 ranges. On the other hand,
situations could also no longer take a stand that traits are not as important as
situations. This state of affairs made out a resolution that changed the conceptions
of psychologists of both traits and situations.
Regarding traits, psychologists learned that they do not have cross cultural
consistency for individual behaviours, but over time, they create consistency for
wide behaviour distributions. For situations, psychologists learned that situations
are not the only thing that matters.
On the basis of these formulations, a new definition of personality can be framed
which states that personality is one’s pattern of behavioural stability and change
due to the unique combination of having certain traits and being in certain
situations. Therefore, the current requirement in the area of personality is to
understand which of the person and situation forces account for patterns of stability
and change in behaviour.
The person-situation debate was a challenging task yet ultimately constructive
argument for personality psychology (Fleeson, 2004). By forcing psychologists
to think carefully about the links between behaviour, personality and situations,
the person-situation debate acted as a catalyst for a deeper appreciation of the
importance of personality and for a more sophisticated understanding of why
people do what they do.
4.5 NOMOTHETIC APPROACH VERSUS

IDIOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO PERSONALITY
Personality related psychological research and studies are grouped in three main
groups, viz., (i) nomothetic, (ii) idiographic and (iii) complementary approaches
to personality. 63
Personality: Theories and 4.5.1 Nomothetic Approach
Assessment
Nomethetic approaches are based on the tendency to see one’s personality as
constant, hereditary and resistant to change, whereas the influence of the
environment is minimal. This way, nomothetic approaches state that the way in
which a person will act under certain circumstances can be calculated and
anticipated, foreseen. Gordon Allport (1934) identified this approach to
personality testing. The nomothetic approach relies on quantitative research
methods such as self report and questionnaires to establish universal behaviours.
He understood that scientific progress for trait psychology was rooted in a
nomothetic approach.
Thus, nomothetically derived traits were employed by Allport to describe people.

Allport (1937, 1961) employed traits as the primary basis which can be used to
describe people. Accordingly, he descriebd a trait as a “neuropsychic structure
that possesses the capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent. Allport
also assumed that traits are real. He formulated that traits are distinct and particular
to each person and their assessment shall be done uniquely.
4.5.2 Idiographic Approach

Allport also promoted another approach named as idiographic approach to the
study of personality. Here every individual is regarded as a combined system
that can be independently analysed scientifically. It means that each individual is
examined deeply and no general laws are considered important that are beyond
the individual to be studied.
Under the idiographic process, he believed that a person’s traits can be put into
various compartments according to their pervasiveness in an individual’s
personality. The most pervasive traits were referred to as “cardinal” dispositions
by Allport. If present, cardinal traits dominate the behaviour of an individual
aggressiveness, calmness etc. may be taken as examples. Another set of traits,
known as “central dispositions” comprise those that are pervasive for a given
individual. For example, the traits talked about while writing a letter of
recommendation. More situational specific traits are termed as “Secondary
dispositions”. Allport argued that each person possesses a unique pattern of
cardinal, central and secondary traits and to understand a person, the unique-
pattern examination is required.
Thus, the above discussion explains that the differences between a nomothetic
and an idiographic approach is not just a question of discovering on the part of
the psychologist, but also the methods employed are considered useful.
The nomothetic point of view has experiments, correlation, psychometric testing

and other quantitative methods as its examples. On the other hand, the idiographic
methods include case studies, informal interviews, unstructured observation and
other qualitative methods.
1) What is the person-situation controversy?
...............................................................................................................
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64
Key Issues in Personality
2) What- the person or the environment exert more influence in structuring
a person’s personality?
...............................................................................................................
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...............................................................................................................
3) How does the interactionist approach handle the person-situation debate?
...............................................................................................................
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...............................................................................................................
4) Discuss the nomothetic view to personality.
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5) Discuss the idiographic view to personality.
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4.6 CROSS CULTURAL ISSUES

Personality and culture are interwoven and still their relationship cannot be
comprehended well. But it is also true that the culture of an individual is not the
sole determiner of an individual’s personality. The framework of individualism
versus collectivism can be utilised to observe this as it predisposes individualism
or collectivism. It is one of basic differences that have been described in varying
national cultures. Factors such as personal achievement, egalitarian relationships,
role flexibility team and familial connections etc. are used to describe personality
traits and differences between individuals of various cultures (Hofstede, 2001).
However, it is not possible to attribute all the factors under individualism-
collectivism web only to the cultural influence. The framework of individualism
65
Personality: Theories and collectivism is mainly used to describe personality characteristics traits and habits
Assessment
generating from within cultures where certain individualist or collectivist traits
occur.
An element of doubt gets raised up while applying the principles of this framework
in personality perception of an individual as it may lead to stereotyping and
misinterpreting of an individual’s personality and his characteristic of behaviour.
The individualism famework can be of more use in describing cultural tendencies
as a whole rather than describing individual characteristics and traits. However,
this does not imply that the individualism collectivism paradigm is naïve and
can be excluded in studying the domain of personality. It can be easily inferred
from the above discussion that the interplay between personality and culture is
quite complex. It is also clear that even in adulthood, personality can be affected
by cultural expectations. Simultaneously, this is also to be acknowledged that
this individualism -collectivism orientation is not the only determining factor of
personality.
4.7 PERSONALITY TRAITS AND FIVE FACTOR

MODEL
As defined by McCrae & Costa in 1990, “Personality traits are the dimensions
of individual differences in tendencies to show consistent patterns of thoughts
feelings and actions.” Psychologists working in the area of personality like
Raymond Cattell, Eysenck have noted that organisation of traits can be done in
much smaller clusters of similar trait rather than studying each of the 4,000 traits
as identified by Allport and Odbert. Thus, a parsimonious structure of traits can
help a great deal in personality research.
Ending the decades long dispute about the mot suitable personality structure, the
Five Factor Model developed by McCrae & John, 1992 came up with five factors
or dimensions viz. Neuroticism (N),Extroversion (E), Openness to Experience
(O), Agreeableness (A) and conscientiousness (C). Individuals high in neuroticism
are likely to be anxious, irritable and low at emotional end and those low in
neuroticism are calm and emotionally stable. Extroverts are sociable, cheerful
and outgoing; introverts are shy and sober. Open men and women are curious
whereas closed people are run by conventions. Agreeable people are
compassionate, modest whereas conscientious are mainly driven by punctuality
and purposefulness.
Originally, the five factor model was discovered by analysing the English language
trait names and individuals standing on each of the five factors could be measured
by asking them to rate themselves on a series of adjectives (Goldeberg, 1992).
The most widely used measure of the Five Factor Model is the Revised NEO
Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R, Costa & McCrae, 1992). It assesses 30 specific
traits, six for each of the five factors.
4.7.1 The Five Factor Model Across Cultures

Personality factors in trait adjectives from different languages have been examined
with lexical studies and mixed results have surfaced from these studies which
show that E, A and C factors almost always appear but N and O disappear from
the picture sometimes. It is not clear whether these factors are not there in the
66
culture itself or are missing from the set of adjectives studied.
Thus, great caution should be used while comparing the personality scores across Key Issues in Personality
cultures. Personality traits are expressed differently in different cultures and a
single set of questionnaire items does not suffice in every culture.

1) Discuss the cross- cultural issue in personality.
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2) What does the Five- Factor Model propose regarding personality?
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3) Discuss the characteristic issue underlying Five- Factor Model across
cultures.
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4.8 ISSUES RELATING TO THEORETICAL

MODELS
For the understanding and explanation of personality, various theoretical models
have been proposed. The different models have explained personality with respect
to their theoretical propositions e.g. the Psychoanalytic theory explains personality
taking intra-psychic and conscious-unconscious mind into account whereas the
Behaviorist model totally rejects this approach and emphasises the role of learning
and environment in the shaping and development of personality. The Humanistic
Model takes a different approach. It is true that every model seems to be correct
from its own perspective but when we consider the other models, many of their
features become redundant, irrelevant and may be invalid. Therefore, one, who
is interested in understanding the phenomenon of personality by going through
various theoretical accounts, may not be able to have a clear view of the personality
as construct. Therefore, there is a need of an eclectic model which incorporates
the features of various models into it and aids in shaping of personality.
67
Personality: Theories and Some other issues in personality that need to be attended to at length are:
Assessment
1) Free will vs determinism. Means that whether our behaviour is directed by
freedom intrinsic to our nature or by the ultimately determined forces.
2) Uniqueness vs Universality. Implies that whether each person is unique in
his own existence or is driven by some universal behaviour patterns.
3) Physiological vs purposive motivation. Some researchers assume that we
are pushed by basic physiological needs like food, water etc. while others
are of the view that we are pulled by our purpose, goals, values, principles
etc.
4) Conscious vs Unconscious motivation. Some researchers believe that our
behaviour and experience are determined by conscious forces whereas others
say that we are not aware of the forces driving our behaviour, i.e. the
unconscious element.
5) Stage vs Non-stage theories of development. It is an extension of the nature
nurture issue that whether or not we all pass through predetermined stages
of development like fetal, childhood, puberty, adulthood, senescence-
controlled basically by genetics.
6) Cultural determinism vs Cultural transcendence. To what extent our
personality is molded by our cultures is the issue here. If not determined by
culture, our transcendence is some other kind of determinism.
7) Early Vs Late Personality Formation. This issue deals with if our personality
characteristics are established in early childhood or it is quite flexible in
adulthood. This question relates to the issues of genetics, external
determination etc. Here, the major limitation resolution is the confusion in
defining personality characteristics.
8) Optimism Vs Pessimism. Whether humans are basically good or bad is the
central issue here. The attitude determines what we see when we look at
humanity.
4.9 LET US SUM UP

To sum up, it can be said that the issues in personality consider classic and more
recent issues that are fundamental to the field of personality psychology. However,
various theorists have contributed to our understanding of personality but their
varying view points have led to various controversies that are still posing a
challenge to the area of personality. These issues need a timely resolution so that
the research in personality could be more refined and stable and the core areas
could be dealt with more precision and flawlessly.

1) Discuss the Nature- Nurture debate in the study of personality.
2) Discuss with examples what role does the environment play in molding an
individual’s personality.
3) What does the person-situation controversy depict about personality structure
of a person?
68
4) “The interactionist approach gives a mid-way to person- situation Key Issues in Personality
controversy” . Discuss.
5) “The cross-cultural issue in personality is difficult to be resolved” . Why?
6) What are the theoretical and methodological flaws in personality research?
7) What does the nomothetic versus idiographic debate in personality present?
8) What role can the Five- Factor Model play in resolving the Theoretical
controversy in personality research?
4.11 GLOSSARY
Idiographic approach : The psychological study of the single case/
individual.
Genes : The essential elements in the transmission
of hereditary characteristics.
Nature : The genetic factors contributing to behaviour
and perception.
Nature vs Nurture : The argument concerning the relative roles
controversy of the contributions of nature and nurture in
the development of organisms.
Nomothetic approach : Attempts to discover personality principles
that apply to people in general.
Nurture : Environmental factors contributing to
behaviour and perception.
Personality : The various enduring and distinctive patterns
of behaviour and thought that are
characteristic of a particular person.

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Psychodynamic Theory
UNIT 1 PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY (Including Horney and
Sullivan)
(INCLUDING HORNEY AND
SULLIVAN)
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
1.2.1 Structure of Personality
1.2.2 Topographical Model (State of Consciousness)
1.3 Dynamic or Structural Model
1.3.1 Dynamics of Personality
1.3.1.1 Defense Mechanisms
1.3.2 Development of Personality
1.3.3 Evaluation of Freud’s Theory
1.4 Karen Horney: Social Foundation of Personality
1.4.1 Basic Anxiety
1.4.2 Neurotic Needs
1.4.3 Theory of the Self
1.4.4 Evaluation
1.5 Sullivan’s Theory of Personality
1.5.2 Enduring Aspects of Personality
1.5.2.1 Dynamism
1.5.2.2 Self-system
1.5.2.3 Personifications
1.5.2.4 Developmental Epochs
1.5.2.5 Evaluation
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Glossary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The psychodynamic perspective includes all the theories in psychology that see
human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within the
person, particularly the unconscious factors and the interaction amongst the
different structures of personality. Freud’s psychoanalysis was the original
psychodynamic theory, but the psychodynamic approach as a whole includes all
theories that were based on his ideas, but modified by Jung, Adler, Erikson,
Karen Horney, Erich Fromm and Sullivan.
In this unit we will be dealing three important psychodynamic theories of
personality. We will, first, deal with psychoanalysis theory of Freud. Following
this we will highlight the main features of Karen Horney’s theory of personality,
and after that we will discuss the theory of personality proposed by Sullivan. 5
Theories of Personality-I
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define and describe psychoanalytic theory of personality;
• Explain the state of consciousness;
• Analyse the structure of personality;
• Explain the use of defence mechanism;
• Describe the stages of psychosexual development;
• Delineate Karen Horney’s theory of personality;
• Explain the importance and types of neurotic need;
• Describe Sullivan’s theory of personality; and
• Analyse the developmental epochs proposed by Sullivan.
1.2 SIGMUND FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC

THEORY
There are certain assumptions that make the distinction between psychodynamic
theories and other theories of personality. We may summarize these assumptions
in the following way:
Our behaviour and feelings are powerfully affected by unconscious motives.
Our behaviour and feelings as adults (including psychological problems) are
rooted in our childhood experiences.
All behaviour has a cause (usually unconscious), even slips of the tongue.
Therefore all behaviour is determined.
Personality is made up of three parts (i.e. tripartite), the id, ego and super-ego.
Behaviour is motivated by two instinctual drives: Eros (the sex drive & life
instinct) and
Thanatos (the aggressive drive & death instinct). Both these drives come from
the “id”.
Parts of the unconscious mind (the id and superego) are in constant conflict with
the conscious part of the mind (the ego).
Personality is shaped as the drives are modified by different conflicts at different
times in childhood (during psychosexual development).
The words ‘psychodynamic’ and ‘psychoanalytic’ are often confused. It should

be remembered that Freud’s theory is psychoanalytic, whereas the term
‘psychodynamic’ refers to both his theory and those of his followers. Freud’s
psychoanalysis is both a theory and a therapy.
Sigmund Freud (writing between the 1890s and the 1930s) developed a collection
of theories which have formed the basis of the psychodynamic approach to
psychology. After receiving the M.D. degree Freud started private practice. He
6
specialised in the treatment of emotional problems, and he began to use a number Psychodynamic Theory
(Including Horney and
of newly developed techniques, such as hypnosis, dream analysis and free- Sullivan)
association. Working with Viennese physician, Joseph Breuer, who had his
patients simply talk about their problems. Freud saw that such conversations
between physician and patient were often helpful in getting rid of certain
symptoms, for example, a woman with a paralysed arm was able to use it again,
and a young boy who was no longer overwhelmed by irrational fears.
Working with people suffering from mental problems, Freud became deeply
interested not only providing a cure for a series of patients but also in seeking to
understand how their symptoms came to be, and why talking procedure produced
changed. Freud was convinced that behaviour was not a matter of chance but
everything a person said or did or thought was determined by some identifiable
cause. Further, it was clear to him that individuals were not often aware of the
reasons for particular behaviour; that is, the causes were unconscious. Freud’s
task, then, was to discover the cause in order to bring it into the conscious.
Beyond this, he was also working on a more ambitious task, that of building a
theory of personality to explain the working of human mind. Now we will describe
important concepts of his theory.
Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory is described in the following three main headings:
• Structure of personality
• Dynamics of personality
• Development of personality
Now we will discuss these three in some detail.
1.2.1 Structure of Personality

In order to describe the structure of personality the following two models have
been developed by Freud:
Topographical model
Dynamic or Structural model
1.2.2 Topographical Model (State of Consciousness)

Freud’s topographical model represents his configuration of the mind. From his
work, Freud concluded that mental functioning could be described in terms of
three states of consciousness. First and most obvious, is the conscious state.
This includes whatever one is thinking about at the moment. For example, you
are consciously reading these pages, comprehending the words. In other words,
conscious state is related to the immediate experiences. As a result conscious
state represents the short and limited aspect of personality
Second is the subconscious or preconscious state, which referred to all of the

stored memories which are not part of our current thoughts but which can be
brought into consciousness. For example what you have taken in your breakfast
today? Even though you were probably not aware about the breakfast menu
before the question was asked, but it is now in your consciousness. The desires,
wishes, thoughts and feelings which are not conscious at present but could be
recalled after making some efforts are stored in it.
7
Theories of Personality-I The third is the state of unconscious, containing all of the memories and desires
and elements of which we are unaware. According to Freud, some of this material
was never conscious, but much of it consists of material which caused so much
anxiety that it was thrust out of consciousness and repressed.
Presumably, some of our hostile feelings, sexual craving, and most desperate
fears are so threatening that we must repress them, keeping them under lock and
key in the recesses of the unconscious. This material sometimes reaches the
conscious in bits and pieces. Freud felt that this part of the mind was not directly
accessible to awareness.
In part, he saw it as a dump box for urges, feelings and ideas that are tied to
anxiety, conflict and pain. These feelings and thoughts have not disappeared and
according to Freud, they are there, exerting influence on our actions and our
conscious awareness. Material passes easily back and forth between the conscious
and the preconscious. Material from these two areas can slip into the unconscious.
Truly unconscious material can not be made available voluntarily, and we need
a psychoanalyst to bring out the materials from the unconscious to the conscious
realm.
We can use the metaphor of an iceberg to help us in understanding Freud’s

topographical model.
Only 10% of an iceberg is visible (conscious) whereas the other 90% is beneath
the water (preconscious and unconscious).
The Preconscious is allotted approximately 10% -15% whereas the Unconscious

is allotted an overwhelming 75%-80%.
1.3 DYNAMIC OR STRUCTURAL MODEL

In terms of the above three states of consciousness Freud attempted to explain a
great deal of mental functioning, but later he found it useful to describe a kind of
mental map involving three regions or types of mental activity. These three regions
are termed as id, ego and superego. These regions are the site of constant battles
in which there are conflicts amongst (i) what we desire, (ii) what can be
realistically obtained, and (iii) what our moral code tells us is right or wrong.
These are presented in the following paragraphs.
Id: The primary region is id. Freud proposed that the id is present at birth and is
totally unconscious. It is that part of personality that deals with immediate
gratification of primitive needs, sexual desires and aggressive impulses. It is
governed by the pleasure principle. It demands the satisfaction of desires without
regard for what is possible or what the consequences might be.
Ego: The second region is the ego. Since the id has no concern with the demands
of reality or logic, so without additional mental development we could not survive.
In response to early frustration, however we begin to learn something about the
limitations imposed by the real world, and we find that our wishes may not
always be immediately fulfilled. This coming to grips with reality was described
Freud as the development of ego., which involves perception, reasoning, learning,
and all other activities necessary to interact effectively with the world around us.
8
Thus ego develops out of id. It works on reality principle. It tries to maximise Psychodynamic Theory
pleasure and minimise the pain. Sullivan)
Superego: The third region is called the superego. It ordinarily develops as

children are exposed to the moral values of their parents. In this setting, the child
accepts and internalises (1) the parental views of ideal behaviour and (2) their
moral values as to what is right and wrong. These two aspects of superego are
known as ego-ideal and conscience. Like the ego, the superego spans all three
levels of consciousness. While most of us are able to verbalise our ideals and our
moral system, it is also true that we are not always aware of the reasons for our
strong emotional reactions on such issues. Thus superego deals with the ideals.
It represents the societal demands and ideals. It is also responsible for creating
the feeling of guilt and punishes the person for if he or she falls short of the
societal norms and ideals.

According to Freud human organism is a complex system in which relies on
both physiological energy as well as psychic energy. Physical energy is used in
physical activities like running, writing, respiration etc. whereas psychic energy
is used in psychological work such as planning, thinking, feeling, and
remembering.
According to Freud id is the contact point of these two types of energies. Related
to these energies Freud developed some concepts which explain the dynamic
aspects of personality like instinct, anxiety and mental mechanisms.
Freud states that the instincts are the ultimate cause of all behaviour. The two
basic instincts are Eros (love) and the Thanatos (destructive or death instinct).
The purpose of Eros is to establish and preserve unity through relationships. On
the other hand, the purpose of the death instinct is to undo connections and
unity. The two instincts can either operate against each other through repulsion
or combine with each other through attraction. Libido is the main source of
psychic energy and is thought to come from these two main instincts: Eros ( the
life and sexual instincts) and Thanatos (death instinct).
1.3.1.1 Defense Mechanisms

Anxiety comes from realistic sources in the external world and conflict within
one’s own mind. A common conflict is when the id desires something that ego
and/or superego do not agree with. An important function of the ego is to operate
defense mechanisms. Psychological defenses are the way we deal with anxiety.
Some of the important defence mechanisms are given below:
Denial: Denies source of anxiety exists (I did not fail my exam, it must be a
mistake). Denial often shows up in daydreams and fantasies. Daydreaming about
how things might have been is a common way we cope with anxiety by denying
that things happened the way they did.
Repression: Banishing the memory: banishing old, bad memories, or even current
things. (For example, you might fancy fondling the leg of the person next to you
and this could cause you anxiety so you repress the desire!).
9
Theories of Personality-I Regression: Moving back to an earlier stage (when highly stressed, we abandon
adult coping strategies and move back to the stage at which we are fixated, that
is, if you are stressed and if you are a oral personality, you may take to smoking.
Anal character may become even more compulsive and obstinate than usual.
Reaction formation: Doing or thinking the opposite (woman who is angry with
boss goes out of her way to be kind and courteous). One of the hallmarks of
reaction formation is excessive behaviour.
Projection: Ascribing unwanted impulse to someone else (the unfaithful husband

who is extremely jealous of his wife, always suspecting she might be unfaithful).
Rationalisation: Finding a rational explanation for something you have done

wrong. (You did not fail the exam because you did not study hard enough but
because the examiner set bad questions). Your boyfriend/girlfriend breaks up
with you and you rationalise that you never really liked him/her that much anyway.
Intellectualisation: Turn the feeling into a thought. The person who finds his/her
partner has cancer, deals with it by becoming an absolute expert on cancer and
focuses on the disease intellectually rather than dealing with the emotions.
Displacement: Moving an impulse from one object (target) to another (angry

with boss: go home and yell at your partner or kick the dog).
Sublimation: Transforming impulses into something constructive (Freud saw

this as the most adaptive of the defense mechanisms: go out and chop wood
when you are angry). Freud believed that the greatest achievements in civilisation
were due to the effective sublimation of sexual and aggressive urges.
1.3.2 Development of Personality

Freud described human development as passing through a series of stages based
on the different ways we obtain bodily pleasure at different stages. Freud’s Stages
of Psychosexual Development are, like other stage theories, completed in a
predetermined sequence and can result in either successful completion of a healthy
personality or can result in failure, leading to an unhealthy personality. This
theory is probably the best known as well as the most controversial; as Freud
believed that we develop through stages based upon a particular erogenous zone.
During each stage, an unsuccessful completion means that a child becomes fixated
on that particular erogenous zone and either over indulges or under indulges
once he or she becomes an adult. Adult personality characteristics are determined
by what happens to us during each stage and how successful we are in getting
through that period.
It is possible to get “stuck” at a particular stage and not progress beyond that
point, a process Freud termed as fixation. It is also possible, when things go
badly at a later stage, to retreat or go back to an earlier stage of development
which Freud termed as regression. A brief discussion of theses psychosexual
stages is given below:
Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months):

This is the first stage of psychosexual development. Newborn babies are initially
10 limited to sucking and drinking. Their sexual instinctual drive is therefore focused
around the mouth, initially in passive sucking and chewing. During this stage, Psychodynamic Theory
the child is focused on oral pleasures (sucking). Too much or too little gratification Sullivan)
can result in an Oral Fixation or Oral Personality, which is evidenced by a
preoccupation with oral activities. This type of personality may have a stronger
tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or her nails. Personality
wise, these individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and
perpetual followers. On the other hand, they may also fight these urges and develop
pessimism and aggression toward others.
Anal Stage (18 months to three years):

The anal stage, which occurs in toddlers, is subdivided into two phases, the
expelling period, in which the child derives pleasure in expelling feces, and the
retentive period, in which they derive pleasure from storing it. The anal stage
coincides with toilet training in the child, and is marked by ‘conflicts with parents
about compliance and defiance. Thus the child’s focus of pleasure in this stage is
on eliminating and retaining feces. Through society’s pressure, mainly via parents,
the child has to learn to control anal stimulation. In terms of personality, the after
effects of an anal fixation during this stage can result in an obsession with
cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal retentive). On the opposite end of the
spectrum, they may become messy and disorganised (anal expulsive).
Phallic Stage (ages three to six):

The phallic stage is one of the most significant in the Freudian model. The pleasure
zone switches to the genitals. Children obtain pleasure from stimulating their
genitals and begin to discriminate between the sex roles of their parents. Initially,
a child in the phallic stage will identify with the parent of the opposite sex in
what is known as the Oedipus complex. Briefly, the Oedipus complex posits that
the child’s urges, seek an external object. The inevitable object is the child’s
mother.
The Oedipal phase of the phallic stage also gives way to one in which identification
with the same-sex parent occurs. Such identification helps to form perception of
gender roles and personality. Freud believed that during this stage boys develop
unconscious sexual desires for their mother. Because of this, the boy considers
the father as a competitor to mother’s affection. Later it was added that girls go
through a similar situation, developing unconscious sexual attraction to their
father. Although Freud Strongly disagreed with this, it has been termed the Electra
Complex by more recent psychoanalysts.
According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition
of his father, boys eventually decide to identify with their father rather than fight
him. By identifying with the father, the boy develops masculine characteristics
and identifies himself as a male, and represses his sexual feelings toward his
mother. A fixation at this stage could result in sexual deviancies (both
overindulging and avoidance) and weak or confused sexual identity according
to psychoanalysts.
Latency Stage (age six to puberty):

The latency stage occurs before the onset of puberty and is marked by the
dormancy of the libido. Sexual and aggressive drives are channeled into more
socially acceptable substitutes. During this stage the sexual urges remain repressed
and children interact and play mostly with same sex peers. 11
Theories of Personality-I Genital Stage (puberty on): The final stage of psychosexual development begins
at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. Through the
lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges
onto opposite sex peers. The primary focus of pleasure is the genital.
1.3.3 Evaluation of Freud’s Theory

There are some merits as well as limitations of Freud’s theory. Some of its merits
are given below:
Merits:
• It is a complete theory of personality and explains behaviour.
• It emphasises the role of the unconscious and early childhood experiences.
• It emphasises dynamic nature of behaviour.
• It emphasises defense mechanisms of ego and stimulated further theoretical/
research work in personality.
• It resulted in a serious interest in psychological treatment of mental disorders.
Demerits
However there are some limitations of this theory. The limitations of Freud’s
theory can be grouped into three general categories.
i) Critics contend that Freud’s theory is lacking in empirical evidence and relies
too heavily on therapeutic achievements, whereas others assert that even
Freud’s clinical data are flawed, inaccurate, and selective at best.
ii) The actual method or techniques involved in psychoanalysis, such as Freud’s
ideas on the interpretation of dreams and the role of free association, have
been criticized.
iii) Some critics assert that psychoanalysis is simply not a science and many of
the principles upon which it is based are inaccurate.
iv) Some of the concepts of the theory seem poorly designed. For example take
the concept of ‘psychic energy’. What is it? What units is it measured in?
v) There is lack of scientific proof in the theory.
vi) Role of environment is overlooked in formulating the theory.
vii) Over-emphasis on sexual drive is given in the theory.
viii)The theory pessimistic psychic determinism - is there no free will?
1) Discuss the salient features of Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis.
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12
2) Explain the structure of personality in the light of Freudian psychoanalytic (Including Horney and
theory. Sullivan)
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3) Describe importance of psychosexual development in shaping the adult
personality.
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4) What do you mean by defense mechanisms? Give appropriate examples.
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1.4 KAREN HORNEY: SOCIAL FOUNDATION OF

PERSONALITY
Karen Horney was born on 16 September 1885 in Hamburg, Germany. Horney’s
career began at the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Berlin, where she taught from
1920 to 1932. Karl Abraham worked with her and regarded her as one of his
most gifted analysts. Karen’s first American job was as the Associate Director of
the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, a position she held for two years. The
family eventually settled in what was then thought of as the intellectual capital
of the world, Brooklyn. There, Karen became colleagues with distinguished
men as Erich Fromm and Harry Stack Sullivan. She also had the opportunity to
develop her own theories on neurosis, based on her experiences as a
psychotherapist.
In addition, she taught at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. By 1941, Horney
established and became Dean of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, a
training institute for those interested in her own Association for the Advancement
of Psychoanalysis, a program that resulted from her dissatisfaction with the
orthodox approach to psychoanalysis; the negativity surrounding her for deviating
from Freud had forced her to resign. She also founded the American Journal of 13
Theories of Personality-I Psychoanalysis. Shortly after, she began teaching at the New York Medical
College. Karen practiced, taught, and wrote up until her death in 1952.
Horney often criticized the work of Sigmund Freud. For instance, she opposed
Freud’s notion of penis envy, claiming that what Freud was really detecting was
women’s justified envy of men’s power in the world. While penis envy might
occur occasionally in neurotic women, she said, womb envy occurs just as much
in men. Horney felt that men were envious of a woman’s ability to bear children.
The degree to which men are driven to succeed and to have their names live on,
she said, is mere compensation for their inability to more directly extend
themselves into the future by means of carrying, nurturing, and bearing children.
She did not understand why psychologists found the need to place much emphasis
on men’s sexual apparatus. Furthermore, Horney desexualised Freud’s oedipal
complex, claiming that the clinging to one parent and jealousy of the other was
simply the result of anxiety caused by a disturbance in the parent-child
relationship. Horney was also a pioneer in the discipline of feminine psychiatry.
As one of the first female psychiatrists, she was the first of her gender to present
a paper regarding feminine psychiatry. The fourteen papers she wrote between
1922 and 1937 were amalgamated into a single volume titled Feminine
Psychology.
In her personality theory, Horney reformulated Freudian thought and presented a

holistic, humanistic perspective that emphasised cultural and social influences,
human growth, and the achievement of self-actualisation.
Horney’s theory can be explained under the following three main headings:
• Basic Anxiety
• Neurotic Needs
• Measures to cope with anxiety
1.4.1 Basic Anxiety

Basic anxiety is an important theoretical concept in the Horney’s theory of
personality. Horney stated that children experience anxiety, helplessness. Without
proper guidance to help children learn to cope with the threats imposed by the
nature and society, they may develop the basic anxiety. According to Horney
basic anxiety refers to the feeling a child has of being isolated and helpless in a
potentially hostile world. A wide variety of adverse factors in the environment
can produce this insecurity in a child.
Horney also listed the adverse factors of the environment that cause basic anxiety.
These factors are: direct or indirect domination, erratic behaviour, lack of respect
for child’s individual needs, lack of real guidance, disparaging attitudes, too
much admiration or absence of it, lack of reliable warmth, having to take sides
in parental disagreements, too much or too little responsibility, overprotection,
isolation from other children, injustice, discrimination, unkept promise, hostile
atmosphere.
All these adverse factors are termed by Horney as basic evil. When a child
experiences the basic evil it naturally provokes resentment or basic hostility.
This in turn produces a dilemma or conflict for the child, because expressing the
hostility would risk punishment and withdrawal of parental love. Thus the child
14
faces a conflicting situation between the resentment and love. This situation is Psychodynamic Theory
similar to Freudian conflict between instinctual impulse and internalised Sullivan)
prohibition.
1.4.2 Neurotic Needs

From her clinical experience, Horney discerned ten particular patterns of neurotic
needs. They are based on things that we all need, but they have become distorted
in several ways by the difficulties of some people’s lives:
Let’s take the first need, for affection and approval, as an example. We all need
affection, so what makes such a need neurotic? First, the need is unrealistic,
unreasonable, and indiscriminate. For example, we all need affection, but we
don’t expect it from everyone we meet. We don’t expect great outpourings of
affection from even our close friends and relations. We don’t expect our loved
ones to show affection at all times, in all circumstances and, we realise that there
may be times in our lives where we have to be self-sufficient.
Second, the neurotic’s need is much more intense, and he or she will experience
great anxiety if the need is not met, or if it even appears that it may not be met in
the future. It is this, of course, that leads to the unrealistic nature of the need.
Affection, to continue the example, has to be shown clearly at all times, in all
circumstances, by all people, or the panic sets in. The neurotic has made the
need too central to their existence.
The neurotic needs are as follows:
1) The neurotic need for affection and approval, the indiscriminate need to
please others and be liked by them.
2) The neurotic need for a partner, for someone who will take over one’s life.
This includes the idea that love will solve all of one’s problems. Again, we
all would like a partner to share life with, but the neurotic goes a step or two
too far.
3) The neurotic need to restrict one’s life to narrow borders, to be undemanding,
satisfied with little, to be inconspicuous. Even this has its normal counterpart.
Who hasn’t felt the need to simplify life when it gets too stressful, to join a
monastic order, disappear into routine, or to return to the womb?
4) The neurotic need for power, for control over others, for a facade of
omnipotence. We all seek strength, but the neurotic may be desperate for it.
This is dominance for its own sake, often accompanied by contempt for the
weak and a strong belief in one’s own rational powers.
5) The neurotic need to exploit others and get the better of them. In the ordinary
person, this might be the need to have an effect, to have impact, to be heard.
In the neurotic, it can become manipulation and the belief that people are
there to be used. It may also involve a fear of being used, of looking stupid.
You may have noticed that the people who love practical jokes more often
than not cannot take being the butt of such a joke themselves!
6) The neurotic need for social recognition or prestige. We are social creatures,
and sexual ones, and like to be appreciated. But these people are
overwhelmingly concerned with appearances and popularity. They fear being
ignored, be thought plain, “uncool,” or “out of it.”
15
Theories of Personality-I 7) The neurotic need for personal admiration. We need to be admired for inner
qualities as well as outer ones. We need to feel important and valued. But
some people are more desperate, and need to remind everyone of their
importance — “Nobody recognises genius,” “I’m the real power behind the
scenes, you know,” and so on. Their fear is of being thought nobodies,
unimportant and meaningless.
8) The neurotic need for personal achievement. Again, there is nothing
intrinsically wrong with achievement — far from it! But some people are
obsessed with it. They have to be number one at everything they do. Since
this is, of course, quite a difficult task, you will find these people devaluing
anything they cannot be number one in! If they are good runners, then the
discus and the hammer are “side shows.” If academic abilities are their
strength, physical abilities are of no importance, and so on.
9) The neurotic need for self-sufficiency and independence. We should all
cultivate some autonomy, but some people feel that they shouldn’t ever
need anybody. They tend to refuse help and are often reluctant to commit to
a relationship.
10) The neurotic need for perfection and unassailability. To become better and
better at life and our special interests is hardly neurotic, but some people are
driven to be perfect and scared of being flawed. They can’t be caught making
a mistake and need to be in control at all times.
As Horney investigated these neurotic needs, she began to recognise that they
can be clustered into three broad coping strategies:
The first strategy is compliance, also known as the moving-toward strategy or

the self- effacing solution. Most children facing parental indifference use this
strategy. They often have a fear of helplessness and abandonment, or what Horney
referred to as basic anxiety. This strategy includes the first three needs: the need
for affection and approval, which is the indiscriminate need to both please others
and be liked by them; the neurotic need for a partner, for someone else to take
over one’s life, encompassing the idea that love will solve all of one’s problems;
and the neurotic need to restrict one’s life into narrow boarders, including being
undemanding, satisfied with little, inconspicuous.
Horney’s second broad coping strategy is aggression, also called the moving-
against and the expansive solution. Here, children’s first reaction to parental
indifference is anger, or basic hostility. Needs four through eight fall under this
category. The fourth need is for power, for control over others, and for a facade
of omnipotence. Fifth is the neurotic need to exploit others and to get the better
of them. Another need is for social recognition and prestige, with the need for
personal admiration falling along the same lines. The eighth neurotic need is for
personal achievement.
The final coping strategy is withdrawal, often labeled the moving-away-from or
resigning solution. When neither aggression nor compliance eliminates the
parental indifference, Horney recognised that children attempt to solve the
problem by becoming self- sufficient. This includes the neurotic needs for self
sufficiency and independence and those for perfection and unassailability.
While it is human for everyone to have these needs to some extent, the neurotic’s
need is much more intense. Horney explained that the person will experience
16
great anxiety if the need is not met or if it appears that the need will not be met in Psychodynamic Theory
the future. The neurotic, therefore, makes the need too central to their existence. Sullivan)
Horney’s ideas of neurotic needs mirrored those of Adler in many ways. Together,
Adler and Horney make up an unofficial school of psychiatry and they are often
referred to as neo-Freudians or Social Psychologists.
1.4.3 Theory of the Self

Horney also shared Abraham Maslow’s view that self-actualisation is something
that all people strived for. By “self” she understood the core of one’s own being
and potential. Horney believed that if we have an accurate conception of our
own self, then we are free to realise our potential and achieve what we wish,
within reasonable boundaries. Thus, she believed that self-actualisation is the
healthy person’s aim through life—as opposed to the neurotic’s clinging to a set
of key needs.
According to Horney we can have two views of our self: the “real self” and the
“ideal self”. The real self is who and what we actually are. The ideal self is the
type of person we feel that we should be. The real self has the potential for
growth, happiness, will power, realisation of gifts, etc., but it also has deficiencies.
The ideal self is used as a model to assist the real self in developing its potential
and achieving self-actualisation.
But it is important to know the differences between our ideal and real self. The
neurotic person’s self is split between an idealised self and a real self. As a result,
neurotic individuals feel that they somehow do not live up to the ideal self. They
feel that there is a flaw somewhere in comparison to what they “should” be. The
goals set out by the neurotic are not realistic, or indeed possible. The real self
then degenerates into a “despised self”, and the neurotic person assumes that
this is the “true” self. Thus, the neurotic is like a clock’s pendulum, oscillating
between a fallacious “perfection” and a manifestation of self-hate. Horney referred
to this phenomenon as the “tyranny of the should” and the neurotic’s hopeless
“search for glory”.
The compliant person believes “I should be sweet, self-sacrificing, saintly.”
The aggressive person says “I should be powerful, recognised, a winner.”
The withdrawing person believes “I should be independent, aloof, perfect.”
And while vacillating between these two impossible selves, the neurotic is
alienated from their true core and prevented from actualising their potentials.
She concluded that these ingrained traits of the psyche forever prevent an
individual’s potential from being actualised unless the cycle of neurosis is
somehow broken, through treatment or otherwise.
1.4.4 Evaluation
Horney, together with fellow psychoanalyst Adler formed the Neo Freudian
Discipline. While Horney acknowledged and agreed with Freud on many issues,
she was also critical of him on several key beliefs. Freud’s notion of Oedipal
Complex and Penis Envy was subject to criticism by Horney, claiming that the
clinging to one parent and jealousy of the other was simply the result of anxiety,
caused by a disturbance in the parent-child relationship.
17
Theories of Personality-I Despite these variances with the prevalent Freudian view, Horney strove to
reformulate Freudian thought, presenting a holistic and humanitarian view of
the individual psyche which placed much emphasis on cultural and social
differences worldwide.
Karen Horney was undoubtedly a great influence to numerous self-psychologists,

humanists, cognitive therapists, psychoanalysts, feminists, and existentialists.
As a theorist, leader, teacher, and therapist, Horney made numerous contributions
that have been highly significant in shaping and advancing psychological thought.
The major negative comment that has been made about Horney’s theory is that
her theory is limited to the neurotic. Besides leaving out psychotics and other
problems, she leaves out the truly healthy person. Nevertheless, since she does
put neurosis and health on a single continuum, she does speak to the neurotic in
all of us.

1) Discus the important features of Karen Horney’s theory of personality.
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2) In the light of Horney’s personality theory describe the concept of basic
anxiety and what measures are taken to cope with anxiety.
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3) “Neurotic needs are irrational solutions to the problem”. Discuss it in
the light of Horney’s personality theory.
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4) Evaluate Karen Horney’s theory of self.
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18
1.5 SULLIVAN’S THEORY OF PERSONALITY (Including Horney and
Sullivan)
Harry Stack Sullivan was born in Norwich, near New York and died in 1949 in
Paris. He received his medical degree in 1917 and served with the armed forces
in World War I. In 1922 he met William Alanson White, a leader in American
Neuropsychiatry. Then he conducted investigations in Schizophrenia that
established his reputation as a clinician. Although Sullivan was trained in
psychoanalysis in the United States, but soon drifted from the specific
psychoanalytic beliefs while retaining much of the core concepts of Freud.
Interestingly, Sullivan placed a lot of focus on both the social aspects of personality
and cognitive representations. Sullivan called his approach an interpersonal theory
of psychiatry because he believed psychiatry is the study of what goes on between
people. This is in contrast to Freud’s paradigm that focuses on what goes on
inside people. Freud’s is a drive model while Sullivan’s is an interpersonal model.
For Sullivan, relationships are primary. Personality is a hypothetical entity that

cannot be observed or studied apart from interpersonal situations wherein it is
made manifest. The only way personality can be known is through the medium
of interpersonal interactions. Therefore the unit of study is not the individual
person, but the interpersonal situation. Sullivan’s theory can be explained under
three main headings:
• Dynamics of personality
• Enduring aspect of personality
• Developmental epochs

Sullivan conceptualised personality as an energy system, with energy existing
either as tension (potentiality for action) or as energy transformations (the actions
themselves). He further divided tensions into needs and anxiety.
Needs can relate either to the general well-being of a person or to specific zones,
such as the mouth or genitals. General needs can be either physiological, such as
food or oxygen, or they can be interpersonal, such as tenderness and intimacy.
Unlike needs, which are conjunctive and call for specific actions to reduce them
anxiety is disjunctive and calls for no consistent actions for its relief. All infants
learn to be anxious through the empathic relationship that they have with their
mothering one. Sullivan called anxiety the chief disruptive force in interpersonal
relations. A complete absence of anxiety and other tensions is called euphoria.
Sullivan recognised three levels of cognition, or ways of perceiving things
• Prototaxic
• Parataxic and
• Syntaxic.
Prototaxic level contains the primitive experience of infants. Experiences that
are impossible to put into words or to communicate to others are called prototaxic.
Newborn infants experience images mostly on a prototaxic level.
19
Theories of Personality-I Experiences that are prelogical and nearly impossible to accurately communicate
to others are called parataxic. Included in these are erroneous assumptions about
cause and effect, which Sullivan termed parataxic distortions.
Experiences that can be accurately communicated to others are called syntaxic.

Children become capable of syntaxic language at about 12 to 18 months of age
when words begin to have the same meaning for them that they do for others.
Although all the three types of experiences are found in the whole life span of
the individual but in the life of a normal person the syntaxic experiences remain
dominated.

Sullivan, in his theory of personality emphasised those aspects of personality
which are enduring in nature. Among them, following three are main enduring
aspects:
• Dynamism
• Personification
• Self-system
1.5.2.1 Dynamism
In Sullivan’s theory dynamism is a term which is considered equivalent to traits.
That is, Sullivan used the term dynamism to refer to a typical pattern of behaviour.
Two types of dynamism are distinguished by him
i) dynamisms related to specific zones of the body and
ii) dynamism related to tensions.
The first type of dynamism leads to the satisfaction of particular bodily needs
like hunger, thirst.
The second type of dynamism is divided in three subtypes
1) disjunctive dynamism,
2) conjunctive dynamism, and
3) isolating dynamism.
The disjunctive dynamism of evil and hatred is called malevolence, defined by
Sullivan as a feeling of living among one’s enemies. Those children who become
malevolent have much difficulty giving and receiving tenderness or being intimate
with other people.
The conjunctive dynamism marked by a close personal relationship between

two people of equal status is called intimacy. Intimacy facilitates interpersonal
development while decreasing both anxiety and loneliness
In contrast to both malevolence and intimacy, lust is an isolating dynamism. That

is, lust is a self-centered need that can be satisfied in the absence of an intimate
interpersonal relationship. In other words, although intimacy presupposes
tenderness or love, lust is based solely on sexual gratification and requires no
other person for its satisfaction.
20
1.5.2.2 Self-System Psychodynamic Theory
The most inclusive of all dynamisms is the self-system, or that pattern of Sullivan)
behaviours that protects us against anxiety and maintains our interpersonal
security. The self system is a conjunctive dynamism, but because its primary job
is to protect the self from anxiety, it tends to stifle personality change. Experiences
that are inconsistent with our self-system threaten our security and necessitate
our use of security operations, which consist of behaviours designed to reduce
interpersonal tensions. One such security operation is dissociation, which includes
all those experiences that we block from awareness. Another is selective
inattention, which involves blocking only certain experiences from awareness.
1.5.2.3 Personifications
Through social interactions and our selective attention or inattention, we develop
what Sullivan called Personifications of ourselves and others. While defenses
can often help reduce anxiety, they can also lead to a misperception of reality.
Sullivan shifts his focus away from Freud and more toward a cognitive approach
to understanding personality. These personifications are mental images that allow
us to better understand ourselves and the world.
There are three basic ways we see ourselves that Sullivan called
• the bad-me,
• the good-me and
• the not-me.
The bad- me represents those aspects of the self that are considered negative and
are therefore hidden from others and possibly even the self. The anxiety that we
feel is often a result of recognition of the bad part of ourselves, such as when we
recall an embarrassing moment or experience guilt from a past action.
The good me is everything we like about ourselves. It represents the part of us

we share with others and that we often choose to focus on because it produces no
anxiety.
The not-me, represents all those things that are so anxiety provoking that we can
not even consider them a part of us. Doing so would definitely create anxiety
which we spend our lives trying to avoid. The not-me is kept out of awareness
by pushing it deep into the unconscious.
1.5.2.4 Developmental Epochs

Another similarity between Sullivan’s theory and that of Freud’s theory is the
belief that childhood experiences determine, to a large degree, the adult
personality. And, throughout our childhood, mother plays the most significant
role. Unlike Freud, however, he also believed that personality can develop in
adolescence and even well into adulthood. He called the stages in his
developmental theory Epochs.
He believed that we pass through these stages in a particular order but the timing
of such is dictated by our social environment. Much of the focus in Sullivan’s
theory revolved around the conflicts of adolescence. As we can see from the
chart below, three stages were devoted to this period of development and much
21
Theories of Personality-I of the problems of adulthood, according to Sullivan, arise from the turmoil of
our adolescence. Sullivan saw interpersonal development as taking place over
seven stages, from infancy to mature adulthood. Personality changes are most
likely during transitions between stages.
Table : The developmental epochs of Sullivan
Infancy: Birth to 1 year From birth to about age one, the child begins
the process of developing, but Sullivan did
not emphasise the younger years to near the
importance as Freud
Childhood: 1 year – 5 years The development of speech and improved

communication is key in this stage of
development
Juvenile ages: 6-8 years The main focus as a juvenile is the need for
playmates and the beginning of healthy
socialisation
Pre adolescence: 9-12 years During this stage, the child’s ability to form
a close relationship with a peer is the major
focus. This relationship will later assist the
child in feeling worthy and likable. Without
this ability, forming the intimate
relationships in late adolescence and
adulthood will be difficult.
Early adolescence: 13-17 years The onset of puberty changes this need for
friendship to a need for sexual expression.
Self worth will often become synonymous
with sexual attractiveness and acceptance by
opposite sex peers
Late adolescence: 18-22/23 years The need for friendship and need for sexual
expression get combined during late
adolescence. In this stage a long term
relationship becomes the primary focus.
Conflicts between parental control and self-
expression are commonplace and the overuse
of selective inattention in previous stages can
result in a skewed perception of the self and
the world.
Adulthood : 23 years and above The struggles of adulthood include financial

security, career, and family. With success
during previous stages, especially those in
the adolescent years, adult relationships and
much needed socialisation become more
easy to attain. Without a solid background,
interpersonal conflicts that result in anxiety
become more commonplace.
22
1.5.2.5 Evaluation Psychodynamic Theory
Despite Sullivan’s insights into the importance of interpersonal relations, his Sullivan)
theory of personality and his approach to psychotherapy have lost popularity in
recent years. In summary, his theory rates very low in falsifiability, low in its
ability to generate research, and average in its capacity to organise knowledge
and to guide action. In addition, it is only average in self-consistency and low in
parsimony.
Because Sullivan saw human personality as largely being formed from

interpersonal relations, his theory rates very high on social influences and very
low on biological ones. In addition, it rates high on unconscious determinants;
average on free choice, optimism, and causality; and low on uniqueness.

1) Critically evaluate Sullivan’s theory of personality.
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2) What are the main enduring aspects of personality proposed by Sullivan?
Discuss the concept of personification in detail.
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3) What are the main developmental stages in Sullivan’s theory? How do
they differ from Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual development?
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1.6 LET US SUM UP

All the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the
interaction of drives and forces within the person fall under psychodynamic theory.
Freud’s psychoanalysis was the original psychodynamic theory. Freud’s
Psychoanalytic theory is described under the three main headings: structure of 23
Theories of Personality-I personality, dynamics of personality and development of personality. In order to
describe the structure of personality two models have been developed by Freud:
topographical model and dynamic or structural model. Freud’s topographical
model represents his configuration of the mind. Freud conceived human mind in
terms of three different levels of consciousness. The current thoughts about which
we are aware are in the conscious. Beyond the conscious is the preconscious,
which is immediately not accessible but can be accessed. Beyond the preconscious
lies the unconscious, of which we are not aware. It contains the repressed desires
and impulses. Under the dynamic or structural model Freud maintained that
personality consists of three structures, namely, id ego and superego. Id is that
part of the personality which deals with the immediate gratification of primitive
needs, sexual desires and aggressive impulses. It follows the pleasure principle.
Ego develops out of id. It works on reality principle. Superego deals with the
ideals. It represents the societal demands and ideals. Under the dynamics of
personality Freud maintained that human organism is a complex system in which
lies both physiological energy as well as psychic energy. He stated that the instincts
are the ultimate cause of all behaviour. Anxiety comes from realistic sources in
the external world and conflict within one’s own mind. A common conflict is
when the id desires something that ego and/or superego do not agree with. An
important function of the ego is to operate defense mechanisms. Psychological
defenses are the way we deal with anxiety. Denial, repression, regression, reaction
formation, projection, rationalisation, intellectualisation, displacement, and
displacement are some of the important defence mechanisms. Freud described
human development as passing through a series of stages based on the different
ways we obtain bodily pleasure at different stages. Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual
Development are completed in a predetermined sequence and can result in either
successful completion of a healthy personality or can result in failure, leading to
an unhealthy personality. The stages of psychosexual development are anal stage,
oral stage, phallic stage, latency stage, and genital stage.
Horney reformulated Freudian thought and presented a holistic, humanistic

perspective that emphasised cultural and social influences, human growth, and
the achievement of self-actualisation. Horney’s theory can be explained under
the following three main headings: basic anxiety, neurotic needs, and measures
to cope with anxiety. Basic anxiety is an important theoretical concept in the
Horney’s theory of personality. When parents’ behaviour toward their child
indifference, disparaging, an erratic, the child feels insecure – a feeling termed
by Horney as basic anxiety. From her clinical experience, Horney discerned ten
particular patterns of neurotic needs. They are based on things that we all need,
but they have become distorted in several ways by the difficulties of some people’s
lives. Horney clustered neurotic needs into three broad coping strategies. The
first strategy is compliance, also known as the moving-toward strategy or the
self- effacing solution. The second broad coping strategy is aggression, also called
the moving-against and the expansive solution. Here, children’s first reaction to
parental indifference is anger, or basic hostility. The final coping strategy is
withdrawal, often labeled the moving-away-from or resigning solution. As far as
her theory of self is concerned Horney shared Abraham Maslow’s view that self-
actualisation is something that all people strived for. By “self” she understood
the core of one’s own being and potential. According to Horney we can have two
views of our self: the “real self” and the “ideal self”. The neurotic person’s self is
split between an idealised self and a real self. As a result, neurotic individuals
24 feel that they somehow do not live up to the ideal self.
Sullivan, on the other hand, placed a lot of focus on both the social aspects of Psychodynamic Theory
personality and cognitive representations. Sullivan called his approach an Sullivan)
interpersonal theory of psychiatry For Sullivan, relationships are primary.
Personality is a hypothetical entity that cannot be observed or studied apart from
interpersonal situations wherein it is made manifest. The only way personality
can be known is through the medium of interpersonal interactions. Therefore
the unit of study is not the individual person, but the interpersonal situation.
Sullivan’s theory can be explained under three main headings: dynamics of
personality, enduring aspect of personality, and developmental epochs. Sullivan
conceptualised personality as an energy system, with energy existing either as
tension (potentiality for action) or as energy transformations (the actions
themselves). He further divided tensions into needs and anxiety. Sullivan called
anxiety the chief disruptive force in interpersonal relations. Sullivan recognised
three levels of cognition, or ways of perceiving things—prototaxic, parataxic
and syntaxic. Prototaxic level contain the primitive experience of infants.
Experiences that are prelogical and nearly impossible to accurately communicate
to others are called parataxic. Experiences that can be accurately communicated
to others are called syntaxic. Sullivan, in his theory of personality, emphasised
those aspects of personality which are enduring in nature. These are dynamism,
self-system, and personification. In Sullivan’s theory dynamism is a term which
is considered equivalent to traits. The most inclusive of all dynamisms is the
self-system, or that pattern of behaviours that protects us against anxiety and
maintains our interpersonal security. Through social interactions and our selective
attention or inattention, we develop what Sullivan called Personifications of
ourselves and others. The personifications are mental images that allow us to
better understand ourselves and the world. There are three basic ways we see
ourselves that Sullivan called the bad-me, the good-me and the not-me. Like
Freud, Sullivan also believed that we pass through several developmental stages
in a particular order. He called the stages in his developmental theory Epochs.
Seven developmental epochs have been described Sullivan.

1) What are the main assumptions of psychodynamic theory of personality?
On what account Freud’s theory can termed as the leading psychodynamic
theory?
2) Discuss the main features of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.
3) Explain the structure of personality from psychoanalytic point of view.
4) Describe the stages of psychosexual development. What role they play in
developing the adult personality?
5) What do you mean by defense mechanisms? How they tend to reduce
anxiety? Illustrate your answer with suitable examples.
6) Explain the main features of Karen Horney’s theory of personality.
7) On what account does Horney’s theory of personality differ from Freud’s
theory of personality?
8) Discuss the importance of neurotic needs in the formulation of Horney’s
theory of personality.
9) Describe the salient features of Sullivan’s personality theory.
25
Theories of Personality-I 10) Distinguish between Sullivans’s Developmental epochs and Freud’s stages
of psychosexual development.
11) What are the main enduring aspects of personality proposed by Sullivan?
Discuss the concept of personification in detail.
1.8 GLOSSARY
Psychodynamic : All the theories of human functioning which are
based on the inter play of drives and other forces
within the person.
Id : In psychoanalytic theory, the totally unconscious,
primitive region of mind which strives for the
immediate personal pleasure and satisfaction.
Ego : In psychoanalytic theory, the reality oriented region
of mind: It involves perception, reasoning,
learning, and other activities necessary to interact
effectively with the world.
Superego : In psychoanalytic theory, that region of the mind
which includes a view of ideal behaviour (ego-
ideal) and a view of right and wrong.
Libido : In psychoanalytic theory, the energy that underlies
all of man’s strivings. Usually used to refer to the
drive for sexual gratification.
Eros : In psychoanalytic theory, the drive that comprises
the instinct for self-preservation, which is aimed
at individual survival; and sexual instinct, aimed
at the survival of species.
Thanatos : Freud’s “death instinct”; the destructive, cruel
forces within the individual.
Defence Mechanism : According to Freud, ways in which ego
unconsciously tries to cope with unacceptable id
impulses, as in repression, projection reaction
formation, sublimation, rationalisation.
Oral Stage : In psychoanalytic theory, the first developmental
stage involving the mouth and eating.
Anal stage : In psychoanalytic theory, the second
developmental stage involving learning to control
bowel movement.
Phallic stage : In psychoanalytic theory, the third developmental
stage involving sexual urges of male child toward
the parent and the resolution resulting Oedipal
conflict.
Latency Stage : In psychoanalytic theory, the period between
phallic stage and mature genital stage during which
26 interest in sex is sublimated.
Genital Stage : In psychoanalytic theory, the developmental stage Psychodynamic Theory
in which sexual desire is blended with affection Sullivan)
and adult roles are assumed.
Prototaxic : In Sullivan’s theory experiences that are
impossible to put into words or to communicate
to others are called prototaxic.
Parataxic : In Sullivan’s theory experiences that are prelogical
and nearly impossible to accurately communicate
to others are called parataxic.
Syntaxic : In Sullivan’s theory experiences that can be
accurately communicated to others are called
syntaxic.
Personifications : In Sullivan’s theory personifications refers to
mental images that allow us to better understand
ourselves and the world.
Developmental Epochs : In Sullivan’s theory of personality the seven stages
of development are called developmental epochs.

Hall, C.S., Lindzey, G. and Campbell, J.B. (2004).Theories of Personality (Fourth
Edition). New York: Wiley
Pervin, L. (1996). The Science of Personality. New York: Wiley
27
UNIT 2 SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY OF
PERSONALITY (BANDURA)
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Social Cognitive Theory
2.2.1 Main Tenets of Social Cognitive Theory
2.3 Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
2.3.1 Reciprocal Determinism
2.3.2 Self-system
2.3.3 Principles of Observational Learning
2.3.4 Vicarious Learning
2.3.5 Evaluation of Bandura’s Theory
2.4 Let Us Sum Up
2.6 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
A number of theories have been proposed to explain human personality. These
theories differ in the conception of human nature they adopt and what they regard
to be basic causes and mechanism of human motivation and behaviour. In the
present unit we will attempt to understand human personality from social cognitive
perspective. First we will briefly discuss the main features of social cognitive
theory. After that we will try to explain the social cognitive theory of Bandura in
detail. While explaining Bandura’s theory emphasis will be placed on his concepts
of reciprocal determinism, self system, and process of observational learning.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define social cognitive approach to personality;
• Describe the characteristic features of social learning theory of Bandura;
• Explain the concept of reciprocal determinism;
• Analyse the development of self system;
• Explain the principle of observational learning;
• Elucidate the sources of self-efficacy; and
• Describe Bandura’s concept of vicarious learning.
2.2 SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY

Social cognitive theory is basically a social leaning theory based on the ideas
28
that people learn by watching what others do and that human thought processes
are central to understanding personality. While social cognitive theorists agree Social Cognitive Thoery of
Personality (Bandura)
that there is a fair amount of influence on development generated by learned
behaviour as a result of interaction with the environment in which one grows up,
they believe that the individual person (and therefore cognition) is just as important
as environment in determining moral development.
Social cognitive theory explains behaviour in terms of a continuous reciprocal

interaction between cognitive, behavioural, and environmental determinants. It
emphasises that people learn by observing others. People’s interaction with the
environment, behaviour of others , and one’s own cognition etc. act as chief
factors in influencing the development of personality of an individual. These
three factors are not static or independent; rather, they are all reciprocal. For
example, each behaviour witnessed can change a person’s way of thinking
(cognition). Similarly, the environment in which one is raised may influence
later behaviours, just as a father’s mindset (also cognition) will determine the
environment in which his children are raised.
2.2.1 Main Tenets of Social Cognitive Theory

Expert opinions differ on exactly what separates social cognitive theory from
the more general social learning theory. In general, however, the following
principles can be used to define social cognitive theory
People learn by observing others, a process known as vicarious learning. Although
learning can modify behaviour, people do not always apply what they have
learned. Individual’s choice is based on perceived or actual consequences of the
concerned behaviour.
People are more likely to follow the behaviours modeled by someone with whom
they can identify. The more perceived commonalities and/or emotional
attachments between the observer and the model, the more likely the observer
will learn from the model.
Also, the degree of self-efficacy that a learner possesses directly affects his or
her ability to learn. Self-efficacy is a fundamental belief in one’s ability to achieve
a goal. If a person believes that he or she can learn new behaviours, that would
make the person much more successful in doing so.
2.3 ALBERT BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING

THEORY
Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925, in the small town of Mundare in
Northern Alberta, Canada. He received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology
from the University of British Columbia in 1949. He went on to the University
of Iowa, where he received his Ph.D. in 1952. After graduating, he took a
postdoctoral position at the Wichita Guidance Center in Wichita, Kansas. In
1953, he started teaching at Stanford University. Bandura was president of the
APA in 1973, and received the APA’s Award for Distinguished Scientific
Contributions in 1980.
Bandura has presented his theory in a series of books. With Richard Walters as
junior author, Bandura (1959) wrote Adolescent Aggression in which social
learning principles were used to describe the personality development. This was
followed by another book Social Learning and Personality Development (1963) 29
Theories of Personality-I in which Bandura and Walters presented the social learning principles they had
developed.
In 1969 Bandura published Principles of Behaviour Modification, in which he
explained application of behavioural techniques based on learning principles to
the modification of behaviour, and in 1973 he wrote Aggression: A social Learning
Analysis, in which he attempted to provide a unified theoretical framework for
analysing human thought and behaviour.
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory of Personality is based on the premise that
human behaviour is largely acquired and that the principles of learning are
sufficient to account for the development and maintenance of behaviour. But the
earlier learning theorists were unable to pay sufficient attention about the social
context in which behaviour is taking place. Bandura has done a great deal of
work on social learning throughout his career and is famous for his “Social
Learning Theory” which he has recently renamed, “Social Cognitive Theory”.
Bandura is seen by many as a cognitive psychologist because of his focus on
motivational factors and self-regulatory mechanisms that contribute to a person’s
behaviour, rather than just environmental factors. This focus on cognition is
what differentiates social cognitive theory from Skinner’s purely behaviouristic
viewpoint.
Bandura theory of social learning can be explained under the following three
headings:
1) Reciprocal determinism
2) Self-system
3) Principles of observational learning
2.3.1 Reciprocal Determinism

Human behaviour has often been explained in terms of one-sided determinism.
In such modes of unidirectional causation, behaviour is depicted as being shaped
and controlled either by environmental influences or by internal dispositions.
Social cognitive theory favours a model of causation involving triadic reciprocal
determinism. In this model of reciprocal causation, behaviour, cognition and
other personal factors, and other environmental influences all operate as
interacting determinants that influence each other bidirectionally. Reciprocal
causation does not mean that the different sources of influence are of equal
strength. Some may be stronger than others. Nor do that the reciprocal influences
all occur simultaneously. It takes time for a causal factor to exert its influence
and activate reciprocal influences.
P
B E
Social Cognitive Theory: B represents behaviour, P represents personal factors

in the form of cognitive, affective, and biological events, and E represents the
external environment.
30 Source: Bandura (1986)
Let us consider briefly the major interactional links between the different Social Cognitive Thoery of
subsystems of influence. The P?B of reciprocal causation reflects the interaction
between thought, affect and action. Expectations, beliefs, self- perceptions, goals
and intentions give shape and direction to behaviour. What people think, believe,
and feel, affects how they behave (Bandura, 1986). The E?P segment of reciprocal
causation is concerned with the interactive relation between personal
characteristics and environmental influences. Human expectations, beliefs,
emotional bents and cognitive competencies are developed and modified by social
influences. The B?E segment of reciprocal causation in the triadic system
represents the two-way influence between behaviour and the environment. In
the transactions of everyday life, behaviour alters environmental conditions and
is, in turn, altered by the very conditions it creates. Because of the bidirectionality
of influence between behaviour and environmental circumstances, people are
both products and producers of their environment. They affect the nature of their
experienced environment through selection and creation of situations.
Thus a complete analysis of behaviour from reciprocal determinism requires

consideration of all three sets of behaviour – cognitive, behavioural, and
environmental – influence one another. Bandura discusses the personal
determinants of behaviour in terms of the self-system and the individual’s self
efficacy. Now we turn to consideration of these concepts.
2.3.2 Self-System
It is evident from the reciprocal determinism that all the three segments are
mutually interactive. Now the question arise that do they have some starting
point? Bandura answered in yes and that point is self system. “In social learning
theory, a self-system is not a psychic agent that controls behaviour. Rather it
refers to cognitive structures that provide reference mechanisms to set of functions
for perception, evaluation and regulation of behaviour”. An understanding of
self-generated influences subsumed in the self-system is necessary for the
explanation and prediction of human behaviour. According to Bandura the three
component processes involved in self regulation of behaviour through the
activation of self-prescribed contingencies. The three components involved in
self-system are self-observation, judgmental processes and self –response.
1) Self-observation: We look at ourselves, our behaviour, and keep tabs on it.
2) Judgment: We compare what we see with a standard. For example, we can
compare our performance with traditional standards, such as “rules of
etiquette.” Or we can create arbitrary ones, like “I’ll read a book a week.”
Or we can compete with others, or with ourselves.
3) Self-response: If you did well in comparison with your standard, you give
yourself rewarding self-responses. If you did poorly, you give yourself
punishing self-responses. These self-responses can range from the obvious
(treating yourself to a sundey or working late) to the more covert (feelings
of pride or shame).
4) Self efficacy: A very important concept in psychology that can be understood
well with self-regulation is self-efficacy. If, over the years, you find yourself
meeting your standards and life loaded with self-praise and self-reward,
you will have a strong sense of self-efficacy If, on the other hand, you find
31
Theories of Personality-I yourself forever failing to meet your standards and punishing yourself, you
will have a poor sense of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy plays an important role
in the Bandura’s theory of self-system.
According to Bandura self-efficacy is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organise
and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations”
(1995). In other words, self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to
succeed in a particular situation. Bandura described these beliefs as determinants
of how people think, behave, and feel (1994). Since Bandura published his seminal
paper, “Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioural Change,” the
subject has become one of the most studied topics in psychology. Why has self-
efficacy become such an important topic among psychologists and educators?
As Bandura and other researchers have demonstrated, self-efficacy can have an
impact on everything from psychological states to behaviour to motivation.
The Role of Self-Efficacy

Virtually all people can identify goals they want to accomplish, things they would
like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people
also realise that putting these plans into action is not quite so simple. Bandura
and others have found that an individual’s self-efficacy plays a major role in
how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached.
People with a strong sense of self-efficacy have the following characteristics:
• They view challenging problems as tasks to be mastered.
• They develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate.
• They form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities.
• They recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments.
On the other hand, people with a weak sense of self-efficacy show the following
characteristics:
• They avoid challenging tasks.
• They believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities.
• They focus on personal failings and negative outcomes.
• They quickly lose confidence in personal abilities (Bandura, 1994).
Sources of Self-Efficacy
How does self-efficacy develop? These beliefs begin to form in early childhood
as children deal with a wide variety of experiences, tasks, and situations. However,
the growth of self-efficacy does not end during youth, but continues to evolve
throughout life as people acquire new skills, experiences, and understanding
(Bandura, 1992).
According to Bandura, there are four major sources of self-efficacy.
i) Mastery Experiences: The most effective way of developing a strong sense
of efficacy is through mastery experiences. (Bandura 1994). Performing a
task successfully strengthens our sense of self-efficacy. However, failing to
adequately deal with a task or challenge can undermine and weaken self-
efficacy.
32
ii) Social Modeling: Witnessing other people successfully completing a task is Social Cognitive Thoery of
another important source of self-efficacy. According to Bandura, when a
person sees another person or persons similar to oneself succeeding by
one’s sustained efforts, makes the person raise the belief that they too
possess the capabilities that could help them master comparable activities
and succeed.
iii) Social Persuasion: Bandura also asserted that people could be persuaded to
believe that they have the skills and capabilities to succeed. Consider a time
when someone said something positive and encouraging that helped you
achieve a goal. Getting verbal encouragement from others helps people
overcome self-doubt and instead focus on giving their best effort to the task
at hand.
iv) Psychological Responses: Our own responses and emotional reactions to
situations also play an important role in self-efficacy. Moods, emotional
states, physical reactions, and stress levels can all impact how a person
feels about their personal abilities in a particular situation. A person who
becomes extremely nervous before speaking in public may develop a weak
sense of self-efficacy in these situations.
2.3.3 Principles of Observational Learning

Bandura’s social cognitive theory emphasises the social origins of behaviour in
addition to the cognitive thought processes that influence human behaviour and
functioning. Bandura’s social-cognitive approach represents a break from
traditional theories by proposing that cognitive factors are central to human
functioning and that learning can occur in the absence of direct reinforcement.
That is, learning can occur simply through observation of models and in the
absence of reinforcement.
Bandura argued that some of the traditional principles of learning such as the
laws of reinforcement and punishment are more relevant to performance than to
acquisition. According to Bandura, learning can occur outside the boundaries of
pleasure and pain. Thus, people learn a great deal simply by watching or observing
others, by reading about what people do, and by making general observations of
the world. This learning may or may not be demonstrated in the form of behaviour.
To illustrate that people learn from watching others, Albert Bandura constructed
an experiment entitled “Bobo Doll Behaviour: A Study of Aggression.” In this
experiment Bandura exposed a group of children to a video, featuring violent
and aggressive actions. For the experiment Bandura made of film of one of his
students, a young woman, essentially beating up a bobo doll. Bobo doll is an
inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight in the bottom that makes it
bob back up when you knock him down.
The woman punched the clown, shouting “sockeroo!” She kicked it, sat on it,
hit with a little hammer, and so on, shouting various aggressive phrases. Bandura
showed this film to groups of kindergartners who, as you might predict, liked it
a lot. They then were let out to play. In the play room, of course, were several
observers with pens and clipboards in hand, a brand new bobo doll, and a few
little hammers.
33
Theories of Personality-I The observers recorded that a lot of little kids beat the daylights out of the bobo
doll. They punched it and shouted “sockeroo,” kicked it, sat on it, hit it with the
little hammers, and so on. In other words, they imitated the young lady in the
film, and quite precisely at that.
This might seem like a real nothing of an experiment at first, but consider:
These children changed their behaviour without first being rewarded for
approximations to that behaviour! And while that may not seem extraordinary
to the average parent, teacher, or casual observer of children, it didn’t fit so well
with standard behaviouristic learning theory. Bandura called this phenomenon
as observational learning or modeling, and this theory is usually called social
learning theory.
Bandura did a large number of variations on the study: The model was rewarded
or punished in a variety of ways, the kids were rewarded for their imitations, the
model was changed to be less attractive or less prestigious, and so on. Responding
to criticism that bobo dolls were supposed to be hit, he even did a film of the
young woman beating up a live clown. When the children went into the other
room, what should they find there but — the live clown! They proceeded to
punch him, kick him, hit him with little hammers, and so on.
All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there were certain steps
involved in the modeling process:
1) Attentional Processes: In order to learn, you need to be paying attention.
Anything that detracts your attention is going to have a negative effect on
observational learning. If the model is interesting or there is a novel aspect
to the situation, you are far more likely to dedicate your full attention to
learning. Thus if you are going to learn anything, you have to be paying
attention. Likewise, anything that puts a damper on attention is going to
decrease learning, including observational learning. If, for example, you
are sleepy, groggy, drugged, sick, nervous, or “hyper,” you will learn less
well.
Some of the things that influence attention involve characteristics of the
model. If the model is colorful and dramatic, for example, we pay more
attention. If the model is attractive, or prestigious, or appears to be
particularly competent, we will pay more attention. And if the model seems
more like ourselves, we will pay more attention. These kinds of variables
directed Bandura towards an examination of television and its effects on
kids.
2) Retentional Processes: The ability to store information is also an important
part of the learning process. Retention can be affected by a number of factors,
but the ability to pull up information later and act on it is vital to observational
learning. Thus you must be able to retain and remember what you have
paid attention to. This is where imagery and language come in. We store
what we have seen the model doing in the form of mental images or verbal
descriptions. When so stored, we can later “bring up” the image or
description, so that we can reproduce it with our own behaviour.
3) Reproduction Processes: Once you have paid attention to the model and
retained the information, it is time to actually perform the behaviour you
observed. Further practice of the learned behaviour leads to improvement
34
and skill advancement. Through the reproduction processes you have to Social Cognitive Thoery of
translate the images or descriptions into actual behaviour. So you have to
have the ability to reproduce the behaviour in the first place. Another
important tidbit about reproduction is that our ability to imitate improves
with practice at the behaviours involved. And also it has been noted that
our abilities improve even when we just imagine ourselves performing!
Many athletes, for example, imagine their performance in their mind’s eye
prior to actually performing.
4) Motivational Processes: And yet, with all this, you’re still not going to do
anything unless you are motivated to imitate that is, until you have some
reason for doing it. Hence in order for observational learning to occur and
be successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the behaviour that has
been modeled. Reinforcement and punishment play an important role in
motivation. While experiencing these motivators can be highly effective,
one can also observe other experiences such as some type of reinforcement
or punishment that others are being subjected to. For example, if you see
another student rewarded with extra credit for coming to class on time, you
might start to show up a few minutes early each day.
In the theory of observational learning Bandura mentions a number of motives,
which are:
a) past reinforcement, ala traditional behaviourism.
b) promised reinforcements (incentives) that we can imagine.
c) vicarious reinforcement — seeing and recalling the model being reinforced.
All the above three are, traditionally, considered to be the things that “cause”
learning. Bandura states that they do not so much cause learning as they cause us
to demonstrate what we have learned. That is, Bandura sees them as motives.
Of course, the negative motivations are there as well, giving you reasons not to
imitate someone. These are listed below:
d) past punishment.
e) promised punishment (threats).
f) vicarious punishment.
Like most traditional behaviourists, Bandura says that punishment in whatever

form does not work as well as reinforcement and, in fact, has a tendency to
“backfire” on us.
2.3.4 Vicarious Learning

Closely related to observational learning is vicarious learning, another distinctive
feature of Bandura’s social cognitive theory. Vicarious learning, or the process
of learning from other people’s behaviour, is a central idea of Social Cognitive
Theory. This idea asserts that individuals can witness observed behaviours of
others and then reproduce the same actions. As a result of this, individuals refrain
from making mistakes and can perform behaviours better if they see individuals
complete them successfully.
35
Theories of Personality-I Psychological theories have traditionally emphasised learning through the effects
of one’s actions. If knowledge and skills could be acquired only by direct
experience, the process of cognitive and social development would be greatly
retarded. The abbreviation of the acquisition process is vital for survival as well
as for human development because natural endowment provides few inborn skills.
Humans have evolved an advanced capacity for observational learning that
enables them to expand their knowledge and skills on the basis of information
conveyed by modeling influences. Indeed, virtually all learning phenomena
resulting from direct experience can occur vicariously by observing people’s
behaviour and its consequences for them (Bandura, 1986; Rosenthal &
Zimmerman, 1978).
Much of social learning occurs either deliberately or inadvertently by observing

the actual behaviour of others and the consequences for them. However, a great
deal of information about behaviour patterns and the effects they have on the
environment is gained from models portrayed symbolically through verbal or
pictorial means.
A major significance of symbolic modeling lies in its tremendous multiplicative

power. Unlike learning by doing, which requires altering the actions of each
individual through repeated trial-and-error experiences, in observational learning
a single model can transmit new ways of thinking and behaving simultaneously
to many people in widely dispersed locales.
There is another aspect of symbolic modeling that magnifies its psychological

and social effects. During the course of their daily lives, people have direct contact
with only a small sector of the environment. Consequently, their conceptions of
social reality are greatly influenced by vicarious experiences—by what they see
and hear—without direct experiential correctives.
2.3.5 Evaluation of Bandura’s Theory

The theory of Bandura has been demonstrated to make powerful predictions and
has generated useful applications in a large number of areas of human behaviour.
Bandura’s theory is well grounded in research. Its terms are very tightly and
clearly defined and so they lend themselves well to empirical research.
Probably the most significant contribution of social cognitive theory is its applied
value.
However in spite of the above merits Bandura’s theory has some limitations.
These limitations are given below:
Behaviour has been found to be more consistent than is argued by Bandura’s
theory which focuses a great deal on the situation. Some researchers have argued
that the theory lacks attention to biological or hormonal processes.
Probably of most significance is the criticism that the theory is not unified.
Concepts and processes such as observational learning and self-efficacy have
been highly researched but there has been little explanation about the relationship
among the concepts.
36
Social Cognitive Thoery of
2.4 LET US SUM UP Personality (Bandura)
Social cognitive theory of Bandura is based on the idea that people learn by
watching what others do and that human thought processes are central to
understanding personality. Social cognitive theory approaches the explanation
of behaviour in terms of a continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive,
behavioural, and environmental determinants. It identifies human behaviour as
an interaction of personal factors, behaviour, and the environment. These three
segments are mutually interactive. Now the question arise that do they have
some starting point? Bandura answered in yes and that point is self-system. “In
social learning theory, a self-system is not a psychic agent that controls behaviour.
Rather it refers to cognitive structures that provide reference mechanisms to set
of functions for perception, evaluation and regulation of behaviour”. The three
components involved in self-system are self-observation, judgment and self –
response. Self-efficacy is another important concept in Bandura’s theory. Self-
efficacy is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organise and execute the courses of
action required to manage prospective situations”. There are four major sources
of self-efficacy. These sources are mastery experiences, social modeling, social
persuasion, and psychological responses.
Bandura’s social-cognitive approach represents a break from traditional theories

by proposing that cognitive factors are central to human functioning and that
learning can occur in the absence of direct reinforcement. That is, learning can
occur simply through observation of models and in the absence of reinforcement.
Through a series of investigations, Bandura and Walters demonstrated that
modeling is not merely a process of behavioural mimicry. Rather, through
modeling people learn the value of particular behaviour with regard to goal
achievement or outcomes.
Bandura proposed a four step conceptual scheme of the process involved in

observational learning: The first step incorporates the attentional processes that
are involved including certain model characteristics which may increase the
likelihood of the behaviour being attended to. It also includes observer
characteristics such as; sensory capacities, motivation and arousal levels,
perceptual set and past reinforcement.
The second step refers to retention processes including the observer’s ability to
encode, to remember and to make sense of what has been observed.
The third step refers to motor reproduction processes including the capabilities
that the observer has to perform the behaviour being observed. Specific factors
include; physical capabilities, and availability of responses.
The final step refers to motivational processes including external reinforcement,

vicarious reinforcement, and self-reinforcement. If the behaviour is to be imitated,
an observer must be motivated to perform that behaviour. Vicarious learning, or
the process of learning from other people’s behaviour, is a central idea of social
cognitive theory. This idea asserts that individuals can witness observed
behaviours of others and then reproduce the same actions. As a result of this,
individuals refrain from making mistakes and can perform behaviours better if
they see individuals complete them successfully. Vicarious learning is a part of
social modeling which is one of the four means to increase self-efficacy. Social
37
Theories of Personality-I modeling refers not just observing behaviour but also receiving instruction and
guidance of how to complete a behaviour

1) Discuss main features of social cognitive theory of personality.
2) What do understand by reciprocal determinism? Discuss its importance in
the light of Bandura’s theory.
3) Critically evaluate the development of self-system as proposed by Bandura.
4) Write an essay on self-efficacy (500 words).
5) What is observational learning? Discuss the main processes involved in
observational learning.
6) What do you mean by vicarious learning. What role does it play in Bandura’s
social learning?
2.6 GLOSSARY
Reciprocal determinism : In social learning theory reciprocal determinism
is used to indicate that personal influences,
environmental forces, and behaviour function as
interdependent rather than autonomous
determinants.
Self-efficacy : The person’s confidence in performing a

particular behaviour; Approach behavioural
change in small steps to ensure success.
Observational learning : Behavioural acquisition that occurs by watching

the actions and outcomes of others’ behaviour;
Include credible role models of the targeted
behaviour.
Reinforcements : Responses to a person’s behaviour that increase

or decrease the likelihood of reoccurrence;
Promote self-initiated rewards and incentives
Self-efficacy : The person’s confidence in performing a

particular behaviour; Approach behavioural
change in small steps to ensure success.
Vicarious leaning : Vicarious learning is the process of learning from

observing other people’s behaviour

References
Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1959). Adolescent Aggression. New York: Ronald
38 Press
Bandura, A. & Walters, R.H. (1963). Social Learning and Personality Social Cognitive Thoery of
Development. New York :Holt, Rinehart, & Winston
Bandura, A. (1964). The stormy decade: Fact or fiction? Psychology in the

Schools, 1, 224-231.
Bandura, A. (1969). Principles of Behaviour Modification. New York :Holt,

Rinehart, & Winston
Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Englewood Cliffs,

NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive

theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall, Inc.
Bandura, A. (Ed.) (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies. New York:

Cambridge University Press
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
Rosenthal, T. L., & Zimmerman, B. J. (1978). Social learning and cognition.

New York:
39
UNIT 3 LEARNING THEORY OF
PERSONALITY (PAVLOV AND
SKINNER)
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Pavlov: Learning Theory of Personality
3.2.1 Process of Classical Conditioning
3.2.2 Principles of Classical Conditioning
3.2.2.1 Acquisition
3.2.2.2 Generalisation and Discrimination
3.2.2.3 Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery
3.2.3 Principles of Behaviour Modification
3.2.4 Process of Behaviour Modification
3.2.5 Evaluation
3.3 B. F. Skinner: Learning Theory of Personality
3.3.1 Operant Behaviour
3.3.2 Schedule of Reinforcement
3.3.3 Aversive Stimuli
3.3.4 Secondary Reinforcement
3.3.5 Successive Approximation or Shaping
3.3.6 Superstitious Behaviour
3.3.7 Abnormal Behaviour
3.3.8 Evaluation
3.4 Let Us Sum Up
3.6 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Learning theory of personality presents a model of personality that emphasises
observable behaviour, the relationship between stimuli and responses, and the
impact of learning. The behaviourist position is that personality is no more (or
less) than a collection of learned behaviour patterns. They do not give importance
to the internal causes of behaviour. Personality, like other learned behaviour, is
acquired through classical and operant conditioning, observational learning,
reinforcement, extinction, generalisation, and discrimination. Children can learn
things like kindness, hostility, generosity, or destructiveness. In the present unit
we will discuss two important learning theories of personality. First, we will
focus our attention to Pavlov’ theory of learning and then we will turn to explain
the important features of Skinner theory of personality.
40
Learning Thoery of
3.1 OBJECTIVES Personality (Pavlov and
Skinner)
• Define learning concepts underlying learning theories of personality;
• Explain the learning theories of personality;
• Delibeate the process of classical conditioning;
• Describe principles of classical conditioning;
• Explain how classical conditioning develops and maintains behaviours; and
• Explain the applications of classical conditioning in the modification of
behaviour.
3.2 PAVLOV: LEARNING THEORY OF

PERSONALITY
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) was born in Ryazan, Russia, and attended
the religious school and seminary there, where he studied natural science. He
did not complete his studies, but entered St Petersburg University in 1870, where
he continued to study natural science, and decided to make his career as a
physiologist. After graduation in 1875, he went to the Military Medical Academy
to pursue his research. He completed his doctorate there in 1883, and then went
to Germany (1884–6), where he studied in Leipzig with Carl Ludwig, and in
Breslau. In 1890 he was appointed professor in the department of pharmacology
in the Military Medical Academy. In 1904 he received the Nobel Prize for his
work on the physiology of digestion. From 1925 to 1936 he worked mainly in
three laboratories: the Institute of Physiology of the Soviet Academy of Sciences
(which is now named after him), the Institute of Experimental Medicine, and the
biological laboratory at Koltushy (now Pavlov), near St Petersburg. Pavlov was
a skillful ambidextrous surgeon; using dogs as experimental animals, he
established fistulas from various parts of the digestive tract by which he obtained
secretions of the salivary glands, pancreas, and liver without disturbing the nerve
and blood supply.
Pavlov was a behaviourist. This means that his theories focused on observable
behaviour, because behaviour can be measured and thought can not. Pavlov
viewed individual differences in personality as the result of learning and different
environmental experiences. Scientific evidence is the keyword in his theory.
Pavlov studied reflexes, that is the automatic behaviours that are caused by a
stimulus from the environment. Some reflexes, such as blinking our eyes when
a puff of air comes in it, or the sucking of a baby when something is put in his/
her mouth. This automatic behaviour can be manipulated. This is called
conditioning.
Conditioning has been defined as a form of learning in which capacity of eliciting

a response is transferred from one stimulus to another. In the conditioning process,
an unconditioned stimulus is given to a person. This stimulus causes a reflex on
its own. In order to explain Pavlov’s learning theory of personality, first we will
focus our attention on the process and principles of classical conditioning, and
see how these processes and principles are found to be helpful in the development
and change of personality. 41
Theories of Personality-I 3.2.1 Process of Classical Conditioning
In order to examine the process of classical conditioning in a systematic manner,
Pavlov first performed a simple operation on his dog, in which a rubber tube was
inserted into salivary gland so that the precise amount of saliva secreted during
the experiment could be measured. After making these initial preparations a
neutral stimulus (e.g., a bell) was presented for a brief period of time, followed
quickly by a second stimulus known to elicit salivation response and called
unconditioned stimulus (e.g., Meat Powder). Each pairing of conditioned stimulus
(CS) and unconditioned stimulus (UCS) served as conditioning trials, and a
number of such pairings were conducted in rapid succession. As a result of
repeated pairing the CS (bell) acquired the ability to evoke the salivation. Because
the salivation to the bell (CR) began to occur only after the conditioning, it was
termed conditioned response (CR). On the other hand the salivation response to
the meat powder which seems to occur automatically was termed unconditioned
response (UCR).
CS (Bell) ? (Exploratory responses)
UCS (Food) CR (Saliva)
Pavlov further stated that a conditioned stimulus can serve as the basis for further
conditioning, which is demonstrated by Pavlov. In the experiment of first-order
conditioning, food was removed from the situation, and a new stimulus (e.g.,
light) was paired with bell. This new stimulus (light) also acquired the property
of eliciting the response. Rescorla (1973) suggested that under appropriate
circumstances even third order conditioning can be established.
3.2.2 Principles of Classical Conditioning

Now we will focus on some of the important principles of classical conditioning
which governs:
i) Acquisition
ii) Generalisation and Discrimination
iii) Extinction and Spontaneous recovery
3.2.2.1 Acquisition
There are two important factors which exert strong influence upon the ability of
a conditioned stimulus to elicit a response.
1) First is the number of pairings between this stimulus and the unconditioned
stimulus. As the number of pairings increases, the conditioned stimulus
comes to evoke a conditioned response with increasing strength. The strength
of the response is measured in terms of magnitude, latency and probability
of occurrence of the conditioned response.
2) The second factor which exerts an important effect upon the process of
classical conditioning is the interval, which elapses between the presentation
of conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus. For many different
responses, conditioning appears to be maximal when this interval is 0.50
seconds. However, further researches suggest that in some cases, it can be
much longer and still produce conditioning.
42
For example in an experiment of Garcia, McGowan, and Green, (1972), rats Learning Thoery of
Personality (Pavlov and
were given a sweet tasting liquid to drink, and were then injected with a drug Skinner)
which makes them sick in stomach. The rats were found to acquire an aversion
to the taste even when the interval between drinking and nausea was more than
an hour.
Martin Seligman (1972) noted that humans, too, learn strong aversion to the
tastes of foods which makes them sick many hours after they have eaten. The
acquisition of irrational fears or phobias, sexual hang-up (fetish), prejudice and
hostile feelings has successfully been explained through the process of classical
conditioning. In both cases, stimuli initially incapable of eliciting strong reaction
acquire this ability through repeated pairing with the unconditional stimuli.
For example a child while playing a new pet suddenly hears the loud sound of a
backfiring truck. In all probability the noise (which may be viewed as an
unconditional stimulus) will frighten the child greatly (an unconditioned
emotional response), so that the child burst into tears. If the child happens to live
near a busy road and often plays with the pet, this situation may be repeated –
quite by accident – on several other occasions. The child now no longer will play
with the pet; instead he may recoil in terror and seek to escape from its presence.
Similarly sexual hang-up can also be explained through the process of classical
conditioning. Assume that a person for whom an article of clothing (CS) is initially
nothing to do with sexual arousal. Now imagine that the man sees the nude body
of his lover (UCS) along with that clothing article, and it happens to take place
repeatedly. Now what will happen? The sexual arousal which is a natural response
to the nude body of the lover will be associated with that article of cloth. In the
same way development of prejudice and hostility can also be accounted by the
process of classical conditioning.
3.2.2.2 Generalisation and Discrimination

Once the organism is conditioned to one stimulus, it is often found that it will
respond to other stimuli, similar in some dimensions to it. This phenomenon is
known as stimulus generalisation. Stimulus generalisation plays a very important
adaptive role. For example, the sounds made by angry bees, wasps, and hornets
are highly similar, but certainly not identical. Because of stimulus generalisation,
however an individual who has learned through painful experience to react with
the fear and caution to one of the sound may also respond in a similar manner to
others as well.
Opposite to this phenomenon is stimulus discrimination. Within the framework

of classical conditioning, the ability to discriminate between two stimuli is
developed when one of the two similar stimuli is consistently followed by an
unconditioned stimulus while the other is not. Under such conditions, tendencies
to respond to the first are strengthened, while the tendencies to respond to the
second are weakened. Although the ability of human beings and other organisms
to discriminate between various objects is quite impressive, but it has some limits.
The disconcerting effects may result when these limits are exceeded is suggested
by experiments dealing with the phenomenon of experimental neurosis. Let us
what this experimental neurosis is.
43
Theories of Personality-I In a famous experiment by Shenger-Krestovnika (1921) a circle was used as a
conditional stimulus before feeding, and the dog was also trained to associate an
ellipse with not being fed. By small steps the ellipse was then made more and
more like a circle. When the ellipse was almost round, initially the dog could
usually distinguish it from a circle. But after a few weeks the dog became neurotic:
it ceased to be able to recognise obvious ellipses and a circle, became very excited,
and was no longer calm during experiments. Pavlov termed the animal’s abnormal
condition as experimental neurosis and he attributed it to a disturbance of the
balance between excitatory and inhibitory processes in the nervous system.
This explanation of experimental neurosis is grounded in Pavlov’s theory of
personality. He explained personality by variation in the excitation of the nervous
system. He did not, however, attribute neurosis solely to external factors, such as
contradictory stimuli. His experiments on experimental neuroses showed that
dogs with different ‘personalities’ were differentially susceptible to the treatment:
the same treatment on different dogs could produce quite different neuroses.
Although the experiment was conducted on an animal, the results of such
experiments however, suggest that while the ability of human beings to
discriminate between stimuli is impressive, their ability to discriminate between
highly similar stimuli has definite limits. When the environmental conditions
require that these limits be exceeded, extreme stress may be induced.
3.2.2.3 Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery
When a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented but is never followed by
the unconditioned stimulus with which it was formerly associated, its ability to
elicit conditioned response gradually decreases, and may fade completely. This
phenomenon is known as extinction. But if the same extinguished stimulus is
then presented again at a later time, its capacity to evoke the response is found to
reappear. This phenomenon is termed spontaneous recovery.
Extinction of conditioned response is also very important for the development
of normal personality. If we lack some mechanism for getting rid of useless
reactions to stimuli which no longer serve as reliable cues for the occurrence of
such events, we would become a walking bundle of useless conditioned responses.
3.2.3 Principles of Behaviour Modification

The principles of classical conditioning are found to be very useful for the
modification of behaviour The principles of classical conditioning have also
been applied in the treatment of neurosis and phobias. Rather than focusing on
the root of the problem like a traditional psychopathologist, a behaviourist could
focus on eliminating the symptom by bringing classical conditioning into play.
By reinforcing the extinction of the symptom, the psychopathological illness of
the patient could be eliminated (Schwartz & Lacy, 1982). For example, the
therapeutic technique, known as flooding which is used to treat phobias relies
on the principles of extinction. Systematic desensitisation is still another important
technique successfully in dealing with a wide range of mal-adaptive behaviours,
including examination anxiety, phobias, nightmares, stuttering, depression,
obsession, impotence, and anorexia nervosa, based on the principles of extinction
3.2.4 Process of Behaviour Modification

The process of classical conditioning was also found useful for treating alcoholism
and nicotine addiction. According to Pavlovian principles, addiction occurs
44
because of both the pleasurable physiological effects of nicotine and alcohol, Learning Thoery of
unconditioned stimuli, and the taste of nicotine and alcohol, conditioned stimuli. Skinner)
When one stops ingesting the substance, as in traditional treatment procedures,
it is extremely easy to become addicted again. After all, “simply not presenting a
conditioned stimulus does not eliminate the relation between it and the
unconditioned stimuli” (Schwartz & Lacy, 1982).
With just one use, the taste and unconditioned pleasurable effects become
associated with each other again. However, if the taste of nicotine or alcohol, the
conditioned response, is paired with a new unpleasant effect such as nausea and
vomiting, the result will be a negative aversion to the substances in question.
Such was the case when both an old alcoholic man and a young chain smoking
adolescent were given apomorphine paired with alcohol and nicotine, respectively.
The drug apomorphine induced severe feelings of nausea and vomiting which
caused both of them to give up these addictive substances for life. This process
is called counter-conditioning and has had remarkable success in curing addictions
(Schwartz & Lacy, 1982), and the therapy based on the principles of counter-
conditioning is termed as Aversion Therapy.
3.2.5 Evaluation
Pavlov started his career as a physiologist. He was interested in studying the
process of digestion and at the time of studying the digestive system he discovered
what has later been termed as classical conditioning. So, originally his theory
was aimed to explain the leaning process. The principles of classical conditioning
were found to be applicable for explaining the development of many
psychopathologies. Although Pavlov’s theory is able to explain the development
and change of a number of aspects of personality, but it is unable to explain the
total personality of human beings. Moreover, since many of his principles are
drawn from the experiments conducted on animals, it is also doubtful if these
principles can also be applied to human beings.
1) Explain the important features of Pavlov’s theory.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) Discuss the process of classical conditioning.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
45
3) Describe the main principles of classical conditioning, and discuss their
roles in the development of personality.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4) The principles of classical conditioning have extensively been used in
behaviour modification. Explain it.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3.3 B. F. SKINNER: LEANING THEORY OF

PERSONALITY
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born on March 20, 1904, in a small Pennsylvania
town of Susquehanna. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a strong and
intelligent housewife. His upbringing was old-fashioned and hard-working. He
received his BA in English from Hamilton College in upstate New York. He
didn’t fit in very well, not enjoying the fraternity parties or the football games.
He wrote for school paper, including articles critical of the school and the faculty.
To top it off, he was an atheist — in a school that required daily chapel attendance.
He wanted to be a writer and did try, sending off poetry and short stories. When
he graduated, he built a study in his parents’ attic to concentrate, but it just wasn’t
working for him. Ultimately, he resigned himself to writing newspaper articles
on labour problems, and lived for a while in Greenwich Village in New York
City as a “bohemian.” After some traveling, he decided to go back to school,
this time at Harvard. He got his masters in psychology in 1930 and his doctorate
in 1931, and stayed there to do research until 1936. Also in that year, he moved
to Minneapolis to teach at the University of Minnesota. There he met and soon
married Yvonne Blue. They had two daughters, the second of which became
famous as the first infant to be raised in one of Skinner’s inventions, the air crib.
In 1945, he became the chairman of the psychology department at Indiana
University. On August 18, 1990, B. F. Skinner died of leukemia after becoming
perhaps the most celebrated psychologist since Sigmund Freud.
Skinner’s theory of personality, like other learning theories of personality did

not grow out of the therapeutic situations, rather it emerged from the works
carried out in laboratory settings. Skinner derived his principles of learning from
the study of individual subjects in precisely controlled condition. He focused on
the study of individual subjects instead of generalised group which reflected his
46 belief that lawful control can be seen in individual behaviour.
While other personality theorists attempted to understand personality by studying Learning Thoery of
groups, Skinner attempted to develop general laws by studying individual. Skinner)
Skinner, in his theory of personality, emphasised some particular aspects of human
nature like determinism, elementalism, changeability, objectivity, reactivity and
knowability, while rejected the other aspects like rationality-irrationality and
homeostasis-hetrostasis completely because he did not consider the internal
sources of human behaviour important for explaining behaviour.
According to Skinner study of personality can be done on the basis of systematic

and precise evaluation of individual’s genetic and idiosyncratic learning history.
It means that for studying the personality one has to study and discover the
relationship between the behaviour of the organism and its reinforcing
consequences. Skinner’s theory is based on the assumptions that behaviour is
lawful, it can be predicted, and it can be controlled. Skinner’s theory can be
explained in the following headings:
• Operant behaviour
• Schedule of reinforcement
• Aversive Stimuli
• Secondary Reinforcement
• Successive approximation or Shaping
• Superstitious behaviour
• Abnormal Behaviour
Now let us discuss these aspects of Skinner’s theory in some detail.
3.3.1 Operant Behaviour

According to skinner personality of an individual can be understand through the
study of his behaviour. He further stated that behaviour can be distinguished in
two types, viz., (i) respondent and (ii) operant. Respondent behaviours are those
which are elicited by the stimuli of the environment that are well-known and
can be identified easily. These behaviours are involuntary and automatic in the
sense that if the stimuli is presented before the organism, the behaviour related
to that stimuli will occur automatically. The organism has no control over it.
Constrictions of pupil, salivation, sweating etc. are examples of such behaviours.
These behaviours are usually not learned by the organism at simple level, but at
complex level.
Operant behaviours, on the other hand, are those behaviours which are not caused
by any specific stimuli of the environment. The stimuli of the operant behaviour
are difficult to identify. These behaviours are performed by the individual
voluntarily. Skinner was of the opinion that behaviours of human beings are
predominantly operant in nature.
Operant behaviours or responses can be tied to a readily identifiable stimulus.
These responses seem to be spontaneous and voluntary. Another property of this
kind of behaviour is that its frequency of occurrence is changed according to the
event that follows. More specifically, the strength of these responses increases
when the response occurs and is followed by reinforcement.
The peculiarity of this class of response gives rise to Skinner’s use of the term
“operant”. An operant is a response that operates in the environment and changes
47
Theories of Personality-I it. The changes in the environment affect the subsequent occurrence of the
response. In operant conditioning, therefore, the reinforcer is not associated with
an eliciting stimulus. Instead it is associated with the response.
Skinner prepared a special cage (called “Skinner box”) that has a bar or lever on
one wall that, when pressed, causes a little mechanism to release a food pellet
into the cage. The rat is bouncing around the cage, doing whatever it is rats do,
when he accidentally presses the lever. So in operant conditioning it is essential
that the reinforcer be presented after the occurrence of the response. A reinforcer
is defined as anything that strengthens a tendency to behave in a particular way
(food satisfies hunger so you eat; money reinforces the likelihood that you will
keep working; a child will behave well overtime because mum and dad approve
him).
In other words a reinforcer is a stimulus event which if it occurs in the proper

temporal relation with a response, tends to maintain or to increase the strength
of a response. Reinforcer may either be positive or negative. The likelihood of
the behaviour will be increased by the positive reinforcement (adding something
pleasant) and also by the negative reinforcement (turning of/removing something
unpleasant).
Skinner’s entire system is based on operant conditioning. Skinner’s process of

operant conditioning is given below: A rat is moving around the cage doing what
a rat does normally. Accidentally it presses the lever and a food pellet falls into
the cage. The operant (pressing the lever) is the behaviour just prior to the
reinforcer, which is the food pellet, of course. In no time at all, the rat is furiously
peddling away at the lever, hoarding his pile of pellets in the corner of the cage.
The behaviour followed by a reinforcing stimulus results in an increased
probability of that behaviour occurring in the future. What if you do not give the
rat any more pellets? Apparently, after a few futile attempts, he stops his lever-
pressing behaviour. This is called extinction of the operant behaviour. A behaviour
no longer followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in a decreased probability
of that behaviour occurring in the future.
Now, if you were to turn the pellet machine back on, so that pressing the lever
again provides the rat with pellets, the behaviour of lever-pressing will return
right back into existence, much more quickly than it took for the rat to learn the
behaviour the first time. This is called spontaneous recovery. This is because
the return of the reinforcer takes place in the context of a reinforcement history
that goes all the way back to the very first time the rat was reinforced for pressing
on the lever.
3.3.2 Schedules of Reinforcement

Skinner decided to reduce the number of reinforcements he gave his rats for
whatever behaviour he was trying to condition, and observed that the rats kept
up their operant behaviours, and at a stable rate, no less. This is how Skinner
discovered schedules of reinforcement. Following schedules of reinforcement
were applied by Skinner:
1) Continuous reinforcement: In continuous reinforcement schedule, every
time that the rat does the behaviour (such as pushing the lever), it gets the
food.
48
2) Intermittent Reinforcement Schedule: In intermittent reinforcement Learning Thoery of
schedule the rat does not get the reinforcement every time he presses the Skinner)
lever. It is further divided into two types: (a) The fixed ratio (b) The fixed
interval
a) The fixed ratio schedule was the first one Skinner discovered: If the
rat presses the lever three times, say, he gets reinforcement. Or five
times. Or twenty times. Or “x” times. There is a fixed ratio between
behaviours and reinforcers.
b) The fixed interval schedule uses a timing device of some sort. If the
rat presses the lever at least once during a particular stretch of time
(say 20 seconds), then he gets reinforcement. If he fails to do so, he
does not get it. Even if he presses the bar a hundred times during that
20 seconds, he still only gets one reinforcement. One strange thing that
happens is that the rats tend to “pace” themselves: They slow down
the rate of their behaviour right after the reinforcer, and speed up when
the time for it gets close.
Skinner also looked at variable ratios and variable schedules.
Variable ratio means you change the “x” each time — first it takes 3 presses to
get the food, then 10, then 1, then 7 and so on. Variable interval means you keep
changing the time period — first 20 seconds, then 5, then 35, then 10 and so on.
With the variable interval schedule, they no longer “pace” themselves, because
they can no longer establish a “rhythm” between behaviour and reward. Most
importantly, these schedules are very resistant to extinction.
3.3.3 Aversive Stimuli

An aversive stimulus is the opposite of a reinforcing stimulus, something we
might find unpleasant or painful. A behaviour followed by an aversive stimulus
results in a decreased probability of the behaviour occurring in the future. This
both defines an aversive stimulus and describes the form of conditioning known
as punishment. If you shock a rat for making a response, the rat will stop to
make that response. If you spank the baby for throwing his toys he will throw
his toys less and less (maybe). On the other hand, if you remove an already
active aversive stimulus after a rat or baby performs a certain behaviour, you are
doing negative reinforcement. If you turn off the electricity when the rat stands
on his hind legs, he will do a lot more standing.
Skinner (contrary to some stereotypes that have arisen about behaviourists) does
not “approve” of the use of aversive stimuli. It is not because of ethics, but
because they do not work well. That’s because whatever was reinforcing the
bad behaviours has not been removed, as it would have been in the case of
extinction. This hidden reinforcer has just been “covered up” with a conflicting
aversive stimulus. All baby needs to do is wait till you are out of the room, or
find a way to blame it on its brother, or in some way escape the consequences,
and thus the baby is back to its old ways. In fact, because the baby now only gets
to enjoy its reinforcer occasionally, the baby has gone into a variable schedule
of reinforcement, and it will be even more resistant to extinction than ever.
49
Theories of Personality-I 3.3.4 Secondary Reinforcement
A neutral stimulus presented at the time of delivering the response also tends to
acquire the reinforcing ability. For example in the Skinner box at the time of
delivering reinforcement a sound of click is also produced repeatedly each time.
It was found that this click of sound itself acquires the reinforcing characteristics
being associated with the original reinforcer. The sound of click is now called
secondary reinforcer.
Skinner believed that the conditioned or secondary reinforcers are of great

importance in controlling human behaviour. It is obvious that our every action
is not maintained by the presentation of unconditioned or primary reinforcers
such as food, water, and sex. It is possible to reason that much of our behaviours
relies on secondary reinforcement. The most common example of secondary
reinforcer is money. It has no intrinsic value of its own, but being paired with a
number of different unconditioned primary reinforcers, it has itself acquired the
reinforcing quality. The notion of secondary reinforcement is important in
Skinner’s theory of personality, and he used it effectively to account for the
maintenance of many responses that takes place as part of our social behaviour.
3.3.5 Successive Approximation or Shaping

A question Skinner had to deal with was how we get to more complex sorts of
behaviours. He responded with the idea of shaping, or “the method of successive
approximations.” Basically, it involves first reinforcing a behaviour only vaguely
similar to the one desired. Once that is established, you look out for variations
that comes a little closer to what you want, and so on, until you have the organism
performing a behaviour that would never show up in ordinary life. Skinner and
his students have been quite successful in teaching animals to do some quite
extraordinary things.
3.3.6 Superstitious Behaviour

The type of conditioning, in which there is no causal relationship between the
response and the reinforcer, is referred by Skinner as superstitious conditioning.
When the reinforcement happens to occur purely due to chance factor at the
time the individual made a particular response, the individual started to believe
that the particular response made by him was the cause for getting the
reinforcement, while there was no functional or causal relationship between the
response he made and the reinforcement he got.
According to Skinner many of our superstitious beliefs are the result of this
conditioning. The members of the primitive tribe, for example, may practice
rain making by the performance of some ritualised dance. On some occasions
rain does happen to follow the performance. Thus the rain-making dance is
reinforced and tends to be repeated. The tribal people believe that a causal
relationship exists between the dance and the rain. Similarly, take another example
of a cat crossing your way: a superstition commonly found in Indian society.
Suppose you were going for some important work, say, for example, to appear in
your annual examination. When you were on the way, a cat happens to cross the
way. If you could not do well in the examination due to one or other reasons, you
started to attribute your failure to the cat crossing your way. While in reality
there was no functional relationship between the cat crossing your way and the
performance in the examination.
50
3.3.7 Abnormal Behaviour Learning Thoery of
The constructs like repressed wishes, an identity crisis, conflicts between ego Skinner)
and superego, etc. did not appeal to Skinner for explanation of the abnormal
behaviours. He advocated that the framework on which his theory is based is
sufficient to understand and explain the abnormal behaviour. Abnormal behaviour
is assumed to be the same in its principles of development as normal behaviour.
In putting forward a programme for the treatment of abnormal behaviour, skinner

repeatedly asserted that the goal is simply to replace abnormal behaviour with
normal behaviour. The undesirable behaviour can be modified by the manipulation
of the environment in a manner determined by the techniques of operant and
respondent conditioning.
Through these techniques, we can extinguish an undesirable behaviour (by

removing the reinforcer) and replace it with a desirable behaviour by
reinforcement. It has been used on all sorts of psychological problems such as
addictions, neuroses, shyness, autism, even schizophrenia. It has been observed
that this technique works particularly well with children.
The other technique used for behaviour modification is token economy. This
technique is used primarily in institutions such as psychiatric hospitals, juvenile
halls, and prisons. Certain rules are made explicit in the institution, and behaving
appropriately is rewarded with tokens, including poker chips, tickets, funny
money, recorded notes, etc. The tokens can be traded in for desirable things
such as candy, cigarettes, games, movies, time out of the institution, etc.
3.3.8 Evaluation
Skinner’s theory of personality’ like other theories of personality, also has certain
strengths and also some weaknesses. Some of the strengths of the Skinner’s
learning perspectives on personality are as follows:
Skinner based his theory upon impressive experimental evidence. It is supported
by a number of scientific and testable constructs supported by research findings.
Skinner, in his theory personality, places great emphasis on the importance of
the environment to explain the situational variations in behaviour
The theory has useful therapeutic applications. Psychotherapists have used the
principles of operant conditioning for treating a variety of behaviour problems
successfully.
However, in spite of the above merits Skinner’s theory has also been criticized
on the following grounds:
Skinner’s theory tends to explain specific behaviour and behaviour changes but
not a comprehensive theory of personality. The word personality itself seems
missing from the theory.
The role of biological factors has been ignored. Skinner overlooked the individual
differences present from birth.
In-depth case studies are lacking, partly because comprehensive personality
assessment tests have not been developed from the learning perspective.
51
Theories of Personality-I Skinner’s theory tends to explain specific behaviour and behaviour changes but
not a comprehensive theory of personality. The word personality itself seems
missing from the theory.
The role of biological factors has been ignored. Skinner overlooked the individual
differences present from birth.
Skinner’s theory is unable to cover the whole story of personality. For example
language is certainly acquired to some degree via learning processes: i.e. operant
conditioning, reinforcement and shaping all play a part. However, according to
Noam Chomsky (1959) these concepts do not explain fully how a child learns
to speak. How for example do children come up with sentences they have never
heard before? Why the incredible similarity in language development across
cultures?
Boulding (1984) questions Skinner’s application of principles of animal behaviour

to the much more complex human behaviour. In using animals as substitutes for
humans in the exploration of human behaviour, Skinner is making the big
assumption that general laws relating to the behaviour of animals can be applied
to describe the complex relations in the human world.
If this assumption proves false, then the entire foundation upon which Skinner’s
theory rests will come crashing down. More experiments with human participants
must be done to prove the validity of this.
1) What are the main characteristics of learning theory of personality?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) Discuss the salient features of Skinner’s theory of personality.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) Explain the procedures of operant conditioning.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
52
Learning Thoery of
4) What do you mean by ‘operant behaviour? Personality (Pavlov and
............................................................................................................... Skinner)
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
5) What do you mean by schedule of reinforcement?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
6) How does a superstitious behaviour acquired? Explain it in the light of
Sinner’s theory.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
7) How can the principles of operant conditioning be applied in the
modification of undesirable behaviours?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3.4 LET US SUM UP

Learning theory of personality presents a model of personality that emphasises
observable behaviour, the relationship between stimuli and responses, and the
impact of learning. The behaviourist position is that personality is no more (or
less) than a collection of learned behaviour patterns. Personality, like other learned
behaviour, is acquired through classical and operant conditioning, observational
learning, reinforcement, extinction, generalisation, and discrimination. In the
present unit we have discuss two important learning theories of personality. First,
we focused on Pavlov’ theory of learning and then we explained Skinner theory
of personality.
Classical conditioning, called Pavlovian conditioning, explains how a previously
neutral stimulus can come to have a learned effect on someone. This takes place
by pairing (associating) an unconditioned stimulus (which already produces an
unconditioned response) with a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus). In this
way, the organism learns to respond to the conditioned stimulus with a conditioned
response which is like the unconditioned response. The strength of a conditioned
response depends on the number of pairings between the conditioned stimulus
and the unconditioned stimulus and also on the interval, which elapses between 53
Theories of Personality-I the presentation of conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus. The
acquisition of irrational fears or phobias, sexual hang-up (fetishm), prejudice
and hostile feelings has successfully been explained through the process of
classical conditioning. Once the organism is conditioned to one stimulus, it is
often found that it will respond to other stimuli, similar in some dimension to it.
This phenomenon is known as stimulus generalisation. Stimulus generalisation
plays very important adaptive role. Opposite to this phenomenon is stimulus
discrimination. Within the framework of classical conditioning the ability to
discriminate between the two stimuli is developed when one of the two similar
stimuli is consistently followed by an unconditioned stimulus while the other is
not. This phenomenon is accounted for developing the experimental neurosis.
The principles of classical conditioning are found very us effective for the
modification of behaviour. It has been applied in the treatment of neurosis, phobia,
alcoholism and nicotine addiction Rather than focusing on the root of the problem
like a traditional psychopathologist, a behaviourist could focus on eliminating
the symptom by bringing classical conditioning into play. By reinforcing the
extinction of the symptom, the psychopathological illness of the patient could
be eliminated.
According to Skinner’s theory, individual differences in behaviour are largely
the result of different kinds of learning experiences encountered by different
people. Some behaviour patterns may be learned through direct experience
Skinner stated that the personality of an individual can be understood through
the study of his behaviour. He further stated that behaviour can be distinguished
in two types – respondent and operant. Operant behaviours are those behaviours
which are not caused by any specific stimuli of the environment. Classical
conditioning is labeled by Skinner as respondent conditioning, whereas his own
conditioning procedure is termed by him as operant conditioning.
Skinner’s entire system is based on operant conditioning. In operant conditioning
the desired behaviour of the organism is strengthened by presenting the
reinforcement. A reinforcer is defined as anything that strengthens a tendency to
behave in a particular way. In other words a reinforcer is a stimulus event which
if it occurs in the proper temporal relation with a response, tends to maintain or
to increase the strength of a response. Reinforcer may either be positive or
negative. The likelihood of the behaviour will be increased by the positive
reinforcement (adding something pleasant) and also by the negative reinforcement
(turning of/removing something unpleasant).
Skinner identified different schedules of reinforcement. In continuous
reinforcement schedule, the organism gets reinforcement every time he does the
behaviour. In the fixed ratio schedule the reinforcement is given to the organism
if he made the response at certain number of times. For example if the rat presses
the lever three times, say, he gets reinforcement, Or five times, Or twenty times,
Or “x” times. In fixed interval schedule a timing device of some sort is used. If
the rat presses the lever at least once during a particular stretch of time (say 20
seconds), then he gets reinforcement. If he fails to do so, he does not get it.
Variable ratio means you change the “x” each time — first it takes 3 presses to
get the food, then 10, then 1, then 7 and so on. Variable interval means you keep
changing the time period — first 20 seconds, then 5, then 35, then 10 and so on.
With the variable interval schedule, they no longer “pace” themselves, because
they can no longer establish a “rhythm” between behaviour and reward. Most
importantly, these schedules are very resistant to extinction.
54
An aversive stimulus is the opposite of a reinforcing stimulus, something we Learning Thoery of
might find unpleasant or painful. A behaviour followed by an aversive stimulus Skinner)
results in a decreased probability of the behaviour occurring in the future. But
Skinner doesn’t “approve” of the use of aversive stimuli - not because of ethics,
but because they don’t work well. Instead of extinguishing the behaviour it only
suppresses it. Skinner, on the other hand believed that conditioned or secondary
reinforcers are of great importance in the control of human behaviour.
It is obvious that our every action is not maintained by the presentation of
unconditioned or primary reinforcers. The most common example of secondary
reinforcer is money. It has no intrinsic value of its own, but being paired with a
number of different unconditioned of primary reinforcers, it has itself acquired
the reinforcing quality. The notion of secondary reinforcement is important in
Skinner’s theory of personality, and he used it effectively to account for the
maintenance of many responses that takes place as part of our social behaviour.
According to Skinner method of successive approximation or shaping helps us
in learning of complex behaviours. It involves first reinforcing a behaviour only
vaguely similar to the one desired. Once that is established, you look out for
variations that come a little closer to what you want, and so on, until you have
the animal performing a behaviour that would never show up in ordinary life.
Process of operant conditioning is found useful for the development and treatment
of superstitious and abnormal behaviour. According to Skinner when the
reinforcement happens to occur purely due to the chance factor at the time the
individual made a particular response, the individual started to believe that the
particular response made by him was the cause for getting the reinforcement,
while there was no functional or causal relationship between the response he
made and the reinforcement he got.
According to Skinner many of our superstitious beliefs are the result of this
conditioning. The constructs like repressed wishes, an identity crisis, conflicts
between ego and superego, etc. did not appeal Skinner for the explanation of the
abnormal behaviour. He advocated that the framework on which his theory is
based is sufficient to understand and explain the abnormal behaviour. Abnormal
behaviour is assumed to be the same in its principles of development as normal
behaviour. In putting forward a programme for the treatment of abnormal
behaviour, skinner repeatedly asserted that the goal is simply to replace abnormal
behaviour with normal behaviour.

1) How does the learning theory of personality differ from the psychoanalytic
theory of personality?
2) What are the main features of Behaviouristic theory of personality?
3) Discuss the principles of classical conditioning..
4) Discuss the process of classical conditioning.
5) Describe the principles of classical conditioning, and discuss how it can be
applied in explaining the development of personality.
6) What are the salient features of Skinner’s theory of personality? Discuss it.
7) What is ‘operant behaviour’? How does it differ from the’ respondent
behaviour’?
55
Theories of Personality-I 8) What do you mean by schedule of reinforcement? Discuss its importance in
the acquisition of behaviour.
9) How does a superstitious behaviour acquired? Explain it in the light of
Sinner’s theory.
10) How can the principles of operant conditioning be applied in the modification
of undesirable behaviours?
3.6 GLOSSARY
Classical conditioning : A form of leaning in which stimuli initially
incapable of eliciting certain responses acquire
the ability to do so through repeated pairing with
other stimuli that are able to elicit such
responses.
Conditioned response : A response evoked by a conditioned stimulus.
Conditioned stimulus : A stimulus which acquires the capacity to evoke
particular responses through repeated pairing
with another stimulus capable of eliciting such
reactions.
Continuous reinforcement : Condition under which a particular form of
behaviour is followed by reinforcement on every
occasion it is emitted.
Experimental neurosis : Disturbances in behaviour produced in the
laboratory by requiring organisms to make
discriminations of which they are incapable.
Extinction : The process through which conditioned response
is weakened and eventually eliminated.
Fixed interval schedule of : A schedule in which the first response following
reinforcement the passage of a fixed interval of time yields
reinforcement.
Fixed ratio schedule of : A schedule in which the first response following
reinforcement the emission of a specific number of responses
yields reinforcement.
Generalisation : The process by which a learned response will
occur in more situations than those in which was
first learned; it will be also applied to similar
situations.
Higher-order conditioning : A process in which previously established stimuli
serve as the basis for further conditioning.
Operant : Responses freely emitted by organisms. The
frequency with which such responses appear
may be strongly affected by the application of
various schedules of reinforcement.
Operant conditioning : A form of learning in which responses that yield
positive consequences or lead to escape from
negative outcomes are strengthened.
56
Schedules of reinforcement : Rules governing the delivery of reinforcement. Learning Thoery of
When a given schedule is in effect, reinforcement Skinner)
can be obtained only by meeting its requirements.
Secondary reinforcer : A stimulus which acquires reinforcing properties
through association with a primary reinforcer
such as food or water.
Second–order conditioning: Classical conditioning established on the basis
of earlier conditioning. That is, previously
conditioned stimuli are employed as the basis
for the further conditioning.
Successive approximation : Small changes in the behaviour in the direction
desired bt a trainer. Such changes are reinforced
during the process of shaping.
Superstitious coditioning : The type of conditioning, in which there is no
causal relationship between the response and the
reinforcer, is referred by Skinner as superstitious
conditioning.
Unconditioned response : A response evoked by an unconditioned
stimulus.
Unconditioned stimulus : A stimulus possessing the capacity to elicit
reactions from the organisms in the absence of
prior conditioning.

Burger, J. M. (1993). Personality (3rd ed.) Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2000). Perspectives on Personality (4th ed.)
Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster.
Funder, D. C. (2001). The Personality Puzzle (2nd ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.
References
Boulding, K. E. (1984). B. F. Skinner: A dissident view. Behavioural and Brain
Sciences, 7, 483-484.
Gracia, J., McGrown, B. K., & Green, K. F. (1972) Biological constraints on
conditioning. In A. H. Black and W. F. Prokasy (Eds) Classical Conditioning II:
Current Research and Theory. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Rescorla, R. A. (1973). Pavlovlian conditioning: It’s not what you think it is.
American Psychologist, 43, 151-160.
Schwartz, B., & Lacey, H. (1982). Behaviourism, science, and human nature.
New York: Norton.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1972). On the generality of the laws of learning. Psychological
Review, 77, 406-418.
57
UNIT 4 HUMANISTIC AND SELF THEORY
(MASLOW AND ROGERS)
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Humanistic and Self Theories of Personality
4.3 Abraham Maslow: Humanistic Approach of Personality
4.3.1 Hierarchy of Needs
4.3.2 Deficiency Needs
4.3.3 Growth Needs
4.3.4 Characteristics of Self-actualisers
4.3.5 Evaluation
4.4 Carl Rogers’s Theory of Personality
4.4.1.1 The Organism
4.4.1.2 The Self (Real and Ideal)
4.4.1.3 Congruity and Incongruity
4.4.2 Self-actualisation
4.4.3 The Development of Self
4.4.4 Evaluation
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.7 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
The theories which focus on the entire person and emphasise the view that persons
are inherently good with unique attributes for greatness has been labeled as
humanistic, or organismic, or person-centered theories of personality. In this
unit we will first discuss the characteristic features of humanistic theories, and
then we will come across to explain the distinctive features of Abraham Maslow’s
Humanistic Theory of Personality. After that we will turn to discuss the Carl
Rogers’s Person-Centered Theory of Personality.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define the humanistic approach of Maslow and Rogers;
• Explain the theories of Maslow and Rogers;
• Describe the characteristic features of Maslow’s theory of personality;
• Explain the hierarchy of needs as given by Maslow;
• Differentiate between deficit needs and growth needs;
• Explain the characteristics of self-actualised person; and
58 • Analyse various methods used in social psychology.
Humanistic and Self Theory
4.2 HUMANISTIC AND SELF THEORIES OF (Malsow and Rogers)
PERSONALITY
The Humanistic Approach began in response to concerns by therapists against
perceived limitations of Psychodynamic theories, especially psychoanalysis.
Psychologists and psychoanalysts such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
felt that the existing (psychodynamic) theories failed to adequately address issues
such as the meaning of behaviour, and the nature of healthy growth. However,
the result was not simply new variations on psychodynamic theory, but rather a
fundamentally new approach.
There are several factors which distinguish the Humanistic Approach from other
approaches, that is, the difference can be seen in the emphasis on subjective
meaning, a rejection of determinism, and a concern for positive growth rather
than pathology.
While one might argue that some psychodynamic theories provide a vision of
healthy growth (including Jung’s concept of individuation), the other
characteristics distinguish the Humanistic Approach from every other approach
within psychology (and sometimes lead theorists from other approaches to say
the Humanistic Approach is not a science at all).
Most psychologists believe that behaviour can only be understood objectively

(by an impartial observer), but the humanists argue that this results in concluding
that an individual is incapable of understanding their own behaviour—a view
which they see as both paradoxical and dangerous to well-being.
Instead, humanists like Rogers argue that the meaning of behaviour is essentially
personal and subjective; they further argue that accepting this idea is not
unscientific, because ultimately all individuals are subjective: what makes science
reliable is not that scientists are purely objective, but that the nature of observed
events can be agreed upon by different observers (a process Rogers calls
intersubjective verification).
The main aim of humanistic approach is to provide concepts and methods for
stimulating learning, growth and development both in individual persons as well
as in society, thus enhancing well-being and the overall quality of life. Maslow
coined the term “the Third Force” to describe the Humanistic Approach, to
emphasise how it differed from the Psychodynamic and Behaviourist Approaches,
which dominated psychology in the 1950’s.
This “third force”, in contrast with clinical psychology, influenced by Freudian

psycho-analysis, which studies mental illness, i.e. the negative side of human
behaviour, and traditional academic, experimental psychology, influenced by
behaviourism, which tends to reduce human behaviour to statistical correlations
between different kinds of stimuli, responses and personality traits. Instead of
merely modeling normal behaviour or of curing clear dysfunctions, a humanistic
psychologist tries to help people to develop in a better way, thus making them
more competent, more aware, happier, in the hope of reaching some state of
“optimal” mental health.
59
Theories of Personality-I The central theme in humanistic theories is the drive towards self-actualisation,
to realise one’s full potential. Other themes include personal growth, openness
to experience, living in the present, personal responsibility, and inherent goodness
of people. For the humanists, the unit of analysis is the perceived reality.
Probably the best known proponent of this approach is Abraham Maslow. What
distinguishes his work from that of other “humanists”, such as Carl Rogers or
Erich Fromm is that he proposes a model of how a happy, healthy, well-functioning
person behaves, which is based on concrete observations of real people, rather
than on formulating ideal requirements.
Also Maslow proposes a simple and intuitively appealing theory of motivation,

which explains where such a “self-actualising” personality comes from. In parallel
with systems theory, Maslow reacts against too much reductionism in
psychological modeling, and proposes an alternative holistic approach of
personality research.
In recent years, a number of initiatives have appeared which, while influenced

significantly by humanistic ideas and theories, have new directions. Perhaps the
most significant is positive psychology, a term coined by Dr. Martin Seligman
when he was President of the American Psychological Association in 2000.
Positive psychology, like the humanistic approach, focuses on enhancing human
potential, but embraces research methods (e.g., surveys, group data) which
humanists have traditionally avoided.
Another area influenced by the humanistic approach has been coaching

psychology. While the term originated in “personal coaching” in sports, it more
generally refers to a focus on enhancing individual potential, and the field has
gradually become a specific area within many psychology associations.
4.3 ABRAHAM MASLOW: HUMANISTIC

APPROACH TO PERSONALITY
Abraham Maslow, widely regarded as one of the founders of the Humanistic
Approach, was born on April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his
BA in 1930, his MA in 1931, and his PhD in 1934, all in psychology, all from the
University of Wisconsin. A year after graduation, he returned to New York to
work with E. L. Thorndike at Columbia, where Maslow became interested in
research on human sexuality. He began teaching full time at Brooklyn College.
During this period of his life, he came into contact with the many European
intellectuals who were migrating to the US, and Brooklyn in particular, at that
time. Persons like Adler, Fromm, Horney, as well as several Gestalt and Freudian
psychologists also migrated to Brooklyn initially. Maslow served as the chair of
the psychology department at Brandeis from 1951 to 1969. While working here
he met Kurt Goldstein, who had put forward the idea of self-actualisation in his
famous book, The Organism (1934).
It was also here that he began his crusade for a humanistic psychology, something
ultimately much more important to him than his own theorising. He spent his
final years in semi retirement in California, until, on June 8 1970, he died of a
heart attack after years of ill health.
60
Maslow developed a theory of personality that has influenced a number of Humanistic and Self Theory
(Malsow and Rogers)
different fields. This wide influence is due in part to the high level of practicality
of Maslow’s theory. His theory accurately describes many realities of personal
experiences. Humanists do not believe that human beings are pushed and pulled
by mechanical forces, either of stimuli and reinforcements (behaviourism) or of
unconscious instinctual impulses (psychoanalysis).
Humanists focus upon potentials. They believe that humans strive for an upper
level of capabilities. Humans seek the frontiers of creativity, the highest reaches
of consciousness and wisdom. This has been labeled “fully functioning person”,
“healthy personality”, or as Maslow calls this level, “self-actualising person.”
Maslow’s theory of personality can be explained under the following headings:
1) Hierarchy of needs, 2) Deficit needs, 3) Growth needs, 4) Self-actualisers
4.3.1 Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow proposed a theory of human motivation based on hierarchy of needs.
The lower a need in the hierarchy the more prepotent or dominating that need is.
In other words, when several needs are active, the lowest need will be most
compelling. The higher order needs emerge only when the lower level needs are
satisfied.
The first four levels are considered deficiency or deprivation needs (“D-needs”)
in that their lack of satisfaction causes a deficiency that motivates people to
meet these needs.
For instance the Physiological needs which are at the lowest level on the
hierarchy, include necessities such as air, food, and water. These tend to be satisfied
for most people, but they become predominant when unmet. During emergencies,
safety needs such as health and security rise to the forefront. Once these two
levels are met, belongingness needs, such as obtaining love and intimate
relationships or close friendships, become important. The next level, esteem needs,
include the need for recognition from others, confidence, achievement, and self-
esteem. The highest level is self-actualisation, or the self-fulfillment.
Behaviour in this case is not driven or motivated by deficiencies but rather one’s
desire for personal growth and the need to become all the things that a person is
capable of becoming (Maslow, 1970). Now we will discuss each level of needs
one by one:
The lowest level in the Maslow’s hierarchy is the physiological needs.
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for
water, air, food and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic
and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until
these physiological needs are met. These needs are such that if they are not satisfied
the organism dies. If the threat of dying because of perturbation of the
physiological equilibrium has vanished, the organism can direct its attention to
more indirect threats, such as the danger of being caught by a predator, and try to
avoid them
61
Theories of Personality-I The next needs in the hierarchy are safety needs.
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for
survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of
security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe
neighbourhoods and shelter from the environment.
At the third level of the hierarchy are belongingness needs.

These include needs for belonging, love and affection. Maslow considered these
needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such
as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill this need for
companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community or
religious groups.
At the fourth level of hierarchy are self-esteem needs

After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly
important. Maslow noted two versions of esteem needs, a lower one and a higher
one.
The lower one is the need for the respect of others, the need for status, recognition,
fame, prestige, and attention.
The higher one is the need for self-respect, the need for strength, competence,
mastery, self-confidence, independence and freedom. These needs rank higher
because it rests more on inner competence won through experience. Deprivation
of these needs can lead to an inferiority complex, weakness and helplessness.
Satisfaction of the self-esteem need leads to feelings of self-confidence, worth,
strength, capability and adequacy of being useful and necessary in the world.
These feelings in turn give rise to either basic discouragement or else
compensatory or neurotic trends. An appreciation of the necessity of basic self-
confidence and an understanding of how helpless people are without it, can be
easily gained from a study of severe traumatic neurosis
The highest level need is self-actualisation.

“What a man can be, he must be”. This forms the basis of the perceived need for
self-actualisation. This level of need pertains to what a person’s full potential is
and realising that potential. Maslow describes this desire as the desire to become
more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.
This is a broad definition of the need for self-actualisation, but when applied to
individuals the need is specific.
For example one individual may have the strong desire to become an ideal parent,
while for another it may be expressed athletically, and in the third it may be
expressed in painting, pictures, or inventions. As mentioned earlier, in order to
reach a clear understanding of this level of need one must first not only achieve
the previous needs, physiological, safety, love, and esteem, but master these needs.
Below are Maslow’s descriptions of the consequences that what will happen if
these needs are not satisfied.
4.3.2 Deficiency Needs

It has been stated in the earlier discussion that the first four levels of needs are
called deficit needs, or D-needs. If you don’t have enough of something, then it
is said that you have a deficit that is you feel the need.
62
But if you get all you need, you feel nothing at all! In other words, they cease to Humanistic and Self Theory
(Malsow and Rogers)
be motivating. He also talks about these levels in terms of homeostasis.
Homeostasis is the principle by which the bodily system (thermostat) operates.
In other words, when it gets too cold, the thermostat switches the heat on and
when it gets too hot, it switches the heat off. In the same way, human body,
when it lacks a certain substance, develops a hunger for it; when it gets enough
of it, then the hunger stops.
Maslow simply extends this homeostatic principle to needs, such as safety,

belongingness, and esteem about which we do not ordinarily think of in these
terms. In terms of overall development, we move through these levels a bit like
stages.
As newborns, our focus (if not our entire set of needs) is on the satisfaction of
the physiological needs. Soon, we begin to recognise that we need to be safe.
Soon after that, we crave attention and affection. A bit later, we look for self-
esteem. Mind you, this is in the first couple of years! Under stressful conditions,
or when survival is threatened, we can “regress” to a lower need level.
When you find that your great career falls flat, you might seek out a little attention.
When your family decides to leave you, it seems that love is again all you ever
wanted. If you have significant problems along your development, that is a period
of extreme insecurity such as hunger as a child, or the loss of a family member
through death or divorce, or significant neglect or abuse, it is possible that one
may “fixate” on that set of needs for the rest of one’s life.
4.3.3 Growth Needs

Maslow has used a variety of terms to refer to the last level of needs. He has
called it growth motivation (in contrast to deficit motivation). They are called
the being needs (or B-needs, in contrast to D-needs), and self-actualisation.
These are needs that do not involve balance or homeostasis. They involve the
continuous desire to fulfill potentials, to “be all that you can be”. If you want to
be truly self-actualising, you need to have your lower needs taken care of, at
least to a considerable extent. This makes sense, which is if you are hungry, you
are scrambling to get food; if you are unsafe, you have to be continuously on
guard; if you are isolated and unloved, you have to satisfy that need; if you have
a low sense of self-esteem, you have to be defensive or compensate. When
lower needs are unmet, you can not fully devote yourself to fulfilling your
potentials.
The question becomes, of course, what exactly Maslow means by self-

actualisation. To answer that, we need to look at the kind of people he called
self-actualised persons. Fortunately, he did this for us, using a qualitative method
called biographical analysis. He began by picking out a group of people, some
historical figures, some people he knew, whom he felt clearly met the standard
of self-actualisation. Included in this august group were Abraham Lincoln,
Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Adams, William
James, Albert Schweitzer, Benedict Spinoza, and Alduous Huxley, plus 12
unnamed people who were alive at the time Maslow did his research. He then
looked at their biographies, writings, the acts and words of those he knew
personally, and so on. From these sources, he developed a list of qualities that
seemed characteristic of these people, as opposed to the great mass of us.
63
Theories of Personality-I 4.3.4 Characteristics of Self-actualisers
According to Maslow, people who are self actualised, were
1) Reality-centered, which means they could differentiate what is fake and
dishonest from what is real and genuine.
2) Problem-centered, meaning they treated life’s difficulties as problems
demanding solutions, not as personal troubles to be railed at or surrendered
to.
3) Had a different perception of means and ends. They felt that the ends do
not necessarily justify the means, that the means could be ends themselves,
and that the means, that is the journey was often more important than the
ends.
4) Had different ways of relating to others. First, they enjoyed solitude, and
were comfortable being alone. And they enjoyed deeper personal relations
with a few close friends and family members, rather than more shallow
relationships with many people.
5) Enjoyed autonomy, a relative independence from physical and social needs.
6) Resisted enculturation, that is, they were not susceptible to social pressure
to be “well adjusted” or to “fit in” . They were, in fact, nonconformists in
the best sense.
7) Had an unhostile sense of humor. They preferred to joke at their own
expense, or at the human condition, and never directing their humor at
others.
8) Had a quality of acceptance of self and others, by which he meant that
these people would be more likely to take you as you are than try to change
you into what they thought you should be.
This same acceptance applied to their attitudes towards themselves: If some
quality of theirs wasn’t harmful, they let it be, even enjoying it as a personal
quirk.
9) They were often strongly motivated to change negative qualities in
themselves that could be changed.
10) They possessed qualities such as spontaneity and simplicity.
11) They preferred being themselves rather than being pretentious or artificial.
12) They had a sense of humility and respect towards others — something
Maslow also called democratic value.
13) They had a quality Maslow called human kinship, that is social interest,
compassion, and humanity.
14) Were strong in their ethical behaviours.
15) They were spiritual but never conventionally religious in nature.
16) They had a certain freshness of appreciation, an ability to see things, even
ordinary things, with wonder.
17) They had the ability to be creative, inventive, and original.
18) They tended to have more peak experiences than the average person. A
peak experience is one that takes you out of yourself, that makes you feel
64
very tiny, or very large, to some extent one with life or nature or God. It Humanistic and Self Theory
(Malsow and Rogers)
gives you a feeling of being a part of the infinite and the eternal. These
experiences tend to leave their mark on a person, change them for the better,
and many people actively seek them out. They are also called mystical
experiences, and are an important part of many religious and philosophical
traditions.
Maslow did not however think that self actualised persons were perfect. There
were several flaws or imperfections he discovered along the way as well. These
were as given below:
1) They often suffered considerable anxiety and guilt. These anxiety and guilt
were realistic ones rather than misplaced or neurotic versions.
2) Some of them were absent minded and overly kind.
3) Also some of them had unexpected moments of ruthlessness, surgical
coldness, and loss of humor.
4) Maslow also stated that when a self actualised person does not get their
needs fulfilled, they respond with metapathologies. That is they respond
with a list of problems.
5) When forced to live without these values, the self-actualiser develops
depression, despair, disgust, alienation, and a degree of cynicism.
4.3.5 Evaluation
Maslow has been a very inspirational figure in personality theories. In the 1960’s
in particular, people were tired of the reductionistic, mechanistic messages of
the behaviourists and physiological psychologists. They were looking for
meaning and purpose in their lives, even a higher, more mystical meaning.
Maslow was one of the pioneers in that movement to bring the human being
back into psychology and the person back into personality.
Moreover, Maslow’s unique contribution lies in his preoccupation with healthy
people rather than sick ones and his feeling that studies of two groups generate
different types of theory. Maslow chose the more direct course of studying healthy
people whose wholeness and unity of personality are readily apparent. But in
spite of this unique contribution Maslow’s theory has been criticized on many
grounds.
The most common criticism concerns his methodology: Picking a small number
of people that he himself declared self-actualising, then reading about them or
talking with them, and coming to conclusions about what self-actualisation is in
the first place does not sound like good science to many people.
Another criticism is that Maslow placed certain constraints on self-actualisation.
First, Kurt Goldstein and Carl Rogers used the phrase to refer to what every a
living creature does, that is to try to grow, and to fulfill its biological destiny.
Maslow limits self actualisation to be achieved only by about two percent of the
human species, while most do not achieve this. While Rogers felt that babies
were the best examples of human self-actualisation, Maslow saw it as something
achieved only rarely by the young.
Another criticism is that we take much take care of our lower needs before self-
actualisation comes to the forefront. And yet we can find many examples of
65
Theories of Personality-I people who exhibit least aspects of self-actualisation and were far from having
their lower needs taken care of. Many of our best artists and authors, for example,
suffered from poverty, bad upbringing, neuroses, and depression.

1) Discuss the importance of humanistic approach in the study of
personality.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) Describe the salient features of Maslow’s theory of personality.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) Critically evaluate Maslow’s need hierarchy theory.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4) Distinguish between deficiency needs and growth needs.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
5) Explain the characteristics of self-actualising person.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
66
4.4 CARL ROGER’S THEORY OF PERSONALITY (Malsow and Rogers)
Carl Rogers was born on January 8, 1902, in Oak Park, Illinois. Raised on a farm
from the age of twelve, Rogers entered the Agricultural College of the University
of Wisconsin in 1919, where he graduated with a degree in history. While in
college he felt a religious calling and eventually began training to become a
Protestant minister, and after graduating in 1924 he enrolled at the Union
Theological Seminary in New York City. From there he transferred to Teachers
College at Columbia University in order to pursue counseling rather than the
strictly religious aspect of his ministerial profession.
He subsequently focused on clinical and educational psychology, writing his

doctoral dissertation on personality adjustment in children. Throughout the 1930s,
Rogers worked in the field of child psychology, and in 1940 he accepted a position
as a professor of psychology at Ohio State University. It was at this time that he
began to develop the theories and methodology for which he would later become
renowned. The incipient concepts of Rogers’s therapeutic approach appeared in
his 1942 book Counseling and Psychotherapy, and within the next few years he
developed his concept of the self as the organising element in human personality
and the principles of the “nondirective,” or client-centered, style of therapy.
In 1945 he took a position as professor of psychology and head of the counseling

center at the University of Chicago, where, over the next twelve years, he further
refined and articulated his ideas, publishing Client-Centered Therapy (1951)
during this time. A charismatic figure, Rogers’s influence over students,
colleagues, and various collaborators, as well as his publication of best-selling
books such as On Becoming a Person (1961) and Person to Person (1967) made
him the central figure in American humanistic psychology throughout his lifetime.
Carl Rogers was not only one of the founders of the Humanistic Approach, but
also arguably the most influential therapist in the 20th century. Rogers’s theory
is basically phenomenological, in that it placed a strong emphasis on the
experience of the person, their feelings, their values, and all that is summed up
by the expression “inner life”. His theory is also known as self-theory. The other
name of his theory is person-centered theory. His theory grew out of his own
experience in working with individual in the therapeutic relationship
In terms of his theory, there are two fundamental ideas which are particularly
worth noting. First, Rogers talked about healthy development in terms of how
individuals perceived their own being. Healthy individuals will tend to see
congruence between their sense of who they are (self) and who they feel they
should be (ideal self). While no one tends to experience perfect congruence at
all times, the relative degree of congruence is an indicator of health.
The second fundamental idea is Rogers’s concept of the conditions for healthy
growth, and the role of a therapist in fostering healthy growth. Through a process
Rogers called person-centered therapy; the therapist seeks to provide empathy,
openness, and unconditional positive regard. Rogers called his technique non-
directive therapy, based on the concept that the therapist is simply a “mirror”
who reflects the individual’s thoughts and feelings.
67
Theories of Personality-I Rogers’s theory can be explained under the following three headings:
1) Enduring aspects of personality
2) Self-actualisation
3) Development of self

Rogers’ theory of personality evolved out of his work as a clinical psychologist
and developed as an offshoot of his theory of client-centered (later called person-
centered) therapy. Since the main aim of his theory is to explain the growth and
development within the individual, so his theory does not appear to lay much
emphasis on personality development, rather prefer to devote his attention to
such constructs that are of fundamental importance to his theory. These are:
(i) the organism and (ii) the self.
4.4.1.1 The Organism

Rogers approach to the study of persons is phenomenological and idiographic.
His view of human behaviour is that it is “exquisitely rational”. Furthermore, in
his opinion: “the core of man’s nature is essentially positive” and he is a
“trustworthy organism”.
According to Rogers the organism is the locus of all experience, including

everything potentially available to awareness, at any given moment. The totality
of experience constitutes the phenomenal field. The phenomenal field is the
individual’s frame of reference that can only be known to the person. It can
never be known to another, except through empathetic experience and at that
level too, can never be known perfectly.
Rogers emphasised that the individual’s way of behaving depends upon the
phenomenal field (subjective reality) and not upon the stimulating conditions
(external reality). The phenomenal field at any given moment is made up of
conscious and unconscious experiences. The person tends to check his or her
experiences against the reality. This testing of reality provides with dependable
knowledge of the world so that one is able to behave realistically. In most of the
cases the person accepts his or her experiences as true representation of reality,
while in reality they may not be the true representation. As a result the person
may develop misconceptions about himself/herself and about the external world.
4.4.1.2 The Self (Real and Ideal)

Rogers developed one of the most systematic models of self, in relation to the
personality-functioning. The self or self-concept, is one of the central concepts
in his theory, and the theory is often referred to as the self-theory of personality.
Rogers defined self as the organised, consistent, conceptual gestalt composed of
perceptions of the characteristics of the “I” or “me”, and the perception of the
relationship “I” or “me” to various aspects of life, together the values attached to
those perceptions.
In short, it is one’s picture of him or hers. Rogers further distinguishes two aspects
or subsystems of self: The real self and the ideal self. The real self is the “you”
that, if all goes well, you will become, while the ideal self is what the person
would like to be.
68
By ideal, Rogers is suggesting something not real, something that is always out Humanistic and Self Theory
(Malsow and Rogers)
of our reach, the standard we can not meet. Thus, Rogers’s personality theory
distinguishes between two personalities. The real self, which is created and
developed through the actualising tendency, it is the self that one can become.
The demands of society, however, do not always support the actualising tendency
and we are forced to live under conditions that are out of step with our tendencies.
The ideal self is the ideal created through the demands of society. Rogers does
not see it as something to strive for (that is the real self) but an ideal imposed on
us we can never fully reach. Rogers’ view of ‘hidden’ personality relates to the
person one could be given the right circumstances within society and for an
individual to be truly happy (and for self-actualisation to be realised) their public
and private selves must be as similar as possible. For an individual to be truly
happy and for self-actualisation to be realised, the public and hidden selves must
be as similar as possible. Rogers believed that when all aspects of a person’s life,
surroundings and thoughts are in harmony then the ideal state of congruence is
reached (Pervin & Oliver 1997).
4.4.1.3 Congruity and Incongruity

The importance of the concept of organism and self, in Rogers theory becomes
clear when we examine the idea of congruence and incongruence between this
self as perceived, and the self as actually experienced by the organism. When
the symbolised experiences that constitute the self, faithfully mirror the
experiences of the organism, the self and organism are said to be congruent, that
is the individual is believed to be adjusted, mature and fully functioning.
Otherwise, there would be incongruence. According to Rogers, most of the ways
of behaving that are adopted by the organism are those that are consistent with
the concept of self. In some instances, behaviour may be brought about by organic
experiences and needs which have not been symbolised. Such behaviour may be
inconsistent with the structure of the self but in such instances the behaviour is
not “owned” by the individual.
Rogers suggests that the incongruent individual who is always on the defensive
and cannot be open to all experiences is not functioning ideally and may even be
malfunctioning. They work hard at maintaining/protecting their self concept.
Because their lives are not authentic this is a difficult task and they are under
constant threat. They deploy defense mechanisms to achieve this. He describes
two mechanisms: distortion and denial.
Distortion occurs when the individual perceives a threat to their self concept.
They distort the perception until it fits their self concept. This defensive behaviour
reduces the consciousness of the threat but not the threat itself. And so, as the
threats mount, the work of protecting the self concept becomes more difficult
and the individual becomes more defensive and rigid in their self structure.
If the incongruence is immoderate this process may lead the individual to a state
that would typically be described as neurotic. Their functioning becomes
precarious and psychologically vulnerable. If the situation worsens it is possible
that the defenses cease to function altogether and the individual becomes aware
of the incongruence of their situation. Their personality becomes disorganised
and bizarre; irrational behaviour, associated with earlier denied aspects of self,
may erupt uncontrollably.
69
Theories of Personality-I Thus, it may be concluded that psychological adjustment exists when the concept
of the self is such that all the sensory and visceral experiences of the organism
are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level into a consistent relationship
with the concept of self. Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism
denies awareness of significant sensory and visceral experiences, which
consequently are not symbolised and organised into the gestalt of the self structure.
When this situation exists, there is a basic or potential psychological tension.

Any experience which is inconsistent with the organisation of the structure of
the self may be perceived as a threat, and the more of these perceptions there are,
the more rigidly the self structure is organised to maintain itself.
4.4.2 Self-Actualisation
According to Rogers, only the single motive is there that impels human beings
to action, and that motive can be described as the actualising tendency. Rogers
(1959) maintains that the human “organism” has an underlying “actualising
tendency”, which aims to develop all capacities in ways that maintain or enhance
the organism and move it toward autonomy. This tendency is directional,
constructive and present in all living things.
The actualising tendency can be suppressed but can never be destroyed without
the destruction of the organism (Rogers, 1977). The concept of the actualising
tendency is the only motive force in the theory. It encompasses all motivations;
tension, need, or drive reductions; and creative as well as pleasure-seeking
tendencies (Rogers, 1959).
Only the organism as a whole has this tendency, parts of it (such as the self) do
not. Maddi (1996) describes it as a “biological pressure to fulfill the genetic
blueprint’. Each person thus has a fundamental mandate to fulfill one’s potential.
This tendency is selective, and pays attention only to those aspects of the
environment which promises to move the person constructively, in the direction
of fulfillment and wholeness. Therefore, as already stated, the single motivating
force is ‘the self-actualisation drive’ and single goal of life is ‘to become self-
actualised’
4.4.3 The Development of Self

Rogers, unlike Freud, Sullivan, and Erikson, did not try to propose a stage theory
of personality development. In other words, Rogers did not explain the personality
development in steps or stages; rather he emphasised the importance of
congruence between the self of the person and his experiences in the development
of personality.
Adjustment and psychological health have also been explained in terms of realistic
self-concept that is congruent with self. Rogers maintained that unless we are
taught inappropriately by those whose love we need, our self-concept in based
on our own perceptions, and fits well with our experiences.
If we are taught to have a self-concept that does not match what we actually
experience, we are going to have difficulty. For example, you might learn that
nice people never get angry and then find yourself in a situation in which you are
insulted; your self-concept does not allow you to perceive your feeling of anger
accurately.
70
The greater the discrepancy between our self and our experiences, the greater the Humanistic and Self Theory
(Malsow and Rogers)
maladjustment and anxiety, and the harder we must reconcile what we believe
ourselves and what we encounter in the world around us.
Rogers also suggests that if there is a large self-experience discrepancy, and if

there is no way to avoid all of the relevant experiences, the defensive system
may be unable to handle anxiety; it may breakdown and result in a disorganisation
of personality.
Early in our lives, we each have direct experience with pleasure and pain; for
example, we obviously learn that it is good to eat and bad to be hungry, good to
be in mother’s arm and bad to touch a hot stove and so on. Beyond these simple
physical reactions, there is a need for positive regard. That is, we want to be
loved and respected as individuals. Our parents tend to be the primary source of
love and affection, and it is desperately important to maintain their good will.
We want them to praise us, say that we are good, and express positive feelings
toward us. When we do something they dislike and they let us know it, the
experience is painful one. We strive to alter our behaviour to get back in their
good graces.
The crucial problem occurs when the beliefs, values, and perceptions of parents
do not fit the child’s experiences and feelings. Let us look at an example of the
process. A three year old boy is upset when his mother gives birth to a second
baby. He must share love and attention with the new addition, be quiet when the
baby is sleeping and so on. From the brother’s perspective, the situation involves
rejection and loss of status: most likely he feels not only depressed but hostile.
The obvious target of his hostility is the new sister. One day his mother finds
him deliberately pinching the sister’s arm to make her cry. What does the mother
do? Her decision at this point is described by Rogers as a critical one in the
development of the boy’s self-concept. The usual response of the mother will be
to punish the child and reject him because of his hostility and force him to love
his sister. The conflict for the boy is clear. Since the need for mother’s love is
vitally important, so he may alter his self-concept to conform to what the mother
wanted. In this case, the mother’s reaction might serve to help give this child a
self-concept, inconsistent with his experiences.
Rogers recognised the three crucial points for the parents to keep in mind.
1) First, the child’s feeling must be recognised and accepted.
2) Second, the mother should avoid threatening the child with the most
threatening punishment of all – loss of love.
3) Third, the hostile behaviour must be clearly and unmistakenly rejected and
prevented.
4.4.4 Evaluation
The person-centered approach, being the unique approach to understanding
personality and human relationships, found wide application in various domains
such as psychotherapy and counseling, organisations, and other group settings.
Rogers’s greatest contribution may lie in his encouraging a humane and ethical
treatment of persons, approaching psychology as a human science rather than a
natural science.
71
Theories of Personality-I Rogers’s person-centered approach has been criticised on many grounds. The
most important being the charge that many psychologists tend to impose their
views based upon naïve phenomenology. For instance, Rogers accepted client’s
statement to be always true and reliable, when self-reports normally lack
credibility.
Rogers has also been criticised for ignoring unconscious determinants of

behaviour, attested by psycho-analytic investigators over a long period.
It is also criticised on the ground that the theory deals only with surface issues
and does not explore deeper areas.

1) Discuss the salient features of Rogers’s theory of personality.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) Explain the importance of self-concept in Rogers’s theory of personality.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) What do you mean by congruence and incongruence of self. What role
dose it play in the development of personality?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4) Discuss the development of personality from Rogers’s phenomenological
point of view.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
72
4.5 LET US SUM UP (Malsow and Rogers)
The central theme in humanistic and self theories is the drive towards self-
actualisation, to realise one’s full potential. Other themes include personal growth,
openness to experience, living in the present, personal responsibility, and inherent
goodness of people.
For the humanists, the unit of analysis is “perceived reality”.

Probably the best known proponent of this approach is Abraham Maslow. Maslow
proposes a model of how a happy, healthy, well-functioning person behaves,
which is based on concrete observations of real people, rather than on formulating
ideal requirements. Moreover Maslow proposes a simple and intuitively appealing
theory of motivation, which explains where such a “self-actualising” personality
comes from. Maslow’s theory can be explained in terms of Hierarchy of needs,
deficiency needs, growth needs and characteristics of self-actualising persons.
Maslow proposed a theory of human motivation based on hierarchy of needs.

The lower a need in the hierarchy the more prepotent or dominating that need is.
In other words, when several needs are active, the lowest need will be most
compelling. The higher order need emerge only when the lower level needs are
satisfied.
The first four levels are considered deficiency or deprivation needs (“D-needs”)
in that their lack of satisfaction causes a deficiency that motivates people to
meet these needs.
Physiological needs, the lowest level on the hierarchy, include necessities such
as air, food, and water. These tend to be satisfied for most people, but they become
predominant when unmet.
During emergencies, safety needs such as health and security rise to the forefront.
Once these two levels are met, belongingness needs, such as obtaining love and
intimate relationships or close friendships, become important.
The next level, esteem needs, include the need for recognition from others,
confidence, achievement, and self-esteem.
The highest level is self-actualisation, or the self-fulfillment. Behaviour in this

case is not driven or motivated by deficiencies but rather one’s desire for personal
growth and the need to become all the things that a person is capable of becoming.
In order to study the characteristics self-actualisers of Maslow studied a group of

people, whom he felt clearly met the standard of self-actualisation. Using
a qualitative method called biographical analysis; he developed a list of
qualities that seemed characteristic of the self-actualisers, as opposed to the great
mass of us.
Rogers’s theory, also known as self-theory, is basically phenomenological, in

that it placed a strong emphasis on the experience of the person, their feelings,
their values, and all that is summed up by the expression “inner life”. His theory
grew out of his own experience in working with individual in the therapeutic
relationship
73
Theories of Personality-I In terms of his theory, there are two fundamental ideas which are particularly
worth noting. First, Rogers talked about healthy development in terms of how
the individual perceived their own being. A healthy individual will tend to see
congruence between their sense of who they are (self) and who they feel they
should be (ideal self). While no one tends to experience perfect congruence at all
times, the relative degree of congruence is an indicator of health.
The second fundamental idea is Rogers’s concept of the conditions for healthy
growth, and the role of a therapist in fostering healthy growth. Rogers’s theory is
explained under the three headings: enduring aspects of personality, self-
actualisation and development of self.
Organism and the self are of the fundamental importance in Rogers’s theory.
According to Rogers the organism is the locus of all experience, including
everything potentially available to awareness, at any given moment. The totality
of experience constitutes the phenomenal field.
The phenomenal field is the individual’s frame of reference that can only be
known to the person. Rogers emphasised that the individual’s way of behaving
depends upon the phenomenal field (subjective reality) and not upon the
stimulating conditions (external reality). Rogers developed one of the most
systematic models of self, in relation to the personality-functioning. The self or
self-concept is one of the central concepts in his theory. Self is one’s picture of
him or hers. Rogers further distinguishes two aspects or subsystems of self: The
real self and the ideal self. The real self is the “you” that, if all goes well, you will
become, while the ideal self is what the person would like to be.
Thus, Rogers’s personality theory distinguishes between two personalities. The

real self, which is created and developed through the actualising tendency and
the ideal-self, which is created through the demands of society. Rogers, unlike
Freud, Sullivan, and Erikson, did not try to propound a stage theory of personality
development. He emphasised the importance of congruence between the self of
the person and his experiences in the development of personality. Adjustment
and psychological health have also been explained in terms of realistic self-
concept that is congruent with self.

1) Discus the characteristic features of Humanistic approach to personality.
3) What are the main features of Maslow’s theory that makes it applicable in
organisation?
3) Critically evaluate the main tenets of Maslow’s theory of personality.
4) What do you mean by need hierarchy?
5) Discuss the importance of deficiency needs and growth needs in the
development of personality
6) What are the main characteristics of self-actualising person? Discuss it in
detail.
7) On what ground does Maslow’s theory differ from Rogers’s theory of
personality?
74
8) Critically evaluate Rogers’s theory of personality. Humanistic and Self Theory
(Malsow and Rogers)
9) Discuss the importance of self in Rogers’s theory of personality.
10) In the light of Roger’s theory explain the development of personality
11) What do you mean by phenomenal field? Discuss its importance in the light
of Rogers’s theory.
4.7 GLOSSARY
Client-centered therapy : The therapeutic approach developed by Carl
Rogers in which therapist helps clients to clarify
their true feelings and come to value who they
are.
Deficiency needs : In Maslow’s Need hierarchy model, the first
four levels of need- physiological, safety,
belongingness, and esteem- are referred as
deficit needs.
Growth needs : In Maslow’s Need hierarchy model, the fifth
level need, i.e. self-actualisation is called
growth needs.
Humanistic psychology : An approach to understand personality that
emphasises self-fulfillment and growth as the
prime motivators of behaviour.
Ideal self : In Rogerian theory, the self-concept an
individual would like to have.
Self-actualisation : According to Maslow’s view, the highest
motive of human behaviour, the motive to
realise oneself fully as a person.
Self-concept : In Rogerian theory, the attitudes and beliefs and
individual has about himself.

Farber, Barry A.(1998). The psychotherapy of Carl Rogers: Cases and

Commentary. Guilford Press.
Thorne, Brian. (1992). Carl Rogers - Key Figures in Counselling and

Psychotherapy Series. Sage publications.
References
Goldstein, K. (1939). The organism. New York: American Book.
Maddi, S. R. (1996). Personality theories: A comparative analysis (6th ed.). Pacific

Grove, Calif: Brooks/Cole.
75
Theories of Personality-I Maslow, A.H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd Ed.). New York: Harper
& Row.
Rogers, C. R. (1942). Counseling and psychotherapy: Newer concepts in practice.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications

and theory. London: Constable.
Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of

Psychotherapy. London: Constable.
76
Gordon Allport: A
UNIT 1 GORDON ALLPORT: A Dispositional Theory of
Personality
DISPOSITIONAL THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definition of Personality
1.3 Concept of Trait and Personal Dispositions
1.4 Types of Traits
1.4.1 Common Traits versus Individual Traits
1.5 The Proprium : Development of Selfhood
1.5.1 The Proprium Defined
1.6 Functional Autonomy
1.6.1 Types of Functional Autonomy
1.7 The Mature Personality
1.8 Application: The Study of Values
1.9 Let Us Sum Up
1.11 Glossary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
According to Allport “The basic principle of behaviour is its continuous
flow”[1961,p.33]. Allport’s major personality concepts have to do with motivation-
with what makes a person ‘go’. At the same time a person’ “stream of activity” has
both a ‘variable portion ‘ and a ‘constant portion’. Allport describes his constant
portion with his concept of trait,and the variable portion with what he calls
functional autonomy, or the tendency for a behaviour to continue to be performed
for reasons that differ from the reasons that originally motivated it. Both –the
trait and functional autonomy –are motivational; many traits have motive power,
and functional autonomy explains adult motivation. Whether traits or functional
autonomy, Allport talks about dynamics of personality.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
On completion of this unit, you will be able to:
• Define Personality in terms of Allport’s approach;
• Explain the various traits that contribute to personality;
• Enumerate the different traits and differentiate between the various traits;
• Define functional autonomy of motives; and
• Analyse various factors contributing to mature personality.
5
Theories of Personality-II
1.2 DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY
Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his
environment.[ALLPORT,1937,P.48]
The term dynamic organisation refers to important points: Not only is personality
constantly developing and changing, but there is within the person some kind of
central organisation that holds the components of personality together and relates
them to each other.
The term psychophysical systems implies that person is not just a hypothetical
construct formed by the observer but a real phenomenon composed of mind and
body elements fused into ‘a personality unity’[Allport,1937,p.48].
Characteristics in Allport’definition signifies the uniqueness of the single person.

No two people are alike in this personological systems. Finally, behaviour and
thought means everything a person does. Personality expresses itself in some
way in virtually all observable human actions.
While defining personality, Allport clearly makes a distinction between character

and temperament. Character means some code of behaviour in terms of which
people or their acts are evaluated e.g. a person may be described as having a
‘good’ or’ bad’ character. Temperament refers to those dispositions that are closely
linked to biological or physiological determinants. Here, heredity plays an
important role,which is the raw material, along with intelligence and physique,out
of which personality is made.
1.3 CONCEPT OF TRAIT AND PERSONAL

DISPOSITIONS
Allport defines trait as a neuro psychic structure having the capacity to render
many stimuli functionally equivalent, and to initiate and guide equivalent
(meaningfully consistent) forms of adaptive and expressive behaviour.[Allport,
1961,p.347]
In simpler terms, a trait is a predisposition to act in the same way in a wide range
of situations. For example, if a person is basically shy, s/he will tend to be quiet
and reserved in many different situations, that is sitting in a class room, eating at
the cafeteria, etc.
Traits are psychological entities that render many a stimuli as well as many
responses functionally equivalent. In other words, many stimuli may evoke the
same response, or many responses (feelings, perceptions,interpretations,actions)
have the same functional meaning in terms of the trait.
Allport [1966] published an article entitled “Traits Revisited” in which he

proposed eight basic defining characteristics of trait.They are as follows:
1) A trait has more than nominal existence. Personality traits are a very real
and vital part of everyone’s existence. Everyone possesses certain ‘generalised
action tendencies’. For example, aggressiveness, honesty, etc. These personal
6
characteristics are real and actually exist inside people. To cite an example Gordon Allport: A
Dispositional Theory of
from real life situation, imagine a person always telling the truth even at the Personality
cost of apprehending one’s own intimate friend.
2) A trait is more generalised than a habit. Traits account for the relatively
permanent and general features of our behaviour. While habits refer to more
specific tendencies and are less generalised in terms of the situations which
may arouse them or the responses which they evoke. For example a child
may brush his teeth twice daily. This is a habit. But over the years the child
may learn to brush the hair, wash and iron clothes, clean the room and many
such activities which are all learned over a period of time and not necessarily
habits. All these habits woven together may form the trait of personal
cleanliness.
3) A trait is dynamic or at least determinative in behaviour. Traits do not lie
dormant waiting to be aroused by external stimuli. Traits motivate people
to engage in behaviours that are conducive to expressing their traits. To
give an example, a student with high sociable trait does not just sit around
and wait to attend parties, but actively seeks out parties so that the sociability
trait can be expressed.. Thus, traits guide and direct a person’s actions.
4) A trait’s existence may be established empirically. Traits cannot be observed
directly, but it is possible to verify their existence. To give an example,
repeated actions of the subject, case histories or biographies, or statistical
techniques that determine the degree of coherence among separate responses.
5) A trait is only relatively independent of other traits. No trait is independent
of the other. They overlap. There is no rigid boundary separating one trait
from another. The personality is comprised of a network of overlapping
traits only relatively independent of one another.
6) A trait is not synonymous with moral or social judgement. Personality is
important, not character. Many traits like loyalty, greed, etc. are bound by
social demands and socio cultural factors.
7) A trait may be viewed in light of either the personality that contains it or its
distribution in the population at large. To give an example, take for instance,
the trait of shyness which has both unique and universal aspects. It is unique
for the person because it influences a person’life, while as the trait can be
studied universally by constructing a reliable and valid “shyness scale” and
determine how people differ on it.
8) Acts or even habits that are inconsistent with a trait are not proof of the
nonexistence of the trait.
Not everyone shows the same degree of integration with respect to a given trait.
Also, the same person may possess contradictory traits. Lastly, there are instances
where social situations, rather than personality traits are the prime movers of
behaviour.
1) Define Personality in terms of Allport’s theory.
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7
2) What do you understand by “traits”?
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3) What are the basic characteristics of traits?
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1.4 TYPES OF TRAITS

Traits are determining tendencies or predispositions to respond consistently over
time and across situations. Allport proposed that traits may be classified into a
three-fold and somewhat overlapping category system according to the degree
to which they pervade and influence individual behaviour.
1) Cardinal Trait: If a trait is extremely pervasive, that is, if almost all of a
person’s activities can be traced to its influence, it is a cardinal trait. The
meaning may be grasped by considering many trait adjectives derived from
history and fictional characters. To give an example when someone is being
referred to as being a Ghandhian, the cardinal disposition of being ‘non-
violent’ is being inferrred.
2) Central Trait: Less pervasive but still quite generalised disposition of the
individual. These are also called the building blocks of personality. To cite
an example, a person being outgoing, sociable, etc. In other words, central
traits are those tendencies that a person often expresses, which people around
the person can readily discern.
3) Secondary Trait: Dispositions which are less conspicuous, less generalised,
less consistent and less relevant as compared to cardinal or central traits.
These are called secondary traits. To give an example, food preferences of
an individual. However it must be remembered that to know of the secondary
traits of a person, the person must be known quite intimately in order to
discern the secondary traits.
1.4.1 Common Traits versus Individual Traits

Allport [1937] also distinguished between common traits and individual traits.
The former (also called dimensional or nomothetic traits) includes any generalised
disposition to which most people within a given culture can be reasonably
compared. For example, social attitude, anxiety, value, and the like are generalised
disposition and the majority of people within the particular culture could be
8 measurably compared with one another on those common traits and dimensions.
Traits never occur in any two people in exactly the same way. Gordon Allport: A
Thus, those characteristics peculiar to the individual which do not permit Personality
comparisons among individual are referred to as individual traits. These are also
called as personal dispositions or morphological traits and these traits always
operate in unique ways within each person, and this category of traits most
accurately pinpoints the personality structure of any given individual, that is the
organised focus of his life. The true personality surfaces only when the individual
traits are examined which can be obtained from such resources as a persons’
case history, diary, letters, and other such documents.

1) What are the various types of traits?
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2) Define common traits.
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3) Define individual traits.
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4) How does one differentiate between common and individual traits?
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9
1.5 THE PROPIUM: DEVELOPMENT OF
SELFHOOD
One thing that motivates human beings is the tendency to satisfy biological
survival needs, which Allport referred to as opportunistic functioning. He noted
that opportunistic functioning can be characterised as reactive, past-oriented,
and biological.
Allport also felt that opportunistic functioning was relatively unimportant for
understanding most of human behaviour, as he was of the view that most
behaviours of individuals is motivated by something very different. This different
aspect is the one that helps express one’s unique self. This type of something
motivating the functioning of a person in terms of expressing of the self was
termed by Allport as propriate functioning. Allport also said that most of what
persons do in life are a matter of being who the persons are, what are their
individual qualities, etc. Propriate functioning can be characterised as proactive,
future-oriented, and psychological.
Propriate comes from the word ‘proprium’, which is Allport’s name for that
essential concept, the self. He had reviewed hundreds of definitions for that
concept and came to feel that, in order to be more scientific, it would be necessary
to dispense with the common word self and substitute something else. However
despite the word proprium was considered a good substitute, this term never
could actually substitute self and ‘self’ continue to be used to represent the
individual’s unique features that motivate the person’s behaviour.
To get an intuitive feel for what propriate functioning means, think of the last
time you wanted to do something or become something because you really felt
like doing or becoming that something that would be expressive of the things
about yourself that you believe to be most important. Remember the last time
you did something to express your self, the last time you told yourself, “that’s
really me!” Doing things in keeping with what you really are, that’s propriate
functioning.
1.5.1 The Proprium Defined

Putting so much emphasis on the self or proprium, Allport wanted to define it as
carefully as possible. He considered proprium from two basic view points, viz.,
phenomenological and functional.
Phnomenological means the self is considered in terms of what it experiences.

Allport suggested that the self is composed of all the aspects of a person
experiencing, that is what the person sees as most essential or important and not
incidental or accidental. It also means warm as against being cold in terms of
emotions, and central which means that the self is the central part and not
peripheral of the self.
Allport considered the self as having seven functions, as given below:
1) Sense of body
2) Self-identity
3) Self-esteem
10
4) Self-extension Gordon Allport: A
5) Self-image Personality
6) Rational coping
7) Propriate striving
Table below shows the propriate functions of personality in order of their
sequential appearance in the developing individual.
Table: Developmental Stages of the Proprium by Allport
Stage Aspects of personality Definition

1 Sense of bodily self Awareness of bodily sensations. First
aspect of proprium that evolves during
the first year of life. Infants become aware
of sensations coming from muscles,
tendons, and joints etc. These recurrent
sensations constitute the bodily self.
2 Sense of Identity Continuity of self despite changes taking

place. Second aspects of proprium
evolves through language, the child
recognises him/herself as a distinct and
constant point of reference. By learning
one’s name, clothing, toys etc. helps in
strengthening the sense of identity.
3. Sense of self esteem Pride in one’s accomplishments. Self-

esteem is the feeling of pride that results
when a person accomplishes things on
one’s own.This aspect of propium
emerges during the third year of life.It
depends on the child’s success in
mastering tasks and his urge to explore
and manipulate the environment.
4. Sense of self extension Self comes to include relevant aspects of

the social and physical environment.This
evolves during 4 to 6 years of age,when
children realise that their physical bodies
also belongs to certain aspects of their
environment,including people.Children
learn the meaning of “mine
5. Self Image Aspirations of the person begins to

reflect the goals and expectations of
significant others. It evolves around 5 or
6 years. It is the time the child realises
what is expected of him/her by
significant others. The child begins to
distinguish between the ‘good me’ and
the ‘bad me’
11
6. Sense of self as rational Abstract reasoning and logic applied to
coper solving everyday problems.This occurs
between 6 and 12 years of age,when the
child realises that s/he has the rational
capacity to find solutions to life’s
problems and thereby cope effectively
with reality demands.Reflective and
formal thinking appears
7. Propriate striving Unified sense of self and planning for

long range goals. Allport[1961] believed
that the core problem of an adolescent is
the selection of career and other life
goals. Pursuing long range goals, having
a sense of directedness and intentionality
in striving for defined objectives,
imparting to life a sense of purpose etc.
are part of and essence of propriate
striving. Realisation of propriate striving
requires a unified sense of selfhood. And
hence, this occurs only in
adulthood,when all aspects of self are
consolidated

1) Define Proprium and describe the same.
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2) What are the various stages of development of the proprium?
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3) What is meant by propriate functioning?
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12
Gordon Allport: A
4) How is propriate functioning different from propriate striving? Explain Dispositional Theory of
Personality
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5) What are the 7 functions of self? Describe with examples
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1.6 FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY

Functional autonomy of motives
Allport didn’t believe in looking too much into a person’s past in order to
understand his present. This belief is most strongly evident in the concept of
functional autonomy. This concept states that the motives for a certain behaviour
today are independent (autonomous) of their origins. For instance a person might
have wanted to become an Information Technology specialist, because of the
person getting first rank and getting prizes in it. However as of today the motive
is different. That is, the person is n IT specialist because that itself is giving the
person all that needs to be achieved. To take another example, a person might
have developed a taste for pizzas, due to some reason, but that is actually not
important, what is important is that the person likes pizzas as of today and that is
what the person is now and that matters.
Allport thus did not believe in looking too much into a person’s past in order to
understand the present. This perhaps led to the term functional autonomy in
which a person’s motives today are independent (autonomous) of their origins.
The concept of functional autonomy of motives provides the necessary base for
a theory of motivation. It simply means that adult motives are not related to past
motives. The past is past, there are no strings attached. In other words, the reasons
why an adult now engages in some behaviour are independent of whatever reasons
that might have originally caused her/him to engage in that behaviour.
Allport suggested that much of adult behaviour is caused by functionally

autonomous motives. For example, he pointed to the case of a young student
who first undertakes a field study in college because it is required, because it
pleases his parents, or because it comes at a convenient hour. As he starts working
he finds himself absorbed in the topic, perhaps for life. The original motives
with which he started on the project is no more present. What was a means to an
end becomes an end itself.[1961,p.235] 13
Theories of Personality-II 1.6.1 Types of Functional Autonomy
Allport [1961] differentiated between two types of functional autonomy, viz., (i)
preservative functional autonomy (ii) Propriate functional autonomy.
The first, preservative functional autonomy refers to feedback mechanisms in

the nervous system that are governed by simple neurological principles. These
mechanisms become neurologically self-maintaining over time and help to keep
the organism on track. E.g. eating and going to bed at the same time each day.
The main feature is repetitious activity.
The second, propriate functional autonomy refers to the acquired interests, values,
attitudes and intentions of the person. It is the master system of motivation that
imparts consistency to the person’s striving for a congruent self image and a
higher level of maturity and growth. People may not be constantly rewarded to
sustain their efforts. Thus, it represents the striving for values and goals, and the
sense of responsibility that people take for their lives.
1) Define functional autonomy of motives and elucidate the concept
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2) Discuss the different types of functional autonomy and highlight the
differences.
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1.7 THE MATURE PERSONALITY

Allport [1961] believed that the emergence of personal maturity is a continuous
and lifelong process of becoming. The behaviour of a mature person is functionally
autonomous and is motivated by conscious processes. While the behaviour of
immature persons is dominated by unconscious motives stemming from childhood
experiences, Allport concluded that the psychologically mature adult is
characterised by six attributes, namely
1) Has a widely extended sense of self
2) Has a capacity for warm social interactions
3) Demonstrates emotional security and self acceptance
14
4) Demonstrates realistic perception, skills and assignments Gordon Allport: A
5) Demonstrates self insight and humour Personality
6) Has a unifying philosophy of life.

Each of these are explained in detail in the following paragraphs:
1) The mature person has a widely extended sense of self: Truly mature persons
can get ‘outside’ of themselves. They actively participate in work, family
and social relationships, hobbies, political and religious issues, or whatever
else they experience as valuable.
2) The mature person has a capacity for warm social interactions: There are
two kinds of interpersonal warmth, that is, intimacy and compassion.The
intimate aspect of warmth is seen in a person’s capacity to show deep love
for family and close friends. Compassion is reflected in a person’s ability to
tolerate differences (concerning values or attitudes ) between the self and
others ,which allows the person to show profound respect and appreciation
for the human condition and a sense of kinship with all people.
3) The mature person demonstrates emotional security and self-acceptance:
Mature adults have a positive image of themselves and are thus able to
tolerate frustrating or irritating events as well as their shortcomings without
becoming inwardly hostile. They also deal with their emotions, like,
depression, anger, guilt, in such a way that they do not interfere with the
well-being of others.
4) The mature person demonstrates realistic perception, skills,and assignments:
Healthy people see things as they are, not as they wish them to be. They are
in direct contact with the reality. They do not distort it perceptually to fit
their needs and fantasies. Healthy people possess appropriate skills for their
work, provisionally setting aside personal desires and impulses while task
takes a priority.
5) The mature person demonstrates self-insight and humour: Mature adults
have an accurate picture of their own strengths and weaknesses. Humour is
an important aspect in self insight because it prevents unnecessary self
glorification and just plain phoniness. Humour is the ability to laugh at the
things one cherishes (including oneself) and still cherish them.
6) The mature person has a unifying philosophy of life: Mature person can
“put it all together”, with a clear, consistent, and systematic way of seeing
meaning in their lives. A person needs to have a value system that will
present him a dominant goal or theme that makes his life meaningful.
Different people may develop different central values around which their
lives will revolve. A mature person has a set of deeply held values which
serve as a unifying foundation of his/her life. A unifying philosophy of life
therefore provides a kind of overriding value orientation that gives meaning
and significance to everything the person does.
1.8 APPLICATION: THE STUDY OF VALUES

The unifying philosophy of a mature person is founded upon values, that is,
basic convictions about what is and is not of real importance in life. Believing
that a person’s efforts to find order and meaning in life are governed by values,
15
Theories of Personality-II Allport identified and measured basic value dimensions. He helped to develop a
personality test, the Study of Values. Allport’s model is based on the work of
Eduard Spranger, a European psychologist.
In his book Types of Men, Spranger outlined six major value types. These values
are found in varying degrees in all people. People construct the unity of their
lives around them (Allport,1961). Thus, no person falls exclusively under any
one value category. Rather, different value combinations are more or less salient
in the lives of different people.
For Allport, these values are best described as deep level traits. They are described
as:
i) The Theoretical
ii) The economic
iii) The aesthetic
iv) The social
v) The political
vi) The religious.
Let us consider each of these in some detail
i) The Theoretical: The person is primarily concerned with the discovery of
truth. Such a person is characterised by a rational, critical, and empirical
approach to life. The person is highly intellectual and tends to pursue a
career in science or philosophy.
ii) The Economic: The economic person places highest value on whatever is
useful or pragmatic. Such a person is highly ‘practical’ and is keenly
interested in making money.
iii) The Aesthetic: This person places the highest value on form and harmony.
Every single experience is given importance from the point of view of grace,
symmetry, or fitness.
iv) The Social: The highest value of the social type is love of people. Such a
person is likely to view the theoretical, economic, and aesthetic attitudes as
cold and inhuman, and thus would regard love as the only suitable form of
relationship.
v) The Political: The main interest of the political person is power. Such people
look out for personal power, influence, and renowned above all else.
vi) The Religious: This person is mainly concerned with understanding the
world as a unified whole. The religious person seeks unity and higher meaning
in the cosmos.
Allport assessed individual differences in the relative strength of these six values
by means of the Study of Values scale. Developed and standardised with college
students, the test consists of 45 questions and requires 20 minutes to complete.
The reliability and validity data support the utility of the test. Average scores on
the six values differ in the expected directions for different occupational groups,
as for example, in the case of business students they score poorly on the aesthetic
value, and theology students score poorly on the religious value.(Allport et
al.,1960).The test reflects Allport’s belief that values are an essential part of an
individual’s personality.
16
Gordon Allport: A
1.9 LET US SUM UP Dispositional Theory of
Personality
Gordon Allport regarded the explanation of an individual’s uniqueness as the
paramount goal of psychology. He viewed personality as the dynamic organisation
of those internal psychophysical systems that determine a person’s characteristic
behaviour and thoughts. He considered trait as the most significant unit of analysis
for understanding behaviour.
Traits account for a person’s behavioural consistency over time and across
situations. They may be classified as cardinal, central, or secondary, according
to the degree of pervasiveness within a personality. He also made distinction
between common and personal dispositions. The former are generalised traits to
which most people within a given culture can be compared, whereas the latter
refer to characteristics peculiar to a person which do not permit comparisons
with others.
The overall construct that unifies traits and provides direction for the person’s
life is termed the proprium, or self as known, that contributes to an inward sense
of unity. Another concept is of functional autonomy. This principle asserts that
adult motives are not related to the earlier experiences in which they originally
originated. There are two types of functional autonomies, preservative functional
autonomy (feedback mechanisms in the nervous system) and propriate functional
autonomy (the person’s acquired interests ,values, attitudes, and intentions). The
latter allows for the development of the truly mature person.

1) How important is Allport’s concept of “propium” in describing the total
personality?
2) What do you think of Allport’s concept of “functional autonomy?”
3) How well do Allport’s six characteristics of a mature personality fit your
own idea of what constitutes a healthy personality?
4) What are the various values put forward by Allport?
1.11 GLOSSARY
Bodily self : That aspect of the propiym based on the person’s
perception of his /her body. Allport considered it to
be a lifelong anchor of self-awareness.
Cardinal disposition : A characteristic so pervasive that virtually all a
person’s activities can be traced to its influence.
Central disposition : A characteristic that influences the person’s
behaviour in a variety of settings ; central traits are
the “building blocks “ of personality structure.
Character : Term used to refer a moral standard or value system
against which a person’s actions are evaluated.
Common trait : Any generalised disposition against which most
people within a given culture can reasonably be
compared(nomothetic trait). 17
Theories of Personality-II Dispositional perspective: An approach to personality emphasising the enduring
qualities or traits that reside within the person and
that render the person’s behaviour consistent
overtime and across situations.
Functional autonomy : Process whereby a given form of behaviour becomes
an end or goal in itself despite the fact that it may
originally have been adopted for another reason.
What was formerly a means to an end becomes an
end itself.
Individual trait : A trait unique to the individual(personal disposition).
Propriate striving : The person’s motivation to enhance self through the
pursuit of important, long-range goals. Such
motivation will increase the the level of tension.
Propium : All aspects of a person that make him unique. It
represents creative, forward moving and positive
quality of human nature.
Psychophysical : An important aspect of Allport’s definition which
system suggests that both mental and physical factors must
be considered when we seek to understand human
functioning.
Secondary disposition: A trait that has little or no influence on behaviour,
as for example, a specific food preference.
Self as a rational coper: A person’s realisation that s/he can cope effectively
wiyh reality demands and achieve personal goals.
Self esteem : The favourableness of a person’s self-image.
Self extension : The person’s feelings about his /her material
possessions.
Self identity : The person’s recognition of self as a distinct and
constant point of referencerelative to others.
Self image : The diversitry of roles a person plays in order to gain
the approval of others and to manage their
impressions of who and what the person is.
Self objectification : The ability to view oneself objectively and to
recognise one’s strength and weaknesses.

Allport,G.W.(1960). Personality and Social Encounter: Selected Essays. Boston:
Beacon Press.
Allport,G.W.(1961). Pattern and Gowth in Personality. New York:Holt,Rinehart

and Winston.
Hjelle,L.A. & Zieglar, D.J.(1992). Personality Theories.Basic Assumptions,

Research, And Applications. McGraw-Hill,Inc.
18
References Gordon Allport: A
Personality
Allport,G.W.(1937). Personality: A Psychological Interpretation. New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston.
Maddi,S.R.(1989). Personality Theories:A Comparative Analysis (5th edition).

Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.
Mischel,W.(1968). Personality and Assessment. New York :Wiley.
Pervin,L.A.(1989). Personality: Theory and Research (5th edition).New

York:Wiley.
19
UNIT 2 RAYMOND CATTELL: A TRAIT
THEORY OF PERSONALITY
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Cattell’s Trait Theory of Personality
2.2.1 The Formula for Personality
2.3 Categories of Traits
2.4 Role of Herdity and Environment
2.5 Constitutional versus Environmental –Mold Traits
2.6 Ability, Temperament and Dynamic Traits
2.7 Common versus Unique Traits
2.8 Let Us Sum Up
2.10 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Cattell’s theory seeks to explain the complicated transactions between the
personality system and the more inclusive sociocultural matrix of the functioning
organism. He suggested that an adequate theory of personality must take into
account the multiple traits that comprise the personality, the extent to which
these traits are genetically and environmentally determined, and the ways in
which genetic and environmental factors interact to influence behaviour. He is
also of the opinion that an appropriate theory of personality must take into account
the multiple traits that comprise the personality, the extent to which these traits
are genetically and environmentally determined, and the ways in which genetic
and environmental factors interact to influence behaviour. In this unit we will be
studying the details regarding Cattell’s Trait theory of personality, its definitions,
the dynamics underlying the theory etc.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After completion of this unit, you will be able to:
• Define Cattell’s theory of personality;
• Describe the characteristic features related to trait theory;
• Explain the various methods and measurement instruments of trait;
• List out the categories of traits; and
• Explain the functions of traits and their influence on personality.
20
Raymond Cattell: A Trait
2.2 CATTELL’S TRAIT THEORY OF Theory of Personality
PERSONALITY
Raymond Cattell was born in 1905 and died in 1998. He was educated in Britain
and he obtained his doctorate from University of London and after which he
worked as director, child guidance clinic for 5 years. He came to the US to work
with E.L.Thorndike and developed officer selection methods. He established an
Institute for Personality and Ability testing. He taught at University of Illinois
for 30 years and more and went to Hawai in 1978 and until death he was teaching
in the University of Hawaii.
Cattell thought that clinicians observations were not a scientific basis for
understanding or classifying personality. He used inductive method of scientific
inquiry to develop his theory of personality. That is, he gathered large amount of
data and used factor analysis on the data looking for clusters.
For Cattell personality was that which permitted a prediction of what a person
will do in a given situation. The underlying basic factors of a person’s personalities
was termed by him as source traits. He used factor analysis and found common
clusters of surface traits. These clusters were termed by Cattell as Source traits.
He gathered data about the individual from the liferecord etc., took self reports
and used the Questionnaire data and used tests and obtained test results which
all put together with source traits gave the personality of an individual.
Cattell has identified 35 primary traits of which 23 characterised normal

individuals and 12 characterised abnormal individuals. He developed a scale
called 16 PF which was designed to assess 16 different source traits associated
with normal behaviour.
Cattell said that humans are innately driven by ergs, which means goals were
created because of hunger, curiosity, anger, fear, or other basic motivations which
are found in both humans and primates.
Cattell distinguished two types of intelligence viz., (i) Fluid intelligence (ii)
Crystallised intelligence. According to him, Fluid intelligence allows the persons
to learn new things regardless of past experience, whereas the crystallized
intelligence is the ability to solve problems based upon previous experience.
Cattell believed that intelligence was primarily an inherited trait.
Cattell was of the view that personality has to be considered in terms of not only
traits but also various other variables including attitudes. Cattell defined attitude
as the desire to act in a specific way in response to a specific situation. Attitudes
are interconnected within the Dynamic lattice, that is dynamic lattice is Cattell’s
attempt to display graphically his theoretical analysis of the relationship between
the mind’s instinctive driving forces and their overlying semantic and attitudinal
superstructure. The specific attitudinal connections within the dynamic lattice
are controlled by susidiation chains, that is some attitudes are subordinate to
other attitudes. The subsidisation chain helps determine when specific attitude
will produce a specific behaviour.
Environmental factors were considered essential by Cattell to determine

personality and behaviour.
21
Theories of Personality-II Ergs are goals created because of hunger, thirst etc. The organism is motivated to
get food when hungry. These are called ergs.
Socially created goals are called socially shaped ergs and Cattell gave it the term
socially shaped ergic manifolds. In short form it was called SEM. Cattell used
SEM to help explain the contribution of the environment to human behaviour.
SEM’s are socially acquired and can satisfy several ergs at one time. Because
SEMS are socially acquired, they vary in number and type by culture.
SEM’s get their energy from the ERG’s.
Humans are innately driven by ergs, which are goals created by curiosity, anger,
hunger, fear, and many other basic motivations.
Through research Cattell developed list of ergs which are for instance, Food-
Seeking, Mating, Gregariousness, Parental Protectiveness, Exploration, Safety,
Self-Assertion, Pugnacity, Narcissistic Sex, and Acquisitiveness.
Some of the major socially shaped ergic models are profession, family and home,
spouse, religion. Together with attitudes, ERHGs and SEMs interact to produce
behaviour.
According to Cattell, if you can systematically identify their attitudes, ERG’s

and SEM’s, you should then be able to reliably predict future behaviour.
Cattell’s trait theory of personality attempts to explain the interaction between

the genetic and personality systems and the socio cultural milieu within which
the organism is functioning. It delves deep into the complicated transactions
between the personality system and the more inclusive sociocultural matrix of
the functioning organism. According to him these traits are genetically and
environmentally determined, and the ways in which genetic and environmental
factors interact decide the behaviour of the individual. Cattell opines that an
appropriate theory of personality must take into account the multiple traits that
comprise the personality. The theory should be able to indicate the ways in which
genetic and environmental factors interact to influence behaviour. He believes
that an appropriate theory of personality functioning and growth must be based
on systematic research methods and precise measurements. Multivariate statistics
and factor analysis are his preferred methods of personality study.
1) Describe in detail Cattell’s trait theory of personality.
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22
2) What are the two types of Intelligence as put forward by Cattell? Theory of Personality
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3) Define and describe ERGs and SEMs
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4) How does Cattell use ERGs and SEMs in his theory of Personality?
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2.2.1 The Formula for Personality

According to Cattell [1965], personality is that which permits us to predict what
a person will do in a given situation. With the help of mathematical analysis of
personality, he suggests that the prediction of behaviour can be made by a
specification equation .The formula used by Cattell to predict behaviour with
any degree of accuracy is given below:
R = f (S ,P )
Where R refers to the nature of a person’s specific response, f refers to the
unspecified function, S refers to the stimulus situation at a given moment in time
and P refers to the Personality structure.
To be more specific, this formula signifies that the nature of a person’ specific
response(R), meaning what the person does or thinks or verbalises, is some
unspecified function(f) of the stimulus situation(S) at a given moment in time
and also of the individual’s personality structure(P).
The specification equation shows that the person’s specific response to any given
situation is a function of all the combined traits relevant to that situation. Here
each trait is interacting with situational factors that may affect it.
Cattell also accepts that it is difficult to predict a person’s behaviour in a given

situation. In order to increase predictive accuracy, the personality theorist must 23
Theories of Personality-II consider not only what traits a person possesses but also the many nontrait
variables such as for example, the person’s moods and particular social roles
called for in the situation and related aspects.
It is also necessary to weigh each trait according to its relevance to the situation
in question. For example, if the person were in emotionally arousing situation,
the trait of anxiety would be assigned a high weight in predicting the person’s
response. Thus, the equation is an oversimplification of Cattell’s trait theory,
yet, this general formula conveys Cattell’s strong belief that human behaviour is
determined and can be predicted.
2.3 CATEGORIES OF TRAITS

According to Cattell, behaviour is determined by the interaction of traits and
situational variables, but his major organising concept of personality resides in
his descriptions of the various kinds of traits he has identified. Traits are relatively
permanent and pervasive tendencies to respond with consistency from one
situation to another and from one time to another. Traits are hypothetical mental
structures inferred from behaviour which predispose the person to behave
uniformly across various circumstances and across time. Traits reflect the person’s
stable and predictable characteristics and are by far the most important of Cattell’s
concepts.
Cattell (1965,1978) relies heavily on factor analysis to investigate the structural

elements of personality. He concludes that traits can be classified in several ways
(Cattell also uses the term factors) such as (i) surface traits (ii) source traits (iii)
constitutional traits (iv) Environmental mold traits (v) ability trait (vi)
temperament (vii) dynamic traits (viii) common traints (ix) Unique traits. Let us
take up these traits and see how they function.
i) Surface Traits versus Source Traits. A surface trait is a set of behavioural
characteristics that all seem to ‘hang’ together. For instance, the observed
characteristics of inability to concentrate, indecisiveness, restlessness etc.,
may cluster together to form the surface trait of neuroticism. Here, the trait
of neuroticism is observed by a cluster of overt elements that seem to go
together. It does not derive from any single factor or element. Surface traits
do not have a unitary basis and are not consistent overtime and hence, they
are not given much value for behavioural accountability.
On the other hand, source traits are the basic, underlying structures which
constitute the building blocks of personality. They represent the unitary dimension
or factors that ultimately determine the consistencies in each person’s observed
behaviour. Source traits exist at a “deeper” level of the personality and are the
causes of behaviour in diverse domains over an extended period of time.
After extensive factor analytic research, Cattell[1979] concluded that there are
approximately 16 source traits that constitute the underlying structure of
personality. These were put forward by him as (i) warmth (ii) Reasoning (iii)
Emootional stability (iv) Dominance (v) Liveliness (vi) Rule Consciousness (vii)
social boldness (viii) Sensitivity (ix) vigilance (x) Abstractness (xi) Privateness
(xii) Apprehension (xiii) Openness to change (xiv) Self reliance (xv)
Perfectionism (xvi) Tension.
24
16 PF (Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire), designed by Cattell consists Raymond Cattell: A Trait
Theory of Personality
of the above 16 personality trait factors. It is a self report scale that has proved to
be quite useful and popular in both applied and research settings. Cattell
considered personality traits to have multi level hierarchical structure. In his
research Cattell tried to find out the primary traits of personality and found that
these primary traits came together in meaningful groupings and formed broader
global traits. These global traints were termed by him as secondary traits.
For example the first global trait he found was the introversion extraversion. It
resulted from the natural affinity of five primary traits that defined different
reasons for an individual to move toward people and away from prople. Cattell
stated that that there was a natural tendency for these traits to go together in the
real world, and thesed represented important social behav ioural domain. The
primary traits that constituted the extraversion introversion dimension were :
• Warmth (Factor A): the tendency to move toward others seeking closeness
and connection because of genuine feelings of caring, sympathy, and concern
(versus the tendency to be reserved and detached, and thus be independent
and unemotional).
• Liveliness (Factor F): the tendency to be high-energy, fun-loving, and
carefree, and to spontaneously move towards others in an animated,
stimulating manner. Low-scorers tend to be more serious and self-restrained,
and to be cautious, unrushed, and judicious.
• Social Boldness (Factor H): the tendency to seek social interaction in a
confident, fearless manner, enjoying challenges, risks, and being the center
of attention. Low-scorers tend to be shy and timid, and to be more modest
and risk-avoidant.
• Forthrightness (Factor N): the tendency to want to be known by others—
to be open, forthright, and genuine in social situations, and thus to be self-
revealing and unguarded. Low-scorers tend to be more private and unself-
revealing, and to be harder to get to know.
• Affiliative (Factor Q2): the tendency to seek companionship and enjoy
belonging to and functioning in a group (inclusive, cooperative, good
follower, willing to compromise). Low-scorers tend to be more
individualistic and self-reliant and to value their autonomy.
In a similar manner, Cattell and his colleagues found that four other primary
traits consistently merged to define another global factor called as Receptivity or
Openness (versus Tough-Mindedness). This factor was made up of four primary
traits that describe different kinds of openness to the world and these were
identified as
• Openness to sensitive feelings, emotions, intuition, and aesthetic dimensions
(Sensitivity – Factor I)
• Openness to abstract, theoretical ideas, conceptual thinking, and imagination
(Abstractedness – Factor M)
• Openness to free thinking, inquiry, exploration of new approaches, and
innovative solutions (Openness-to-Change – Factor Q1) and
• Openness to people and their feelings (Warmth – Factor A).
25
Theories of Personality-II Another global factor, Self-Controlled (or conscientious) versus Unrestrained,
resulted from the four primary factors that came together. These were as given
below:
• Rule-Consciousness (Factor G) involves adopting and conscientiously
following society’s accepted standards of behaviour
• Perfectionism (Factor Q3) describes a tendency to be self-disciplined,
organised, thorough, attentive to detail, and goal-oriented
• Seriousness (Factor F) involves a tendency to be cautious, reflective, self-
restrained, and deliberate in making decisions; and
• Groundedness (Factor M) involves a tendency to stay focused on concrete,
pragmatic, realistic solutions.
Because the global factors were developed by factor-analysing the primary traits,
the meanings of the global traits were determined by the primary traits which
made them up. In addition, the global factors helped in understanding the meaning
and function of each of the primary traits. Thus, the two levels of personality are
essentially inter-connected and inter-related
1) Define and elucideate Rs = f ( S,P).
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2) What are the different categories of traits?
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3) What is a source trait and a surface trait?
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...............................................................................................................
4) Put forward the 16 personality factors. How did Cattell arrive at these
traits?
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26
2.4 ROLE OF HERDITY AND ENVIRONMENT Theory of Personality
Cattell has tried to determine the relative contributions of heredity and

environment to the development of traits.
He devised a statistical technique for this purpose and called it multiple abstract
variance analysis(MAVA). This test estimates not only the presence or absence
of genetic influence but also the degree to which traits are due to genetic or to
environmental influences[Cattell,1960].
MAVA involves gathering data on the resemblances between identical twins raised
in the same family, non-twin siblings raised in the same family, identical twins
raised apart, and non-twins siblings raised apart.
Results from MAVA technique (based on personality tests administered to assess
a particular trait) suggest that the importance of genetic and environmental
influences varies widely from trait to trait.
For example, Cattell’s data indicate that about 65 to 70 percent of the variation
in scores on measures of intelligence and assertiveness can be accounted for by
genetic factors, whereas the genetic influence on traits such as conscientiousness
and neuroticism is half that. Cattell estimates that about two-thirds of personality
is determined by environmental influences and one–third by heredity.
Along with immediate situational factors, Cattell believes that much of people’s
behaviour is determined by the groups to which they belong (such as families,
peer groups, school, and the like). Just as people can be described in terms of
their traits, so can traits be used to describe social groups with which people are
associated.
The trait dimensions along which groups can be objectively described are called
their syntality.
Using factor analysis Cattell[1949]studied the syntality of various religious,
school, and peer groups. He also studied several traits that compose the syntality
of entire nations (Cattell et al., 1952). The major traits found to identify the
syntality of countries included size, morale, affluence, and industriousness.
2.5 CONSTITUTIONAL VERSUS

ENVIRONMENTAL – MOLD TRAITS
Source traits can be divided into two subtypes-depending on their origin.
Constitutional traits derive from the biological and physiological conditions of
the person. For instance, recovery from cocaine addiction may cause a person to
be momentarily irritable, depressed, and anxious. Cattell would suggest that these
behaviours result from changes in the person’s physiology and thus reflect
constitutional source traits.
Environmental-mold traits are determined by influences in the social and physical

environment. These traits reflect learned characteristics and styles of behaving
and form a pattern that is imprinted on the personality by the individual’s
environment. Thus, a person who is raised in a rural setting behaves differently
from a person, who grows up in an urban area. 27
2.6 ABILITY, TEMPERAMENT AND DYNAMIC
TRAITS
Source traits can further be classified in terms of the modality through which
they are expressed.
Ability traits determine the person’s skill and effectiveness in pursuing a desired
goal. For example, intelligence, musical aptitude.
Temperament traits relate to other emotional and stylistic qualities of behaviour.
For example, people may either work quickly or slowly on a task. Cattell considers
temperament traits to constitutional source traits that determine a person’s
emotionality.
Dynamic traits reflect the motivational elements of human behaviour. These are
traits that activate and direct the person toward particular goals. Thus, a person
may be characterised as ambitious, power-oriented, or interested in acquiring
material possessions.
2.7 COMMON VERSUS UNIQUE TRAITS

A common trait is one that is shared in varying degrees by all members of the
same culture. For example, self-esteem, intelligence, and introversion.
Unique traits are those that are shared by few or no other people. Unique traits
are especially observed in the areas of interests and attitudes.
Cattell gives much significance on the use of factor analysis to identify the major
traits of personality. Cattell draws his data from three basic sources: life record
data(L-data),self-rating questionnaire data(Q-data), and objective test data(OT-
data).
L-data, involves the measurement of behaviour in actual, everyday situations
such as school performance or interactions with peers.
Q-data, refers to the person’s self-ratings about his/her behaviour, feelings or
thoughts.
Such information reflects the person’s introspections and self-observations (For
example, Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire).
Such data is prone to faking.
Finally, OT-data are derived from the creation of special situations in which the
person’s performance on certain tasks may be objectively scored. For example,
responding to a Rorschach test. Such data is resistant to faking.
1) Define Ability traits, temperament and dynamic traits .
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28
2) What do you understand by the terms common and unique traits? Theory of Personality
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3) Define and describe L data, Q data and OT data. How are these
contributing to personality?
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2.8 LET US SUM UP

Cattell’s trait theory views personality as that which permits us to predict what a
person will do in a given situation, as expressed in the equation R=f (S,P ).
Traits are hypothetical constructs which predispose the person to behave
consistently across circumstances and time.
He sees the essence of personality structure as consisting of approximately 16
source trait factors.
Source traits can be divided into constitutional or environmental-mold traits.
Ability, temperament, and dynamic traits represent additional categories of trait
classification.He also makes a distinction between common and unique traits.
Cattell uses three types of data to identify source traits:
i) life records(L-data),
ii) self-rating questionnaires(Q-data ),and
iii) objective tests(OT-data).
The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire(16 PF) was devised by Cattell to
measure source traits using self-report data.
He also developed a statistical tool called multiple abstract variance analysis to

estimate the relative contributions of heredity and environment to a given trait.
He estimates that one-third of personality is determined by genetics and two-

thirds by environmental influences.
Finally, he has studied how the syntality or defining characteristics of groups

influence personality.
29
1) Define Cattell’s trait theory of personality
2) How do Allport and Cattell differ in their approaches to classify personality
traits?
3) How does Cattell conceptualise “trait”. To what extent, if any, he agrees
that traits interact with situations to determine behaviour?
4) Give details of 16 PF as put forward by Cattell.
5) Define ability, temperament and dynamic traits.
6) Describe with suitable examples common and unique traits.
7) What is syntality and how does Cattell use the same in explaining group
traits?
8) What are the various types of traits? Discuss with suitable examples.
2.10 GLOSSARY
Ability trait : A trait that determines the person’s
effectiveness and skill in the pursuit of goals.
Constitutional trait : A source trait that is rooted in biological and
physiological condition of the person and very
resistant to change.
Dynamic trait : A trait that activates and directs the person
toward particular goals in a given situation.
Environmental mold trait : A source trait learned through experience with
the environment.
Factor analysis : This is a Statistical procedure used to determine
those psychological variables or test responses
that cluster together within a matrix of
intercorrelations. Factor analysis was used by
Cattell and Eysenck to identify the underlying
traits of personality structure.
Factor loading : Correlation between a single item and the factor
to which it is being related.
L-data : Measures of behaviour in everyday life
situations or ratings of such behaviour (e.g.,
interactions with peers).
OT-data : Measures of a person’s performance on tasks
that may be objectively scored(e.g., responses
to an inkblot).
Q-data : Personality data obtained from self-report
questionnaires(e.g., the 16 PF).
Sixteen Personality : Self-report test developed by Cattell to measure
Factor Inventory(16PF) the 16 source traits of personality.
30
Source trait : Underlying structures that constitute the core Raymond Cattell: A Trait
Theory of Personality
or basic building blocks of personality, that is
source traits are revealed through factor
analysis in Cattell’s system.
Specification equation : Formula to indicate that a person’s response is
a consequence of the stimulus situation at a
given moment as well as all the traits relevant
to the situation.
Temperament trait : A constitutional source trait influencing the
person’s emotional or stylistic quality of
behaving.
Trait theory : Theoretical conception of personality that
postulates the existence of underlying
dispositions or characteristic that initiate and
direct behaviour. Traits are typically inferred
from overt behaviour or self-report measures.

Cattell,R. B. (1978). The Scientific Use of Factor Analysis. New York: Plenum.
Cattell,R. B. (1979). Personality and Learning Theory: The Structure of

Personality in its Environment (vol.1).New York: Springer .
References
Cattell, R. B. (1949). The dimensions of culture patterns by factorisation of
national character. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 44,443-469.
Cattell,R. B. (1960).The multiple abstract variance analysis equations and

solutions:for nature nurture research on continuous variables. Psychological
Review , 67, 353-372.
Cattell,R. B. (1965).The scientific analysis of personality. Baltimore, Penguin

Books.
Cattell,R. B., Bruel, H.,&Hartman, H.P.(1952).An attempt at a more refined

definition of the cultural dimensions of syntality in modern nations.American
Sociological Review,17,408-421.
Hjelle,L.A. & Zieglar, D.J.(1992).Personality Theories.Basic Assumptions,

Research, And Applications. McGraw-Hill,Inc.
Maddi,S.R.(1989).Personality Theories:A comparative analysis(5th edition) .

Homewood,IL:Dorsey Press.
Mischel,W.(1968).Personality and assessment. New York :Wiley.
Pervin,L.A.(1989).Personality:Theory and research(5th edition).New York:Wiley.
31
UNIT 3 HANS EYSENCK: A TRAIT-TYPE
THEORY OF PERSONALITY
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Type Theory of Personality
3.3 Sheldon’s Somatotype Personality
3.4 Ayurvedic Body Types (Doshas)
3.5 Jungian Personality Types
3.6 Type A and Type B Personalities
3.7 Block’s Personality Types
3.7.1 Strengths and Limitations of Personality Types
3.8 Eysenck’s Trait Type Theory
3.8.1 Hierarchical Taxonomy
3.8.2 Three Dimensions of Personality
3.8.3 Causal Aspects
3.9 Neurophysiological basis of Traits and Types
3.9.1 Extraversion and Cortical Arousal
3.9.2 Neuroticism and Visceral Activation
3.9.3 Psychoticism and Gonadal Hormones
3.10 Basic Personality Types
3.11 Measurement of Personality
3.11.1 Differences between Introverts and Extraverts
3.12 Let Us Sum Up
3.14 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The type theories are slightly different from the trait theories. While type theories
are discontinuous the trait theories are in a continuum. According to Eysenck the
goal of psychology is to predict behaviour. In this Eysenck concurs with the
view of Cattell who also believed that the goal of psychology is to predict
behaviour. Eysenck’s approach is more theoretically anchored than is Cattell’s.
He suggests that not more than three supertraits (which he calls types) are needed
to account for most of human behaviour (Cattell accounts to at least 16 traits or
factors of personality). Eysenck places far more importance on genetic factors in
personality development than does Cattell, but he also does not completely ignore
the environmental or situational influences on personality. The present unit delves
deep into the Eysenck’s theory of personality. It provides definition, description
and the dynamics of the theory.
32
Hans Eysenck: A Trait-
3.1 OBJECTIVES Type Theory of Personality

• Define personality types;
• Differentiate between type and trait theories;
• Explain Eysenck’s theory of personality; and
• List out the applications of this theory.
3.2 TYPE THEORY OF PERSONALITY

Personality type theory aims to classify people into distinct categories , that is
this type or that. Personality types are synonymous with “personality styles”.
Types refer to categories that are distinct and discontinuous. For example, a
person may be humorous or drab type. That is the person is either this type or
that type. This is important to understand, because here it is either or of a type.
There is a discontinuity between the types. The person is humourous or not. On
the other hand in the trait theory the traits are ciontinuous in that the trait concerned
can be placed in a continuum and can coexist with other traits also. This distinction
between type and trait theory is to be kept in mind.
One example of the difference between types and traits, could be considered in
terms of the introversion factor. Introversion can be viewed in the personality
trait approach as:
• That one can be anywhere on a continuum ranging from introversion to
extraversion, with most people clustering in the middle, and fewer people
towards the extremes.
• In the case of introversion as a type, the person can be either an introvert or
an extravert.
Some of the well known and popular theories of personality type include the
following:
1) The four humours based personality types
2) Sheldon’s personality types
3) Ayurvedic body types
4) Jungian types based on temperament
5) Type A and Type B personalities
6) J.Block’s three personality types.
The above types are being considered below in greater detail.
The Four Humors based personality types
The ancient Greeks between 2000 BC to 0 AD, classified four types of humors
in people based on the excess of one of the bodily fluids. Some of the names
associated with this view are that of Hippocrates, Galen etc. Each of the humors
corresponded to the individual’s character. These are presented in the table below:
33
Theories of Personality-II Table: Types of Character as related to humor and fluids of the body
Character Humour Fluid Corresponding trait in the Big 5
Irritable Choleric Yellow bile Agreeableness
Depressed Melancholic Black bile Neuroticism
Optimistic Sanguine Blood Openness to experience
Calm Phlegmatic Phlegm Neuroticism
From the above it is seen that persons with choleric humor and dominance of
yellow bile witll have an irritable personality. The person with black bile will be
melancholic in humor and the personality associated with this is one depressed
personality. Thus humors and bodily fluids made up the type of personality an
individual has.
3.3 SHELDON’S SOMATOTYPE PERSONALITY

William Sheldon identified three main types of personality called as somatotype
in which he called three types of personality viz., endomorph, ectomorph and
mesomorph. Endomorph is also referred to as viscerotonic and refers to a relaxed
character, sociable, tolerant, comfort loving, and peaceful. Such person’s body
build is plump and buxom. The mesomorph type of personality is generally an
active type, assertive, vigorous and combative and their body is muscular. The
ectomorph is a quiet type, fragile, restrained , non assertive , sensitive with a
body that of lean, delicate and poor muscles. No one person is purely of a particular
type. There is always a combination of the personality types. Hence Sheldon
further classified a person’s somatotype and giving a rating of 1 to 7 on each of
the three body types. In this scale 1 indicated very low and 7 indicated very high
and in between there were more or less of the types of personality identified.
To give examples, one could state that a stereotypical basket ball player will be
ectomorph (7), endomorph (1) and mesomorph (1). On the other hand a wrestler
like Mohammed Ali will be endomorph (1), mesomorph (7) and ectomorph (1).
More specifically a common man walking on the street would be for instance a
lanky individual will have ectomorph (5), endomorph (2) and mesomorph (3).
An example of a person of average height who is moderately muscular will be
endomorphic (4), mesomorphic (5) and ectomorphic (3) . An example of a person
with a heavy build, will be ectomorphic (3), mesomorphic (3) and endomorphic (5).
Sheldon measured the proportions of hundreds of juvenile delinquent boys and
concluded that they were generally mesomorphs.
Body types have been criticised for very weak empirical methodology and are
not generally used in psychology. The use of somatotyping is more often seen in
alternative therapies and Eastern psychology and spirituality.
Self Asssessment Questions
1) Discuss the Type theory of personality.
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34
2) What are the characteristic features of type theory of personality? How Type Theory of Personality
is it different from trait theory?
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3) Elucidate Sheldon’s somatotype personality.
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4) Give examples of endomorphic, ectomorphic and mesomorphic type
personality.
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3.4 AYURVEDIC BODY TYPES (DOSHAS)

In Ayurvedic medicine there are three main metabolic body types called as ‘doshas’
and these three doshas are ‘Vata’, ‘Pita’ and ‘Kapha’. These are given in the
table below:
Table: Ayurvedic doshas, character and shape.
Ayurvedic Character Shape

Doshas
(Sheldon
Somatotype)
Vata Changeability, unpredictability, Slender with prominent

(Ectomorph) variability in size, shape, mood, features, joints, and veins, with
and action. Moody, enthusiastic, cool, dry skin. Eat and sleep
imaginative, and impulsive. erratically. Prone to anxiety,
Quick to grasp ideas and good at insomnia, premenstrual
initiating things but poor at syndrome (in women) , and
finishing them. Energy fluctuates, constipation.
with jagged peaks and valleys,
Able, tolerant, comfort-loving,
peaceful
35
Ayurvedic Character Shape
Doshas
(Sheldon
Somatotype)
Pita Relatively predictable. Medium build, strength, and

(Mesomorph) quick, articulate, biting intelligence, endurance. Well proportion and
and can be critical or passionate easily maintains a stable weight.
with short, explosive tempers. Often fair haired, red or blond,
Efficient and moderate in daily ruddy complexion.Tends to
habits, eats and sleeps regularly. sweat heavily and are warm and
often thirsty. Prone to acne,
ulcers, hemorrhoids, and
stomach ailments.
Kapha Relaxed. Slow to anger, slow to Solid, heavy, and strong, with
(Endomorph) eat, slow to act. They sleep long a tendency to be overweight,
and heavily. Tends to slow digestion and somewhat
procrastinate and be obstinate. oily hair, and cool, damp, pale
skin. Prone to high cholesterol,
obesity, allergies, and sinus
problems.
Table constructed from information at http://www.newyorkbodyscan.com/

ayurvedic-medicine.html
3.5 JUNGIAN PERSONALITY TYPES (MYERS-

BRIGGS AND THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS)
Jungian psychological types are probably the most widely used and amongst the
best-known in everyday life. Jung viewed the ultimate psychological task as the
process of individuation, based on the strengths and limitations of the
psychological type.
Myers-Briggs developed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a commercially
available questionnaire, which is widely used in business, training, etc. This
provides information and exercises for better understanding of one’s own
personality type and that of others with whom the individual interacts and works.
Underlying all these typologies are four personality functions:
Extroversion (E) — Introversion (I)
Do you recharge your energy via external contact and activity (Extroversion) or
spending time in your inner space (Introversion)?
Intuition (N) — Sensing (S)

Do you rely on your inner voice (Intuition) or observation (Sensing)?
Thinking (T) — Feeling (F)

When making decisions, what do you rely most on? Your thoughts or your
feelings?
Judgement (J) — Perception (P)
Do you tend to set schedules and organise your life (Judgement), or do you tend
36 to leave the options open and see what happens (Perception)?
Using the letters above, it is possible to have a unique 4 letter code to indicate Hans Eysenck: A Trait-
Type Theory of Personality
each of the 16 Jungian personality types, e.g., I am an INTJ. (Introvertive, Intuitive,
Thinking and Judging type of personality.)
Keirsey has renamed and reconceptualised the Jungian types, but they relate
very closely to the Jungian types. Keirsey refers to “temperaments” rather than
personality.
3.6 TYPE A AND TYPE B PERSONALITIES

Meyer Friedman, gave this term. He was a cardiologist and his patients were
made to wait in a sitting room where he had put some sofas. He found that
interestingly the patients who were very tense and impatient sat at the edge of
the sofas and these areas had become worn out. He hypothesised that his patients
were driven, impatient people, who sat on the edge of their seats when waiting.
He labelled these people “Type A” personalities. Type A personalities are
workaholics, always busy, driven, somewhat impatient, and so on. Type B
personalities, on the other hand are laid back and easy going. This tetrm is used
quite often in both scientific research and in common parlance.
1) What are the different Ayurvedic type personality?
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2) How will you compare this with Sheldon’s somatotype?
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3) What are Jungian personality types?
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4) Explain Myer Briggs 16 personality types.
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37
3.7 BLOCK’S PERSONALITY TYPES
J. Block (1971) identified 3 personality types based on his work with adolescent
boys. The three types were, for instance
i) Well-adjusted or Resilient person: adaptable, flexible, resourceful,
interpersonally successful.
ii) Overcontrolling: this is a maladjusted type, uptight, and difficult to deal
with person.
iii) Undercontrolled: another maladjusted type, impulsive, risky, delinquent or
even criminal behaviour; unsafe sex etc.
While type theories of personality remained popular for a period of time, these
theories were criticized as being too simple and that which did not take into
consideration the multidimensional aspects and the continuous nature of the
personality traits. Despite criticisms against type theories of personality, there
are yet certain strengths in these types of personality theories even though
considerable weaknesses have been identified.
3.7.1 Strengths and Limitations of Personality Types

Type theory in general has been criticised as over simplistic because it overlooks
the multi dimensional and continuous nature of personality traits.
Individual differences may be qualitative but not quantitative. In other words,

there may be a difference in the qualities of personality traits that people possess
rather than how much of a trait that one possesses. So measurement of these
aspects in quantitative terms is rather difficult.
A key strength of the personality type approach, is its simple applicability and
person centered relevance. For example one may be able to complete personality
type profiles for helping improve how people get along in relationships and at
work.

1) What are Type A and Type B personality types?
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2) What were the three personality types put forward by J.Block?
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38
3.8 EYSENCK’S TRAIT-TYPE THEORY Type Theory of Personality
Eysenck, Hans Jurgen 1916-97, was a British psychologist. He was known for
his theory of human personality. He suggested that personality is biologically
determined and is arranged in a hierarchy consisting of types, traits, habitual
responses, and specific responses. Eysenck did not believe in Freudian
psychoanalysis as he considered it rather unscientific.
1.8.1 Hierarchical Taxonomy

According to Eysenck Personality can be studied from either temperamental or
cognitive aspects, or both He focussed on the temperament aspect of personality
in his PEN model. For better understanding of the PEN model, therefore, the
study should begin with its description or taxonomy of personality or
temperament.
As Eysenck (1991) states, “In any science, taxonomy precedes causal analysis”
(p. 774). In the course of taxonomy (classification) , any organisms can be
organised into groups based on characters and their relationships. Eysenck
describes in plain terms how taxonomy in the study of personality can be achieved
using the correlational technique called factor analysis:
In the case of personality study the organisms concerned are human beings, the
characters are traits, measured by experiment, by rating, by self-rating, or in
some other way. Traits can be correlated over subjects, or subjects over traits,
giving us groups of people showing similarity over traits, or groups of traits,
cohering as factors over people. We can then look at the traits (or people) having
the highest factor loadings in order to better identify the trait clusters. (Eysenck,
1991, p. 775)
Individual differences in personality or temperament are analysed in terms of
traits, which can be defined as theoretical constructs based on “covariation of a
number of behavioural acts” (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985, p. 12). However,
Eysenck (1991) further supposes that traits themselves intercorrelate and make
up higher-order factors or superfactors, which Eysenck calls “types.”
As a result, the PEN (Psychoticism Extraversion and Neuroticism) model
proposes a hierarchical classification of personality containing four levels.
At the very bottom level of the hierarchy are behaviours such as talking with a
friend on a single occasion.
At the second level are habits such as talking with friends on multiple occasions,
which are comprised of recurring behaviours.
The third level of the hierarchy is that of traits or factors such as sociability,
which are comprised of intercorrelated sets of habits.
At the top of the hierarchy are superfactors or dimensions of personality such as
extraversion, which are intercorrelated sets of traits or factors.
Eysenck suggests three such superfactors: extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and
psychoticism (P). These three superfactors or dimensions of personality are
orthogonal to each other, which means that they do not correlate with each other
(Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985).
39
Theories of Personality-II The PEN model is based on the principle of “aggregation,” in which measures
will have higher reliability if they are comprised of many items (Eysenck, 1990).
That is, each superfactor in the PEN model is comprised of many different factors,
habits, and behaviours, and thus reliability of measurement is increased.
The superfactors of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism at the top level
of the hierarchy are stable, whereas behaviours such as talking with a friend on a
single occasion at the bottom of the hierarchy are changeable across time and
situation. In this respect, the distinction between levels is very important for the
analysis of personality in the PEN model.
3.8.2 Three Dimensions of Personality

Eysenck strongly advocates that there are only three major dimensions or
superfactors in the description of personality: extraversion-introversion; emotional
stability versus instability, or neuroticism; and psychoticism versus impulse
control (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985).
In the PEN model, these dimensions or superfactors are based on “constitutional,
genetic, or inborn factors, which are to be discovered in the physiological,
neurological, and biochemical structure of the individual” (Eysenck & Eysenck,
1985, pp. 42-43).
Each person does not necessarily have either 100 percent or zero percent of
extraversion, neuroticism, or psychoticism. An individual may show some degree
of these superfactors on the continuum. A person may have high extraversion,
moderate neuroticism, and low psychoticism. Eysenck suggests after studying
psychosis:
1) Psychotic symptoms and illnesses do not form completely separate diagnostic
entities.
2) Psychosis is not a separate diagnostic entity which is categorically separated
from normality
3) This continuum is co-linear with the concept of psychoticism, embodied in
the P scale of the EPQ.
On this continuum, a person with high extraversion is sociable, popular,
optimistic, and rather unreliable, whereas a person with low extraversion is quiet,
introspective, reserved, and reliable. A person with high neuroticism is anxious,
worried, moody, and unstable, whereas a person with low neuroticism is calm,
even-tempered, carefree, and emotionally stable. A person with high psychoticism
is troublesome, uncooperative, hostile, and socially withdrawn, whereas a person
with low psychoticism is altruistic, socialised, empathic, and conventional
(Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985).
3.8.3 Causal Aspects

Based on a three-dimensional description of personality, the PEN model further
attempts to provide causal explanation of personality. The PEN model looks for
psychophysiological, hormonal, and other biological mechanisms responsible
for the personality dimensions, so that the theory can be tested by scientific
experiments. Eysenck and Eysenck (1985) clearly contend that “no theory would
be considered valid that did not make testable and verified predictions” (p. 187).
Consequently, Eysenck (1990) proposes the arousal theory, by modifying his
inhibition theory to explain the causal roots of the three dimensions of personality.
40
Self Assessment Questions Type Theory of Personality
1) Elucidate the Trait Type theory of personality by Eysenck.
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2) What is meant by Hierarchical Taxonomy? How is personality types
conceived of by Eysenck in terms of the taxonomy?
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3) What are the three dimensions of personality?
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4) Define and describe the causal aspects of personality according to
Eysenck.
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3.9 NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF TRAITS

AND TYPES
According to Aleksandrov and Shchukina (1992), the neurophysiological indices
of neurotic patients with different types of individual character and their dynamics
are important factors of personality. They took 107 patients with different patterns
of neuroses, who underwent group psychotherapy (a personality-oriented
(reconstructive) variety).
Analysis of the dynamics of the neurophysiological characteristics, made during

group psychotherapy, supported the clinical data on varying curability of neurotic
41
Theories of Personality-II patients with different types of character accentuations. For instance, Patients
with the hysteroid type character accentuation appeared more resistant to
psychotherapy.
Eysenck also made an attempt to specify a neurophysiological basis for each of

his three personality super traits or types. According to him, the super trait
Introversion-extraversion is closely related to levels of cortical arousal as
indicated by electroencephalographic recordings.
Eysenck(1982) used the term arousal to denote a continuum of excitation, ranging

from a lower extreme (e.g.,sleep) to an upper extreme (e.g., state of panic). He
was of the view that introverts are over aroused and thus are highly sensitive to
incoming stimulation. For this reason, they avoided situations that are apt to
overwhelm them.
Extraverts are under aroused and thus are highly insensitive to incoming
stimulation and thus they constantly seek out situations that are apt to excite
them.
Eysenck hypothesized that individual differences in stability vs neuroticism

reflected the degree to which the autonomic nervous system reacts to stimuli. He
linked this dimension with the limbic system, the brain’s visceral or feeling system,
which influences motivation and emotional behaviour.
He pointed out that persons high on neuroticism tend to react more quickly to
painful, novel, disturbing, or other stimuli than do more stable persons. Such
persons also exhibit a more persistent reaction (even after the stimulus has
disappeared) than do highly stable persons.
Eysenck’s neurophysiological interpretation of the dimensions of personality is

closely related to his theory of psychopathology. He was of the view that the
symptoms or disorders that befall a person are related to the combined impact of
personality traits and nervous system functioning. For instance, the person who
is high on the dimensions of introversion and neuroticism is more prone to develop
anxiety disorders such as phobias, obsessions, and, compulsions. On the other
hand, the person who is high on the extraversion and neuroticism dimensions is
at a risk for psychopathic (antisocial) disorders.
Eysenck stated that psychological disorders do not automatically occur as a result

of genetic predisposition. These genetic predispositions when interact with the
environment or a certain situation produce psychological disorders.
3.9.1 Extraversion and Cortical Arousal

According to the arousal theory, Eysenck (1990) provides a biological explanation
of extraversion in terms of cortical arousal via the ascending reticular activating
system (ARAS).
Activity in the ARAS stimulates the cerebral cortex, which, in turn, leads to
higher cortical arousal.
Cortical arousal can be measured by skin conductance, brain waves, or sweating

(Eysenck, 1990).
42
Because of the different levels of ARAS activity, “introverts are characterised by Hans Eysenck: A Trait-
Type Theory of Personality
higher levels of activity than extraverts and so are chronically more cortically
aroused than extraverts” (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985, p. 197, emphasis added).
Based on the Yerkes-Dodson law, which suggests that arousal and performance
have an inverted-U relationship, the arousal theory of the PEN model assumes
that “some intermediate level of arousal is optimal for performance” (Eysenck
& Eysenck, 1985, p. 199).
3.9.2 Neuroticism and Visceral Brain Activation

Eysenck (1990) also explains neuroticism in terms of activation thresholds in
the sympathetic nervous system or visceral brain. The visceral brain is also referred
to as the limbic system, which consists of the hippocampus, amygdala, septum,
and hypothalamus, and regulates such emotional states as sex, fear, and aggression.
It is responsible for the fight-or-flight response in the face of danger. Heart rate,
blood pressure, skin conductance, sweating, breathing rate, and muscular tension
in the forehead can measure activation levels of the visceral brain.
Neurotic individuals have greater activation levels and lower thresholds within
the visceral brain. They are easily upset in the face of very minor stresses.
However, emotionally stable people are calm under such stresses because they
have lesser activation levels and higher thresholds (Eysenck, 1990).
3.9.3 Psychoticism and Gonadal Hormones

Eysenck (1990) also provides a biological explanation of psychoticism in terms
of gonadal hormones such as testosterone and enzymes such as monoamine
oxidase (MAO).
Eysenck (1992a) reports that “low platelet monoamine oxydase (MAO) has been
found in psychotic patients, and also in their relatives and inpatients who have
recovered, suggesting that low MAO activity may be a marker for ‘vulnerability’”
(p. 774).
All things considered, the PEN model has contributed to the study of personality
in three distinctive ways.
1) It combines both descriptive and causal aspects of personality in one theory
(Eysenck, 1997; Stelmack, 1997). This characteristic clearly distinguishes
the PEN model from most other trait theories such as the five-factor model
(Costa & McCrae, 1992a, 1992b; Eysenck, 1991, 1992b, 1992c).
2) It provides causal explanations in addition to the description of personality.
3) The PEN model is supported by more credible evidence than purely
descriptive models.
4) The PEN model is comprehensive in description by proposing a hierarchy
of four levels and by making a clear distinction among those levels.
5) Finally, the PEN model becomes most compelling because of its experimental
approach to the study of personality, which makes the model more testable.
Consequently, the PEN model is likely to generate more specific predictions
about personality.
43
Theories of Personality-II Thus the essence of Eysenck’s Trait-Type theory is that
1) Elements of personality can be arranged hierarchically.
2) Certain supertraits or types, such as extraversion, exert a powerful influence
over behaviour.
3) These supertraits comprised of several component traits, and these component
traits either are more superficial reflections of the underlying type dimension,
or are specific qualities that contribute to that dimension.
According to Eysenck, traits are composed of numerous habitual responses,
which, in turn, are derived from a multitude of specific responses.
The trait of sociability correlates with such response dispositions as activity,

liveliness, assertiveness etc. Taken together, these traits define a super trait or
type Eysenck calls extraversion.
In considering Eysenck’s hiearchichal model of personality structure, it should

be noted that the word “type” refers to dimensions of personality that he regards
as normally distributed along a continuum. This is almost equivalent to traits.
Thus, for example, the type concept of extraversion is a dimension with a low
end and a high end along which people may fall at various points between the
two extremes. It is not a dimension on which people can be classified as either
low or high. Eysenck does not imply discontinuity when he uses the word “type”.
1) Describe the neurophysiological basis of trait and types.
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2) How does Eysenck explain extraversion in terms of neurophysiological
explanation
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3) How is Neuroticism explained in terms neurophysiological mechanism?
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44
4) How does Eysenck connect psychoticism to Gomadal hormones. Type Theory of Personality
Explain?
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3.10 BASIC PERSONALITY TYPES

Eysenck used a variety of methods for gathering information about people in
order to delineate their personality. These methods included self-reports, observer
ratings, biographical information, assessments of physique and physiology, and
objective physiological tests. These data are factor analysed to determine the
structure of personality. Initially Eysenck found two basic type dimensions that
he labeled as introversion-extraversion and neurotocism-stability (a factor
sometimes called instability-stability).
Eysenck (1976) added a third type dimension of personality, which he called

psychoticism-superego strength. People high on this super trait dimension tend
to be egocentric, impulsive, sensitive to others, and opposed to social customs.
They are often seen as:
i) troublesome,
ii) not fitting in well with others, and
iii) intentionally upsetting other people.
Eysenck suggested that psychoticism is a genetic predisposition toward becoming
either psychotic or psychopathic. He regarded psychoticism as a personality
continuum along which all people can be located. He also added that this trait is
found more commonly in men than in women.
3.11 MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY

Eysenck constructed a number of self-report questionnaires to assess individual
differences associated with his three super trait dimensions of personality. One
of the more popular scale is the EPQ that is Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
(EPQ) (Eysenck &Eysenck, 1975). EPQ includes a lie scale aimed at detecting a
person’s tendency to fake responses to look good. A junior EPQ has been
constructed for use with children between the ages of 7 and 15 (Eysenck &
Eysenck,1973).
3.11.1 Differences Between Introverts and Extraverts

Eysenck argues that individual differences in behavioural functioning can be
discovered through factor analysis and measured through the use of questionnaires
and laboratory procedures.
A review of studies (Wilson,1978) conclude that
1) Extraverts have a greater tolerance for pain than do introverts.
45
Theories of Personality-II 2) They engage in more talk and coffee breaks at work than do introverts.
3) Excitement enhances their perforemance whereas it interferes with the
performance of introverts.
4) Introverts prefer theoretical and scientific vocations(e.g., engineering and
chemistry, whereas extraverts tend to prefer people-oriented jobs(e.g., sales
and social work).
5) Introverts report more frequent masturbation than do extraverts, but extraverts
engage in sexual intercourse earlier in life, more often, and with more partners
than do introverts.
6) Introverts attain higher grades in college than do extraverts.
7) Also students who withdraw from college for psychiatric reasons tend to be
introverts, whereas those who withdraw for academic reasons tend to be
extraverts.
8) Introverts show higher arousal levels in the mornings, whereas extraverts
show higher arousal levels in the evening.
9) Introverts work better in the morning, and the extroverts work better in the
afternoon.
One of the most striking differences between introverts and extraverts is in their
sensitivity to stimulation. This difference can be easily demonstrated by the
“lemon drop test”(Corcoran,1964).When four drops of lemon juice are placed
on a person’s tongue, it turns out that introverts secrete almost twice the amount
of saliva as do extraverts.
The basis of this finding is related to different patterns of physiological functioning

in introverts and extraverts. Eysenck proposes that ascending reticular activating
system in the brain stem is responsible for controlling the differences in response
to stimulation between introverted and extraverted subjects.
3.12 LET US SUM UP

The trait-type theory of Eysenck is based on factor analysis. His hierarchichal
model of personality structure includes the dimensions of types, traits, habitual
responses, and specific responses. Types represent supertrait dimensions along
which people may be located at various points between two extremes. Eysenck
suggests that personality types are dimensional and that most people do not fall
into separate categories. Eysenck sees only two major types or traits as underlying
personality structure: introversion-extraversion and stability-neuroticism. At a
later stage he also added one more dimension that is psychoticism and super ego
strength. The differences in these two supertraiots, as well as a third factor called
psychoticism-superego strength, are closely related to differences in
neurophysiological functioning. Eysenck places far more emphasis on the genetic
foundations of traits than does Cattell. However accordfing to Eysenck the genetic
predisposition when interacts with the environmental factors produce the requisite
behaviours which may be normal or abnornmal.
Eysenck has developed several questionnaires to assess the three major supertraits
underlying his hierarchichal model of personality.EPQ is the most important
tool to assess the differences between introverts and extraverts.
46
3.13 UNIT END QUESTIONS Type Theory of Personality
1) Discuss the Type theory of personality highlighting the characteristic features

2) How does type theory differ from trait theory of personality?
3) Discuss and compare the Sheldon somatotype personality with that of
Ayurvidc body type.
4) Discuss Jungian Personality types and indicate how the EPQ was devised.
5) Elucidate Eysenck’s trait type theory of personality.
6) Give neurophysiological explanations for neuroticism, exteraversion and
psychoticism.
7) How do you measure personality according to Eysenck?
8) What are the basic personality types?
9) Differentiate between extraversion and introversion personality types.
3.14 GLOSSARY
Extraversion : One end of the introversion-extraversion type
dimension of personality characterised by a
tendency to be sociable , impulsive, and excitable.
Introversion : One end of the introversion-extraversion type

dimension of personality characterised by a tendency
to be reserved , controlled ,and introspective.
Neuroticism : One end of the neuroticism-stability type

tendency to be anxious, moody, and depressed.
Psychoticism : One end of the neuroticism-stability type

tendency to be solitary and insensitive to others.
Stability : One end of the neuroticism-stability type

tendency to be calm, controlled and unemotional.
Superego strength : One end of the psychoticism-superego strength

type dimension characterised by a tendency to be
empathetic, sensitive, and cooperative.
Supertrait : General and continuous trait dimensions,such as

introversion-extraversion, that exert a powerful
influence on behaviour.

Eysenck,H.J.(1976).Sex and Personality. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Eysenck,H.J.(1982). Personality, Genetics, and Behaviour. New York: Praeger.
47
Theories of Personality-II Hjelle,L.A. & Zieglar, D.J.(1992). Personality Theories: Basic Assumptions,
Research and Applications. McGraw-Hill,Inc
References
Corcoran,D.W.(1964). The relation between introversion and salivation.American
Journal of Psychology,77,298-300.
Eysenck,S.B.,& Eysenck,H.J.(1973).Test –retest reliabilities of a new personality
questionnaire for children.British Journal of Psychology,43,26-130.
Eysenck,S.B.,& Eysenck,H.J.(1975).Manual of the Eysenck Personality

Questionnaire. San Diego,CA:EdITS.
Maddi,S.R.(1989).Personality Theories:A comparative analysis(5th edition) .

Homewood,IL:Dorsey Press.
Mischel,W.(1968).Personality and assessment. New York :Wiley.
Pervin,L.A.(1989).Personality:Theory and research(5th edition).New York:Wiley.
Wilson,G.(1978).Introversion/extroversion.In H.London & J.E. Exner (Eds.).

Dimensions of personality(pp. 217-261).New York:Wiley.
48
UNIT 4 THE BIG FIVE FACTORS: THE Type Theory of Personality
BASIC DIMENSIONS OF
PERSONALITY
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Definition of the Big Five Factors
4.2.1 Discovery of the Big Five in Cattell’s Variable List
4.3 The Big Five Theory
4.3.2 Theoretical Perspectives on the Big Five: Description and Explanation
4.3.3 Advantages of the Big Five Structure
4.4 Measurement of the Big Five Inventory (BFI)
4.4.1 Big Five Personality Traits in Psychology
4.4.2 Important Characteristics of the Five Factors
4.4.3 Major Proponents of the Big Five and the Lexical Basis
4.4.4 Best Ways to Describe Personality
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.7 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Research conducted during the last few decades has converged on the conclusion
that infact, there may be only five key or central dimensions of personality instead
of many personality dimensions. The trait and type theorists put forward many
dimensions of personality and delineated the characteristic features of the traits.
Using factor analysis from amongst a large number of dimensions, the researchers
identified clusters of dimensions and these formed the personality factors. Thus
the Big 5 personality dimensions are identified clusters of personality traits and
these can be delineated by a measurement tool (questionnaire). These are being
discussed in detail in this unit.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define the Big 5 factor dimensions of personality;
• Explain the Big 5 factors;
• Analyse the methods by which the five factors were extracted; and
• Describe the methods by which these factors could be measured.
49
4.2 DEFINITION OF THE BIG FIVE FACTORS
Personality has been conceptualised from many theoretical perspectives. Each
has contributed to understanding of individual differences in behaviour and
experience. However so many personality scales to measure personality came
about as a result of continuing research and one had not overall rationale to use
a particular scale.
Thus personality psychology needed a descriptive model, a taxonomy of its subject

matter. One of the goals of taxonomie is to bring a number of specific instances
within a domain so as to understand it in a simple way. Thus in personality the
taxonomy will help to study specified domains of personality characteristics,
instead of examining separately thousands of particular attributes that make
individuals unique.
The Big Five personality dimension is the result of finding a general taxonomy
and these dimensions do not represent a particular theoretical perspective but
derived from people’s description of themselves and others in their natural
language. The Big Five instead of replacing the earlier systems, serves as an
integrative mechanism and represents the various and diverse systems of
personality description in a common framework.
Allport and Odbert’s classifications provided some initial structure for the
personality lexicon. Since taxonomy has to provide a systematic framework for
distinguishing, ordering and naming individual differences in people’s behaviour
and experience, they took a list of a large number of personality traits used in
common parlance. The size of that list was so huge that Cattell (1943) began
with a subset of 4500 trait items. Using semantic and empirical clustering
procedures Cattell reduced the 4500 items to a mere 35 variables. He used these
small set of variables to identify 12 personality factors which eventually became
a part of his 16 PF questionnaire.
4.2.1 Discovery of the Big Five in Cattell’s Variable List

Cattell’s work gave impetus to many research investigations and many were
involved in the discovery and clarification of the Big Five dimensions. First,
Fiske (1949) constructed simplified description from 22 variables of Cattell.
The factor structure were obtained from self ratings etc. They worked out a
correlational matrix from different samples and found clusters which they called
the Big five.
This five factor structure has been replicated by many in lists derived from Cattell’s
35 variables. These factors were initially labeled as (i) Extraversion or Surgency
(ii) Agreeableness (iii) Conscientiousness (iv) Emotional stability versus
neuroticism and (v) Culture. These factors came to be known as the Big Five .
These five dimension s represent personality at the broadest level of abstraction,
and each dimension summarises a large number of distinct, more specific
personality characteristics.
Following Fiske’s research, there were attempts by other researchers including

Norman (1967), Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae & Costa (1987).
50
The “big five” are broad categories of personality traits. While there is a significant The Big Five Factors: The
Basic Dimensions of
body of literature supporting this five-factor model of personality, researchers Personality
do not always agree on the exact labels for each dimension. However, these five
categories are usually described as follows:
Extraversion: This is also called as Surgency. The broad dimension of

Extraversion encompasses specific traits as talkative, energetic, and assertive.
More specifically these include characteristics such as excitability, sociability,
talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.
Agreeableness: This factor includes traits like sympathetic, kind, and affectionate.
It also includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other
prosocial behaviours.
Conscientiousness: This includes traits like organised, thorough, and planful

tendencies. Common features of this dimension include high levels of
thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed behaviours. Those
high in conscientiousness tend to be organised and mindful of details.
Neuroticism: This is sometimes reversed and called Emotional Stability. This

dimension includes traits like tense, moody, and anxious. Individuals high in
this trait tend to experience emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability,
and sadness.
Openness to Experience: This is also called as Intellect or Intellect/Imagination.

This dimension includes traits like having wide interests, and being imaginative
and insightful. Those high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests.
These dimensions represent broad areas of personality. Research has demonstrated

that these groupings of characteristics tend to occur together in many people.
For example, individuals who are sociable tend to be talkative. However, these
traits do not always occur together. Personality is complex and varied and each
person may display behaviours across several of these dimensions.
Each of the Big Five factors is quite broad and consists of a range of more specific
traits. The Big Five structure was derived from statistical analyses of which traits
tend to co-occur in people’s descriptions of themselves or other people. The
underlying correlations are probabilistic, and exceptions are possible. For
example, talkativeness and assertiveness are both traits associated with
Extraversion, but they do not go together by logical necessity. One could imagine
somebody who is assertive but not talkative (the “strong, silent type”). However,
many studies indicate that people who are talkative are usually also assertive
(and vice versa), which is why they go together under the broader Extraversion
factor.
For this reason, one should be clear about the research goals when choosing the
measures. If it expected that one has to to make finer distinctions (such as between
talkativeness and assertiveness), a broad-level Big Five instrument will not be
enough. One may have to use one of the longer inventories that make facet-level
distinctions (like the NEO PI-R or the IPIP scales. or one could supplement a
shorter inventory (like the Big Five Inventory) with additional scales that measure
the specific dimensions that you are interested in.
51
Theories of Personality-II It is also worth noting that there are many aspects of personality that are not
subsumed within the Big Five. The term personality trait has a special meaning
in personality psychology that is narrower than the everyday usage of the term.
Motivations, emotions, attitudes, abilities, self-concepts, social roles,
autobiographical memories, and life stories are just a few of the other “units”
that personality psychologists study.
Some of these other units may have theoretical or empirical relationships with
the Big Five traits, but they are conceptually distinct. For this reason, even a very
comprehensive profile of somebody’s personality traits can only be considered
a partial description of their personality.
4.3 THE BIG FIVE THEORY

Let us see the difference between the terms Big Five, Five-Factor Model, and
Five-Factor Theory.
The Big Five are, collectively, a taxonomy of personality trait. It is a coordinate

system that maps which traits go together in people’s descriptions or ratings of
one another.
The Big Five are an empirically based phenomenon, not a theory of personality.
The Big Five factors were discovered through a statistical procedure called factor
analysis, which was used to analyse how ratings of various personality traits are
correlated in humans.
The original derivations relied heavily on American and Western European

samples, and researchers are still examining the extent to which the Big Five
structure generalises across cultures.

The Five-Factor Model is a term used often instead of the “Big Five.” In scientific
usage, the word “model” can refer either to a descriptive framework of what has
been observed, or to a theoretical explanation of causes and consequences.
The Five-Factor Model (i.e., Big Five) is a model in the descriptive sense only.
The term “Big Five” was coined by Lew Goldberg and was originally associated
with studies of personality traits used in natural language.
The term “Five-Factor Model” has been more commonly associated with studies
of traits using personality questionnaires. The two research traditions yielded
largely consonant models and in current practice the terms are often used
interchangeably. A subtle but sometimes important area of disagreement between
the lexical and questionnaire approaches is over the definition and interpretation
of the fifth factor, called Intellect/Imagination by many lexical researchers and
Openness to Experience by many questionnaire researchers.
4.3.2 Theoretical Perspectives on the Big Five: Description and

Explanation
Over the years many perspectives on the concept of the Big Five dimensions
have been presented. As is known the Big Five were first discovered in lexical
52 research to provide taxonomy of trait items and thus the factors were initially
interpreted as dimensions of trait or attribution. Further research showed that the The Big Five Factors: The
Basic Dimensions of
dimensions have external /predictive validity and all five of them show equal Personality
heritability. Since the Big Five dimensions refer to real individual differences,
one must find out as to how these differences are conceptualised.
Several theories conceptualise the Big Five as relational constructs. In

Interpersonal theory the theoretical emphasis is on the individual in relationships.
According to Sullivan (1953) the Big Five describe the enduring patterns of
recurrent interpersonal situations that characterise human life. However, Wiggins
and Trapnell (1996) are of the view that interpersonal motives are important and
thus they interpret all the Big Five dimensions in terms of their interpersonal
implications.
Socioanalytic theory by Hogan (1996) focuses on the social functions of self and
other perceptions and he points out that traits are socially constructed to serve
interpersonal functions. As trait terms are about reputation that is the individual
considers how others view them , the possibility of the person distorting the self
reports and questionnaires is high. Thus self deceptive bias enters and one does
not get the true picture of the individual’s personality.
The evolutionary theory on the Big Five states that humans have evolved
“difference detecting mechanisms” to perceive individual differences that are
important for survival and reproduction(D.M. Buss & Shackelford, 1997). Buss
views personality as one where the Big Five traits represent the most salient and
important dimensions of the individual’s survival needs. This theory emphasises
both person perception and individual differences and point out that the Big
Five summarises the centrally important individual differences.
McCrae and Costa (1996) view Big Five as causal personality dispositions. Their
five factor theory (FFT) explains the Big Five taxonomy. According to FFT, the
Big GFive imensions have a substantial genetic base and hence derive from
biological structures and processes. According to this theory, personality traits
are basic tendencies that refer to the underlying potentials of the individual. On
the other hand attitudes, roles, relationships and goals are characteristic
adaptations that reflect the interaction between the basic tendencies and
environmental demands. While basic tendencies remain stable across life, the
adaptations undergo considerable changes.
Another theory is the comparative approach to personality that studies individual

differences in both human and non humans. Thus there are a diverse theories
regarding the Big Five dimensions from purely descriptive to biologically based
causal concepts. These perspectives however are not mutually exclusive. Research
in areas like behaviour genetics, molecular genetics, personality stability and
change, and accuracy and bias in interpersonal perception will help in building
and refining a comprehensive theory of Big Five.
4.3.3 Advantages of the Big Five Structure

The Big Five structure has the advantage of everyone being able to understand
definitions and meanings used in describing this concept. Several of the
dimensions of the Big Five especially Extraversion and Neuroticism have been
explained both from physiological and mechanistic perspectives. In one sense,
the Big Five differentiate domains of individual differences that have similar
53
Theories of Personality-II surface manifestations. The Big Five structure is a major step ahead in that it
captures the commonalities amongs most of the existing systems of personality
description, and provides an integrative descriptive model.
Five-Factor Theory includes a number of propositions about the nature, origins,

and developmental course of personality traits, and about the relation of traits to
many of the other personality variables mentioned earlier. Five-Factor Theory
presents a biological account of personality traits, in which learning and
experience play little if any part in influencing the Big Five.
Five-Factor Theory is not the only theoretical account of the Big Five. Other
personality psychologists have proposed that environmental influences, such as
social roles, combine and interact with biological influences in shaping personality
traits. For example, Brent Roberts has recently advanced an interactionist approach
under the name Social Investment Theory.
Finally, it is important to note that the Big Five are used in many areas of
psychological research in ways that do not depend on the specific propositions
of any one theory. For example, in interpersonal perception research the Big
Five are a useful model for organising people’s perceptions of one another’s
personalities. I have argued that the Big Five are best understood as a model of
reality-based person perception. In other words, it is a model of what people
want to know about one another (Srivastava, 2010).
Regardless of whether you endorse any particular theory of personality traits, it

is still quite possible that you will benefit from measuring and thinking about
the Big Five in your research.
4.4 MEASUREMENT OF THE BIG FIVE

INVENTORY (BFI)
Big Five Invantory (BFI) is a self-report inventory designed to measure the Big
Five dimensions. It is quite brief for a multidimensional personality inventory
(44 items total), and consists of short phrases with relatively accessible vocabulary.
A copy of the BFI, with scoring instructions, is reprinted in the chapter as an
appendix (the last 2 pages). It is also available through Oliver John’s lab website.
No permission is needed to use the BFI for noncommercial research purposes
(see below).
What are other ways of measuring the Big Five?
The BFI is not your only option for measuring the Big Five...
The International Personality Item Pool, developed and maintained by Lew
Goldberg, has scales constructed to work as analogs to the commercial NEO PI-
R and NEO-FFI scales (see below). IPIP scales are 100% public domain - no
permission required, ever.
Colin DeYoung and colleagues have published a 100-item measure, called the
Big Five Aspect Scales (BFAS), which scores not only the Big Five factors, but
also two “aspects” of each. The BFAS is in the public domain as well.
If you want items that are single adjectives, rather than full sentences (like the
NEO) or short phrases (like the BFI and IPIP), you have several options. For
54
starters, there is Lew Goldberg’s set of 100 trait-descriptive adjectives (published The Big Five Factors: The
Basic Dimensions of
in Psychological Assessment, 1992). Gerard Saucier reduced this set to 40 Big Personality
Five mini-markers that have excellent reliability and validity (Journal of
Personality Assessment, 1994). More recently, Saucier has developed new trait
marker sets that maximize the orthogonality of the factors (Journal of Research
in Personality, 2002). Saucier’s mini-markers are in the public domain.
The NEO PI-R is a 240-item inventory developed by Paul Costa and Jeff McCrae.
It measures not only the Big Five, but also six “facets” (subordinate dimensions)
of each of the Big Five. The NEO PI-R is a commercial product, controlled by a
for-profit corporation that expects people to get permission and, in many cases,
pay to use it. Costa and McCrae have also created the NEO-FFI, a 60-item
truncated version of the NEO PI-R that only measures the five factors. The NEO-
FFI is also commercially controlled.
If you need a super-duper-short measure of the Big Five, you can use the Ten
Item Personality Inventory, recently developed by Sam Gosling, Jason Rentfrow,
and Bill Swann. But read their journal article first (it is on Sam Gosling’s web
page). There are substantial measurement tradeoffs associated with using such a
short instrument, which the article discusses.
As mentioned earlier, the IPIP scales, Saucier’s mini-markers, and the Big
Five Aspect Scales are all in the public domain and may be used for any purpose
with no restrictions.
Additionally, the BFI (which is copyrighted by Oliver P. John) is freely available

to researchers who wish to use it for research (not commercial) purposes. More
details are available on Oliver John’s lab website. If you cannot find your questions
answered there, you can contact Laura Naumann (naumann@berkeley.edu) for
further information.
4.4.1 Big Five Personality Traits in Psychology

The “Big Five” Personality Dimensions
Extroversion : activity and energy level traits, sociability and emotional
expressiveness.
Agreeableness: altruism, trust, modesty, prosocial attitudes.
Conscientiousness : Impulse control, goal directed behaviour.
Neuroticism : emotional stability, anxiety, sadness, and irritability
Openness: Breadth, Complexity, and depth of an individuals life.
These five dimensions have been used to account for variance in: i) Academic
Achievement (ii) Work Performance (iii) Well Being Juvenile Delinquency (iv)
The Big Five Personality Traits in Psychology (v) The person’s Personal
Dimensions Affect All Aspects of Life
One does not need a Myers Briggs Personality Test to know if your personality
type is working for or against you! Here are the Big Five Personality Traits and
how they work.
The Big Five Personality Traits affect the person’s health, relationships, goals,
achievements, professional success, and even the spiritual life. The person’s whole
55
Theories of Personality-II life is affected both positively and negatively by the Big Five Personality Traits!
The fundamental five personality characteristics - called the “Big Five Personality
Traits” among psychologists - were once thought to remain the same since
childhood. Now, experts believe the Big Five Personality Traits change over
time.
The five-factor model is comprised of five personality dimensions (OCEAN):

Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and
Neuroticism. The five dimensions are held to be a complete description of
personality.
A competing model with three dimensions based on psychophysiology is the

PEN Model. Extraversion and Agreeableness are only rotations of the dimensions
in Interpersonal Theory.
A trait is a temporally stable, cross-situational individual difference. Currently

the most popular approach among psychologists for studying personality traits
is the five-factor model or Big Five dimensions of personality. The five factors
were derived from factor analyses of a large number of self- and peer reports on
personality-relevant adjectives and questionnaire items.
4.4.2 Important Characteristics of the Five Factors

The following are some of the important characteristics of the five factors:
1) First, the factors are dimensions, not types, so people vary continuously on
them, with most people falling in between the extremes.
2) Second, the factors are stable over a 45-year period beginning in young
adulthood (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999).
3) Third, the factors and their specific facets are heritable (i.e., genetic), at
least in part (Jang, McCrae, Angleitner, Riemann, & Livesley, 1998; Loehlin,
McCrae, Costa, & John, 1998).
4) Fourth, the factors probably had adaptive value in a prehistoric environment
(Buss, 1996).
5) Fifth, the factors are considered universal, having been recovered in languages
as diverse as German and Chinese (McCrae & Costa, 1997).
6) Sixth, knowing one’s placement on the factors is useful for insight and
improvement through therapy (Costa & McCrae, 1992).
The differences between two empirically related yet conceptually distinct models,
the Big Five and the five-factor model, are summarised below.
4.4.3 Major Proponents of the Big Five and the Lexical Basis
Goldberg
FFM: McCrae and Costa
Lexical basis
Lexical hypothesis—those individual differences that are most salient and socially
relevant will come to be encoded as terms in the natural language.
56
Five Factor Model (FFM): Theoretical contexts—traits are situated in a The Big Five Factors: The
Basic Dimensions of
comprehensive model of genetic and environmental causes and contexts. Personality
Position on causation
Big 5: Phenotypic and no stance on causation.
Five Factor Model (FFM). Biosocial, genetic as well as environmental.
Naming of factors
Big 5: Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and
Intellect.
Five Factor Model (FFM). Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness,
Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience (OCEAN).
Measurement Model
Big 5: Circular measurement, that is, many items have non-zero correlations
(loadings) on two factors rather than just one.
Five Factor Model . Hierarchical measurement , that is, lower-level facets combine
to form higher-level domains.
Questionnaires
Big 5: Big Five Markers (recently, International Personality Item Pool, or IPIP).
FFM. Revised Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-
PI-R).
Type of Questionnaire Items
Big 5. Adjectives (recently, sentence stems).
FFM. Sentences.
Saucier and Goldberg (1998) presented evidence that nearly all clusters of
personality-relevant adjectives can be subsumed under the Big Five.
One of the shortcomings of the Big 5 is that though very useful, it must be stated
that there are several important personality traits that lie beyond the Big Five.
In addition, theoretical reasons suggest the importance of other personality traits

that are poorly captured by terms in the natural language, such as impulsive,
sensation-seeking etc.
Furthermore, traits may be only a limited means of studying a “psychology of

the stranger”, that is, they may include only the personality relevant information
that would be apparent about someone about whom one knew very little else.
Thus it leaves other important constructs such as narrative life story etc.,
uncovered.
4.4.4 Best way to Describe Personality

What are the best ways to describe an individual’s personality? One might list
all of the things that individuals do all day every day of their lives, but that
would take too long and be far too detailed to be of much use.
Alternatively, one might use more abstract attributes as a way of summarizing

the major ways that individuals differ from each other. Every language has
57
Theories of Personality-II hundreds of words that refer to the ways that individuals differ. The English
language includes at least 20,000 words of that sort (for example, talkative,
agreeable, hard-working, nervous, intelligent).
Perhaps those terms that make it into a language and then stay there for centuries
are those that people have found to be most useful for describing themselves and
others. This “lexical hypothesis” is the basis of much modern research on the
structure of human personality traits.
The terms that are descriptive of personality can be used by individuals to describe
themselves and others.
For example, one could ask a question, “How talkative is Ram? “ The answer
could be in a continuum, viz., Not at all (1) A little bit (2) Somewhat (3)
Moderately (4) and Extremely(5).
In general, one can measure the extent of similarity between pairs of personality
terms with a statistic called the “correlation coefficient.” Based on the
intercorrelations among all pairs of personality terms, one can then group the
terms into categories or clusters using a statistical procedure called “factor
analysis.” The result of research using those statistical techniques is a tentative
answer to the important scientific question: “How many different relatively
independent kinds of terms are there in that specific language?”
In many languages, it has turned out that the magical number is something like
five or six. In English and other northern European languages like German and
Dutch, there has seemed to be five major dimensions or “factors” to represent
the majority of personality-descriptive terms in that language. This “Big-Five”
factor structure has become a scientifically useful taxonomy to understand
individual differences in personality traits.
The Big Five factors

1) The first is Extraversion versus Introversion, which includes traits such as
Active, Assertive, Energetic, Gregarious, and Talkative versus their
opposites.
2) A second factor is called Agreeableness, which includes traits such as
Amiable, Helpful, Kind, Sympathetic, and Trusting versus their opposites.
3) A third factor has been labeled Conscientiousness, which includes such traits
as Dependable, Hard-working, Responsible, Systematic, and Well-organised
versus their opposites.
4) A fourth factor contrasts traits related to Emotional Stability, such as Calm,
Relaxed, and Stable, with opposite traits such as Afraid, Nervous, Moody,
and Temperamental.
5) And, finally, there is a constellation of traits related to Intellect and
Imagination, such as Artistic, Creative, Gifted, Intellectual, and Scholarly
versus their opposites.
Most personality-related words in many modern languages can be classified by
their locations in the five-dimensional space provided by the Big-Five factors.
Terms are scattered throughout this five-dimensional space, with most terms
being blends of two or three of the Big-Five factors. As a consequence, this five-
58
factor model provides a rich framework for classifying personality traits, and The Big Five Factors: The
Basic Dimensions of
measures of those five broad dimensions have proven to be extremely useful for Personality
describing individual persons. Indeed, measures of the Big-Five factors have
proven to predict educational and occupational attainment, marital success, good
health habits and medical outcomes, and even longevity versus mortality.
Many researches believe that these dimensions are indeed the basic ones. This is
indicated, by the fact that these dimensions are ones to which most people in
many cultures refer in describing themselves(Funder & Colvin,1991 ).If the big
five dimensions of personality are really so basic ,then it is reasonable to expect
that they will be related to important forms of behaviour.
Many studies indicate that this is the case. Where people stand on the big five
dimensions is closely linked to important outcomes, such is their success in
performing many jobs(e.g., Hogan, Hogan & Roberts,1996).Many psychologists
now view the the big five basic dimensions as truly basic,there is not total
consensus on this point. For example, Eysenck (1994), believes that there only
three basic dimensions-extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism.
Other psychologists (e.g.,Block,1995) believe that the methods on which the big
five dimensions are based (largely the technique of factor analysis) are inadequate.
Lastly many psychologists view the big five as providing important insights into
the key dimensions of personality.
4.5 LET US SUM UP

The controversy regarding the number of basic personality traits has taken an
interesting turn in recent years .Costa & McCrae have examined all possible
personality traits. The findings indicate a set of five factors.They are pften called
Big-Five Factors.These factors include: extraversion, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience.This model
represents an important theoretical development in the field of personality.It has
been found useful in understanding the personality profile of people across
cultures.While it is consistent with the analysis of personality traits found in
different languages, it is also supported by the studies of personality carried out
through different methods.Thus, it is now considered to be the most promising
empirical approach to the study of personality.

1) What are the big –five dimensions of personality? Describe each dimension
ind detail.
2) Discuss Eysenck’s three major trait dimensions of personality as largely
responsible for a significant portion of human behaviour.
3) Discuss the various theoretical perspectives of the Big 5.
4) Discuss how individual variations along each trait dimension reflect
differences in neurophysiological functioning?
5) How was Big 5 discovered?
6) Who are the major proponents of Big 5 ? Discuss the lexical basis of Big 5.
59
4.7 GLOSSARY
Extraversion : one of the big-five dimensions of
personality;ranges from sociable, talkative and
enthusiastic at one end to sober, reserved , and
cautious at the other.
Agreeableness : one of the big-five dimensions of personality;
ranges from good natured, cooperative, trusting
at one end to irritable, suspicious, uncooperative
at the other.
Conscientiousness : one of the big-five dimensions of personality;
ranges from well-organised, careful and
responsible at one end to disorganised, careless,
and unscrupulous at the other.
Emotional Stability : one of the big-five dimensions of personality;
ranges from poised, calm ,and composed at one
end to nervous, anxious, and excitable at the
other; also called neuroticism.
Openness to Experience : one of the big-five dimensions of personality;
ranges from imaginative, witty. And intellectual
at one end to down-to –earth, simple, and narrow
in interests at the other.

Baron,R.A.(2005). Psychology. (Fifth Edition)Pearson India, Delhi.
Eysenck,H.J.(1994).The Big-five or Giant three:Criteria for a paradigm. In

C.F.Halverson,Jr.,G.A.Honhnstamm &R.P.Martin(Eds.).The developing structure
of temperament & personality from infancy to childhood(pp 37-51). Hillsdale,
NJ:Earlbaum.
Zuckerman,m.(1994).Behavioural expressions and biosocial bases of sensation

seeking.NY:Cambridge University Press.
References
Block,J.H.(1995).A contrarian view of the five- factor approach to personality

description.Psychological Bulletin,117,187-215.
Costa,P.T.,Jr.,& McCrae,R.R.(1994).The NEO PI/NEO-FFI Manual

supplement.Odessa,FL:Psychological Assessment Research.
Funder,D.C., & Colvin,C.R.(1991).Exploration in behavioural consistency:

Properties of persons ,situation and behaviour. Journal of Personality &Social
Psychology,60,773-794.
Hogan,R.,Hogan,J.,& Roberts,B.W.(1996)Personality measurement employment

decisions:Question and Answers.American Psychologist,51,469-477.
60
Introduction to Assessment
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASSESSMENT and Testing
AND TESTING
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 History of Personality Assessment
1.2.1 The OSS
1.2.2 Important Steps in Personality Assessment
1.2.3 Personality Assessment and Related Fields
1.3 Influence of Psychological Assessment
1.4 Meaning and Purpose of Personality Assessment
1.4.1 Meaning of Personality Assessment
1.4.2 Purpose of Personality Assessment
1.5 Testing and Measurement Concepts
1.5.1 Standardisation
1.5.2 Norms
1.5.3 Reliability
1.5.4 Validity
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Glossary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
A pervasive theme in the study of personality is individual differences in people’s
behaviour and experience. In pursuing the study of individual differences – how
are people different from one another – personologists deal with two related
concerns. First, is the ways in which people are different. Personologists have
used different theoretical concepts to describe the distinctiveness about an
individual. Terms such as trait, type, motive, value, temperament, etc. have been
used to depict enduring aspects of human behaviour. Second, personologists are
interested in developing ways of measuring individual differences ( a process
called assessment ).
Formal personality assessment not only makes it possible to obtain information

about individual differences in a meaningful and exact manner but also makes it
possible to communicate this information to others in a clear and unambiguous
fashion. In this unit 1, we will be dealing with the historical perspectives of
personality assessment and measurement, provide meaning and definition and
description of personality assessment and follow it up by the reason for assessing
personality. The assessment of personality is made through measuring social
traits, motives, adjustment etc. Assessment has to be reliable and valid and in
order to know how this is to be done, we will be learning in this unit how a test
of personality or for that matter any psychological test is standardised, how norms
5
Assessment of Personality are developed and we would also learn what is reliability and validity and how
these have to be calculated.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define personality assessment;
• Describe the individual differences measured in personality assessment;
• Trace the history of personality assessment;
• Explain the meaning and purpose of personality assessment; and
• Describe the criteria for standardisation of personality assessment techniques.
1.2 HISTORY OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT

The ways in which people behave have always been of interest. They are of
immediate interest to family, friends, and neighbours, for whom the behaviour
of a certain person is likely to have direct consequence. Thus there have been
many attempts by psychologists and experts to look for and devise instruments
to assess personality.
As one traces the history of psychological testing it is interesting to see that as

early as 1000 B.C., written tests were introduced by the Chinese in order to fill
up civil service positions. In the United States around the year 1850 one finds
tests for the civil services examinations starting. James Cattell in 1890 developed
a mental test for assessing college students in order to measure their strength,
resistance to pain and reaction time. As is well known the first scale of mental
development for classifying the mentally retarded children in France was in the
year 1905 and this scale originated from Binet and Simon and bears their name
as Binet Simon scale of mental development. World War I required tests to quickly
classify the new recruits to army and this was done through the Army Alpha and
Beta tests, which were specially developed for this purpose in 1914.
It was in 1916 that the term Intelligent Quotient was introduced by Terman who
developed Standford Binet Test after which came the many personality tests and
inventories. Between 1920 and 1940 using factor analysis projective tests and
personality tests were devised. Between 1941-1960 many vocational interest
tests were developed and between 1961 – 1980 neuropsychological testing became
prominent. Between 1980 to the present date many tests have been developed
which could be administered through the computer, scored and also interpreted.
In regard to personality tests, as one traces the history, one finds that the first
name is of a Greek physician Hippocrates. He was a departure from the spiritual
side of human behaviours. He theorised that every boy has four fluids (humors);
blood, phlegm (...respiratory secretions) yellow bile and black bile. He thought
that these fluids affect human body in a number of ways. In 190 AD Galen,
another Greek Physician put forward a theory of four body fluids and pointed
out that based on the body fluids there are four temperaments, viz., sanguine,
phlegm, choleric and melancholic. The sanguine person is supposed to be warm,
optimistic and confident, while the phlegmatic body brings about a temperament
6
which is sluggish, apathetic and indifferent. The yellow bile according to Galen Introduction to Assessment
and Testing
causes a choleric body and thus the temperament consists of violence, anger and
aggression. The last one was the black bile body which causes the person to have
a melancholic body and the temperament that goes with it includes, sadness,
depression and melancholy. He also believed that food, weather, life-periods
and geographical conditions affect body temperaments. He was of the view that
a healthy body is the direct result of a balance in the ratio of these four body
temperaments.
Avicenna, a Muslim physician not only introduced four body temperaments to

the Arab world but also analysed many other reasons of human illness.
It was actually Wilhelm Wundt (1879 A.D.) who founded the first psychology
laboratory in Leipzig Germany, was the first to make clear the distinction between
human body and personality. He theorised that the four temperaments; sanguine,
phlegm, cholera and melancholy are four dimensions of the human personality.
He gave the psychological touch to the personality tests.
While the history of personality tests took a psychological turn with Wilhelm
Wundt, many psychologists contributed to the personality assessment methods.
Given below are some of the contributors who belong to the 20th century.
In 1905, Eduard Spranger, a German Philosopher, theorised four attitudes towards

ethical values. He named those value attitudes as artistic, religious, theoretic and
economic.
Hugo Munsterberg, a professor of the Harvard University made a survey and

asked the executives of different organisations to respond. He asked them for
qualities which they want to see in their employees. He listed them and devised
the first personality test. He intended to help the employers to make the best
hiring decisions.
Ernest Kretchmer (1920) , a German philosopher presented a theory of four

character styles, viz., hypomanic, depressive, hyperesthetic or anesthetic
depending upon their character styles.
Erich Fromm, another German philosopher wrote that there are four human
orientation which he termed as exploitative, hoarding, receptive and marketing.
In 1922, Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist, was the first person to theorise that
people always prefer certain identifiable behaviours if they are given a free choice.
He also said that on the basis of human preferences, they can be divided in
different personality types. Based on this theorisation, two women psychologists,
Myers Briggs and Katherine Briggs in the year 1958, applied Jung’s theory and
developed types of personality which were to be decided based on the answers
to four questions which are as given below:
a) Preferred source of your energy? (Internal or external)
b) Preferred source of perception? (Senses or Intuition)
c) Preferred decision making system? (On logics or feelings)
d) Preferred life style? (ordered or adaptable)
7
Assessment of Personality On the basis of the answers received, they identified four cognitive functions;
sensory perception, sensory judgment, intuitive feeling and intuitive thinking.
Their theory influenced another psychologuist named Kiersy, who identified four
personality temperaments. David Kiersy associated four temperaments with
Myers Briggs four cognitive functions. He developed a personality assessment
scale called as “Temperament sorter” which identified four personality
temperaments viz., the guardian, the rational, the idealist and the artisan. A person
having ‘guardian’ temperament will value responsibility and team membership.
The person’s core desires are security, service and system. Such a person is not
only responsible towards his job and the organisation but also to his family and
the society.
On the other hand, a person having ‘rational’ temperament will value knowledge,
skill and intuitive evaluation. Such persons are analytical, experimental and
factual. They not only understand abstraction but also can theorise it. Such a
person is a knowledge seeker.
The ‘Idealist’ temperament person follows ideals and their intuitive and feeling
preferences make them perform great tasks. They desire not only develop
themselves but also people around them.
If Kiersey temperaments scale sorts a person an artisan, that person is expected

to be action seeker. The core needs of such a person are action and variety. These
persons prefer using their five senses to understand information. They are
impulsive and spontaneous, dislike routines and schedules, but love freedom of
action and experiments.
One can also see how personality assessments became more and more important
especially in the work situations. For instance, the German government established
a program for selecting officer candidates in the 1920s. By 1936, they had 15
psychological laboratories, with 84 psychologists, evaluating over 40,000
candidates per year. Thus, the Germans invented the modern assessment center
in which 4 or 5 candidates are intensively evaluated with interviews and realistic
job simulations for two days. At the end, a committee judged the potential of
each candidate. The German method examined the “total personality” and
produced an overall evaluation of suitability.
Historically, one finds the English selecting military officers using interviews
focusing on a candidate’s social class-the higher, the better. When the war started,
the supply of upper class candidates was quickly exhausted. The British
government then established War Office Selection Boards (WOSB)-assessment
centers modeled on the German method. They compared their traditional interview
with the WOSBs, and found the assessment centers were superior at identifying
good leaders in combat.
1.2.1 The OSS

The U.S. was unprepared for World War II. To enhance its intelligence capabilities,
Congress created the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1942; William
Donovan, a World War I hero and Wall Street banker, was the director. Donovan
and Murray used the German assessment center to screen applicants for the OSS.
The Assessment of Men (1948) provides evidence regarding the effectiveness of
this process.
8
Three points about this assessment tradition should be noted. Introduction to Assessment
and Testing
1) It selected candidates based on evaluations of competence and not the absence
of psychopathology.
2) Researchers consistently evaluated the validity of their process.
3) It was demonstrated by Eysenck in 1953 that the one hour of paper and
pencil testing yielded results fully comparable to those obtained from the
two and one half day assessment center. The same would be true today.
Thus from the above one can state that from the beginning of personality
measurement in the 19th century and for the next 75 years, a large number of
personality assessment scales were devised to measure a large number of
personality concepts. The relatively more recent ‘ Five Factor Model’ personality
assessment scale showed that there was a surprising degree of order beneath
these personality assessment tests. This predicts occupational performance as
well as measures of cognitive ability. In this context, Murray Barrick and Michael
Mount showed that personality measures, organised in terms of the Five-Factor
Model, predict occupational performance across a wide range of jobs and
industries.
1.2.2 Important Steps in Personality Assessment

There are two important steps in personality assessment which are given below.
Step 1. Stipulate the agenda for personality assessment. The agenda for personality
assessment concerns forecasting individual differences in a person’s potential
for getting along and getting ahead.
Step 2. It must be decided as to which aspect of personality one wants to measure.

If one wants to assess personality from the inside identity, then a measure of
values is needed. This would help to evaluate how well a person will fit into the
culture of a specific organisation, as opposed to trying to predict occupational
performance. If, however, one wants to assess personality from the outside
reputation then one should use observer ratings (e.g., a 360-degree feedback
instrument). The optimal use of assessments of reputation is to forecast
occupational performance, as opposed to trying to predict person/culture fit.
If the foregoing distinctions are appropriately observed, personality and

personality assessment will be indispensable tools for making decisions about
people in organisations.
1.2.3 Personality Assessment and Related Fields

Astrology, palmistry, and phrenology are considerably older than any current
professional assessment techniques.
Astrology: This is a field in which the personality of the individual is predicted

on the basis of the date of birth, place of birth and the time of birth. At the time
the person is born, the planetary positions are determined and based on these the
individual’s personality and the future of the person are predicted. Such attempts
to forecast events on earth through observation of fixed stars and other heavenly
bodies, is thought to have originated twenty-five centuries ago in Mesopotamia.
Their belief that the stars were powerful Gods, led the ancients to conclude that
human affairs could be foretold by study of the heavens. Personality and the
9
Assessment of Personality course of events in each individual’s life were determined by consulting a
horoscope. The notion that human lives are predicted by the configuration of the
stars at the moment of birth seems though extremely naïve, lots of work and
teaching are continuing on in this field.
Biorhythms: Analogous to astrology is the technique of biorhythm, a method for

personal prediction developed initially by Wilhelm Fleiss, a colleague of Sigmund
Freud and promoted by George Thommen(1973). According to this theory, day-
to-day effectiveness is governed by a position on three “cycles”, viz., physical,
emotional, and mental – that are fixed according to the moment of birth and are
not otherwise modifiable. Because each of the cycles has a different period, they
can periodically combine to produce “triple low “days, on which things are likely
to go badly, and “triple- high” days, when the opposite will be true.
Palmistry refers to the determining of an individual’s character by interpreting

the various irregularities and the folds of the skin of the hand. It is known to
have existed as a standardised system in China as early as 3000 B.C.
Humoural theory: The search for clear- cut relation between the physical attributes
of an individual and his/her psychological characteristics has been continual.
This concern had an early expression in the humoural theory, that remained
current through middle-ages.. This theory proposed four ‘ingredients’: blood,
phlegm, yellow bile(choler), and black bile(melancholy). The particular
proportion of these four ingredients in different people determine their
complexions (or personality characteristics), their physical, and mental qualities
and their unique dispositions. It was therefore claimed that, by reading physical
signs of the relative amounts of these humours in a given individual, his/her
distinctive personality can be determined.
Somatotype theory: The humoural theory came into disuse, with the assumption
that human personality is a reflection of physical body. This has been suggested
in the seminal work of Sheldon and his colleagues whose theory of somatotypes
divides people into three major types: the ectomorph, who is thin and fragile; the
mesomorph, who is powerful and muscular; and the endomorph, who is round,
soft and fat. According to the theory, each of these ideal types has a specific
personality that has an innate consequence of that particular body build. Because
most individuals have a combination of these three body types, the personality
characteristics are determined by the relative proportions of the body type factors
in their individual somatotype.

1) Define and describe personality assessment.
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10
Introduction to Assessment
2) Trace the history of personality assessment. and Testing
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3) Discuss Jung’s contribution to personality testing.
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4) What is OSS? Discuss its needs and how it is used as personality
assessment?
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5) Discuss how personality assessment is related to other fields such as
astrology, biorhythm, humorology and somatotype theories?
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1.3 INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL

ASSESSMENT
Scientific personality assessment has its roots in the study of individual differences
through psychological measurement. The study of individual differences was
given considerable impetus by Darwin’s work on evolution. Sir Francis Galton,
A famous British scholar of the 19th century, became interested in the inheritance
of differences and devoted the later portion of his life to their study.
The study of individual differences in the U.S. was pioneered by James Mckeen
Cattell. Although, his interests were mainly in the area of psychophysics,
perception, and reaction time, Cattell had a strong influence on the development
of other psychological measurement devices, including personality tests.
11
Assessment of Personality At about the same time in France, Alfred Binet , who had become enthusiastic
about Galton’s work on individual differences , began a series of studies of eminent
persons in the arts and science. Binet used a standardised series of experimental
tasks, including observation on body types, head measurement, and handwriting.
He also began a series of investigation into mental functioning (which includes
personality), using a wide variety of tasks involving word knowledge, reasoning
and numerical ability. These investigations led to the development of now famous
Binet Tests of intelligence. Some of the tasks in the tests, involved telling stories
about pictures and identifying inkblots, which all paved way for the emergence
of ‘projective’ tests of personality.
Thus, prior to 1915, research on the measurement of personality was preceded

by work on the measurement of skills or abilities, it grew out of the early academic
interests in the measurement of human individual differences. Galton had
introduced the use of direct behaviour samples in real life situations, and his
work had stimulated considerable interest in both U.S. and France. Two of
Galton’s followers, Karl Pearson and Charles Spearman, played a major part in
the development of statistical procedures that provided powerful tools for later
work in assessment.
1.4 MEANING AND PURPOSE OF PERSONALITY

ASSESSMENT
1.4.1 Meaning of Personality Assessment
The term “personality” refers to the total functions of an individual who interacts
with the environment. Such definition automatically includes all traits as the
main themes of the personality. The purpose of the measurement of personality
is to describe a person in terms of some of the measurable factors such as the
traits. Trait is nothing but the observed consistency of behaviour of a person.
Traits are not directly observed but inferred from the consistent behaviour of an
individual. The most general cues to traits are what and how the person does, has
well how well the task is done by the individual. .
1.4.2 Purpose of Personality Assessment

Nunnally (1979: P.354) has opined that personality measurement aims at studying
the four broad types of traits, viz., social traits, motives, personal conceptions
and adjustment. These are being discussed in the following section.
Social traits
Social traits are those traits, which determine how persons interact with other
persons in society. Examples of typical social traits are friendliness, honesty,
dominance, responsibility, shyness, etc. Thus, within social traits are included
traits related to temperament and character.
Motives
Motives here include the non-biological drives such as the need to earn money
and prestige, need for the academic, achievement, need for affiliation, aggression,
etc. These non- biological needs are often said to constitute what is known as
personality dynamics.
12
Personal conceptions Introduction to Assessment
and Testing
Under the trait of personal conceptions are included those methods which determine
people’s attitude toward self and others, a person’s values, interests, etc.
Adjustment
Adjustment in psychology refers to the establishment of a satisfactory relationship
representing harmony, conformance, adaptation or the like. It is a process of
finding and adopting modes of behaviour suitable to the environment or the
change in the environment. Adjustment is the process by which a living organism
maintains a balance between its needs and the circumstances that influences the
satisfaction of these needs. Adjustment includes traits like the freedom from
emotional worries or instability and other related aspects of behaviour.
One general characteristic of these four types of traits is that they are correlated
with each other, that is they are not independent. For instance, a social trait, say
dominance, is likely to influence motives, personal conceptions (interests,
attitudes) and adjustment. Similarly, an individual’s motive is likely to influence
the interaction of the person with others in society (social traits). It would also
include the individual’s personal conceptions and adjustment. To cite an example,
let us say an individual is highly prejudiced against a particular caste (personal
conception). In such cases, the individual’s social interaction, motives, and
adjustment all would be similarly affected. Likewise, if a person has a satisfactory
general adjustment, That person’s social traits, motives and personal conceptions
would be in congruence with social norms. On the other hand, if an individual is
maladjusted, s/he would have extreme social traits, eccentric motives and personal
conceptions.

1) How does psychological assessment influence personality assessment?
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2) Discuss the meaning and purpose of personality assessment.

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3) Discuss the four broad types of traits which can be measured.

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1.5 TESTING AND MEASUREMENT CONCEPTS
Assessment techniques must meet four technical criteria before they can be
considered scientifically acceptable measures of individual differences in people’s
enduring qualities. These criteria are standardisation, norms, reliability, and
validity. Let us deal with each of these and understand what these terms mean.
1.5.1 Standardisation
A key concept in the measurement of personality dimensions is that of
standardisation. This concept refers to the uniform procedures that are followed
in the administration and scoring of an assessment tool. For instance, in self-
report scale, the examiner must make every effort to ensure that subjects read
and understand the printed instructions, respond to the same questions, and stay
within any stated time limits. It also involves information (in the manual) about
the conditions under which the assessment test should or should not be given,
who should or should not take the test (sample group), specific procedures for
scoring the test, and the interpretative significance of the scores.
1.5.2 Norms
The standardisation of a personality assessment test includes information
concerning whether a particular “raw score” ranks low, high, or average relative
to other “raw scores” on the test. Such information, called test norms, provides
standards with which the scores of various individuals who take the test later can
be compared. Usually, the raw scores on a test are converted into percentile
scores, which indicate the percentage of people who score at or below a particular
score. Thus, test norms permit the comparison of individual scores to a
representative group so as to quantify the individual’s relative rank standing to
others.
1.5.3 Reliability
Any test whether personality or intelligence or aptitude etc., should have reliability
and this should be demonstrated. Reliability means that repeated administrations
of the same test or another form of test should yield reasonably the same results
or scores. Thus, reliability refers to the consistency or stability of an assessment
technique when given to the same group of people on two different occasions.
This kind of reliability is termed as test- retest reliability (Anastasi, 1968) .
To determine test- retest reliability, the scores from the first administration are
correlated with those of the second by a simple correlation procedure. The
magnitude of resulting correlation coefficient gives us an estimate of the test’s
consistency over time. Although there are no fixed guidelines about acceptable
levels of reliability, the reliability coefficients for most psychological tests are
above +.70. The closer this statistic approaches +1.00, the more reliable the test
is. In other words, when retested, people’s scores should match their first scores
quite closely.
A second kind of reliability is determined by splitting the test into two sets (e.g.,
odd-numbered items versus even- numbered items), summing people’s scores
for each set, and correlating the two sets of summed scores with each other. The
correlation between these sets is termed split- half reliability and reflects the
14
test’s internal consistency. If the composite set of test items is consistently Introduction to Assessment
and Testing
measuring the same underlying personality dimension, then people who score
high on odd items should also score high on even items, and people who score
low on odd items should also score low on even items (again reflected in a high
positive correlation) .
A third type of reliability is based on the correlation of two versions of the same
test (made up of similar items) administered to same group of individuals. If the
scores on these different forms are about the same, the test yields reliability of
parallel forms. In such a case, the correlation of two parallel forms would indicate
that the items on both tests measure the same thing.
Lastly, reliability also applies to the degree of agreement between two or more
judges in scoring the same assessment test. This is called inter scorer reliability,
and must be demonstrated whenever scoring involves subjective interpretations,
such as those made by personologists examining projective data. Inter scorer
reliability tends to be especially low with qualitative data in general, such as
interview conversations, dream reports, and other open ended response formats
that are not objectively quantified. But, agreement is increased when judges use
manuals with explicit scoring rules and instructions for analysing such data (Yin,
1984).
1.5.4 Validity
Whether or not a test measures what it is intended to measure or predicts what it
is supposed to predict, is known as validity. It is another significant concept in
personality assessment. There are three main types of validity: (1) Content validity,
(2) Criterion- related validity, (3) Construct validity.
To be content valid, an assessment tool must include those items whose contents
are representative of the entire domain or dimension it is supposed to measure.
For instance, a personality test measuring shyness, should actually reflect the
personal (“Is your shyness a major source of personal discomfort?”), Social (“Do
you get embarrassed when speaking in front of a large group?”), and cognitive
(“Do you believe that others are always judging you?”) aspects of shyness. A
content valid test would assess each of these components defining the construct
of shyness. Content validity is almost entirely determined by agreement among
experts that each item does in fact represent aspects of the variable or attribute
being measured.
For criterion related validity, personality assessment is commonly undertaken

for the purpose of making predictions about specific aspects of an individual’s
behaviour. For example, the behavioural criterion being predicted may include
academic performance in management school, occupational success. The extent
to which a test accurately forecasts some agreed- upon criterion measures
determined by correlating subject’s scores on the test with their scores on
independently measured criterion. For instance, the criteria is success in
management school as measured by management school grade point average
(GPA).The Common Aptitude Test would be validated if it accurately predicted
the criterion( management school GPA).
15
Assessment of Personality There are three types of criterion related validity.
i) Predictive validity
ii) Concurrent validity
iii) Construct validity
Predictive validity involves determining the capacity of a test to predict some
criterion behaviour in the future. For instance, an intelligence test has predictive
validity if it accurately predicts subsequent performance in school.
Concurrent validity involves determining the extent to which a test correlates

significantly with another currently derived test from a theory or existing criterion
measure. For instance, if a person’s scores on a test that measures paranoid
tendencies is assessed by clinical psychologists, and the test also shows paranoid
tendencies as was obtained in the interview, then we would say that concurrent
validity exists. But the clinicians must not have prior knowledge of the patient’s
paranoid test scores. Otherwise, their ratings may be biased by their knowledge,
a situation called criterion contamination.
Construct Validity: The third type of measurement validation, and the one most
crucial to personality assessment as a whole, is called construct validity. The
concept of construct validity addresses the question of how well a test measures
something that, in reality, is but a useful abstract invention (Cronbach & Meehl,
1955).
The abstract nature of many psychological constructs such as self- actualisation,

ego- identity, social interest, and repression, makes this approach complicated
and results uncertain.
Construct validation is the process whereby evidence is gathered to demonstrate

that a test measures a hypothetical construct. It is a laborious process requiring
several studies that examine the correlations between test scores and measures
assumed to be related to the construct in question.
Convergent Validity
In order to demonstrate that a test measures a construct, we can correlate test
scores of the construct in question with scores from another test that purportedly
measures the same construct. This procedure is known as convergent validation
(Campbell & Fiske, 1959).
For instance, we have a new test that we think measures the construct of self-
esteem. If our new test does measure the construct of self-esteem, it should
correlate positively with another established and validated measure of self- esteem.
Also, if several different self-esteem measures agree with each other and with
our new test, we have some evidence for the construct validity of our new test of
self- esteem.
Divergent validity
Another way to demonstrate construct validity is to show the assessment tool
does not correlate with measures of qualities that it was not intended to measure,
particularly the qualities unrelated to the conceptual definition that the theorist
16
formulated. This aspect of the validation process is termed as divergent validity Introduction to Assessment
and Testing
(Campbell & Fiske, 1959).
For instance, if our new self-esteem test does not correlate with measures of
other, conceptually distinct qualities, we have evidence of discriminate validity
(since our self-esteem measure is discriminated from non- self- esteem measures,
as it should be).This is an important step in establishing the construct validity of
an assessment technique.

1) What is meant by standardisation?
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2) What are norms? How are they established?
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3) What is relaiability?
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4) What are the different ways in which treliability could be tested?
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5) What is Validity?
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6) What are the types of validity testing?
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7) Differentiate between convergent and divergent validity.
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1.6 LET US SUM UP

The ways in which people behave have always been of interest to significant
others, as well as for whom the behaviour is likely to have direct consequences.
Personality assessment involves systematic efforts to understand and predict
behaviour of an individual. It has a long history, that can be traced from astrology,
palmistry, biorhythms, and the like. Personality refers to the total functions of an
individual who interacts with his environment. The purpose of the measurement
of personality is to describe a person in terms of traits. And traits are referred as
observed consistency of behaviour in an individual. Hence, personality
measurement aims at studying the four broad types of traits , namely, social
traits, motives, personal conceptions, and adjustment. Lastly, an assessment
technique must meet four criteria before they can be considered scientifically
acceptable measures of individual differences. These are standardisation, norms,
reliability, and validity.

1) Discuss the meaning and purpose of personality assessment.
2) Trace the historical development of personality assessment.
3) What is meant by standardisation? Discuss the important aspects related to
standardisation.
4) Describe the four technical criteria to consider assessment technique as
scientifically acceptable measure.
1.8 GLOSSARY
Assessment : The measurement of individual differences having
to do with various personality traits.
Concurrent validity : Degree to which a test correlates with an
independent measure of the same characteristics or
18 variables obtained at the same time.
Construct validity : Extend to which there is evidence that a test Introduction to Assessment
and Testing
measures a particular hypothetical construct;
involves validation of both the test and theoretically
related characteristic that underlies it.
Content validity : Degree to which a test includes items that is relevant
to the variable being measured.
Convergent validity : Degree to which a test correlates with another test
that supposedly measures the same characteristics
or construct in question.
Divergent validity : The degree to which a test does not measure qualities
it was not intended to measure.
Palmistry : Determining of an individual’s character by
interpreting the various irregularities and the folds
of the skin of the hand.
Predictive validity : Degree to which a test can accurately predict some
criterion related measure in the future.
Reliability : The measurement of consistency or stability of a
test (or other kind of measurement technique). The
consistency of scores when a test is administered
repeatedly to the same group of people is called test
– retest reliability. The consistency of scores across
items within a test is called split half or internal
reliability.
Standardisation : The use of uniform procedures in the administration
and scoring of a psychological test.
Test norms : Established standards of performance for a test (e.g.,
mean, median, and percentile).
Validity : Degree to which a test measures what it aims to
measure.

Anastasi, A. (1968). Psychological Testing. London: Macmillan Company.
Campbell, D.T. & Fiske, D.W. (1959). Convergent and discriminate validation
by the multi trait multi method matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81-105.
Nunnally, J. C. Jr. (1959).Tests and Measurements: Assessment and Prediction.
New York:Mcgraw -Hill Book Co.
References
Hjelle, L. A. & Zieglar, D.J. (1992).Personality Theories. Basic Assumptions,
Research, and Applications. McGraw Hill Book Co.
Lanyon, R. I. & Goodstein, L.D.(1997).Personality Assessment.3rd edition. John
Wiley & Sons.
Singh, A. K. (1997). Tests, Measurements and Research Methods in Behavioral
Sciences. Bharti Bhawan, Patna. 19
UNIT 2 APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY
ASSESSMENT (SELF-REPORT,
PROBLEMS OF RESPONSE IN
PROJECTIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL
ASSESSMENT)
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Self-Report Personality Tests (Inventory)
2.2.1 Single Trait Tests
2.2.2 Multidimensional Tests
2.2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses of Self-report Tests
2.2.4 Faking in Personality Inventories
2.2.5 Measures to Avoid Faking
2.2.6 Methods to Overcome Weaknesses in Self-report Tests
2.3 Some Important Personality Inventories
2.3.1 The Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16 PF)
2.3.2 Neurotic/Extraversion/Openness Personality Inventory
2.3.3 Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
2.3.4 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
2.4 Projective Techniques
2.4.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of Projective Techniques
2.5 Behavioural Assessments
2.5.1 Observation Techniques
2.5.2 Situational Tests
2.5.3 Weaknesses in the Behavioural Assessment Tests
2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Variety of assessment techniques is available to personologists in gathering
information about people. They include questionnaire, ink blots, personal
documents, behavioural assessment procedure, peer judgments, and what people
reveal when asked questions about themselves. Each has specific strength and
weakness regarding the kinds of responses obtained, scoring, interpretation,
reliability, and validity. In this unit you will learn all about Self-Report Personality
Tests (Inventory). What they are and how they are devised and administered.
This unit will also discuss the merits and demerits of these self reports and would
also indicate how these weaknesses could be overcome. In this unit you will also
20
learn some of the important self reports available . There will be another section Approaches to Personality
Assessment (Self-Report,
in this unit that would discuss the projective techniques , its importance, merits Problems of Response in
and demerits, and the available tests of projective techniques. This will be Projective and behavioural
followed by another section dealiong with behavioural assessments and their Assessment)
importance, weaknesses and strengths.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define and describe Self-Report Personality Tests (Inventory);
• Explain the Strengths and weaknesses of self-report tests;
• Analyse factors to overcome the weaknesses in self-report tests;
• Elucidate important kinds of self-report tests;
• Define and describe Projective Techniques;
• Explain the strengths and weaknesses of projective techniques; and
• Define and describe behavioural Assessments.
2.2 SELF REPORT PERSONALITY TESTS

(INVENTORY)
Self-report inventories, also known as personality inventories are self rating
questionnaires, where the individual describes own feelings, environment, and
reactions of others towards self. In other words, on the self-report inventories a
person reports about one’s own self in the light of the questions (or items) given
therein.. Hence, the method is known as a self-report inventory.
Self-report inventories are classified into five types, as given below:

1) Inventories that attempt to measure social and certain other specifies traits
such as self confidence, dominance, extroversion, etc.
2) Inventories that attempt to evaluate the adjustment of the person to different
aspects of the environment such as school, home, health.
3) Inventories that attempt to evaluate pathological traits.
4) Inventories that attempt to screen individuals into two or three groups.
5) Inventories that attempt to measure attitudes, interests, and values of persons.
Let us deal with the above five self report inventories one by one.
1) These are tests or inventories which attempt to measure social and other
specific traits including self confidence, dominance, extraversion etc.
Examples of such an inventory are that of Bernreuter Personality Inventory,
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Differential Personality Scale etc.
2) These are inventories that try to evaluate the level of adjustment of a person
to different aspects of one’s life. For instance some of the adjustments that
are studied here include adjustment to self, health, home and school. Example
for such an inventory is Bells Adjustment Inventory.
21
Assessment of Personality 3) These are Inventories that attempt to evaluate the pathological traits in an
individual. Some of these try to evaluate a large number of traits of
pathological nature, while some confine to a few pathological traits. For
instance the MMPI (The Minnessota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)
tries to get at a very large number of pathological traits in addition to some
normal traits. The 16 PF inventory attempts to evaluate 16 personality traits
including 4 pathological traits. These pathological traits may include
hysteria, paranoia, hypomania, depression, schizophrenia, etc.
4) These are inventories which attempt to screen individuals into two or three
groups. The Cornell Index is the best example of such as inventory. The
Cornell Index screens the persons into two groups - those having
psychosomatic difficulties like asthma, peptic ulcer, migraine, etc., and those
not having them that is, those who are normal.
5) These are Inventories that attempt to measure attitudes, interests, and values
of persons. E.g., In regard to attitude we can give the example of Bogardus
Social distance scale; in regard to interest inventory we can give the example
of Strong Vocational Interest Blank, and in regard to values, we can give the
example of Allport-Vernon Study of Vaues Scale.
This classification is based upon the purpose and the nature of item content. All
the above self-report inventories are based upon same principle, which states
that behaviour is nothing but the manifestation of trait and one can find out the
presence or absence of a trait by means of assessing the behaviour. Self-report
inventories are more widely used than any form of personality assessment. These
are paper-and-pencil test that ask people to respond to questions concerning their
traits, values, attitudes, motives, feelings, interests, abilities.
The term “self-report” refers to any information the person reveals directly about
himself / herself by responding to specific questions or items with a limited
number of prescribed choices (e.g.”Yes”.“No”, “Always”, “Don’t know”).
General feature of self-report test is standardisation of response alternatives.

That is, people taking the tests have to select either true or false, agree or disagree,
an alternative that varies from 1(very characteristic of me) to 6, and so on.
In this manner, objectivity is achieved by restricting the degree of freedom people

have in responding to test items.
Similarly standardisation of scoring procedures minimises the risk of personal

bias of the persons scoring the tests.
Self- report inventories differ in regard to the number of personality dimensions

they measure at one time.
2.2.1 Single-traits Tests

These are developed and used by researchers to measure some specific aspects
of personality. They then examine whether people who score at the upper and
lower end on the trait measure perform differently on the behavioural measure
or differ on the self-report measure. In other words any person participating in
the study may receive a high score (or may receive a medium or low score), but
every person’s score is equally meaningful as a representation of that person’s
personality.
22
Some single-dimension tests also provide separate measures of two or three traits. Approaches to Personality
Examples of single-trait tests include Problems of Response in
Projective and behavioural
a) the Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966), Assessment)
b) the Sensation Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, 1978),
c) the Self Monitoring Scale (Snyder, 1974).
The scores obtained from these tests are assumed to reflect relatively stable
individual differences along specific trait dimensions. In addition to these scales,
there are many self-report inventories that measure several personality dimensions
simultaneously.
2.2.2 Multidimensional Tests

These multi-dimensional tests have the advantage of providing a more
comprehensive overview of the person being assessed and are used extensively
in clinical, counseling, and personnel settings. For instance the Sixteen Personality
Factor Questionnaire (16-PF) is a 187-item test which measures 16 source traits
of the normal personality identified by Raymond Cattell (1965). Scores derived
from each of the source trait measures (e.g., submissive-dominant, trusting-
suspicious) are plotted on a graph to provide a personality profile. This profile
may be used by psychologist for counselling and to make important employment
and promotion decisions about people.
2.2.3 Strength and Weakness of Self-report Tests

Assessment of individual differences is a significant aspect of personology. Much
emphasis has been placed on self-reports as the basis for measuring the individual
differences. The major advantage is that self-report tests provide more thorough,
precise, and systematic information about an individual’s personality than does
casual information. The strengths of the self report inventories are given below:
• The objectivity of scoring minimizes personal or theoretical bias
• Also, self-report measures can be administered easily by someone with
relatively little formal training.
• Self-report tests have greater reliability than do other assessment techniques.
• Finally, multi-dimensional inventories allow for measurement of several
different personality traits at once.
Apart from the aforesaid, strengths, self report tests have some weaknesses.
The major limitations of self report tests are given below:
• They are susceptible to deliberate deception,
• There is considerable influence of social desirability,
• There is the influence of the response set (Kleinmuntz, 1982).
• Deliberate deception is most likely to occur when the person believes there
is something to be gained from fraudulent responding (Furnham, 1990).
2.2.4 Faking in Personality Inventories

Let us understand how faking can occur.
A job applicant might “fake good” by intentionally agreeing with those items
she/he believes will create favourable impression in an employment situation.
23
Assessment of Personality As well as, a person might also “fake bad” by intentionally answering items that
she/he believes will create the impression of being more psychologically disturbed
than is actually true.
This might occur in a situation where a person is being assessed to determine

competency to face charges for a criminal offence.
Another way to fake is to respond to items in ways that make “look good”. This
tendency is called social desirability and it is a problem that can occur in all
assessment techniques, not only self-reports. In this, people who display social
desirability bias may be unaware of their tendency to slant answers in a favourable
direction as opposed to giving frank answers. They unintentionally present
themselves in a favourable light that probably does not correspond to reality.
There are many strategies to detect or reduce the problem of social desirability
response bias. For instance, MMPI includes questions intended to assess the
likelihood that a respondent is giving socially desirable answers. Other tests are
constructed to directly measure the extent to which people give self flattering
responses. For instance, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne &
Marlowe, 1964) is designed to measure the tendency of people to present
themselves in a favourable light .
2.2.5 Measures to Avoid Faking

To overcome this problem, safeguards are to be built into tests to detect deliberate
deception.
The MMPI, for instance, includes validity scales designed to indicate whether
respondents are lying, defensive, or evasive when answering the test items.
Another option is to include filler items which can make the purpose of a test
less obvious to a person. But these efforts may be only partially successful in
detecting the extent to which a respondent is engaging in conscious deception. If
possible, important decisions about a person should not be based on self-report
data alone.
Another way to deal with the problem is to carefully evaluate the social desirability
of each item before it is included in a test.
Lastly, in self- report measures, people have a tendency to respond in a particular
way regardless of the content of the items. For instance, some people are more
likely than others to agree with virtually every question on a test.
This acquiescence response set is a major problem on self-report measures that
require a true- false or a yes- no answer (E.g.,MMPI).
If this response set is not counteracted in someway, the scores of highly
acquiescent people will be distorted and not accurately reflect the personality
traits. This problem is comparatively easy to counteract. Many test makers phrase
the items so that true or false or yes or no responses are equally likely to be
indicative of the trait being measured. Therefore, any bias coming from the
tendency to respond “true” or “yes” is balanced when the test is scored.
2.2.6 Methods to Overcome Weaknesses in Self-report Tests

Distortions in the actual responses of self-report measures of personality are
major problems for users of personality tests. Thus, it is essential that attempts
24
be made to overcome these distortions and make the self-report responses more Approaches to Personality
representatives of the true responses. The following methods may be adopted Problems of Response in
for the purpose: Projective and behavioural
Assessment)
Method 1. Establishment of rapport
Distortions occur when the testees feel discomfort and find themselves in an
unfriendly environment. It is essential that before actual administration of an
inventory, the tester should make every effort to establish a warm and cooperative
relationship called “rapport” with the testees. This relationship is dependent upon
the skill of the testers skill and their ability to bring about a subtle modification
of the testing situation. This will help in expressing the truth in an unhesitant
way and thereby reducing the major proportion of distortion.
Method 2. Use of forced-choice technique

This technique has been used in controlling faking good or socially desirable
response sets. In forced-choice items the subject is forced to choose between
two or more than two equally desirable or undesirable terms or phrases or
statements. The subject who wants to give socially desirable responses is out-
witted by the forced choice between equally desirable statements.
Method 3. Concealing the main purpose of the test:

When the subjects do not know the real purpose of the test it becomes difficult
for them to fake although in such a situation they may be more suspicious and
defensive in their responses. Subjects may guess from the nature of the items,
but they may be not definite that some inferences about their tendencies or traits
are to be made and this will lessen the probability to fake.
There can be two ways to conceal the purpose. One method is to state such a
plausible purpose of the test which is not the real purpose. For instance a
personality test may be described as a test of ability, and if it appears so to the
subject the faking is likely to be reduced to a great extent.
Another method of concealment is to insert information which is actually false

among items of information which are actually true. For instance the subjects
may be asked to endorse those titles of the book in the booklist which they have
gone through. This list of titles will also contain some fictitious titles. The greater
the number of endorsements of such fictitious titles, the higher the deceit.
Method 4. Use of verification and correction keys

Use of various kinds of correction and verification keys gives an indication
whether or not the subject is projecting the true picture of the self. For instance
MMPI uses four validity scores which aims at checking carelessness, evasiveness,
misunderstanding and operation of other response sets.
2.3 SOME IMPORTANT PERSONALITY

INVENTORIES
As mentioned earlier, the first attempt to measure personality through a
questionnaire was made by Galton in 1880. He developed a questionnaire for
studying mental imagery, that is inner world of perception and feeling.
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Assessment of Personality Thereafter, the first systematic effort to develop a personality inventory was made
by Woodworth in 1918. This inventory was known as Woodworth Personal Data
Sheet and consists of 116 questions all relating to neurotic tendencies. The purpose
was to screen out emotionally unfit men before they were sent overseas during
the World War I. Since then a number if inventories have come into practice.
Using a statistical technique, called factor analysis that looks for groupings and
commonalities in numerical data, Cattell discovered 16 source traits, and although
he later determined there might be another seven source traits to make a total of
23 (Cattell & Kline, 1977), He developed his assessment questionnaire, namely,
2.3.1 The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF)

Cattell, (1995) devised a personality inventory based on just 16 source traits.
These 16 source traits are seen as trait dimensions or continuums, in which there
are two opposite traits at each end with many possible degrees of the traits possible
along the dimension. For example, someone scoring near the reserved end of the
reserved\ outgoing dimension would be more introverted than someone scoring
in the middle or at the opposite end.
2.3.2 Neuroticism\Extraversion\ Openness Personality

Inventory (NEO- PI )
This inventory is based on the five- factor model of personality traits that has
been developed by Costa & McCrae.
2.3.3 Myers Briggs Type Indicator

Another inventory in common use is the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
This inventory is based on the ideas of Carl Jung and looks at four personality
dimensions, that is (i) Sensing/ intuition, (ii) Thinking/feeling, (iii) Introversion/
Extraversion (iv) Perceiving / Judging.
The sensing\ intuition(S\I) dimension includes people who prefer to rely on what
they can see, hear, and so on through their physical senses (sensing) and, on its
opposite end those who look for patterns and trust their hunches(intuition).
Sensing people are considered to be detail oriented, preferring to work only with
the known facts, whereas intuitive people are more willing to use metaphors,
analogies, and look for possibilities.
The Thinking\feeling (T\F) dimension runs from those who prefer to use logic,
analysis, and experiences that can be verified as facts (thinkers) to those who
tend to make decisions based on their personal values and emotional
reactions(feeling).
Introversion\extraversion (I\E) is the same classic dimension that began with

Jung, and is represented in nearly all personality theories.
Perceiving\ judging (P/J) describes those who are willing to adapt and modify
decisions, be spontaneous, and who are naturally curious and to put off making
a final decision so that all possibilities are covered (perceiving) as well those
who are the opposite : the action- oriented, decisive, get the task done and look
back type (judging).
26
These four dimensions can differ for each individual, resulting in 16(4 x 4) Approaches to Personality
possible personality types: ISTJ, ISTP, ISFP, ISFJ, and so on (Myers- Briggs) is Problems of Response in
often used to assess personality to help people know the kinds of careers for Projective and behavioural
which they may best be suited. Assessment)
ISTJ (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judgemental). ISTP (Introversion, Sensing,

Thinking and Perceiving). ISFP (Introversion, Sensing, Feeling and Perceiving).
ISFJ ( Introversion, Sensing, Feeling and Judgemental).
2.3.4 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventoryh (MMPI)

By far the most common personality inventory is the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory, Version II, or MMPI 2, which specifically tests abnormal
behaviour patterns in personality (Butcher & Rouse, 1996; Butcher et al., 2000,
2001).
This questionnaire consists of 567 statements such as “I am very often tense”.

The person taking the test must answer “true”, “false”, or “cannot say”.
The MMPI has 10 clinical scales and 8 validity scales in addition to numerous
subscales. Each scale tests for a particular kind of behaviour.
The behaviour patterns include relatively mild personality problems such as

excessive worrying and shyness as well as more serious disorders such as
schizophrenia and depression.
Validity scales, which are built into any well designed psychological inventory,
are intended to indicate whether or not a person taking the inventory is responding
honestly. Responses to certain items on the test will indicate if people are trying
to make themselves look better or worse than they are, for example, certain
items are repeated throughout the test in a slightly different form, so that anyone
trying to “fake” the test will have difficulty in responding to those items
consistently(Butcher et al.,2001). For example, if one of the statements is “ I am
always very happy” and a person responds “true” to that statement , the suspicion
would be that this person is trying to look better s\he really is. If several of the
validity scale questions are answered in this way, the conclusion is that the person
is not being honest.
There are also inventories in India. For example, Bengalee(1964) developed

Multiphasic Personality Inventory, known as Youth Adjustment Analyser
(YAA).The purpose of the inventory was to screen out maladjusted students
from the college going students. Mohsin & Hussain (1981) adapted the Bell
Adjustment Inventory in Hindi.
1) What do you mean by the term personality inventory?
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2) Describe Self Report Personality Tests
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3) What are single trai and Multidimensional tests?
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4) What are the various types of faking possible? Discuss the measures to
overcome the same
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5) What are the weaknesses in self report inventories ? How are these
overcome?
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6) What are the different kinds of personality inventories used to measure
personality?
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7) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of self- report measures.
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Approaches to Personality
2.4 PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES Assessment (Self-Report,
Problems of Response in
Projective tests of personality are mainly designed to assist the clinical Assessment)
psychologist in diagnosing the nature and severity of a particular person’s
emotional disturbance. The rationale for these tests is based on Freud’s theory
that unconscious processes are important for understanding psychopathology.
The purpose of projective personality assessment is to uncover the person’s

unconscious conflicts, fears, and concerns. Frank (1939) coined the term
projective technique to describe assessment methods that present people with
ambiguous stimuli for which there is no obvious culturally defined to personality
assessment, allow people to “project” upon ambiguous material their feelings,
needs, attitudes, and ways of viewing life.
The responses elicited by the test stimuli (such as inkblots, vague pictures) reveal
signs of pent up impulses, “ego defenses” and other “interior” aspects of the
personality. All projective techniques have a set of common important features.
They are as follows:
• They all use ambiguous or unstructured test stimuli.
• The test taker is never told the purpose of the test or how responses will be
scored or interpreted.
• Instructions emphasise that there is no correct or incorrect answers and that
the test taker is free to respond in any manner s\he sees fit.
• Scoring and interpretation rely heavily on subjective clinical judgements.

The classification of projective techniques has been recently provided by Lindzay
(1959). Based upon the responses of the examinees, he has divided projective
techniques into the following five categories, iz., (i) Association technique (ii)
Construction technique (iii) Completion technique (iv) Expressive technique
(v) Choice technique. These are being explained below.
Association Technique
This category includes all those situations where the examinee is required to
respond with the associations which are evoked in mind after seeing or listening
to stimulus materials. E.g., the Rorschach test, the Holtzman Inkblot test and the
Word Association test. The reaction time (the time elapsing between the
presentation of the stimulus word and the response word) and the responses are
analysed for studying personality.
Construction Technique
This category includes all those situations where the examinees are required to
construct a story after seeing the stimulus materials (usually the picture) within
certain specified time. No record is generally kept of time but the examinee’s
themes and mode of responding are considered relevant. For example, Thematic
Apperception test, Children’s Apperception test. Rosenzweig Picture Frustration
test. The Blacky Pictures, The Object Relations test, etc. In all these tests the
examinee is required to construct or produce simple statement or complex
statements in the form of a story.
29
Assessment of Personality Completion Technique
These techniques include those situations where the examinee is presented with
some incomplete sentences with the construction to complete them in any way
he desires.
E.g., My sex life is ...................................
I feel tense ......................................
My ambition in life is ....................
I often get nervous when ..............
Responses are given by the examinee are interpreted and analysed to find some
aspect of the personality. But these methods lack a uniform and standard mode
of analysis. E.g., Sack’s Sentence Completion test, Madeline Thomas Completion
Stories test.
Expressive Technique
This technique includes those situations where the examinee expresses his
personality through some manipulative tasks, which usually involve some
interaction with given materials. For example, play, drawing role- playing painting
finger painting, etc. An important feature is that examiner pays much attention
to the way or process by which the examinee manipulates the given materials.
For example, the examiner may ask the examinee to play with a given set of
dolls; he may pay attention to the process by which dolls are selected and handled
during the play.
Also, in such techniques, significance is given to the process or way of handling

the test materials rather than upon the end product of the process (such as the
content or theme of the stories, etc.).
Choice Technique
Choice technique, also known as ordering technique, is not a projective in its
true sense; rather may be regarded as a step towards objectifying the projective
techniques (Kerlinger, 1973). The examinee is presented with some sets of pictures
or items (which convey the different degrees of a trait) with the instruction to
choose the most relevant and appropriate picture. Sometimes, he may be asked
to order or rank those pictures in terms of his preferences, and thus, the name
ordering technique. The choice of the items, becomes the basis for inference
regarding one’s personality. The Szondi test is an example of ordering technique
because the examinees are required to rank set of pictures along a like-dislike
dimension.
2.4.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of Projective Techniques

There are two unique strengths of projective tests. First, the testing stimuli are
relatively ambiguous to people. As such, the person does not know how the test
provides information to the examiner. This indirect method helps in disguising
the real purpose of the test and it reduces the possibility that people will engage
in intentional deception. Second, the indirect method used in projective tests
allows circumventing conscious defenses, thus making them sensitive to aspects
of personality that are hidden.
30
However some of the disadvantages include that projective tests are poorly Approaches to Personality
standardised, in large part because there are no established methods of Problems of Response in
administration, scoring, and interpretation. In particular, the scoring of these Projective and behavioural
tests often relies on the skill and clinical intuition of the examiner, thus making Assessment)
their reliability quite low.
Evidence suggests that extensive training in a specific scoring system leads to

satisfactory levels of inter judge agreement( Goldfried, et al., 1971;Exner, 1986).
A more serious problem concerns the interpretation of a person’s scored responses
to a projective test. Interpretation of such tests depends all too often on the personal
insights and intuition of the clinician. There is also little convincing evidence to
support the validity of projective tests (Aiken, 1984; Peterson, 1978). Therefore,
psychologists are well advised not to base an entire diagnosis solely on projective
tests. Projective tests should be considered in the context of other information
obtained through interviews, case histories, and self- report tests.
Despite the aforesaid problems, many clinical psychologists continue to apply

these methods as a means to explore a person’s unconscious conflicts, fantasies
and motives(Singer & Kolligian, 1987). They are more capable of revealing
human personality in greater depth and detail than some of the personality
inventories where considerable faking is possible. People have more faith in
interpreting projective tests than personality inventories. A survey of the member
of the Society for Personality Assessment found that Rorschach and TAT were
ranked as second and fourth, respectively, in terms of usage among all
psychometric instruments.
1) What do you mean by a projective test? Describe the same
...............................................................................................................
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...............................................................................................................
2) How are Projective tests classified?
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3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of projective techniques?
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31
4) Name some of the projective tests that are commonly used.
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2.5 BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENTS

Behaviourists do not want to typically “look into the mind” of an individual,
because they assume that personality is merely habitually learned responses to
stimuli in the environment, the preferred method for a behaviourist would be to
watch that behaviour unfold in the real world.
2.5.1 Observation Technique

In direct observation, the psychologist observes the client engaging in ordinary,
everyday behaviour, preferably in the natural setting of home, school, or
workplace, for example. A therapist who goes to the classroom and observes
that tantrum behaviour only happens when a child is asked to do something
involving fine motor abilities (like drawing or writing) might be able to conclude
that the child has difficulty with those skills and throws a tantrum to avoid the
task.
Observation is the sine qua non of any approach to personality study. In some
cases, hunches for research begin unsystematic observation. Personal observations
often pave the way for more refined study of people’s behaviour.
Another way to learn about behaviour is to observe and record it as it naturally

occurs (in real-life settings), but in a more systematic and rigorous manner than
is evident in unsystematic behaviour. This is called observation naturalistic.
The play and friendship patterns of children, antisocial behaviour in adolescents,
eating behaviours of obese and no obese people, leadership styles of effective
business managers, and many clinical phenomenons have been investigated
through naturalistic observation. Such naturalistic observation does not explain
behaviour, but they are a rich source of information about what people do in
their natural environments.
Naturalistic observation has some limitations also.
1) The main problem is that observers are often at the mercy of unpredictable
events over which they have little or no control.
2) There are problems of observer bias and expectations influencing those
aspects and events that are attended to and remembered.
3) The generalisation of observation based on a few people and situations, is
questionable in regard to reliability and validity.
4) Finally, observers may unwittingly interfere with the actual events they wish
to observe or record (Kazdin, 1982).Despite this problem, the advantage of
naturalistic observation is obvious.
32
2.5.2 Situational Tests Approaches to Personality
One gets a sample of how people respond to their day-to-day situations amid Problems of Response in
friends and families without the contrived atmosphere of a laboratory or interview. Assessment)
A situational test is a kind of compromise between a standardised test and

observational methods of assessing personality. Personality traits are measured
on the basis of observations of ratings of what a person thinks and does in a
given situation, which resembles a real situation of everyday life. The subject
has usually no idea that he is being studied. The situation represented by such
tests is a social situation having opportunities for interaction with other individuals
and especially designed to emphasise those aspects of personality which are
under study.
The first situational test of personality was developed by United Stated Office of
Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II to screen out men for military
several reassignments. Situational tests are more suited to the measurement of
traits like leadership, dominance, responsibility, extroversion-introversion, and
the like.
Sometimes these tests utilise directly observable units of behaviour as the basis
of assessment of the traits. Such situational tests are called behavioural tests
because they are directly concerned with observable behaviour. For instance,
honesty, self-control, and co-operation are such traits, related to character.
One of the first attempts to study these traits was made by Hartshhorne, May &
Shuttleworth (1930) in their Character Educational Inquiry(CEI). In general, CEI
behavioural tests utilised natural situations lying within the day to day routine of
a school child such as games, class room examination, etc. Children placed in
these situations were not aware of the fact that they were being studied. The CEI
tests were principally designed to measure behavioural traits like, altruism,
honesty, and self control.
However, most of the CEI tests were concerned with measuring honesty among
children by providing opportunity for cheating. These tests utilised different modes
or techniques for studying honesty.
In one such technique called the duplicating technique the children were
administered one of the classroom tests like the arithmetical reasoning test or
the vocabulary test. A set of children’s responses was duplicated, unknown to
them . In the subsequent administration the original test is again given with a
request to score their own responses with the help of a scoring technique. A
simple comparison of the responses scored with the duplicated responses revealed
whether or not the children had changed their responses in scoring, that is, whether
they had cheated or not. Other CEI tests intended to measure honesty provided
situations in which the person had an opportunity to lie or to steal something.
Situational tests represent real-life situations and therefore, their findings can be
easily generalised to natural life situations,even though they have several
important limitations.
Limitations
1) The situational tests are extremely time consuming, costly, and laborious
techniques. They are time-consuming because ordinarily observations in
33
Assessment of Personality contrived situations last for several hours; they are costly because they
demand the services of trained observers and they are laborious techniques
because creating a real –life situation involves a good deal of labour on the
part of the observers.
2) Subjectivity and bias may operate in the observation of a situational test.
Observers, even if professionally trained, may not make a fair and objective
observation because of certain bias towards the individuals to be observed.
Likewise, other subjective elements may enter into the observation process.
Although, an attempt is made to control such subjective elements, they cannot
be completely eliminated because the observer is always a human being.
3) For increasing the reliability and validity of the observation made under
situational tests, the experimenter gives emphasis on studying an isolated
bit of behaviour. The problem arises as to what significance or meaning to
such an isolated bit of behaviour can be attached.
4) Another limitation is concerned with ‘What to observe’. This is a problem
in situational tests, which cannot be planned to study all behaviours of the
individual. Only the limited behaviour should be selected for observation.
In such a situation determination and selection of a meaningful set of
behaviours to be observed is always an important problem.
5) Lastly, whether the observer should be kept visible or invisible is also a
problem in most situational tests. If the group is small, the physical presence
of the observer in the group may change what actually takes place in the
group. How the observer can be fitted into such a setting is always a problem.
Other methods often used by behavioural therapists and other assessors are rating
scale and frequency counts.
In a rating scale, a numerical rating is assigned, either by the assessor or the

client, for specific behaviours (Nadeau et al., 2001). In a frequency count, the
assessor literally counts the frequency of certain behaviours within a specified
time limit. Educators make use of both rating scales and frequency counts to
diagnose behavioural problems such as attention deficit disorder and aspects of
personality such as social skill level through the various grade levels.
2.5.3 Weaknesses in the Behavioural Assessment Tests

Problems with these assessments can include the observer effect (when a person’s
behaviour is affected by being watched) and observer bias, which can be controlled
by having multiple observers and correlating their observations with each other.
As with any kind of observational method, there is no control over the external
environment.
A person observing a client for a particular behaviour may not see that behaviour
occur within the observation time.
All of the above described methods convey the full meaning about the traits to
be assessed only when they are followed by other standardised tests. Merely on
the basis of behavioural methods it is difficult to arrive at a particular conclusion.
34
Self Assessment Questions Assessment (Self-Report,
1) What are the different behavioural assessment methods in assessing Projective and behavioural
personality? Assessment)
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2) Briefly discuss some of the weaknesses of behavioural assessments
techniques.
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3) Discuss the observational tests and the situational tesgts.
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4) What are the advantages and disadvantages of observation and situation
tests.
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2.6 LET US SUM UP

There are three most common tools or methods of personality assessment.
These tools are self-report inventories, projective techniques, and behavioural
assessment method that include observation, rating scale, frequency count, and
situational tests.
35
Assessment of Personality Personality inventories are typically developed by trait theorists and provide a
detailed description of certain personality traits. They are objective tests rather
than subjective tests.
The NEO-PI is based on five-factor model of personality, whereas Myers-Briggs

Type Indicator is based on Jung’s theory of personality types.
The MMPI- 2 is designed to detect abnormal personality.
Personality inventories include validity scales to prevent cheating, but such

measures are not perfect and cheating is sometimes possible. Projective tests are
based on the defense mechanism of projection and are used by psychoanalysts.
Projective tests include the Rorschach inkblot test and Thematic Apperception
test. Projective tests can be helpful in finding starting points to open a dialogue
between therapist and client but have been criticized for poor reliability and
validity. Behavioural assessments are primarily used by behaviourists and include
direct observation of behaviour rating scales of specific behaviour, and frequency
counts of behaviour.
Behavioural assessments have the disadvantage of the observer effect, which

causes an observed person’s behaviour to change, and observer bias on the part
of the person doing the assessment.

1) Self-report measures are commonly used in personality assessment. Discuss
some of the strengths and weaknesses accompanying self-report measures.
Is it possible to overcome the weaknesses?
2) How do projective techniques differ from self-report test in the assessment
of personality? Do projective tests have any advantage or disadvantage in
comparison to self-report measures?
3) How can behavioural assessments be used in measuring personality?
2.8 GLOSSARY
Acquiescence : A response set of tending to say “yes” or “no”
to test item regardless of their content.
Direct observation : Assessment in which the professional observes
the client engaged in ordinary day-to-day
behaviour in either a clinical or natural setting.
Frequency count : Assessment in which a numerical value is
assigned to specific behaviour that is listed in
the scale.
Multidimensional tests : Self-report personality that provide measures
of several aspects of the respondents
personality at once (e.g., MMPI).
Naturalistic observation : Careful observation of behaviour as it occurs
in real-life settings without direct intervention
by the investigation.
36
Projective techniques : A class of psychological tests that ask people Approaches to Personality
to respond to ambiguous stimuli in ways that Problems of Response in
may reveal their needs, feelings, and conflicts. Projective and behavioural
Assessment)
Rating scale : Assessment in which the frequency of a
particular behaviour is counted.
Self-report techniques : Self –report tests in which the response format,
administration, and scoring features are
standardised.
Single-trait tests : Self-report tests that measure a specific trait
of the respondent’s personality.
Situational test : Personality traits are measured on the basis of
observations of ratings of what a person thinks
and does in a given situation, which resembles
a real situation of everyday life.
Social desirability : A tendency seen in some people to give
socially acceptable answers to test items.

Aiken, L. R. (1984). Psychological Testing and Assessment (4th edition). Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.
Anastasi, A. (1968). Psychological Testing. London: Macmillan Company.
Ciccarelli, S.K., & Meyer, G.E.(2009). Psychology. South Asian Edition. Pearson,
New Delhi.
Freeman, F.S.(1962). Theory and Practice of Psychological Testing. New York:

Holt, Rinehart and Winston (Indian Edition).
Hjelle, L.A., Zieglar, D.J.(1992). Personality Theories. Basic Assumptions,

Research, and Applications. 3rd ed.McGraw Hill.
Singh, A.K. (1997). Tests, Measurements and Research Methods in Behavioural

Sciences. Bharti Bhawan, Patna.
References
Butcher, J. N., Graham, J.R., Ben-Poarth, Y.S., Tellegen, A., Dahlstorm, W.G.,&
Kaemmer, B.(2001). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2. Manual
for administration, scoring and interpretation (revised edition). Minneapolis, MN:
University of Minnesota Press.
Butcher, J. N., Rouse, S. V., & Perry, J. N.(2000).Empirical description of

psychopathology in therapy clients: Correlates of MMPI-2 scales. In J. N. Butcher
(ed.), Basic sources in MMPI-2 (pp. 487-500). Minneapolis, MN: University of
Minnesota Press.
Cattell, R. B. (1995). Personality structure and the new fifth edition of the 16PF.
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55 (6), 926-937.
37
Assessment of Personality Cattell, R. B., & Kline, P.(1977). The scientific analysis of personality and
motivation. New York: Academic Press.
Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1964). The approval motive: Studies in evaluative
dependence. New York: Wiley.
Exner, J. E. (1986).The Rorschach: A comprehensive system (vol.1). Basic

foundations (2nd edition). New York:Wiley.
Frank, L. K. (1939). Projective methods for the study of personality. Journal of

personality, 8, 389-413.
Furnham, A. (1990).Faking personality questionnaires: Fabricating different

profiles for different purposes. Current Psychology: Research and Reviews, 9,
46-55.
Goldfried, M.R., Stricker, G., & Weiner, I.B.(1971). Rorschach handbook of

clinical and research applications. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hartshorne, H., May, M. A., & Shuttleworth, F.K. (1930). Studies in organisation
and character. New York: Macmillan.
Kazdin, A. E. (1982).The token economy: A decade later. Journal of Applied

Behaviour Analysis, 15, 431-445.
Kleinmuntz, B.(1982).Personality and psychological assessment. New York: St.

Martin’s Press.
Lindzay, G. (1959). On the classification of projective techniques. Psychological

Bulletin , 56, 158-168.
Nadeau, K.G., Quinn, P.,& Littman, E.(2001).AD\HD Self-rating for girls.

Springfield, MD: Advantage books.
Peterson, R.A. (1978). Review of the Rorschach. In O.K.Buros(ed.).Eighth mental

measurements yearbook (pp. 1042-1045). Highland Park, NJ: Gryphon.
Singer, J.L., & Kolligian, J.R., Jr.(1987).Personality: Developments in the study

of private experience. Annual review of Psychology, 38, 533-574.
38
UNIT 3 BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENT Assessment (Self-Report,
Assessment)
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Definition of Behavioural Assessment
3.2.1 The Theoretical Model Underlying the Application of Behavioural Assessment
Procedures
3.2.2 Common Characteristics and Assumption of Behavioural Assessment Methods
3.2.3 Advantages and Limitations of Behavioural Assessment
3.3 Functional Behavioural Assessment
3.3.1 Reliability and Validity Issues in Behavioural Assessment
3.3.2 Uses of Behavioural Assessment
3.3.3 Types of Behavioural Assessment
3.3.4 Process of Behavioural Change: Assessment, Treatment and Evaluation
3.4 Case Study Method
3.4.1 Purpose of Case Study Method
3.4.2 Types of Case Study Method
3.4.3 Strengths and Weaknesses of Case Study Method
3.5 Interview Method
3.5.1 Meaning and Purpose of Interview Method
3.5.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of Interview Method
3.6 Other Measures
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.9 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will be dealing with many methods which are behavioural in
nature. This would include the case history method, followed by the interview
method and other methods. As one deals with the case history method, we would
also be dealing with the menaing and purpose of case history method. There are
also many types of case histories which will be presented in this unit. While
dealing with this method, the strengths and weaknesses of the method will also
be put forward. The next method in behavioural assessment will be the interview
method. Defining this method, the unit will be putting for the meaning and purpose
of this method and its use in different settings. Also the advantages and
disadvantages of this interview method will also be discussed. Other measures
such as the experience sampling and biologivcal measures will also be discussed.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define and describe behavioural assessment;
• Elucidate the categories of behavioural assessment; 39
Assessment of Personality • Explain what is functional behavioural assessment;
• Explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of the case history method;
• Elucidate the types of case history method;
• Define and describe interview as a method of assessment;
• Explain the meaning and purpose of the interview method;
• Elucidate the types of interviews; and
• Analyse other methods of assessment in the behavioural category.
3.2 DEFINITION OF BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENT

Behavioral assessment refers to assessing and measuring various constituents of
a behaviour that are indicative of why a certain behaviour occurs and what
cvauses that behaviour. These would include overt behaviours, feelings, and
cognitions and their controlling variables that could be both from within the
individual and outside of the individual. Behavioural assessment focuses on what
a person does rather than on what a person has or is. It is also said that behavioural
assessment is more an exploratory activity which tries to find out the range of
procedures used to understand children, adults, groups etc. This definition
emphasises a hypothesis-testing problem-solving model of assessment, the goal
of which is to identify appropriate intervention strategies in order to remediate
specified behaviour problems.
The history of behavioural assessment cannot be separated from behaviourism

as a paradigm of scientific psychology and its clinical application. Thus,
behavioural assessment began when complex human behaviours were first
considered as a subject for scientific study (e.g., Staats 1963, Bandura 1969).
Since the 1960s, four main phases have been identified.
As for the nature of behavioural assessment, it may be stated that its main goal
has been behavioural change. Therefore, all conceptual and methodological
features emerge from the attempt to define and measure a particular behavioural
problem and its causal or controlling conditions and design the best treatment.
The following five traits could be considered the essence of behavioural
assessment: functional analysis, triple response modes and multi-causality,
idiographism, multimethodism, and the experimental method.
3.2.1 The Theoretical Model Underlying the Application of

Behavioural Assessment Procedures
The theoretical underpinnings of the above concept of behavioural assessment
stem from the interaction between the person’s previous learning and the external
and organismic environments within which the person functions.
The setting in which the behaviour occurs is of primary importance. The biological
makeup and physiological functioning help the individuals to adapt and respond
to the environment. Evaluating behaviour requires assessment of the person, the
setting, and the interaction between the two. Setting in this context refers to the
environmental circumstances that might be influencing the occurrence and
nonoccurrence of the behaviour. Environmental circumstances in turn refer to
those environmental events preceding the behaviour, both immediately and
distally, and those following the behaviour.
40
3.2.2 Common Characteristics and Assumptions of Behavioural Behavioural Assessment
Assessment Methods
While there is a wide variety of techniques available for carrying out behavioural
assessment, they have certain features in common.
1) They all focus on behaviour
Both overt and covert behaviours are measured or evaluated as they occur
in specific situations. Behaviours are observed at a specific time and in a
limited location The variables and concepts with descriptions of behaviour
are taken up objectively, as assessment requires objective information, which
is more useful than inferences or subjective interpretations.
2) All behavioural assessment methods believe in Quantification
Behavior is quantified so as to allow for reliable comparisons across time
and persons and to allow for communication between persons. This leads to
greater objectivity of information.
3) All the behavioural assessment methods use trained, impartial observers
Observers are trained in the use of the various measurement techniques of
behavioural assessment, recording of the same and collecting information
in an objective manner. Observers are expected to achieve a specified
standard of consistency in their collecting data, recording the information
and interpreting the data.
4) All of them use empirically validated measures.
It is important to have consistency in the measurement across situations.
The measures should be empirically validated.
5) All of them recognize errors and try to counteract the errors or minimise
errors to the extent possible using statistical methods.
All assessment involves differing degrees of error causing unreliability of
the results. Hence it is important to minimize the errors and this is generally
carried out through statistical techniques..
6) All of these believe that the behaviour concerned occurs due to stimuli
from the environment.
Assessment is directed toward discovering the situational influences on
behaviour. The emphasis is on public events and direct observation of
behaviour in the natural environment, with behaviour being recorded at the
time of its occurrence whenever possible.
7) All these assessment techniques depend not on one but multiple sources
of information.
In addition to the behavioural assessment, a wide-range of assessment
strategies are used, including behavioural interviews, checklists, rating scales,
standardised instruments, self-reports, self-monitoring forms, and
observations, as no single test or source could give adequate information as
to why a behaviour occurs.
8) All the behavioural assessment techniques ultimately place high
emphasis on intervention.
The primary purpose of assessment is not to categorise or label a person but
to obtain information that will assist in developing effective intervention 41
Assessment of Personality strategies. The emphasis on intervention results in the application of the
behavioural assessment model to the particular person , situation etc.
9) All the behavioural assessment techniques use continuous assessment.
Assessment is continuous throughout baseline, intervention, and follow up
phases. The effectiveness of intervention strategies is continuously evaluated.
10) Each of these behavioural assessment techniques emphasises on
empirically based decision making process.
Decisions about specific assessment strategies and interventions are based
on empirical data available on the individual concerned from the person’s
self and the environment in which the person lives.
11) Most of these behavioural assessment techniques focus on individual
person rather than groups.
Assessment focuses on the individual person rather than comparisons to a
norm group. There is a recognition of individual differences in behaviour
and its determinants, leading to idiosyncratic assessment and intervention.
12) High emphasis is placed on individual differences.
Individual differences among persons are not absolute. Differences must be
seen in relative terms, with consideration given to situational and cultural
differences. It must be kept in mind that a certain behaviour considered
normal in one setting may be considered abnormal in another setting.
13) All behavioural assessment techniques not only look for causes contributing
to the problem but also try to solve the problem concerned, once the
cause is known.
The purpose of behavioural assessment is problem solving, and hence
identification of causes is extremely important so as to devise intervention
strategies to overcome the problem.
14) All the behavioural assessment techniques focus on developing adaptive
behaviour in the individual.
The focus of behavioural assessment is on developing adaptive, positive, or
desirable behaviour rather than on control and reduction of undesirable
behaviours. Hence behavioural interventions should be designed and
implemented with the benefit of the particular person concerned in mind.
3.2.3 Advantages and Limitations of Behavioral Assessment

Advantages
• Behavioral assessment provides objective data for deciding specific
instructional content and strategies for intervention.
• Behavioural assessment leads directly to the formulation of intervention
strategies.
• Behavioural assessment can be undertaken in the setting in which the
concerned behaviour occurs or in simulated conditions resembling the natural
setting.
• Behavioral assessment is tailored to the unique characteristics of the referred
person and the targeted environment.
42
• The continuity of behavioural assessment facilitates determining the progress Behavioural Assessment
and evaluation of outcomes.
• Behavioural assessment has such variety of techniques that these help in
multifaceted assessment.
• Most behavioural assessment techniques can be implemented by anyone
with sufficient training and do not require advanced degrees.
Limitations of behavioural assessment
• Much of behavioural assessment methodology is not standardised.
• Differing levels of specification of the concerned behaviours may result in
inconsistent data.
• Narrow definitions of behaviour may result in less consistency in behavioural
observation.
• Behavioral assessment methodology may appear rather easy to apply.
However if the psychologist or behaviourist is not trained in the techniques,
the assessment will be defective and consequently the intervention will be
ineffective.
3.3 FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENT

A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is an attempt to look beyond the
obvious interpretation of behaviour as “bad” and determine what function it
may be serving for the individual. Truly understanding why the person behaves
the way he or she does is the first step to developing strategies to stop the
behaviour. The process usually involves documenting the individual’s behaviour
in different situations, interviewing the family members and obtaining information
about the behaviour of the individual, if necessary getting information from the
work place regarding the behaviour of the individual and many other related
sources. All these are done by a behavioural specialist, based on which the
intervention plan is drawn.
Behavioural assessment provides information that typically cannot be obtained

from traditional assessment but which is necessary for establishing effective
remedial strategies and interventions for problems exhibited by individuals.
3.3.1 Reliability and Validity Issues in Behavioural Assessment

Reliability in behavioural assessment, refers to agreement between observers
viewing the same behaviour at the same time (inter rater reliability), or a single
observer observing the same behavioural sequence on different occasions. On
the other hand validity in behavioural assessment refers to data obtained from
one measure (e.g., classroom observation) being predictive of behaviour obtained
through other measures (e.g., classroom achievement scores or teacher ratings)
in different settings, under different conditions, at different times, or by different
observers.
Multifaceted assessment is the rule in behavioural assessment, and each of the

assessment procedures utilised should provide equivalent data (convergent
validity).
43
Assessment of Personality Another important consideration with respect to validity in behavioural
assessment is the extent to which information gathered through a multifaceted
assessment leads to beneficial treatment outcomes (treatment validity).
3.3.2 Uses of Behavioural Assessment

Behavioural assessment is used in many situations and for many purposes, as for
example screening, problem identification and analysis and for selection of a
good intervention programme which will be effective in resolving the problem
concerned.
The assessment continues even after the intervention is completed. Assessment

at this point is important to know how far the intervention had been effective in
resolving the problem for which the individual was assessed. Some of the issues
on which the assessment will be done are given below:
• Has the treatment been administered as planned?
• Have changes in behaviour been monitored and documented?
• If change occurred, has it been demonstrated that it is due to the treatment?
• Have treatment costs been assessed and has it been decided whether the
benefits are cost effective?
• Has a decision been made about modifying the treatment or maintaining
treatment gains if desired outcomes have been achieved?
3.3.3 Types of Behavioural Assessment

Behavioural assessment can be of different types and some of which are given
below:
1) Direct assessment
2) Analogue assessment
3) Indirect assessment
4) Idiographic assessment
5) Contextual assessment.
Let us discuss each of these in a little detail.
Direct assessment: Here the recording of a behaviour is done as it occurs in the

situation.
Analogue assessment: This involves measuring of behaviour under simulated

conditions as at times the behaviour may not occur in a natural situation.(e.g.
role play)
Indirect Assessment: Here the behaviour is not observed but inferred through
retrospective analysis.
Idiographic assessment: This describes the behavioural characteristics of the

individual concerned. For example let us say a child with a disorder called
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Here the assessment is disorder focused.
Contextual assessment: The stimuli in the environment that cause the behaviour
44 are in focus in this method of assessment.
The main tool of behavioural assessment is functional analysis. Behavioural Assessment
Behavioural problems were to be defined through the triple response mode—

motor, cognitive, physiological— and diverse potential causes—multicausality—
were to be accepted.
For example, a person’s depression should be defined through cognitive (feelings

of loneliness, attention and concentration problems), physiological (sleep
disturbance) and motor (low rate of social behaviours and physical activity)
behaviours.
This problem can be explained functionally by several conditions of the subject,

such as a reinforcement system deficit, inadequate motivational system (personal
condition), or a dysfunction in biological conditions—and usually by the
interaction of all of these factors.
Since behavioural problems should be described through the triple response mode,
that is through motor, cognitive, physiological modes, other methods of
assessment than observation of overt behaviour and other informants (than the
subject) should be considered. In other words, multi methodism is one of the
most important characteristics of behavioural assessment.
Behavioral assessment provides the basis for behavioural change, and behavioural
change requires treatment, and treatment demands experimental manipulations
and evaluation This is why, throughout the history of behavioural assessment,
the experimental method has been a constant among its basic characteristics.
3.3.4 Process of Behavioural Change: Assessment, Treatment,

and Evaluation
One of the most important features of behavioural assessment is its role in
behaviour modification or behavioural change. In order to change the behaviour,
the first step is to make an assessment as to why a behaviour occurs as it is. Once
assessment is made, the cause becomes known and one can formulate the
treatment intervention and evaluate as to whether the intervention brought about
the desired change.
Behavioural assessment has several challenges to face, it is presently applicable

only in the clinical field. It has to be made applicable to other fields also.
Behavioural assessment needs measurement instruments and improved
measurement devices.
Assessment involves a process of decision-making that is well known in terms

of the operations undertaken. Nevertheless, this process is not prescriptive. We
might expect that in future standards or guidelines for the assessment process
will be developed and supported by scientific associations. Not only disorders
should be assessed but we must have assessment instruments that could measure
normal behaviour and propose successful living.
3.4 CASE STUDY METHOD

The case study method is one of the important types of research method which is
non-experimental or descriptive research. It is not a specific technique, but is
one way of organising social data for the purpose of viewing reality. It tends to 45
Assessment of Personality preserve the unitary character of a social object being studied. It tends to examine
a social unit as a whole. The unit may be a person, a family, a social group, a
social institution or even a community (Good & Hatt, 1981; Best & Kahn, 1992).
The detailed study of a single individual’s behaviour over an extended period of

time is called a case history or case study. This approach is used frequently in
clinical and medical settings in order to diagnose and treat people who have
psychological problems.
As such, case histories usually deal with abnormal or troubled people whose
lives are studied during psychotherapy or diagnosis (Runyan, 1982). The clinician
seeks to achieve an understanding of the person’s life experiences and behaviour
patterns through a variety of procedures, including the person’s own recollections,
interviews with others who know the person, autobiographical and biographical
documents, and any available information from psychological tests.
The clinician, usually searches clues in the past or present life to determine the
causes of the person’s difficulties. Case history provides a primary data enabling
the clinician to establish effective strategies to treat emotional disorders. Fredrick
le Play (1806-1882) had, for the first time, introduced case history method into
social sciences research in the studies of family budgets. Herbert Spencer, an
English sociologist (1820-1882) was the first to use the case materials in his
ethnographic studies. William Healy, a psychiatrist, for the first time adopted the
case study method in his work with juvenile delinquents.
Case histories made by clinicians working with patients have played an important
role in the development of certain personality theories and clinical thinking in
general. Freud’s psychodynamic theory is almost entirely based on intensive
study of single cases. Freud and his fellow psychoanalysts spent years probing
deeply into all sorts of behaviour: early childhood recollection of dreams,
fantasies, physical illnesses, love-hate relationships. Along with gaining rich
insights into the uniqueness of persons, Freud used case studies to support his
theoretical claims. Carl Rogers also relied heavily on case studies of psychotherapy
clients in formulating his phenomenological approach to personality.
3.4.1 Purpose of Case Study Method

The purpose of the case study method is to understand the important aspects of
the life cycle of a unit. Case study analyses deeply and interprets the interactions
between the different factors that influence the change or growth of unit. Thus, it
is a basically a longitudinal approach which studies the units over a period of
time. A review of literature in this field suggests that case studies are not confined
to the study of individuals and their important behavioural characteristics, rather,
case studies have been made of all types of communities and of all types of
individuals. Whatever the type of individual or community is, the element of of
typicalness, rather than uniqueness, is the focus of attention in case study.
Though case study is a detailed description and analysis of a particular individual’s

personality, it is also an immensely important research strategy. A single case-
study suggests a deep insight about human behaviour, but usually one case does
not provide a firm basis for deriving general principles of behaviour. However,
if a number of case studies are accessible for scrutiny, researchers may be able to
identify threads of consistency among them and draw some general conclusions.
46
The case study method may also be used to study the lives of normal individuals. Behavioural Assessment
A group led by Henry Murray (Murray et al., 1938) at the Harvard Psychological
Clinic provides a rare but compelling model for the intensive study of individual
lives over a substantial period of time. The Harvard “personologists” focused on
in depth assessments of a small group of college males. The objective was to
learn about the basic needs, conflicts, values, attitudes, and patterns of social
interaction evident among these young men. The assessment techniques included
several self-report personality questionnaires and projective tests administered
at different times. In addition to this, assessment of these students involved
gathering extensive biographical data and autobiographical sketches, putting them
into small-scale experiments, and conducting stress interviews where they were
focused to answer embarrassing questions or were challenged to defend some of
their deeply held values. Finally, the students were studied in small group settings
so that the observers could ascertain their public styles of interpersonal interaction.
The methods used by Murray and his colleagues covered many topics and facets
of each student’s life and produced a rich narrative account of each student as a
whole in his natural setting. To better assess each student’s thoughts, feelings,
and actions, Murray assembled a group of experienced psychologists who shared
their insights of each student at a staff conference or “diagnostic council”. In this
council, different researchers from different background who had studied the
same student would offer their respective clinical impressions about the student.
Debate followed and eventually a conclusion about how best to characterise the
student’s personality was reached by majority vote.
The eclectic approach adopted by Harvard personologists to the study of

personality influenced an entire generation of researchers by directing their
attention to the whole person, to the importance of environment, and to the need
for comprehensive assessment. Robert White’s Lives in Progress (1975), a
longitudinal study of three relatively normal individuals, illustrates the importance
of the case history as a strategy well-suited for conducting personality research.
3.4.2 Types of Case Study Method

Based upon the number of individuals, the case study may be of two types – the
individual case study, and the community case study. In individual case study the
social unit consists of one individual or person. Since there is only one individual
involved, it emphasises analysis in depth. Such an individual case study is
significant in developing some hypothesis to be tested but is not helpful in making
broad generalisations. The community case study is one in which the social unit
is not a person, rather, a family or social group. Such case study is a thorough
observation and analysis of a group of people who are living together in a particular
geographical territory. The community case study tries to deal with different
elements of the community life such as location, prevailing economic activity,
climate and natural resources, historical development, social structure, life values,
health education, and the like.
On the basis of the purpose a case study may be subdivided into two categories-
deviant case analysis and isolated clinical case analysis. In the former, the
researcher starts with the difference already found between two people or groups
of persons and his task is to read backward to deduce the condition that might
have produced the difference (Warwick & Osherson, 1973).
47
Assessment of Personality In the latter, the emphasis is upon the individual units with respect to some
analytical problem. Such study is popular in psychoanalysis. Freud’s study of
little Hans is a well-known case which can be cited as an example o isolated
clinical case analysis. Freud’s theories of psychoneurosis were formulated through
accumulation of many isolated clinical case studies of the individuals.
3.4.3 Strengths and Weaknesses of Case Study Method

The advantage of case study method is that it provides an account of the
complexities and idiosyncrasies of an individual’s personality that is not possible
from other strategies. If the goal is to study processes going in one or few persons
and to learn how persons cope with life experiences, then case history is the
most appropriate strategy. Also, case histories are the only way rare instances of
a phenomenon can be studied.
But one should also keep in mind the shortcomings encountered while studying
only one individual. The chief disadvantage of case studies is that the researcher
can never be totally certain about cause-and-effect relationships. Researchers
cannot control factors that might affect the events or outcomes that they observe;
it is always possible that causes other than those they infer may be operating.
Second, because a case study examines only one person, its results have limited
generalisability. Just because one person behaves in a certain way does not mean
all people behave that way. Third, the data obtained by the case history method
may be retrospective or second-hand in nature and thus distorted by time. Lastly,
even if the accuracy of such data can be verified, the conclusions drawn about
the individual may reflect the personal biases of the investigator.
Despite these shortcomings, case histories can be rich source of information

about a particular phenomenon. In fact, case study can be considered as a
preliminary research strategy that can offer intriguing hypothesis about human
personality. Researches can ten examine these hypotheses with more rigorous
experimental procedures.
1) Define case history method.
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2) Give a general overview of the merits and demerits of case history
method.
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48
Behavioural Assessment
3.5 INTERVIEW METHOD
3.5.1 Meaning and Purpose of Interview Method
The interview is one of the oldest and most widely used methods of collecting
information about persons. In the interview, the personologist obtains information
from the person being evaluated by asking relevant questions and listening to
answers. The interviewer and respondent engage in a face-to-face dialogue for
the purpose of achieving a specific goal. In fact, the way in which an interview is
conducted depends on the particular objective or goal in question. An employment
interview, for instance, seeks to assess the personality characteristics of the job
applicant.
A research interview aims to gather information about a person concerning a

specific research topic under investigation. A clinical interview has its goal the
diagnosis of a patient’s problem and the type of therapy technique that may be
most appropriate for the given diagnosis. Interviews are also used to measure
specific aspects o personality.
Psychoanalysis uses one type of interview to probe supposedly underlying aspects

of personality. But in modern research special types of interviews, in which
individuals are asked questions assumed to be related to specific traits, are often
used instead. For instance, interviews are used to measure the Type A behaviour
pattern, an important aspect of personality related to personal health. Persons
high on this pattern are always in a hurry and they hate being delayed. Thus,
questions asked during the interview focus on this tendency; for instance: “What
do you do when you are stuck on the highway behind a slow driver?”
There is a variety in the degree to which interviews may be structured or

unstructured. In the former type of interview, questions are carefully worded
and skillfully presented in a prescribed order. For instance: “How long have you
been married?” “How many children do you have?” “Do you believe that children
should be allowed to do whatever they want?” “If you had a teenager would you
allow him or her to quit school and take a part time job?” As you can see, the
most personal and threatening questions appeared last.
The strategy behind asking general and innocuous questions first is that they
should be at least threatening for respondents and pave the way for divulging
more intimate more information once they have developed a sense of trust toward
the interviewer.(White & Speisman,1982).
In an unstructured interview, questions are framed in such a way as to allow the

person considerable latitude in responding. The interviewer may say, “You feel
that your spouse really lets you down,” or “That must have been a very stressful
experience.” The respondent is free to reveal whatever information s\he desires
to such questions. In turn, the interviewer may abandon a certain line of
questioning if it seems to be generating no useful information and some other
area of questioning. Compared to a structured interview, an unstructured interview
allows the personologist more flexibility to probe the respondent’s thoughts and
feelings in the context of give-and-take exchange.
49
Assessment of Personality 3.5.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of Interview Method
Interview method when used by a highly skilled interviewer can produce
extremely valuable information regarding the individual’s personality and life
situations. The ability to communicate effectively with others, perceptions of
self and significant others, level of anxiety, plans for future, and job satisfaction
are a few examples of data that can be obtained from a well conducted interview.
A well planned interview can also be profitably used in hypothesis testing research.
At the same time, issues of reliability and validity may arise in the event that
respondents are free to say about their past and present life experiences.
Structuring the kinds of questions asked of the person is one way to make interview
information more valid and reliable. That is why the structured format tends to
be preferred in the research setting, whereas the unstructured format tends to be
preferred by clinical psychologists in the therapeutic setting.
The interview technique provides a rich source of personality data. But such
data is highly subjective and may reflect the theoretical biases of the interviewer.
Also, the impact of the of the interviewer’s personality can subtly influence how
truthful and disclosing the person will be in an assessment setting. This can
result in the withholding or distorting of information vital to the purpose of an
interview.
Lastly, an assessment interview, especially when supplemented by more objective

sources of data, is one the most basic and indispensable of all assessment
techniques.

1) Differentiate between structured interview and unstructured interview
as a measure o personality assessment.
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2) What are some of the advantages offered by interview method?
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3.6 OTHER MEASURES

Apart from the above cited methods, there are also other less significant techniques
existing to assess personality.
50
i) Experience sampling method: With the advent of electronic pagers now Behavioural Assessment
allows researchers to beep individuals at random or pre-established times
during the day in order to obtain descriptions of their behaviour at these
times? This experience sampling method (Stone, Kessler, &
Haythornthwaite, 1991) can often reveal much about stable patterns of
individual behaviour; and these constitute an important aspect of personality.
ii) Biological measures: In recent years several biological measures of
personality have also been developed. Some of these use positron emission
tomography (PET) scans to see if individuals show characteristic patterns
of activity in their brains- patterns that are related to differences in their
overt behaviour. Other measures focus on hormone levels, for instance, the
question of whether highly aggressive persons have different levels of certain
sex hormones than other persons. Some results suggest that this may indeed
may be the case(Harris et al., 1996).
It may be concluded that there are many tools for measuring personality. None
are perfect, but together they provide psychologists with many useful techniques
for investigating the stable patterns of behaviour that make each of us a unique
human being.
3.7 LET US SUM UP

The case study or case history method seeks to provide an in-depth account of an
individual’s personality. Its primary focus is to diagnose and treat a person’s
suffering from emotional problems. Also, case histories have played a role in the
development of certain personality theories and the study of normal persons
over many years.
Several assessment techniques may be used in conducting a case history, including

biographical and autobiographical sketches, personality and projective tests,
interviews, and information provided by others who know the person reasonably
well. Although case histories are valuable source of insights about people, several
shortcomings faced in studying one person at a time were noted.
Case histories do not identify factors that might cause the events observed, the
results obtained are o limited generalisability, and the data collected may be
subject to personal bias and difficult to verify in terms of accuracy.
Principal features of unstructured and structured interviews are that in the former,
the interviewer can “dig deeper”, and get a deeper understanding of the
respondents questions. While in the latter, there is a systematic procedure for
collecting information and hence, the reported validities of such interviews is
greater than the former type of interviews.
The other measures of personality assessment that the psychologists are currently
using are experience sampling and biological measures.

Describe the case history method for assessing personality. What are some of the
strengths and limitations of case history method?
51
Assessment of Personality How does structured interview differ from unstructured interview? Point out the
major sources of error in interview.
Briefly describe the current methods being used by psychologists for personality
assessment.
What other measures of personality do psychologists currently use?
3.9 GLOSSARY
Case study method : Research strategy whereby a particular person is
studied in great detail.
Hypothesis : A single prediction about the relationship between two
or more variables that is logically derived from a
theory.
Structured interview : An interview that follows a set format, thus allows a
person little or no freedom to digress from the
information sought by the interviewer. An
unstructured interview, by contrast, allows the person
maximum freedom to divulge information in a more
spontaneous manner.

Goode, W.J., & Hatt, P.K. (1981).Methods in Social Research. Singapore:
McGraw Hill Company.
Murray,H.A., Barrett,W.G., & Homburger,E. (1938).Explorations in Personality.

New York: Oxford University Press.
Warwick, D.P. & Osherson, S. (1973). Comparative Research Methods.

Englewood Cliffs Prentice Hall.
References
Best, J.W. & Kahn,J.V.(1992). Research in Education, New Delhi: Prentice Hall
of India Private Limited (eighth Indian print).
Harris,J.A., Rushton, J.P.,Hampson, E.,& Jackson, D.N.(1996). Salivary

testosterone and self-report aggressive and pro-social personality characteristics
in men and women. Aggressive Behaviour, 22,321-331.
Runyan,W.M. (1982).Life histories and psychobiography: Explanations in theory

and method. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stone, A.A., Kesseler,R.C.,& Haythornthwaite, J.A.(1991). Measuring daily

events and experiences: Decisions for the researchers. Journal of Personality,
59, 575 – 607.
White, R.W. (1975). Lives in progress: A study of the natural growth of personality
(3rd.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
White, K.M. & Spiesman, J.C. (1982). Research approaches to personality.

Monterey, C.A.: Brookes/Cole.
52
Anastasi, A. (1968).Psychological testing.London: Macmillan Company. Behavioural Assessment
Ciccarelli, S.K.,& Meyer, G.E.(2009). Psychology. South Asian Edition. Pearson,

New Delhi.
Freeman, F.S.(1962). Theory and practice of psychological testing.New York:

Hjelle, L.A., Zieglar, D.J.(1992). Personality theories. Basic assumptions,

research, and applications.3rd ed.McGraw Hill.
Singh, A.K.(1997). Tests, measurements and research methods in behavioural

sciences. Bharti Bhawan, Patna.
53
UNIT 4 OTHER MEASURES OF
PERSONALITY
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Self-Report Questionnaires and Inventories
4.2.1 Minnesota Multi Phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
4.2.2 Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI)
4.2.3 NEO- Personality Inventory (NEO-PI)
4.3 Ink Blot Tests
4.3.1 Rorschach Psycho-diagnostic Test
4.3.2 Holtz Ink Blot Test
4.4 Apperception Test (TAT)
4.4.1 Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
4.4.2 Senior Apperception Test (SAT)
4.4.3 Children Apperception Test (CAT)
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.7 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will be discussing other measures of personality assessment. Self
report questions and inventories are of great importance in personality assessment.
These are being taken up in terms of definition and description of such tests and
inventories and also we will be presenting the three important and major tests in
this field namely MMPI, MCMI and NEO-PI. Following you will learn in this
unit some of the major projective tests. In fact projective tests are extremely
important to understand the psychodynamics involved in the person’s behaviour.
Many times we cannot get the needed information through interviews because
of the inhibitions on the part of the person or client. In such cases projective tests
are used which help the person to project his or her feelings on to the stimulus
material, picture or ambiguous stimuli. Inn this category of Projective tests we
will be presenting the Rorschach test and the Holtzman Inkblot tests. In this
category of tests you will also learn the test named Thematic Apperception Tests
both for adults and children.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through the following unit, you will be able to:
• Define and describe self report inventories;
• Describe the MMPI,MCMI and NEOPI;
• Define projective tests;
54
• Explain the Rorschach test; Other Measures of
Personality
• Differentiate the two ink blot tests;
• Explain apperception; and
• Describe tests related to apperception such as the TAT and CAT.
4.2 SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES AND

INVENTORIES
One way of measuring personality involves asking individuals to respond to a
self-report inventory or questionnaire. Such measures (also known as objective
tests of personality) contain questions or statements to which individuals respond
in various ways.
Now we will examine the most extensively used and researched multidimensional
test, used by psychologists to evaluate the diagnostics status of clients as well as
to make personnel decisions about people.
4.2.1 Minnesota Multi Phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The most widely used multi-trait self- report test is the MMPI. It was originally
devised by Hathaway and McKinley (1943) to aid clinical psychologist in the
diagnosis of psychological disorders. The developers believed that this test would
be useful in evaluating the effectiveness of psychotherapy. They used an empirical
strategy to construct MMPI. They administered hundreds of true-false items to
several groups of people in mental institutions who had been diagnosed as having
certain psychological disorders. These diagnoses have been determined through
psychiatric interviews with the patients. By systematically carrying out empirical
procedure on patient group with different psychiatric diagnosis, the test developers
established 10 separate “clinical scales”. The test also had 4 “validity scales”
that assess whether the person was careless, deceptive, or misunderstood the
instructions in taking the test. The “lie scale”, for instance indicates the extent to
which a person response in a socially desirable but untruthful way to statement
in order to be viewed in a favouarble manner (“I cant remember ever having a
bad night’s sleep”).
An updated and restandardised version of MMPI was established in 1989. It is

known as MMPI 2. This test has 567 items, as they were in the original inventory
but is different in a number of ways. Items with sexist wordings and out moded
content have been modified, items with objectionable content have been
eliminated, and national norms that are more representative of the present
population have been calculated. These significant modifications have enhanced
the value of MMPI 2 and make it preferable over the original version of the test.
Two general approaches are used when interpreting MMPI data and these are:
i) clinical and
ii) actuarial.
In clinical interpretation an expert inspects each of the scale scores, notes the
features of the profiles (clustering of certain high scale scores), and adds a mix
of personal experience about individuals of each profile type to make inferences
regarding the pathological problems and traits of the person.
55
Assessment of Personality When an actuarial interpretation is made, the psychologist(or computer) merely
checks MMPI atlas that provide empirically established characteristics which
describes each profile, class or code type.
The process of comparing the profile of a person with a large number of previous
profile yleads to an interpretation based on statistical base rates and norms (without
an subjective evaluation by the psychologist).
Matching the person’s profile with previous MMPI test takers also enables the
clinician to determine the appropriate diagnostic category and course of therapy
to be undertaken.
MMPI is by no means limited in usage to the clinical setting (Kunce and Anderson,
1984). It is also used to determine whether individuals have personality attributes
that are either compatible or incompatible with a demand of a job for which
recruitment is being made.
The MMPI has also been used extensively in studies concerning family dynamics,
eating disorders, substance abuse, suicide, and readiness to intervention for
rehabilitation (Butcher and Keller, 1984). It has also been one of the main sources
of item for a number of other personality tests like Taylor Manifest Anxiety
Scale (Taylor, 1953), the Jackson Personality Inventory (Jackson, 1974), and the
California Psychological Inventory, etc.
Finally, MMPI has been translated into 125 foreign languages is a testimony to
its popularity and value as a clinical assessment technique (Butcher, 1984).
4.2.2 Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI)

Another objective measure of personality is the Millon Clinical Multiaxial
Inventory (MCMI) (Millon, 1987, 1997). Items of this test correspond more
closely to the categories of psychological disorders currently used by psychologists
than those on the MMPI. This makes the test especially useful to clinical
psychologists, who must first identify individual’s problems before recommending
specific forms of therapy for them.
The recent third edition development of the MCMI-III adds the Grossman Facet
Scales, a series of therapy guiding facet subscales, to the basic personality scales
of the instrument. These fact scales identify the most salient clinical domains
(e.g., interpersonal, cognitive) that characterise the patient taking the inventory.
This information helps “personalise” and further “individualise” the MCMI test
results by specifying those features that call for the therapist’ attention in what is
called “personalised therapy”. But first, a few words about the basic MCMI-III
and what distinguishes it as a clinical instrument.
The MCMI™ (Millon™ Clinical Multiaxial Inventory) is distinguished from

other inventories primarily by its brevity, its theoretical anchoring, multiaxial
format, tripartite construction and validation schema, use of base rate scores,
and interpretive depth.
Each generation of the MCMI inventory has attempted to keep the total number
of items small enough to encourage its use in all types of diagnostic and treatment
settings, yet large enough to permit the assessment of a wide range of clinically
relevant multiaxial behaviours.
56
At 175 items, the MCMI inventory is much shorter than comparable instruments. Other Measures of
Personality
Terminology is geared to an eighth-grade reading level. The inventory is almost
self-administering. The great majority of patients can complete the MCMI-III™
in 20 to 30 minutes, facilitating relatively simple and rapid administrations while
minimizing patient resistance and fatigue.
Description: Based on Millon’s theory of personality and psychopathology, the

brief Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II) instrument provides a
measure of 22 personality disorders and clinical syndromes for adults undergoing
psychological or psychiatric assessment or treatment. Specifically designed to
help assess both Axis I and Axis 11 disorders, the MCMI-II instrument can assist
clinicians in psychiatric diagnosis, developing a treatment approach that takes
into account the patient’s personality style and coping behaviour, and guiding
treatment decisions based on the patient’s personality pattern.
Scoring: The MCMI-II consists of 10 clinical personality pattern scales, 3 severe

personality pathology scales, 6 clinical syndrome scales, 3 modifier indices, 1
validity index.
Reliability: The reliability of the MCMI II generally has been sound, with the
Axis II scales showing the highest stability as predicted by Millon. Normal
subjects also had noticeably higher stability coefficients than clinical subjects.
Millon also tested the stability of high point and double-high-point configurations.
He reports that high point codes are fairly stable over a month, with nearly two
thirds of 168 subjects achieving the same scale high point. For double-high-
point configurations, 25% achieve the same high scores with another 19%
achieving the same two scales but in reverse order. Based on part of his normative
sample, Millon reports quite high internal consistencies. The average of 22 clinical
scales is .89, and the range is from .81 to .95.
Validity: Because of extensive item overlap, we cannot be sure of the factor

structure of this instrument. But there are also overlaps based on the overlap of
the constructs; that is, the personality disorders are by no means distinct entities.
Norms: Norms for the MCMI-II instrument are based on a national sample of
1,292 male and female clinical subjects representing a variety of DSM-III and
DSM-III-R diagnoses. The subjects included inpatients and outpatients in clinics,
hospitals, and private practices. The MCMI-II manual describes the distribution
of gender, age, marital status, religion, and other factors within the sample.
The MCMI-II is used primarily in clinical settings with individuals who require
mental health services for emotional, social, or interpersonal difficulties.
4.2.3 NEO- Personality Inventory (NEO-PI)

A third objective test, the NEO-Personality Inventory(Costa & McRae,1989), is
used to measure aspects of personality that are not linked to psychological
disorders. Specifically, it tends to measure the “big five” dimensions of personality,
as these dimensions appear to represent basic aspects of personality.
The NEO-PI is a highly-regarded assessment of personality. Based on the Five-

Factor model, the NEO PI-R measures the interpersonal, motivational, emotional,
and attitudinal styles of adults and adolescents. It consists of 240 personality
57
Assessment of Personality items and 3 validity items, and is available in two forms. Form-S is designed for
self-reports and Form-R is written in the third person for observer reports.
The NEO PI-R was designed to provide a general description of normal

personality relevant to clinical, counseling and educational situations. NEO PI-
R items and materials were designed to be easily read and understood. The five
domains (factors) measured by the NEO PI-R provide a general description of
personality, while the facet scales allow more detailed analysis. These five factors
and their facet scales include:
Neuroticism (Anxiety, Hostility, Depression, Self-Consciousness, Impulsiveness,

Vulnerability)
Extraversion (Warmth, Gregariousness, Assertiveness, Activity, Excitement-

Seeking, Positive Emotions)
Openness to Experience (Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings, Actions, Ideas, Values)
Agreeableness (Trust, Modesty, Compliance, Altruism, Straightforwardness,

Tender-Mindedness)
Conscientiousness (Competence, Self-Discipline, Achievement-Striving,

Dutifulness, Order, Deliberation)
Reliability and Validity

Internal consistency coefficients range from .86 to .95 for domain scales, and
from .56 to .90 for facet scales. Stability coefficients ranging from .51 to .83
have been found in three-year, six-year, and seven-year longitudinal studies of
the original NEO-PI factors. The NEO PI-R has been validated against other
personality inventories and projective techniques.
Use of NEO PIR

This test can be effectively used in counseling and clinical settings with adults as
well as senior high school and college students. It is also very effectively used in
business and industrial settings. This test is used in Psychological research,
including studies in sport psychology and recreation.

1) Name some important personality inventories.
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58
Other Measures of
2) How is MMPI-2 different from original MMPI? Personality
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3) Briefly describe NEO-PI.
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4.3 INK BLOT TESTS

These are psychological tests in which a subject’s interpretation of inkblots is
analysed. This test is used in clinical psychology and psychiatry. The inkblots
are used to determine what a person perceives in the highly ambiguous shapes.
4.3.1 Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Test

Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach first published the inkblot test in 1921.
Rorschach displayed interest in inkblots from a young age and eventually
developed a way to use them for psychological assessment.
Hermann Rorschach was born in Zurich, Switzerland, on Nov. 8, 1884. As a
child, Rorschach earned the nickname “Kleck” due to his love “klecksography,”
a popular game among Swiss children that involved dropping ink on a piece of
paper, and then folding the paper in 1/2 to create interesting designs.
Rorschach was an excellent student and ultimately became interested in psychiatry.
He graduated in Medicine and worked under notable Swiss psychiatrists, Eugen
Bleuler and Carl Jung. After graduation, Rorschach worked at various psychiatric
institutions in Switzerland and Russia. He continued to develop his interests in
psychoanalysis and Art therapy.
By 1911, Rorschach noticed that children playing klecksography varied widely
in their inkblot interpretations. He then began informally studying how the
mentally ill interpreted inkblots. Although others before him, such as Leonardo
da Vinci, Justinus Kerner and Alfred Binet, had also experimented with inkblots,
Rorschach was the first to develop a system to make the interpretation of inkblots
a useful tool for psychological analysis.
During the inkblot test, the examinee is shown a series of 10 inkblots and asked
to describe what he sees. It is assumed that the examinee will project his own
personality and emotions onto the ambiguous picture, providing the examiner
with insight into his unconscious mind.
59
Assessment of Personality Rorschach’s set of 10 inkblots was first published in 1921 in a book entitled
“Psychodiagnostik.” His peers were skeptical about the ability of inkblot
interpretation to assess personality accurately. Responding to this criticism,
Rorschach continued his efforts to standardise testing procedures to make his
inkblot test a useful psychological tool. However he could not see the use of this
test as he died in 1922.
Reliability and validity

After Rorschach’s death, at least 4 others attempted to standardise inkblot test
administration. However, this only resulted in further confusion and inconsistency.
In the late 1950s, American psychologist John Exner developed what became
known as Exner’s Comprehensive System, which consolidated these different
approaches into one universal procedure.
Current Use
The Rorschach inkblot test continues to be the most popular projective test used
today. However, critics of the inkblot test argue that the interpretation of an
examinee’s responses is highly dependent on the examiner’s own personal
judgment, and therefore not likely to be reliable among examiners. Alternatively,
others contend that with proper use and training, the Rorschach can be reliably
interpreted and therefore remains a useful psychological instrument.
The Rorschach Plates

The stimulus materials for the Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Technique which
was published originally in 1921, are ten 5 ½ by 9 ½ inch cards. Each card
contains one bilaterally symmetrical, black-and-white (five cards), red-and-grey
(two cards), or multicolored (three cards) ambiguous figures in ink blot against
a white background. The cards are presented individually and viewed at no greater
than arms length, but turning the card is permitted.
Examinees are told to report what they see in the report or what it might present.
After all the cards have been presented the examiner may start over with card
one and ask the examinee what features (shape, color, shading and so on) of the
card determined the responses of the subject. Following this enquiry period,
there may be a further period of testing the limits to discover whether the examinee
can see certain things in the card.
A number of scoring methods for the Rorschach have been proposed, the most
recent being Exner’s (1991, 1993) comprehensive system. Every response given
to a blot may be scored on several categories as given below.
Location : where it was seen-the whole blot(W), a common detail(B), an

uncommon detail(Dd), or, if the white space on the card was used, WS, DS,or
DdS.
Determinant : what aspect of the blot determine the response-form (F), color(C),
shading-texture(T), shading-dimension(V), shading-diffuse(Y), chromatic
color(C), achromatic color(C’), movement (M), or combinations of these.
Content: anatomy (An), blood (Bl), Clouds (Cl), Fire (Fi), Geography (Ge), Nature
(Na), and so forth.
60
Popularity: whether the response is a popular (P) or an original (One). Other Measures of
Personality
The number of responses in each category and certain ratios computed from
them guide the interpretation of the test protocol of the whole.
For example, several good “whole” (W) responses are considered indicative of
integrated or organised thinking, where as color responses suggest emotionality
and impulsivity; many detailed responses indicate compulsivity; white-space
responses point to oppositional tendencies; and movement responses reveal
imagination.
The ratio of the number of human movement responses to the number of color
responses (experience balance) is said to be related to the degree to which a
person is thought-minded rather than action oriented.
The ratio of the number of form responses to the number of color responses is an
index of the extent to which the respondent is controlled by cognition rather than
emotion.
Also important in evaluating Rorschach protocol is the accuracy of responses,

that is, how well the responses fit the respective parts of the blots (good, poor, an
indeterminate).
Delays in responding (Reaction Time) may be interpreted as anxiety, small number

of color and movement responses as depression, and several shading responses
as self-control. Many original responses having poor form and other indicators
of confused thinking suggest a psychotic process.
One of the most reliable scores on the Rorschach, and a rough index of mental
ability, is a simple count of the total number of responses to the ten ink blots.
Responses may also be interpreted in terms of content, but the process is very
subjective. For example unreal characters such as ghosts and clowns are
interpreted as indicative of an inability to identify with real people, and mask are
interpreted as role playing to avoid exposure. Food is interpreted as dependency
needs or emotional hunger, death as loneliness and depression, and eyes as
sensitivity to criticism.
Considering the length of time required to administer and score the test, it is
unsatisfactory when judged by conventional psychometric criteria. But still it
remains popular among clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.
4.3.2 Holtz Ink Blot Technique

Holtzman Ink Blot Test (HIT)
The Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT) is a projective personality assessment
test for persons ages five and above. The main purpose of this test is to assess
personality structure of a subject. It is also used as a diagnostic test particularly
assessing schizophrenia, depression , addiction and personality disorders.
This test requires a clinically trained examiner. The HIT should be administered
and interpreted by a trained psychologist, psychiatrist, or appropriately trained
mental health professional.
61
Assessment of Personality The HIT, developed by psychologist Wayne Holtzman and colleagues, was
introduced in 1961. The test was designed to overcome some of the deficiencies
of the Rorschach Inkblot Test.
The Holtzman is a standardised measurement with clearly defined objective

scoring criteria. The HIT consists of 45 inkblots. The test administrator, or
examiner, has a stack of 47 cards with inkblots (45 test cards and 2 practice
cards) face down in front of him or her. The examiner hands each card to the
subject and asks the test subject what he or she sees in the inkblot. Only one
response per inkblot is requested. Occasionally, the examiner may ask the test
subject to clarify or elaborate on a response.
The Administration of the HIT typically takes 50-80 minutes. The HIT is then
scored against 22 personality-related characteristics.
The HIT can also be administered in a group setting. In group testing, 30-45
inkblots are projected onto a screen and test subjects provide written responses
to each inkblot.
Holtz Ink Blot Technique (HIT) consists of two parallel forms of HIT (A and B)
and has 45 blots each, and the examinee is limited to one response per blot. Each
of the blots was selected on the basis of high split half reliability and an ability to
differentiate between normal and pathological responses.
The HIT blots are more varied than those on the Rorschach: some are
asymmetrical, and some have colors and different visual textures. The HIT can
be scored on the 22 response categories developed by computer analysis of
hundreds of test protocols. The percentile norms for these 22 scores are based on
eight groups of people, normal and pathological, ranging in age from 5 years to
adulthood.
The procedures for constructing and standardising the HIT were more like those
for a personality inventory than other projective techniques, and hence its
reliability is higher than that of Rorschach.
1) What is meant by ink blot tests?
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2) Describe the Rorschach Test.
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62
Other Measures of
3) What is the criticism against the Rorschach Test? Personality
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4) How is the scoring done on Rorschach cards?
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5) Describe Holtzman inkblot test. In what these are different from the
Rorschach test?
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6) Describe the Holtzman Inkblot test and how is the scoring done for this
test?
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4.4 APPERCEPTION TEST

Let us first understand what is apperception. It refers to the conscious perception
with full awareness. It is the process of understanding by which newly observed
qualities of n object are related to past experience. This term apperception was
introduced by Leibniz, for the mind’s reflective thinking and apprehension of its
own states. Kant has put forward two types of apperception viz., (i) empirical
apperception and (ii) transcendental apperception. While the former refers to
the ordinary consciousness, changing self etc., the latter refers to consciousness
that unifies experience as that of one subject and is thereby the foundation of
both experience and thought.
63
Assessment of Personality Less structured than word associations and incomplete sentences but more
structured than ink blots are pictures or other materials about which the respondent
is asked to tell a story. The majority of these Apperception Test employ pictures
of people, or animals as stimuli, but one (the hand test) is composed of pictures
of hands and another (the Auditory Apperception Test) consists of auditory stimuli.
Nearly all apperception test call for open ended response, but at least one (the
Iowa Picture Interpretation) has a multiple choice format. Directions for the
various picture-story tests are similar: the examinees are asked to tell the story
about the picture, including what is going on at the moment, what led up to it,
and what the outcome might be.
4.4.1 Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

The test is based on Murray’s Need theory, and is developed by Morgan &
Murray(1935). TAT consists of 30 black and white picture cards (four overlapping
sets of nineteen cards, each for boys, girls, men, and women) depicting people in
ambiguous situations, plus one blank card. The usual procedure for administering
the TAT begins by asking the examinee to tell a complete story about each of the
10 or so picture cards selected as appropriate for his or her age or sex. The
examinees asked to devote approximately 5 minutes to each story, telling what
is going on now, what thoughts and feelings the people in the story have, what
events have led up to the situation, and how it will turn out. For example, one of
the pictures shows a young woman in the foreground and a weird old woman
with a shawl over her head grimacing in the background. The following story
was told by a young college woman in response to this picture:
This is the woman who has been quiet troubled by memories of a mother she
was resentful towards. She has feelings of sorrow for the way she treated her
mother; her memories of her mother plague her. These feelings seemed to be
increasing as she grows older and sees her own children treating her the same
way as she treated her mother. She tries to convey the feeling to her children, but
does not succeed in changing their attitudes. She is living her past in her present,
because the feeling of sorrow and guilt is reinforced by the way her children are
treating her.
From stories such as this, a skilled examiner obtains information about the
dominant needs, emotions, sentiments, complexes, and conflicts of the story
teller and the pressures to which he/she is subjected. As revealed by this story,
responses to TAT pictures can be especially useful in understanding the
relationships and difficulties between a person and his or her parents.
When interpreting TAT stories, it is assumed that respondents project their own
needs, desires and conflicts into the stories and characters. Interpretation of the
stories is a fairly subjective, impressionistic process centering on an analysis of
the needs and personality of the main character (hero/heroin), who presumably
represents the examinee, and the environmental forces (press) impinging on the
main character.
The frequency, intensity and the duration of the story are all taken into the account
in the interpretation. The following TAT responses are considered indicative of
mental disorders of various kinds:
• slowness or delays in responding may indicate depression;
64
• stories by men that involved negative comments about women or affection Other Measures of
Personality
for other man may point to homosexuality;
• over cautiousness and preoccupation with details are suggestive of obsessive
compulsive disorder.
Although the usual methods of scoring and interpreting TAT stories are highly
impressionistic, scores determine by one of the more systematic procedures are
fairly reliable and can be interpreted in terms of norms based on standardisation
studies (Bellack, 1993). Asking a person to tell stories about pictures would also
seemed to have potentially greater validity than asking for responses for ink
blots. The content of TAT stories is influenced by the particular environmental
context in which the test is taken, and the test does not always differentiate between
normal and mentally disordered person (Eron, 1950),
The TAT has been used with a range of ethnic and chronological age groups, and
various modifications have been constructed for Blacks, children, and older adults.
4.4.2 Senior Apperception Technique (SAT)

The 16 stimulus pictures on this test, which was designed specifically for older
adults, reflect themes of loneliness, uselessness, illness, helplessness, and lowered
self-esteem, in addition to positive and happier situations. As in the case of the
Gerontological Apperception Test (Wolk and Wolk, 1971), a similar instrument,
responses to the pictures on the Senior Apperception Technique reflect serious
concerns over health, getting along with other people and being placed in a nursing
or retirement home. Both tests have been criticized for inadequate norms and
possible stereotyping of the elderly.
4.4.3 Children Apperception Test (CAT)

The Children’s Apperception Test (CAT) is a projective personality test used to
assess individual variations in children’s responses to standardised stimuli
presented in the form of pictures of animals in common social situations.
The main purpose of CAT is to assess personality, level of maturity, and, often,
psychological health of the children. The theory is that a child’s responses to a
series of drawings of animals in familiar situations are likely to reveal significant
aspects of a child’s personality. Some of these dimensions of personality include
level of reality testing and judgment, control and regulation of drives, defenses,
conflicts, and level of autonomy.
The CAT, developed by Bellak and Bellak (1949), is based on the adult Thematic
Apperception Test. The TAT, created by psychologist Henry A. Murray uses a
standard series of 31 picture cards in assessing perception of interpersonal
relationships. The cards, which portray humans in a variety of common situations,
are used to make children tell stories about relationships or social situations. The
obtained responses are analysed and the personality of the child is delineated
which may consist of dominant drives, emotions, sentiments, conflicts and
complexes. The examiner summarizes and interprets the stories in light of certain
common psychological themes.
In creating the original CAT, animal figures were used instead of the human
figures depicted in the TAT because it was assumed that children from three to
ten years of age would identify more easily with drawings of animals. 65
Assessment of Personality The original CAT consisted of ten cards depicting animal (CAT-A) figures in
human social settings. The Bellaks later developed the CAT-H, which included
human figures, for use in children who, for a variety of reasons, identified more
closely with human rather than animal figures. A supplement to the CAT (the
CAT-S), which included pictures of children in common family situations, was
created to elicit specific rather than universal responses.
Like the TAT and the Rorschach inkblot test, the CAT is a type of personality
assessment instrument known as a projective test. The term projective refers to a
concept originated by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s theory, unconscious motives
control much of human behaviour. Projection is a psychological mechanism by
which a person unconsciously projects inner feelings onto the external world,
then imagines those feelings are being expressed by the external world toward
him or herself.
As opposed to cognitive tests, which use intellectual and logical problems to

measure what an individual knows about the world, projective assessments such
as the CAT are designed to be open-ended and to encourage free expression of
thoughts and feelings, thereby revealing how an individual thinks and feels.
The CAT, which takes 20–45 minutes to administer, is conducted by a trained

professional, a psychologist, in a clinical, research, or educational setting. The
test may be used directly in therapy or as a play technique in other settings.
1) What do you mean by apperception?
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2) Describe the Thematic Apperception Test.
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3) What theory is TAT based on?
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66
Other Measures of
4) What are the other apperception tests available? Personality
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5) Discuss the Children Apperception Test.
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6) Discuss Senior Apperception Test.
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7) On what criteria are the stories interpreted on TAT cards?
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4.5 LET US SUM UP

Self-report assessment techniques are of two general types: single trait tests and
multidimensional tests. The former measure a particular aspect of personality,
while as the latter, measures several aspects of personality at once and thus
provides a more comprehensive assessment of the respondent’s make-up. The
MMPI, the most commonly used multi trait scale for diagnostic purpose. Self-
report are objective in that people have minimal freedom in responding to test
items and scoring procedures are not influenced by personal or theoretical bias.
Potential problems inherent in self-report tests include deliberate deception(faking
good or bad), social desirability bias, and response sets. Projective techniques,
like inkblot tests and apperception tests, attempt to probe unconscious aspects of
personality by having people project their feelings, needs, and values into their
67
Assessment of Personality interpretation of ambiguous stimuli. Such tests have less likelihood of respondent
deception and are sensitive to unconscious features of personality dynamics.
Apperception tests have been modified for elderly group as well as for children.

1) Discuss the relevance of MMPI-2 as a diagnostic tool.
2) What are the modifications done on TAT?
3) Give a comparative account of Rorschach with TAT.
4) Discuss the Apperception concept and the related tests.
5) What are the uses of Apperception Tests.
6) What are the unique features of Children’s Apperception Test?
4.7 GLOSSARY
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory : An objective test of personality
specifically designed to assist
psychologists in diagnosing various
disorders.
MMPI : A widely used objective test based on
empirical keying.
NEO Personality Inventory(NEO-PI) : An objective measure of personality
designed to assess individual’s
relative standing on each of the “big
five” dimensions of personality.
Rorschach Test : A widely used projective of
personality in which individuals are
asked to describe what they see in a
series of inkblots.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) : A psychological test used to assess
individual differences in several
different motives (e.g., achievement
motivation, power motivation).

Butcher, J.N. (1984). Current developments in MMPI use: An international
perspective .In J.N. Butcher & C. D. Speilberger (Eds.) Advances in personality
assessment (vol.4).Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum.
Butcher, J.N. & Keller, L.S.(1984).Objective personality assessment. In

G.Goldstein & M.Hersen (eds.),Handbook of psychological assessment. New
York: Pergamon Press.
References
Anastasi, A. (1968).Psychological testing. London: Macmillan Company.
Baron, R.A. (2005).Psychology. Pearson Education, Delhi, India.

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Ciccarelli, S.K.,& Meyer, G.E.(2009). Psychology. South Asian Edition. Pearson, Other Measures of
Personality
New Delhi.
Dahlstorm,W.G.,Welsh,G.S.& Dahlstorm,L.E.(1975).An MMPI handbook(vol.2).

Research applications. Minneapolis:University of of Minnesota Press.
Exner, J. E. (1993). The Rorschach: A comprehensive system: Vol. 1. Basic

foundations (3rd. ed.). New York : Wiley.
Gough, H.G. (1987). The California Psychological Inventory administrator’s

guide. Palo Alto,CA: Consulting Psychological Press.
Hathaway, S.R.& McKinley, J.C.(1943).Manual for the Minnesota Multiphase

Personality Inventory. New York: The Psychological Corporation.
Jackson, D. N. (1974).Jackson Personality Inventory Manual.Port Huron, MI:

Research Psychologists Press.
Kunce, J. T . & Anderson, W. P.(1984).Perspectives on uses of the MMPI in

non-psychiatric settings . In P. McReynolds & G.J.Chelune (eds.), Advances in
psychological assessment (vol. 6,pp. 41-76).San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Morgan, C.D.,& Murray, H. A. (1935).A method for investigating fantasies: The

thematic Apperception Test. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry,34,289-306.
Taylor, J. A. (1953).A personality scale of manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal

and Social Psychology, 48, 285-290.
Freeman, F.S.(1962). Theory and practice of psychological testing.New York:

Hjelle, L.A., Zieglar, D.J.(1992). Personality theories. Basic assumptions,

research, and applications.3rd ed.McGraw Hill.
Singh, A.K.(1997). Tests, measurements and research methods in behavioural

sciences. Bharti Bhawan, Patna.
69
Nature and Concept of Social
UNIT 1 NATURE AND CONCEPT OF Psychology and Social
Psychology Related to other
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND Disciplines
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
RELATED TO OTHER
DISCIPLINES
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Nature and Concept of Social Psychology
1.2.1 Social Psychology is Scientific in Nature
1.2.2 Social Psychology Studies the Experience and Behaviour of Individuals
1.2.3 Causes of Social Behaviour and Thought
1.3 Scope of Social Psychology

1.4 Historical Developments: The Emergence of Modern Social Psychology
1.4.1 Social Thought Before the Advent of Social Science
1.4.2 The Second Stage of Development: Social Psychology Emerges as a Discipline
1.4.3 People’s Psychology
1.4.4 Mass Psychology
1.4.5 The First Textbooks of Social Psychology
1.4.6 The Beginning of Experimental Research
1.4.7 Middle Range Theories
1.4.8 Historical Developments: Summary Table
1.5 Social Psychology and other Disciplines

1.5.1 Societal Level Analysis
1.5.2 Individual Level Analysis
1.5.3 Interpersonal Level Analysis
1.5.4 Amalgamation of Sociology and Psychology
1.6 Interdisciplinary versus Intradisciplinary Approaches to Social Psychology

1.6.1 Social Psychology and Sociology
1.6.2 Social Psychology and Anthropology
1.6.3 Social Psychology and Sociolinguistics
1.7 Let Us Sum Up

1.9 Glossary
“We can barely be distinguished from our social situations, for they form us
and decide our possibilities.” (Sartre, ) 5
Introduction to Social
Psychology 1.0 INTRODUCTION
Social psychology is the study of how people think about, influence and relate to
others. It emerged at the interface of psychology and sociology in the early 20th
century. While Psychology analyses the nature of humans, sociology analyses the
nature of society. Social psychology on the other hand, analyses the nature and
the relation of man to society. The sphere of social psychology is social and its
focus is individual. It is the study of individual in social situation. This social
situation can be person to person interaction, person to group interaction and a
group related to another group. A social psychologist uses scientific methods to
study how we perceive peoples and social events, how do we influence others
and get influenced, social relation and communication and group dynamics.
In this unit we will be dealing with definition and nature of social psychology,
scope of social psychology, historical perspective of social psychology, and social
psychology as related to other disciplines.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
l Define social psychology;

l Describe the nature and scope of social psychology;
l Trace the emergence and development of modern social psychology;
l Analyse the major contributors in the field; and
l Explain how is it related and differentiated from the other related disciplines
such as sociology, anthropology etc.
1.2 NATURE AND CONCEPT OF SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY
The last century witnessed the creation of new sciences and specialised branches
for specific needs together with the technological developments that have changed
the scenario of education and knowledge. New social realities generated new
problems. Social psychology came into existence at the time when the world was
undergoing a great upheaval. A significant number of facts in the fields of linguistics,
anthropology, ethnography and archaeology needed interpretation for various facts.
This need manifested itself in the development of two sciences regarded as the
parents of social psychology: psychology and sociology.
Societies manifest themselves through the activities of people, through

communication and interaction and in turn shape the behaviour of individuals. The
study of social psychology enable us to understand the dynamics of human behaviour
in social situations and what effects do these situations exert on individuals and
in what ways are these situations get changed by the behaviour of the individuals.
Social psychology intrudes social life by providing practical recommendations in
various areas. The practical needs of the discipline have been increased by the
increased demand for efficient management in the areas of industry, education,
health, mass communication system, struggle against anti-social behaviour, public
6 services and sports etc. In this unit we will discuss the concept and definition of
social psychology, its background and developments and its relation to other Nature and Concept of Social
social sciences. Floyd Allport (1924) has defined social psychology as “the Psychology and Social
scientific study of the experience and behaviour of individuals in relation to other Disciplines
individuals, groups and culture”. A similar definition by Gordon W. Allport (1968)
states that social psychology is a discipline “that attempts to understand and
explain how the thought, feeling and behaviour of an individual are influenced by
the actual, imagined or implied presence of others.”
The above definitions include the elements: scientific study, experience and behaviour,
individual, group and culture that throw light upon the nature of the discipline.
These elements are elaborated below:
1.2.1 Social Psychology is Scientific in Nature

Social psychology is scientific in its approach to the range of topics it deals. One
may find many common sense explanations and literary works that tell us about
interpersonal relations, love, jealousy, aggression, altruism (helping behaviour) and
the roles of individuals in groups. The difference lies in the approach that a social
psychologist adopts. It adopts scientific methods which we will discuss later but
in all the methods a three step basic process has been employed (McDavid and
Harari, 1994):
i) The collection of carefully made observations. Careful observation requires

gathering of information about issues and processes of interest, plus an attitude
of scepticism.
ii) The ordered integration of these observations and the statement of general
principles.
iii) The utilisation of these general principles to predict future observations.
As an example we can take this statement, “When people try to dismiss those
who ask the big public questions on being emotional, it is a strategy to avoid
debate.”1 How do we proceed to check the validity of the statement? First, we
have to see the big national or international issues, big in the sense they raise
problems of wider concern, like the displacement of inhabitants of a particular
place due to some projects. After this we will have to select a representative
sample population and get their opinions. How many people take it as a serious
or not so serious issue? What are the reasons for their opinions? After this a social
psychologist can analyse the causes that lie behind and the socio-psychological
mechanisms underlying it. What does it reveals about the nature of people and
how people think about the topics of wider social concern when they are not a
part of it or is there a difference when they themselves are affected?
1.2.2 Social Psychology Studies the Experience and

Behaviour of Individuals
Social psychologists typically explain human behaviour as a result of the interaction
of mental states and immediate social situations. In Kurt Lewin’s (1951) famous
heuristic formula, behaviour can be viewed as a function of the person and the
environment, B = f (P, E), i.e. behaviour is a function of person and environment.
Consider the following questions: Why do people help others? What is jealousy?
What are its main causes and effects?
7
Introduction to Social The first question is about the overt behaviour i.e. the behaviour that can be
Psychology directly observed. The second is about an emotional state. Social psychology
studies both the observable behaviours; and emotions and thoughts which cannot
be observed directly. For these behaviours the stimulus situation can be Individuals:
two person situation (dyadic)
Groups: Individual and collective organisations
Culture
“Social stimulus situation has some important capacities for change that non-
social social stimulus situation lacks” (Mc David and Harari 1995: 16). Social
stimulus situation and individual bear a reciprocal relation between them. Individuals
act as both “a respondent to as well as an active creator of the social situation”.
1.2.3 Causes of Social Behaviour and Thought

Social psychology studies the behaviour of individual as well as theorises about
the causes and factors that might lie behind a particular behaviour and phenomena.
The following five factors that affect social interaction have been most studied
(Baron and Byron 1995)
l The action and characteristics of others.

l Basic cognitive processes: memory, reasoning, belief, ideas, judgements about
others.
l Ecological Variables: direct and indirect influences of the physical environment
l The cultural context: cultural norms, membership in various groups.
l Biological aspects of human behaviour and genetic inheritance relevant to
social behaviour.
Social psychology focuses on understanding the causes of social behaviour and

on identifying factors that shape our feelings, behaviour and thought in social
situations. The basic assumption behind is: “Accurate and useful information about
even the most complex aspects of social behavior and social thought can be
acquired through the use of basic methods of science” (Baron & Byron 1995; 13).
Thus social psychology is the scientific study of behaviour of individuals in social

and cultural context. It explains and analyses the causes behind behaviours which
may be related to the one or more than one factors mentioned above.
1) Elucidate the nature and concept of social psychology.
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8
2) What are the areas of studies of social psychology?
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3) What are the causes of social behaviour and thought?
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1.3 SCOPE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Social psychology attempts to understand the relationship between minds, groups,
and behaviors in three general ways:
1) It tries to see how the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of individuals are
influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other(s). This includes
social perception, social interaction, and the many kinds of social influence (like
trust, power, and persuasion). It deals with questions like: How do small group
dynamics impact cognition and emotional states?
How do social groups control or contribute to behaviour, emotion, or attitudes

of the individual members?
How does the group impact the individual?
How does the individual operate within the social group?
It tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and behaviours

have upon the behaviour of groups. How does persuasion work to change
group behaviour, emotion or attitudes?
2) Second, it tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and

behaviours have upon the behaviour of groups. This includes looking at things
like group productivity in the workplace and group decision making. It looks
at questions like:
What are the reasons behind conformity, diversity, and deviance?
3) Third, and finally, social psychology tries to understand groups themselves as

behavioural entities, and the relationships and influences that one group has upon
another group. It asks questions like:
What makes some groups hostile to one another, and others neutral or civil?
Do groups behave in a different way than an individual outside the group?
In European textbooks there is also fourth level called the “ideological” level. It
studies the societal forces that influence the human psyche. 9
Psychology 1.4 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS: THE
EMERGENCE OF MODERN SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
To understand the contribution of social psychology and what is distinct about it,
we need to know its historical origins. The formation of pre-conditions of social
psychology is as a whole the same as the development of any other scientific
discipline. The socio-psychological ideas originally took shape within the realm of
philosophy and then gradually branched off from the system of psychological
knowledge. First we will briefly discuss the social thought before the advent of
social science and then discuss the second stage of the development of social
psychology which is deemed to be “more productive. Current trends of the
discipline will be discussed later in the Unit 4.
1.4.1 Social Thought Before the Advent of Social Science

Two earlier forms of social thought over the centuries are Platonic and Aristotelian.
Platonic thought emphasised the primacy of state over the individual who had to
be educated to become truly social.
Aristotelian thought states that human being is social by nature and nature can be
trusted to enable individuals to live together and to enter personal relationships
from which families, tribes and ultimately the state will naturally develop.
In modern times these two traditions of social thought have been known as socio
centred approach and individual centred approach. Socio centred approach
emphasises the determining function of social structures (systems, institutions and
groups) for individual experience and behaviour. According to the individual centred
approach social systems are said to be explicable in terms of individual processes
and functions. For Hegel (1970-1831), the German philosopher, the state is not
only the ultimate form of society but the incarnation of the objective social mind
of which individual minds are active participants. The notion of Group Mind
derived from Hegel’s supra-individual nature.
Social psychology from its beginning has been defined as the scientific study of
the individual in the social context. Individualism has been an inherent property of
the discipline. Individualistic doctrine says that all the explanations of individual
social phenomena are to be rejected unless they are expressed in terms of individual.
Individualism in psychology has been characterised and criticised for the self
centred denial of the other. Individualism has appeared in two forms in sociological
thought:
Hedonism: People act in order to secure and maintain pleasure and to avoid and
reduce pain.
Utilitarianism: The doctrine that advocates the pursuit of the greatest happiness of
the greatest number.
For most modern theories of conditioning and of motivation, the underlying ideas
of individual satisfaction (reinforcement, reward, reduction of stress, of dissonance,
uncertainty) are variations of the pleasure or utility principle. Utility and satisfaction
10 are important constructs involved in many social psychological theories.
From Machiavelli (1513) and Thomas Hobbes (1651) the concept of power and Nature and Concept of Social
its role in social relationships returned in social psychology. The concept of social Psychology and Social
power (social influence) found its proper frame of reference in the field theory and Disciplines
social exchange theory. In Lewinian field theory ‘power’ became the term for the
potential to influence others while control and influence refer to the power of
action. Research areas where power has been studied are: aggression, conformity
to group pressure and obedience to authority, and power in language.
Modern social psychology was also influenced by the developments in the nineteenth
century in two major areas: sociology and theory of evolution. We will discuss
these influences later under the titles: social psychology and other disciplines and
the influence of evolutionary theory will be discussed in current trends in social
psychology.
1.4.2 The Second Stage of Development: Social Psychology

Emerges as a Discipline
In the process of branching off from the psychology as a separate discipline, three
moments are important to be outlined (Galina Andreyeva 1990):
The requirement concerning the solution of socio-psychological problems which

aroused in various related sciences.
The processes involved in the separation of socio-psychological problems within

the two parent disciplines: psychology and sociology.
Finally, the description of the first forms of independent socio- psychological

knowledge.
In the mid 19th century, the first forms of socio-psychological theories that appeared,
three were most important in terms of their influence: people’s psychology, mass
psychology and the theory of instincts of social behaviour. These theories
developed in the background of philosophical and descriptive tradition, hence
their nature was speculative and abstract.
1.4.3 People’s Psychology

People’s psychology developed as one of the first forms of socio-psychological
theory in Germany in the mid 19th century. Most outstanding creators of people’s
psychology were Moritz Lazarus (1824-1903) and Heymann Steinthal (1823-
1893). In 1859 the journal People’s Psychology and Linguistics was founded
in which the article by Lazarus and Steinthal entitiled “Introductory Thoughts on
People’s Psychology” was printed. The article expressed the idea that the main
force of history is the people, or the ‘spirit of the whole’, which can be seen in
art, religion, language, myths, customs etc. The individual consciousness is only its
product, a link in a certain mental connection. The task of social psychology was
to perceive the psychological essence of the spirit of the people and discover the
laws that guide the spiritual activity of the people.
The views of Wilhem Wundt (1832-1920) furthered the development of People’s

psychology. Wundt (1900) proposed that psychology consists of two parts:
physiological psychology and people’s psychology (Völkerpsychologie: German
word for people’s psychology). Physiological psychology, in his views was an
11
Introduction to Social experimental discipline, but experimentation is not useful for the study of higher
Psychology mental processes: thinking and language. For the areas like language, myths,
customs and art people’s psychology need to adopt other methods.
The views proposed by Wundt were criticised by Vygotsky. People’s psychology

considered language, myths, customs, art and religion as objectives of study.
Vygotsky called these clots of ideology or crystals. The task of psychology he
proposed was not to study these crystals but the solution itself. He opposed the
thought that social psychology should study the mentality of collective personality.
The personality of the individual, he said, is also social and is therefore an object
of study in social psychology. Social psychology focuses on the mentality of the
separate individual and collective psychology – on personal psychology under
collective manifestation (e.g. army and church). Social psychology is the study of
cultural and historical determinati0on of mentality. Lev Vygotsky dealt with two
questions directly related to the development of social psychology. The higher
mental functions (arbitrary memory, active attention, abstract thinking and volitional
act) could not be considered immediate functions of the brain, roots of these
functions lie in social condition. He expounded upon the idea of cultural historical
determination of all mental processes.
1) What is the scope of social psychology?
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5) Discuss social psychology emerging as a discipline. Psychology and Social
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6) What is meant by people’s psychology? Discuss in the context emergence

of social psychology?
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1.4.4 Mass Psychology

This theory emerged in France in the latter half of the 19th century. The creators
of mass psychology Italian Lawyer Scipio Sighele (1868-1913) and French
sociologist Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931) began with Gabrial Trade’s (1843-
1904) basic ideas on the role of irrational movements in social behaviour and the
role of imitation. According to Le Bon any accumulation of people represented
the idea of the mass with depersonalisation and predominance of emotions over
intellect, the general loss of intellect and the loss of the sense personal responsibility.
The events like mass movements in the late 19th and early 20th century, rapid
social and economic changes due to industrialisation and urbanisation
wereconducive to mass psychology but like people’s psychology it did not develop
within the context of academic psychology. It did not have any significant
consequences as regards the future of social psychology.
1.4.5 The First Textbooks of Social Psychology

The year 1908 is considered to the year of final emergence of social psychology
as an independent scientific discipline. This year two books appeared with the title
social psychology: An Introduction to Social psychology by William McDougall
and the other Social Psychology by sociologist Edward A. Ross. Before these
two works in 1897, James Mark Baldwin’s work, Social and Ethical
Interpretation in Mental Development was published in New York which can
be considered as one of the first systematic manuals in social psychology.
According to E. A. Ross social psychology deals with uniformities in feeling,

belief, volition and action. Uniformities were to be explained by the capacities for
imitation and suggestion operating among individuals collectively. McDougall’s
theory proposed that inborn instincts are the cause of social behaviour. In his
views, tendencies of imitation and suggestion are rooted in their biological nature.
Imitation supposedly grew out of non-specific innate tendency, whereas suggestion
was seen stemming from an instinct to submit to a prestigious person or symbol.
In spite of great popularity of McDougall’s ideas, they played a negative role in

the history of science. Recognition of instincts as the motive force behind the
social behaviour gave importance to the irrational and unconscious motives. Human 13
Introduction to Social understanding and thought processes were not given much attention. The
Psychology
overcoming of the theory of instincts is deemed to be an important milestone in
the formation of scientific social psychology.
1.4.6 The Beginning of Experimental Research

The early 20th century especially the period after the First World War, is considered
the beginning of the metamorphosis of social psychology into an experimental
science. But the best known of the early laboratory study was Norman Triplett’s
1897 experiment on “the dynamogenic effects of pace making”. It was the first
study of an individual’s performance is affected by the presence of others.
The experimental investigations by Walter Moede in Europe and Floyd Allport in

US served as a milestone in this process. Allport compared the performance of
individuals working alone with that of the persons working either before an audience
or in the presence of others engaged in the same activity. He found that the latter
condition often improved performance. The phenomenon is known as the social
facilitation effect. In 1924 Allport published the first social psychology textbook
making extensive use of experimental research. This work encouraged the growth
of an experimentally oriented social psychology.
The next two decades (after Allport’s publication) were marked by systemic
investigations in the field in the areas such as the development of attitude measures,
social norms, aggression, leadership and social influence (conformity). Theodore
Newcomb (late 1930s) assessed the social and political attitudes held by college
students and demonstrated how their attitudes were modified by the views prevailing
at the college (Peer influence). Muzafer Sherif (1935) studied the nature and
impact of social norms- rules indicating how individuals ought to behave. In 1939,
Dollard, Doob and Miller demonstrated the relationship between frustration and
aggression. They concluded that frustration produces instigation to aggression.
Kurt Lewin, Lipitt and White (1939) carried out revealing research on the nature
of leadership and related group processes. The main attention began to be focused
on the small groups which facilitated experimental method.
From the earlier thoughts of group mind and depersonalisation, social psychological
theories at this period emphasised the overriding importance of the individual’s
thought and understanding. In 1948, a revolution got under way in social
psychology. Precursor to this change was the establishment of Research Centre
for Group Dynamics at MIT by eminent theorist Kurt Lewin. Kurt Lewin is often
referred to as the father of applied social psychology. Experimental works due
to the efforts of Kurt Lewin put social psychology as a science in a more
advantageous position. He believed that significant social problems can be
investigated in the laboratory with experimentation. He favoured the analyses
based on individual’s understanding of the situation surrounding him or her.
All the enthusiasm for experimental orientation stemmed from the need to provide
authentic knowledge about the real problems of society. But it was begun to be
realised that skillfully conducted laboratory research created a distance between
social reality and the topics under investigation. The social content from these
researches was taken away in the favour of experimentation. In the mid 20th
14 century, social psychology faced the problem of analysis of the enormous
experimental research by theoretical knowledge. The need for the proportional Nature and Concept of Social
development of two spheres of scientific knowledge – the theoretical and the
experimental was felt. 1950s and later, many psychologists contributed significantly Disciplines
by theoretical explanations in the areas such as conformity (Soloman Asch 1956,
1958), cognitive dissonance (Leon Festinger 1950, 1954, 1957) and attribution
theory (Fritz Heider, Herold Kelly and E. E. Jones). In this decade, social
psychology was brought closer to the cognitive psychology dealing with thought,
judgment and decision making.
1.4.7 Middle Range Theories

The need of theoretical explanation for the experimentations in the social
psychological areas gave birth to the theories specifically designed to be applied
in the areas of social psychological research.
The idea of creating “middle range theory” was first developed by Robert Merton.
Middle range theories are the theories that account for a specific aspect of social
behaviour and do not try to encompass all of social life. Social psychological
theories tend to be specific and focused, rather than global and general. The field
theory of Kurt Lewin is often considered a model of middle range theory. The
greater part of social psychological theories existing today (theories of frustration
aggression, changes of attitudes, cognitive dissonance, cooperation and competition
etc.) belong to the bracket of middle range theories. At present, the theories of
middle range are mostly concentrated around four trends: behaviourism,
psychoanalysis, cognitivism and interactionism. The theories from the vantage
point of behaviourism, psychoanalysis and cognitivism are the socio-psychological
variants of main stream psychological thought; and interactionism represents theories
mainly contributed by sociological perspective. Some characteristic attributes of
major psychological theories are tabulated below:
Table: Major Psychological Theories and their relationship to social psychology

(Source: McDavid & Harari, 1994: P.37)
Theory Relationship to Social Psychology

The Individual in Society
Psychoanalytic Model of man: Homo valence (the striving man). Man as
a creator of society, rather than its product.
Cognitive Homo Sapiens (the thinking man). Society is represented
in man’s experience as a part of his life space.
Behaviouristic Homo Mechanicus (the reactive man). Society provides a
set of stimulus conditions that operate as cues and
reinforcers for behaviour
Contributions to Scoial Psychology
Psychoanalytic Study of personality development and socialisation, cross
cultural comparison of child rearing, aggressive behaviour
and its roots, interpersonal identification and family
interaction.
Cognitive Studies of attitudes and values, language and thought, group
dynamics and action research.
15
Behaviouristic Experimental and theoretical, Study of socialisation, social
Psychology
reward and punishment.
Current Status in Social Psychology
Psychoanalytic Decreasing significance.
Cognitive Maintaining Stable significance. Increasing significance
Behaviouristic
Clark Leonard Hull’s (introduced the concept of intervening variables) . laboration

of the theory frustration-aggression of Norman Miller and John Dollard is the
major contribution of behaviourism to social psychology. Neobehaviourism seeks
to create a standard of scientific research in social psychology, involving thoroughly
developed laboratory experiments and Theodore W. Adorno’s The Authoritative
Personality (1959) is a good example of psychoanalytic contribution to social
psychology. Authoritarian personality describes a cluster of traits that predispose
individuals towards acceptance of extreme political ideologies such as Nazism.
Cognitivism in social psychology began with Gestalt psychology and the field
theory of Kurt Lewin. The examination of social behaviour from the point of view
of cognitive processes of the individual is its basic principle. The theory of cognitive
balance states that main motivating factor of individual behaviour is the demand
for the establishment of a balance of his cognitive structure.
The theory of balanced structures by Fritz Heider, the theory of communicative

acts by Theodore Newcomb, the theory of cognitive dissonance by Leon Festinger
and the theory of congruence by C. E. Osgood and Tannenbaum all relate to the
theory of cognitive balance. Cognitivism emphasised the role of humanisation in
social psychology, underlining the role and the significance of mental formations
in explaining the social behaviour of the individual. Interactionism includes George
Herbert Mead’s work on the theory of symbolic interactionism.
However in contemporary social psychology interactionism include not only the

development of Mead’s ideas, but also a group of different theories combined
under the one name, namely role theory and reference group theory. In all theories,
an attempt is made to establish the social determinants of human behaviour, by
introducing a key concept of interactionism within which the personality is shaped.
However the analysis of social determinants of behaviour is reduced to the statement
of interaction. Therefore, the logical nature of the interactionist orientation proves
to be, to a significant degree external. The fundamental methodological problems
of socio-psychological knowledge remain unresolved.
1.4.8 Historical Developments: Summary Table

Table: Summary table of Historical development of social psychology
Periods Major Trends

The Early years: Social behaviour stems from innate tendencies or instincts.
1908 – 1939 Floyd Allport (1924): Social Facilitation Effect; emphasized
McDougall (1908): the value of experimentation. Sherif (1935): Social norms
and conformity. Kurt Lewin et al (1939): Leadership
16 and related group processes.
Social Psychology: Expansion of Scope: every aspect of social behaviour Nature and Concept of Social
The Youth: included in the research; 1948: a revolution got under Psychology Related to other
1940s – 1960s way favouring the concept of human behaviour as Disciplines
thoughtful and purposive rather than guided by instincts,
Kurt Lewin: Experimental works due to the efforts of
Kurt Lewin put social psychology as a science in a
more advantageous position 1960s: fully came off age.
Study of the influence of groups and group membership
on individual behaviour, relation between personality traits
and social behaviour. Leon Festinger (1957): the theory
of cognitive dissonance.
A Maturing Field: Rapid pace change of the last decade accelerated. New
1970s and 1980s topics and perspectives emerge: Attribution (How to
infer the causes of other’s behaviours), gender differences
and environmental psychology, growing influence of
cognitive perspective and growing emphasis on
application (personal health, legal processes, work
settings, education and population studies)
1990s and beyond Two major trends from the past decade continued,
namely, growing influence of cognitive perspective and
increasing interest in application. The study of affective
states in determining social behaviour gained impetus;
Multicultural perspective: the study of universal and
cultural social behaviours.
Current Trends Evolutionary social psychology, the changing world,
technology and human social behaviour, Neurocognitive
perspective and social behaviour.
1) What is Mass psychology? Explain with examples.
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Introduction to Social 4) What are middle range theories? Explain
Psychology
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1.5 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND OTHER

DISCIPLINES
In the broadest terms, the central task of social psychology is the systematic study
of the relation between the individual and the collective phenomena. This daunting
task overlaps with that of other social sciences. Many scholarly fields study social
behaviour, viz., sociology, anthropology, economics, political science and
sociolinguistics. The social psychological approach differs from disciplines that
study large scale societal problems and from those that focus on the individual.
Social psychology is delineated from the other areas of social study by both its
method and its approach. There is some overlapping and sharing with other
discipline in terms of theories and content.
Three levels of analysis
Three different levels of analysis have been recognised which tell us about the
differences in the approach of various social sciences.
1.5.1 Societal Level Analysis

The goal of societal analysis is to identify links between broad social forces and
general patterns of social behaviours. Social behaviour from this viewpoint is
explained by factors like economic hard times, class conflicts etc. This analytical
approach is adopted by sociologists, economists and political scientists. These
scholars attempt to understand general patterns of social behaviours, such as
homicide rates, voting behaviours and consumer spending. To study violence in
urban areas, social scientists might identify relationships between rates of crime
and factors such as poverty, immigration or industrialisation.
1.5.2 Individual Level Analysis

This level of analysis is used by clinical and personality psychologists who explain
behaviour in terms of a person’s unique personality characteristics and life history.
According to this viewpoint, with the help of personality traits and motives the
reasons of people’s behaviour can be explained. Individual differences in childhood
experiences, ability, motivation and personality are emphasised. At this level of
analysis, violent crimes will be explained in terms of unique histories and
18 characteristics of the criminal.
1.5.3 Interpersonal Level Analysis Nature and Concept of Social
The focus of a social psychologist lies on a person’s current social situation. The Psychology Related to other
constituents of social situation are— the other people, their attitudes and behaviours Disciplines
and their relationship to the individual. This emphasis is based on the idea, ‘change
the social context, individual will change’. To understand the violent crime, social
psychologist might consider the inter-personal relations. One social explanation
suggests that frustrating situations make people angry and increase their tendency
to act aggressively.
1.5.4 Amalgamation of Sociology and Psychology

It borrows and uses concepts from both the disciplines: psychology and sociology.
For a sociologist, the basic unit of analysis is the social system (groups, institutions,
cultures, families etc). For a psychologist, the basic unit of analysis is the individual.
But, individual and social system cannot be studied without the reference to either
of these. As one is contained in the other, and the existence of the other is nothing
without the first. It is difficult and even incomplete if one is explained without the
other. The difference may lie in the angle of approach, the purpose and the focus
of study. Various views gave birth to two forms of social psychology: psychological
social psychology and sociological social psychology. From the sociological point
of view social psychology is the study of mass phenomena of psyche, the
psychology of classes and large social groups, elements of group mentality
(traditions, morals, customs etc.). The psychological social psychology puts
individual at the centre and focuses at the mental peculiarities of the individual
(personality typology) and the position of individual in the collective. Briefly these
can be defined as:
Psychological Social Psychology (PSP): Emphasis upon subject’s mental processes,

dispositions, experiences and immediate social situation.
Sociological Social Psychology (SSP): Emphasis upon subject’s place in social

order, their socialised roles and historical social context.
Another approach emphasises the synthesis of both. According to this point of

view social psychology is a science that studies both the mass mental phenomenon
and the position of an individual in a group. It includes the study of social psychology
of the individual, communities and communication, social relations and the forms
of cultural activities.
1) Discuss social psychology as related to other disciplines.
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psychology.
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1.6 INTERDISCIPLINARY VS.

INTRADISCIPLINARY APPROACHES
TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
The interdisciplinary approach emphasises the incorporation of significant elements
from various disciplines. This incorporation can be found more at the level of
content from the diverse disciplines especially sociology. Intradisciplinary approach
conceptualises social psychology as a specialty branch within the discipline of
psychology. This approach defines both the problems and phenomena together
with its method. A psychologist maintains his investigative focus on the individual
against a background of contextual factors. From the intradisciplinary perspective,
social psychology is defined as the psychological study of the individual related
to the social system. Thus social psychological phenomena can be explained on
at least four levels as given below:
l Personal attributes
20 l Actual situations in which the psychological phenomena is studied

l Reference to the people’s social position Nature and Concept of Social
l The ideologies and belief systems to which they adhere. Psychology Related to other
Disciplines
If one looks at the recent developments, one may find that all of them transcend
a narrow definition of social psychology, all of them require that their proponents
be versed in one or more neighbouring disciplines, above all sociology and cognitive
psychology together with anthropology, political science, philosophy and linguistics.
All of them contribute to the intellectual vitality of the field in all its branches.
Whether the debate among them will lead to a more unified social psychology or
to a greater separateness only the time will tell. Here, we will briefly discuss the
relation of social psychology to sociology, anthropology and sociolinguistics.
1.6.1 Social Psychology and Sociology

Sociology is defined as the study of society. Sociology is the social science
dealing with social system and structures, relationships, institutes and entire societies.
The emergence of sociology in the nineteenth century greatly contributed to the
development of social psychology. John Stuart Mill, Auguste Comte and others
laid the foundation for social psychology by asserting that human social cognition
and behaviour could and should be studied scientifically like any other natural
science. A sociologist begins with the domain of society and works towards the
individual while the social psychologist reverses the order. As far as social
psychology is concerned it is sometimes difficult to demarcate it from social
psychology with a sharp line as both the disciplines invest most of their resources
in the ambiguous middle ground. Social psychology exchanges freely ideas, methods
and models with sociology. In fact this exchange is so rich and ubiquitous that it
is often difficult to distinguish the two fields. Being the study of individual in a
society, the vantage point of social psychology is more prone to the individual and
the experimental method. But with the expanding application, social psychology
is adopting the other methods like ethnography and qualitative research more
popular with the domain of sociology.
1.6.2 Social Psychology and Anthropology

Broadly considered as to be the scientific study of human beings, Anthropology
originated as a discipline in the Darwinian revolution of the middle of the nineteenth
century. Underpinning all the anthropological works is the concern of mapping
human variation (biological, behavioural and cultural) and to explain, interpret and
understand the directions in the development of human behaviour. The main topics
of investigation are primitive societies, cultural relativism, unity of human species,
human diversity and human evolution. Social psychology can make good use of
the theories about cultures and societies which might assist in the explanation of
the individual behaviour in a particular society. Anthropology can give a clear
picture of the cultural and social context to a social psychologist.
1.6.3 Social Psychology and Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics includes the areas of study which connects language with society.
The discipline uses theories and methods from diverse field like psychology,
sociology and anthropology to understand language in societies. Sociolinguistics
is centrally concerned with methodology. It is firmly based on the observation of
actual, preferably spontaneous speech behaviour. The studies within this field have
contributed in terms of understanding language uses and behaviours of peoples in 21
Introduction to Social society. The study of language contributes not only in terms of language behaviours
Psychology but the rich data helps in building theories. The field of sociolinguistics equally
borrows theories from social psychology to draw inferences about behaviours
from the linguistic data.
1) How are interdisciplinary and Intradisciplinary approaches different?
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2) Discuss the relationship between sociology and social psychology
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3) Elucidate the relationship between social psychology and anthropology.
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4) What is the relationship between social psychology and sociolinguistics?
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1.7 LET US SUM UP

Social psychology is the scientific study of the experience and behaviour of
individuals in relation to other individuals, group and culture. Social psychology
theorises about the causes and factors behind a particular behaviour and phenomena
these can be action and characteristics of others, basic cognitive processes: memory,
reasoning, belief, ideas, judgements about others, ecological variables: direct and
indirect influences of the physical environment, cultural context: cultural norms,
membership in various groups and biological aspects of human behaviour and
genetic inheritance relevant to social behaviour.
The socio-psychological ideas originally took shape within the realm of philosophy
and then gradually branched off from the system of psychological knowledge. The
22 first forms of socio-psychological were most: people’s psychology, mass psychology
and the theory of instincts of social behaviour. Experimental works due to the Nature and Concept of Social
efforts of Kurt Lewin put social psychology as a science in a more advantageous Psychology Related to other
position. At present, the field witnessed the growing influence of cognitive Disciplines
perspective and increasing interest in application.
The social psychological approach differs from disciplines that study large scale
societal problems and from those that focus on the individual.

1) Define Social psychology. Discuss its nature and scope.
2) Write a note on the social thought before the advent of social psychology.
3) “A revolution got under way favouring the concept of human behaviour as

thoughtful and purposive rather than guided by instincts.” In the light of the
statement explain the developments in the field of social psychology.
4) What are the three levels of analysis in social sciences? Which level of analysis
would you relate to the social psychology?
5) What is the difference between the psychological social psychology and

sociological social psychology?
6) Discuss the relation of social psychology with other social sciences.
7) What do you understand by the interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary approach?
1.9 GLOSSARY
Social psychology : Social psychology is the scientific study of the
experience and behaviour of individuals in relation
to other individuals, group and culture.
Hedonism : People act in order to secure and maintain pleasure

and avoid and reduce pain.
Utilitarianism : The doctrine that advocates the pursuit of the

greatest happiness of the greatest number.
People’s psychology : The main force of history is the people, or the

‘spirit of the whole’which can be seen in art,
religion, language, myths, customs etc. The
individual consciousness is only its product, a link
in a certain mental connection.
Mass psychology : Emphasised the role of irrational movements in

social behaviour and the role of imitation. Any
accumulation of people represented the idea of
the mass with depersonalisation and predominance
of emotions over intellect, the general loss of
intellect and the loss of the sense personal
responsibility.
23
Introduction to Social Middle range theories : The theories that account for a specific aspect of
Psychology social behaviour and do not try to encompass all
of social life. Social psychological theories tend to
be specific and focused, rather than global and
general.
Societal analysis : To identify links between broad social forces and

general patterns of social behaviours.
Individual level of : Used by clinical and personality psychologists who

analysis explain behaviour in terms of a person’s unique
personality characteristics and life history
Interpersonal level : The focus of a social psychologist lies on a person’s

of analysis current social situation. The constituents of social
situation are- the other people, their attitudes and
behaviours and their relationship to the individual.
1.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND

REFERENCES
Baron, R. A. and Byrne, D. (1997). Social Psychology, 8th edition. Boston,
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Myers, D. G. (2010) Social Psychology (10th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
References
Andreyeva, Galina (1990) Social Psychology. Prgress Publication: Moscow
Berkowitz, L. (1986) A Survey of Social Psychology. CBS Publishing: New
York
Outhwaite, W. (ed.) (2006) Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought.
Blackwell Publishing
Feldman, R. S. (1985) Social Psychology: Theories, Research and Applications.
McGrawhill Book Company : New York
Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W. & Jonas, K. (Eds.). (2007) Introduction to Social
Psychology: A European Perspective (4th ed.). London: Blackwell.
McDavid, J. M. & Harari, H. (1994) Social Psychology: Individuals, Groups
& Societies. CBS Publishers: New Delhi
Taylor, S. E., Peplau, A. L., & Sears, D. O. (2006) Social Psychology (12th
ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Arundhati Roy (2002) Development Nationalism, in conversation with David
Barsamian, Nov 2002. In The Shape of the Beast 2009, Penguin India
24
Social Cognition:
UNIT 2 SOCIAL COGNITION: Attribution Theory
ATTRIBUTION THEORY
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Person Perception and Social Cognition
2.3 Cognitive Algebra: Additive and Averaging Models
2.4 Impression Formation
2.4.1 Schemas: Holding our Impressions Together
2.4.2 Prototypes
2.5 Attribution: Explaining the Causes of Behaviour

2.5.1 Situational vs. Dispositional Causes
2.5.2 Covariation Principle
2.5.3 From Acts to Dispositions
2.6 Errors in Attribution

2.6.1 The Fundamental Attribution Error
2.6.2 Halo Effects: Assuming Consistency within a Person
2.7 The Person : Positivity Bias: Looking for the Good in Others
2.7.1 Assumptions of Similarity
2.7.2 Attribution Theory and its Applicability in Education
2.7.3 Additional Concepts Related to Attribution Theory
2.8 Understanding One’s Own Behaviour

2.8.1 Social Comparison: Using others to Understand Oneself
2.8.2 Knowing Our Emotions
2.8.3 Bem’s Self-Perception Theory
2.9 Let Us Sum Up

2.11 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
The way in which people come to an understanding of both others and themselves
has been a major focus of study for social psychologists. The topic is critical for
an understanding of social behaviour because how people process information
and make judgments of others and how they explain the causes of behaviour have
an important influence on their own behaviour. Moreover, as you will see in this
unit, social psychologists have found that learning how people understand their
own and others’ behaviour provides a clear basis for solving a variety of everyday 25
Introduction to Social problems ranging from insomnia to poor school performance. This unit is focused
Psychology on the process of understanding and evaluating others. We will first discuss
person perception and social cognition: how people make sense of information
they have about an individual to form an overall impression and how that information
is stored and organised in memory. Next, we will discuss attribution theory which
encompasses how people explain the causes of both their own and others’
behaviour.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
l Define person perception;

l Explain the various factors contributing to person perception;
l Define social cognition;
l Describe the characteristic features of social cognition;
l Explain impression formation;
l Describe the factors contributing to impression formation;
l Expalin attribution theory; and
l Analyse the various types of errors in attribution.
2.2 PERSON PERCEPTION AND SOCIAL

COGNITION
In an early study on person perception Harold Kelly (1950) gave a group to
students one of two descriptions of a lecturer whom they had never met, and then
had the lecturer lead a discussion. In one case, students were told that the lecturer
was a rather warm person, industrious, critical, practical and determined. But in
a second condition, a group of students was told that the same lecturer was “a
rather cold person, industrious, critical, practical and determined.” The crucial
difference was the substitution of the word cold for warm in the second description.
You may be surprised to learn that the substitution made a drastic change in the
way the lecturer was viewed in the two conditions. Students who were told that
the lecturer was cold rated him far less positively after the discussion than those
who were told that he was warm, although the behaviour of the lecturer was
invariant across the two conditions.
The Kelley experiment, now considered a classic, illustrates an early view of

person perception, which concentrated on the way in which individuals focus on
particular traits when forming overall impressions of others. According to this
perspective, certain traits play an unusually large role in determining a general
impression. These traits are known as central traits. Central traits serve to
organise the impression and provide a framework for interpreting information that
is received subsequently. Solomon Asch (1946) suggested that the meaning of
additional descriptive traits is altered by the presence of a central trait. Thus the
word “determined” when describing and individual means something very different,
depending upon whether it is preceded by the word “warm” or “cold”
26
Social Cognition:
2.3 COGNITIVE ALGEBRA: ADDITIVE AND Attribution Theory
AVERAGING MODELS
More precise models were suggested for impression formation. Two of these are:
Additive and averaging models.
i) The additive model (Anderson 1965) suggests that we simply add together
the bits of information we have about a person to form a judgment. For example,
if we learn that a new acquaintance is adventurous, bold and caring, we simply
assign each one a value on some hypothetical scale and add them together. If,
for instance, one rates adventurousness as 4; boldness as 5, and caring as 9 (on
an 11 point scale) the overall impression will be expressed in mathematical terms
as 4+5+9 =18. A consequence of such a model is that the inclusion of more
positive traits on a list will lead to a more positive impression.
ii) The averaging model (Anderson, 1974) on the other hand suggests that
although we start in the same way there is an additional step in which we
divide by the number of traits to form and average. (Hence, we get 4+5+9=18
/3 = 6). What is particularly important about this model is that the inclusion
of additional information does not necessarily make the impression more
positive, rather, it depends on the nature of the new traits. Hence, if we learn
that the person is also neat and we scale neat as a 2, the overall impression
drops: (4+5+9+2)=20/4=5. In contrast, a model employing addition would
suggest that additional information would result in a more positive impression.
Of these two models averaging model has shown accurate predictions. But
applicability of such research in actual social situations has been questioned. First
people are restricted to a small finite set of trait when evaluating other parsons;
secondly the richness of social information is neglected. Despite such limitations,
research on impression formation has provided important insights into how
information about people is processed and combined.
1) Discuss person perception and social cognition.
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2) What is cognitive algebra?
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Psychology
3) Explain the additive and average model in person perception.
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2.4 IMPRESSION FORMATION

In a classic study Luchins (1957) gave subjects a two paragraph description of
a boy named Jim. One paragraph Jim walking to school with others and
participating in a member of other activities. In short he was portrayed as an
extrovert. In the second paragraph, the activities described were similar but Jim
did them all alone, thus appearing introvert. Subjects were presented with the two
paragraphs, but the order was reversed according to condition. When asked to
form an overall impression of Jim subjects’ responses demonstrated a strong
primacy effect. Primacy effect refers to the condition in which early information
has a stronger impact than later information. If subject had read the extrovert
paragraph first, they found them considerably more extraverted than if they had
read the introvert paragraph first, and vice versa. More recent work confirms that
indeed early information is weighted more heavily than later information. This
holds true even when the later information is very salient and clearly contradicts
earlier information.
On the other hand recency effects, in which later information is given more
credence than early information, have been reliably produced under three sorts of
conditions. First, when people are asked specifically to make a second evaluation
following the presentation of new information, late information takes on more
importance than earlier information. Second, if there is a relatively large time span
between the presentation of new information and the initial exposure, recency
effects are likely to occur. Finally, later information is given heavier weight if the
task is one which people assume that practice might improve performance.
2.4.1 Schemas: Holding our Impressions Together

Given the diversity of people and settings that one encounters passing through
everyday life, we might suspect that people could easily become overwhelmed
with the sheer quantity of information relating to what others are like. To avoid
becoming overwhelmed, people need to organise their impressions of others. The
way that they are able to do this is through the production of schemas. Schemas
are organised bodies of information stored in memory. The information in a schema
provides a representation of the way in which social world operates as well as
allowing us to categorise and interpret new information related to the schema.
We all hold schemas relating to everyday objects in our environment. We might,

for instance, hold a schema for automobiles –we have an idea of what they look
like, how they are used, what they can do for us and how to differentiate them
from other vehicles such as buses and horse and buggy. More importantly, from
a social psychological point of view we hold a schema for particular people (one’s
mother, girlfriend, boyfriend, brother, or sister) and of classes of people playing
a given role (mail carriers, teachers, or librarians). Each of these schemas provides
28
a way of organising behaviour into meaningful wholes.
2.4.2 Prototypes Social Cognition:
Attribution Theory
The personality types that we derive in the case of person perception are organised
into schemas known as prototypes. Prototypes are schemas that organise a
group of personality traits into a meaningful personality type. For example, Nancy
cantor and walter Mischel (1979) suggest a frequently held prototype concerns
a person labeled on a general level as committed.
At the most specific level called the subordinate level— the prototype consists of
different types of committed individuals for example monks, nuns and activists. At
the middle level of specificity, there are basic classes of individuals: the religious
devotee or social activist. The subordinate and middle levels of specificity are
subsumed under the broader super ordinate level which encompasses the prototype
as a whole.
The importance of prototypes lies in three directions:
i) Prototypes allow people to recall more readily, recognise and categorise

information about others. In a sense then information processing capabilities are
enhanced through the use of prototypes.
ii) Prototypes help us to organise the social world around us. By observing relatively
few traits or behaviours, we are able to categorise people into certain prototypes
and this in turn allows us to form expectations about others’ behaviours.
iii) Prototypes allow people to plan behaviour in social interactions more readily.
1) Define Impression formation.
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2) What are the factors that contribute to impression formation?
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3) What are schemas? How do they hold our impressions together?
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Psychology 4) Define prototype and indicate their role in impression formation.
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2.5 ATTRIBUTION: EXPLAINING THE

CAUSES OF BEHAVIOUR
We turn now to an examination of how people observe behaviour and draw
inferences about what motivates behaviour. The process of attribution— an
individual’s understanding of the reasons behind peoples’ behaviour. Attribution
theory is concerned with how individuals interpret events and how this relates to
their thinking and behaviour. Heider (1958) was the first to propose a psychological
theory of attribution, but Weiner and colleagues (e.g., Jones et al, 1972; Weiner,
1974, 1986) developed a theoretical framework that has become a major research
paradigm of social psychology.
2.5.1 Situational vs. Dispositional Causes

Behaviour will be attributed to an external cause when external reasons are more
likely or plausible. Conversely behaviour will be attributed to dispositional factor
when external causes are unlikely. In an experimental demonstration of this
phenomenon, Jones, Gergen and Davis (1961) asked subjects to rate the
personality of a job applicant who presented himself as either having or not having
the characteristics that were a prerequisite for the job. Subjects were confident
about assessing the candidate’s true personality only when the candidate had
displayed traits that were contrary to ones related to the job requirements.
2.5.2 Covariation Principle

To describe the general process people use to explain behaviour, Harold Kelley
(1967) has introduced the principle of covariation. Kelley suggests that there are
many possible cause and effect relationships inherent in a situation that provides
a possible explanation for a behaviour. We try to analyse these relationships in
order to pinpoint a particular cause for a behavior. The covariation principle states
that the cause that will be chosen to explain an effect is a cause that is present
when the effect is present, and absent when the effect is also absent.
According to the covariation principle, an observer can use one of three specific
types of causes to explain an effect:
The actor — the individual who is demonstrating the behaviour.
The entity— the target person or thing at which the behaviour is directed.
The circumstances- the setting under which the behavior accurse.
But how do we know which explanation would be correct? According to Kelley

we consider three different kinds of information to figure out the answer.
30
Consensus: is the degree to which other people react similarly in the same Social Cognition:
situation. Attribution Theory
Consistency: is the degree to which the actor behaves the same way in other
situations.
Distinctiveness: refers to the extent to which the same behaviour occurs in

relation to other people or stimuli.
Table: Summary information patterns for the three attributions
Attribution Information Pattern

Consensus Distinctiveness Consistency
Object High High High
Entity Low Low High
Circumstances Low High Low
Kelley suggests that we make attribution either to dispositional factors (something

about the person) or the situational factors (something about the target person
or the particular circumstances). Research concerning these predictions has largely
been supportive of Kelley’s theory. Moreover, even when some of the sources
of information are absent, people still make causal inferences similar to the ones
predicted by Kelley. On the other hand some evidence suggests that an important
restriction must be placed on Kelley theory. Sillars (1982) argues that although
the theory of causal attributions holds up when people are presented with concrete
explicit information about consensus, distinctiveness and consistency, it does not
work quite so well when people must infer the information on their own.
2.5.3 From Acts to Dispositions

Edward Goner and Keith Davies (1965) have produced an attribution theory that
tells how a person’s behaviour can be used to make inferences about his personality
and motive behind his behaviour. The theory examines correspondent inferences,
observers’ ideas of how closely and overt behaviour or action represents a specific
underlying intention trait or dispositions. The more behaviour appears to reflect
the underlying disposition, the greater the correspondence between these two
factors is.
According to Jones and Davis we learn the most from behaviours of others that
lead to non common effects. It is assumed that any behaviour leads to some set
of consequences but that the behaviour which are most helpful in forming
correspondent inferences are those resulting in consequences or effects that
alternative behaviorus would not have produced.
Another factor that colors the kind of attributions we make, and the confidence
with which we hold them is the social desirability of an action. Generally, the
greater the social desirability of an action or behaviour the more difficult it will be
to draw a correspondent inference between act and disposition.
The Jones and Davis theory considers a somewhat different aspect of the attribution
process than Kelley model of causal attribution. Kelley’s model focuses on the
general direction from which to draw an explanation — dispositional versus
situational causes; Jones and Davis theory of correspondent inference provides 31
Introduction to Social identification of the particular characteristics and traits that underlie behaviour
Psychology when dispositional attribution is made. Kelly’s theory has an important advantage
that it considers behaviour over an extended period of time (consistency
information) whereas Jones and Davis do not take such information into account.
Thus neither theory alone is able to provide a complete account of the attribution
process.
Both theories do agree that people are logical, rational processors of information
a view disputed by some other theorists. These theorists state that very often
people are in state of mindlessness in which they simply do not think about what
they are doing. People often rely on well learned patterns of behaviour that allow
them to move through their daily activities. These patterns are called scripts.
These scripts are used more for mundane and commonplace activities.
1) Define Attribution.
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2) Howe will you use attribution to explain the causes of behaviour?
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3) What are situational and dispositional causes?
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4) Elucidate the Covariation principle
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5) How will use behaviour to understand what others are like?
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Social Cognition:
2.6 ERRORS IN ATTRIBUTION Attribution Theory
The basic attribution processes that we have discussed have been supported in
many studies. The theories underlying these studies are similar in that they all paint
a picture of human beings as thoughtful and systematic processors of information.
On the other hand, people are distinctiveness psychologist that Fritz Heider
described is susceptible to error. We turn now to some of the most frequent
pitfalls.
2.6.1 The Fundamental Attribution Error

When we see someone acting friendly toward another person, our inclination is
to assume that he or she is in fact friendly and outgoing yet that person may think
of himself or herself as introverted and shy and attribute his or her friendliness to
something about the situation such as earlier gregarious behaviour on the part of
the person the whom he or she is acting friendly.
The situation exemplifies fundamental attribution bias. It is called fundamental

because of its pervasiveness; whereby people, when acting as raters of others,
tend to attribute the behaviour they view as indicative of stable trait dispositions
but when acing as self relaters tend to perceive their own behaviour as more
affected by specifies situational influences.
Why we are apt to characterise others’ behaviour as due to dispositional causes

yet see our own as a reflection of the situation? Part of the explanation relates to
the nature of information that is available to us. When we view that behaviour of
others, the information that is most perceptually salient is that which comes from
the individual; typically, the environment is static and unchanging, while the person
moves about— making the person the focus of attention. In contrast to people
observing their own behaviour, any change in the environment is going to be most
salient, and thus they are more likely to employ environmental, situational
explanations.
An alternative explanation for the fundamental attribution error stems from people’s
desire to interact effectively with others. According to this view, observers increase
their understanding and ability to make predictions about the world by differentially
attending to the situation or person, depending on whether they are rating another
person or themselves. For the observer, knowing the internal dispositions of
others increases predictability of another’s behaviour, causing observers of others
to focus on those dispositions. In contrast understanding and predictability regarding
appropriate behavior for people considering their own behaviour are apt to be
enhanced through attention, not to themselves, but to the environment; therefore,
situational factors will be attended to more carefully.
The fundamental attribution error has important applications but sometimes it may
ever affect interpersonal relations negatively.
2.6.2 Halo Effects: Assuming Consistency within a Person

The halo effect is the phenomenon in which the initial familiarity that a person has
positive traits is used to infer other uniformly positive characteristics. (The converse
is also true; observation of a single negative trait can be used to infer the existence
of uniformly negative traits.) For example, finding that a person is friendly and 33
Introduction to Social clearheaded may lead us to believe that he is also helpful and sociable. Although
Psychology this may be true, it is not necessarily the case. Our assumption that good traits
are found together reflects out implicit personality theory, which is people’s notion
of what traits are found together in an individual. The halo effect is sometimes
seen in media portrayals of various prominent figures.
1) Explain errors in attribution.
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2) What are the fundamental attribution errors?
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3) Discuss Halo effects.
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4) What is meant by assuming consistency within a person?
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2.7 THE PERSON – POSITIVITY BIAS:

LOOKING FOR THE GOOD IN OTHERS
This bias, which has been shown to apply to a wide range of situations, reflects
the tendency to rate others in a predominantly positive way. Persons in experiments
tend to elicit positive ratings and people tend to over attribute good outcomes to
internal causes and bad outcomes to external causes. Public figures are usually
evaluated positively. People have a tendency to view others positively. Why
should this be the case? One Simple explanation is that a Pollyanna principle
operates to color out perceptions (Marlin & sting, 1978). According to this view
we enjoy being surrounded by a pleasant world and thus we hope a propensity
to view people through rose colored glasses. This argument would be compelling
34
except that there are limitations to the person possibility bias. Not every person Social Cognition:
or social entity is rated favorably. Attribution Theory
David sears (1982) suggests that the reason for the positivist bias is that observers
develop an extra degree of positive regard for individuals who are being evaluated
which they do not develop when rating groups of people, even if the groups are
made up of people who as individuals are evaluated positively. For example,
examination of student ratings of instructor shows that college professors receive
more favourable ratings as individuals than when they are rated in groups and
college professors are rated more highly than the courses they teach.
It seems that we tend to relax our evaluation standards a bit when making ratings
of individual human beings, but become stricter as soon as the ratings shift away
from the individual. Why should this be so? Sears suggests that this tendency is
related to perceived similarity. When evaluating another person we tend to assume
that he or she is similar to ourselves and we are motivated to rate him or her more
positively.
2.7.1 Assumptions of Similarity

As we have indicated, people not only rate in a generally positive way but they
tend to assume that others are similar to themselves. This predisposition is known
as the assumed similarity bias. It is particularly pronounced when obvious features
such as sex and race are similar, but can even occur when there are overt
differences between rater and ratee.
This phenomenon can lead to misperception of other people’s personalities if they

are in fact dissimilar to that of the rater. On the other hand, the assumed similarity
bias can actually lead raters to appear to make very accurate judgments if the
others actually are similar not because the raters are unusually astute but simply
because they are categorising the others as similar to themselves. In some cases,
attribution biases can make judgments more, rather than less, accurate.
1) What do you understand by stating “looking for the good in others”?
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2) Discuss the person-positivity bias.
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Psychology 3) How is assumption of similarity a bias?
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2.7.2 Attribution Theory and its Applicability in Education

Attribution theory (Weiner, 1980, 1992) is probably the most influential theory
with implications for academic motivation. It emphasises the idea that learners are
strongly motivated by the pleasant outcome of being able to feel good about
themselves. It incorporates cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory in the sense
that it emphasises that learners’ current self-perceptions will strongly influence the
ways in which they will interpret the success or failure of their current efforts and
hence their future tendency to perform these same behaviours.
According to attribution theory, the explanations that people tend to make to

explain success or failure can be analysed in terms of three sets of characteristics:
1) First, the cause of the success or failure may be internal or external. That is,
we may succeed or fail because of factors that we believe have their origin
within us or because of factors that originate in our environment.
2) Second, the cause of the success or failure may be either stable or unstable. If
the we believe cause is stable, then the outcome is likely to be the same if we
perform the same behaviour on another occasion. If it is unstable, the outcome
is likely to be different on another occasion.
3) Third, the cause of the success or failure may be either controllable or

uncontrollable. A controllable factor is one which we believe we ourselves can
alter if we wish to do so. An uncontrollable factor is one that we do not believe
we can easily alter. An internal factor can be controllable (we can control our
effort by trying harder) or uncontrollable (most people cannot easily change
their basic intellectual ability or change from being an introvert to being an
extrovert). Likewise, an external factor can be controllable (a person failing a
difficult course could succeed by taking an easier course) or uncontrollable (if
calculus is difficult because it is abstract, it will still be abstract no matter what
we do).
An important assumption of attribution theory is that people will interpret their

environment in such a way as to maintain a positive self-image. That is, they will
attribute their successes or failures to factors that will enable them to feel as
good as possible about themselves. In general, this means that when learners
succeed at an academic task, they are likely to want to attribute this success to
their own efforts or abilities; but when they fail, they will want to attribute their
failure to factors over which they have no control, such as bad teaching or bad
luck.
The basic principle of attribution theory as it applies to motivation is that a

person’s own perceptions or attributions for success or failure determine the
36 amount of effort the person will expend on that activity in the future.
There are four factors related to attribution theory that influence motivation in Social Cognition:
education: ability, task difficulty, effort, and luck. In terms of the characteristics Attribution Theory
discussed previously, these four factors can be analysed in the following way:
Ability is a relatively internal and stable factor over which the learner does not
exercise much direct control.
Task difficulty is an external and stable factor that is largely beyond the
learner’s control.
Effort is an internal and unstable factor over which the learner can exercise a
great deal of control.
Luck is an external and unstable factor over which the learner exercises very
little control.
It is the learner’s perception that determines how attributions will influence future
effort. A learner may believe that he is a “lucky person” and for him luck would
be an internal and stable characteristic over which he exercises little control. In
other words, for this person “luck” is really what the preceding list calls an
“ability” or personality characteristic.
Likewise, a person may believe that she expended a great deal of effort, when
in fact she did not, or that an objectively easy task was difficult.
The basic principle of attribution theory as it applies to motivation is that a

person’s own perceptions or attributions for success or failure determine the
amount of effort the person will expend on that activity in the future.
Students will be most persistent at academic tasks under the following circumstances:
1) If they attribute their academic successes to either (a) internal, unstable, factors
over which they have control (e.g., effort) or (b) internal, stable, factors over
which they have little control but which may sometimes be disrupted by other
factors (e.g., ability disrupted by occasional bad luck);
2) If they attribute their failures to internal, unstable factors over which they have
control (e.g., effort).
If we want students to persist at academic tasks, we should help them establish

a sincere belief that they are competent and that occasional imperfections or
failures are the result of some other factor (such as bad luck or a lack of
sufficient effort) that need not be present on future occasions. (That is, ability
attributions for success are likely to be beneficial, with the exception cited
in the next guideline.)
3) It is not beneficial for students to attribute their successes entirely to ability.

If they think they already have all the ability they need, they may feel that
additional effort is superfluous. The ideal attribution for success is, “I succeeded
because I am a competent person and worked hard.”
4) When students fail, they are most likely to persist and eventually succeed if
they attribute their failure to a lack of appropriate effort. Therefore, it is
extremely important that when students perceive themselves as unsuccessful
37
Introduction to Social teachers help them develop the conviction that they can still succeed if they
Psychology give it their best shot. (Note that it is important to define effort appropriately,
as in guideline 5.)
5) It is extremely hazardous to motivational health for students to fail repeatedly

after making a serious effort at academic tasks. When this happens, they will
either (a) stop believing they are competent, or (b) stop attributing their failure
to lack of effort. Both of these outcomes are likely to reduce persistence at
the academic tasks. It is important, therefore, to arrange tasks so that students
who work hard are able to perceive themselves as successful.
6) It is important to define effort correctly and for the learners to internalise

an accurate concept of effort. In practical terms effort is most usefully defined
as devoting effective academic learning time to the task. Just trying harder
or spending more time doing ineffective activities does not constitute effort. It
is extremely important to make this distinction. If we use another definition of
effort, when we tell children that their failures are a result of a lack of effort,
we run the risk of leading them to believe that they have an internal, stable
characteristic called laziness, over which they have no control. This will reduce
motivation.
7) Another way to say this is that it is possible and desirable for students to
believe that even though they have “worked hard,” they have not yet put forth
their best effort. If we can show students ways to improve their efforts— and
there are almost always ways to channel their energies more effectively - then
we can enable them to have an accurate perception that increased effort is
likely to pay off.
8) Excessively competitive grading and evaluation systems are likely to impair

the learning of many students. Competition will encourage students to persist
only to the extent that they believe additional effort will enable them to succeed
within the competitive atmosphere. In many instances, success in competition
is completely beyond the learner’s control— no matter how hard a learner
works, another more competent and equally energetic competitor is likely to
win.
9) It is useful to evaluate students at least partly (but not exclusively) on the basis
of their effort. This does not mean that the weakest students in a class should
receive the highest grades simply because they may spend more time trying
to master the subject matter. Ideally, course assignments should be arranged
so that diligent work actually leads to academic success, and the teacher’s
evaluation should help students see this connection.
10) In general, it is best for students to believe that it is their own behaviour rather
than external circumstances that leads to success or failure. Researchers refer
to this as having an internal locus of control. While it is good for students
to have a realistic understanding of what’s happening around them, research
shows that the most successful students have a tendency to overestimate the
degree to which their own behaviour leads to success or failure.
When students have a conviction that they lack ability, it is necessary to take steps
to circumvent or overcome this conviction. Such students are likely to repudiate
successes. For example, when they do well, they are likely to have a sincere
38 conviction that they were “just lucky.” It is difficult to alter this conviction. Changing
this conviction is tantamount to altering the learner’s self-concept, and this cannot Social Cognition:
be accomplished in a short time. Attribution Theory
The preceding guidelines should enable teachers to use attribution theory to motivate
students more effectively. In addition, it is possible simply to reinforce effort
attributions and to conduct training programs designed to promote attributions
that are likely to lead to higher levels of motivation and productivity.
2.7.3 Additional Concepts Related to Attribution Theory

Attribution theory is an evolving field, and it is likely that further research will lead
to additional practical insights regarding motivation. It is important to note that this
discussion of attribution theory has barely scratched the surface. The following are
some additional concepts related to attribution theory:
Learning goals are set by individuals who seek to increase their competence.
People who emphasise learning goals are likely to seek challenges, if they believe
the challenges will lead to greater competence; and they tend to respond to failure
by increasing their effort. It is good to encourage students to set and pursue
learning goals rather than performance goals.
Performance goals, on the other hand, are set by individuals who seek to gain
favourable judgments or to avoid unfavourable judgments in the eyes of others.
People who emphasise performance goals are likely to avoid challenges unless
they are certain they can succeed, and they tend to respond to failure with feelings
of learned helplessness and self-handicapping. It is often undesirable to emphasise
performance goals; but schools, parents, and society often overemphasise them
to the detriment of learners.
Learned helplessness refers to the expectation, based on previous experience,

that one’s actions cannot possibly lead to success. Performance goals are much
more likely than learning goals to lead to ability rather than effort attributions and
to result in feelings of learned helplessness. Encouraging students to focus primarily
on learning goals is recommend, while keeping performance goals in perspective
by enjoying recognition without letting it become an overriding concern. Teachers
can accomplish this by focusing on learning rather than normative comparisons
when reinforcing students, by modeling the use of learning goals, and by using the
scaffolding strategies described in chapter 12 to teach effect goal setting and self-
monitoring.
Self-handicapping occurs when learners create impediments that make good

performance less likely. Examples of impediments include drug and alcohol use,
refusing to practice, reporting excessive symptoms, and reducing effort. These
impediments may sound just plain foolish, but they are very real and actually serve
to protect the person’s sense of self-competence. If the self-handicapping person
does poorly, his explanation for this failure lies in the impediment. If the person
does well, his success is exalted, because he overcame the impediment. Since the
impediments interfere with learning, they have the overall effect of reducing
motivation and performance. Self-handicapping is likely to become prominent
during adolescence. Since it occurs most often among persons with an overriding
concern with their competence image, this problem can best be minimised by
focusing on effort attributions and by helping learners develop secure feelings of
self-efficacy.
39
Introduction to Social Self-handicapping may be imposed or at least supported by a learner’s culture or
Psychology subculture or by the atmosphere of the school. For example, adolescents may
handicap themselves by reducing their effort because they feel that studying hard
will be viewed as an undesirable form of competition with their peers. Likewise,
African-American students may reduce their effort because they resist conforming
to the norms of the oppositional culture.
Expectancy-valence models state that a person’s motivation to achieve a goal

depends on a combination of the value of that goal (its valence) and the person’s
estimation of the likelihood of success. The combination of expectancy and valence
interacts with attribution theory in complex ways. For example, under certain
circumstances, a high probability of success can actually reduce motivation. In
most cases, a person will expend more effort when there is a moderate (rather
than high or low) probability of success (Atkinson, 1964).
1) What are the three sets of characteristics that can help in explanation?
...............................................................................................................
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2) What are the four factors related attribution theory that influence motivation
in education?
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3) What are the circumstances in which students will be most persistent in

academic tasks?
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4) What are the additional concepts related to attribution theory?
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40
Social Cognition:
5) Discuss self handicapping in terms of attribution theory. Attribution Theory
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6) What is expectancy valence models? Give examples.
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2.8 UNDERSTANDING ONE’S OWN

BEHAVIOUR
Most of us would admit that we invest the most time and cognitive energy thinking
about ourselves. In this section we will discuss same processor involved in thinking
and understanding wheeler social object.
2.8.1 Social Comparison: Using others to Understand Oneself

According to early theorizing by Leon Festinger (1954), there is a basic drive to
evaluate one’s opinions and abilities- a need for social comparison. In many cases
there is objective physical evidence which can provide us with answers. For
instance if I think my route from home to the center of town is shorter than the
route my wife takes I can objectively determine whether my opinion is correct by
using my car odometer and measuring the two routes. But suppose I want to find
out how good a piano player I am, here objective means are lacking.
According to Festinger, I will probably turn to social reality to satisfy my needs

for evaluating my ability. Social reality refers to understanding that is derived from
how other people generally think, feel and view the world. Hence, if I turn to
social reality to discern my level of performance, I, illumine how others play the
piano. But who is included in an individual’s social reality? It wouldn’t help very
much to compare myself to a very dissimilar other. I already know I don’t play
as well as Vladimir Horowitz. For me, the most relevant information would come
from similar other people who have taken lessons for about the same amount of
time, who are adults, and so forth. Thus Festinger suggests that the people with
whom we compare ourselves will be similar to us.
2.8.2 Knowing Our Emotions

One important outgrowth of the notion that we evaluate our abilities and opinions
by comparing them with those of others is the idea that the way we identify our
emotional states might also be influenced by comparison with others. In fact, a
classic experiment by Stanley Scatter and Jerome singer (1962) found evidence
for this hypothesis, showing that how we label our emotional experiences may
new due in large part to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. 41
Introduction to Social 2.8.3 Bem’s Self-Perception Theory
Psychology
“Individuals come to know their own attitudes, emotions and internal states by
inferring them from observations of their own behaviour and circumstances in
which they occur. When internal cues are weak, ambiguous, or uninterpretable,
the individual is in the same position as the outside observer”. (Bem, 1972)
Self-perception theory represents one of the most influential theories of how self-
knowledge unfolds. Developed by social psychologist Daryl Bem self-perception
theory consists of two basic claims.
a) First the theory claims that people come to know their own attitudes, beliefs,
and other internal states by inferring them from their own behaviour and the
circumstances under which they occur. So a student who observes that he or
she constantly reads psychology books may infer an interest in psychology.
b) Second the theory claims that when internal cues are weak, the individual is in
the same position as an outside observer who must rely upon the external cues
of their behaviour to infer their own inner characteristics. In this case people’s
conclusion that they genuinely like psychology will be reinforced if there are no
external incentives to explain their behaviour (e.g., grades), and they have no
clear prior opinions regarding psychology. Thus people simply use their behaviour
and the circumstances in which it occurs to infer their own beliefs and attitudes.
One reason why self-perception theory has been so influential stems from its
simplicity as an explanation for how self-knowledge develops. That is people
come to know themselves merely by observing their own behaviour. Beyond its
simplicity, however, self-perception theory has been so influential because it provides
an important contrast to the most famous psychological theory of how behaviour
shapes self-knowledge: cognitive dissonance theory.
Cognitive dissonance theory assumes that people are motivated to maintain

consistency between self beliefs and experience an unpleasant state of dissonance
when they hold two inconsistent beliefs about the self. Thus the inconsistency
between the thoughts “I do not like psychology” and “I constantly read about
psychology” arouses dissonance, and people are motivated to reduce dissonance
by changing one of those thoughts. The most direct way to resolve dissonance is
to change the prior belief (“I do not like psychology”) to align with the behaviour
(“I spend a great deal of time learning about psychology”). That is the person can
resolve dissonance by making their initial attitude more favourable (I really do like
psychology) and, hence, consistent with their behaviour.
There are two differences between cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception
theory. First unlike cognitive dissonance theory, self-perception theory does not
assume that any motivational state (e.g., dissonance reduction) is necessary for
change in self-knowledge. In fact self-perception theory only requires people’s
willingness to infer their own attitudes and beliefs by considering the environmental
and dispositional causes for their own actions for changes in self-knowledge to
occur. Second self-perception theory claims that people can use their own behaviour
to infer self-knowledge when the internal cues of prior beliefs are ambiguous or
weak, whereas cognitive dissonance theory assumes that people adjust self-
knowledge only when the internal cues of prior beliefs are clear and conflict with
their freely chosen behaviour. Taken together these two differences have led
42 psychologists to suggest that both self-perception theory and cognitive dissonance
theory can explain the adjustment of self-knowledge under different conditions. Social Cognition:
Self-perception theory explains the creation of new self-knowledge following Attribution Theory
behaviour that does not conflict with clear initial self-views whereas cognitive
dissonance explains change in existing self-knowledge following freely chosen
behaviour that does conflict with clear initial self-views.
The resolution of the self-perception theory versus cognitive dissonance theory

debate represents one of the greatest contributions of self-perception theory.
Indeed psychology only becomes better when old theories are challenged and
complemented by new theories. However the contribution of self-perception theory
extends beyond cognitive dissonance theory through its ability to account for a
wider variety of self-attribution phenomenon. Most notably self-perception theory
can explain how people develop self-knowledge from behaviour even when there
is no inconsistency between prior beliefs and behaviour.
1) How do you use others to understand self?
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...............................................................................................................
2) Why is it important to know our own emotions?
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3) Explain Bem’s Self Perception theory.
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4) Discuss Cognitive Dissonance theory in this context.
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5) Compare the self perception theory and cognitive dissonance theory.
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43
Psychology 2.9 LET US SUM UP
We have discussed the processes by which individuals come to understand both
themselves and others. We focused on overall impressions are formed and
attributions are made, and how such attributions ultimately influence the behaviour
of the observer. Person perception refers to the way in which individuals focus
on specific traits to form an overall impression of others. Central traits serve to
organise a person’s impression and provide a framework for interpreting information
that is subsequently learned. Additive and averaging models suggested how
information is combined. Impressions are also influenced by the order of information.
Schemas are organised bodies of information which allow us to organise and

interpret information. Schemas related to personality traits are called prototypes.
Prototypes are general personality types developed on the basis of prior experience.
Attribution theories explain how people come to understand the reasons behind
their own and other’ behaviour. One of the basic issues of attribution theory is
concerned with whether behaviour is due to the situation or to the disposition of
the person being observed. Kelly suggested that we consider three types of
information to make this determination: consensus, consistency and distinctiveness.
Jones and Davis’s theory of correspondence inference examines how behaviour
is attributed a specific underlying intention, trait or disposition. The theory states
that we learn most from uncommon effects.
Attributional theory posits that people are fairly rational and logical processors of
information. But, people are prone to some systematic biases like fundamental
attribution error, halo effect, person-positivity bias and assumed similarity.
Research on person perception shows that we often view ourselves as social

objects in a way that is analogous to what we do when perceiving others. Weiner’s
theory of achievement-related attributions suggests that people explain success
and failure by means of two independent dimensions: internal or external and
stable or unstable causes. The factors are assumed to affect both affective reactions
and expectations for future success.

1) What do you mean by additive and averaging models?
2) What do you mean by person perception? What is the role of schemas in person
perception?
3) Write a note on covariation principle proposed by Harold Kelly.
4) “Individuals come to know their own attitudes, emotions and internal states by
inferring them from observations of their own behavior and circumstances in
which they occur.” Explain with reference to Bem’s self perception theory.
5) What are the errors in attribution that people generally make in understanding
other’s behaviour?
6) What are the educational implications of Weiner’s attribution theory? Explain.

44
Social Cognition:
2.11 GLOSSARY Attribution Theory
Central traits : traits that play an unusually large role in determining

a general impression. Central traits serve to
organise the impression and provide a framework
for interpreting information that is received
subsequently.
The additive model : we simply add together the bits of information we

have about a person to form a judgment.
The averaging model : we divide the acquired information by the number

of traits and average.
Primacy effect : the condition in which early information has a

stronger impact than later information.
Recency effect : the condition when later information is given more

credence than early information.
Schemas : organised bodies of information stored in memory.

The information in a schema provides a
representation of the way in which social world
operates as well as allowing us to categorise and
interpret new information related to the schema.
Prototypes : the personality types that we derive in the case of

person perception are organised into schemas
known as prototypes.
Attribution : an individual’s understanding of the reasons behind

peoples’ behaviour.
Attribution theory : concerned with how individuals interpret events

and how this relates to their thinking and behaviour.
Covariation principle : the cause that will be chosen to explain an effect

is a cause that is present when the effect is present,
and absent when the effect is also absent.
Consensus : the degree to which other people react similarly in

the same situation.
Consistency : the degree to which the actor behaves the same

way in other situations.
Distinctiveness : refers to the extent to which the same behaviour

occurs in relation to other people or stimuli.
Correspondent inferences : observers’ ideas of how closely and overt

behaviour or action represents a specific underlying
intention trait or dispositions. The more behaviour
appears to reflect the underlying disposition, the
greater the correspondence between these two
45
factors is.
Introduction to Social Non-common effects : the behaviours which are most helpful in forming
Psychology correspondent inferences are those resulting in
consequences or effects that alternative behaviours
would not have produced.
Fundamental attribution : people tend to attribute the behaviour of others to

error stable trait dispositions, but tend to view their own
behaviour as more affected by specific situational
influences.
Halo effect : the phenomenon in which the initial familiarity that

a person has positive traits is used to infer other
uniformly positive characteristics. The converse is
also true; observation of a single negative trait can
be used to infer the existence of uniformly negative
traits.
Social reality : refers to understanding that is derived from how

other people generally think, feel and view the
world.

MA: Allyn and Bacon

McGrawHill Book Company : New York

York
46
Methods of Social
UNIT 3 METHODS OF SOCIAL Psychology
PSYCHOLOGY
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Social Psychological Approach: Needs and Aims
3.3 Methods: Formulating the Investigation
3.3.1 Methods of Data Collection
3.3.2 Methods of Analysis
3.3.2.1 Observational Method
3.3.2 2 Correlational Method
3.3.2.3 Experimental Method
3.3.2.4 Quasi Experimental Method
3.3.2.5 Experimental Designs
3.3.3 Threats to the Validity in Experimental Research
3.4 Ethnography
3.4.1 Characteristics of Ethnography
3.4.2 Steps in Ethnography Method
3.4.3 Other Methods in Ethnography
3.4.4 Evaluation
3.5 Let Us Sum Up

3.7 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Procedures for gathering information in any discipline are known as methods. The
term methodology is used to refer to all aspects of the implementation of methods.
Methodology for any discipline involves the development of procedures for making
various kinds of observations which provide the building blocks for theories and
generalisations. In this unit we will be dealing with the needs and aims as related
to social psychology research. We will also be putting forward the methods of
research in social psychology. Following this we will, be dealing with ethnography
as a method in social psychology research. Finally we will impress upon the need
for evaluation and how it is to be done.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
Define social psychology research

l Describe the various characteristic features of the social psychology methodology; 47
Introduction to Social l Explain the Needs and aims of social psychological research;
Psychology
l Differentiate between common sense explanations and scientific explanations;
l Differentiate between the theoretical and applied research;
l Analyse Various methods used in social psychology; and
l Explain meta analysis.
3.2 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH:

NEEDS AND AIMS
As a Scientific discipline social psychology embraces following three operations:
1) Careful collection of observation or data.
2) Ordered integration of these observations into hypotheses and theories.
3) Tests of adequacy of these hypothesis and theories in terms of whether they can
successfully predict future observations.
Each of these steps is indispensible if social psychology is to achieve mature status

as an empirical science. As a method, empiricism advocates the collection and
evaluation of data. Experimentation is the main souse of empirical research. It is
primarily guided by induction from observations rather than by deduction from
theoretical constructs. Induction is process of reasoning in which general principle
are inferred from specific cases. The experimental method is basically inductive
in nature as the conclusions about populations are drawn from observations of
individuals and small groups. The term ‘data’ is a Latin word which means
‘given’. The singular form ‘datum’ refers to a single isolated fact. Since one
isolated fact is of limited value in developing an understanding of the world,
scientists usually deal with sets of observations described by ‘data’.
How do we gain an understanding of human behaviours? There could be many

ways. One might ask why people act as they do? And try to uncover their
innermost thought and fantasies, read the works of great novelists and playwrights
and by eminent philosophers and take part in the situation of interest. All these
methods can yield valuable insight into people and social psychology has at times
drawn ideas from all of them. How do we come to judge the accuracy of
statements about human behaviours on the basis of these methods? For instance,
consider the effect of violence in movies and television. Educators, public health
authorities, broadcasters and behavioural scientists have long been concerned
about their possible effects. There are two prevalent views— one group believes
it harmful and states that violence in mass media increases the chances that the
viewers will react aggressively. Others believe that violent scenes might be socially
beneficial by draining the viewers’ pent-up aggressive urges. Which of these
should be taken as acceptable position on this socially significant subject? The
validity of a statement is verified by relying on authorities. But the problem in this
regard is, ‘who is most qualified person’. Experts even disagree and we may find
people on all sides; even authorities can be wrong at times.
Common sense is often relied upon to evaluate various ideas and actions. Common
sense is usually based on widely shared experiences. But belief based on common
48 sense can be wrong. Berkowitz (1986:27) has discussed an example from the
history of science, “what if you had two large balls, one a heavy bowling ball and Methods of Social
the other same size but much lighter in weight and dropped both of them from Psychology
the roof of a tall building? Common sense says that the heavier ball will reach the
ground first. But in the late 16th century Stevin and Galileo demonstrated that
bodies do not fall with velocities proportional to their weights.”
Some other problems with common sense are events may not happen in accord
to our experience and erroneous tendency to believe that we know something all
along.
The other problem in understanding events and things is distorted perceptions.

Our perception of events in the environment can be in error. People often look
at complex and ambiguous situation with preconceptions. Experiences and certain
expectations also affect our perceptions. In 1966 Robert Rosenthal published a
review of some of the notable mistakes that have been made in the history of
science became of erroneous perceptions. One example was from Newton’s
research. Sir Isaac Newton failed to see certain lines in the solar spectrum produced
when a glass of prism was held in front of a beam of light evidently because his
theory did not anticipated those lines. “Our assumptions define and limit what we
see, i.e. we tend to see things in such way that they will fit in with our assumptions
even if this involve distortion or omission” (Johnson cited in Rosenthal, 1966: 6).
There is another problem of social psychological research is replication. Validity

of an abstract statement is increased if the observations on which it is based are
also reported by other qualified persons. Reproducibility is the most important
criterion of a science. Other investigators must be able to duplicate the observations
that are taken as a support of that idea.
Self Assessment Qustions
1) What are the three operations that social psychology embraces?
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2) What are the social psychology methods through which one gains
understanding of human behaviour?
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3) What is common sense based on to understand human behaviour?
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4) How do distorted perceptions affect understanding events?
Psychology
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3.3 METHODS: FORMULATING THE

INVESTIGATION
Every scientific investigation begins with a question. The question can be dictated
by a practical problem or grow out of theoretical interest.
The difference between theoretical and applied research in not a qualitative one
but rather a matter of degree (Feldman 1985: 21). Pure theoretical work in social
psychology is aimed at the building of a basic body of knowledge and facts about
the social world. While applied research is meant to provide immediate solutions
to immediate problems. But both researches have relevance for each other.
Results of even the most applied studies are invariably used not only for them
immediate applications to the problem at hand but also for their implication for
theory. On the other hand, theories are able to suggest new approaches and
strategies for dealing with the problems of society. But there is a difference of
methods in theoretical and applied research. Theoretical studies are mostly
conducted in laboratories using experiment and applied researches are based on
natural field settings.
But the goal for both of them is same, “building knowledge, a concern regarding
the quality of life and an interest in how knowledge of social psychology is
ultimately utilised” (Feldman). While the paths to these goals may differ, depending
on the orientation of a particular social psychologist, the interaction between
theory and research is well recognised today. “Many psychologists working in an
applied field are keenly aware of the need for close cooperation between theoretical
and applied psychology. This can be accomplished in psychology…..if the theorist
does not look toward applied problems with high brow aversion or with a fear
of social problems, and if the applied psychologist realizes that there is nothing so
practical as a good theory” (Lewin 1951: 169).
The methods can be subdivided into two groups, voz., methods of data collection
and methods of analysis.
3.3.1 Methods of Data Collection

Observations, the study of documents, questionnaire, interviews, testing and
experiment etc.
3.3.2 Methods of Analysis

Statistical Methods: Correlational, Factor analysis
Logical and theoretical: Constructs of typology, various means of explanations

50 etc.
Our discussion will be limited to following methods: Methods of Social
Psychology
l Observational method
l Correlation method
l Experimental method
l Ethnography
3.3.2.1 Observational Method
Observation is the old method of social psychology. Many writers have used
different terms and categories for this method like method of systematic observation
(Morgan and King), direct observation (Hilgard and Atkinson) and Feldman has
included it in field study.
Observation is to simply observe the phenomena under study as it occur naturally

(Hilgard and Atkinson 2003: 21)
This method plays a very important role in the collection of data on overt behaviour
and the actions of individuals. The main problem involved in the application of this
method include, what to observe? How to fixate the observations? How to
structure observation? What should be the units of observation in social
psychological research, and the definite interval of time for observation?
This method proceeds in following two stages:
Describing behaviour: This methods starts with the observation of behaviours in

natural setting that is relevant for the research. The observation may be based on
the questions like what do people do? Can various behaviours be classified in
systematic ways? How do people differ in their behaviors?
From description to causes: The method of systematic observation tells us what

do people do and how they differ in their behaviours. It may also be used to find
out what caused the observed behaviours. But one should to be cautious in
inferring causes from observation as
A behaviour may have many causes
The fact that an event comes before another event do not show that the first event
is the cause of the latter one.
To establish likely causes of even simple behaviour, a number of observations

would be required.
For more complex behaviours, establishing likely cause is much more difficult.
Thus to find out the course of a particular behaviours, we must look carefully at
the result of many observations, noting the effects of a particular factor.
Observational method can be relatively informal and unstructured or it can be

formal and structured. But the object in each case in the same, “to abstract
information from the complex flux of social behaviours that are of potential
significance to the research questions; and to record each instance of such actions
over some period” (Manstead A.S. R. Semin G.R. 2001: 97).
51
Introduction to Social The nature of research setting or topic dictates that observation is conducted in
Psychology
a relatively informal and unstructured manner with the researcher posing as a
member of the group being observed. A Classical example of research employing
this method is Festinger, Riecken and Schachter’s (1956) study of the consequences
of blatant disconfirmation of strongly held beliefs. The investigators identified a
religious sect which predicted that the northern hemisphere would be destroyed
by flood on a certain date. By joining that sect, members of the research team
were able to observe what happened when the predicted events failed to
materialise? This is called participant observation. In such observation researcher
participate in the ongoing activities of the people being observed.
Formal methods of observation can be used when it is possible to record actions

relevant to the research question without disturbing the occurrence of behaviour.
In non-participant observation observers record people’s behaviour but do not

actually participates in their activities.
The most formal type of observational methods is one in which the researcher
uses a predetermined category system for scoring social behaviors. Bales’ (1950)
Interaction Process analysis (IPA) is a well known example. Such a system was
developed to study interaction in small groups. The verbal exchanges between
group members are coded in terms of 12 predetermined categories. The scores
of group members can then be used to determine who the leader of the group is.
Observational methods of data collection have two main advantages over the self
report methods. They can often be made without disturbing the naturally occurring
behaviours. Even where people know that they are being observed, enacting
behavior may be quite engrossing.
Nevertheless, there are some types of behaviours that are either impossible to
observe directly (because they took place in the past) or difficult to observe
directly (because they are normally enacted in private). Moreover, social
psychologists are often interested in measuring people’s perceptions, cognitions or
evaluations, none of which can be directly assessed simply through observation.
For these self-report measures or other techniques are often used.
3.3.2.2 Correlation Method
Correlation is a relationship between two (or more) variables such that systematic
increase or decrease in the magnitude of one variable is accompanied by systematic
increase or decrease in the magnitude of the others” ( Reber & Reber, 2001:
158).
Correlational investigations try to determine, ‘what is the relationship among the

variables of interest to the researcher?’ The question is asked, ‘as something
changes in amount, how do other things vary? One may ask if wealthier people
were happier than those who had little money.
A Correlational study of the connection between income and happiness thus

inquires whether more money is associated with greater happiness (Positive
correlation), or with lower happier (a negative correlation) or does not go along
with happiness (a zero correlation). The degree of relationship is assessed
52 mathematically and is expressed as a correlation coefficient ranging from +1.00
to -1.00. A positive correlation indicates that the scores on the two variables Methods of Social
move in the same direction; as the scores rise (or fall) on one variable, they also Psychology
rise or fall on the other variable. A negative correlation indicates that the score
move in opposite directions: an increase in the scores on one variable is
accompanied by a decrease in scores on the other. The magnitude of the obtained
correlation reflects the degree of this relationship. The plus sign indicates a positive
relation and the minus sign a negative correlation. The closer a correlation value
comes to positive or negative 1.00, the stronger the relationship between two
variables.
One of the most important points in understanding the result of correlation research
is that finding a correlation between two variables does not in any way imply that
two are linked causally. It may be that one variable causes the changes in the
other, but it is just as plausible that it does not. It is even possible that some third,
unmeasured and previously unconsidered variable is causing both variables to
increase or decrease simultaneously. We can take the example of the possible
relationship between television violence and viewer aggression. Because in most
cases it is difficult to control adult viewers’ television viewing habits, researcher
must carry out correlation studies in which the aggressive content of television
programs viewed by an individual is compared with the degree of aggressive
behaviour that person carries out.
Suppose the results are supportive of the hypothesis that high aggressive content
is associated with high viewer aggression and that low aggressive content is
associated with low viewer aggression. Drawing the conclusion that aggressive
behaviour caused the aggression would be inappropriate and quite possibly
inaccurate.
It follows, then that although the use of correlation techniques allow us to learn
what associations exist between two variables, it does not inform us about causality.
However there are some circumstances under which we could make reasonable
inferences about the causal direction (Berkowitz), but their results may be only
inferences and far from conclusive. We have to turn to other methods to ascertain
causal relationship. Experimental techniques are generally the preferred means of
doing such research. Still, in instances in which experiments cannot be conducted,
correlational method can provide valuable information. We can compare both the
methods on the following attributes:
Table: Comparing Correlational and Experimental Research Methods
Attributes Correlational Research Experimental Research

Independent Variable Varies Naturally Controlled by researcher
Unambiguous causality Yes No
Exploratory Often Usually not
Random Assignment No Yes
Theory Testing Often Usually
Tests many relationships Usually Usually Not
53
Psychology
1) What are social psychology methods for formulating investigations?
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2) What are the two divisions into which methods are subdivided?
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3) What are the methods of data collection?
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4) Discuss observational method in detail.
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5) Discuss the correlational method. What are its advantages over

observational method?
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3.3.2.3 Experimental Method
Experimentation has been the dominant research method in social psychology,

mainly because it is without equal as a method for testing theories that predict
causal relationships between variables.
The goal of an experiment is to see what happens to a phenomenon, such as

obedience, when the researcher deliberately modifies some features of the
environment in which the phenomenon occurs (that is, if variable A is changed, will
there be resulting changes in B). We can see the meanings of some basic concepts
54
of the experimental research in the table given below. We will focus our discussion Methods of Social
on the experiments in social psychology. Psychology
Table: Terminology in Experimental Research
Experiment A well controlled test of hypothesis about cause

and effect.
Hypothesis A statement about cause and effect that can be
tested
Variable Something that can occur with different values
and can be measured
Independent Variable A variable that represents the hypothesised cause
that is precisely controlled by the experimenter
and independent of what the participant does
Dependent Variable A variable that represents the hypothesised effect
whose values ultimately depend on the value of
the independent variable
Experimental Group A group in which the hypothesised cause is present
Control Group A group in which the hypothesised effect is
present
Statistics Mathematical techniques for determining the
certainty with which a sample of data can be
used to draw generalisations
Measurement A system for assigning numbers to different
values of variables
Random Assignment A system for assigning participants to
experimental and control groups so that each
participant has as equal chance of being assigned
to any group
Source: Atkinson & Hilgard et al (2003) Introduction to Psychology 14th edition.

Wadsworth Asia Pvt Ltd.
There are two basic types of experiments in social psychology laboratory and
natural laboratory and natural experiments have their particular rules. The laboratory
experiment is of particular interest in social psychological discussions.
Social psychologists use some variations. Two of the most common of these
variations are the quasi-experiments and the true randomized experiments. These
two methods differ with respect to realism of the setting in which data are collected,
and the degree of control that the researcher has over that setting.
3.3.2.4 Quasi-experimental Method
Quasi-experiment is conducted in a natural, everyday life setting, over which the

researcher has less than complete control. The lack of control over the setting
arises from the very fact that it is an everyday life setting. Here the realism of the
setting is relatively high, the control relatively low.
55
Introduction to Social The true randomized experiment by contrast is one in which the researcher has
Psychology complete control over key features of the setting. However, this degree of control
often involves a loss of realism. It is sometimes possible to conduct a true
randomized experiment in an everyday setting; this is called a field experiment.
Table: Comparison of Experiments and Quasi Experiments
Attributes Experiments Quasi-experiments

Representativeness of data Low Low
Realism of setting Low High
Control over setting High Medium
As an example we take the problem, whether exposure to violent film and television
material has an impact on the subsequent behaviour of the viewer. This issue can
be studied using true randomized experiments or quasi-experiments.
An example of a true experiment on this issue is the study of reported by Liebert

and Baron (1972). Male and female children in two age groups were randomly
allocated to one of two experimental conditions, one in which they viewed an
excerpt from a violent television program and another in which they viewed an
exciting athletics race. Later both groups of children were given the opportunity
to hurt another child. Those who had seen the violent material were more likely
to use this opportunity than were those who had seen the non-violent material. As
the children had been allocated to the violent and non-violent conditions randomly,
the observed difference can be attributed with confidence to the difference in type
of material seen, rather than any difference in the type of children who saw the
material.
An example of quasi-experimental study of the same issue is the study reported

by Black and Bevan (1992) They asked people to complete a short questionnaire
measure of tendency to engage in aggressive behaviour under one of the four
conditions: while waiting in line outside a cinema to see a violent movie; while
waiting in line to see a non-violent movie; having just seen a violent movie and
having just seen a non-violent movie. The researcher found that those waiting to
see the violent film had higher aggression scores than those waiting to see the non-
violent film; those who had just seen the violent film scored higher than those who
had just seen a non-violent film.
While this pattern of finding is consistent with the conclusion that viewing a violent
movie increases the tendency to aggress, the fact that participants were not
allocated at random to the different conditions of the study means that other
explanations cannot be ruled out.
The strength of the experiment is its capability to draw causal inferences concerning
the observed relationship between independent and dependent variables. The
artificial setting is its major drawback. Major strength of the quasi- experiment is
that it can be conducted under relatively natural conditions. But quasi experiment
is inferior to true experiment in drawing causal conclusions.
Often the only way in which to conduct an experimental study of a social

phenomenon is via a quasi-experiment. Ethical and practical considerations
frequently make it impossible to allocate people randomly to different experimental
56 conditions. For instance, to study the effects of bereavement, research participants
cannot be allocated to bereaved and non-bereaved condition. The same problem Methods of Social
applies in many other fields of research, viz. social interventions, such as new Psychology
teaching methods in schools, new ways of treating those who are suffering from
physical or psychological disorders, new public information campaigns and new
management techniques; people are not randomly assigned to participate or not
to participate in these programs.
3.3.2.5 Experimental Designs
In an experiment, it is important that (1) the experimenter keep all theoretically

irrelevant features of the experimental setting constant, manipulating just the key
independent variable; and (2) that participants are allocated randomly to the
different conditions of an experiment. Experimental designs are used so that the
above goals are fulfilled. The first called one shot case study. Followings cook
and Campbell (1979) we shall use symbol ‘X’ to stand for a manipulations (of
the independent variable) and the symbol ‘O’ to stand for observations (i.e., the
dependent variable). In these terms the one shot design looks like this:
X O
Time
For example, an educational researcher wanted to know the effect of a new

teaching method on learning. The researcher takes a class of students, introduces
the new method (X), and measurers the student’s comprehension of the taught
material (O). There is nothing with which X is compared. One shot case study
is a research design in which observations are made on a group after some event
has occurred or some manipulation has been introduced. There is nothing with
which these observations may be compared. So one has no way of knowing
whether the event or manipulation had an effect.
A true experimental design is known as Post test only control group design. In
this type of design participants are allocated randomly to one of the two groups.
One group is exposed to the independent variable (experimental group) and the
other is not (control group). Both groups are assessed on the independent variable
and the comparison of the two groups on this measure indicates whether or not
the independent variable had an effect. Let R stand for random assignment of
participants to conditions, and X and O stand for manipulation and observation.
The design looks like this.
Experimental group R X O1
Control Group R - O2
Time
In the previous example, the researcher might compare one group of students
who have been exposed to new teaching method with respect to their
comprehension of the taught material. In this design participants are randomly
allocated to the two conditions which ruled out the possibility that differences
between O1 and O2 are due to the differences between the two groups of
participants. If O1 and O2 differ markedly, it is reasonable to inter that this difference
is caused by X.
There are many types of experimental designs used in social psychology, more
sophisticated and complex than the above. Each design represents a more complete
attempt to rule out the possibility that observed difference between conditions 57
result from something other than the manipulation of independent variable
Introduction to Social A common design in social psychological experiment is the factorial experiment,
Psychology in which two or more independent variables are manipulated within the same
study. The simplest case can be represented diagrammatically as follows, where
R stands for random assignment of participants to conditions, X stands for a
variable with two levels (X1 and X2) and Y stands for another variable with two
levels (Y1 and Y2).
R X1Y1 O1
R X1Y2 O2
R X2Y1 O3
R X2Y2 O4
Time
This design contains all possible combinations of the independent variables. In the
design shown above, each independent variable has two levels, resulting in four
conditions (2×2), which can be added further (3 × 3, 2×2×2) etc. The main
benefit of a factorial design is that it allows the researcher to examine the separate
and combined effects of two or more independent variables. The separate effects
of each of the independent variable are known as main effects. Interaction effect
is a term used when combined effects of two (or more) independent variables in
a factorial experiment yield a pattern that differs from the sum of the main effects.
3.3.3 Threats to the Validity in Experimental Research

Validity refers to the extent to which a method of measurement measures what it
is supposed to measure. Experimental research attempts to maximise each of
three types of validity (1) Internal validity (2) Construct validity (3) External
Validity. The validity of an experiment may be threatened due to the following
reasons:
i) Confounding: The inference of causality is affected by confounded variables. In

experimental work, it is the failure to separate two variables with the result that
their effects cannot be independently ascertained. If in an experiment on memory
and age all the older participants are female and all the younger are male, then
sex and age are ‘confounded’ and the memory data cannot be properly
interpreted.
ii) Social desirability is a term used to describe the fact that participants are usually
keen to be seen in a positive light and may therefore be reluctant to provide
honest reports of fears, anxieties, feelings of hostility or prejudice or any other
quality which they think would be regarded negatively.
iii) Demand characteristics are ones in the experimental setting which convey the
participant the nature of the experimenter’s hypothesis. Individuals who know
that they are being studied will often be curious about what the experimenter
is looking at and what types of responses are expected. Participants may then
attempt to provide the expected responses in order to please the experimenter.
When the behavior is enacted with the intention of fulfilling the experimenter’s
hypothesis, it is said to be a response to the demand characteristics of the
experiment.
58
iii) Experimenter expectancy effect – refers to the experimenter’s own hypothesis Methods of Social
or expectation about the outcome of the research. It increases the likelihood Psychology
that the participants will behave in such a way as to confirm the hypothesis.
There are certain ways to minimise these effects. Some of these are:
i) Post experimental enquiry: A technique advocated by Orne (1962, 1969)

for detecting the operation of demand characteristics. The participant is carefully
interviewed after participation in an experiment. The purpose is to elicit from
the participants what he or she believed to be the aim of the experiment; and
the extent to which this belief affected his behaviour in the experiment.
ii) Unobtrusive measures (also called non-reactive measure): Measures that

the participant is not aware of; and which therefore cannot influence his or her
behaviour. Social desirability effects can be reduced by these measures. The
point is that the participants do not know what it is that is being measured and
they will be unable to modify their behaviour.
iii) Cover story: a cover story is a false but supposedly plausible explanation of
the purpose of an experiment. The intention is to limit the operation of demand
characteristics. However, an unconvincing story can create more problems
than it solves, raising doubts in the mind of the participant that otherwise may
not have arisen.
iv) Another strategy to reduce experimenter expectancy effect is to keep the

experimenter blind to the hypothesis under test or at least blind to the condition
to which a given participant has been allocated.
Other possibilities to reduce experimenter expectancy effect include minimising

the interaction between experimenter and participants and automating the experiment
as far as possible. The goal is to reduce the opportunity for the experimenter to
communicate his or her expectancies.
1) Define experimental method.
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2) Define each of the terminologies used in experimental method.
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59
Psychology 3) What is Quasi-experimental method? Discuss its characteristics.
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4) Compare experimental with quasi-experimental method
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5) Discuss experimental designs with illustrations.
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6) List out the threats to the validity of experimental research.
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3.4 ETHNOGRAPHY
The word ethnography literally means writing about peoples. Ethnos in Greek
means folk or people and graphia stands for writing. “Ethnography literally means
‘a portrait of a people.’ Ethnography is a written description of a particular
culture: the customs, beliefs, and behaviour, based on information collected through
fieldwork” (Marvin Harris and Orna Johnson, 2000).
“Ethnography is the art and science of describing a group or culture. The description
may be of a small tribal group in an exotic land or a classroom in middle-class
suburbia” (David M. Fetterman, 1998).
Ethnography is a qualitative research method. It has its roots in anthropology and

sociology and in recent years has become a model for research in social psychology.
Ethnography is a basic form of social research involving making observations,
gaining data from informants, constructing hypotheses and acting upon them. The
ethnographer participates actively in the research environment but does not structure
it. Its approach is discovery based, the aim being to depict the activities and
perspectives of actors.
60 “Ethnography is concerned with the experience as it is felt or undergone. To do
this, the ethnographer participates in people’s daily lives for a period of time, Methods of Social
watching what happens, listening to what is said, asking questions, studying Psychology
documents, in other words collecting whatever data are available to throw light
on the issues with which the research is concerned” (Banister et al 1994: 34).
Ethnography is a multimethod form of research. Participant observation forms the
base method. Interviewing and action research are later stages.
Its success as a method depends on its ability to make a reader understand ‘what
goes in a society or a social circumstance as well the participants.’ Psychologically
ethnography is very interesting in itself, in that it bears a close resemblance to the
routine ways in which people make sense of their world in everyday life. But its
formalised multimethod form differentiates it from everyday sense making. The
multimethod approach reduces the risks that can stem from reliance on a single
kind of data, allowing the researcher to compare data collected by different
methods.
Present-day practitioners conduct ethnographies in organisations and communities

of all kinds. Ethnographers study schooling, public health, rural and urban
development, consumers and consumer goods, any human arena. While particularly
suited to exploratory research, ethnography draws on a wide range of both
qualitative and quantitative methodologies, moving from “learning” to “testing”
while research problems, perspectives and theories emerge and shift.
3.4.1 Characteristics of Ethnography

Ethnography is characterised by
l Gathering data from the range of sources, e.g. interviews, observations,

conversations and documents.
l Studying behaviour in everyday contexts rather than experimental conditions.
l Using an unstructured approach to data gathering in the early stages, so that key
issues can emerge gradually through analysis.
l Comprising an in-depth study of one or two situations.
3.4.2 Steps in Ethnographic Method

Steps:
1) Ethnographer starts with selection of a culture, review of the literature pertaining

to the culture and identification of variables.
2) The ethnographer then goes about gaining entrance, which in turn sets the
stage for cultural immersion of the ethnographer in the culture. It is not
unusual for ethnographers to live in the culture for months or even years.
3) The middle stages of the ethnographic method involve gaining informants,

using them to gain yet more informants in a chaining process, and gathering
data in the form of observational transcripts and interview recordings.
4) Data analysis and theory development come at the end, though theories may
emerge from cultural immersion and theory-articulation by members of the
culture.
61
Introduction to Social However, the ethnographic researcher strives to avoid theoretical preconceptions
Psychology and instead to induce theory from the perspectives of the members of the culture
and from observation.
The researcher may seek validation of induced theories by going back to members
of the culture for their reaction.
Ethnographic methodologies vary and some ethnographers advocate use of

structured observation schedules by which one may code observed behaviours or
cultural artefacts for purposes of later statistical analysis.
3.4.3 Other Methods of Ethnography

Macro-ethnography is the study of broadly-defined cultural groupings, such as
“the Indians”.
Micro-ethnography is the study of narrowly-defined cultural groupings, such as

“young working class women” or “members of Congress.”
Emic perspective is the ethnographic research approach to the way the members
of the given culture perceive their world. The emic perspective is usually the main
focus of ethnography.
Etic perspective is the ethnographic research approach to the way non-members

(outsiders) perceive and interpret behaviours and phenomena associated with a
given culture.
Situational reduction refers to the view of ethnographers that social structures

and social dynamics emerge from and may be reduced analytically to the
accumulated effects of micro situational interactions (Collins, 1988). Put another
way, the cosmos is best understood in microcosm.
Symbols, always a focus of ethnographic research, are any material artefact of

a culture, such as art, clothing, or even technology. The ethnographer strives to
understand the cultural connotations associated with symbols. Technology, for
instance, may be interpreted in terms of how it relates to an implied plan to bring
about a different desired state for the culture.
Cultural patterning is the observation of cultural patterns forming relationships

involving two or more symbols. Ethnographic research is holistic, believing that
symbols cannot be understood in isolation but instead are elements of a whole.
One method of patterning is conceptual mapping, using the terms of members
of the culture themselves to relate symbols across varied forms of behaviour and
in varied contexts. Another method is to focus on learning processes, in order
to understand how a culture transmits what it perceives to be important across
generations. A third method is to focus on sanctioning processes, in order to
understand which cultural elements are formally (ex., legally) prescribed or
proscribed and which are informally prescribed or proscribed, and of these which
are enforced through sanction and which are unenforced.
Tacit knowledge is deeply-embedded cultural beliefs which are assumed in a

culture’s way of perceiving the world, so much so that such knowledge is rarely
or never discussed explicitly by members of the culture, but rather must be
inferred by the ethnographer.
62
Ethnographic researchers recognise that they are part of the social world they Methods of Social
study and that they cannot avoid having an effect on the social phenomena being Psychology
studied, “...rather than engaging in futile attempts to eliminate the effects of the
researcher, we should set about understanding them” (Hammersley and Atkinson).
Meta analysis
As a number of studies on a particular topics increase, researchers are confronted

with a new problem: how to synthesize research findings to arrive at general
conclusions. Consider work on sex differences in helping behavior. Eagly and
Crowley (1986) identified no fewer than 172 separate studies that investigated
male and female differences in helping behaviour. How are researchers to handle
this ever increasing quantity of empirical research?
In recent years statistical techniques called meta-analysis have been developed to

help researchers review and synthesize empirical findings systematically. The first
step is for the researcher to find as many studies as possible on the same topic.
The meta-analysis uses statistical methods to pool information from all available
studies. The goal is to arrive at an overall estimate of the size of the finding. In
Meta analysis, statistics are also used to test for the consistency (homogeneity)
of findings across studies. When results from different studies are found to be
highly consistent, researches can have much confidence in findings. When results
of studies differ, meta analysis techniques direct researchers to look for other
important factors.
Meta analysis is an important tool for understanding the social psychological

research, and so for understanding social behavior and social cognition. As noted
by Myers (1991) meta-analysis reviews can help counteract our tendency to be
unduly influenced by the results of one or a few studies that are especially interesting
or ingenious, since such reviews combine the findings of many studies by statistical
formula.
3.4.4 Evaluation
In the preceding sections we discussed various methods and importance of the
precise process of investigations. But sometimes strict adherence to scientific
procedures creates problem for social psychology.
In social psychology we study the psychological characteristics of large groups

and mass processes where other than pure scientific methods are required. In
these methods the problem is raised by whether the information is subjective or
objective.
The source of information is always man. There are certain ways by which the
reliability of the information is ensured to overcome shortcomings of our methods.
The reliability of information is reached through the verification the reliability of the
data collecting instruments. Three characteristics of the reliability of information
are ensured in every instance: validity, stability and precision.
The other problem is related to the processing of the material. “To what degree
is the researcher allowed to include considerations of both logic and content
theory in the interpretation of data?” (Andreyeva 1990: 57).
Thus the main task for a science to be human is to find the means through which
63
Introduction to Social social context can be grasped in every concrete study. It is important to see the
Psychology problem, understand that value judgments inescapably exist in investigations
carried out within the framework of sciences like social psychology, and that the
researcher should not avoid the problem but should consciously determine his
social position.
Before the beginning of an investigation, before the choice of method is made, the
basic outline of the research must be precisely defined, and the goal of the
research and its premises must be thoroughly thought out.
1) Define and discuss ethnography as a method of social psychology research.
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2) What are the characteristic features of ethnographic method?
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3) Elucidate the steps in ethnographic method in social psychology research.
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4) Discuss the various other methods in ethnography.
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5) What is evaluation? Why is it important?
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64
Methods of Social
6) What are the methods used in evaluation of a social psychology research? Psychology
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3.5 LET US SUM UP

Procedures for gathering information in any discipline are known as methods.
Validity of statements about human behaviour and events is verified by relying on
authorities and common sense. But these methods can give us explanations often
rejected on logical grounds. In social psychology various methods are used dictated
by our problem of investigation. Methods of data collection are observations, the
study of documents, questionnaire, interviews, testing and experiment etc. Methods
of analysis can be statistical (correlation, Factor analysis) or logical and theoretical
(viz. constructs of typology, various means of explanations). Observational method
is mostly used for data collection, correlational method is an analytic method
whereby the relationship between two or more variables is assessed. Experimental
method is the preferred method to study cause and effect relations between the
independent variable and dependent variable, ethnography is method that uses
multiple methods-the purpose is to write about the behaviour of people as and
when it occur and no attempts to be objective are made, the observers point of
view is important in this method, and currently meta analysis is used to synthesize
the findings of many researches on a topic.
Before researching on social psychological problems the basic goal and outline
should be precisely worked out. The choice of method depends on nature of our
problem. On the whole, researchers have to keep in mind that social reality and
context should not left out of the whole exercise. The essence of the research
should not be lost for the sake of scientific rigor.

1) What do you mean by an empirical science? Is social psychology an empirical
science? Give two reasons.
2) What do understand by observation method? Give its advantages and

disadvantages.
3) Write an essay on correlational method (500 words).
4) What is an experiment? Differentiate between laboratory experiment and quasi

experiment.
5) Differentiate between correlational and experimental method.
6) What is meta-analysis? What is the importance of meta-analysis in social

psychological research?
7) What do you mean by main effect and interactional effect in experimental method
terminology? 65
Introduction to Social 8) Differentiate between control group and experimental group.
Psychology
9) What do you mean by ethnographic research? What is the importance of
ethnographic research for social psychology?
10) Write the ways in which threats to the validity of an experiment could be worked
out.
3.7 GLOSSARY
Method : procedures for gathering information in any
discipline are known as methods.
Methodology : refers to all aspects of the implementation of

methods.
Induction : process of reasoning in which general principle

are inferred from specific cases.
Observation : to observe the phenomena under study as it occur

naturally.
Participant observation : observation in which a researcher participates in

the ongoing activities of the people being observed.
Non-participant : observer records people’s behaviour but do not

observation participates in their activities.
Reactivity : Observers’ tendency to evoke reactive behaviour

on the part of those being observed.
Correlation : a relationship between two (or more) variables

such that systematic increase or decrease in the
magnitude of one variable is accompanied by
systematic increase or decrease in the magnitude
of the others.
Experiment : A well controlled test of hypothesis about cause

and effect.
Ethnography : a written description of a particular culture (the

customs, beliefs and behaviour) based on
information collected through fieldwork.
Meta-Analysis : A method to review and synthesize empirical

findings systematically.

REFERENCES
Andreyeva, Galina (1990) Social Psychology. Progress Publication: Moscow
Banister P, Burman E, Parker I, Taylor M & Tindall carol (1994) Qualitative

66 Methods in Psychology: A Research Guide. Buckingham: Open University Press
Baron, R. A. and Byrne, D. (1997). Social Psychology, 8th edition. Boston, Methods of Social
MA: Allyn and Bacon Psychology
References
York
Collins, R. (1988). The Micro Contribution to Macro Sociology. Sociological

Theory 6(2), 242-253.

McgrawHill Book Company: New York
Hammersley, Martyn, & Atkinson, Paul (1995) Ethnography: Principles in

Practice, Second Ed. London: Routledge
Lewin, K. (1951) Field Theory and Social Sciences. New York: Harper
McDavid, J. M. & Harari, H. (1994) Social Psychology: Individuals, Groups

& Societies. CBS Publishers: New Delhi
Manstead, A.S.R. & Gun R. S. (2007) Methodology in Social Psychology in

Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W. & Jonas, K. (Eds.). Introduction to Social
Psychology (4th ed.). London: Blackwell.
Reber, A. J. & Reber, A. (2001) The Penguin Dictionary Psychology (3rd ed.).
Penguin Group: England
Taylor, S. E., Peplau, A. L., & Sears, D. O. (2006) Social Psychology (12th
ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Suggested Reading
Mook, D. C. (2001) Psychological Research: The Ideas Behind the Methods.

W. W. Norton & Company: New York, London
67
Psychology UNIT 4 CURRENT TRENDS IN
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND
ETHICAL ISSUES
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Social Psychology Applications
4.2.1 Population Psychology
4.2.2 Health Psychology
4.2.3 Environmental Psychology
4.2.4 Industrial Organisational Psychology
4.2.5 Legal System and Social Psychology
4.3 Growing Influence of Cognitive Perspective

4.4 Multicultural Perspective
4.5 Sociobiology and Evolutionary Social Psychology
4.6 Some Ethical Issues in Social Psychological Research
4.6.1 Deception
4.6.2 Informed Consent
4.6.3 Debriefing
4.6.4 Minimal Risk
4.7 Let Us Sum Up

4.9 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
From its very beginning mainstream social psychology adopted a cognitive
orientation. The central concept of the discipline was attitude, recognised on early
on in 1935 as indispensable for social psychology. While all social sciences use
this concept, it is social psychology that clarified it, made it measureable and
studied it in its own right. A second strand of concern developed under the
powerful influence of Kurt Lewin: the study of small groups. Group dynamics
investigated the influence of leadership styles on the productivity and cohesion of
groups, identified communication patterns, compared individual judgments with
group decisions and conformity. In this unit we will be dealing with the application
of social psychology to different settings, and the ethical issues related to social
psychology.
68
Current Trends in
4.1 OBJECTIVES Social Psychology and
Ethical Issues
l Describe the growing influence on application of social psychology to different

areas;
l Analyse the growing influence of Cognitive Perspective;
l Explain Multicultural Perspective;
l Define and describe the relationship between Sociobiology and evolutionary
psychology;and
l Elucidate the ethical issues in social psychological research.
4.2 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY APPLICATIONS

Social psychology as it is today with broadening it field by the research work on
touching various aspects of life, viz. population psychology, health psychology,
environmental psychology, legal system and psychology. It can be used to
understand personal health problems as well problems our earth is facing. Social
psychology has adopted multicultural perspective to understand behaviour with
respect to the cultural and social context.
Dissonance and attribution theory have created the most voluminous body of
experimental work. During the late 1960, it was pointed out that the mainstream
social psychology had emphasised predominantly individual cognitive processes
and had neglected the social context and that it had relied too exclusively on
experiments in laboratory settings.
Modern Social psychology has notable features such as that it has broadened its
repertoire of methods. It has become much more relevant to the understanding
of everyday life with research works focused on its application in various areas.
The social phenomena are explained with respect to different social and cultural
settings.
The cognitive approach to the explanations which was more or less sidelined by
experimental and behavioural approach is again gaining significance. New trends
such as socio biology and evolutionary social psychology have broadened the
realm of theoretical tools of social psychology.
Practical demands have always far surpassed the theoretical knowledge is social
psychology. The 1970 and 1980 were marked by growing concerns with the
application of social knowledge. “Applied social psychology is the utilisation of
social psychological principles and research methods in real word settings in an
effort to solve a variety of individual and societal problems” (Weyant 1986). In
this section we will discuss various applications of social psychology.
4.2.1 Population Psychology

Population psychology concentrates on the effects of the rapid expansion of the
number of humans on this planet and on efforts to control this expansion. How
is it that the number of human beings has grown in this fashion? Sagan (1989)
explains the mathematical phenomenon in terms of the ‘Secret of the Persian 69
Introduction to Social Chessboard.” Legend has it that the grand vizier of Persia invented the game of
Psychology chess played on a board divided into sixty-four squares. The king was pleased
by this new game and he told the vizier to select whatever he wished as a reward.
The clever inventor pretended to be a modest man who seemed to make only a
small request. He asked the king to give him a few grains of wheat-just one grain
on the first square of the board, doubling it to two grain on the second square,
four grains on the third, and so on for all sixty four squares. The king thought that
this was a small reward, and he was relieved that so little had been requested.
What was not obvious to the king, or to most of us, is that by the time the
doubling continued to the sixty fourth square, the reward would add up to 18.5
quintillion grains of wheat: about 75 billion metric tons- more than the contents of
all the king’s granaries. This type of astonishing growth is called exponential
increase.
In a similar way, when time passes arithmetically, population grows geometrically

each year. The reason why exponential growth comes as a surprise is that we
ordinarily think in arithmetic rather than geometric terms. Our thinking is not
adapted to the percentage increments. Also, the passage of large segment of time
is required for noticeable growth. Some observers argue that continued population
growth is essential because it acts as an incentive, resulting in a rise in everyone’s
standard of living. Since continued growth of population eats away the development,
an attitudinal change is required.
Social psychology is important in changing attitude and enhancing sensitivity. “To

bring about change, it is obviously important for psychologists to help increase the
quality and quantity of sex education, to bring about changes and reduce situational
constraints either to modify dispositional variables or to modify educational
messages and contraceptive availability to take account of individual differences”
(Baron and Byron, 1994: 546).
4.2.2 Health Psychology

Health psychology is the specialty that studies psychological processes affecting
the development, prevention and treatment of physical illnesses. A major obstacle
to the prevention of many physical disorders is the reluctance of people to believe
that some aspect of their lifestyle requires changing; mainly became information
about possible threats to health arouses fear and anxiety, the more relevant such
messages are to oneself the less one believes them.
In a study Lieberman & Chaiken (1992) women were given bogus information
about medical research that found a link between caffeine and a breast disorder.
The threat was either high or low. Women for whom the threat was most relevant
(regular coffee drinkers) were less likely to believe either the high threat or the
low threat message than were women who did not drink coffee. The study
showed that how personal relevance and self-interest interact in affecting people’s
response to informational messages.
Psychologists have been studying the effects of stress since World War II. The
questions of stress and illness, stress and coping and reduction of the harmful
effects of stress have been investigated by psychologists. The most common
source of stress are occupational threats, family threats, complaints from a spouse,
pressure from a supervisor to work harder etc. One reason that physical illness
is likely to occur doing times of stress is that the resulting worry and anxiety may
70 interfere with such health related behaviours as eating a balanced diet or exercising.
In addition to this indirect effect the body’s immune system functions less well Current Trends in
when stress is high. This finding of a direct link between psychological responses Social Psychology and
Ethical Issues
and the body’s defense against disease has led to the development of the field of
psychoneuro-immunology. This interdisciplinary approach studies stress, emotional
and behavioural reactions, and the immune system simultaneously. Zimmerman
(1990) suggests that the term ‘learned hopefulness (as contrasted with learned
helplessness) be applied to individuals who know how to solve problems and
who feel a sense of control.
Several other personality variables have been studied which predict possibility to
develop or not develop sickness, for example neurotic individuals react more
negatively to stress then those who are not neurotic and are also more likely to
become ill as a result.
Health is also affected by the kind of goals for which we strive.
People also differ in their characteristic feelings of pessimism and optimism. Those
with a pessimistic outlook view events uncontrollable.
Type A behaviour pattern (competitiveness, anger, an urgency about time and a

workaholic life style) as a personality variable is associated with aggression.
Research indicates that people identified as Type A, compared to Type B, have
higher blood pressure, produce smallest amounts of HDL-good cholesterol and
are twice likely to suffer from heart disease.
It appeases that the anger component is a critical factor that leads to coronary
problems. Thus, working hard to achieve does not cause heart disease, but failure
to achieve elicit a hostile self-schema for the Type A person. This hostility in turn
is detrimental to good health.
A familiar concept in health psychology is the importance of social support-

physical and psychological comfort from friends and family. The general finding is
that people who interact closely with family and friends are better able to avoid
illness than those who remain isolated from others, if illness does occur, those who
receive social support recover more quickly. It is because there is someone with
whom one can talk about unpleasant life events rather than engaging in self-
concealment.
When an illness does strike, the person has to make a series of critical choices
and decisions- noticing and interpreting symptoms, deciding to take action and
coping with medical procedures. Thus, research in health psychology focuses on
individual lifestyles and their perceptions and attitudes so that it can contribute for
the better personal health just by enthusing right kind of thinking.
4.2.3 Environmental Psychology

Environmental psychology is the field that deals with interaction between physical
world and human behaviour. Among the environmental factors affect behaviours
are environmental stress, noise, temperature, air pollution, atmospheric electricity
etc. The negative effects of human actions on environment in include global warming
and the ever-mounting problem of waste. Studies designed to consol littering
suggest that pro-environmental behaviour can be increased by the use of prompts,
rewards and legalisations.
71
Introduction to Social 4.2.4 Industrial Organisational Psychology
Psychology
It is an application of social psychology which focuses on understanding behaviours
in work settings especially within the field of industries and organisations. Work
related attitudes include employees’ evaluation of jobs (job satisfaction) and of
their organisations. Research has emphasised the determinants and the consequences
of these attitudes.
Work motivation is influenced by cognitive factors, the outcomes of performance,

and the perception of inequity.
A common problem in organisations is conflict, and psychologists have identified

both organisational causes competition over scarce resources, and interpersonal
causes such as stereotypes, prejudices, grudges and ineffective communication
styles. Organisational conflicts can be reduced or resolved by such techniques as
bargaining, super-ordinate goals and the induction of represses incompatible with
anger and conflict.
4.2.5 Legal System and Social Psychology

Forensic psychology has produced ample evidence that the reality of our legal
system often doesn’t live up to its ideals. Witnesses and defendants are influenced
by interrogation procedures and media publicity.
Eyewitness testimony is often inaccurate and the behaviours of attorneys and

judges can influence verdict. Jurors respond in part on the basis of cognitive
reinterpretation of the evidence and on emotional biases for and against specific
defendants.
Psychologists working in this area contribute to the social order by their research
human cognitive system and communication patterns.
Human cognitive system has limits and it is affected by various things. Legal
procedures depend mostly on reports and evidences by eyewitness. But the fact
about human memory can be revealing: its limited capacity, constructive processes
all need to be paid attention to in court hearings.
Ever increasing demands of psychology in various field call for specialist help to
work in these areas. As we earlier said practical demands far surpass theoretical
work in social psychology. But in any ways, it is exporting its knowledge and
importing various ideas from other sciences and practices.
1) Discuss the application of social psychology to different areas.
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72
2) How is social psychology applied to Population psychology? Current Trends in
Social Psychology and
Ethical Issues
...............................................................................................................
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3) Discuss the application of social psychology to health fields.
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4) How will you apply social psychology to environmental and industraial /

organisational fields?
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5) How is social psychology concerned with legal system?
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4.3 GROWING INFLUENCE OF COGNITIVE

PERSPECTIVE
Cognitive factors— attitudes, beliefs, values, inferences, play a key role in social
behaviour. Social psychologists have realised that our understanding of virtually all
aspects of social behaviours could be greatly enhanced by attention to the cognitive
processes that underlie them.
This approach involves efforts to many aspects of social thought and social
behaviours, basic knowledge about such issue as (1) how memory operates, (2)
What are human reasoning processes, and (3) how new information is integrated
into existing mental formworks. Efforts have been made to understand the nature
and impact of stereotypes in relation to certain aspects of memory (tendencies to
recall only certain types of information) and aspects of social reasoning that can
lead people to false conclusions about others. The results of research conducted
within this perspective have been show that affect is an important determinant of
many forms of social behaviors ranging from helping on the one hand, through
aggression and conflict on the other. Researchers have also studied the relation
between affect and cognition— how feelings shape thought and how thought 73
shapes feelings.
Psychology 4.4 MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Social psychology have always been accused of being American. It was pointed
out that the predominance of experimental orientation in social psychology is
deficient not due to the fact that experimentation is useless as a method but
because of the fact that the possibility is lost on the level of experimental research
to see the connection between the problem studied and the social context.
Multicultural diversity was the need of the hour for social psychology to really be
social. The questions were: can the findings of the studies (usually conducted in
the U.S.) be generalised to other cultures? Are the principles of behaviours
established in the U.S. universally applicable?
Many social psychologists now believe that cultural factors and forces are so
powerful that they can influence even the most basic aspects of social behaviours.
It is increasingly becoming clear that cultural difference are an important topic in
their own right and should receive careful attention in social psychological research.
Why do persons from different cultures react in contrasting ways to various

situations? The study of such issues may help clarify those aspects which are
universal and those that are culturally determined.
4.5 SOCIOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Is social behaviour influenced by biological processes and by genetic factors?
Many social psychologists today believe that our preferences, behaviours, emotional
reactions and cognitive abilities are affected to some extent by our biological
inheritance (Buss 1990, Nisbett 1990). Sociobiology a discipline that is based on
the thought that many aspects of social behaviours are the result of evolutionary
processes in which patterns of behaviours that contribute to reproduction are
strengthened and spread throughout a population. Evolutionary social psychology
suggests that social tendencies toward behaviours that are most adaptive from the
point of view of survivals increase in strength over time within a given population.
But it is also recognised that such tendencies change in response to environmental
and social conditions. They can even be altered by cognitive processes. But some
of the basic assumptions of sociobiology are questioned. Behaviours can be
changed. Tendencies in social behaviours should exist because they are the result
of a long evolutionary processor is also rejected.
1) Discuss the growing influence of cognitive perspective in social psychology.
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2) Explain social psychology from a multicultural perspective.
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74
............................................................................................................... Current Trends in
Social Psychology and
............................................................................................................... Ethical Issues
...............................................................................................................
3) Explain the various aspects of social psychology from a biological

perspective.
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4) Explain the evolutionary perspective in social psychology.
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4.6 SOME ETHICAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Untill the mid 20th century few people worried about the ethics of research with
human participants. After World War II, however, the discovery of Nazi atrocities
such as the dangerous and often fatal medical experiments carried out by doctors
in concentration camps on unwilling prisoners come to light.
Concerns were also raised by the discovery of unethical medical experimentation

in the United States such as the notorious Tuskegee case In 1932 the U.S. public
Health service began a 40- year study in Tuskgee Alabama on 399 poor and
semiliterate African American men who had syphilis, a progressive disease that
can lead to brain damage and death. The goal was to trace the effects of syphilis
on untreated males over many years. The men were told that they were being
treated but in fact they were never given medication even though penicillin was
available and was effective against the disease. Even as late as sixties, treatment
was still being withheld from the survivors while the study continued.
4.6.1 Deception
In the field of social psychology, ethical concerns have been focused on the use
of deception by researchers. It might sound inherently contradictory for a discipline
that calls itself science and yet use deception as a major research tool. Why is
deception so prevalent? Most researchers agree that in many cases it is necessary
to disguise key elements of a study in order to avoid having subject’s behaviour
influenced by what they think to be a true purpose of the study. Deception may
appear in following forms: (Geller 1981)
Implicit deception occurs when the actual situation is so different from what the
subjects expect that they behave under incorrect assumptions. In the most extreme
cases subject do not even know that they are in an experiment when in reality 75
they are.
Introduction to Social Technical deception occurs when the equipment and procedures of an experiment
Psychology are misrepresented. This occurs when subjects are given a cover story about the
purpose of the experiment but the real purpose is in fact very different.
Role deception occurs when other people in a study are misrepresented. Another
subject may actually be a confederate of the experiment or the experimenter may
pose os a fellow student in a classroom.
Deception raises a number of ethical dilemmas. Should people be studied without

their knowledge? Should the true purpose of experiments be revealed to subjects?
Should research procedures place people under stress? Should researchers induce
subjects to behave in way that they otherwise would be unlikely to do? These
questions have led to efforts within many professional associations to define ethical
behaviours in researches. The American Psychological Association (APA) first
developed guidelines for the ethical conduct of psychological research in 1972
and revised these guidelines in 1992. Three important issues in psychological
research are: informed consent, debriefing and minimal risk.
4.6.2 Informed Consent

A subject must voluntarily agree to participate in research without any coercion
and must understand what the participation involves. This is known on informed
consent. The researcher has an obligation to tell the potential subject as much as
possible about the study before asking them to participate. Subjects should be
informed about the research procedures, any risks or benefits of the research,
their right to refute to participate and their right to withdraw at any time during
the research without penalty. Any exception to this general guideline must be
approved by the institutional review board after careful examination of the planned
research. But these requirements may create problems for a social psychologist.
It may be important in some cases to not reveal the true purpose of the research
to avoid bias into their responses. Even in simplest research subject are rarely told
the specific hypotheses that are being tested. What would happen if researcher
first told subjects that the study is focused on the willingness to help strangers in
distress and then tested to see if the subject would help in an emergency? However
participants need not be told everything that will happen but they should know
that they are in a study.
4.6.3 Debriefing
At the end of their participation in a study subject should always be debriefed.
Debriefing means explaining in some detail the purpose and the procedure of the
research. Participants should be given an opportunity to ask questions and express
their feelings. A friendly discussion between the researcher and the participant can
help a subject to recover from any upset the research may have caused and to
learn from their research experience. When research deals with very sensitive
topics it may be important for the researcher to suggest ways in which participants
can learn more about the topic. Sometimes researchers offer to send participants
written information about the result of the study once the research findings have
been analysed.
4.6.4 Minimal Risk

A third guideline for research is to minimise potential risks to the subjects. Minimal
76
risk means that the possible risks of participating in the research are no greater Current Trends in
than ordinarily encountered in daily life. What kinds of risks can social psychological Social Psychology and
Ethical Issues
research pose? One of the most important risks is the invasion of privacy. An
individual’s right to privacy must be respected and valued.
The other main category of risk in social Psychology comes from stress of various
kinds. Subjects must be allowed to make decisions based on adequate information.
Finally the subjects should leave the study in essentially the same state of mind
and body in which they entered. Social psychological research offers the joy of
new discoveries about human experience. The thoughtful use of scientific methods
can do much to advance our understanding of social life and social problems.
But psychological research also carries with it the responsibility to treat research
participants with sensitivity and high ethical standards and to repay their valuable
assistance by sharing results of the research.
1) What are the ethical issues in social psychology research?
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2) What are the different types of deception n one comes across in social
psychology research?
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3) What is informed consent? Why is it necessary?
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4) Explain debriefing.
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77
Psychology 4.7 LET US SUM UP
Current social psychology is characterised by the research and applications in
various subjects of everyday life. From personal heath, environment to law,
everything comes within its ken. Its importance is added by the fact that all the
parts and problems of human life are based on human thinking and attitudes.
Understanding them better will lead to a better socially managed life. Whether the
behaviour is concerned with individuals, small groups or our planet, knowing the
basis nature of human will give our techniques a far better ground for utilisation.
Multicultural perspective, cognitive approach to the problems, sociobiology and
evolutionary psychology are some of the recent trend in social psychology.
Research ethics made it mandatory to respect the individuality and privacy of the
research participants. There should be no physical and mental harm to those
taking part in research. All the social psychological researches should follow APA
guidelines.

1) What do you mean by applied social psychology?
2) What are the various fields in which social psychology can be applied?
3) Discuss critically the growing influence of cognitive perspective in social

psychology.
4) Discuss the biological and evolutionary perspective in social psychology?
5) Write a note on ethical issues in social psychology.
4.9 GLOSSARY
Applied social psychology: utilisation of social psychological principles and
research methods in real word settings in an effort
to solve a variety of individual and societal
problems.
Population psychology : concentrates on the effects of the rapid expansion

of the number of humans on this planet and on
efforts to control this expansion.
Health psychology : the spatiality that studies psychological processes

affecting the development, prevention and
treatment of physical illness.
Environmental : is the field that deals with interaction between

psychology physical world and human behaviour.
Industrial and : application of social psychology which focuses on

organisational psychology understanding behaviours in work settings
especially within the field of industries and
organisations.
78
Sociobiology : the theory that many aspects of social behaviors Current Trends in
are the result of evolutionary processes in which Social Psychology and
Ethical Issues
patterns of behaviours that contribute to
reproduction are strengthened and spread
throughout a population.
Evolutionary social : social tendencies toward behaviours that are most

psychology adaptive from the point of view of survivals increase
in strength over time within a given population.
Deception : to disguise key elements of a study in order to

avoid having subject’s behavior influenced by what
they think to be a true purpose of the study.
Informed consent : A subject must voluntarily agree to participate in

research without any coercion and must understand
what the participation involves.
Debriefing : explaining in some detail the purpose and the

procedure of the research at the end of study to
the participants.
Minimal Risk : A third guideline for research is to minimise

potential risks to the subjects. Minimal risk means
that the possible risks of participating in the
research are no greater than ordinarily encountered
in daily life.

Andreyeva, Galina (1990) Social Psychology. Prgress Publication: Moscow

MA: Allyn and Bacon
Tajfel, H. and Israel J. (ed.) (1972) The Context of Social Psychology. Academic
Press: London and New York.
79
The Concepts of
UNIT 1 THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL Social Influence
INFLUENCE
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Current Research on Social Influence
1.2.1 Minority Influence
1.2.2 Persuasion
1.2.3 Elaboration Likelihood Model
1.2.4 Heuristic-systemic Models
1.2.5 Social Impact Theory
1.2.6 Social Influence Network Theory
1.2.7 Expectation States Theory
1.3 Areas of Social Influence
1.3.1 Conformity
1.3.1.1 Asch's (1951) Experiment on Conformity
1.3.1.2 Factors Found to Increasing Conformity
1.3.1.3 Informational Social Influence
1.3.1.4 Normative Social Influence
1.3.1.5 Minority Influence and Conformity
1.3.1.6 Gender and Conformity
1.3.2 Compliance
1.3.2.1 Principles Observed by Robort Cialdini
1.3.2.1.1 Reciprocation
1.3.2.1.2 Credibility
1.3.2.1.3 Liking/Friendship
1.3.2.1.4 Scarcity
1.3.2.1.5 Social Validation
1.3.2.1.6 Commitment
1.3.2.2 Four Compliance Strategies
1.3.2.2.1 Foot-in-the-door Technique
1.3.2.2.2 Door-in-the-face Technique
1.3.2.2.3 Low-Ball Technique
1.3.3 Obedience
1.3.3.1 Forms of Obedience
1.3.3.2 Cultural Attitudes to Obedience
1.3.3.3 Obedience Training of Human Beings
1.3.3.4 Experimental Studies of Human Obedience
1.3.3.4.1 The Stanford Prison Experiment
1.3.3.4.2 The Hofling Hospital Experiment
1.3.3.4.3 Factors That Increase Obedience
1.4 Let Us Sum Up
1.6 Suggested Reading and References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Social influence is defined as change in an individual’s thoughts, feelings, attitudes,
or behaviours that results from interaction with another individual or group. It
refers to the change in behaviour that one person causes in another, intentionally
or unintentionally. As a result , the changed person perceives himself in relationship 5
Process of Social Influence to the influencer, other people and society in general. In this unit we will be dealing
with Current research on social influence, such as minority influence etc., areas of
social influence such as conformity with related experiments, compliance and its
factors, obedience and the related factors and experimental studies on human
obedience.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
After completion of this unit, you will be able to:
l Define Social influence;

l Differentiate between various types of Social influence;
l Analyse various factors associated with Conformity;
l Explain various factors affecting Compliance; and
l Describe the factors affecting Obedience.
1.2 CURRENT RESEARCH ON SOCIAL

INFLUENCE
Social influence can also be defined as the process by which individuals make real
changes to their feelings and behaviours as a result of interaction with others who
are perceived to be similar, desirable, or expert. People adjust their beliefs with
respect to others to whom they feel similar in accordance with psychological
principles such as balance. Individuals are also influenced by the majority: when
a large portion of an individual’s referent social group holds a particular attitude,
it is likely that the individual will adopt it as well. Additionally, individuals may
change an opinion under the influence of another who is perceived to be an expert
in the matter at hand. French and Raven (1959) provided an early formalisation
of the concept of social influence in their discussion of the bases of social power.
For French and Raven, agents of change included not just individuals and groups,
but also norms and roles. They viewed social influence as the outcome of the
exertion of social power from one of five bases: reward power, coercive power,
legitimate power, expert power, or referent power. A change in opinion or attitude
was considered an instance of social influence.
Since 1959, scholars have distinguished true social influence from forced public
acceptance and from changes based on reward or coercive power. Social
researchers are still concerned with public compliance, reward power, and coercive
power, but those concerns are differentiated from social influence studies.
Current research on social influence generally uses experimental methodology and

tends to fall into five main areas: (1) minority influence in group settings, (2)
research on persuasion, (3) dynamic social impact theory, (4) a structural approach
to social influence, and (5) social influence in expectation states theory. Each is
discussed below.
1.2.1 Minority Influence

Minority influence is said to occur when a minority subgroup attempts to change
the majority. For example, teachers often influence their students’ beliefs, and
6 political and religious leaders frequently influence the behaviour of their followers.
While some previous research has characterised the process of social influence The Concepts of
as the majority riding over the minority, many scholars interested in minority Social Influence
influence believe that every member of a group can influence others, at least to
some degree. Studies have found this to be particularly true when the minority
group is consistent in what it presents to the majority. In addition, the presence
of minority groups within a larger group often leads to more creative thinking and
better overall solutions on group tasks. Nemeth and Kwan (1987) demonstrated
this in a study of four-person groups working on a creativity task. Individuals
were given information that a majority 3 of 3 or a minority 1 of 3 of the other
group members had come up with a novel response to the task at hand. Those
who were in the minority condition actually produced more correct solutions to
the task, indicating the strong effect of minority viewpoints.
1.2.2 Persuasion
Current research on persuasion, broadly defined as change in attitudes or beliefs
based on information received from others, focuses on written or spoken messages
sent from source to recipient. This research operates on the assumption that
individuals process messages carefully whenever they are motivated and able to
do so. Two types of theories dominate modern persuasion research: the elaboration
likelihood model and heuristic-systemic models.
1.2.3 Elaboration Likelihood Model

The elaboration likelihood model developed by Cacioppo, Petty, and Stoltenberg
(1985) has been used most frequently in therapeutic and counseling settings. It
states that the amount and nature of thinking that a person does about a message
will affect the kind of persuasion that the message produces. Aspects of the
persuasion situation that have been shown to be important for this model include
source, message, recipient, affect, channel, and context. Of particular importance
is the degree to which the recipient views the message’s issue as relevant to
himself. This model has demonstrated its utility in persuading various people to
make various types of healthier choices e.g., cancer patients, teens at risk from
tobacco use.
1.2.4 Heuristic-systemic Models

Heuristic-systemic models propose that argument strength will be most effective
in persuading an individual when he is motivated and able to attend to the
message, the ‘‘systemic’’ route . When the target individual is not motivated or
is unable to attend carefully, persuasion will take place through more indirect
means, the ‘‘heuristic’’ route, such as nonverbal cues or source credibility.
Persuasion that takes place via the systemic route will be relatively permanent and
enduring; persuasion through the heuristic route is more likely to be temporary.
1.2.5 Social Impact Theory

Broader than persuasion, social impact theory, as developed primarily by Bibb
Latane (1981), forms the basis for an active line of inquiry today called dynamic
social impact theory. Social impact means any of the number of changes that
might occur in an individual (physiological, cognitive, emotional, or behavioural)
due to the presence or action of others, who are real, imagined, or implied.
7
Process of Social Influence Social impact theory proposes that the impact of any information source is a
function of three factors: (i) the number of others who make up that source, (ii)
their immediacy i.e., closeness, and their strength and (iii) salience or power.
Dynamic social impact theory uses ideas about social impact to describe and
predict the diffusion of beliefs through social systems. In this view, social structure
is the result of individuals influencing each other in a dynamic way. The likelihood
of being influenced by someone nearby, rather than far away, (the immediacy
factor) produces localised cultures of beliefs within communication networks.
This process can lead initially randomly distributed attitudes and beliefs to become
clustered or correlated , less popular beliefs become consolidated into minority
subcultures. Dynamic social impact theory views society as a self-organising
complex system in which individuals interact and impact each others’ beliefs.
Like dynamic social impact theory, the structural approach to social influence
examines interpersonal influence that occurs within a larger network of influences.
In this larger network, attitudes and opinions of individuals are reflections of the
attitudes and opinions of their referent others.
Interpersonal influence is seen as a basis of individuals’ socialisation and identity.

Social influence is seen as the process by which a group of actors will weigh and
then integrate the opinions of significant others within the context of social structural
constraints. The structure determines the initial positions of group members and
the network and weight of interpersonal influences within the group.
1.2.6 Social Influence Network Theory

Social influence network theory, as described by Friedkin (1998), has its roots
in work by social psychologists and mathematicians .The formal theory involves
a two- weighted averaging of influential opinions. Actors start out with their own
initial opinions on some matter. At each stage, then, actors form a ‘‘norm’’ opinion
which is a weighted average of the other opinions in the group. Actors then
modify their own opinion in response to this norm, forming a new opinion which
is a weighted average of their initial opinion and the network norm. This theory
utilises mathematical models and quantifications to measure the process of social
influence.
1.2.7 Expectation States Theory

Expectation states theory provides another formal treatment of social influence.
Rooted in the work of Bales (1950), which found inequalities in the amount of
influence group members had over one another . Researchers in this tradition
have developed systematic models predicting the relative influence of task-oriented
actors in group settings. Bales discovered that even when group members were
equal on status at the beginning of the group session, some members would end
up being more influential than others.
The group would develop a hierarchy based on the behaviour of the group
members. When group members were initially unequal in status, inequalities would
be imported to the group from the larger society such that, for example, age or
sex or race would structure a hierarchy of influence.
8 Expectation states theory, as described in Berger et al. (1980), was originally

proposed as an explanation for Bales’s finding that groups of status equals would The Concepts of
develop inequalities in influence. According to the theory, group members develop Social Influence
expectations about the future task performance of all group members, including
themselves. Once developed, these expectations guide the group interaction. In
fact, expectations both guide and are maintained by the interaction. Those group
members for whom the highest expectations are held will be the most influential
in the group’s interactions.. Scholars are continuing to expand the theory both
theoretically and substantively.
1.3 AREAS OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Three areas of social influence are conformity, compliance and obedience.
Conformity is changing how you behave to be more like others. This plays to
belonging and esteem needs as we seek the approval and friendship of others.
Conformity can run very deep, as we will even change our beliefs and values to
be like those of our peers and admired superiors.
Compliance is where a person does something that they are asked to do by

another. They may choose to comply or not to comply, although the thoughts of
social reward and punishment may lead them to compliance when they really do
not want to comply. Obedience is different from compliance in that it is obeying
an order from someone that you accept as an authority figure. In compliance, you
have some choice. In obedience, you believe that you do not have a choice.
Many military officers and commercial managers are interested only in obedience.
1.3.1 Conformity
Conformity is the process by which an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours
are conditioned by what is conceived to be what other people might perceive.
This influence occurs in both small groups and society as a whole, and it may be
the result of subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure.
Conformity also occurs by the “implied presence” of others, or when other people
are not actually present. For example, people tend to follow the norms of society
when eating or watching television, even when they are at home by themselves.
People often conform from a desire to achieve a sense of security within a
group—typically a group that is of a similar age, culture, religion, or educational
status.
Any unwillingness to conform carries with it the very real risk of social rejection.
In this respect, conformity can be seen as a safe means of avoiding bullying or
deflecting criticism from peers. Conformity is often associated with adolescence
and youth culture, but it affects humans of all ages. Although peer pressure may
be viewed as a negative trait, conformity can have either good or bad effects
depending on the situation. Driving safely on the correct side of the road is a
beneficial example of conformity. Conformity influences the formation and
maintenance of social norms and allows society to function smoothly and predictably.
Because conformity is a group phenomenon, such factors as group size, unanimity,
cohesion, status, prior commitment, and public opinion all help to determine the
level of conformity an individual will display (Aronson, et.al. (2007).
1.3.1.1 Asch’s (1951) Experiment on Conformity
Perhaps the most influential study of conformity came from Solomon E. Asch 9
Process of Social Influence (1951). Asch gave groups of seven or nine college students what appeared to be
a test of perceptual judgment: matching the length of a line segment to comparison
lines. Each subject saw a pair of cards set up in front of the room, similar to the
ones that follow.
Stimuli like those used by Asch
Subjects received the following instructions:
This is a task involving the discrimination of lengths of lines. Before you is a pair
of cards. On the left is a card with one line. The card at the right has three lines
different in length; they are numbered 1, 2 and 3, in order. One of the three lines
at the right is equal to the standard line at the left-you will decide in each case
which is the equal line. You will state your judgment in terms of the number of the
line. There will be 18 such comparisons in all... As the number of comparisons
is few and the group small, I will call upon each of you in turn to announce your
judgments.
In a group of nine, eight subjects were actually confederates of the experimenter.

The experiment was designed so that the genuine subject was called upon
next-to-last in the group. The experimenter’s confederates had been instructed,
in advance, to make deliberately ridiculous judgments on many of the trials, but
to agree unanimously with one another. On 12 of the 18 trials, they said in loud
voices (for example) that the 4½" line was exactly equal to 3" standard line. The
pressure of the group had a dramatic effect. Although people could pick the
correct line 99% of the time when making the judgments by themselves, they went
along with the erroneous group judgment 75% of the time, even when it was
plainly wrong.
The conforming subjects did not fool themselves into thinking the wrong line was
equal to the standard line. They could see the difference. However, they were
influenced by eight people in a row making the “wrong” decision. Asked later why
they had made such obviously incorrect judgments, subjects reported, “They must
have been looking at line widths” or “I assumed it was an optical illusion” or “If
eight out of nine people made the same choice, I must have missed something in
the instructions.”
Asch obtained the conformity effect even when the confederate declared an
eleven-inch line to be equivalent to a four-inch standard. He found that small
groups-even groups of three, containing two confederates and one naïve subject-
were sufficient to induce the effect.
10
About a quarter of the subjects remained independent throughout the testing and The Concepts of
never changed their judgments to fit those of the group. One could argue that Social Influence
Asch’s experiment showed stubborn independence in some people, just as it
showed conformity in others. A subject who did not conform reported to Asch
later:
I’ve never had any feeling that there was any virtue in being like others. I’m used
to being different. I often come out well by being different. I don’t like easy group
opinions.
Asch later tested the effect of having a dissenter in the group. He found that if
only one of seven confederates disagreed with the group decision, this was enough
to free most subjects from the conformity effect. However, if the dissenter defected
later, joining the majority after the first five trials, rates of conformity increased
again. The public nature of the judgment also seemed to have an effect. If subjects
were invited to write their responses in private, while the majority made oral
responses, this destroyed the conformity effect.
1.3.1.2 Factors Found to Increase Conformity
Asch’s experiment inspired a lot of follow-up research by other experimenters.

Factors found to increase conformity included the following:
1) Attractiveness of other members in the group . People tended to go along with

a group of attractive people.
2) Complexity or difficulty of the task . People were more likely to conform if the
judgment was difficult.
3) Group cohesiveness. People conformed more if friendships or mutual

dependencies were set up beforehand .
To appreciate further the nature of this dilemma, let us imagine an introductory

lecture in psychology. The instructor is describing the Asch study and has just
shown a picture of the experimental stimuli. Suddenly he is interrupted by a
student who remarks, “But line A is the correct answer...” Predictably, the class
would laugh aloud and thereby communicate their enjoyment of their peer’s joke.
Suppose, however, that the dissenter failed to smile or to otherwise confirm that
he was trying to be funny. Suppose, instead, that he insisted, “Why are you all
laughing at me? I can see perfectly, and line A is correct.” Once convinced of the
dissenter’s sincerity, the class response almost certainly would be a mixture of
discomfort, bewilderment, concern, and doubt about the dissenter’s mental and
perceptual competence. It is this response that the Asch dissenters risked and,
accordingly, it is not surprising that many chose to avoid it through conformity.
Was the Asch conformity effect possibly due to the era in which it was carried
out? After all, the early 1950s were famous for emphasising conformity, such as
the “corporate man” who did everything possible to eliminate his individuality and
fit into a business setting. To see if the same experiment would work with a later
generation of subjects, NBC news had social psychologist Anthony Pratkanis
replicate the Asch experiment in front of a hidden camera for its Dateline show
in 1997. Sure enough, the experiment still worked, and the percentage of
conformists was almost identical to what Asch found. Most students, even some
who looked creative or rebellious on the outside, went along with obviously 11
Process of Social Influence incorrect group judgments. Later they explained that they did not want to look
foolish, so they just “caved in.”
Research in has focused primarily on two main varieties of conformity. These are
informational conformity, or informational social influence, and normative
conformity, otherwise known as normative social influence.
1.3.1.3 Informational Social Influence
Informational social influence occurs when one turns to the members of one’s
group to obtain accurate information. A person is most likely to use informational
social influence in three situations: When a situation is ambiguous, people become
uncertain about what to do. They are more likely to depend on others for the
answer. During a crisis when immediate action is necessary, in spite of panic.
Looking to other people can help ease fears, but unfortunately they are not
always right. The more knowledgeable a person is, the more valuable they are as
a resource. Thus people often turn to experts for help. But once again people
must be careful, as experts can make mistakes too. Informational social influence
often results in internalisation or private acceptance, where a person genuinely
believes that the information is right. Informational social influence was first
documented in Muzafer Sherif’s autokinetic experiment (Sherif, M., 1936). He
was interested in how many people change their opinions to bring them in line with
the opinion of a group. Participants were placed in a dark room and asked to
stare at a small dot of light 15 feet away. They were then asked to estimate the
amount it moved. The trick was there was no movement, it was caused by a
visual illusion known as the autokinetic effect. Every person perceived different
amounts of movement. Over time, the same estimate was agreed on and others
conformed to it. Sherif suggested that this was a simulation for how social norms
develop in a society, providing a common frame of reference for people.
Subsequent experiments were based on more realistic situations. In an eyewitness

identification task, participants were shown a suspect individually and then in a
lineup of other suspects. They were given one second to identify him, making it
a difficult task.
One group was told that their input was very important and would be used by
the legal community. To the other it was simply a trial. Being more motivated to
get the right answer increased the tendency to conform.
Those who wanted to be most accurate conformed 51% of the time as opposed
to 35% in the other group (Baron, 1996). Economists have suggested that fads
and trends in society form as the result of individuals making rational choices
based on information received from others. These information form quickly as
people decide to ignore their internal signals and go along with what other people
are doing.
1.3.1.4 Normative social influence
Normative social influence occurs when one conforms to be liked or accepted by

the members of the group. It usually results in public compliance, doing or saying
something without believing in it. Asch was the first psychologist to study this
phenomenon in the laboratory. As mentioned earlier, He conducted a modification
of Sherif’s study, assuming that when the situation was very clear, conformity
12 would be drastically reduced. He exposed people in a group to a series of lines,
and the participants were asked to match one line with a standard line.
All participants except one were secretly told to give the wrong answer in 12 of The Concepts of
the 18 trials. The results showed a surprisingly high degree of conformity. 76% Social Influence
of the participants conformed on at least one trial. On average people conformed
one third of the time.
However, in a reinterpretation of the original data from these experiments Hodges

and Geyer (2006) found that Asch’s subjects were not so conformist after all. The
experiments provide powerful evidence for people’s tendency to tell the truth
even when others do not. Also, there are multiple moral claims which include the
need for participants to care for the integrity and well-being of other participants,
the experimenter, themselves, and the worth of scientific research.
Normative influence is a function of social impact theory which has three

components. The number of people in the group has a surprising effect. As the
number increases, each person has less of an impact. A group’s strength is how
important the group is to a person. Groups we value generally have more social
influence. Immediacy is how close the group is in time and space when the
influence is taking place. Psychologists have constructed a mathematical model
using these three factors and are able to predict the amount of conformity that
occurs with some degree of accuracy.
Baron and his colleagues conducted a second “eyewitness study”, this time focusing
on normative influence (Baron, 1996). In this version, the task was made easier.
Each participant was given five seconds to look at a slide, instead of just one
second. Once again there were both high and low motives to be accurate, but the
results were the reverse of the first study. The low motivation group conformed
33% of the time (similar to Asch’s findings). The high motivation group conformed
less at 16%.
These results show that when accuracy is not very important, it is better to get
the wrong answer than to risk social disapproval.
An experiment using procedures similar to Asch’s found that there was significantly
less conformity in six-person groups of friends as compared to six-person groups
of strangers. Because friends already know and accept each other, there may be
less normative pressure to conform in some situations. Field studies on cigarette
and alcohol abuse, however, generally demonstrate evidence of friends exerting
normative social influence on each other.
1.3.1.5 Minority Influence and Conformity
Although conformity generally leads individuals to think and act more like groups,
individuals are occasionally able to reverse this tendency and change the people
around them. This is known as minority influence, a special case of informational
influence.
Minority influence is most likely when people are able to make a clear and
consistent case for their point of view. If the minority fluctuates and shows
uncertainty, the chance of influence is small. However, if the minority makes a
strong, convincing case, it will increase the probability of changing the beliefs and
behaviour of the majority.
Minority members who are perceived as experts, are high in status, or have
benefited the group in the past are also more likely to succeed. Another form of
13
Process of Social Influence minority influence can sometimes override conformity effects and lead to unhealthy
group dynamics. By creating negative emotional climate that interferes with healthy
group functioning. They can be avoided by careful selection procedures and
managed by reassigning them to positions that require less social interaction.
1.3.1.6 Gender and Conformity
Societal norms often establish gender differences. In general, this is the case for
social conformity, as females are more likely to conform than males (Reitan &
Shaw, 1964).
There are differences in the way men and women conform to social influence.
Social psychologists, Alice Eagly and Linda Carli performed a meta-analysis of
148 studies of influenceability. They found that women are more persuasible and
more conforming than men in group pressure situations that involve surveillance.
In situations not involving surveillance, women are less likely to conform.
In a study by Sistrunk and McDavid at a private university, a public junior college,

and at a high school, overall, females were more susceptible to social pressures
than males. In fact, females conformed more than males 3 out of 4 times when
they were presented masculine questions. Males conformed more than females 2
out of 4 times when they were presented feminine questions.
The composition of the group plays a role in conformity as well. In a study by

Reitan and Shaw, it was found that men and women conformed more when there
were participants of both sexes involved versus participants of the same sex.
Subjects in the groups with both sexes were more apprehensive when there was
a discrepancy amongst group members, and thus the subjects reported that they
doubted their own judgments. (Reitan & Shaw, 1964).
Normative social influence explains women’s attempt to create the ideal body
through dieting, and also by eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Men, in contrast, are likely to pursue their ideal body image through dieting,
steroids, and overworking their bodies, rather than developing eating disorders.
Both men and women probably learn what kind of body is considered attractive
by their culture through the process of informational social influence.
1) What are the current research in social influence?

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2) What kind of studies have been conducted to understand minority influence?
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14 ...............................................................................................................
The Concepts of
3) Give with suitable examples some of the studies conucted in persuation.
Social Influence
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4) Discuss elaboration likelihood and heuristic systemic models in regard to

social influence.
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5) What do you understand by social impact theory and how it has contributed
to understading social influence?
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6) Discuss social influence network theory and the expectation states theory of
social influence.
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7) Discuss the various areas of social influence .
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8) Put forward the experiment by Asch on conformity and indicate its significance
for social influence.
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Process of Social Influence 1.3.2 Compliance
In psychology, compliance refers to the act of responding favourably to an explicit
or implicit request offered by others. The request may be explicit, such as a direct
request for donations, or implicit, such as an advertisement promoting its products
without directly asking for purchase. In all cases, the target recognises that he or
she is being urged to respond in a desired way. To study the compliance professions
from the inside, Cialdini (2001) joined training programs of a different compliance
professions (sales, advertising, public relations, etc.) and started the participant
observation. He found that some principles are commonly used to increase the
probability of successful compliance, including reciprocation, credibility, liking/
friendship, scarcity and social validation.
1.3.2.1 Principles Observed by Robert Cialdini
The principles observed by Cialdini include (i) reciprocation, (ii) credibility (iii)
Liking / friendship (iv) Scarcity (v) Social validation and (vi) Commitment.
1.3.2.1.1 Reciprocation
Based on the social norm “treat others as you would expect to be treated”, when
someone does us a favour, it creates an obligation to accept any reasonable
requests he or she might make in return. We feel a motivation to reciprocate. For
instance if someone does something for you (such as giving you a compliment),
then you feel more obligated to do something for them (buy a product they may
be offering). Failing to respond leads to violation of our obligation to reciprocate
and bears the risk of social sanction. Guilt arousal produces an increase in
compliance. People who are induced to guilt are more likely to comply with a
request such as making a phone call to save native trees or donating blood
(Darlinton, & Macker, 1966).
Research findings supports in that this can be demonstrated by experiment.

Participants acted as subjects to answer questions under two conditions. When
they answered wrongly, participants acted as shock administrator and delivered
shock in condition A . When participants acted as witness, witnessing subjects
being shocked in condition B. After a few trials, requests for making calls were
made. Results showed that participants in condition A were more likely to comply
with the requests by making many more calls (39 calls) than those in condition
B (6.5 calls). It is because participants in condition A comply with the requests
in order to ward off their guilty feeling.
1.3.2.1.2 Credibility
The source of requests will also affect whether we comply or not. If the source
is an expert, with knowledge, abilities or skills, i.e. more credible, we would
respect the request more and would be more likely to comply. This principle is
used as a marketing strategy, where they put on white lab coats which, from a
consumer’s point of view, will symbolise authority.
One of the experiments conducted in this regard invited five hundred university
students to join the study about their opinion of sleep. In the first stage, students
gave their opinion on the optimum length of sleep and the average result was
about eight hours. Then, students received advice from two sources, one was a
16 physiologist who had won a Nobel Prize before and was a specialist on sleep
research; the other one was a YMCA instructor.
Clearly, the former one represented a more credible source while the latter one The Concepts of
represented a less credible source. Two experts varied their answer about the Social Influence
number of sleeping hours needed every day from eight to zero. Therefore, the
discrepancy between the student’s answer and the expert’s answer increased
from zero to eight.
After consulting the experts, students were asked to give their opinion again about
the number of sleeping hours. When the experts’ opinion was different from that
of students, students were more likely to change their own answers after they got
the advice from the physiologist (more credible source) than from the YMCA
instructor (less credible source). Therefore, a high credibility source makes people
more likely to comply. This may explain why advertisements nowadays always
quote experts’ opinion or construct a sense of expertise by showing a professional
figure.
1.3.2.1.3 Liking/Friendship
People are more likely to say yes to those they know and like because of the
Social Exchange Theory, which states that human relationships are formed by
using a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives. Thus,
complying with a person we like certainly is more favourable. This principle is
used by salesmen all over the world. The principle of liking is common within
neighbourhoods, neighbours selling and buying things from each other. When you
feel that you trust a person you feel more obliged to buy the thing that they’re
selling.
In an experiment conducted by Dennis (2006), 115 female and 94 male

undergraduate students were requested to complete a questionnaire asking them
the degree of intimacy with their partners. Besides, participants were also asked
to consider 32 behavioural change messages e.g. smoking cessation, safe sex
practice, etc. as if these were delivered to them by their partners and to estimate
their effectiveness on a 5-point scale.
The result showed that higher levels of intimacy within romantic relationships are
significantly and positively correlated with the estimated success of appeals targeted
at health-related behavioural motivations.
1.3.2.1.4 Scarcity
The scarcity effect refers to the influence of perceived scarcity on the subjective
desirability of an object. Individuals do not want to be left alone without an item.
A consumer often infers value in a product that has limited availability or is
promoted as being scarce. The idea of “Limited edition” which can be seen all
over the world is based on the principle of scarcity. When we see that an object
is limited we feel the urge to buy them in order to not be left out. This also relates
to the key explanation to one of the fundamental concepts in economics “Supply
and Demand”.
A classical experiment was done by Worchel et al. (1975). Jars of chocolate chip
cookies were shown to the subjects who were then asked to rate ‘how much do
you like the cookies’, ‘how attractive the cookies are’ and ‘how much would you
pay for the cookies’.
Results found that the rating of liking, attractiveness and cost paid were significantly
17
Process of Social Influence higher in the scarcity condition in which there were only 2 cookies in the jar than
in the abundant condition with 10 cookies in the jar. Therefore, suggesting that the
product is scarce or in limited supply is an effective selling method. People are
more likely to comply with the salesmen’s persuasion and buy the limited edition
products as they value more on scarce products.
1.3.2.1.5 Social Validation
Social Validation, also called “Principle of Conformity and Consensus”, in

compliance is a phenomenon in which people are more willing to take a
recommended step if they see evidence that many others, especially similar others,
are taking it. The human need to fit in is very strong and tends to make us comply
in order to be a part of the majority.
Schultz (1999) had conducted a “Field Experiment on Curbside Recycling” to

observe participants’ curbside recycling behaviours for 17 weeks with different
interventions. In the experiment, 5 conditions namely, ‘plea’, ‘plea plus information’,
‘plea plus neighbourhood feedback’, ‘plea plus individual household feedback’,
or the control condition are observed.
Among these conditions, the ‘Plea plus neighborhood feedback’ condition in

which subjects receive the total amount of each material collected for the duration
of the study and the percentage of households participated that week , shows the
most long lasting participation during post-intervention. This unveils the underlying
strong influence of social validation in compliance.
On business front, manufacturers often persuade purchase by claiming that their

products are the fastest growing or best selling in the market. Cialdini (2001) has
pointed out that this strategy of enhancing compliance by providing information of
others who had already complied was the most widely used principle he
encountered.
1.3.2.1.6 Commitment
Commitment to a store or a company induced by loyalty cards or bonuses can

make it harder for a person to change where they shop or what they purchase.
1.3.2.2 Four Compliance Strategies
Compliance is known to be enhanced by a number of situational manipulations

such as:
l Foot-in-the-door technique
l Door-in-the-face technique
l Low-Ball
l Ingratiation
1.3.2.2.1 Foot-in-the-door technique
Foot-in-the-door technique (FITD) is a compliance tactic that involves getting a

person to agree to a large request by first setting them up by having that person
agreeing to a modest request.
18 In a study, a team of psychologists telephoned housewives in California and asked

if the women would answer a few questions about the household products they The Concepts of
used. Three days later, the psychologists called again. This time, they asked if they Social Influence
could send five or six men into the house to go through cupboards and storage
places as part of a 2-hr enumeration of household products. The investigators
found these women were more than twice as likely to agree to the 2-hr request
as a group of housewives asked only the larger request. Numerous experiments
have shown that foot-in-the-door tactics work well in persuading people to comply,
especially if the request is a pro-social request. Research has shown that FITD
techniques work over the computer via email, in addition to face-to-face requests.
Examples
“Can I go over to Sita’s house for an hour?” followed by “Can I stay the
night?”
“Can I borrow the car for 1 day?” followed by “Can I borrow the car for
the weekend?”
“Would you sign this petition for our cause?” followed by “Would you donate
to our cause?”
“May I re turn the maggine a few hours late?” followed by “May I re turn
it in next week?”
1.3.2.2.2 Door-in-the-face technique
The door-in-the-face (DITF) technique is a persuasion method. Compliance with

the request of concern is enhanced by first making an extremely large request that
the respondent will obviously turn down, with a metaphorical slamming of a door
in the persuader’s face. The respondent is then more likely to accede to a second,
more reasonable request than if this second request were made without the first,
extreme request. Cialdini (Cialdini, 2001) suggests that this is a form of reciprocity,
e.g. the [induced] sharp negative response to the first request creates a sense of
debt or guilt that the second request offers to clear. Alternately, a reference point
(or framing) construal may explain this phenomenon, as the initial bad offer sets
a reference point from which the second offer looks like an improvement.
One of the classic experiments to test the door in the face technique is where
Cialdini asked students to volunteer to counsel juvenile delinquents for two hours
a week for two years. After their refusal, they were asked to chaperone juvenile
delinquents on a one-day trip to the zoo. 50% agreed to chaperone the trip to
the zoo as compared to 17% of participants who only received the zoo request.
Examples
Other examples of the door-in-the-face technique include:
“Will you donate Rs.1000 to our organization?” [Response is no].

“Oh. Well, could you donate Rs.10 ?”
“Can you help me do all this work?”
“Well, can you help me with this bit?”
1.3.2.2.3 Low-Ball Technique

19
Process of Social Influence The low-ball is a persuasion and selling technique in which an item or service is
offered at a lower price than is actually intended to be charged, after which the
price is raised to increase profits.
A successful low-ball relies on the balance of making the initial request attractive
enough to gain agreement, whilst not making the second request so outrageous
that the customer refuses.
First propose an attractive price on an idea/item which you are confident that the
other person/buyer will accept.
Maximise their buy-in, in particular by getting both verbal and public commitment
to this, e.g. down payment or hand-shaking. Make it clear that the decision to
purchase is from their own free will.
Change the agreement to what you really want. The person/buyer may complain,
but they should agree to the change if the low-ball is managed correctly.
The experimenters asked students to participate in an experiment. 56% agreed,

before being told that the experiment started at 7am. They then told the volunteers
that the study was scheduled at 7am, and the volunteers could withdraw if they
wished. None did so, and 95% turned up at the scheduled time (the Low-Ball
group). When a control group were asked to participate and were told the
unsocial timing of the experiment up front, only 24% agreed to participate.
1) In regard to Compliance, what are principles observed by Cialdini? Support

your arguments with research findings.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) What is credibility? Discuss credibilioty factor as influencing compliance.

Give evidence in terms of research findings.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) How does liking or friendship affect a person’s compliance? Give suitable

evidences and examples.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
20
The Concepts of
4) What is meant by scarcity factor? How does it contribute to compliance? Social Influence
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
5) Describe and discuss each of the four compliance strategies. FIDT, DIFT,
LBT
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
1.3.3 Obedience
Obedience is a form of social influence where an individual acts in response
to a direct order from another individual, who is usually an authority figure.
It is assumed that without such an order the person would not have acted in this
way. Obedience occurs when you are told to do something (authority), whereas
conformity happens through social pressure (the norms of the majority). Obedience
involves a hierarchy of power/status.
Therefore, the person giving the order has a higher status than the person receiving
the order. Obedience is the act of obeying orders from others.
As humans we are indoctrinated to obey authority figures. This training begins

from the moment of birth as we are reliant on our parents to take care of our
every need, in turn being subservient to our authority figure or parents. As we
begin to mature and are thrust into society we obtain more influential authority
figures from outside the household.
Schools have a system of order and authority. Teachers give us guidance and
direction academically and even socially because we begin to learn how to act in
a group or societal setting. The school environment is all a preparation for careers.
When we begin working most of us work for a company or organisation with all
levels of management who we must be obedient to. As we mature we are given
more and more responsibility over our actions and judgments, thus making it more
beneficial to our societal advancement to be obedient. Stanley Milgram, a famous
social psychologist, performs a number of experiments on human obedience in the
1960’s.
Obedience, in human behaviour, is the quality of being obedient, which describes

the act of carrying out commands, or being actuated. Obedience differs from
compliance, which is behaviour influenced by peers, and from conformity, which
is behaviour intended to match that of the majority. Humans have been shown to
be surprisingly obedient in the presence of perceived legitimate authority figures,
as demonstrated by the Milgram experiment in the 1960s, which was carried out
by Stanley Milgram to discover how the Nazis managed to get ordinary people
21
Process of Social Influence to take part in the mass murders of the Holocaust. The experiment showed that
obedience to authority was the norm, not the exception
1.3.3.1 Forms of Obedience
Obedience is the tendency to follow orders given by an authority figure. This can
be explained by Milgram’s Agency Theory, which states that we are in either one
of two states. Forms of human obedience include:
l obedience to laws;
l obedience to social norms;
l obedience to a monarch, government, organisation, religion, or church;
l obedience to God;
l obedience to self-imposed constraints, such as a vow of chastity;
l obedience of a spouse or child to a husband/wife or parent respectively;
l obedience to management in the workplace.
1.3.3.2 Cultural Attitudes to Obedience
Obedience is regarded as a virtue in many traditional cultures; historically, children

have been expected to be obedient to their elders, slaves to their owners, serfs
to their lords in feudal society, lords to their king, and everyone to God. Even long
after slavery ended in the United States, the Black codes required black people
to obey and submit to whites, on pain of lynching.
In some Christian weddings, obedience was formally included along with honor
and love as part of a conventional bride’s (but not the bridegroom’s) wedding
vow. This came under attack with women’s suffrage and the feminist movement.
Today its inclusion in marriage vows is optional in some denominations.
As the middle classes have gained political power, the power of authority has
been progressively eroded, with the introduction of democracy as a major turning
point in attitudes to obedience and authority.
Since the democides and genocides of the First World War and Second World
War periods, obedience has come to be regarded as a far less desirable quality
in Western cultures. The civil rights and protest movements in the second half of
the twentieth century marked a remarkable reduction in respect for authority in
Western cultures, and greater respect for individual ethical judgment as a basis for
moral decisions.
1.3.3.3 Obedience Training of Human Beings
Some animals can easily be trained to be obedient by employing operant

conditioning, for example obedience schools exist to condition dogs into obeying
the orders of human owners. Obedience training seems to be particularly effective
on social animals a category that includes human beings; other animals do not
respond well to such training.
Learning to obey adult rules is a major part of the socialisation process in childhood,
and many techniques are used by adults to modify the behaviour of children.
22 Additionally, extensive training is given in armies to make soldiers capable of
obeying orders in situations where an untrained person would not be willing to The Concepts of
Social Influence
follow orders. Soldiers are initially ordered to do seemingly trivial things, such as
picking up the sergeant’s hat off the floor, marching in just the right position, or
marching and standing in formation. The orders gradually become more demanding,
until an order to the soldiers to place themselves into the midst of gunfire gets a
knee-jerk obedient response.
1.3.3.4 Experimental Studies of Human Obedience
Obedience has been extensively studied by psychologists since the Second World
War — the Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment are the most
commonly cited experimental studies of human obedience, while the Hofling hospital
experiment was an early field experiment (Hofling CK et al., 1966)
The Milgram experiments, the first of which was carried out in 1961, were the
earliest investigations of the power of authority figures as well as the lengths to
which participants would go as a result of their influence. Milgram’s results showed
that, contrary to expectations, a majority of civilian volunteers would obey orders
to apply electric shocks to another person until they were unconscious or dead.
Prior to these experiments, most of Milgram’s colleagues had predicted that only
sadists would be willing to follow the experiment to their conclusion.
Obedience is a basic human trait and is a deeply ingrained behaviour. Some form
of obedience is a requirement for function in modern society. The Milgram shock
experiment proves these characteristics. The experiments first took place at Yale
University and eventually involved over one thousand participants from all walks
of life.
Two individuals were to enter a psychology laboratory and take part in a study
of memory and learning. One of them was to be the teacher and the other the
student. The student was instructed to learn a list of word pairs and whenever the
student made a mistake would receive an electric shock of increasing intensity.
However the focus of the experiment is the teacher. The teacher watches the
student being strapped into place and then taken to a shock generator. The shock
generator features switches ranging from 15 to 450 volts in 15 volt increments.
If the student gets the answer correct the teacher is to move on to the next
problem. If the answer is wrong the teacher is to shock the student beginning with
15 volts.
The teacher, being the focus of the experiment, does not know that the student
is not really being shocked and that the student is really an actor. Each time the
student answers incorrectly and is shocked, he pretends to be shocked. As the
teacher watches the student being tortured by the electric shocks, he continues
to follow the orders he was instructed. The experiment proves that obedience is
something humans teach one another and follow through with.
Milgram thinks the problems lies in the structure of society, people are just
following orders of superiors and are not directly responsible for his or her
actions.
Also, Milgram himself had already conducted several studies, which had shown
that obedience tended to increase with the prestige of the authority figure. In these
studies, an undergraduate research assistant posing as a Yale professor had a
much greater influence than did someone of lesser status, regardless of the prestige 23
of the institution in which the study was based.
Process of Social Influence 1.3.3.4.1 The Stanford Prison Experiment
Unlike the Milgram experiment, which studied the obedience of individuals, the
1971 Stanford prison experiment studied the behaviour of people in groups, and
in particular the willingness of people to obey orders and adopt abusive roles in
a situation where they were placed in the position of being submissive or dominant
by a higher authority.
In the experiment, a group of volunteers was divided into two groups and placed
in a “prison,” with one group in the position of playing prison guards, and other
group in the position of “prisoners”.
In this case, the experimenters acted as authority figures at the start of the
experiment, but then delegated responsibility to the “guards,” who enthusiastically
followed the experimenters’ instructions, and in turn assumed the roles of abusive
authority figures, eventually going far beyond the experimenters’ original instruction
in their efforts to dominate and brutalize the “prisoners.” At the same time, the
prisoners adopted a submissive role with regard to their tormentors, even though
they knew that they were in an experiment, and that their «captors» were other
volunteers, with no actual authority other than that being role-played in the
experiment.
The Stanford experiment demonstrated not only obedience (of the “guards” to the
experimenters, and the “prisoners” to both the guards and experimenters), but
also high levels of compliance and conformity.
1.3.3.4.2 The Hofling Hospital Experiment
Both the Milgram and Stanford experiments were conducted in experimental

circumstances. In 1966, psychiatrist Charles K. Hofling published the results of
a field experiment on obedience in the nurse-physician relationship in its natural
hospital setting. Nurses, unaware they were taking part in an experiment, were
ordered by unknown doctors to administer dangerous doses of a (fictional) drug
to their patients. Although several hospital rules disallowed administering the drug
under the circumstances, 21 out of the 22 nurses would have given the patient an
overdose of medicine.
1.3.3.4.3 Factors that Increase Obedience
Milgram found that subjects were more likely to obey in some circumstances than
others. Obedience was highest when:
l Commands were given by an authority figure rather than another volunteer

l The experiments were done at a prestigious institution
l The authority figure was present in the room with the subject
l The learner was in another room
l The subject did not see other subjects disobeying commands
In everyday situations, people obey orders because they want to get rewards,
because they want to avoid the negative consequences of disobeying, and because
they believe an authority is legitimate. In more extreme situations, people obey
even when they are required to violate their own values or commit crimes.
24 Researchers think several factors cause people to carry obedience to extremes:
People justify their behaviour by assigning responsibility to the authority rather The Concepts of
than themselves. Social Influence
People define the behaviour that’s expected of them as routine.
People don’t want to be rude or offend the authority.
People obey easy commands first and then feel compelled to obey more and
more difficult commands. This process is called entrapment, and it illustrates the
foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
Stanley Milgram has pointed out a human characteristic that may very well be in
each and every one of us. These experiments show us that ordinary people will
go to any length to be subservient to an authority figure, no matter the moral
dilemma. Only when we can differentiate between being a good subject and
having good morals will we be able to make a distinction between being obedient
and committing crimes by our own individual actions.
1) What are the various forms of obedience?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) How are humans trained to obey?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) What factors influence obedience? Put forward experimental studies on

humans in regard to obedience.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4) Describe the Milgram experiment . What did you learn from it in regard to
obedience?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
25
Process of Social Influence
5) What factors increase obedience?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
1.4 LET US SUM UP

Social influence is the change in behaviour that one person causes in another,
intentionally or unintentionally, as a result of the way the changed person perceives
themselves in relationship to the influencer, other people and society in general.
Social influence can also be defined as the process by which individuals make real
changes to their feelings and behaviours as a result of interaction with others who
are perceived to be similar, desirable, or expert. Three areas of social influence
are conformity, compliance and obedience. Conformity is changing how you
behave to be more like others. This plays to belonging and esteem needs as we
seek the approval and friendship of others. Conformity can run very deep, as we
will even change our beliefs and values to be like those of our peers and admired
superiors. Compliance is where a person does something that they are asked to
do by another. They may choose to comply or not to comply, although the
thoughts of social reward and punishment may lead them to compliance when
they really do not want to comply. Obedience is different from compliance in that
it is obeying an order from someone that you accept as an authority figure. In
compliance, you have some choice. In obedience, you believe that you do not
have a choice. Many military officers and commercial managers are interested
only in obedience.

1) Define the term Social Influence and discuss its various types.
2) Describe the factors associated with conformity.
3) describe in detail the Asch’s study on conformity.
4) What do you mean by compliance? Discuss various factors leading to compliance.
5) Describe the Stanford Prison experiment and indicate itws contribution in

understanding obedience.
6) What is the significance of Hofling Hospital experiment? Discuss the same in

the context of obedience.

REFERENCES
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. M. (2010). Social Psychology (7th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
26
Baron, R. A., Branscombe, N. R., & Byrne, D. (2009). Social Psychology(12th The Concepts of
ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Social Influence
References
Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., & Akert, A.M. (2007). Social Psychology (6th Ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion
of judgments. Groups, leadership, and men, 177-190.
Bales, R. F. (1950) Interaction Process Analysis. Addison Wesley, Reading, MA
Baron, R. S., Vandello, J. A., & Brunsman, B. (1996). The forgotten variable in
conformity research: Impact of task importance on social influence. Journal of
Berger, J., Rosenholtz, S. J., & Zelditch, M. Jr. (1980). Status Organizing
Processes. Annual Review of Sociology 6: 479–508
Bochner, S., & Insko, C. A. (1966). Communicator discrepancy, source credibility,

and opinion change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 614-621.
Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Stoltenberg, C. D. (1985) Processes of Social

Influence: The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion. In: Kendall, P. C.
(Ed.), Advances in Cognitive-Behavioural Research and Therapy. Academic Press,
San Diego, pp. 215–74.
Cialdini, Robert B. (2001). ‘‘Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.)’’. Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.
Darlinton, R. B., & Macker, C. E. (1966). Displacement of guilt-produced altuistic

behaviour. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(4), 442-443.
Dennis, M. R. (2006). Compliance and Intimacy: Young Adults’ Attempts to

Motivate Health-Promoting Behaviours by Romantic Partners. Health
Communication, 19 (3), 259-267.
French, J. R. P., Jr. & Raven, B. (1959) The Bases of Social Power. In: Cartwright,
D. (Ed.), Studies in Social Power. Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI,
pp. 150–67.
Friedkin, N. (1998) A Structural Theory of Social Influence. Cambridge University

Press, Cambridge.
Hodges, B. H. and A. L. Geyer (2006). A Nonconformist Account of the Asch

Experiments: Values, Pragmatics, and Moral Dilemmas. In:Personality and Social
Psychology Review 10(1), 2–19.
Hofling CK et al. (1966) “An Experimental Study of Nurse-Physician

Relationships”. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 141:171-180.
Latane, B. (1981) The Psychology of Social Impact. American Psychologist 36:

343–56.
27
Process of Social Influence Latane, B. (1996) Dynamic Social Impact: The Creation of Culture by
Communication. Journal of Communication 4: 13–25.
Milgram, Stanley. (1963). “Behavioural Study of Obedience”. [1] Journal of

Abnormal and Social Psychology 67, 371-378
Nemeth, C. & Kwan, J. (1987) Minority Influence, Divergent Thinking and the
Detection of Correct Solutions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 17: 788–
99.
Reitan, H. T. & Shaw, M. E. (1964). Group membership, sex-composition of the

group, and conformity behaviour. The Journal of Social Psychology, 64, 45-51.
Schultz, P. W. (1999). Changing behaviour with normative feedback interventions:

A field experiment on curbside recycling. Basic and Applied Social Psychology,
21, 25-36.
Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms. New York: Harper Collins.
Worchel, S., Lee, J., & Adewole, A. (1975). Effects of supply and demand on
rating of object value. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 906-
914.
28
Pro-social Behaviour and
UNIT 2 PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Factors Contributing to
Pro-social Behaviour
AND FACTORS
CONTRIBUTING TO PRO-
SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Pro-social Behaviour
2.2.1 Definition and Description
2.2.2 Pro-social Behaviour and Altruism
2.2.3 Certain Historical Aspects of Prosocial Behaviour
2.3 Pro-social Behaviour in Emergency Situation

2.3.1 Noticing the Emergency
2.3.2 Interpreting an Emergency as an Emergency
2.3.3 Assuming that it is your Responsibility to Help
2.3.4 Knowing what to do
2.3.5 Making the Decision to Help
2.4 Factors Affecting Helping Behaviour

2.4.1 Physical Attractiveness
2.4.2 Similarity and Kinship
2.4.3 Religiosity
2.4.4 Victim’s Perspective
2.4.5 Personal Experience
2.4.6 Identifiable Victim Effect
2.4.7 Attributions Concerning Victim’s Responsibility
2.4.8 Positive Friend Influence
2.4.9 Gender
2.4.10 Age
2.4.11 Personality
2.4.12 Effects of Positive Moods: Feel Good, Do Good
2.5 Theoretical Perspectives

2.5.1 Social Learning Theory
2.5.2 Motivation Perspective
2.5.3 Social Identity Theory
2.5.4 Biological Perspectiv
2.6 Negative-State Relief Hypothesis
29
Process of Social Influence 2.7 Empathy – Altruism Hypothesis
2.7.1 Empathic-Joy Hypothesis
2.7.2 Self-Efficacy Hypothesis
2.8 Reciprocity and Social Norms

2.9 Current Trends
2.10 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Pro-social behaviour is defined as “…any act performed with the goal of benefiting
another person” (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2004 p. 382). How is it possible
to differentiate the meaning or motivation or consequences between a ten rupees
donation to charity and rescuing a drowning child? This is not a topic confined
within one discipline. Even a cursory review of the literature reveals that
psychologists, philosophers, economists, sociobiologists, and others all have distinct
and often conflicting points of view. Prosocial are voluntary made with the
intention of benefiting others. This definition focuses on the potential benefits to
the person performing the prosocial behaviour. In this unit we will be dealing with
noticing emergency for help, understanding how and what do in such situations,
and determining and taking decisions to help. Such a helping behaviour is influenced
by a large number of factors such as physical attractiveness of the person who
needs help, similarity in a number of factors, whether the person is a relative
and belong to kin etc. This unit deals with also the perspective of help from the
victim’s point of view and one’s own personal experience. Many theoretical
perspectives have also been put across in this unit which includes social learning
theory and its influence on helping behaviour, the motivation and social identity
theories contributing to understanding of helping behaviour empathic and receiprocity
factors as to how they contribute to the understanding of helping behaviour. Lastly
the unit discusses the current trends in regard to pro social behaviour.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After successful completion of this Unit, you are expected to be able to:
l Define Pro-social behaviour and altruism;
l Have knowledge about various factors affecting pro-social behaviour;
l Explain pro-social behaviour in the light of different theories; and
l Analyse the current trends in research related to pro-social behaviour.
2.2 PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

2.2.1 Definition and Description
Staub (1979) defined pro-social behaviour as voluntary behaviour intended to
30
benefit another person. “Voluntary” emphasises the spontaneous initiative by the
actor in contrast to professional help (e.g., physicians or nurses). Pro-social Pro-social Behaviour and
behaviour may include helping, sharing, giving, and comforting (Bierhoff, 2002). Factors Contributing to
Pro-social behaviour is defined as “…any act performed with the goal of benefiting
another person” (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2004 p. 382). How is it possible
to differentiate the meaning or motivation or consequences between a ten rupees
donation to charity and rescuing a drowning child? Many researchers have
attempted to narrow the parameters of discussion by focusing on subsets of
prosocial behaviour such as altruism versus self-interest, helping behaviours
sustained over time versus one-time events, personality variables versus situational
context, the origins of empathy and others.
Pro-social behaviour is not a topic confined within one discipline. Even a cursory
review of the literature reveals that psychologists, philosophers, economists,
sociobiologists, and others all have distinct and often conflicting points of view. As
Kohn points out, the term pro-social is so broad that it becomes essentially
meaningless.
Pro-social are voluntary made with the intention of benefiting others (Eisenberg
& Fabes, 1998). This definition focuses on the potential benefits to the person
performing the pro-social behaviour. Nevertheless, benefiting others, but whose
main goal is self-advantageous (e.g. cooperative intended to obtain a common
resource), typically are not considered pro-social. Typical examples include:
volunteering, sharing toys, or food with friends instrumental help (e.g., helping a
peer with school assignments) costly help e.g. risking one’s own life to save
others and emotionally supporting others in distress e.g., comforting a peer
following a disappointing experience or caring for a person who is ill.
2.2.2 Pro-social Behaviour and Altruism

Pro-social behaviour is often accompanied by psychological and social rewards
for its performer. In the long run, individuals can benefit from living in a society
where prosociality is common. It has been difficult for researchers to identify
purely altruistic behaviours, benefiting only the recipient and not the performer.
Altruism is generally defined as any form of voluntary act intended to favour
another without expectation of reward (Smith & Mackie, 2000; Batson et. al.,
2002; Aronson et. al., 2004).
Perhaps the first person to utilise the term altruism was the French sociologist
Auguste Comte, who declared that humans have inborn drives to behave
sympathetically toward others (Lee, Lee and Kang, 2003). It is a specific kind
of motivation to benefit another without consciously considering for one’s own self
interest (Hall, 1999). In other words, altruism refers to a kind of selfless help,
which is based on pure desire to help others (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, & Fehr,
2004). Nevertheless, altruism is not a synonym for pro-social behaviour.
Prosocial behaviour refers to helping behaviour of favouring another person with

the goal that may involve benefits to self (Smith & Mackie, 2000; Aronson et. al.,
2004). For instance, people donating money to Tsunami relief fund may not
always be selfless. In the case that donation is for the sake of tax exemption, its
motive would not be regarded as altruistic. The major difference between altruism
and pro-social behaviour is that altruism does not involve the element of self
interest (Myers, 1996).
31
Process of Social Influence 2.2.3 Certain Historical Aspects of Prosocial Behaviour
The term pro-social behaviour was introduced in the early 1970’s after the
incident of Kitty Genovese case in USA (Kohn, 1990) .On March 13, 1964,
Kitty Genovese was murdered in front of her home. She parked her car a number
of feet from her apartment when all of a sudden, a man named Winston Moseley
chased her down and stabbed her in the back twice. Kitty screamed for help
and a neighbour responded shouting at the criminal “Let that girl alone!”
Immediately, Winston fled the scene and left the girl crawling towards her apartment.
Several witnesses reported to have seen the whole scene. At that time, there was
a strong degree of interest in exploring why 38 neighbours ignored the pleas and
calls for help from a woman being repeatedly stabbed and ultimately murdered
by her assailant.
Why were such apathy, indifference and lack of concern observed from all the
neighbours of Kitty? Two social psychologists, John Darley & Bibb Latane,
started asking questions why the witnesses demonstrated a lack of reaction towards
the victim’s need for help. They found bystander apathy is the major factor that
influences helping behaviour.
The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which greater the numbers
of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress. When
an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take action if there
are few or no other witnesses.
In a series of classic study, researchers Bibb Latane and John Darley (1969)
found that the amount of time it takes the participant to take action and seek help
varies depending on how many other observers are in the room. In one experiment,
subjects were placed in one of three treatment conditions: alone in a room, with
two other participants or with two confederates who pretended to be normal
participants.
As the participants sat filling out questionnaires, smoke began to fill the room.
When participants were alone, 75% reported the smoke to the experimenters. In
contrast, just 38% of participants in a room with two other people reported the
smoke. In the final group, the two confederates in the experiment noted the
smoke and then ignored it, which resulted in only 10% of the participants reporting
the smoke.
There are two major factors that contribute to the bystander effect. First, the
presence of other people creates a diffusion of responsibility. Because there are
other observers, individuals do not feel as much pressure to take action, since the
responsibility to take action is thought to be shared among all of the present. The
second reason is the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways.
When other observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a
response is not needed or not appropriate. Other researchers have found that
onlookers are less likely to intervene if the situation is ambiguous (Solomon,
1978). In the case of Kitty Genovese, many of the 38 witnesses reported that
they believed that they were witnessing a “lover’s quarrel,” and did not realise that
the young woman was actually being murdered.
32
Pro-social Behaviour and
2.3 PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN Factors Contributing to
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
There are five step response in emergency situations (Darley & Latane, 1969),
which include the following:
2.3.1 Noticing the Emergency

In order for people to help, they must notice that an emergency has occurred.
Sometimes very trivial things, such as how much of a hurry a person is in, can
prevent them from noticing someone else in trouble. Darley and Batson (1973)
showed that seminary students who were in a hurry to give a sermon on campus
were much less likely to help an ostensibly injured confederate groaning in a
doorway than were those who were not in a hurry.
2.3.2 Interpreting an Emergency as an Emergency

The next determinant of helping is whether the bystander interprets the event as
an emergency. Ironically, when other bystanders are present, people are more
likely to assume an emergency is something innocuous. This pluralistic ignorance
occurs because people look to see others’ reactions (informational influence);
when they see that everyone else has a blank expression, they assume there must
be no danger (Latané and Darley, 1970)
2.3.3 Assuming that it is your Responsibility to Help

The next step that must occur if helping is to take place is for someone to take
responsibility. When there are many witnesses, there is a diffusion of responsibility,
the phenomenon whereby each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases
as the number of witnesses increases. Everyone assumes that someone else will
help, and as a result, no one does, as happened with the Kitty Genovese murder.
2.3.4 Knowing what to do

Even if all the previous conditions are met, a person must know what form of
assistance to give. If they don’t, they will be unable to help.
2.3.5 Making the Decision to Help

Finally, even if you know what kind of help to give, you might decide not to
intervene because you feel unqualified to help or you are too afraid of the costs
to yourself. Markey (2000) examined helping in an Internet chat room situation;
when the chat room group as a whole was asked to provide some information
about finding profiles, the larger the group, the longer it took for anyone to help.
However, when a specific person was addressed by name, that person helped
quickly, regardless of group size.
2.4 FACTORS AFFECTING HELPING

BEHAVIOUR
Attractiveness is defined as physical attractiveness or the attractiveness of a person’s 33
Process of Social Influence personality or behaviour (DeVito, 1976). Researchers believe physical attractiveness
can be defined for any one individual situationally (DeVito, 1976). Physically
attractive people are more likely to receive help than unattractive people (Harrell,
1978). The explanation lies in the fact, that as a society, we consciously or
subconsciously tend to treat attractive individuals differently, expecting better lives
for them (Berscheid, Walster, Bohrnstedt, 1973). Adams and Cohen (1976) feel
physical attractiveness is a major factor in the development of prosocial behaviour
in a child.
2.4.2 Similarity and Kinship

Finally, individuals are more likely to behave prosocially towards similar or likable
others (Penner et al., 2005), and towards others considered to be close, especially
kin (Graziano et al., 2007). Genetic relatedness aside, pro-social behaviour towards
family members probably involves a sense of duty, reciprocity, and affective
relationships. Individuals care more for victims who belong to their in-group rather
than to their out-group (Dovidio et al. 1997; Flippen et al. 1996; Levine et al.
2002). Park and Schaller (2005) found that attitude similarity serves as a heuristic
cue signaling kinship, which may motivate kin-recognition responses (e.g., prosocial
behaviour) even to unrelated individuals.
2.4.3 Religiosity
Although several studies have examined the impact of donor characteristics across
various domains, the findings are not as robust as those about victim characteristics.
One consistent finding is that humanitarian values and religiosity are correlated
with giving (Burnett 1981; Pessemier, Bemmaor, and Hanssens 1977).
2.4.4 Victim’s Perspective

Batson and colleagues have shown consistently greater empathy and altruistic
behaviour by individuals who are primed to take the victim’s perspective (Batson,
Early, and Salvarani 1997; Batson et al. 2003).
2.4.5 Personal Experience

A vast literature examines the impact of personal experience on self-protective
behaviour (Weinstein, 1989, for a critical review). Although the majority of studies
examine effects on victims themselves, a few assess the impact of knowing a
victim as a form of personal experience (Manheimer, Mellinger & Crossley 1966
and Schiff 1977). Barnett et al. (1986) found that participants who had been
raped reported greater empathy when watching a video about a rape victim than
did those who had never been raped. Batson et al. (1996) found that for females
but not males, the expectation of oneself receiving a shock affected self-reported
empathy when one observed a same-sex peer receiving a shock. Christy and
Voigt (1994) found that those who reported being abused as a child indicated that
they would be more likely than those who had never been abused to intervene
if they saw a child being abused.
2.4.6 Identifiable Victim Effect

Previous research has shown that people give more to identifiable victims than to
unidentifiable or statistical victims (Kogut and Ritov 2005a, b; Small, Loewenstein,
34 and Slovic 2006). This effect has even been demonstrated when no meaningful
information is provided about the identified victim (Small and Loewenstein 2003). Pro-social Behaviour and
Other identifying factors, such as showing a victim’s face or being in the presence Factors Contributing to
of a victim, also increase pro-social behaviour (Bohnet and Frey 1999). Charities
do often describe or show images of specific victims to potential donors in their
advertising campaigns, but such attempts seem designed to benefit from the
identifiable victim effect (Kogut and Ritov, 2005a, b; Small et al. 2006), rather
than to create “friendship” between donors and victims.
2.4.7 Attributions Concerning Victim’s Responsibility

People also give more to victims who are perceived as “deserving,” in other
words, whose needs arise from external rather than internal causes (Weiner 1980).
Thus, disabled children are deemed deserving; healthy unemployed men are not
(Schmidt and Weiner 1988). Finally, the effect of deservingness on prosocial
behaviour is mediated by sympathy, suggesting that giving decisions are not based
on cold mental calculations (Weiner, 1980). A study carried out on the New York
subway showed that people were more likely to help ‘blind’ rather than ‘drunk’
confederates who had collapsed (Piliavin, 1969).
2.4.8 Positive Friend Influence

Barry and Wentzel (2006) supported the notion that friends in particular can be
important socialisers of pro-social behaviour. Children are similar to their friends
in the degree to which they display pro-social behaviour and are motivated to
behave this way (Wentzel, Barry, & Caldwell, 2004; Wentzel & Caldwell, 1997).
Adolescents who have friends are more likely to be pro-social than those without
friends (McGuire & Weisz, 1982).
2.4.9 Gender
Females engage in prosocial behaviours more frequently than males (Fabes, Carlo,
Kupanoff, & Laible, 1999), which is consistent across ratings from parents,
teachers, and peers (Holmgren, Eisenberg, & Fabes, 1998). Additionally,
observational studies have indicated that females are more likely than males to
share and cooperate when interacting (Burford, Foley, Rollins, & Rosario, 1996).
Beutel and Johnson (2004) reported that in a study of 12 through 17 year-olds,
females placed more importance on prosocial values than males at younger ages,
and the gender gap in prosocial values was larger at older ages. Eagly and
Crowley (1986) did a meta-analysis and found that men are more likely to help
in chivalrous, heroic ways, and women are more likely to help in nurturant ways
involving long-term commitment.
2.4.10 Age
Older adolescent males placed less importance on prosocial values than younger
adolescent males (Beutel & Johnson, 2004). Further, in a study of adolescent
soccer players’ behaviours, recruited from age groups of under 13, under 15, and
under 17, significant differences among the age groups indicated that the oldest
group displayed more frequent antisocial behaviours and less frequent prosocial
behaviours compared to the younger groups (Kavussanu, Seal, & Phillips, 2006).
However, there appears to be an increase in the use of some prosocial behaviours
after a certain point in adolescence, as Eisenberg et al. (2005) found that prosocial
moral reasoning and perspective-taking abilities showed increases with age from
35
Process of Social Influence late adolescence to early adulthood, whereas helping and displaying sympathy did
not increase with age.
2.4.11 Personality
Research following children from early childhood to adulthood supports the existence
of the long-debated altruistic or prosocial personality (Eisenberg et al., 1999).
Individual differences in prosociality are linked to sociability, low shyness,
extroversion, and agreeableness, although specific prosocial behaviours may require
a combination of additional traits, such as perceived self-efficacy in the case of
helping (Penner et al., 2005). Personality and contextual variables are likely to
interact in determining prosocial behaviour. For example, agreeable individuals
were more likely to help an outgroup member than low-agreeableness individuals,
but agreeableness was not associated with helping an ingroup member (Graziano
et al., 2007).
While, Hartshorne and May (1929) found only a .23 correlation between different
kinds of helping behaviours in children, and several studies have found that those
who scored high on a personality test of altruism were not much more likely to
help than those who scored low. People’s personality is clearly not the only
determinant of helping. Instead, it seems to be that different kinds of people are
likely to help in different situations.
2.4.12 Effects of Positive Moods: Feel Good, Do Good

People who are in a good mood are more likely to help. For example, Isen and
Levin (1972) did a study in a shopping mall where subjects either found or did
not find a dime in a phone booth. As the person emerged from the booth, a
confederate walked by and dropped a sheaf of papers; 84% of those who found
the dime helped compared with 4% of those who did not find the dime. North,
Tarrang, & Hargreaves (2004) found that people are more likely to help others
when in a good mood for a number of other reasons, including doing well on a
test, receiving a gift, thinking happy thoughts, and listening to pleasant music.
Good moods can increase helping for three reasons: (1) good moods make us
interpret events in a sympathetic way; (2) helping another prolongs the good
mood, whereas not helping deflates it; (3) good moods increase self-attention,
and this in turn leads us to be more likely to behave according to our values and
beliefs (which tend to favor altruism).
2.5 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

There are a large number of theorie which explain pro-social behaviour and these
are described and discussed below:

Social learning theory suggests that pro-social behaviour is learned (Bandura,
1977; Bandura & McDonald, 1963; Batson, 1998). Observing role models who
are loved or respected, such as parents or authorities, engaged in pro-social
behaviour, demonstrates how people can and should behave prosocially. Rewards
reinforce helping behaviour; punishments reduce unhelpful or hurtful behaviour.
36
Within a group context, social recognition, not just private reward, increases pro-
social behaviour (Fisher & Ackerman, 1998).Observational modeling processes Pro-social Behaviour and
with reinforcement will result in learning over time (Compeau & Higgins, 1995; Factors Contributing to
Lim et al., 1997).
2.5.2 Motivation Perspective

Theorists differentiate altruistic prosocial behaviour from egoistic prosocial behaviour
depending upon the motivation of the helper (Batson, 1991; Nelson, 1999; Piliavin
& Charng, 1990). Altruistic prosocial behaviour is motivated purely by the desire
to increase another person’s welfare; egoistic prosocial behaviour is motivated by
the desire to increase one’s own welfare or that of one’s group or cause through
helping others (Batson, 1998; MacIntyre, 1967).
Some researchers believe that pro-social behaviour does not need to be based
on unobservable underlying motivations of children (Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989),
but other researchers believe that another person’s well-being must be of primary
concern in prosocial behaviours (Cialdini, Kenrick, & Bauman, 1976). It is generally
understood that an intention of prosocial behaviours is to achieve positive
consequences for others (Jackson & Tisak, 2001; Tisak & Ford, 1986), but it
is possible that there are other reasons children behave prosocially as well.
Children’s expectancies may influence their likelihood of engaging in prosocial
behaviours. Adolescents who expect positive adult reactions to their prosocial
behaviours report engaging in more prosocial and less aggressive behaviours
(Wyatt & Carlo, 2002).
2.5.3 Social Identity Theory

Social identity theory and self-categorisation theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986; Turner
et al., 1987) are helpful in understanding why some people exhibit substantial
prosocial behaviour over time.
Social identity theory is based on the premise that people identify with particular
groups in order to enhance their self-esteem. Identification leads to selective
social comparisons that emphasise intergroup differences along dimensions. This
leads to favouring the ingroup and confer positive distinctiveness on the ingroup
when compared to the salient outgroup (Hogg & Abrams, 1988).
Categorising the self and others in terms of groups accentuates the similarities
between group members with respect to their fit with the relevant group prototype
or ‘cognitive representation of features that describe and prescribe attributes of
the group’ (Hogg & Terry, 2000). The prototype guides the participants’
understanding of the group and its expected behaviours and attitudes. People
identified with a group will thus be more likely to exhibit behaviours that are
consistent with shared group norms and will cooperate with the group and its
members.
Group identification is an important antecedent to cooperative behaviours related

to group maintenance and survival (Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Kramer, 1993; Mael
& Ashforth, 1995; Tyler, 1999).
2.5.4 Biological Perspective

Empathy, altruism and prosocial behaviour are considered vital for the good
functioning of society. Although psychological theories emphasise the importance 37
Process of Social Influence of cognition and socialisation, genes also have a role to play. Monozygotic (MZ)
twin pairs share 100% of their genes, whereas dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs share
50%; thus the comparison of MZ and DZ twin similarities and differences allows
for estimates to be made of genetic influences (Plomin et al. 2001). Several
studies have found that by adulthood, approximately 50% of the variance in
altruism, empathy and social responsibility is due to genes and 50% to non-
genetic factors (Rushton et al. 1986; Rushton 2004).
2.6 NEGATIVE-STATE RELIEF HYPOTHESIS

Negative State Relief Model, views empathic concern as being accompanied by
feelings of sadness that the helper tries to relieve through helping someone in need
(Smith, Keating, & Stotland, 1989; Cialindi, et al., 1987; Schroeder, Dovidio,
Sibicky, Matthews, & Allen, 1988). Here, the motivation for prosocial behaviour
is based on increasing the welfare of both the helper and helpee. Three prominent
features of the Negative State Relief Model are that: (1) helpers experience
empathic concern; (2) such concern is accompanied by feelings of sadness and
(3) helpers attempt to relieve such feelings by helping others.
Cialdini’s (1987) experiments involved participants taking the place of people

receiving electric shocks. However, high empathy participants were less inclined
to help if they had been praised by the researchers. It is thought that this praise
helped to lift their mood so that it was not necessary to help the person receiving
the shocks.
When people feel guilty, they are more likely to help. For example, Harris et al.
(1975) found that churchgoers were more likely to donate money after confession.
2.7 EMPATHY – ALTRUISM HYPOTHESIS

Batson (1987, 1991) introduced the empathy-altruism hypothesis, which states
refers to “ the claim that feeling empathic emotion for someone in need evokes
altruistic motivation to relieve that need has been called the empathy-altruism
hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the greater the empathetic emotion, the
greater the altruistic motivation.” (Batson et. al., 2002).
According to the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis, empathic concern motivates

helpers to enhance the welfare of those in need rather than avoid the situation
instead (Smith, Keating, & Stotland, 1989; Baston, 1987).
In a study by Toi and Batson, (1982), students listened to a taped interview with
a student who had ostensibly broken both legs in an accident and was behind in
classes. Two factors were manipulated: empathetic vs. non-empathetic set,
manipulated by instructions given to Ss; and the costs of helping, manipulated by
whether or not the injured student was expected to be seen every day once she
returned to class. The dependent variable was whether Ss responded to a request
to help the injured student catch up in class. As the empathy-altruism hypothesis
predicted, people in the high empathy condition helped regardless of cost, while
those in the low empathy condition helped only if the cost of not helping was high.
2.7.1 Empathic-Joy Hypothesis

38 Smith, Keating, and Stotland’s (1989) hypothesis proposes that empathic concern
is based on a helper’s overarching sensitivity to a victim’s emotional state and a Pro-social Behaviour and
subsequent heightened sense of vicarious happiness and relief upon the fulfillment Factors Contributing to
of the recipient’s needs. The authors propose that empathic witnesses to someone
in need may regard empathic joy as being more achievable and rewarding than
would be a self-focused witness, and thus have greater motivation to help.
The three prominent features of the Empathic-Joy Hypothesis are that:
1) helpers experience empathic concern;
2) this concern is a function of their sensitivity to another’s needs; and
3) the awareness of relief for another’s distress promotes subsequent relief of the
helper’s empathic concern as well as a sense of joy.
2.7.2 Self-Efficacy Hypothesis

This hypothesis reflects a combination of proposals from authors regarding correlates
to helping behaviours. According to Midlarsky (1968) individuals? level of
competence with a given skill can influence helping behaviour, especially in times
of need. Such competence may increase the likelihood of helping through increased
certainty over what to do, along with the decreased fear of making a mistake and
decreased stress over the situation (Withey, 1962; Janis 1962, Midlarsky, 1968;
Staub, 1971).
2.8 RECIPROCITY AND SOCIAL NORMS

The concept of reciprocity” is defined in settings in which individuals act in a more
cooperative manner in response to the positive or friendly behaviour of others. As
a result, reciprocity as a reputational motivation is very closely linked to the idea
that the more others contribute, the more one gives. For instance, although
contributing to charitable organisations does not benefit the donor directly, she
may still gain in the long run, because she expects to benefit from reciprocity in
the future when she will need help. Leider et al. (2009) established that giving is
motivated, at least in part, by future interaction (enforced reciprocity).
Social norms also encourage people to find ways by which to avoid being generous
when it is not completely necessary. As suggested by Stephen Meier (2004),
reciprocity and concern to conform to social norms are closely tied together. In
particular, by observing the behaviour of others, one translates this behaviour into
a recipe of what one ‘should do’.
2.9 CURRENT TRENDS

Genetics also contribute to individual variation in prosociality. Research on adults
finds that prosociality is substantially heritable. Research on young children shows
lower heritability, demonstrated by one longitudinal twin study showing increase
in the heritability of parent-rated prosociality, from 30 % at age 2 to 60 % at age
7 (Knafo & Plomin, 2006). Gene-environment correlations can also shape individual
differences in prosociality. For example, children’s low prosociality is related to
parents’ use of negative discipline and affection.
This relationship can be traced back to children’s genetic tendencies, implying that 39
the genetically influenced low prosociality can initiate a negative reaction from
Process of Social Influence parents (Knafo & Plomin, 2006). Some evidence suggests that children in Western
societies are less pro-social than children in other cultures, but some studies find
no differences along these lines (see review by Eisenberg et al., 2006).
A field study by Levine, Norenzayan, and Philbrick (2001) found large cultural
differences in spontaneously helping strangers. For example, the proportion of
individuals helping a stranger with a hurt leg pick up dropped magazines ranged
from 22 % to 95 % across 23 cultures. Perhaps, cultures differ substantially in
what each promotes as prosocial behaviour (Eisenberg et al., 2006).
It has been suggested that there are two reasons for cultural differences in altruism
(Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989) first is Industrial societies place value on competition
and personal success and secondly Co-operation at the home in non-industrial
societies promotes altruism.
2.10 LET US SUM UP

Pro-social behaviours are voluntary behaviours made with the intention of benefiting
others. Prosocial behaviour is often accompanied with psychological and social
rewards for its performer. In the long run, individuals can benefit from living in a
society where prosociality is common. Altruism is generally defined as any form
of voluntary act intended to favour another withour expectation of reward. There
are various factors that affect the pro-social behaviour e.g. (i) Noticing the
emergency, (ii) Interpreting an emergency as an emergency. (iii) Assuming that it
is your responsibility to help, (iv) Knowing what to do, (v) Making the decision
to help. Amongst the various factors affecting helping behaviour, we saw that (i)
Physical attractiveness, (ii) Similarity and kinship, (iii) Religiosity, (iv) Victim’s
perspective,(v) Personal experience, (vi) Gender, (vii) Age, (viii) Personality etc.
It has been suggested that there are two reasons for cultural differences in altruism
(Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989) first is Industrial societies place value on competition
and personal success and secondly Co-operation at the home in non-industrial
societies promotes altruism.

1) Define pro-social behaviour with factor leading us to help in a particular situation.
2) Discuss various factors that affect pro-social behaviour.
3) Critically evaluate theories of pro-social behaviour.

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http://www.education.com/reference/article/prosocial-behaviour/
47
UNIT 3 INTERPERSONAL
ATTRACTION
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Interpersonal Attraction
3.2.1.1 Research on Physical Attractiveness Stereotype
3.2.2 Propinquity/ Proximity
3.2.2.1 Proximity as an Intensifier of Sentiments
3.2.2.2 Increased Probability of Acquiring Information
3.2.2.3 Heider’s Balance Theory
3.2.3 Similarity
3.2.3.1 Similarity in Different Aspects
3.2.3.2 Effect of Similarity on Interpersonal Attraction
3.2.3.3 Complementarity
3.2.3.4 Principles of Similarity or Complementarity
3.3 Explaining Interpersonal Attraction

3.3.1 Social Exchange Theory
3.3.2 Evolutionary Theories
3.3.3 The Reciprocity-of-Liking Rule
3.3.4 Rewarding Reduces Anxiety, Stress, Loneliness, Enhancing Self-Esteem
3.3.4.1 Liking Produced By Rewards others Provide

3.3.4.2 Anxiety
3.3.4.3 Stress
3.3.4.4 Social Isolation
3.3.4.5 Self Esteem
3.4 Let Us Sum Up

3.0 INTRODUCTION
Relationships with the individuals around us are key to one’s social existence. Any
given interaction is characterised by a certain level of intensity, which is conveyed
by individual and interpersonal behaviour, including the more subtle nonverbal
behavioural information of interpersonal attraction. The words “like” and “love,”
“dislike” and “hate” are among the most frequently used in the English language.
Everyone knows what is meant by these terms. Therefore, when we state that we
feel “attracted” to a certain person, it is unlikely that we will be asked to define
48 our use of the verb “attracted.” Interpersonal attraction is the attraction between
people which leads to friendships and romantic relationships. The study of Interpersonal Attraction
interpersonal attraction is a major area of research in social psychology. In this
unit we will be discussing how Interpersonal attraction is related to how much we
like, love, dislike, or hate someone. We will consider interpersonal attraction as
a force acting between two people that tends to draw them together and resist
their separation. We would also provide the causative factors to interpersonal
attraction, as for example similarity, thinking alike etc.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
After completion of this Unit, you will be able to:
l Define Interpersonal attraction;
l Elucidate the factors contributing to Interpersonal attraction;
l Analyse Interpersonal attraction in the light of different theories;and
l Explain how rewarding or complementing in Interpersonal attraction reduces

negative emotions.
3.2 INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION

To the query why it is that a particular person has evoked our positive regard,
probably we will reply by making reference to some of the person’s “good
qualities” such as the person’s honesty, sense of humor, or even the particular
hair style that the person sports etc. While explanations referring to qualities which
seem to “compel” admiration are frequently given, it must be kept in mind that
interpersonal attraction is much more complicated than such explanations would
imply.
In some cases, people are attracted to those persons whom they perceive as
similar to themselves. The effect is very small for superficial features like clothes
or race but very strong for perceived similarity of attitudes.
In certain other cases, we like people who seem to agree with us because
a) we think they’re smart,
b) we will probably get along, and
c) they’ll probably like us too.
To pretend to agree with someone even when you do not really, for the purpose
of getting something they can give you, like a job, is called ingratiation. In general
this works best if you pretend to agree in about 70%. Research shows that less
is not enough, and more is both suspicious and boring.
Interpersonal attraction has been an important topic of research in psychology,

because humans are social animals, and attraction serves an important function in
forming a social network, which in turn provides security and satisfies people’s
need to belong to a social group (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008).
49
Process of Social Influence In assessing the nature of attraction, psychologists have used methods such as
questionnaires, survey, and rating scale to determine level of one’s attraction
toward another. Here, the effects of similarity, social reward, familiarity, and
physical attractiveness are examined to see how they impact interpersonal attraction.
When measuring interpersonal attraction, one must refer to the qualities of the
attracted as well as the qualities of the attractor to achieve predictive accuracy.
It is suggested that to determine attraction, personality and situation must be taken
into account. Many factors leading to interpersonal attraction have been studied.
The most frequently studied are: physical attractiveness, propinquity, familiarity,
similarity, complementarity, reciprocal liking, and reinforcement. We will discuss
each factor one by one.

Despite the old sayings that “beauty is only skin deep” and “you can not judge
a book by its cover”, we tend to operate according to Aristotle’s 2000-year-old
pronouncement that “personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter
of introduction”.
One of the most commonly cited factors influencing attraction is physical

attractiveness. It is indeed well known that most people show a substantial
preference for attractive persons over unattractive others (Baumeister & Bushman,
2008). Perhaps the advantage of good looks and the inferences people make
when they see a physically attractive person are the reasons for getting attracted
to another person.
Studies have shown that when people see an attractive person, they believe that
there is more than physical beauty that they see, and they tend to assume certain
internal qualities within the person, such as kindness, outgoing, etc. (Barocas &
Karoly, 1972). To illustrate this factor, let us take the research illustrating this
relationship between physical attractiveness and its stereotypes. For instance, a
study on popularity among adolescents was carried out by Cavior & Dokecki in
1973. They found that when physical attractiveness was compared to perceived
attitude similarity, physical attractiveness had a stronger effect on popularity. These
findings suggest that individuals’ perceptions of attitude similarity with those of
others may be strongly influenced by more automatic judgments of physical
attractiveness. Such demonstrations of preferential treatment may have significant
implications at the level of society, as well. For example, in one jury task
simulation experiment, more attractive defendants were found to be evaluated
more positively and with less certainty of guilt than were other less attractive
defendants.
Even though physical attractiveness is unrelated to objective measure of internal

qualities such as intelligence and personality, many researches indicate that bias
for beauty is pervasive in society
3.2.1.1 Research on Physical Attractiveness Stereotype
In one of the first studies of the physical attractiveness stereotype, college students
were asked to look at pictures of men and women who either were good-
looking, average, or homely and to then evaluate their personalities. Results
indicated that the students tended to assume that physically attractive persons
possessed a host of socially desirable personality traits as compared to those who
50 were unattractive. Consistent with the physical attractiveness stereotype, it was
also reported from research that beautiful and handsome characters were Interpersonal Attraction
significantly more likely to be portrayed as virtuous, romantically active, and
successful than their less attractive counterparts. Over the past thirty-five years,
many researchers have examined this stereotype, and two separate meta-analyses
of these studies reveal that physically attractive people are perceived to be more
sociable, successful, happy, dominant, sexually warm, mentally healthy, intelligent,
and socially skilled than those who are unattractive.
Although the above findings are based solely on samples from individualistic
cultures, the physical attractiveness stereotype also occurs in collectivist cultures,
but its content is a bit different.
Attractiveness and Job-Related Outcomes
Field and laboratory studies conducted in both individualistic and collectivistic

cultures indicate that physical attractiveness does have a moderate impact in a
variety of job-related outcomes, including hiring, salary, and promotion decisions.
In one representative study, it was found that there was a significant difference
between the starting salaries of good-looking men and those with slow average
faces. For women, facial attractiveness did not influence their starting salaries, but
it did substantially impact their later salaries. Once hired, women who were above
average in facial attractiveness typically earned $4,200 more per year than women
who were below average in attractiveness.
For attractive and unattractive men, this difference in earning power per year was
$5,200. Further, although neither height nor weight affected a woman’s starting
salary, being 20% or more overweight reduced a man’s starting salary by more
than $2,000. Overall, the research literature informs us that physical appearance
does indeed influence success on the job.
Alan Feingold (1992) conducted a meta-analysis of more than ninety studies that
investigated whether physically attractive and physically unattractive people actually
differed in their basic personality traits. His analysis indicated no significant
relationships between physical attractiveness and such traits as intelligence,
dominance, self-esteem, and mental health.
3.2.2 Propinquity/Proximity
According to Rowland Miller’s Intimate Relationships text, the propinquity effect
can be defined as: “the more we see and interact with a person, the more likely
he or she is to become our friend or intimate partner.” This effect is very similar
to the mere exposure effect in that the more a person is exposed to a stimulus,
the more the person likes it; however, there are a few exceptions to the mere
exposure effect.
3.2.2.1 Proximity as an Intensifier of Sentiments
A frequently advanced and commonly accepted notion is that propinquity, or

proximity, has a strong influence on one’s friendship choices. Stated in its simplest
form, the proposition is as follows: Other things being equal, the closer two
individuals are located geographically, the more likely it is that they will be attracted
to each other. Studies demonstrating the impact of proximity on friendship choices
are so numerous that we will mention only a few.
51
Process of Social Influence Several investigators have collected data which indicate that students tend to
develop stronger friendships with those students who share their classes, or their
dormitory or apartment building, or who sit near them, than with those who are
geographically located only slightly farther away (Byrne, 1961a). Clerks in a large
department store and members of a bomber crew have been found to develop
closer relations with those who happen to work next to them than with co-
workers a few feet away (Zander and Havelin, 1960).
One of the more interesting studies demonstrating the relationship between proximity
and friendship choice was conducted by Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950).
These investigators examined the development of friendships in a new housing
project for married students. The housing development studies consisted of small
houses arranged in U-shaped courts, such that all except the end houses faced
onto a grassy area. The two end houses in each court faced onto the street.
Festinger (1951) arrived at the intriguing conclusion that to a great extent architects
can determine the social life of the residents of their projects. He found that the
two major factors affecting the friendships which developed were (1) sheer distance
between houses and (2) the direction in which a house faced. Friendships
developed more frequently between next-door neighbors, less frequently between
people whose houses were separated by another house, and so on. As the
distance between houses increased, the number of friendships fell off so rapidly
that it was rare to find a friendship between persons who lived in houses that were
separated by more than four or five other houses.
Festinger, Schachter, and Back also found that architectural feature which brought
an individual into proximity with other residents tended to increase that person’s
popularity. It was found, for example, that the positions of the stairways enabled
the residents of the apartments near the entrances and exits of the stairways to
make more friends than other residents. Similarity, the position of the mailboxes
in each building improved the social life of the residents of the apartment near
which they were located.
Another interesting finding has been that integrated housing produced increased
racial harmony. Deutsch and Collins (1958), for example, concluded on the basis
of their data that integrated housing should be encouraged since such integration
helps eradicate racial prejudice. Segregationists, however, have concluded that
since the evidence suggests that integration would lead to interracial friendships
and “race mixing,” segregation should be preserved at all costs.
3.2.2.2 Increased Probability of Acquiring Information
What underlies the often obtained relationship between proximity and sentiment?
Proxomity appears to allow, an opportunity to obtain information about the other
person and accumulates experience regarding the rewards or punishments one
is likely to receive from the other person.
Thus with decreasing distances sentiments such as likes and dislikes, especially
the strong sentiments of love and hate, are not likely to be felt for people about
whom we have minimal information and with whom we have had little experience.
Hence if we know the degree of proximity between two people, and do not have
knowledge of the content of the information exchange such proximity has made
possible, we cannot make a prediction concerning whether a positive sentiment
52 or a negative sentiment will develop. Therefore one may state that there are a
number of factors which may make such a conclusion erroneous.
It appears that there is a somewhat greater tendency for proximity to breed Interpersonal Attraction
attraction than hostility. Newcomb has advanced the hypothesis that proximity
should produce positive rather than negative attraction. He argued that when
persons interact, the reward-punishment ratio is more often such as to be reinforcing
than extinguishing. (Newcombe, 1956, p. 576). Thus, he reasons that the
information which proximity permits is more likely to be favorable than unfavourable
and that liking, therefore, will more often result from proximity than disliking.
Since people are to a great extent dependent upon one another for satisfaction
of their needs, it seems probable that individuals generally take care to reward
others as much as possible in interaction with them.
3.2.2.3 Heider’s Balance Theory
The prediction that proximity will more often lead to liking than disliking can be
derived from a number of the cognitive-consistency theories. It can perhaps be
most easily derived from Heider’s (1958) balance theory. The basic tenet of
Heider’s theory is that people strive to make their sentiment relationships harmonious
with their perception of the unit relationships existent between objects.
What does Heider mean by the phrase “sentiment relationships”? A “sentiment”

is simply a positive or negative attitude toward someone or something. What does
Heider mean by the phrase “unit relationships”? Separate entities are said to
have a unit relationship when they are perceived as belonging together. The
members of a family, for example, are usually perceived as a unit, as are a person
and his clothing, and so on.
Heider draws upon the principles of perceptual organisation which were formulated
by the Gestalt psychologists. The Gestaltists discovered that relationship between
objects which is especially likely to lead to unit formation is proximity: Objects
which are close together spatially tend to be perceived as a unit. According to
Heider’s theory, then, if one perceives that a unit relationship with another exists
(e.g., the other is in close proximity), this perception should induce a harmonious
sentiment relationship (e.g., liking).
To test whether or not unit formation produced by interacting intimately with

another increases attraction, Darley and Berscheid (1967) led college women to
expect that they were going to discuss their sexual standards and behaviour with
another girl, ostensibly participating in the same study. After the expectation of
further interaction had been induced, each girl was given two folders. One folder
was said to contain personality information about her partner, the girl with whom
she would converse and exchange information. The other folder was said to
contain information about another girl, who would also participate in the study but
whom she would never meet.
The personality information contained in both folders was designed to produce as

ambiguous a picture as possible of the girl described. Half of the subjects believed
that the girl described in folder A was their “randomly selected” discussion partner;
the other half believed that the girl described in folder B was their partner.
Subjects were instructed to read through both folders, form a general impression
of both girls, and then rate each of them along a number of dimensions, including
liking. The results of this study clearly indicated that the subjects expressed more
liking for the girl who had been designated as their discussion partner than they
did for the girl who was not. This study suggests, that the factor of proximity, may 53
Process of Social Influence produce a feeling of unit formation between two people. This feeling of being in
a unit relationship with another may then induce feelings of liking for that person.
Knowledge that one will be in close proximity with another may result, then, in
an individual’s going into an interaction situation with increased liking for the other
person prior to the actual interaction and prior to actual knowledge of possible
rewards which may be obtained in the interaction.
It is interesting that the liking produced by the anticipation of being in close

proximity with another may lead a person to voluntarily choose to associate with
the other person, even though the original interaction which was anticipated has
been cancelled. It was found that even when a subject anticipated interacting with
an objectively undesirable person, the attraction induced by the anticipation of
close interaction caused subjects to choose voluntarily to interact with that negative
person more readily than did people who had not previously anticipated association
with that person.
Thus one may summarise this section by stating that actual proximity is probably
correlated with attraction (or repulsion) because proximity allows one to obtain
an increased amount of information about the other person and to experience
rewards or punishments from the other. There is some suggestive evidence that
proximity in and of itself, (apart from any information it may provide about another
and apart from any rewards or punishments which the other may administer), may
facilitate attraction as a by-product of the individual’s desire for cognitive
consistency.
3.2.3 Similarity
The notion of “birds of a feather flock together” points out that similarity is a
crucial determinant of interpersonal attraction. According to Morry’s attraction-
similarity model (2007), there is a lay belief that people with actual similarity
produce initial attraction. Perceived similarity develops for someone to rate others
as similar to themselves in ongoing relationship. Such perception is either self
serving (friendship) or relationship serving (romantic relationship). Newcomb (1963)
pointed out that people tend to change perceived similarity to obtain balance in
a relationship. Additionally, perceived similarity was found to be greater than
actual similarity in predicting interpersonal attraction.
3.2.3.1 Similarity in Different Aspects
Research suggest that interpersonal similarity and attraction are multidimensional

constructs in which people are attracted to others who are similar to them in
demographics, physical appearance, attitudes, interpersonal style, social and cultural
background, personality, interests and activities preferences, and communication
and social skills. A study conducted by Theodore Newcomb (1963) on college
dorm roommates suggested that individuals with shared backgrounds, academic
achievements, attitudes, values, and political views became friends.
Physical Appearance
Erving Goffman, sociologist suggests that people are more likely to form long
standing relationships with those who are equally matched in social attributes, like
physical attractiveness etc. The study by researchers Walster and Walster supported
the matching hypothesis by showing that partners who were similar in terms of
54 physical attractiveness expressed the most liking for each other. Another study
also found evidence that supported the matching hypothesis: photos of dating and Interpersonal Attraction
engaged couples were rated in terms of attractiveness, and a definite tendency
was found for couples of similar attractiveness to date or engage (Murstein et.al.,
1976).
Attitudes
According to the ‘law of attraction’ by Byrne (1971), attraction towards a person

is positively related to the proportion of attitudes similarity associated with that
person. It was also raised that the one with similar attitudes as yours was more
agreeable with your perception of things and more reinforcing she/he was, so the
more you like him/her. Based on the cognitive consistency theories, difference in
attitudes and interests can lead to dislike and avoidance (Singh & Ho, 2000)
whereas similarity in attitudes promotes social attraction (Singh & Ho, 2000). It
was pointed out that attitude similarity activates the perceived attractiveness and
favuor-ability information from each other, whereas dissimilarity would reduce the
impact of these cues.
The studies by Jamieson, Lydon and Zanna (1987) showed that attitude similarity
could predict how people evaluate their respect for each other, and social and
intellectual first impressions which in terms of activity preference similarity and
value-based attitude similarity respectively. In intergroup comparisons, high attitude
similarity would lead to homogeneity among in-group members whereas low
attitude similarity would lead to diversity among in-group members, promoting
social attraction and achieving high group performance in different tasks Although
attitudinal similarity and attraction are linearly related, attraction may not contribute
significantly to attitude change (Simons, Berkowitz & Moyer, 1970).
Social and Cultural Background
Byrne, Clore and Worchel (1966) suggested people with similar economic status
are likely to be attracted to each other. Buss & Barnes (1986) also found that
people prefer their romantic partners to be similar in certain demographic
characteristics, including religious background, political orientation and socio-
economic status.
Personality
Researchers have shown that interpersonal attraction was positively correlated to

personality similarity (Goldman, Rosenzweig & Lutter, 1980). People are inclined
to desire romantic partners who are similar to themselves on agreeableness,
conscientiousness, extroversion, emotional stability, openness to experience and
attachment style (Klohnen & Luo, 2003).
Interests and Activities
Activity similarity was especially predictive of liking judgments, which affects the
judgments of attraction (Lydon, Jamieson & Zanna, 1988). Lydon et.al, (1988)
claimed that high self-monitoring people were influenced more by activity preference
similarity than attitude similarity on initial attraction, while low self-monitoring
people were influenced more on initial attraction by value-based attitude similarity
than activity preference similarity.
55
Process of Social Influence Social Skills
According to the post-conversation measures of social attraction, tactical similarity

was positively correlated with partner satisfaction and global competence ratings,
but was uncorrelated with the opinion change and perceived persuasiveness
measures (Waldron & Applegate, 1998).
3.2.3.2 Effects of Similarity on Interpersonal Attraction
Similarity has effects on starting a relationship by initial attraction to know each

other. It is showed that high attitude similarity resulted in a significant increase in
initial attraction to the target person and high attitude dissimilarity resulted in a
decrease of initial attraction. Similarity also promotes relationship commitment.
Study on heterosexual dating couples found that similarity in intrinsic values of the
couple was linked to relationship commitment and stability (Kurdek & Schnopp-
Wyatt, 1997).
3.2.3.3 Complementarity
The model of complementarity explains whether “birds of a feather flock together”

or “opposites attract”.Studies show that complementary interaction between two
partners increases their attractiveness to each other. Complementary partners
preferred closer interpersonal relationship than non-complementary ones. Couples
who reported the highest level of loving and harmonious relationship were more
dissimilar in dominance than couples who scored lower in relationship quality.
(Markey & Markey (2007)).
Mathes and Moore (1985) found that people were more attracted to peers
approximating to their ideal self than to those who did not. Specifically, low self-
esteem individuals appeared more likely to desire a complementary relationship
than high self-esteem people. We are attracted to people who complement to us
because this allows us to maintain our preferred style of behaviour (Markey &
Markey (2007), and through interaction with someone who complements our
own behaviour, we are likely to have a sense of self-validation and security.
3.2.3.4 Principles of Similarity or Complementarity
Principles of similarity and complementarity seem to be contradictory on the

surface. In fact, they agree on the dimension of warmth. Both principles state that
friendly people would prefer friendly partners (Dryer & Horowitz, 1997) . The
importance of similarity and complementarity may depend on the stage of the
relationship. Similarity seems to carry considerable weight in initial attraction,
while complementarity assumes importance as the relationship develops over time.
Markey (2007) found that people would be more satisfied with their relationship
if their partners differed from them, at least, in terms of dominance, as two
dominant persons may experience conflicts while two submissive individuals may
have frustration as neither member take the initiative. Perception and actual
behaviour might not be congruent with each other. There were cases that dominant
people perceived their partners to be similarly dominant, yet in the eyes of
independent observers, the actual behaviour of their partner was submissive, in
other words, complementary to them (Dryer 1997). Why do people perceive
their romantic partners to be similar to them despite evidence to the contrary? The
reason remains unclear, pending further research.
56
Interpersonal Attraction
3.3 EXPLAINING INTERPERSONAL
ATTRACTION
3.3.1 Social Exchange Theory
People’s feelings toward a potential partner are dependent on their perception of
rewards and costs, the kind of relationships they deserve, and their likelihood for
having a healthier relationship with someone else. Rewards are the part of a
relationship that makes it worthwhile and enjoyable. A cost is something that can
cause irritation like a friend overstaying his welcome. Comparison level is also
taken into account during a relationship. This suggests that people expect rewards
or costs depending on the time invested in the relationship. If the level of expected
rewards is minimal and the level of costs is high, the relationship suffers and both
parties may become dissatisfied and unhappy. Lastly, the comparison of alternatives
means that satisfaction is conditional on the chance that a person could replace
the relationship with a more desirable one.
3.3.2 Evolutionary Theories

The evolutionary theory of human interpersonal attraction states that opposite-sex
attraction most often occurs when someone has physical features indicating that
he or she is very fertile. Considering that the primary purpose of conjugal/romantic
relationships is reproduction, it would follow that people invest in partners who
appear very fertile, increasing the chance of their genes being passed down to the
next generation. This theory has been criticised because it does not explain
relationships between same-sex couples or couples who do not want children,
although this may have something to do with the fact that whether one wants
children or not one is still subject to the evolutionary forces which produce them.
Another evolutionary explanation suggests that fertility in a mate is of greater

importance to men than to women. According to this theory, a woman places
significant emphasis on a man’s ability to provide resources and protection. The
theory suggests that these resources and protection are important in ensuring the
successful raising of the woman’s offspring. The ability to provide resources and
protection might also be sought because the underlying traits are likely to be
passed on to male offspring.
Evolutionary theory also suggests that people whose physical features suggest
they are healthy are seen as more attractive. The theory suggests that a healthy
mate is more likely to possess genetic traits related to health that would be passed
on to offspring. People’s tendency to consider people with facial symmetry more
attractive than those with less symmetrical faces is one example. However, a test
was conducted that found that perfectly symmetrical faces were less attractive
than normal faces.It has also been suggested that people are attracted to faces
similar to their own. Case studies have revealed that when a photograph of a
woman was superimposed to include the features of a man’s face, the man whose
face was superimposed almost always rated that picture the most attractive. This
theory is based upon the notion that we want to replicate our own features in the
next generation, as we have survived thus far with such features and have instinctive
survival wishes for our children. Another (non-evolutionary) explanation given for
the results of that study was that the man whose face was superimposed may
have consciously or subconsciously associated the photographically altered female
57
face with the face of his mother or other family member.
Process of Social Influence Evolutionary theory also suggests that love keeps two people together so that
they can raise a child. Love keeps two people together, and this would help raise
a child. For example, a man and a woman who love each other would be together
and work together to raise a child. Back in the tribal days—when much of human
evolution took place—it would probably require two people to successfully raise
an offspring, and a mother with a supporting partner would probably have more
surviving offspring than a mother who does not have such a partner. Thus, people
with the ability to form love would produce more offspring than those without that
ability. And these offspring would have the genes for love. Thus, the genes for
love would become common, and that is why most people today have the ability
to love.
3.3.3 The Reciprocity-of-Liking Rule

A naive observer from another culture would have little trouble discovering one
reward which people in our society spend a tremendous amount of time, money,
and effort to obtain. Just a brief glance at a few television commercials would
reveal that the desire for the esteem of others must be a very strong and pervasive
motivation, for it is often exploited by those who have something to sell. Countless
everyday observations provide a great deal of evidence that we value highly the
esteem of others and will work hard to obtain this reward. If esteem is indeed
a reward, and if it is true that we tend to like those who reward us, it follows that
we should like people who like us.
The proposition that esteem will be reciprocated can be derived from several
psychological theories. Theorists who take the reinforcement point of view reason
that the most general determinants of interpersonal esteem are reciprocal rewards
and punishments. Some of these theorists (e.g., Homans, 1961) have specifically
noted that one type of reward to which people are extremely responsive is social
approval or esteem. Like money, social approval is viewed as a generalised,
“transituational” reinforcer because it has the power to reinforce a wide variety
of human activities. For example, many experimenters have demonstrated that if
one merely nods his head and murmurs approval each time his discussion partner
utters a plural noun, he can dramatically increase the frequency with which the
recipient of that reward will pepper his discourse with plural nouns (e.g., Dulany,
1961). Stronger demonstrations of approval, such as the roar of the crowd or
another’s love for oneself, frequently influence lifetimes of activity. Social approval,
again like money, is valuable because its possession makes one reasonably confident
that a number of his needs will be satisfied; a lack of social approval often
indicates that many of one’s needs— those which require the good will and
cooperation of others for satisfaction— will be frustrated.
In addition to the reinforcement theorists, cognitive-consistency theorists also

make the reciprocal-liking prediction. Heider’s balance theory (1958), for example,
predicts that if Person A likes X (himself) and Person B likes X (Person A), a
cognitively balanced state in which Person A likes Person B will be induced.
Many correlational data, obtained from a wide variety of psychological studies,
have been cited in support of the reciprocal-liking proposition (e.g., Newcomb,
1963). These data provide evidence that individuals tend to believe that the
people they like reciprocate their liking. If it is true that we like people who like
us, we would expect to find such a correlation. Taken alone, however, these data
do not provide conclusive evidence for reciprocity of liking. Either one of two
58
processes, or both, could be responsible for the observed correlation between
the extent to which we feel another likes us and the extent to which we like him.
1) A person may come to like another and then, as a consequence of his liking, Interpersonal Attraction
come to perceive that the other person likes him. In such a case, the liking for
the other is not induced by the other person’s providing the reward of esteem,
but rather by some other determinant of interpersonal attraction.
2) One may become attracted to another as a consequence of his discovery that

the other person likes him. Such a process would support the notion that esteem
constitutes a reward, and we are attracted to people who give such a reward.
3.3.4 Rewarding Reduces Anxiety, Stress, Loneliness and

Enhances Self-Esteem
As a strategy of interpersonal attraction if one person in the interaction rewards
the other for aomething the latter has done, it enhances the interpersonal relationship.
In the process it also reduces many of the negative emotional states of the person
concerned. This is being discussed in detail below:
3.3.4.1 Liking Produced By Rewards Others Provide
The psychological principle which is most frequently used to predict interpersonal

attraction is the principle of reinforcement. We will like those who reward us, we
will dislike those who punish us. Several theorists have elaborated upon the
relationship between reinforcement and interpersonal attraction. For example,
Homans’ (1961) theory rests largely on the general proposition that a necessary
condition for receiving esteem from others is the capacity to reward them. He
hypothesizes further that
A man’s esteem depends upon the relative rarity of the services he provides if we
take a larger look at the ways in which a man may help others. If he has
capacities of heart, mind, skill, experience, or even strength that they do not have,
and uses these capacities to reward others, he will get esteem from them. But if
his capacities are of a kind that they also possess, or if these capacities are widely
available in the group, he will not get much esteem even if he uses them in such
a way as to reward the others.
In other words, there are, according to Homans, rewards and rewards— one
who provides rewards which are in short supply is more likely to evoke attraction
than one who provides rewards which are relatively common. Homans considers
the costs as well as the rewards one can incur in a relationship and introduces the
concept of profit. Profit is simply defined as the amount of reward a person
receives from an interaction minus the cost he incurs in that interaction. The
amount of social approval, or esteem, one has for another is hypothesised to be
a function of the profit one obtains from one’s interactions with the other.
According to these theorists, then, how much a person will be attracted to another
depends upon whether the outcomes the person obtains from the other are above
or below his Comparison Level (CL) “If the outcomes in a given relationship
surpass the CL, that relationship is regarded as a satisfactory one. And, to the
degree the outcomes are supra-CL, the person may be said to be attracted to
the relationship. If the outcomes endured are infra-CL, the person is dissatisfied
and unhappy with the relationship”.
Lott and Lott (1961), extending Hullian learning theory to apply to the case of
interpersonal attraction, have reasoned that a person should come to like not only 59
Process of Social Influence those who provide rewards, but also those who have nothing to do with providing
rewards, but are merely physically present when the individual receives rewards.
They have reasoned that, like any other response, response to a reward becomes
conditioned to all discriminable stimuli present at the time of reinforcement; another
person, of course, may be a discriminable stimulus.
To test whether or not one tends to like those who just happen to be present at
the time one receives a reward, Lott and Lott formed three-member groups of
children. Each group then played a game in which some members of the group
were rewarded and other members were not. Following participation in the game
sociometric tests were administered to the children. Specifically the children were
asked which two children in the class they would choose to take with them on
their next family vacation. The results of some studies indicated that children who
had been rewarded chose members of their three-person groups (who were
present at the time of reward) significantly more often than unrewarded children
chose members of their three-person groups.
Thus, Lott and Lott concluded that the reward of success in the game had been
conditioned to the other members of the group and this led to increased esteem
for these members. Results of this study were corroborated by a subsequent
study conducted by James and Lott (1964). While it is generally accepted that
“we will like those who reward us and dislike those who punish us,” we must note
that this statement does not, to any great extent, increase predictability in the area
of interpersonal attraction. We have no equation which will permit us to add up
all the rewards a stimulus person will provide and balance them against the
punishment which he will inflict and thus arrive at a total reward index which will
tell us how much others will like him.
A multitude of things may be rewarding or punishing to any individual at a given

time. In addition, it is often the case that “one man’s meat is another man’s
poison”; individuals differ in what they find to be rewarding or punishing. Since
it is so difficult to calculate what one individual at one point in time will find
rewarding, researchers in interpersonal attraction have been led to consider which
behaviours and events most people, most of the time, will find rewarding. By
considering some of the specific behaviours that have been found to be rewarding
or punishing to people in a number of different situations, that is behaviours which
appear to be “trans-situational reinforcers, some predictive insight into interpersonal
attraction has been gained.
3.3.4.2 Anxiety
There is much evidence that when individuals feel anxious, afraid, lonely or unsure
of themselves, the sheer presence of others is particularly rewarding. Try an
experiment: Come to class a few minutes early on a regular school day. You will
probably find that few of your classmates approach you. Then, some time when
an exam is scheduled in one of your classes, arrive a few minutes early. You may
be surprised to see the number of classmates who approach you with friendly
remarks or joking comments. There is a good psychological explanation for the
observation that students seem friendlier on days when an exam is scheduled than
on days when one is not.
Schachter (1959) tested the hypothesis that anxiety conditions will lead to an
increased affiliative tendency. He recruited college women to participate in an
60 experiment. When they arrived in the experimental rooms, the experimenter claimed
that his investigation was concerned with the effects of electric shock. The Interpersonal Attraction
description of the shock experiment was designed to make some of the women
highly anxious, while leaving the remainder of the women calm. Specifically, anxiety
was produced in the following way:
In the high-anxiety condition, the subjects entered a room to find facing them a
gentleman of serious mien, wearing hornrimmed glasses, dressed in a white
laboratory coat, stethoscope dribbling out of his pocket, behind him an array of
formidable electrical junk. After a few preliminaries, the experimenter began:
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Gregor Zilstein of the Medical School’s
Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry. I have asked you all to come today
in order to serve as subjects in an experiment concerned with the effects of
electrical shock”.
To make matters worse, the series of electric shocks the girls were to receive
were described as extremely painful. In the low-anxiety condition, both the setting
and the description of the experiment were designed to avoid arousing anxiety in
the subjects. There was no electrical apparatus in the experimental room. The
experimenter explained that he was concerned with extremely mild electrical shocks
that would not in any way be painful. The “shocks” were said to resemble more
a tickle or a tingle than anything unpleasant.
Once some women had been made more anxious than others, Schachter could
examine how anxiety affected their desire to be with other individuals. He assessed
subjects’ desire to affiliate in the following way. The experimenter claimed that
there would be about a ten-minute delay while several pieces of equipment were
secured. Subjects were told that during the ten-minute break they could wait in
a private cubicle. These rooms were said to be comfortable and spacious; they
all contained armchairs and there were books and magazines in each room. The
experimenter also commented that some of them might want to wait with other
girls. If they preferred to wait with others, they were asked to let the experimenter
know. He then passed out a sheet upon which the subject could indicate whether
she preferred to wait alone, or with others, or had no preference at all. Schachter
found support for his hypothesis that anxious people will be especially inclined to
seek the company of others. Sixty-three per cent of the subjects in the high-
anxiety condition wanted to wait with other subjects. In the low-anxiety condition
only thirty-three per cent of subjects wished to wait with others. Schachter had
also asked girls to indicate how strongly they desired to be alone or with others.
They could give answers varying from “I very much prefer being alone” (scored
-2) through “I don’t care very much” (0) to “I very much prefer being together
with others” (scored +2). These data also support the notion that affiliative desire
increases with anxiety.
The finding that the anticipation of stress produces an increased desire to affiliate
has been replicated by Darley and Aronson (1966). While anxiety appears to
increase an individual’s need for affiliation, there is evidence that anxious individuals
are selective about the others with whom they wish to affiliate. Anxious people
apparently do not wish to be in the company of just any other person. Instead,
anxious individuals seem to prefer to associate with people who are in a situation
similar to their -own.
Schachter bases this conclusion on a study which is similar in many ways to the
experiment just described. Two groups of college women were led to anticipate
that they would soon be severely shocked. Then they were asked whether they 61
Process of Social Influence preferred to wait alone or with others. How the “others” were described varied.
In one condition girls were given a choice between waiting alone or waiting with
some girls who were said to be taking part in the same experiment. In the other
condition, girls were told they could either wait alone or with girls who were
waiting to talk to their professors and advisors. Sixty per cent of the girls who
had a chance to visit with similar others chose to spend their time in the company
of others. Not one girl who was given the option of waiting with girls who were
waiting to talk with their professors chose to wait with others. Scores on the
“Over-all Intensity Scale” revealed the same results. Girls did not seem to be
especially anxious to associate with other girls unless these other girls were in a
situation similar to their own. Schachter notes that this finding puts a limitation on
the old saw “Misery loves company.” Perhaps misery doesn’t love just any kind
of company - only miserable company. Once we accept the proposition that
when individuals are anxious they have a special desire to affiliate with people in
situations similar to their own, the question arises as to why this would be so.
Schachter considers several possibilities:
1) Escape. When one is in a stressful situation, perhaps he anticipates that talking

to others in the same situation may help him figure out a way to avoid the pain
altogether.
2) Cognitive clarity. There is some evidence that individuals in ambiguous or novel

situations will desire to talk with knowledgable others in order to gain some
understanding of an otherwise incomprehensible event. Since receiving severe
shock in an experimental setting is probably unique in the subject’s experience,
perhaps anxious subjects desire to associate with others in order to find out if
the others know any more about what is going on than they do.
3) Direct anxiety reduction. People often comfort and reassure one another.
Perhaps highly anxious subjects choose to wait with others in the hope that the
others will bolster their courage.
4) Indirect anxiety reduction. An effective device for reducing anxiety is to “get

one’s mind off one’s troubles.” People may be seen as more diverting than
books or magazines. Perhaps subjects choose to wait with others in order to
prevent themselves from thinking about the shock which will be forthcoming.
5) Self-evaluation. People often use other people in order to evaluate the

reasonableness of their own emotions and feelings. In this novel and emotion-
producing situation, an individual probably is not quite sure exactly how she
should be reacting. (Should she be angry at the experimenter? Slightly
apprehensive about the shock? Terrified?) Perhaps high-anxiety subjects seek
out others in an attempt to appropriately label and identify their own feelings.
3.3.4.3 Stress
There is some evidence that individuals who are placed in a stressful situation
show less severe physiological disturbance if other individuals are present than if
they are not. Bovard (1959) developed an intriguing and compelling theory
concerning the effect of social stimuli on an individual’s physiological response to
stress.
A number of recent studies have suggested a reciprocal inhibitory effect between

62 the posterior hypothalamus and the anterior hypothalamus and parasympathetic
centers . . . Stimulation of the latter region would appear to inhibit activity of the Interpersonal Attraction
former . . .
The simplest hypothesis to account for the observed phenomena at the human and
animal levels is, therefore, that the presence of another member of the same
species stimulates activity of the anterior hypothalamus and thus, as a byproduct,
inhibits activity of the posterior hypothalamus and its centers mediating the
neuroendocrine response to stress. Previous interaction with the other person or
animal, as the case may be, could be assumed to accentuate this effect.
The evidence that the presence of others may help eliminate an individual’s
discomfort when he is experiencing stress, provides an additional reason why
individuals might learn to affiliate with others in stressful circumstances.
3.3.4.4 Social Isolation
There is evidence that even when not under stressful conditions, people prefer a
fair amount of contact with others to being alone for any length of time. The
strength of the desire for social intercourse with others was dramatically
demonstrated by the results of a social reform experiment conducted in the early
19th century. At this time one of the great prison architects was John Haviland.
As the result of the Quakers’ religious beliefs and the upsurge of “humanitar-
ianism,” an attempt was made in 1821 to reform the prison system. Haviland was
commissioned to build a “perfect” and “humanitarian” prison. The Quaker reformers
noticed that mingling among prison inmates produced strong friendships among
the inmates which caused them to continue their friendships after being released.
Such friendships among ex-criminals tended to lead ex-criminals back into a life
of crime. In the humanitarian reformation, it was decided to prevent contact
among the prisoners. It was thought that total social isolation would prevent
harmful corruption, protect the criminal’s good resolutions, and give him ample
opportunity to ponder on his mistakes and make his peace with God. Haviland’s
architectural design, which provided for solitary confinement day and night, was
extremely popular with prison commissioners and a great many prisons imitated
this style. The wardens, however, soon found that great ingenuity had to be
adopted to prevent prisoners from talking. For example, new ventilation systems
had to be designed, for prisoners soon found that the regular systems could be
utilised for purposes of communication. Ultimately the policy of social isolation
was found to produce undesirable results. The fact that many inmates became
physically and mentally ill as a result of their solitary confinement and their lack
of work eventually forced a change of policy. Current psychological knowledge
would have enabled us to foresee this outcome. By early childhood a person has
usually developed a need for the company of people. Complete social isolation
for any prolonged period of time is known to be a painful experience. “Cabin
fever” is a familiar expression which epitomizes the discomfort that even brief
social isolation brings. Schachter points out that the autobiographical reports of
religious hermits, prisoners of war, make it clear that isolation is devastating.
He notes that three trends have been found to characterise the experience of
individuals enduring absolute social deprivation.
1) The reported pain of the isolation experience seems typically to bear a

nonmonotonic relationship to time. Pain increases to a maximum in many cases
and then decreases sharply. This decrease in pain is frequently marked by onset
of the state of apathy, sometimes so severe as to resemble a schizophrenic state 63
Process of Social Influence of withdrawal and detachment.
2) There seems to be a stronger tendency for those in isolation to think, dream,

and occasionally to hallucinate about people.
3) Those isolates who are able to keep themselves occupied with distracting
activities appear to suffer less and to be less prone to develop apathy.
The data support the conclusion that complete social isolation is more unpleasant
than normal human contact. It is evident that others provide some reward by their
sheer physical presence, they stave off loneliness.
3.3.4.5 Self Esteem
What effect does an individual’s self-esteem have on his reaction to accepting or

rejecting others? Clinicians seem to agree that a high self-esteem person is more
receptive to another’s love than is an individual with lower self-esteem. For
example, Rogers (1951) says that the person who accepts himself will have better
interpersonal relations with others. Adler (1926) adds that those who themselves
feel inferior depreciate others. Horney (1939) views love as a capacity, she sees
love of self and love of others as positively related. Fromm (1939), too, agrees
with this notion. Studies supporting a positive relationship between self-esteem
and liking or acceptance for others are reported in Omwake (1954). These
studies support the contention that there is a positive relationship between self-
esteem and liking.
A different prediction was made by Dittes (1959). He hypothesised that approval

from other people would be especially rewarding to individuals low in self-esteem.
He argued that:
A person’s attraction towards membership in a group, like motivational attraction

toward any object, may be considered a function of two interacting determinants:
(a) the extent to which his particular needs are satisfied by the group, and (b) the
strength of his needs.
Dittes assumed that the lower the level of one’s own self-esteem, the greater
would be his need for such supports to self-esteem as are provided by acceptance
in a group. From this assumption, Dittes’ predictions can be clearly derived: (1)
When another person is accepting, he satisfies a greater need in a low self-esteem
person than in a high self-esteem person. Thus, acceptance should produce a
greater increase in attraction the lower the self-esteem of the recipient. (2) When
the other person is rejecting, he frustrates a greater need in the low self-esteem
person than in the high self-esteem person. Thus rejection should decrease the
other’s attractiveness more, the lower the self-esteem of the recipient.
An experimental study provided support for Dittes’ proposal. Subjects were

college freshmen, who met in small groups of five or six members for a two-hour
discussion task session. An attempt was made to make the group very attractive.
During the first hour of discussion, the groups’ conversation was interrupted three
times to allow subjects to rate the desirability of having each of the other members
in the group. These ratings were requested by the experimenter as though they
were for his own interest. At an intermission, the subject’s interest in these ratings
was aroused and he was allowed to see privately what he believed to be the
64
ratings of desirability made of him by other members of the group. Actually, the
distributed ratings were fictitious, and had been prepared in advance to lead some Interpersonal Attraction
subjects (those in the Satisfying condition) to believe that they were highly accepted
by the group, and to lead others (those in the Frustrating condition) to believe that
the group rejected them. After some additional tasks had been performed, the
subject’s own attraction to the group was assessed. Individuals were asked if the
group met again, how much they would like to continue working with it, how
much they enjoyed participating in the experiment, and how disappointed would
they be if not invited back to participate. Scores on these questions were summed
to form an index of the subject’s attraction to the group.
Dittes measured self-esteem in three ways: (1) Before the experimental session,
subjects completed a self-esteem questionnaire. (2) At the end of the session,
they were asked about their general sense of adequacy among groups of peers.
(Since the acceptance manipulation would be expected to affect answers to this
question, subjects’ scores were computed separately in each experimental
condition.) (3) Subjects were rated by the other individuals in the group. The
ratings they received were considered to be indicative of their own self-esteem.The
extent to which the subject believed he had been accepted by the group had a
much greater effect on whether or not he reciprocated the group’s liking when his
self-esteem was low than when it was high.
3.4 LET US SUM UP

Both personal characteristics and environment play a role in interpersonal attraction.
A major determinant of attraction is propinquity, or physical proximity. People
who come into contact regularly and have no prior negative feelings about each
other generally become attracted to each other as their degree of mutual familiarity
and comfort level increases. The situation in which people first meet also determines
how they will feel about each other. One is more likely to feel friendly toward a
person first encountered in pleasant, comfortable circumstances. People are
generally drawn to each other when they perceive similarities with each other. The
more attitudes and opinions two people share, the greater the probability that they
will like each other. It has also been shown that disagreement on important issues
decreases attraction. One of the most important shared attitudes is that liking and
disliking the same people creates an especially strong bond between two individuals.
The connection between interpersonal attraction and similar attitudes is complex
because once two people become friends, they begin to influence each other’s
attitudes. In conclusion, people tend to be attracted to individuals who are physically
attractive, physically accessible and socially available; and similar in terms of
purposes, backgrounds, beliefs, and needs. However, interpersonal attraction is
not the only factor that affects the building of a strong and health relationship. A
good relationship requires communication and the ability to adapt to one another.

1) Define the term interpersonal attraction and discuss its significance in our life.
2) Describe the salient factors that contribute in the development of interpersonal

attraction
3) Why do people attracted towards others as they do, critically evaluate.

65
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Berscheid, Ellen; Walster, Elaine H. (1969). Interpersonal Attraction. Addison-

Wesley Publishing Co.
Byrne, D. (1971). The Attraction Paradigm. New York: Academic Press.
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Aggression and Violence
UNIT 4 AGGRESSION AND
VIOLENCE
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Nature and Types of Aggression
4.2.1 Clinical Classification
4.2.2 Instrumental versus Hostile Aggression
4.2.3 Proactive and Reactive Aggression
4.2.4 Positive versus Negative Aggression
4.3 The Measurement of Aggression

4.4 Causes of Aggressive Behaviour
4.4.1 Neurophysiologic Perspectives
4.4.2 Biological Causes
4.4.2.1 Brain Dysfunction
4.4.2.2 Testosterone
4.4.2.3 Serotonin
4.4.2.4 Nutrition Deficiency
4.4.3 Environment and Genes
4.4.4 Parental Rearing Style
4.4.5 Parent-child Interaction Pattern
4.4.6 Parental Influence on Children’s Emotions and Attitudes
4.4.7 Difficulties with Friends and at School
4.4.8 Predisposing Child Characteristics
4.4.9 Environmental Stressors
4.4.9.1 Temperature
4.4.9.2 Crowding
4.4.9.3 Noise
4.5 Theories of Aggression

4.5.1 Psychodynamic Theory
4.5.2 Frustration-Aggression Theory
4.5.3 Cognitive Neo-association Theory
4.5.5 Script Theory
4.5.6 Excitation Transfer Theory
4.5.7 Social Interaction Theory
4.5.8 Social Information Processing Theories
4.5.9 General Aggression Model
69
Process of Social Influence 4.6 Intervention to Reduce Aggression
4.6.1 Parent Training Programmes for Reducing Antisocial Behaviour in Children
4.6.2 Developing a Programme
4.6.3 Training Using Videotapes
4.6.4 Other Training Programmes
4.6.5 Failure of Parent Training
4.6.6 Management of Hyperactivity
4.6.7 Interventions at Schools
4.7 Let Us Sum Up

4.0 INTRODUCTION
Human aggression is any behaviour directed toward another individual that is
carried out with the proximate (immediate) intent to cause harm. In addition, the
perpetrator must believe that the behaviour will harm the target, and that the target
is motivated to avoid the behaviour (Bushman & Anderson 2001, Baron &
Richardson 1994, Berkowitz 1993, Geen 2001).
Aggression is the delivery of an aversive stimulus from one person to another, with
intent to harm and with an expectation of causing such harm, when the other
person is motivated to escape or avoid the stimulus.
When we hear the word ‘aggression’ we probably tend first to think of physical
force - a fist-fight, an assault with a weapon, a loud verbal retort or some other
form of intense and punitive action enacted in the course of conflict between two
people. Actually, according to the definition we have adopted, aggression may be
carried out in any behaviour actuated by intent to harm another person against
that person’s wishes. Spreading vicious gossip about someone in hopes of ruining
that person’s reputation would be considered aggression.
In this unit we will be dealing with nature and type of aggression, and learn how
to measure aggression. Following this we will learn about causes of aggression
from various perspectives including biologic, neurophysiologic and social
perspective. Whether aggressive behaviour is in any way related to parental
rearing style and the influence of parental attitudes on children. Also there will be
environmental stressorws and the unit will take up all the theories of aggression.
Finally the unit will talk about the interventions to prevent aggression.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
After successful completion of this Unit, you will to be able to:
l Define aggression;
l Differentiate between various types of aggression;
l Analyse the various causes of aggression;

70
l Explain aggression in the light of different theories; and Aggression and Violence
l Explain effective techniques to reduce aggression.
4.2 NATURE AND TYPES OF AGGRESSION

Apart from physical violence against the body of other humans, there may also
be verbal abuse and verbal assault etc., which all can be considered as aggression.
In addition, damaging or destroying another’s property can be a highly effective
way of aggressing against another person. Even something as subtle and controlled
as a social snub can be a powerful source of harm to the victim, a harm that is
clearly intended by the person delivering it. Accidental harm is not aggressive
because it is not intended. Harm that is an incidental by-product of helpful actions
is also not aggressive, because the harm-doer believes that the target is not
motivated to avoid the action (e.g., pain experienced during a dental procedure).
Similarly, the pain administered in sexual masochism is not aggressive because the
victim is not motivated to avoid it. Indeed, the pain is actively solicited in service
of a higher goal (Baumeister 1989).
Aggressive behaviour during early childhood is considered a part of the normal

developmental process (Greydanus, Pratt, Greydanus, & Hoffman, 1992). Acts
of aggression change during a person’s life span. When young children lack verbal
skills, aggression is predominantly physical. When verbal skills develop, they
could be used as peaceful communication, but also for aggressive purposes (Ferris
& Grisso, 1996). Outbursts of anger usually peak around 18 to 24 months of age
and gradually decrease by five years of age. Tremblay et al. (1999), found that
most children have experienced their onset of physical aggression by the end of
their 2nd year. Early aggressive behaviour consists of crying, screaming, temper
tantrums, biting, kicking, throwing, and breaking objects (Achenbach, 1994; Raine,
Reynolds, Venables, Mednick, & Farrington, 1998). At this stage, intention is
instrumental.
Early childhood aggressive behaviour may be in response to parental authority

and unrealistic expectations on the part of the parent toward their child. Later as
social interactions increase, aggression may be directed towards peers (Greydanus
et al., 1992). Later on, such behaviours as teasing, bullying, fighting, irritability,
cruelty to animals, and fire-setting occur. During early adolescence, more serious
violence develops, including gang fights and use of weapons.
In human research, a widely used definition of aggression is behaviour deliberately

aimed at harming people and/or objects. In this definition harm has implicitly been
defined as hurting someone physically, e. g. by kicking. However, other forms of
harm, like psychological harm, e. g. humiliating, and relational harm such as
malicious gossiping, are just as important. In addition to physical aggression, two
other forms of aggression are currently recognised, namely psychological aggression
and relational aggression.
Antisocial behaviour is defined as behaviour by which people are disadvantaged

and basic norms and values are violated. Examples of such behaviours are lying,
stealing and truancy. Aggressive behaviour then is a specific form of antisocial
behaviour. Aggressive behaviour is an important component of several common
mental health disorders in young people, including conduct disorder, oppositional-
defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and intermittent explosive 71
disorder.
Process of Social Influence Effective treatment of aggression is important not only because this behaviour is
associated with negative developmental outcomes for perpetrators but also because
it harms people in addition to the client
There are different types of aggression. Theoretical perspectives on aggression

suggest that typographically and functionally distinct subtypes of aggression exist
(Dodge & Schwartz, 1997). It is important to consider the multidimensional
nature of aggression because different stimuli combine with different types of
physiological and mental processes to create distinct forms of aggression. Although
different classification systems for aggression have been proposed, as seen below,
these typologies tend to overlap somewhat, with each system having a slightly
different emphasis. The forms of types of aggression that are reviewed consist of
the clinical classification, the stimulus-based classification, the instrumental versus
hostile classification, and the positive versus negative classification.
4.2.1 Clinical Classification

The clinical literature research, heavily influenced by the work of Feshbach (1970)
has frequently referred to two forms of aggression the first form being “affective,”
“reactive,” “defensive,” “impulsive,” or “hot-blooded” aggression. This type of
aggression is defined as a violent response to physical or verbal aggression initiated
by others that is relatively uncontrolled and emotionally charged. In contrast, the
second form of aggression is referred to as “predatory,” “instrumental,” “proactive,”
or “cold-blooded” aggression. This type of aggression is characterised as controlled,
purposeful aggression lacking in emotion that is used to achieve a desired goal,
including the domination and control of others.
4.2.2 Instrumental versus Hostile Aggression

Feshbach (1970) originally developed this typology, and it has been elaborated
upon more recently by Atkins et al. (1993). This influential model separates
aggression into instrumental and hostile functions. Instrumental aggression produces
some positive reward or advantage (impact) on the aggressor unrelated to the
victim’s discomfort. The purpose of hostile aggression is to induce injury or pain
(negative impact) upon the victim. In this case, there is little or no advantage to
the aggressor. This model has been widely studied in community samples of
children and adults with varying results (Atkins et al., 1993). One problem with
this classification is that the constructs require careful delineation because many
aggressive episodes will have components of both instrumental and hostile
aggression.
4.2.3 Proactive and Reactive Aggression

A number of recent studies of aggression draw a distinction between reactive and
proactive aggression. The first of these terms refers to aggressive behaviour that
is enacted in response to provocation, such as an attack or an insult, and it is
manifested in both self-defensive and angry actions. The latter term refers to
aggression that is initiated without apparent provocation, such as we see in bullying
behaviour. Such behaviour is not evoked by anger, hostility or the need to defend
oneself, but by other motives that relate to obtaining goods, asserting power,
assuring the approval of reference groups and other such goals. Reactive and
proactive aggression are the equivalent of what earlier theorists called affective
and instrumental aggression.
72
4.2.4 Positive versus Negative Aggression Aggression and Violence
Generally speaking, aggression is considered to have a negative function that not

only elicits disapproval from others, but also is evaluated as destructive and
damaging in its consequences. However, Blustein (1996) argues that the term
“aggressive” behaviour is ambiguous, denoting both positive and negative
behaviours. Ellis (1976) considered positive aggression to be healthy, productive
behaviour if it promoted the basic values of survival, protection, happiness, social
acceptance, preservation, and intimate relations. In the context of positive
aggression, a certain amount of aggression is thought to be necessary and adaptive
throughout childhood and adolescence because it helps build autonomy and identity
(Gupta, 1983; Romi & Itskowitz, 1990).
Furthermore, a certain degree of aggression or dominance helps to facilitate

engagement in cooperative and competitive activities with one’s peers. Channeled
in the proper direction, human aggression is the force that enables a person to be
healthfully self-assertive, dominant, and independent and to achieve mastery of
both the environment and the self. Therefore, it is believed that positive aggression
takes many forms, including self-protection, standing up in the face of negation,
pushing for new possibilities, and defending against harm.
With respect to negative aggression, this behaviour has been defined as acts that
result in personal injury or destruction of property (Bandura, 1973). Alternatively,
it also has been defined as attacking behaviour that harms another of the same
species (Atkins et al., 1993). Negative aggression also is defined as forceful
action that is directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being
(Moyer, 1968).
Encroaching on the home or territory of a resident and causing others financial,

physical, and emotional damage also is included in negative aggression (Moyer,
1968). Negative aggression is considered unhealthy because it induces heightened
emotions that can in the long-term be damaging to the individual.
4.3 THE MEASUREMENT OF AGGRESSION

Aggression has been measured in a number of different ways. Perhaps the most
popular technique has been to use rating scales that are completed by either the
mother of the child or the schoolteacher. One well-used example of such a rating
scale is the Child Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach, 1994). A second frequently
used measure of aggression consists of self-report measures where the individual
fills out a questionnaire to assess different aggressive attitudes and behaviours.
Perhaps the most popular is the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (Buss & Durkee,
1957).
Aggression also can be measured by observers. For example, the Overt Aggression
Scale (Yudofsky, 1986) measures four different types of ward behaviour in
psychiatric patients by nurse raters. Furthermore, aggression can be measured
using a subtype scale that can classify different types of aggression. Proactive and
reactive aggression can be reliably and validly assessed by a brief self-report
measure (the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire) with a reading age of
eight years.
73
Process of Social Influence In addition, aggression and aggressive-related measures can be assessed in the
justice system by using
1) official files of the police, court, and correctional agencies
2) self-report measures, for example Self-Reported Delinquency
3) Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), a rating scale designed to measure

traits of psychopathic personality disorder (Hare, 1991).
PCL-R is the most popular clinical instrument for assessing psychopathic behaviour
Finally, aggression may be assessed using clinical projective tests such as the
Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1957; Wodrich & Thull, 1997).
1) Discuss nature and types of aggression with suitable examples.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) What are the clinical classification of aggression?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) Differentiate between proactive and reactive aggression.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4) Define instrumental aggression and differentiate it from hostile aggression.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
5) Explain proactive and reactive aggression.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
74 ...............................................................................................................
6) What are the characteristic features of positive and negative aggression.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
7) Describe the methods by which aggression can be measured.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4.4 CAUSES OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR

4.4.1 Neurophysiologic Perspectives
Neurophysiologic perspectives argue that aggression is a biological response that
is under the control of the brain. There are several important principles, It
emphasises the role of the brain, hormones and neurotransmitters in aggressive
behaviour; It stresses that our behaviour is largely governed by biological forces
rather than environmental ones; It states that aggression is innate not learned.
4.4.2 Biological Causes

Research is beginning to indicate that biological processes (internal stimuli) may
serve a role in predisposing to aggression. Five specific processes are selected
for brief description: (1) brain dysfunction, (2) testosterone, (3) serotonin, (4)
birth complications, and (5) nutrition deficiency.
4.4.2.1 Brain Dysfunction
Aggressive criminals have been found to have poor brain functioning. One source
of evidence comes from neuropsychological tests, which have indicated poor
functioning of the frontal and temporal regions of the brain in violent offenders. In
addition, EEG studies have shown that aggressive prisoners are more likely to
show EEG abnormalities.
Aggressive psychopaths are more likely to show excessive slow EEG wave. A
third source of evidence comes from brain imaging studies. Aggressive prisoners
have been shown to have reduced glucose metabolism in the prefrontal region of
the brain, while individuals with antisocial personality disorder show an 11%
reduction in the volume of prefrontal gray matter compared to normal and
psychiatric control groups. The reason why brain dysfunction predisposes to
aggression may be because the prefrontal region of the brain normally acts to
control and regulate the emotional reactions generated by deeper, limbic brain
structures like the amygdala. If the prefrontal region of the brain is functioning
poorly, it will be less able to keep these aggressive impulses in check, resulting
in an increased likelihood of impulsive, aggressive acts.
75
Process of Social Influence 4.4.2.2 Testosterone
Sex hormones appear to play a role in shaping aggressive behaviour. Aggressive,

violent offenders have been found to have significantly higher levels of testosterone
than controls. Female criminals also have been found to be much more likely to
commit crimes around the menstrual phase of their cycle when progesterone is
low, while aggression is reduced around the time of ovulation when estrogen and
progesterone levels are high (Carlson, 1998). Weight-lifters who take anabolic
steroids become more aggressive and hostile, and normal men who are given
testosterone become more irritable and hostile.
4.4.2.3 Serotonin
There has been a recent increase in research on neurotransmitters and their

relationship to aggression in animals and humans. Although there is emerging data
implicating the role of a variety of neurotransmitters in mediating impulsive aggressive
behaviour in humans, most data have suggested a particularly strong role for
serotonin. Both animal and human research has shown that aggressors have lower
levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Nevertheless, the links between brain
chemistry and aggression in humans are complex, because the environment plays
a key role in regulating neurochemistry.
Social dominance influences serotonin levels in monkeys, and alcohol consumption

also plays a significant role (Carlson, 1998). Birth complications have been
repeatedly found to be associated with later increased aggressive behaviour in
childhood and criminal activity in adults . Interestingly, birth complications alone
have rarely been found to have a direct link with aggression and violence. Instead,
aggressive behaviour is especially likely to develop when birth complications
combine with psychosocial risk factors such as disadvantaged family environment,
and poor parenting (Arsenault, Tremblay, Boulerice, & Saucier, 2002). Specific
birth complications e.g., forceps delivery etc. are believed to result in central
nervous system damage, which in turn impairs brain function, which then predisposes
aggression (Liu, 2004a).
4.4.2.4 Nutrition Deficiency
Research on nutrition deficiency and aggressive behaviour is beginning to get

attention. Factors include food additives, hypoglycemia, cholesterol, and deficiencies
in protein, iron, and zinc. In humans, the male offspring of pregnant women
starved during the German blockade of food to Holland at the end of World War II
had 2.5 times the rates of antisocial personality disorder in adulthood compared
to controls. In addition, several studies reported that iron deficiency is directly
associated with aggressive behaviour and conduct disorder. Similarly, zinc deficiency
has been found to be linked with aggressive behaviour in both animals and humans.
It is believed that early malnutrition negatively impacts brain growth and
development, and that brain impairments predispose individuals to antisocial and
violent behaviour by impacting cognitive functions (Liu, Raine, Venables, &
Mednick, 2004).
4.4.3 Environment and Genes

Twin and adoption studies suggest a large shared (family) environmental effect, a
moderate non-shared (unique) environmental effect, and a modest genetic effect.
76 Typical twin concordance rates for adolescent delinquency are 87% for
monozygotic twins and 72% for dizygotic twins. Adoption studies suggest that Aggression and Violence
genetically vulnerable children—that is, children whose birth parents were
antisocial—may be especially susceptible to unfavourable family conditions. The
genetic element seems to be stronger for adult criminality than childhood conduct
disorder and delinquency.
4.4.4 Parental Rearing Style

Five aspects of how parents bring up their children have been shown repeatedly
to be strongly associated with long term antisocial behaviour problems, namely
(a) poor supervision, (b) erratic, harsh discipline, (c) parental disharmony, (d)
rejection of the child, and (e) low involvement in the child’s activities. One study
showed that among antisocial boys aged 10, differences in parenting styles predicted
over 30 % of the variance in aggression two years later.
4.4.5 Parent-child Interaction Pattern

Direct observation in the home shows that much aggressive behaviour in children
is influenced by the way parents behave towards them. In many families with
antisocial children the parents do little to encourage polite or considerate behaviour
by the child. Such behaviour is often ignored and rendered ineffective. Yet
frequently when the child yells or has a tantrum he or she gets attention, often
the parent gives in, so the child wins and soon learns to adapt accordingly. The
coexistent unresponsiveness to the child’s communications and emotional needs
contributes further to the child’s disturbance.
4.4.6 Parental Influence on Children’s Emotions and Attitudes

Difficulties can often be traced back to infancy. A high proportion of toddlers who
go on to develop conduct problems show disorganised attachment patterns,
experiencing fear, anger, and distress on reunion with their parent after a brief
separation. This behaviour is likely to be a response to frightening, unavailable,
and inconsistent parenting. The security of infant attachment can be predicted with
substantial certainty before the child is even born, from the emotionally distorted,
confused style in which the mother talks about relationships with her own parents.
By middle childhood, aggressive children are quick to construe neutral overtures

by others as hostile and have difficulty judging other people’s feelings. They are
poor at generating constructive solutions to conflicts, believing instead that aggression
will be effective. This quickness to take offence at the slightest opportunity is
reflected on the street in sensitivity to disrespect, which can lead to swift retribution.
This indicates the fragile self esteem and confrontational view of the world that
these young people have come to develop after experiencing years of frustration
and failure. Some find that being violent makes them feel good about themselves
and give them control.
4.4.7 Difficulties with Friends and at School

In the school playground these children lack the skills to participate and take turns
without upsetting others and becoming aggressive. Peer rejection typically ensues
quickly, and the children then associate with the other antisocial children, who
share their set of values. Those with difficulty reading typically fail to get any
qualifications by the time they leave school, and they become unemployed. This
may contribute to persisting aggressive behaviour. 77
Process of Social Influence 4.4.8 Predisposing Child Characteristics
Hyperactivity, also known as attention deficit Hyperactivity disorder is predominantly
genetically determined. Children who show this restless, impulsive pattern of
behaviour do not necessarily start off aggressive, but over time a proportion
become so. They have difficulty waiting their turns in social encounters and games
and so easily provoke retaliation and get into fights. Where hyperactivity and
conduct disorder coexist from an early age the long term outlook is especially
poor.
Delinquents have repeatedly been shown to have an IQ that is 8-10 points lower
than law abiding peers—and this is before the onset of aggressive behaviour.
Other traits predisposing to conduct problems include irritability and explosiveness,
lack of social awareness and social anxiety, and reward seeking behaviour.
The interplay between a child’s characteristics and the environment is complex.

As children grow older, their environment is increasingly determined by their own
behaviour and choices. There may be turning points when certain decisions set the
scene for years to come.Thus it is not simply a young person’s level of antisocial
behaviour per se that determines later outcome but also how the behaviour shapes
the social world inhabited later on. This has important implications for intervention.
4.4.9 Environmental Stressors

4.4.9.1 Temperature
When the temperature rises people tend to feel more disposed to aggressive
behaviour. A researcher looked at incidents of violence across the USA and the
corresponding weather reports. He found that when it was moderately hot (84°F)
there was the most violence, but after the weather showed higher temperature, the
violence decreased. This was backed up by a lab study by Baron and Bell who
put participants in rooms of different temperatures then increased the heat in each
of the rooms. The participants were asked to give electric shocks. They found
that as the temperature rose, the participants gave more electric shocks, but then
once the temperatures got to extreme levels, the shocks decreased. However,
another researcher called Anderson looked at cases of violent acts including rape,
murder and assault. He found that there was a steady increase as the temperature
rose but that there was no indication of decline in extreme heat. One problem with
this theory is that it would probably not be true to say that people in hotter
countries are more aggressive.
4.4.9.2 Crowding
A higher density of people leads to higher levels of aggression. This theory links
to de-individuation. It is also unpleasant when your personal space is invaded.
For example, there is the most aggression along the most heavily-congested
roads. There are more prison riots when the population density in the prison is
higher. A study shows there was more aggression in a day nursery as the nursery
got more crowded.
However, this pattern is not found in families, as people expect others to be in

close proximity. This suggests that it is not just a high density, but overcrowding
that is the problem. There are also limitations to this, as some people do not find
78 encroachment of their personal space to be a problem. Furthermore, there are
also cultural differences e.g. Arabs tend to stand very close together. Also, if you Aggression and Violence
can confront people about it, aggression can be reduced. Both crowding and heat
lead to physiological arousal which leads to aggression. However, this may depend
on your interpretation of the arousal; for example, crowds can be uplifting, fun
and exciting.
4.4.9.3 Noise
Noise is an unwanted sound that causes a negative effect. It can cause aggression
when it is too loud or unpredictable. Glass and Singer conducted an experiment
where participant were asked to complete a maths task and were then asked to
complete a proof-reading task. During the maths task, some of participants were
subjected to noise, but all of them had quietness and no noise during the proof-
reading task. It was found that the people who had the noise in the first task made
more mistakes in the second task. They made the most mistakes when the noise
was very loud, was random and when they had no control over it.
1) Discuss the various causes of aggressive behaviour.
...............................................................................................................
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2) What are the neurophysiologic factors that contribute to aggressive behaviour.
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3) Put forward the biological causes of aggression.
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4) Discuss the interaction between environment and genes in contributing to

aggressive behaviour.
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79
5) In what ways parental rearing style and parental interaction cause aggression.
...............................................................................................................
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6) Discuss the parental influence on children’s emotions and attitudes and the
influence that the difficulties the child has with friends in then school.
...............................................................................................................
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7) Enumerate the various predisposing child characteristic factors in causing

aggression
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8) What are the various environmental stressors that cause aggression.
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4.5 THEORIES OF AGGRESSION

4.5.1 Psychodynamic Theory
Freud argued that all human beings possess two important instincts, the life instinct
(Eros) and the death instinct (Thanatos). The conflict between life and death
instincts results in self-destructive tendencies which lead to aggressive behaviour.
The struggle between life and death instincts creates a build up of tension in our
unconscious mind. This tension needs to be released, either through suitable
outlets such as sport (sublimation) or onto others (displacement). Failure to relieve
these aggressive impulses may result in an outburst of uncontrollable aggression.
Freud’s theory is also known as the hydraulic model of aggression.
4.5.2 Frustration-Aggression Theory

It is essentially a behaviourist approach that suggests aggression is a learned
response to frustration. Frustration occurs when an individual is exposed to external
situations (stimulus) that cause discomfort or anger e.g. prolonged queuing,
80
overcrowding, failure to achieve a goal, etc. Frustration is cumulative – it builds Aggression and Violence
up in an individual until it is discharged via an aggressive act (response). The
frustration-aggression hypothesis is sometimes known as drive-reduction theory.
Dollard et al claim that Frustration always causes aggression, and Aggression is
always caused by frustration.
4.5.3 Cognitive Neo-association Theory

Berkowitz (1993) has proposed that aversive events such as frustrations,
provocations, loud noises, uncomfortable temperatures, and odors produce negative
affect. Negative affect produced by unpleasant experiences automatically stimulates
various thoughts, memories, expressive motor reactions, and physiological responses
associated with both fight and flight tendencies. In cognitive neo-association theory,
aggressive thoughts, emotions, and behavioural tendencies are linked together in
memory (Collins & Loftus 1975).
Concepts with similar meanings e.g., hurt, harm and, concepts that frequently are
activated simultaneously e.g., shoot, gun, develop strong associations. When a
concept is primed or activated, this activation spreads to related concepts and
increases their activation as well. Cognitive neo-association theory not only
subsumes the earlier frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard et al. 1939), but
it also provides a causal mechanism for explaining why aversive events increase
aggressive inclinations, i.e., via negative affect (Berkowitz 1993). This model is
particularly suited to explain hostile aggression, but the same priming and spreading
activation processes are also relevant to other types of aggression.

According to social learning theories (Bandura, 2001; Mischel 1999), people
acquire aggressive responses the same way they acquire other complex forms of
social behaviour—either by direct experience or by observing others. Social
learning theory explains the acquisition of aggressive behaviours, via observational
learning processes, and provides a useful set of concepts for understanding and
describing the beliefs and expectations that guide social behaviour. Patterson’s
work on family interactions and the development of antisocial behaviour patterns
relies heavily on this approach.
4.5.5 Script Theory

Huesmann (1998) proposed that when children observe violence in the mass
media, they learn aggressive scripts. Scripts define situations and guide behaviour.
The person first selects a script to represent the situation and then assumes a role
in the script. Once a script has been learned, it may be retrieved at some later
time and used as a guide for behaviour. This approach can be seen as a more
specific and detailed account of social learning processes. Scripts are sets of
particularly well-rehearsed, highly associated concepts in memory, often involving
causal links, goals, and action plans. When items are so strongly linked that they
form a script, they become a unitary concept in semantic memory. Furthermore,
even a few script rehearsals can change a person’s expectations and intentions
involving important social behaviours.
4.5.6 Excitation Transfer Theory

Excitation transfer theory (Zillmann 1983) notes that physiological arousal dissipates 81
Process of Social Influence slowly. If two arousing events are separated by a short amount of time, arousal
from the first event may be misattributed to the second event. If the second event
is related to anger, then the additional arousal should make the person even
angrier.
4.6.7 Social Interaction Theory

Social interaction theory (Tedeschi & Felson 1994) interprets aggressive behaviour
as social influence behaviour, that is, an actor uses coercive actions to produce
some change in the target’s behaviour. Coercive actions can be used by an actor
to obtain something of value e.g., information, money, goods, sex, services,
safety , to exact retributive justice for perceived wrongs, or to bring about desired
social and self identities e.g., toughness, competence. This theory provides an
excellent way to understand recent findings that aggression is often the result of
threats to high self-esteem, especially to unwarranted high self-esteem i.e.,
narcissism.
4.5.8 Social Information Processing Theories

Although there is not yet one common theory of SIP in aggressive individuals,
Crick and Dodge (1994) have convincingly integrated various constructs from
studies on child and adolescent aggression.
According to their model, individuals in social situations:
l perceive and encode the situational and social cues,
l form a mental representation and interpretation of the situation,
l select a goal or desired outcome for the interaction,
l recall or construct possible reactions to the situation,
l evaluate these reactions and finally,
l initiate what they expect to be an adequate action.

The model suggests that some individuals develop specific characteristics of SIP
that enhance their risk of aggressive behaviour. These processes are inferred from
contents of the memory store, acquired rules, social schemata, and social
knowledge.
Studies show that when aggressive youngsters encode situational cues, they focus
more on aggression-relevant stimuli, they remember more aggression-relevant
details of a situation, and they over perceive aggression in their partners. When
interpreting the cues, aggressive children are less able to recognise the specific
intentions and motivations of others, and they exhibit a tendency to attribute
hostile intentions to others.
In the third phase, more egocentric and antisocial goals have been found in
aggressive youngsters. They try more frequently to maximise their own utility even
when this injures others, or they are more interested in dominating the interaction
rather than maintaining a relationship. In the phase of response access or
construction, aggressive children generate more aggressive and hostile alternatives
82 (Zelli et al., 1999). This does not seem to be because of a generally smaller
number of stored response schemata.
However, their repertoire of reactions lacks variety and is dominated by aggressive, Aggression and Violence
impulsive, and sometimes fanciful reactions. In the phase of response evaluation
and decision, antisocial individuals have a more short-term estimation of
consequences. They also seem to expect more self-efficacy and relatively positive
consequences of aggressive behaviour (Zelli et al., 1999).
These evaluations may be derived from enduring beliefs learned in the family and
in peer groups. In the sixth phase, individuals initiate the reaction that seems to
be most appropriate and in line with their goals.
Models of SIP assume that individuals go through these phases more or less
automatically and with little if any reflection. Although the processes may depend
partially on dispositions of neuropsychological functioning and temperament, the
content of SIP is attributed mainly to learning in social contexts (e.g., Bandura,
1973).
For example, experiences of aggression, conflict, abuse, and inappropriate parenting

in the family seem to have a basic influence. Aggression-prone schemata and
beliefs may also be learned via media consumption, at school, and particularly in
peer groups. The respective cognitions influence interactions in peer groups, and
the resulting behaviour is again evaluated and reinforced cyclically by them (Crick
& Dodge, 1994). Eventual changes in SIP may be because of new social
experiences, differentiations of cognitive schemata, and acquired social skills during
development.
4.5.9 General Aggression Model

In General Aggression Model (GAM), Anderson and Bushman (2002) tried to
integrate existing mini-theories of aggression into a unified whole. The model is
based on the concept of knowledge structures and how they operate to produce
behaviour. Knowledge structures arise out of experience, influence perception,
can become more or less automatic in some cases, and are linked to affective
states, beliefs and behaviour. In essence, they are used to guide responses to the
environment. Knowledge structures include perceptual schemata, person schemata,
and behavioural scripts which define the kinds of behaviours that are appropriate
in various situations. The model focuses on characteristics of person and the
situation as they relate to a person’s present internal state (affect, arousal and
cognition), and ultimately appraisal and decision making processes. Appraisal and
decision making processes lead to either impulsive or thoughtful actions, which in
turn cycle back to the next social encounter.
1) Discuss the psychodynamic theory of aggression.
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83
2) In what ways frustration aggression theory explains aggression.
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3) What is cognitive neo association theory? How does it explain aggression.
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4) Delineate social learning theory from the point of view of learning aggressive
behaviour.
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5) What is script theory? How does it explain aggression?
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6) Discuss excitation transfer theory and social information processing theories

in terms of explaining aggression.
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7) Explain aggression from the point of view of social interaction theory.
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84
8) Put forward the general aggression model and explaina ggression in terms of
the same.
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4.6 INTERVENTION TO REDUCE

AGGRESSION
Treatment needs to be targeted at major modifiable risk factors and its outcome
measured objectively. It should preferably be at an early age as conduct disorder
can be reliably detected early, has high continuity, is amenable to treatment at a
young age, and is very hard to eradicate in older children..
4.6.1 Parent Training Programmes for Reducing Antisocial

Behaviour in Children
Little published evidence exists that individual psychotherapy whether
psychodynamic or cognitive behavioural, pharmacotherapy, general eclectic family
work, or formal family therapy are effective in treating conduct disorder.
Behaviourally based programmes to help parents, however, have consistently
been shown to be effective. For example, the pioneering work of Patterson and
colleagues showed that directly instructing parents while they interact with their
children leads to significant and lasting reduction in behavioural problems. Many
other studies have replicated this.
4.6.2 Developing a Programme

It is better to organise a training programme for the parents and teenage children
and this can be done by two or three disciplines coming together. To get results
the professionals need to be trained in the specific methods, and for this one
needs a manual and a training centre with well qualified trainers. Most consistently
effective programmes have at least 10 sessions, to increase the effects, a booster
is desirable several months later. Also, intervention needs to be early, since
teenage treatments have only small effects.
4.6.3 Training Using Videotapes

Although conventional one-to-one treatment is effective, a more cost effective
approach is needed to treat larger numbers. One could have videos showing
short vignettes of parents and children in common situations. They show the
powerful effect of parents’ behaviour on their child’s activity, with examples of
“right” and “wrong” ways to handle children. Ten to 14 parents attend a weekly
two hour session for 12 weeks. Two therapists lead the group and promote
discussion, so that all members grasp the principles; role play is used to practice
the new techniques. Practical homework is set each week and carefully reviewed
with a trouble shooting approach.
85
Process of Social Influence 4.6.4 Other Training Programmes
Among more intensive programmes, the one developed by Puckering et al entails
one day a week for 16 weeks. This programme has been shown to be effective
in improving parenting in quite damaged families and enabling children to come off
“at risk” child protection registers.
4.6.5 Failure of Parent Training

In many cases, aggression is caused by faulty parental behaviour, often because
of parental psychiatric difficulties such as depression, drug and alcohol problems,
and personality difficulties.
4.6.6 Management of Hyperactivity

Hyperactivity is distinct from conduct disorder, although they often coexist.
Psychological treatment has to be rather different. Rewards have to be given
more contingently and more frequently and have to be changed more often. Tasks
have to be broken down into shorter components. Specific, clear rules have to
be set for each different situation, as these children have difficulty generalising.
School is often particularly difficult as the demands for concentration are great,
the distractions from other children higher than at home, and the level of adult
supervision lower. However, use of the principles outlined above can lead to
useful improvements.
Management with drugs (usually methylphenidate or dexamphetamine) is reserved

for children with severe symptoms in both home and school (hyperkinetic
syndrome). This syndrome occurs in just over 1% of boys. The short term effects
of drug treatment are large; less is known about long term benefits.
4.6.7 Interventions at Schools

Early preventive educational programmes can reduce later aggressive behaviour.
1) What kind of parent training programme will be useful in reducing aggression.
...............................................................................................................
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2) What are the various methods of developing a programme of intervention in

Aggression?
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86
3) Discuss the various other training programme for intervention in aggression
and indicate if there is failure of parent training how would it affect the
interventions?
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4) How will you manage hyperactivity?
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5) In what ways one could organise intervention programmes in schools for

reducing aggression
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4.7 LET US SUM UP

Aggression is the delivery of an aversive stimulus from one person to another, with
intent to harm and with an expectation of causing such harm, when the other
person is motivated to escape or avoid the stimulus. Accidental harm is not
aggressive because it is not intended. Harm that is an incidental by-product of
helpful actions is also not aggressive, because the harm-doer believes that the
target is not motivated to avoid the action e.g., pain experienced during a dental
procedure. There are different types of aggression. Theoretical perspectives on
aggression suggest that typographically and functionally distinct subtypes of
aggression exist. It is important to consider the multidimensional nature of aggression
because different stimuli combine with different types of physiological and mental
processes to create distinct forms of aggression. Treatment needs to be targeted
at major modifiable risk factors and its outcome measured objectively. It should
preferably be at an early age as aggression is amenable to treatment at a young
age and is very hard to eradicate in adults

1) Define the term aggression and discuss various types of aggression.
2) Describe the salient factors that contribute in the development of aggressive

behaviour pattern.
87
Process of Social Influence 3) Why do people behave aggressively as they do, critically evaluate?
4) Compare and contrast different theoretical models of aggression.
5) Design an intervention program to control aggression.

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Pers Soc Psychol 77:150–166.
90
Introduction to Attitude
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO and Stereotypes
ATTITUDE AND
STEREOTYPES
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Nature of Attitudes
1.2.1 Characteristics of Attitudes
1.2.2 Attitude and Beliefs
1.3 Theories of Attitude Organisation
1.3.1 Heider’s Balance Theory
1.3.2 Katz’s Functional Theory
1.3.3 Kelman’s Three Process Theory
1.4 Stereotypes
1.4.1 Characteristics of Stereotypes
1.4.2 Development and Maintenance of Stereotypes
1.4.3 Stereotype and Social Life
1.4.4 Difference between Stereotype and Prejudice
1.5 Let Us Sum Up

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Attitude is a word frequently used by us in our day to day life. In its common
sense it refers to an individual’s specific state of mind through which he expresses
his opinions and feelings towards some conditions, things, event and persons in
his social environment. For example, a person who feels favourably for widow
remarriage may advocate widow remarriage, write some article in favour of it or
even remarry his widow daughter, thus expressing his attitude towards the issue
of widow remarriage. Psychologists, Sociologists and other social scientists have
taken undertaken various researches to throw light on different aspects of attitude
and related concepts like stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. In this unit we
will try to understand the meaning, characteristics, causal and maintenance factors
of these various concepts. To begin with we will start from attitude.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
l Define and describe attitude in your own words;

l Describe the characteristics of attitude;
5
Attitudes, Stereotypes, l Elucidate theories of organisation of attitude;
Prejudice and Discrimination
l Define stereotype;
l Describe the characteristics of stereotype;
l Analyse the formation of stereotype;
l Differentiate between stereotype and prejudice;
l Analyse the factors contributing to stereotype and prejudice; and
l Analyse factors causing and maintaining prejudice and discrimination.
1.2 NATURE OF ATTITUDES

In the beginning psychologists defined attitude in terms of one dimension i.e.
attitude is a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or
unfavourable manner with respect to a given object. Thus the essence of attitude
was a person’s intensity of feelings toward some object. However, some
psychologists tried to explain attitude in terms of two dimensions namely, affective
and cognitive components.
Cognitive component refers to a person’s opinions and beliefs toward some

object or event. For example, a person’s beliefs and opinions regarding widow
remarriage. Affective component means how strongly and a person feels for the
event or object in question. This feeling may be for or against. Some were of the
view that attitude has three dimensions i.e. affective, cognitive and behavioural.
This approach is known as ABC of attitude. Behavioural component indicates
action a person would take in favour of or against the event or object of attitude.
As said earlier a person having favourable attitude towards widow remarriage
may organise meetings, give lectures in favor of widow remarriage or even go to
the extent of marrying a widow.
These three components of attitude have some characteristics, understanding of

which is imperative, in order to understand the nature of attitudes.
Valence— it refers to the degree of favorableness or unfavorableness to the

object or event in question.
Multiplexity— components of attitude have the characteristic of multiplexity. It

means the number of elements a component has. Higher the number of elements
in a component the more complex it would be.
Consistency— it is found more among the valence factors than among multiplexity.
1.2.1 Characteristics of Attitudes

a) Attitude is learnt: A person is not born with attitude but he or she acquires it
through the process of becoming an acceptable member of the group he/ she
belongs to. Also a person develops attitude form the experiences of life. These
experiences and process of socialisation may predispose a person favourably
or unfavorably to the object or event in question.
b) Attitude gives direction: Attitude directs our behaviour in either away

from an object or toward the object. For example, a favourable attitude
6
toward education will impel the person to send his children to school for Introduction to Attitude
formal education for the betterment of their life, while an unfavourable attitude and Stereotypes
may prompt him for not sending children to school.
c) Relative permanacy: It means attitudes are stable over time and changes in
them take place only gradually.
d) Attitude is always related to some issue, object or thing: This means for
the development of attitude occurrence of some event, thing or person is a
must. Attitudes do not take place in vaccuum.
e) Attitude has motivational properties: Attitude motivates a person to do

some behaviours more readily than others. For example an individual having
positive attitude for sports may readily go for play than pass his time reading
some book.
1.2.2 Attitude and Beliefs

An attitude is closely related to belief. Before exploring the relation between the
two it is important that we first understand their meaning. A belief is defined as
“ an enduring organisation of perceptions and cognitions about some aspect of the
individual’s world.” Beliefs are cognitions or thoughts about the characteristics of
objects. As of attitude we know that it is an organised system of cognitive,
affective and behavioural component. Analysis of the definitions of the two concepts
reveal following similarities:
Both are enduring organisation of different components.
Like attitude belief also has cognitive component.
Despite above mentioned similarities, the two concepts have following differences:
Attitude has all the three components i.e. cognitive, affective and behavioral while
belief primarily has cognitive component and behavioral component is secondary.
For example, a person may think that reservation in jobs is against natural justice.
This is only his thinking (cognitive) and lacks any kind of feelings (affective) but
he may be prompted to deliver a lecture about his views on this issue (behaviour).
An attitude has motivational properties and it directs our efforts in specific direction
while a belief does not have this property.
Belief is part of attitude. All attitudes toward an object have relevant beliefs about
that object.
Beliefs are based on real facts while attitude is based more on imagination and
less on reality.
Change in attitude comes faster than in beliefs.
1) Discuss the nature of attitudes. Give suitable examples.
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Attitudes, Stereotypes,
Prejudice and Discrimination ................................................................................................................
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2) List out the characteristics of attitudes.
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3) Differentiate between attitudes and beliefs. Give examples.
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1.3 THEORIES OF ATTITUDE

ORGANISATION
Social psychologists gave a number of theories to explain attitude organisation.
These theories can be clubbed under four categories.
1) Cognitive consistency theories- it includes following theories:
l Heider’s Balance theory.

l Newcomb’s A-B-X theory.
l Festinger’s Cognitive dissonance theory.
l Rosenberg’s affective-cognitive consistency theory.
l Congruity theory.
2) Social learning theories include in it the following theories:
l Theory based upon classical conditioning.

l Theory based upon instrumental conditioning.
3) Functional theories include following theories:
l Katz and Stotland theory.

l Smith, Bruner and White theory.
4) Miscellaneous theories are:
l Kelman’s three process theory.

l Assimilation contrast theory.
l Adaptation level theory.
8
Here we will discuss a few select theories.
1.3.1 Heider’s Balance Theory Introduction to Attitude
and Stereotypes
Heider’s Balance Theory-also known as P-O-X model it was given by Heider
in 1946,1958. It has three elements.
1) First is the perceiver known as P.
2) Second, another person called O and
3) Third X an object of perception.
Pairs thus formed of these elements have two kinds of relationships, that is, unit
relations and affective relations. Unit relations between pairs of elements depend
on similarity, ownership, and similar membership. Affective relations are based on
liking and disliking. Unit relations and affective relations may be positive or negative.
Heider further stated that elements may be in a state of balance or imbalance.
When balanced the individual feels relaxed and there is no tension. However, a
state of imbalance between elements creates tension and motivates individual to
restore balance.
Let us understand through an example.

Suppose Sunil (P) likes Krishan (X) and also likes Preeti (O) as well.
But Preeti is not liked by Krishan.
Here relations between Sunil and Krishan, Sunil and Preeti are positive but
relations between Krishan and Preeti are negative.
This state of affairs is disturbing for Sunil. Now Sunil has to change his relations
either with Krishan or Preeti. If he starts disliking Krishan, balance is restored
or he should start disliking Preeti to restore balance.
1.3.2 Katz’s Functional Theory

Katz (1960) Katz and Stotland (1959) opined that motivational basis is the key
to understanding attitudes. The motivational basis is conceptualised in terms of
functions which an attitude performs for the person. According to them an
attitude serves the following four functions:
1) Instrumental, adjustive or utilitarian function
It means that individual tries to maximise the rewards and minimise punishment.
Thus he develops favorable attitude towards those objects which result in reward
and unfavorable attitudes toward those which lead to punishment.
2) The ego-defensive function
Attitude protects a person from acknowledging unpleasant realities about himself

or environment. For example, a person filled with feelings of insecurity or low
self-esteem may develop strong prejudice against members of minority group to
compensate for feelings of insecurity or low self-esteem.
3) The value-expressive function
Holding attitudes commensurate with our personal values or self-concept gives us

satisfaction. 9
Attitudes, Stereotypes, 4) The knowledge function
Every individual is presumed to have a basic drive to understand, to make sense
out of, to structure his experience. Elements of experience that are inconsistent
with what a person knows are rearranged or changed to achieve consistency.
1.3.3 Kelman’s Three Process Theory

Kelman suggested that attitude organisation is influenced by three distinct processes
of social influence namely, Compliance, Identification and Internalisation.
1) Compliance can be said to occur when an individual accepts influence from

another person or from a group because he hopes to achieve a favorable reaction
from the other.
Here, the expression of opinion, despite the fact that privately the person may
not agree with it, is instrumental in gaining some reward or avoiding it. Thus an
employee knowing that his boss is proud of the jokes he tells may laugh heartily
at them even though he does not think they are funny. In this way he is able to
avoid his boss’s displeasure.
2) Identification can be said to occur when an individual adopts behaviour derived

from another person or a group because this behavior is associated with a
satisfying self-defining relationship to this person or group.
This is a means of establishing or maintaining a desirable relation to the other or

group and of supporting the self-definition that part of the relation. One form
which identification tales is shown in attempts to be like the other person or to
actually be the other person. This is commonly observed in children who copy
the behaviour and attitude of their parents or other models. However, identification
like compliance does not occur because the behaviour or attitude itself is satisfying
to the individual. It occurs because of the satisfying relation to another person or
group and it require the activation of the relation in order for it to occur.
3) Internalisation occurs when an individual accepts influence because the induced

behavior is congruent with his value system.
Here the content of induced attitude or behaviour is internally rewarding. The

attitude or behaviour helps solve a problem or is demanded by the values of the
individual.
1) What are the various theories of attitude organisation?
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2) Discuss Katz’ functional theory.
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10
................................................................................................................ Introduction to Attitude
and Stereotypes
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3) Discuss Kellman’s theory of attitude organisation.
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4) List the various cognitive consistence theories and elucidate one of them.
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1.4 STEREOTYPES
A stereotype is a cluster of beliefs usually lacking a rational basis regarding the
members of some group. The word ‘stereotype’ was first used by Walter Lipman
in his book “Public Opinion” (1922).
According to Albrecht, Thomas & Chadwick (1980) “A stereotype is a belief

about some particular trait being prevalent among all members of a social group.
Whatever be the characteristic it is assumed to vest all people in that category.
Therefore, all members of the group are perceived and understood alike.” From
above definitions it can be concluded that:
l Stereotype is a set of beliefs used to categorise people.

l Such categorisation is exaggerated and lacks in truth.
l This categorisation provides for the basis for gross generalisation bout people.
l Some particular physical, social and cultural characteristics are ascertained which
serve to identify people of that group.
l There is general consensus as to the prevalence of a particular trait among people
of that category.
l It is assumed that a person will exhibit all the traits of that category simply
because he is member of that group.
1.4.1 Characteristics of Stereotypes

Stereotype is a mental picture or image about people of a community or category
on the basis of which we ascribe traits or characteristics to people.
Stereotype is a widely agreed belief about people of some category or community.

For example, it is widely agreed that politicians are opportunist.
11
Attitudes, Stereotypes, Stereotype involves gross and exaggerated generalisations. An important
Prejudice and Discrimination characteristic of stereotype is that they develop out of experiences with individuals
of other community and are then extended to apply to all members of that
community. For example, it is generally believed that Bengalees are timid by
nature. This may be true for some people of Bengali community but certainly not
for all Bengalees.
Stereotypes usually are not amenable to change despite information and evidence
to the contrary. For example, when we encounter a brave, fearless and bold
Bengali we do not change our stereotype about them instead we say that this
person is exception among Bengalees.
Positive or negative stereotype: A stereotype can have either direction i.e. it can
be positive or negative. For example, Japanese are generally believed to be
industrious and diligent and Bengalees are usually thought to be timid and shy.
1.4.2 Development and Maintenance of Stereotypes

Stereotypes are acquired. Psychologists have delineated following factors that go
into development and maintenance of stereotypes.
A major cause of development of stereotypes is inadequate and improper

experience and information about people of other group. Experiences with handful
of people of other community lead to formation of wrong notions about them and
it is then generalised to all members of that community.
Socialisation: Process of socialisation plays an important role in the formation of

stereotypes. Most important agent of socialisation are parents. Many parents
encourage their children to develop stereotypes thinking it will better prepare
them to deal with people of other community.
Imitation: In order to become an acceptable member of the community or society

we live in, we simply imitate beliefs, opinions and attitudes held by them without
even thinking their desirability and logical validity. Result is that knowingly or
unknowingly we develop stereotypes. Perhaps this is the reason a person born
in Hindu community easily adopts stereotypes held by other people of Hindu
community but he will not with that ease adopt stereotypes held by Muslim
community.
Traditions and folkways: Traditions and folkways prevalent in a culture also

help foster stereotypes. Everybody tries to behave according to the traditions,
customs and folkways prevalent in the society because doing so brings prestige
and social reputation.
Social and cultural distance: Social and cultural distance is another important
factor in the development and maintenance of stereotypes. Social distance prevents
us from gaining right knowledge and information about people of other community
and society. Similarly, due to cultural distance we lack knowledge about living
style, habits, customs, beliefs, opinions and attitudes of people of other culture.
This lack of correct knowledge and information about other people provides
breeding ground for development and maintenance of stereotypes.
1.4.3 Stereotypes and Social Life

Stereotypes have profound importance in social life as they directly affect social
12 interactions. For example, teachers are usually thought to be idealistic and
accordingly we expect conversation with teachers to take idealistic tone. Thus our Introduction to Attitude
behaviour naturally orients toward idealistic patterns. and Stereotypes
Stereotypes serve a number of social functions as given below:
1) Stereotypes help understand social behaviour. Stereotype that politicians are

opportunist helps us understand their behaviour and we are not easily taken in
by their statements and claims.
2) Stereotypes help control social behaviour. In fact stereotypes equip us with a

power that automatically directs our behaviour in a specific direction. For
example, Americans are known to be friendly. Therefore when dealing with an
American we are in relaxed mood and try to be frank and friendly with them.
3) Stereotypes help in prediction. Whether right or wrong stereotypes control our

social interaction. We even predict behaviour on the basis of stereotypes. For
example, Nepali servants are believed to be brave, honest, and reliable. Thus
we can predict that our house and property will remain safe in the hands of a
Nepali servant, when we are out on vacations.
1.4.4 Difference between Stereotype and Prejudice

Since our next topic would be Prejudice and Discrimination it would be relevant
to differentiate between stereotypes and prejudice. The two concepts are very
similar with very fine difference between them. Following are the differences
between the two:
In stereotype all members of a community are treated alike as they are believed
to have same characteristics while prejudice can take any direction it can be
positive or negative both.
A prejudice is a type of attitude and has all the three components i.e. affective,
cognitive and behavioural. However, stereotype is cognitions and expectations
from person simply because the person is a member of a particular group or
community.
Stereotypes are comparatively more stable than prejudices.
1) Define stereotypes.
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2) Describe the characteristics of stereotypes.
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13
3) How are stereotypes developed and maintained?
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4) Differentiate between stereotypes and prejudice.
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1.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we studied the concept of attitude and the three components of
attitudes namely cognitive, affective and behavioural. We also discussed how
these components direct our behaviour. This was followed by a discussion on
characteristics of attitudes. We now understand the nature of attitudes in full. We
know that attitudes are acquired through process of socialisation and learning. We
also understand why people differ in intensity and strength on the same attitude.
Next we discussed the concept of stereotypes, their characteristics, how
stereotypes are formed and developed. We also studied the functions of stereotypes
in social life and the difference between stereotypes and prejudice.

1) What do you understand by the term attitude? Discuss in detail how attitudes
are formed and maintained.
2) Write an essay on stereotypes and their utility in social life.
3) Discuss Katz’s functional theory of attitude organisation.
4) How do sterotypes contribute to prejudice?
5) Discuss the various theories of attitude organisation.

Secord, P.F. and Backman, C.W. (1974). Social Psychology. McGraw Hill ,
New York
Alcock, J. E., Carment, D. W., & Sadava, S. W. (2005). A Textbook of Social

Psychology (6th ed). Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada.
Baron, R. A., Branscombe, N. R., & Byrne, D. (2009). Social Psychology

(12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
14
Formation of Attitude
UNIT 2 FORMATION OF ATTITUDE and Attitude Change
AND ATTITUDE CHANGE

Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Factors of Attitude Formation
2.3 Attitude Change
2.4 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
An attitude is a hypothetical construct in that it can only be inferred through the
behaviour of the individual. Attitudes are acquired and they develop out of
influence of many factors. On the basis of researches and studies conducted, the
psychologists have identified factors that determine development and formation
of attitudes. This unit is focussed on the issues of how attitudes are formed, what
factors constitute attitude formation and what are the methods by which one can
change the attitude.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
l Explain attitude formation;

l List the factors that contribute to attitude formation;
l Analyse the process of attitude change;
l Describe the role of persuasive communication in attitude change; and
l Explain the role of various factors in attitude change.
2.2 FACTORS OF ATTITUDE FORMATION

Need Satisfaction: Research studies on “Need Satisfaction”, reveal that we tend
to develop favourable attitude toward things which help us satisfy our needs. As
is well known, whenever something hinders our reaching a goal or stop us from
doing something that we want to or frustrate our attempts to satisfy our goals and
needs, we feel negatively for those things which stand in our way. For example,
in an experimental study it was found that students developed favourable attitudes
toward those things which they viewed were instrumental in the attainment of goal.
But they had negative attitude toward things that were of no use in goal attainment
or which hindered goal achievement.
Social learning: This is another factor that plays an important role in the
15
development of attitude. Process of learning affects the development of attitude
Attitudes, Stereotypes, and the way an individual learns other forms of behaviour. Three processes of
Prejudice and Discrimination learning affect development of attitudes and these are (i) Classical conditioning (ii)
Instrumental conditioning and (iii) Observational learning. These are being discussed
below:
Classical Conditioning: According to classical learning a neutral stimulus

comes to elicit an unconditioned response when repeatedly paired with an
unconditioned stimulus. Social psychologists opine that it applies to the development
of attitudes as well. For example, when a child repeatedly listens from his father
that Pakistan is an enemy country, and all the terrorist activities in our country are
Pakistan supported, the child gradually develops a negative attitude towards
Pakistan, even though initially the word Pakistan was a neutral word for him.
In a classic experiment on the role of classical conditioning in attitude formation,

two nation words – Dutch and Swedish were presented before a group of
subjects. When the word Dutch was presented it was followed by recitation of
positive adjectives like happy, laborious and sacred etc. But the word Swedish
was followed by recitation of negative adjectives like dirty, ugly, bitter etc.
At the end of the experiment it was found that subjects had developed positive
attitude toward the nation word Dutch as it was followed by positive adjectives
and a negative attitude among subjects was evident for the nation word Swedish.
It was presumed that repeated pairing with positive words elicited a positive
response for nation word Dutch.
Instrumental Conditioning: According to this theory of learning states, we

learn those responses that are rewarded and show an increased probability of
repeating such responses. However, we tend not to repeat responses that are
punished. Studies reveal that children develop attitudes maintained by their parents
simply because holding such attitudes is rewarding. Exhibition of attitudes and
behaviour similar to parents is often met with reward and praise from parents and
dissimilarities or deviation is met with punishment and admonition. Thus children
soon learn that holding attitudes similar to that of parents is instrumental in getting
the desired results.
Observational learning: A number of behaviours are learned by watching the

activities of others and the outcome of such activities. Children growing often
watch parents and significant others in the family and society doing things which
they follow without questioning the wisdom or logic behind these activities. They
follow without question only because they trust in the wisdom of their parents and
significant others in the family and society.
Group Affiliations: Group affiliations are an important source of formation and

development of attitude. An individual adopts the values, norms, opinions, beliefs
and way of behaviour in order to become an acceptable member of that group,
because following the line suggested by the group is rewarding. Besides group
exerts pressure for conformity to group and nonconformity is met with punishment.
According to social psychologists group affiliations affect attitude formation.
Primary group is immediate group of the individual that is family, peer group etc.
Such groups have limited number of members and enjoy face to face interactions.
Since primary groups are based on close cooperation, affinity and compassion
members of primary group often develop similar attitudes. Family members
16
particularly parents have tremendous influence over development of attitude among Formation of Attitude
children. According to social psychologists attitudinal homogeneity among primary and Attitude Change
group members can be attributed to four reasons.
Since primary groups are closely interknit, members face too much pressure for
conformity to group. Therefore members of primary group are more likely to
show attitudinal similarity. Primary groups create conditions where attitudes of
one member are favourable to other members which breeds liking among them.
This liking breeds further similarity and this similarity in turn leads to attitudinal
similarity.
All members of the primary group receive similar or same information. They are
more likely to process and analyse the information in more or less similar fashion
thus developing attitudinal homogeneity.
Any new member of a primary group is more likely to develop attitudes similar
to the group in order to gain acceptance in that group.
Reference group is a group, the individual is not a member of which but he aspires
to be like members of that group. Thus such a group is used as standard for
reference or comparison. Usually a person identifies with such groups by changing
or adopting values, norms, goals similar to that of reference group.
Cultural Factors: Cultural factors also affect the development of attitudes.

Every society has its culture and every culture has its traditions, norms, values,
religion etc. Thus socialisation of every person is affected by the cultural factors
of that society. Studies reveal that people reared in different cultures exhibit
different attitudes while people reared in the same culture show similarity of
attitudes. For example, a marriage proposal between first cousins is viewed
favorably in Muslim culture while in Hindu culture it is viewed with disdain.
In one of the studies it was found that cultural differences lead to development
of certain common attitudes among members of a given culture. For example,
members of Arapesh tribe are liberal, cooperative, and kindhearted. On the other
hand members Mundugumor tribe are usually aggressive, zealous and selfish.
Anthropologists concluded that it was due to difference in emphasis on the
development of different personality traits among the two cultures.
Personality Factor: Personality traits also have an important role to play in

the formation and development of attitudes. Attitudes which are in consonance of
personality traits are acquired easily. In a research study it was found that
persons with highly organised attitudinal system accept merits and demerits of
their personality as a matter of conscience. Some other studies found that people
with low IQ and literacy level are usually conservative, suspicious, hostile and has
a tendency to attribute their faults to others.
Stereotypes: Every society is characterised with some stereotypes. Stereotypes

are simple generalised expectations about people of other groups. For example,
it is believed that women as compared to men are more religious and suggestible,
it leads to development of certain attitudes towards women.
Given information: Information given to the individual also plays important role
in the formation of attitudes. In modern society modern means of communication,
particularly radio and television, play important role in shaping the opinions, views
17
Attitudes, Stereotypes, and attitudes about many a issue of public concern. Although not all types of
Prejudice and Discrimination information have equal effect on attitudes.
1) What factors contribute to attitude formation?
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2) Describe the processes of attitude formation in terms of social learning.
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3) Put forward the three theories of social learning that are related to mattitude
formation.
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4) What is meant by group affiliation and how these factors affect attitude
formation.
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5) Discuss the cultural factors that affect the development of attitudes?
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6) What are the personality factors that affect the development of attitudes?
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18 ................................................................................................................
Formation of Attitude
7) How do stereotypes affect attitude development? and Attitude Change
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2.3 ATTITUDE CHANGE

As pointed out earlier attitudes are relatively permanent meaning thereby that
they are subject to change but slowly overtime. Psychologists claim that attitude
change is of two types
1) Congruent change and

2) Incongruent change.
When a favorable attitude becomes more favourable after an incident, it is congruent

change. However, when attitude change is unfavourable that is direction of change
is opposite of the already held attitude, it is called incongruent change. Two
factors are important in attitude
Change:
i) Other things being equal congruent change in attitude is easier to bring about
than incongruent change.
ii) If the strength, stability and consonance among the present elements of attitude
is higher, then congruent change is easier to about than incongruent change.
Psychologists have identified a number of factors that affect attitude change which
are as:
Changing reference group: Psychologists found that change in reference group

leads to change in attitude as well. In one of the experiments Newcomb (1950)
found that a group of fresh entrants of girls were conservative as they were
coming from a family of conservative parents. However, environment of the college
promoted liberalism and one of the aims of college was to promote liberalism
among students. In the last year of college it was found that girls had shifted from
conservatism to liberalism.
Changing group affiliations: This has direct bearings on change in attitudes. It

has been observed that when a person breaks ties with old group and joins new
one, he readily adopts norms, values, opinions and beliefs of the new group.
Therefore change in attitudes is also there. However, change in attitude or change
in group affiliations depend on two things
1) characteristics of group, and

2) characteristics of membership in group.
By characteristics of the group we mean norms, values and beliefs of the group.
If the standards, norms, beliefs and values of new group are more attractive to
19
Attitudes, Stereotypes, the individual then the individual is likely to change his attitudes more readily.
Prejudice and Discrimination Similarly, characteristic of membership refers to the individual’s position in the
new group. If new position in new group accord greater status and power and
prestige , then the individual is more likely to change his attitude in the direction
held by the group.
For example, if a leader is changing his affiliations from BJP to Congress Party,
he may find himself elevated to the level of national level, certainly he would
change his attitudes more in favour of Congress and its policies.
Additional information: Change in attitude is also brought about by information

received from means like Radio, Television, and Newspaper. The person also
gets information through interaction with others. However, change in attitudes
resulting from reception of additional information depends on the nature of social
situation in which information is given. Psychologist have delineated three types of
such social situations which are as follows:
When the additional information is given in front of several people then when
individual is alone, attitude change is faster and greater.
When an individual publically accepts and declares his attitudes and beliefs, he
commits himself to those attitudes and beliefs. Such public commitment brings
about a sort of rigidity in his attitudinal stand and any additional information is
likely to bring change in attitudes. However, in a situation where the individual
has not made public his attitudes and values i.e. his commitment is private not
public. Additional information will bring more change in attitudes because public
is not aware of the individual’ s previous stand on the issue.
It has been noted that attitude change if advocated through discussion method is
more successful instead of lecture method. For example, in one of classical
experiments in this regard it was aimed to bring attitudinal shift among housewives
in favour of beef consumption as compared to other types of meat. One group
of housewives was motivated to discuss the issue among themselves and arrived
at unanimous conclusion that increased rate of beef consumption is beneficial for
several reasons. Another group of housewives was not allowed to discuss the
matter but was given a lecture by an expert on benefits of increased beef
consumption.
Later on it was found that 30 % of group of housewives who had discussed the
matter and reached a unanimous resolution in favour of beef consumption actually
registered a shift in their attitude toward beef consumption.
However, only 3% of housewives subjected to lecture method changed their

attitude.
Persuasive Communication: By persuasive communication we mean

communication of such facts and information as are attractive and appealing to the
listener and has direct bearing on the attitudes of the person.
Change in attitude through persuasive communication depends on four factors:
1) Source of communication
2) Characteristics and content of communication
20
3) Channel of communication, and Formation of Attitude
and Attitude Change
4) Characteristics of audience.
By source of communication we mean the person who provides information for

attitude change. Studies reveal that there are certain characteristics of source
which are effective in producing attitude change and these are:
i) Credibility of the communicator

ii) Attractiveness of the communicator
iii) Content and characteristic of communication.
Credibility of the communicator: A person who is viewed as more trustworthy

and expert in the issue on hand is likely to bring about more change in attitude.
For example, in a study on two groups of students, one group was told that
information given to them comes from a highly credible person who is an expert
in the field and can be relied upon. But another group was told that information
given comes from a person who is not expert in the field and can not be much
relied upon. It was found that student receiving information from highly credible
source registered greater change as compared to students receiving information
from low credible source. Amazingly with the lapse of time source of information
loses its relevance and only content of message is retained. Psychologists call it
sleeper effect.
Attractiveness of communicator: This also has its impact upon change of

attitude. Attractiveness of communicator has two aspects:
a) physical beauty, and
b) similarity.
When the communicator is highly beautiful change in attitude is more. For example,
a beautiful heroine advocating use of a particular shampoo is more likely to bring
change in attitude, than an ordinary looking woman.
Perhaps this is the reason why most of advertisements have beautiful heroines and
good looking men for promoting the products of different companies. People are
more influenced by people who are like them. Such people are considered to be
one of them, and are less expected to deceive the person. For example in a
study on Black students, message from black communicator was more effective
than message from a white communicator.
Content and characteristic of communication: There are three dimensions of

content of communication which are note worthy, and these include (i) fear arousing
appeal (ii) Organisation of communication (iii) ) Channel of communication .
1) Fear arousing appeal
When some information is aimed at arousing fear or negative emotions but at the
same time it provides you with alternatives to reduce that fear, it has been found
to be more effective. For example, statutory warning on cigarette packets that
cigarette smoking is injurious to health, is an example of this type.
21
Attitudes, Stereotypes, 2) Organisation of Communication
Attitude change is affected by the way in which communication is organised and
presented.
The first issue in regard to organisation of communication is the effect of one-

sided versus two-sided communication i.e. should a communicator present just
the arguments in favour of the change of attitude in receiver or should the
arguments be presented with the counter arguments also?
One other issue in regard to organisation of communication is whether the message

should draw its own conclusion or it should be left to the audience.
Another issue in organisation and presentation of communication centers over the

primacy vs. recency effect that is, whether the information presented first or
information presented last is more effective. Let us deal with these issues one by
one.
One-sided vs. Two-sided communication: In order to test the effectiveness of

one-sided vs. two-sided arguments, social psychologists conducted an experiment
to prepare Allied forces soldiers for a long protracted war against Japanese
forces, after the surrender of German forces.
In one presentation soldiers were presented with arguments that described toughness
of Japanese soldiers, Japanese weapon system and resources and stockpiles of
Japanese forces. In another presentation same arguments were presented but it
also contained arguments for the possibility of a short duration war, like the earlier
victories of Allied forces, the losses incurred by Japanese forces and lowered
morale of Japanese commanders after the surrender of German forces.
Results showed that
i) None of the two types of communication was more effective than the other.
However, one interesting fact that emerged was that one-sided communication
was more effective with soldiers who were only high school pass and two-sided
communication was more effective with graduate soldiers.
ii) Secondly, initial stance taken by the soldiers also came out to be an important
factor. Soldiers who originally expected the war to be short one, were more
influenced by two-sided arguments while those who initially expected the war to
be a long protracted one, were more influenced by one-sided communication.
iii) Innoculating effect: one-sided and two-sided communications also differ in their
ability to “inoculate” people against later counter propaganda. In an experiment
two sided communication produced astonishing innocualtion effect among people.
In one experimental study two-sided communication was dramatically effective
in inoculating the audience. Different groups of subjects who had heard argument
that Russia would not be able to produce atomic bomb for next five years were
later exposed to counter communication. They differed radically in their
receptiveness to the countercommunication, depending upon whether or not
the initial message had been one-sided or two sided. Only 2 percent of those
who had initially been exposed to one- sided communication retained position
advocated by that communication, where as 67 percent of those who had initially
been exposed to a two-sided communication retained its position inspite of
22
counter communication.
Primacy versus Recency effect Formation of Attitude
and Attitude Change
Whether the information provided first has more effect than the information
presented later. When the earlier information is more effective it is known as
primacy effect and when information presented later is more effective it is known
as recency effect.
Channel of communication: To what extent a communication will be effective

depends on which channel of communication is being used. Different channels
have differential effect on attitude change.
Radio, television, newspaper etc. are example of mass media directed at

communicating with the masses. Communication through mass media is impersonal
in the sense that face to face interaction is lacking here. But when a communicator
reaches out to audience in person he establishes personal contact with them. It
has been found that personal contact more effective than mass media in producing
attitude change.
Psychologists found that attitude change is greater when an individual receives

information through active participation than when he receives information through
pamphlets or posters glued on walls.
Characteristics of audience: Effectiveness of communication aimed at changing

attitudes of audience is also dependent upon the characteristics of the audience
receiving the message. It has been found that people who are high in self-esteem,
self-confidence and are aggressive by nature are less likely to be affected by a
communication to change attitude.
Age has also been found to adversely affect change in attitude. Increase in age
brings about rigidity and conservatism in thinking thus an aged person is less likely
to be affected by persuasive communication.
Enforced contact: One important factor in attitude change is enforced contact.

By enforced contact we mean a social situation in which two opposing parties are
compelled to interact with each other. For example, when an Indian and a Pakistani
are compelled to live in the same room and share other things. It is presumed that
such enforced contact allow people to understand each other in a better way
through repeated exposure to each other. In such situation people receive first
hand information about each other and has the opportunity to test the information
received.
2.4 LET US SUM UP

In the preceding paragraphs we studied factors that go in to the development of
attitudes. We now know that a number of factors like need satisfaction, social
learning, group affiliations, personality factors and cultural factors contribute to the
development of attitudes. Thereafter, we discussed the process of attitude change.
We discussed the role of group reference, changing group affiliations, persuasive
communication and personality factor in bringing about attitudinal change. In
persuasive communication we discussed the role of characteristics of communicator
and how these affect attitude change. Then we discussed importance of content
of the message, its order of presentation and also channel of communication and
characteristics of the audience receiving communication. Thus, now we fully and
understand the process of attitude change. 23
Prejudice and Discrimination 2.5 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1) Discuss in your own words factor of attitude formation.
2) What is the role of persuasive communication in attitude change? Give suitable

examples.
3) Write an essay on process of attitude change.
4) What is meant by Primacy and Recency effect and how do they bring about an
attitude change?
5) Discuss characteristics of audience and enforced contact as responsible for

attitude change.

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social Psychology and Human
Nature. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2010). Essential Social Psychology (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
24
Prejudice and Discriminaion
UNIT 3 PREJUDICE AND
DISCRIMINATION
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Characteristics of Prejudice
3.3 Types of Prejudice
3.4 Discrimination
3.5 Development and Maintenance of Prejudice and Discrimination
3.6 Manifestation of Predudice
3.7 Methods of Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Social Psychologists tried to define prejudice from different viewpoints. Some
psychologists define prejudice as a preconceived irrational judgement, while others
define it as an expression of dislike against members of some religion, race or
group. However, majority of psychologists agree upon the definition given by
Secord and Backman “Prejudice is an attitude that predisposes a person to think,
perceive, feel and act in favourable and unfavourable ways towards a group or
its individual members.” According to Baron & Byrne “Prejudice is generally a
negative attitude towards the members of some social, ethnic or religious.” Prejudice
be it negative or positive is decidedly an attitude and has all the three components
of attitude i.e. affective, cognitive and behavioural. In this unit we will be discussing
the definition of prejudice, characteristics of prejudice and types of prejudice.
We will also be discussing discrimination as a process and how the prejudice and
discrimination are developed and maintained. Finally we try to see how one can
reduce prejudice and discrimination.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
l Define prejudice;
l Describe the nature of prejudice;
l Elucidate the characteristics of prejudice;
l Explain the nature of discrimination.
l Anlyse the factors responsible for development and maintenance of prejudice
and discrimination;
25
Attitudes, Stereotypes, l Explain how prejudice manifests itself in different ways; and
l Elucidate the methods of reducing prejudice.
3.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF PREJUDICE

Psychologists have identified following characteristics of prejudice:
Prejudice is acquired: Like attitude prejudice is acquired through the process

of learning and socialisation. When born a child is like a blank slate and is free
of any kind of prejudice. It is only when the process of socialisation begins that
he starts imitating his parents and their likes and dislikes. Norms, values, customs,
and traditions of the society of which he is member make him prejudiced toward
members of other group. Acquisition of prejudice is facilitated by classical
conditioning, instrumental and observational learning. A child learns to hate
Pakistanis only because he sees significant others in the society hating pakistanis.
Emotional overtones: Prejudice is always colored with emotions. It is either for

or against some group, community or religion. If favourable, the person would
show too much affection, love, care and sympathy for members of another group.
But if unfavourable the person would show hatred, dislike and hostility.
Prejudice is irrational: Prejudice does not lend itself to reason, wisdom, and
relevance. The individual does not change his prejudice in the face of information
and evidence to the contrary.
Prejudice is functional: Prejudice helps the individual justify his hostilities,

repressed desires and strengthen feelings of self-esteem and prestige. It helps
individual justify his exploitation, discrimination of members of other group. For
example, in Indian society the upper caste Hindus justified their exploitation of
lower castes reasoning that they are like that only and deserve to be exploited and
discriminated against.
Prejudice has no connection with reality: It is primarily based on hearsay,

incomplete and wrong information, customs and traditions of the society. It can’t
stand test of logic and reasoning.
3.3 TYPES OF PREJUDICE

Prejudices are of different types depending upon the social conditions of the
individual. Sociologist and Psychologists delineate following main types of
prejudices:
Racial prejudice: This is aimed at members of another race. For example, Negros
have been subject of racial prejudice at the hand of whites. Similarly, Jews were
a target of prejudice by Nazis in Germany. Hitler went to the extent of exterminating
at mass scale.
Sex prejudice: This is for centuries women have been target of prejudice. They
have been thought of weak, dependent and intellectually less gifted than men.
Caste prejudice: Indian social structure is the best example of such prejudice.
Our society is divided into numerous castes and each caste is believed to have
specific characteristics.
26
Language prejudice: This is often evident when we go to different parts of India. Prejudice and Discriminaion
Particularly in South India it is very evident. People despise Hindi knowing fully
well that it is our national language. They prefer to speak English but not Hindi
even if they know Hindi. Infact organisation of states in India has been on linguistic
basis.
Religious prejudice: This has been a burning problem in India since pre
independence days. Creation of Pakistan was only because of religious differences.
In religious prejudice individual holds positive attitude toward his own religion and
unfavourable attitude toward other religion. Consequently, misunderstandings and
misconceptions about people of other religions crop up.
Some other prejudices are political prejudice, communal prejudice etc.
1) What is prejudice?
................................................................................................................
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................................................................................................................
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2) Enumerate the characteristics of prejudice
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3) What are the various tpes of prejudice? Give suitable examples
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3.4 DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination is the differential treatment of individuals belonging to a particular
social group or community or religion. It is generally the overt or behavioural
expression of prejudice. Generally the person discriminated is denied some privilege
or right that is accorded to other members of society who do not belong to the
minority group.
According to the exchange theory when the reward-cost outcomes of two

separately bounded groups are perceived to be mutually exclusive, so that each
group can increase its gains only at the cost of other, members of each group try
to protect or increase their outcomes. If the two groups are unequal in power,
they will establish different outcomes unless prevented by norms that restrain
27
Attitudes, Stereotypes, exploitation of the weaker by the more powerful. These different outcomes create
Prejudice and Discrimination differences in the status of the two groups.
The extent to which the members of the minority group feel discriminated against
and dislike or feel hostile toward the majority group is a function of the relation
between their comparison level and that of the majority group. If the minority
group has the same comparison level as the majority group, it will feel dissatisfied
and hostile. But if comparison is sufficiently low relative to majority group no
adverse feelings would occur.
However, ‘minority groups’ use of comparison level relative to majority group

depends upon past experiences, the outcomes available in alternative relations,
and structural and cultural factors. For example, in Indian society lower caste
people were not allowed to take water from wells reserved for people of upper
castes. They were not supposed to sit before people of upper castes and there
were many more restrictions imposed upon them simply because they were born
in shudra castes.
Sometimes discrimination occurs without the accompanying feeling of prejudice.

For example, a proprietor may refuse to accept as patrons members of a minority
group because he feels it would injure his business. He may not be prejudiced
towards those people but he gives priority to his business.
3.5 DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE

OF PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION
Psychologists have categorised the causal and maintenance factors of prejudice
as given below:
Status and Power structures: The structure of relations between two groups in
terms of relative status and power sometimes gives rise to prejudice. For example,
where a dominant group holds another group in a condition of slavery, slaves are
likely to be considered lazy, irresponsible and lacking in initiative. These beliefs
emerge from the fact that slaves act upon orders from their masters and not given
an opportunity to demonstrate initiative or responsibility. Thus the beliefs about
them are consonant with their behaviour, which is controlled by structure of
relations.
Historical facts: Prejudice and discrimination develop out of history of economic

conflict as well as from political power distribution among groups of people .
Historical incidents led to the development of attitude which slowly takes form of
prejudice. In our society prejudice against women is one such example. Women
have always been considered weak, dependant and tools such prejudice developed
out of atrocities perpetrated over women and they kept tolerating them thinking
it to be their duty.
Similarly some professions have historically been thought to be fit for men than
women. For example, truck driving has never been considered fit for women,
Women in this profession and other such professions are looked down upon.
Another example of historical reason of prejudice comes from prejudice against

Jews. An image of Jews as rich, grasping, and shrewd grew out of their
28 occupational roles as money lenders. The church prohibited Christians from lending
money at interest, but did permit them to borrow from Jews. Thus the jews Prejudice and Discriminaion
became bankers when this occupation was extremely profitable, and the cognitive
image commensurate with the role became firmly established. Besides competitive
circumstances produced negative effect against Jews.
Situational Factors: The number of situational factors in the immediate environment

of the individual also lead to development of prejudice:
Social learning: Every individual during the process of socialisation learns and
acquires beliefs, values and attitudes through parents, school, religion and church.
These agents of socialisation invariably transmit prejudices held by them to the
child. Besides childrearing practices adopted by parents have been shown to help
develop prejudice and discrimination.
Job Competition: Scarcity of job avenues and abundance of applicants is one

important economic factor for development of prejudice. It led to the emergence
of sons of soil theory. For example, the Marathi movement against North Indians
in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra has one of its reasons based in
economic factors. North Indians coming to Mumbai are ready to work for longer
hours and that too at cheaper wages as against Local people. They have gradually
outplace local people in patty and traditional jobs thus rendering many of people
jobless and fending for struggle to survive. It has led them to believe that north
Indians are responsible for their plight and are replacing them in their own home.
Such beliefs lead to development prejudice against North Indians.
Conformity to Norms: Once prejudice and discrimination against outgroup are

well established, the accompanying cognitions and feelings concerning the out
group acquire a normative quality. They are shared by members of the ingroup
and the members expect each other to hold such attitudes. The factors underlying
conformity to the norms of prejudice may be explained in terms of the varying
reward-cost outcomes ensuing from conformity or nonconformity. If prejudice
and discrimination against other group is the norm, then overt expression of
prejudice and discrimination will receive approval from other members of the
group.
Interaction Patterns: Prejudice and discrimination create certain interaction patterns

that contribute to maintenance of the status quo. Several interaction patterns
increase cohesion and thus strengthen the power of the group to enforce conformity
to norms of prejudice and discrimination. Any factor that makes members more
dependent on the group is likely to increase cohesion. Interaction pattern within
the ingroup may also increase the economic dependence of members upon each
other. Finally, if interaction within each group predominates over interaction across
group lines, the development of patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving unique
to each group is fostered. Such interaction patterns increase the cultural gulf that
separates the two group.
Psychodynamic factors: Researches reveal that a number of psychological factors

also give rise to prejudice.
Frustration and Aggression: Frustration also gives rise to prejudice. The

underlying theory in it is displaced aggression. According to this theory when
individual finds some obstacle between him and his goal he gets frustrated and
becomes aggressive toward the obstacle. Since the interfering agent is stronger
and powerful and has the power to punish him this frustration and aggression is 29
Attitudes, Stereotypes, displaced toward some weaker object. Thus, the weak person or group becomes
Prejudice and Discrimination scapegoat.
Authoritarian Personality: Among psychological factors of prejudice authoritarian

personality has received much attention from psychologists. People with authoritarian
personality exhibit rigid thinking, punitive tendency. These tendencies predispose
individual toward prejudice. Besides these people value people on the scale of
power, people above them in the power scale are attributed all good characteristics,
and people below them on power scale are treated as inferior and deserve to be
exploited and hated.
Personality needs: A variety of personality needs may support prejudice and

discrimination. One such need is “intolerance for ambiguity”. Persons differ in the
extent to which they are disturbed by confusing or ambiguous situations. Some
persons like to have everything in black and white i.e. they are unable to tolerate
least uncertainty or complexity in situation while some persons are least disturbed
by confusing or uncertain situations. In general it has been found that individuals
who are more intolerant of ambiguity are also likely to be more prejudiced
because prejudice for them serves to clarify ambiguity and uncertainty embedded
in the situation. Similarly, a need to achieve superior status may be supported by
prejudice, which provides a group of persons lower in status than oneself. The
need for security may be satisfied through rejection of outgroup.
1) What is discrimination?
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2) Delineate the causes for discrimination.
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3) Present the theoretical approaches in regard to maintenance factor of

prejudice.
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30
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Prejudice and Discriminaion
4) Discuss the causal and maintenance factors of prejudice.
................................................................................................................
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5) What are situational factors that lead to the development of prejudice and
discrimination.
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3.6 MANIFESTATION OF PREJUDICE

As we know that a prejudice is a negative attitude directed toward some member
of a particular group. An attitude is a hypothetical construct observable only
through the behaviour of a person. A prejudice manifests itself through the following
modes of behaviour:
Withdrawal: It means moving from the object of prejudice. For example, a

person is prejudiced against jews. He goes to a party and fids that some jews
have been invited to that party. Now instead of making jews leave that party he
decides to move away from that party.
Avoidance: Keeping away from the social situation where the object of prejudice
may be present. For example, the person who is prejudiced against jews and
hates them, comes to know before-hand that some of the invitees at the party are
jews. In that condition he may decide to not to join that party. Thus he is able
to avoid a situation where he might have to interact with object of prejudice.
Discrimination: It involves biased behaviour against the object person of

prejudice. For example, a teacher who is prejudiced against a particular community
may fail students belonging to that community. He may not select students of
particular community for school team, although the students in question deserve
and merit selection against all criteria.
Lynching: It involves behaviour aimed at causing physical hurt or injury to the

object person of prejudice. For example, the teacher in above example may go
to the extent of actually subjecting students of a particular community to physical
punishment without any reasonable ground.
Extermination: It is an extreme form of manifestation of prejudice. It is aimed

at removing the existence of the object person of prejudice. For example, in the
Second World War, Hitler, the then Chancellor of Germany, ordered mass
extermination of jews. Millions of Jews were massacred at the orders of Hitler.
Hitler believed himself to be Aryan and he aimed to cleanse Germany of Non-
Aryans.
31
Prejudice and Discrimination 3.7 METHODS OF REDUCING PREJUDICE
AND DISCRIMINATION
Social psychologists have suggested a number of methods for reducing prejudice
which as follow:
Intergroup Contact: Allport was the first psychologist to realise the importance
of intergroup contact in between prejudiced person and the target person. Such
interactional situations provide the two parties an opportunity to know each other
from close quarters and understand each other thereby reducing misunderstandings
and misconceptions. However, for intergroup contact to be effective certain
conditions are to be met.
Intergroup contact is an effective method of reducing prejudice only in those

conditions where both the parties have equal status.
For this technique to be effective contact between the prejudiced person and
target person ought to be intimate and not superficial. Intimate and honest contact
between the concerned parties motivates the person to perceive members of
target group more as humans than as stereotypes.
Intergroup contact method is more successful in situations where the success of

both parties is dependent on each other i.e. when a common goal is to be
achieved. In such situation both parties are forced to understand each other in a
better manner.
Education: Social psychologists emphasise that appropriate education has

important role to play in reduction of prejudice, particularly racial prejudice. In it
both informal and formal education are important. As far as informal education is
concerned parents ought to be encouraged not to indulge before children in things
which knowingly or unknowingly promote prejudice.
As for formal education, its syllabus and curriculum should be designed to promote
harmony between different sections of society. It should aim at developing healthy
minds. It has been found that higher and better formal education leads to decreased
prejudice and increased liberalism.
Recently, psychologists have devised a new method called cultural assimilator.

In this method a group of prejudice persons is explained about traditions, norms,
beliefs and value system of people of other communities and races so that they
can appreciate those communities and races in the light of recent information. A
number of social psychologists have successfully used this method.
Antiprejudice propaganda: Through mass media it has also been helpful in

reducing prejudice. In one of the studies it was found that films and documentaries
aimed at reducing prejudice have been successful in reducing prejudice upto 60
percent. Some other psychologists have reported antiprejudice propaganda to be
more effective than formal education.
Incongruent role: It has been found that when a person is made to play a role
contrary to his prejudice it leads to reduction in prejudice after some time. It
happens because playing such role creates dissonance in the individual. This
dissonance gives rise to tension compelling the individual to change his prejudice
32
and restore balance between his behaviour and attitude. The person can’t change Prejudice and Discriminaion
his behaviour as it is public but his prejudice. For example, if a person prejudiced
against a particular community is entrusted the task of welfare of that community,
he is left with no alternative but change his prejudice because he is not able to
change his role.
Social legislation: This is another method of reducing prejudice. Government in

different countries have adopted and enacted several legislations which prohibit
expression of prejudice in any form. Any public manifestation of prejudice is
unlawful and liable to punishment. Let us take the example of our own country.
Our constitution states that state shall not make any discrimination on the basis
of caste, creed, sex, and religion of the individual and no person shall be allowed
to do so. Consequently, today we don’t mind a harijan sitting beside us and
offering prayer in the temple. Government even encourages people for intercaste
marriages. Persons belonging to deprived communities or castes have been
provided reservation in jobs.
Personality change techniques: This is for prejudice reduction to be effective

a person must have balanced personality and open mind. However in cases
where prejudice is an integral part of personality it becomes imperative to seek
help of therapeutic treatment. A number of psychotherapies have been developed
to help such persons. For example, Play therapy is an important tool for detecting
prejudice at early stage and to bring reformation in personality of children.
1) How do prejudice and discrimination manifest themselves?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
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2) How can social legislation reduce prejudice and discrimination
................................................................................................................
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3) What are the personality change techniques that could reduce prejudice and
discrimination?
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33
Prejudice and Discrimination 3.8 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we studied prejudice and its nature. What are the different types of
prejudices and what havoc they play with society and individual. We also studied
characteristics of prejudice. Then we studied discrimination, what does it mean
and we also discussed prejudice and discrimination. It was followed by a detailed
discussion on the causes of development and maintenance of prejudice. We
studied manifestation of prejudice. In the last we discussed methods of reducing
prejudice.

1) What do you understand by the term prejudice? What are the different types of
prejudice?
2) What do you understand by the term discrimination? What are the different
forms of prejudice manifestation?
3) Write an essay on factors of development and maintenance of discrimination

and prejudice.
4) Discuss the psychological factors that give rise to prejudice and discrimination
5) Explain how authoritarian personality and personality needs contribute to the

development of prejudice and discrimination?

ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2010). Essential Social Psychology (2nd ed.).
34
Social Conflict and
UNIT 4 SOCIAL CONFLICT AND ITS Its Resolution
RESOLUTION
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Nature of Social Conflict
4.3 Forms of Social Conflict
4.3.1 Overt Conflict
4.3.2 Objective Conflict
4.3.3 Subjective Conflict
4.4 Methods of Conflict Resolution

4.5 Blake and Mouton Strategies
4.6 Two Dimensional Model
4.7 Group Conflict in Indian Society
4.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Any society be it Indian, British, American or Japanese is composed of different
institutions and groups of people. These groups constituting the society have their
own distinct identity. Besides, these groups have their own agenda to pursue.
Further no nation or society has resources to meet the demands of all groups and
stay in harmony. Consequently these groups while pursuing their goals often find
themselves at logger heads to exploit scarce resources and maximise their gains
or outcomes. Thus a social situation develops where different groups constituting
the society are opposing each other to promote their own interest at the cost of
others. This social phenomenon is termed social conflict or group conflict by
sociologists, Psychologist and Anthropologists. Social conflict is also evident when
one social group compares its gains and feels that it is being marginalised by other
groups or when it perceives that it is being deprived of what is duly available to
other groups in the society. In this unit we will be dealing with nature and definition
of social conflict , the types and forms of social conflict the methods of resolution
of the conflicts and we will be presenting the group conflict in Indian society.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
On completing this unit you, will be able to:
l Define and describe social conflict;

l Explain in your own words different types of social conflict;
l Analyse the implications of social conflict on the lives of people; 35
Attitudes, Stereotypes, l Describe the different methods of conflict resolution; and
l Analyse the different types of social conflict affecting Indian society.
4.2 NATURE OF SOCIAL CONFLICT

Social conflict or group conflict occurs when two or more actors oppose each
one another in social interaction, reciprocally exerting social power in an effort to
attain scarce or incompatible goals and prevent the opponent from attaining them.
Group conflict or social conflict is a social relationship wherein the action is

oriented intentionally for carrying out the actor’s own will against the resistance
of other party or parties.
If we analyse the above definitions following conclusions can be drawn:
Social conflict revolves around social power. In almost all kinds of social conflict
struggle to get hold of power is central. Access to power or hold over power
ensures a groups success in attaining its goal. Consequently the powerful group
wins and the weaker one loses the competition. For example, the recent Gurjar
movement in Rajasthan to get entry into scheduled tribes club was thwarted by
Meenas, another tribe of Rajasthan.
This could be possible only because Meenas have proliferated in highest services
of India and today they enjoy tremendous political, bureaucratic, and economic
clout. This access to power has made them formidable. Therefore, they successfully
thwarted Gurjars attempt to share tribal status with and take a part of the cake
of reservation from them.
Social conflict involves incompatibility in the sense that in social conflict some
people are able to get what they want while others fail to get what they want.
Thus for some their want remains an unfulfilled desire and they keep seething with
discontent. This incompatibility once created develops into a vicious cycle which
broken only when some strong social reform movement takes place.
For example, for centuries people belonging to Harijan community were being
maltreated by the so called upper class Hindus. They could raise their voice
against it only when people like Mahatma Gandhi, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Jyotiba
Phule took cudgel against it and it converted into a movement of self-respect for
Harijans that it was realised that these people need to be given fair treatment.
Even then only a small dent could be made in the existing situation.
Mostly social situations are such that not all individuals in it have similar or
identical interests. Every person participating in social interaction tries to maximise
his gain at the expense of other person involved. This situation invariably leads to
struggle to win and keeping others from goal. However, it is impossible to find
a social situation which can be described as pure group conflict like struggle
between two warring teams of football. In most social conflict situations element
of cooperation is intertwined along with competition.
4.3 FORMS OF SOCIAL CONFLICT

A social conflict may take different forms and manifest itself in different manners.
36 However, psychologists have identified three different forms of social conflict
which as follow:
4.3.1 Overt Conflict Social Conflict and
Its Resolution
In this form social conflict is open and explicit. Competition between both the
parties is fierce and direct. For example, negotiation between management
representatives and labour union or war between two countries. A more simple
example of it is debate, in which one speaker emphasises and justifies his own
point while questioning the validity of opponents point of view. The explicit aim
is to defeat the opponent and ensure ones victory.
4.3.2 Objective Conflict

Objective conflict occurs when one group tries to gain advantage over another
group or groups. Thus by objective social conflict we mean a social situation
inherently benefits some while causing loss to others. For example, it is often seen
that when government takes some welfare steps, some people are more benefitted
but some others receive less than expected benefits and still some others are at
loss. This gives rise to a kind of social conflict known as objective social conflict.
Let us take the case reservation in jobs. OBC were given a quota of 27 % in
Government jobs and this category included in it numerous castes. However,
only a few of the dominant castes in OBC category— Jats, Ahir, Kurmy and
Kumawat— were able to garner majority of the share in OBC quota and other
castes like Gurjar, Luhars etc. could not reap much benefit. Result was that
slowly members of these castes started feeling left out and began to clammer for
a separate quota for them. Recent Gurjar movement for inclusion in the scheduled
tribe category was a result of such objective conflict because Gurjars were not
able to compete with Jats and Ahirs in the OBC category and could not obtain
equal benefit.
4.3.3 Subjective Conflict

When a person identifies or perceives a situation involving struggle it is known as
subjective conflict. Sometimes a person remains in a state of subjective struggle
without bringing it to overt level.
1) Define the Nature of social conflict.
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2) Describe the nature of social conflict.
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37
3) What are the forms of social conflict ?
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4) Describe overt conflict
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5) How is objective conflict different from subjective conflict?
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4.4 METHODS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Like any other problem Social psychologists have developed number of approaches
for resolution of social conflict. Some of the main methods as follow:
Mutually beneficial goal: A common approach to ameliorate social conflict is

to establish mutually beneficial goals. Such goals prompt the warring parties to
work in close cooperation and help reduce feelings of group struggle. In a classical
experiment Sheriff and Sherif put two groups in a social situation which involved
competition between the two parties. It was observed that very soon they
developed feelings of animosity and competition. Things reached to a level where
both parties raided each other’s camps to hurt and damage their prospects of
attaining goal. In the next phase of the experiment both the warring parties were
put in a situation which called for joint efforts to reach the goal. Since neither of
them had sufficient resources to attain goal on their own, they were left with no
alternative but to help each other to surmount problems faced by them. Not
longer than before it was observed that members of both parties began trying to
understand each other’s concerns. They started seeing members of opposite
group very often and appreciated each other’s approach to handle problems.
Thus by the end of the experiment both the groups had developed better
understanding of each other and there was a marked reduction in feeling of
conflict.
Compromise: Reaching a compromise between the two parties also leads to

reduction of struggle. Compromise is a situation where no party stands to gain or
lose anything. Thus it gradually leads to reduction in struggle. For example, when
Gurjars in Rajasthan pressurised the government for inclusion into scheduled
tribes, the Meenas vehemently opposed their demand since they have been the
38
biggest gainer in Rajasthan. This conflict led to open war between them and Social Conflict and
resulted in many casualties and bloodshed. Now that location of both communities Its Resolution
is such that they are found living side by side almost all over Rajasthan, they soon
realised the futility of opposing each other. A compromise was struck between the
two and an understanding was arrived at under which gurjars dropped their
demand for inclusion into scheduled tribe but asked for a separate quota for
themselves and Meenas agreed to support Gurjars demand. Thus under the new
agreement both parties stood to gain or lose nothing at the cost of each other.
Developing special norms: Conflict between two warring factions or groups

may be reduced through development of special norms. For example, in a game,
the question of who will take first turn may be settled by leaving it to the umpire.
Thus the bone of contention is removed and thereby the cause of conflict is
removed. Psychologists have delineated social conditions, on the basis of studies,
where conflict and struggle can be handled through developing special norms.
According to them social conditions where in both the parties have the ability and
will to influence each other lend themselves to such interventions. This technique
has reportedly been successfully used in a number of situations with different
communities.
Prosocial behavior: By prosocial behaviour we mean behavior that creates

some kind of positive social influence among others. For example, giving charity,
working for the welfare of others, helping others in distress are some of the forms
of prosocial behaviour. Studies reveal that when members of a community engage
in some kind of prosocial behaviour toward members of other community it has
direct impact on their perception and opinion about them and results significantly
in the reduction of feelings of conflict and struggle.
Psychologists observed that when an individual engages in prosocial behaviour,

that is when a person is involved in helping a person in distress, the person
passes through four stages:
1) First, the individual takes stock of the seriousness of the condition or situation in
which help is to be given.
2) Second, the individual takes responsibility for the helping another person.
3) Third, the individual enters a state where he wishes to help the person in distress
and
4) Finally the person recognises the fact that the individual is capable of helping
another person.
Use of scientific approaches: Social psychologists suggested some scientific

approaches for reduction of group conflict, which is as follows:
a) Win-Lose approach b) Lose-Lose approach c) Lose-Win approach. Let us

dewscrfibe these approaches:
Win-Lose approach – In this type of approach one party or group adopts

different methods, means and approaches aimed at ensuring defeat of opponent
party and victory for themselves. In other words, one group tries to thwart
another group from reaching the target or goal so that they can reach the goal.
This approach has two underlying assumptions: that is (i) conflict among people
39
Attitudes, Stereotypes, is inevitable and unanimity is impossible. (ii) gain of one party results is loss for
Prejudice and Discrimination the other party . In other words, only one party can win or reach the goal and
another party is bound to fail in the process. In such situations, conflicts do arise.
Now that conflict is inevitable and there can only be one winner, the best
technique or approach is leaving no stone unturned to ensure defeat of opponents
and victory for self.
Success can be achieved using socially acceptable means like exercising our
democratic rights and also to some extent by using subversive methods like
threatening the opponents of dire consequences, making opponent allies cross
over the fence by luring them with different types of benefits or even taking
recourse to unlawful activities as advocated. Thus in nutshell this approach
advocates putting in exercise the age old aphorism that every thing is fair in love
and war. It is the end that matters the most and not the means employed to
achieve the end.
Lose-Lose approach – This approach is called lose-lose approach because

none of the parties involved in the struggle stand to gain much and are not able
to cause what they wanted to happen. Underlying assumptions of this approach
are:
i) Some thing is better than nothing.
ii) It is better to stay away from struggle than indulging in it and wasting resources.
iii) When groups reconcile with each other after initial bouts of struggle the lose-
lose approach is exemplified.
iv) Another characteristic of this approach is that it results in quick solution of the
problem and values and motives of individuals do not find place.
Win-Win approach: This approach is different from the above two approaches
mentioned earlier. This is considered ideal for reduction of struggle between
warring groups. It involves both parties resorting to different types of cooperative
measures and techniques to arrive at a conscious solution of the struggle so that
all the concerned parties are benefitted to the maximum.
Underlying assumption in this approach is that it considers struggle as a mutual

problem which can be solved amicably. It lays emphasis on the difficulties and
problems of both parties and not on the means of ensuring victory. Both parties
sit together and work on the solution of the problem and whosoever reaches the
solution first acquaints the other party. Thus the solution arrived at is acceptable
to all concerned. However successful application of this approach requires skill
in human relations otherwise it is difficult to achieve success using this approach.
1) What is meant by mutually beneficial goal?
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40
Social Conflict and
2) Define and describe “compromising” as a conflict resolution strategy.
Its Resolution
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3) What type of special norms will you develop for conflict resolution?
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4) Can pro social behavior be used for resolution of conflict? Explain
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5) What are the various scientific approaches for reducing conflict?
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4.5 BLAKE AND MOUTON STRATEGIES

Blake & Mouton on the basis of their research stated that people adopt one of
the following five strategies for reduction of conflict and struggle which are given
below:
Withdrawing: In this the person resolves the problem by stepping back from the
situation of struggle (lose-lose approach).
Smoothing: This comprises of putting emphasis on points of common interests

and avoiding discussion on matters of debate or controversy. Thus this approach
tries to minimize differences between the two warring factions (lose-lose approach).
Compromising: This strategy seeks to decrease differences through discussion

(lose-lose approach).
Forcing: This approach is an all or none approach in that it takes a competitive

stand. It is this way or that way approach (win-lose approach).
Confrontation and problem solving: Both parties openly discuss all matters and
the best mutually acceptable solution is accepted (win-win approach) 41
Prejudice and Discrimination 4.6 TWO DIMENSIONAL MODEL
This model presumes that all sorts of conflict handling behaviour can be understood
in terms of two dimensions i.e. assertiveness and cooperation. These two basic
dimensions of behaviour define five different modes for responding to conflict
situations:
Competing is assertive and uncooperative—an individual pursues his own concerns

at the other person’s expense. This is a power-oriented mode in which you use
whatever power seems appropriate to win your own position—your ability to
argue, your rank, or economic sanctions. Competing means “standing up for your
rights,” defending a position which you believe is correct, or simply trying to win.
Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative—the complete opposite of

competing. When accommodating, the individual neglects his own concerns to
satisfy the concerns of the other person; there is an element of self-sacrifice in this
mode. Accommodating might take the form of selfless generosity or charity, obeying
another person’s order when you would prefer not to, or yielding to another’s
point of view.
Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative—the person neither pursues his own

concerns nor those of the other individual. Thus he does not deal with the conflict.
Avoiding might take the form of diplomatically sidestepping an issue, postponing
an issue until a better time, or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation.
Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative—the complete opposite of

avoiding. Collaborating involves an attempt to work with others to find some
solution that fully satisfies their concerns. It means digging into an issue to pinpoint
the underlying needs and wants of the two individuals. Collaborating between two
persons might take the form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each
other’s insights or trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem.
Compromising is moderate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The

objective is to find some expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially
satisfies both parties. It falls intermediate between competing and accommodating.
Compromising gives up more than competing but less than accommodating.
Likewise, it addresses an issue more directly than avoiding, but does not explore
it in as much depth as collaborating. In some situations, compromising might mean
splitting the difference between the two positions, exchanging concessions, or
seeking a quick middle-ground solution.
Each of us is capable of using all five conflict-handling modes. None of us can

be characterised as having a single style of dealing with conflict. But certain
people use some modes better than others and, therefore, tend to rely on those
modes more heavily than others—whether because of temperament or practice.
Third party intervention Another way of resolving group conflict is to seek

mediation of an arbitrator or third party. This third party tries to arrive at a
solution keeping in view the characteristics of the warring factions. Solution generated
by the third party is binding on all the concerned parties. A good feature of this
type of resolution is that the third party does not enforce a decision but the
decision is arrived at through open discussion and negotiation over points of
problems. However, this approach requires third party to be very mature and
42
adept at human relations.
Social Conflict and
Its Resolution
1) Describe in detail what Blake and Mouton strategies involve in conflict

resolution?
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2) Discuss the two dimensional model in conflict resolution.
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3) What is meant by third party intervention and how does it help in resolving
the conflict?
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4.7 GROUP CONFLICT IN INDIAN SOCIETY

Tribal problems In Indian society tribal groups have a special place. They
represent minority communities and always emphasise on keeping their independent
existence. These tribes think that assimilation with majority population would
jeopardize their separate identity. Formation of state of Jharkhand out of Bihar
exemplifies this attitude of tribals.
Caste conflict India is conglomeration of castes which can broadly be divided

into three categories, that is the forward castes, backward castes and scheduled
castes and tribes. These castes always show an inclination to outsmart each other.
Communal problems Since independence India has been plagued with communal
problem between Hindus and Muslims. This has witnessed innumerable bloody
riots between the people of two religions and cost thousands of innocent lives and
millions of dollars worth property.
Demolition of Babri Masjid is a blatant example of conflict between these two

communities.
Other social conflict problems are— labour management problems, student

problems, landlord-tenant problem, confrontation between advantaged and
disadvantaged class, language problem and job problem etc.
43
Prejudice and Discrimination 4.8 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we studied the nature of social conflict. We tried to understand various
elements involved in it. We also studied different types of social conflict and their
implications on the life of people in the society. This was followed by a detailed
discussion on methods of conflict resolution. Now we understand different
approaches taken to resolve social conflict and the rationale behind them.
4.9 UNIT END QUESTONS

1) Discuss social conflict and various forms of social conflict in detail.
2) Throw light on various approaches to conflict resolution.
3) Discuss in detail different types social conflict that plague India and suggest
approaches for their resolution.

Arrow, Kenneth J.(1995). Barriers to Conflict Resolution. W.W. Norton. NY
Burton, John W. and Frank Dukes.(1990). Conflict: Readings in Management

and Resolution. St. Martin’s Press. NY
44
Introduction to Group,
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO GROUP, Formation and
Types of Group
FORMATION AND TYPES OF
GROUP
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definition and Meaning of Group
1.3 Important Features of Group
1.4 Characteristics of a Group
1.5 Group Formation and Related Theories
1.5.1 Theories of Group Formation
1.5.2 Ten (10) Rules that Govern Groups
1.6 Types of Group

1.7 Group Structure
1.8 Group Conflict
1.9 Group Behaviour and Group Action
1.10 Let Us Sum Up
1.12 Glossary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit deals with groups, their definition and description. Also the unit describes
how groups are formed, types of groups and their structure and theories of group
formation. The unit provides information on basic aspects concerning groups and
their formation.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
l define the meaning of group;
l explain the characteristics of group;
l describe the formation and theories of group;
l analyse the types of groups; and
l explain the importance and functions of the structure of group.
5
Group Dynamics
1.2 DEFINITION AND MEANING OF GROUP
Everyone knows what a group is in general. When two persons or more come
together and interact at one place it may be called a group. The group may be
defined in various ways. Given below are a few important definitions of group and
each of these definitions emphasises one or the other important features of the
group.
1) R.M. Williams (1951) “A social group is a given aggregate of people playing

inter-related roles and recognised by themselves or other as a unit of interaction.”
Here it can be said group is an aggregate of some people. The roles of the group
members are inter-related. The group is considered as unit.
2) R.M. MacIver (1953) “By group we mean any collection of social beings
who enter into distinctive social relationships with one another.” It is clear that
there must be social relationships between the individual members of a group.
3) David (1968) “ A social psychological group is an organised system of two

or more individuals who are interrelated so that the system performs some
functions, has a standard set of the role relationship among its members and
has a set of norms that regulate the function of the group and each of its
members.”
4) Kretch, Crutchfield and Ballachy (1962) defined psychological group “ as

two or more persons who meet the following conditions : (i) the relations
among the members are independent, each member’s behaviour influences
the behaviour of each of the others, (ii) the members ‘share on ideology’ –
a set of beliefs, values and norms which regulate their mutual conduct.”
5) Paulus (1989) “ A group consists of two or more interacting persons who

share common goals, have a stable relationship, are somehow interdependent
and perceive that they are in fact part of a group.” Here we can say that
individuals interact with each other, either directly or indirectly. Besides this,
the group members are interdependent in some manner, i.e., what happens to
one must affect what happens to the others. Not only this, their relationship
must be relatively stable. The members of the group involve to attain the goals
and their interaction will be in a structured form so that, each group member
performs the same or more or less similar functions each time they meet.
Finally, it can be said that the individuals involved in a group must recognise
that they are part of a group.
The word “group” has many meanings. Generally we use the term ‘group’ keeping
in mind three main points:
i) where a number of persons are sitting or working together. The essential thing is
the physical proximity of a number of people being together at a given time with
or without any common purpose;
ii) where persons are classified as belonging to an association. Sometimes it is

seen that people may have no relationship with each other but they have some
common characteristics and we classify them as a group;
iii) where persons belong to an organisation. This group has definite structure, and
6 people in this group have a sense of belongingness to the given organisation
Children and Group Introduction to Group,
Formation and
A child’s social development takes place gradually as the child advances in age. Types of Group
To fulfill physical needs, children perform many functions. They exhibit signs of
reacting to individuals who they identify as fulfilling their needs. Then they start
understanding objects and individuals in their environment. As children grow older
their patterns of play and other activities also change considerably. The feelings
of “I” and “MINE” and then “YOU” and “YOURS” develop. Sharing things,
asserting one’s rights, co-operation, etc. are learnt by children in the first stage of
their socialisation.
Initially they belong to a small world of children, all nearly their own age, although
differences may vary with the arrangement in different groups. They are constantly
assimilating many things by direct coaching, training, imitation, spontaneous reaction,
repeated experience and so on. Living in a group they gradually develop the
sentiments, opinion, interests, habits, desires etc. Interaction and communication
plays a vital role in this regard.
To know the meaning of the group more clearly you think about all the groups
to which you belong, viz., local friends, college friends, music/ dance group and
so many. Generally people join in groups due to various needs and these include
i) Satisfaction of important psychological and social needs, viz., receiving affection

and attention, for attaining belongingness.
ii) Achievement of goal in a smooth and easy way. By working with others, the
person performs the task well than doing it alone.
iii) Getting knowledge and information on various issues which are not available at
one place .
iv) Getting safety and security.
In psychology we define Group as the study of organisations and their behaviour.

Psychology studies groups and explores the control of the individual within the
group setting. Social, organisational and group psychology are all powerful areas
of study that look at many factors that drive group behaviour and the decisions
that a group makes. Depending on the group’s influence, the group member’s
individuality is often relinquished for the greater good of the group. It is the role
of social psychology to uncover why this release occurs in groups and what
effects it has on society.
1.3 IMPORTANT FEATURES OF GROUP

The important features of group are:
i) One or more individuals come together and influence each other.
ii) There are social interactions and relationships amongst the individual members
of a group.
iii) There exists some common motives, drives, interests, emotions etc. amongst
group members.
7
Group Dynamics iv) There is communication among group members, both verbal and or non-verbal.
v) The group members have some common object of attention and group members
stimulate each other.
vi) They have common loyalty and participate in similar activities.
vii) There exits feeling of unity in the group. Group members treat each other with
respect and regard and has a sense of comradiere that develops among them.
viii) The action of the members is controlled by the group.
ix) There are some customs, norms and procedures which are acceptable to everyone
but if exception happens, then the particular member will be ostracised from the
group.
1) Define group.
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2) How do children develop and become part of a group?
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3) What are the three main points to define the group?
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4) Write the important features of a group.
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1.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GROUP

Suppose you belong to a group where you may observe some special features
8 which you can accept or not. It may be good or bad, healthy or unhealthy,
favourable or unfavourable, but there are certain significant features say the Introduction to Group,
characteristics of the group. Formation and
Types of Group
i) A sense of we-feeling: There is a feeling of belongingness among the members
of the group. The members of the group help each other in performing their
duties. They work collectively against the harmful powers. They treat people
who do not belong to the group as outsiders. They always try to make the group
self-sufficient.
ii) Common interest: Each and every member of the group has a common
interest. There is similarity among the members in regard to their interest
which promotes unity. The group includes those persons who are related to
each other in such a way that they should be treated as one.
iii) A feeling of unity: Unity is essential for every group. Each and every member
of the group treats each other as their own and there develops a sense of
camaraderie amongst the members of group.
iv) Related to each other: It is true that members of the group are inter-related.
There is a reciprocal communication among the group members. Social relations
are the fundamentals of group life.
v) Affected by group characteristics: Every group has some social characteristics

which separate it from similar and dissimilar groups. These characteristics
affect the members of the group. The nature may be different for different
persons, but still all the members are affected by the group
vi) Common values: There are certain values which are common among members
and are traditionally respected and communicated to the succeeding generation.
They are manifested in the mutual behaviours of the members. Members of
the social group are bound together in terms of theses common values.
vii) Control of group: In each group there are some customs, norms and
procedures which are acceptable to everyone. In fact, without some norms,
the existence of group life is impossible. It may be stated that the reasons
behind the similarity of behaviours in a group life is that the actions of the
members are controlled by the group.
viii) Obligation: In a group situation, all members have complementary obligations

to each other. Also the relationships between the members of a group get
strengthened through their mutual obligation and common social values.
ix) Expectations: Not only mutual obligation, the members of the group also
expects love, compassion, empathy, co-operation etc., from all other members
of the group. If mutual expectation is fulfilled, the group members are maintained
in tact. A group can maintain its existence only if the constituent members fulfill
their responsibility by satisfying the desires among themselves.
Groups are the units of social organisation. Therefore, the integration and
disintegration of social organisation are dependent upon the integration or
disintegration of the groups. In group, social relationship is a very important
factor. The first and foremost social relationship indicates the relationship among
the family members. Thus, it can further be said that family is an important social
group.
9
Group Dynamics You are one of the members in your family. You interact with other family members
and there is a reciprocal relationship between you and others. Certainly you have
‘we feeling’ where you belong. Among the family members there are relationships
such as husband-wife, father-son, and brother-sister etc. and they all work together
for the interests of the family in a mood of mutual co-operation. Each and every
member of the family treats the other members as his own and in spite of differences
of opinion they have some common ideals and values. It is mainly due to common
interest of the members that the group works as a well-knit unit.
As for example we can say that “school is a social group”. The significant
characteristics of the school as a group are:
l All children have a common goal.
l The students and the teacher are motivated for the achievement of a common
goal.
l School has an organised structure.
l School offers excellent opportunities for group to realise its needs.
1.5 GROUP FORMATION AND RELATED

THEORIES
Group formation is concerned with the following:
i) The manner in which the groups form
ii) The structures and processes of the group
iii) The functions of the group in different situations .
There are mainly five stages of group development, viz., forming, storming, norming,
performing and adjourning.
i) Forming is a stage which is characterised by some confusion and uncertainty.

Forming is actually an orientation period when members get to know one another
and share expectations about the group. This is the initial stage when the group
comes together and members begin to develop their relationship with one another
and learn what is expected of them.
ii) Storming is the stage where one can see the highest level of disagreement
and conflict. Members mainly voice their concern, and criticism occurs at this
stage. Actually in this stage interpersonal conflicts arise and differences of
opinion about the group goals also emerge. It is important to work through
the conflicts at this time and to establish clear goals.
iii) Norming is characterised by the recognition of individual differences and

shared expectations. Responsibilities are divided among members and the
group decides how it will evaluate the progress. If the group resolves its
conflicts, it can establish patterns of how to get its work done. Expectations
of one another are clearly articulated and accepted by members of the group.
10
iv) Performing occurs when the group has matured and attains a feeling of Introduction to Group,
cohesiveness. In this stage, members of the group make decision through a Formation and
Types of Group
rational process that is focused on relevant goals rather than emotional issues.
Issues related to roles, expectations and norms are no longer of major
importance. The group is focused on its tasks, working effectively to accomplish
its goals.
v) Adjourning indicates that members of the group often experience feelings of

closure and sadness as they prepare to leave. It is the final stage when the
group, after achieving the objectives for which it was created, starts to gradually
dissolve itself.
Thus, group is a collection of individuals. Group refers to two or more persons

who interact with one another, share common goals and recognise that they
belong to a group. Groups help us to satisfy important psychological needs and
social needs. Different persons perform different types of tasks. Group may
choose a person to serve as a leader and other persons as followers. There is
a link among the members. Not only this, interaction among the group members
is very important for smooth running of the activities of the group.
1) Define common interest and common values as characteristics of a group.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) What are the five stages of group development?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
1.5.1 Theories of Group Formation

Theories are establishing hypothesis which explain a particular phenomenon. Many
theories may explain one phenomenon, as for instances “delinquency”. There are
psychological, biological and sociological themes which explain delinquency.
On the same lines as above there are many theories which explain how groups
are formed and how they develop and progress. There are several theories
regarding group formation and development. The theories put forward here include
classic theory, social exchange and social identity theory.
i) Classic Theory: A classic theory, developed by George Homans suggests that

groups develop on the basis of activities, interactions and sentiments mainly.
Basically, this theory indicates that when individuals share common activities
they will have more interaction and will develop attitudes (either positive or
11
Group Dynamics negative) toward each other. The main element is the interaction of the individuals
involved.
ii) Social Exchange Theory: Another important theory is the social exchange theory
which offers an alternative explanation for group development. According to
this theory individuals form the relationship on the basis of implicit expectation
of mutually beneficial exchanges based on trust and felt obligation. It can further
be said that a perception that exchange relationships will be positive if persons
are to be attracted to and affiliate with a group.
iii) Social Identity Theory: Besides this, another important theory is social identity
theory which offers explanation for group formation. This theory suggests that
individuals get a sense of identity and self-esteem based on their membership in
salient groups. The group is demographically, culturally and organisationally
based.
One of the most important activities that groups perform is decision-making. This
is the process through which individuals or groups combine and integrate information
from several possible actions. Most people believe that the group by utilising the
expertise and knowledge of their members and also by avoiding extreme course
of action usually reaches better decisions than what individuals can accomplish
simply.
During the decision period, members convey a wide range of views. Generally,
social decision take place in two phases as given below:
i) The first phase is discussion, which mainly helps to confirm or strengthen the
most popular view, which rarely gets reversed; and
ii) The second phase is the correct situation or decision which ultimately emerges
in the forefront.
Besides the above two, there are several aspects of the group’s procedure, which
includes: (i) following of procedures (ii) addressing its managing interactions
among members and so on. Some persons, knowing about the opinions, especially
the influential members, incline to join the majority and thereby tilt the decision in
the required direction.
1.5.2 Ten (10) Rules that Govern Groups

Much of our lives are spent in groups with other people. We form groups to
socialise, earn money, play sport, make music, even to change the world. But
although groups are diverse, many of the psychological processes involved are
remarkably similar.
Here are 10 insightful rules that give indication of what has been discovered about
the dynamics of group psychology.
Rule1. Groups can arise from almost nothing
The desire to form and join social groups is extremely powerful and built into our
nature. Amongst other things groups give us a very valuable gift that is our social
identity, which contributes to our sense of who we are.
12
Just how readily people form and join groups is demonstrated by Tajfel et al. Introduction to Group,
(1971) in the so-called ‘minimal groups paradigm’. In their study boys who Formation and
Types of Group
were strangers to each other were given only the slightest hint that they were
being split into two groups. Even without knowing or seeing who else was in their
group they favoured members of their own group over the others. Group behaviour,
then, can arise from almost nothing.
Rule 2. Initiation rites improve group evaluations
Existing groups do not let others join for free: the cost is sometimes monetary,
sometimes intellectual, and sometimes physical—but usually there is an initiation
rite, even if it’s well disguised.
Aronson and Mills (1959) tested the effect of initiation rites by making one group
of women read passages from sexually explicit novels. Afterwards they rated the
group they had joined much more positively than those who had not had to
undergo the humiliating initiation. So, not only do groups want to test you, but
they want you to value your membership.
Rule 3. Groups breed conformity
After joining a group and being initiated, we have to get a feel for the group
norms, the rules of behaviour in that group. Group norms can be extremely
powerful, bending our behaviours in ways we would never expect.
One of the most famous experiments showing how easily we conform to unwritten
group rules was conducted by Asch (1951). He had participants sit amongst a
group of other people, who were judging the length of a line. The trick was that
all the other members of the group were confederates of the experimenter who
had been told to lie about which line was longer. Incredibly 76% of participants
denied the evidence from their own senses at least once, just to conform with the
group. Afterwards people made up all kinds of excuses for their behaviour. Most
popular was a variation on: “that many people can not be wrong”.
Rule 4. Learn the ropes or be ostracised
Group norms are extremely pervasive. This becomes all the more obvious when
we start breaking them. Garfinkel (1967) had adolescents return to their families
and behave totally out of character, that is, speaking only when spoken to, being
polite, acting formally, etc. But all this was to be only for 15 minutes at a time.
Rather than being delighted their parents were shocked and angry, accusing their
children of being selfish and rude. Break the group’s rules and you’ll know about
it soon enough.
Rule 5. You become your job
Although groups have norms and it is known that rules apply to everyone in the
group. People have roles within groups and corresponding rules that apply to
justify their position. The most well known demonstrations of the power of roles
is the Stanford Prison Experiment. Let us see what this experiment was .
Psychologists put young men into a simulated prison environment, making some
of them as prisoners and some others as guards (Zimbardo, 1972). After only 6
of its planned 14 days, the experiment had to be stopped because participants
conformed all too well to their roles as submissive prisoners or domineering 13
Group Dynamics guards. Some were emotionally disturbed by the experience. Even the
experimenters were succumbing to their ‘roles’ as prison superintendents before
the whole experiment was suspended.
Rule 6. Leaders gain trust by conforming
A high-profile, high-status role in any group is that of its leader, but where do
leaders come from? In some groups, they are appointed or imposed from outside,
but in many groups leaders emerge slowly and subtly from the ranks.
A study that has much to teach was carried out by Merei (1949) who observed
children at a Hungarian nursery school. He noticed that successful leaders were
those who initially fitted in with the group then slowly began to suggest new
activities adapted from the old. Children did not follow potential leaders who
jumped straight in with new ideas. Leaders first conform, then only later, when
trust has been gained, can they be confident that others will follow. This has been
confirmed in later studies (with grown-ups!).
Rule 7. Groups can improve performance
The mere presence of others can make us perform better. Norman Triplett, the
pioneer of Social psychology noticed that racing cyclists with a pacemaker
covered each mile about 5 seconds quicker than those without (Triplett, 1898).
Later research found this was not all about the effects of competition. The
presence of other people seems to facilitate our own performance, but more so
when the task is relatively separate from that of others and can be judged on its
own merits.
Rule 8. People will loaf
In other circumstances, though, people in groups demonstrate a tremendous capacity

for loafing, it was found in the 1890s by a researcher that participants in a tug
of war only put in half as much effort when they were in a team of 8 than when
they were on their own. It seems that hiding in the group is easy, for example
when tasks are additive and each person’s contribution is difficult to judge, people
will slack off to a considerable extent.
Rule 9. The grapevine is 80% accurate
Intelligence, rumour, gossip and tittle-tattle is the lifeblood of many groups. It

travels at a tremendous pace in big organisations because people love a good
bit of gossip, but what are ‘they’ talking about and can you believe what ‘they’
say? Simmons (1985) analysed workplace communication and found that about
80% of the time people are talking about work and a surprising 80% of the
information was accurate.
Rule 10. Groups breed competition
While co-operation within group members is generally not so much of a problem,

co-operation between groups can be problematic. People may be individually
cooperative, but once put in a ‘them-and-us’ situation, these rapidly become
remarkably adversarial.
14
Introduction to Group,
Formation and
Types of Group
1) What are the basic characteristics of feeling of unity and control of group?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) What are the five stages of group development?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) Elucidate group formation theory.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4) Elucidate the rules of the group.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
1.6 TYPES OF GROUP

We can classify groups in different ways. First, it can be divided into two main
parts considering the degree of intimacy as the basis of classification.
l Primary group: There is an intimate face-to-face relationship among the

members and the members are having ‘we feeling’ to the maximum. Family, play
groups and village community come under this category.
l Secondary group: Here the relationships are more or less casual and marked
by common interest. Clubs, trade unions etc. are under this category.
l In-group/ we group: Here we identify ourselves with that group which has a
common object and common interest. They have a sense of ‘we’ feeling. The
members of the in groups treat others as outsiders. These groups can be formed
on the basis of relationship, same country, similar political interests and economic
interests etc.
l Out-group: It is the group in which the members are considered as outsiders 15

by us. Groups other than the in-group are generally called out-groups.
Group Dynamics On the basis of norms and rules, groups can be categorised into the following
types:
l Formal group: It is generally formed on the basis of specific norms, rules and
values. The group of students in a classroom comes under the category of formal
group. So, school is one of the formal group settings.
l Informal group: The nature of the group is not formed at all. The rules are
usually flexible. Play groups, peer group and social clubs etc. are examples of
informal groups.
Besides the above two, group can also classified into various categories as given
below:
l Organised groups: The groups which are formed for specific purpose and are
carefully planned is called organised groups. The family, the school etc. are also
called organised groups.
l Spontaneous groups: The groups are formed without any careful planning.
Audience may be considered as spontaneous group after listening to the speech
by a renouned speaker.
l Command groups: Command groups are specified by the organisational chart.

It consists of a supervisor and the subordinates that report to the supervisor.
l Task groups: A group of people work together to achieve a common task. In

many situations there is a specified time period. This can be referred to as task
forces.
l Functional groups: Functional group is generally created by the organisation

to accomplish specific goals within an unspecified time frame. Functional group
generally exists after achievement of current goals and objects.
l Interest groups: It usually continues over time and may last longer than general
informal groups. It is seen that the interest of the member may not be part of the
same organisational department but they are bound by some common interest.
l Friendship groups: It may be of different types. These groups are formed by

the members who enjoy similar social activities, political beliefs, religious values
and other common bonds.
l Reference groups: This is the group where the people evaluate themselves.
Reference groups have a strong influence on members’ behaviour.
Temporary Group: Studies indicate that temporary groups come together for a
certain purpose and disburse aftert the task is over. These groups have their own
unique sequencing of actions. The salient features are:
i) Their first meeting sets the group’s direction.
ii) The first phase of group activity is one of inertia.
iii) A transition takes place at the end of this first phase, which occurs exactly when
the group has used up half its allotted time.
16
iv) A transition initiates major changes.
v) A second phase of inertia follows the transition. Introduction to Group,
Formation and
vi) The group’s last meeting is characterised by markedly accelerated activity. Types of Group
There are other types of groups, a few of which are listed below:
Clique: An informal, tight-knit group, usually in a High School/College setting,

that shares common interests. There is an established yet shifty power structure
in most Cliques. The effects of Cliques are varied.
Club: A club is a group, which usually requires one to apply to become a

member. Such clubs may be dedicated to particular activities, such as sports
clubs.
Community: A community is a group of people with a commonality or sometimes

a complex net of overlapping commonalities, often, but not always, in proximity
with one another with some degree of continuity over time. They often have some
organisation and leaders.
Franchise: This is an organisation which runs several instances of a business in

many locations.
Gang: A gang is usually an urban group that gathers in a particular area. It is a

group of people that often hang around each other. They can be like some clubs,
but much less formal.
Group: A group is a basic term for a number of people that associate themselves
with each other. This is a basic term which has many uses.
Mob: A mob is usually a group of people that has taken the law into their own
hands. Mobs are usually a group which gathers temporarily for a particular reason.
Posse: A posse was initially an American term for a group of citizens that had
banded together to enforce the law. However, it can also refer to a street group.
Squad: This is usually a small group, of around 3-8 people, that would work as
a team to accomplish a certain goal.
Team: This is similar to a squad, though a team may contain many more members.
A team works in a similar way as a squad.
1.7 GROUP STRUCTURE

It refers to the pattern of interrelationship that exists among group members and
makes the group’s functioning orderly. The important aspects of group structure
are:
i) Role: Role or the typical part played by an individual group member in

accordance with the expectations of other members from him.
ii) Norms: Norms are the rules and mutual expectations that develop within the
group. Norms have profound effect on members’ behaviour as it ensures
conformity among them.
iii) Status: Status is the relative prestige or social position given to groups or 17
individuals by others.
Group Dynamics iv) Group cohesiveness: It refers to the degree of attraction to the group members
for each other and the “we feeling” among the members. Without proper group
structure, group can not function properly in any situation.
1) What are the important aspects of group structure?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) Define norms and status as an aspect of group structure.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) What do we call the groups formed on the basis of norms and rules?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4) Enumerate the different types of groups.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
1.8 GROUP CONFLICT

Group conflicts, also called group intrigues, is where social behaviour causes
groups of individuals to conflict with each other. It can also refer to a conflict
within these groups. This conflict is often caused by differences in social
norms,values, and religion.
Both constructive and destructive conflict occurs in most small groups. It is very
important to accentuate the constructive conflict and minimise the destructive
conflict. Conflict is bound to happen, but if we use it constructively then it need
not be a bad thing.
When destructive conflict is used in small groups, it is counterproductive to the

long term goal. It is much like poisoning the goose that lays the golden eggs. In
18 the case of small group communication, destructive conflict creates hostility between
the members. This poisons group synergy and the results, the golden eggs if you Introduction to Group,
will, either cease being produced or are at least inferior in quality. Formation and
Types of Group
Using constructive conflict within small groups has the opposite effect. It is much
like nourishing the goose so that it continues to produce the golden eggs, golden
eggs which may be even better than what the unnourished goose could have
produced. In this sense, bringing up problems and alternative solutions while still
valuing others in small groups allows the group to work forward.(Engleberg &
Wynn, 2007)
1.9 GROUP BEHAVIOUR AND GROUP

ACTION
Group behaviour refers to the situations where people interact in large or small
groups. The field of group dynamics deals with small groups that may reach
consensus and act in a coordinated way.
Groups of a large number of people in a given area may act simultaneously (herd
behaviour) to achieve a goal that differs from what individuals would do acting
alone. A large group (a crowd or mob) is likely to show examples of group
behaviour when people gathered in a given place and time act in a similar way—
for example, joining a protest or march, participating in a fight or acting patriotically.
Special forms of large group behaviour are:
1) Crowd “hysteria”
2) Spectators: when a group of people gathered together on purpose to participate

in an event like theatre, play, cinema, movie, football, match, a concert, etc.
3) Public: exception to the rule that the group must occupy the same physical
place. People watching same channel on television may react in the same way,
as they are occupying the same type of place in front of television although
they may physically be doing this all over the world.
Group behaviour differs from mass actions which refers to people behaving similarly
on a more global scale (for example, shoppers in different shops), while group
behaviour refers usually to people in one place. If the group behaviour is
coordinated, then it is called group action. Swarm intellegence is a special case
of group behaviour, referring to the interaction between a group of agents in order
to fulfil a given task. This type of group dynamics has received much attention by
the soft computing community in the form of the particle swarn optimisation family
of algorithms.
Group action is a situation in which a large number of agents take action

simultaneously in order to achieve a common goal; their actions are usually
coordinated. Group action will often take place when social agents realise they
are more likely to achieve their goal when acting together rather than individually.
Group action differs from group behaviours, which are uncoordinated, and also
from mass actions, which are more limited in place.
19
Group Dynamics
1.10 LET US SUM UP
Group is a collection of individuals. Group refers to two or more persons who
interact with one another, share common goals and they recognise themselves that
they belong to a group. They interact with each other, either directly or indirectly
and their relationship is relatively stable. Their interaction should be structured in
some manner so that they perform the same and similar function when they meet.
Generally group members help to satisfy both psychological and social needs,
such as towards giving attention and receiving attention. Groups help us to fulfill
our need for security. In contrast, we can think about a mere collection of individuals,
who are not part of a group, as for example, members of a crowd, as in the case
of disorganised group. In a nutshell it can be said that the group has some kind
of structure to hold it together and attain the goals effectively. The structure is
hierarchical where the functions and powers are distributed. Group may be of
different types, viz., primary and secondary group, formal and informal group,
organised and spontaneous group, command group, task group, functional group,
interest group, friendship group, reference group etc. Group structure is a pattern
of relationships among members that hold the group together. It can be interpreted
in various ways depending on group size, group roles, group norms and group
cohesiveness.

1) Define group and discuss the importance of the group.
2) Enumerate the characteristics of a group.
3) Elucidate the different types of groups, their roles and functions.
4) Differentiate between formal and informal group with examples.
1.12 GLOSSARY
Attitude : An enduring system of evaluations or feelings in favour of
or against a person or group.
Belief : Acceptance of a statement about an object, event, person

or group.
Cohesiveness : The social force which keeps the group together.
Group : A collection of individuals who are in interdependent

relationship with one another sharing common norm of
behaviour and attitude.
Informal group : A group which is not organised.
Group structure : The differences of roles and status relations within a group.
Group dynamics : The way in which changes take place in the behaviour of
other members of the group. Groups can mobilise powerful
20 force which may be constructive or destructive.
Peer group : A primary group composed of persons who are closely Introduction to Group,
alike in age and interests. Formation and
Types of Group
Value : Values are ideas about desirable states of affairs shared
by the members of a group or culture.

Baron, R.A. and Byrne, D. (2000). Social Psychology, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall
of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi – 110001.
Kuppuswamy, B. (2002). Elements of Social Psychology, 7th Revised Edition,

Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
References
Engleberg, Isa N.; Wynn, Dianna R. (2007).(In English). Working in groups.

p,175-193(4th edition).
Kuppuswamy, B. (1980). An introduction to Social Psychology, 2nd Revised

edition, (reprinted,2004) Asia Publishing House, Mumbai.
Myers, G. David (2008). Social Psychology, 9th edition, The McGraw Hill
Companies, Inc.
Maclver, R.M.(1953). An Introductory Analysis, Mcmillian co. London, p 213.
Williams R.M. (1951). American Society: A sociological Interpretation, Alferd

A.knopf Inc. New York, p. 445
(Wikipedia,(encyclopedia) April, 2008) (www.wikipedia.org, (Encyclopedia)

May, 2010)
21
Group Dynamics
UNIT 2 GROUP DYNAMICS
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Groups Dynamics: Definition
2.2.1 Meaning, Concept and Importance of Group Dynamics
2.2.2 Role of Communication in Group Dynamics
2.2.3 Interpersonal Attraction and Cohesion in Group Dynamics
2.2.4 Group Dynamics and Social Integration
2.3 Culture and Group

2.4 Measurement of Group Dynamics
2.5 Group Development
2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Group dynamics is the scientific approach to the understanding of the dynamics
of group. It implies an interactive psychological relationship in which members of
a group develop a common perception based on feelings and emotions. Group
dynamics refer to the changes that take place within the group. It also refers to
forces operating within the groups. Group dynamics is related to the field theory
of Lewin which assumes man’s behaviour to be a function of the field existing at
the time of the occurrence of behaviour. We can further say that it is the study
of group processes, their objective analysis and measurement and the effect of
group membership on individual members.
Our behaviour is not static. It means that the change of behaviour is through
interaction in the group. According to Segal, group dynamics is a process by
which one considers other individuals and a problem in a group at the same time.
It not only tends to increase understanding of the problem, but also creates a
solution which the individual practices in bringing about emotional balance. We
can also say that group dynamics is influenced by sympathy, suggestion and
imitation. Sympathy enables the members of a group to perceive the psychological
state of the other members. Suggestion plays a big role in influencing group
behaviour. The suggestions put forward by leader of a group are implemented
by the members of the group.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you, will be able to:
22 l explain about the group interaction process;
l define about the meaning of group dynamics; Group Dynamics
l elucidate the concept of group dynamics;

l express the importance of group dynamics process; and
l find out the group dynamics vis-à-vis different processes and patterns.
2.2 GROUP DYNAMIC: DEFINITION

A group includes only persons who share some norms and values about something.
We can say that group contains people with interrelated social roles. An aggregate
of people may form themselves into a group as a result of interaction. Thus, we
can say that groups are the products of interaction. Group interaction is a two
way process whereby each individual or group stimulates the other and also in
varying degrees that modify the behaviour of the participants. The behaviour and
personality characteristics of individual members of a group affect the behaviour
of others and make a significant impact over the functioning of a group as a
whole.
In this context we can consider two types of groups, viz., formal and informal
groups. Formal groups are formed on the basis of specific norms, values etc.
School is an example of formal group. On the other hand, play group, peer group
and social clubs are examples of formal groups. In informal groups, rules are
usually flexible. An individual may belong to many groups. The behaviour of an
individual is different from the group behaviour. In the group a person has to act
according to the norms of the group and generally, a few individuals may guide
the behaviour of the group.
In this context, we can say that group interaction is a two-way process whereby
each individual or group stimulates the behaviour of the participants. We can
further say that the behaviour and personality characteristics of individual members
of a group affect the behaviour of others and ultimately it makes a significant
impact over the functioning of a group as a whole. As for example, we can say
that the school is a social institution set up by the society to serve its ends. School
is primarily a social institution. Group activities should be encouraged to provide
opportunities to the students to participate in the affairs of the group.
One of the important functions of the school is social interaction. Not only are the
teachers and pupils continually interacting in the class-room system, but the pupils
are also interacting among themselves through special pre determined code or
signs or looks, and there are many common stereotypes and values that they
share with each other. Like any other social system, the class-room group shows
a variety of interactions continuously. Formal structure is not only factor in group
functioning. Within this formal structure, there is informal relationship.
Communication within the group may flow more through informal channels than
through formal ones. The informal sub-groups are typically more homogenous
than the classroom group. Not only this, peer group pressures exert a powerful
impact in many cases.
2.2.1 Meaning, Concept and Importance of Group Dynamics

In 1944, Kurt Lewin, set up the Research Centre for Group Dynamics to meet
the need of a scientific approach to the understanding of the dynamics of group. 23
Group Dynamics Group dynamics can be defined as a field of enquiry dedicated to the advancing
knowledge about the nature of groups, the laws of their development and their
interrelations with individuals, other groups and larger institutions. Actually, it implies
that the interactive psychological relationship in which members of a group develop
a common perception based on feelings and emotions. It is not easy to define the
important area of group dynamics. We can say that it represents a field of enquiry,
a series of inter-related problems, a set of techniques and interaction process.
Group dynamics consists of two words – (i) group and (ii) dynamics. A group is
a unit of two or more individuals who share a set of beliefs and values. The
members of the group share a common purpose, task or goals. The relations
among the members are interdependent. Not only this, there is a feeling of
belongingness or we feeling among the members of the group. The members of
the group generally prescribe a set of norms of behaviour for themselves. The
members want to attain the goal effectively. The structure is hierarchical where the
functions and powers are distributed.
On the other hand, the word dynamics means force. Group dynamics refers to
forces operating with in the groups. Group dynamics is related to field theory of
Lewin, which assumes man’s behaviour to be a function of the field existing at the
time of the occurrence of behaviour. We can also say that the group dynamics is
the study of group processes, their objective analysis and measurement and the
effect of group membership on individual members. When a group of people is
formed with a common goal, a kind of social force is created. Our behaviour is
not static. Thus, group dynamics means the change of behaviour through interaction
in the group.
Concept of group dynamics
The social psychologists seek to explain group behaviour on the basis of social
interaction and cultural transmission through social interaction. The interactive
psychological relationship is termed as “group dynamics”. The important two
variables we can say in this context are “group cohesiveness” and “group
locomotion”. Cohesiveness plays a vital role in determining the influence of the
group on the members. On the other hand, locomotion indicates the movement
towards the desired goal. Personality of the individual and character of the social
situation both takes an important role for group dynamics. All the psychological
effects take place within the individual members who compose the group. According
to Cartwright and Zander (1968), the basic assumptions are:
i) the groups are inevitable (even the hermits / Sanyasis and the Hippies),
ii) that groups mobilise powerful forces that produce effects of utmost importance
to individuals,
iii) that groups can produce constructive as well as destructive consequences and
iv) that it is the correct understanding of group dynamics based on empirical studies
that helps in enhancing the constructive aspects of group life and group
achievements.
It can also be said that group cohesiveness indicates the degree to which the
members stick together so that there is unity in the group. Actually the basis of
24
attraction to the group may lie in the interaction itself because of the mutual
satisfaction of needs. The group may be teen-age group or a political group or Group Dynamics
a religious group. Three important things one can consider for group cohesiveness,
i.e., task direction, personal attraction and group prestige. The strength of the
cohesiveness may vary on the basis of the situation. Thus, when we study the
group as a whole we are aware of studying changes which occur in the behaviour
of the individuals and how these changes are transmitted to all the individuals to
the total field, so that the behaviour of the group is altered. On the other hand,
when the group itself shows a readiness to change by active participation then
actual social change becomes possible. The change will occur when the group
actually takes the decision to change. Thus the concept of group dynamics is
helpful in understanding social changes which involve not only the introduction of
an innovation, but also in overcoming of resistance.
Group dynamics is also influenced by sympathy, suggestion and imitation. Sympathy

enables the members of a group to perceive the psychological state of the other
members. Actually the members begin to feel as others feel. On the other hand,
suggestion plays a big role in influencing the group behaviour. The suggestions put
forward by the leader of the group are readily accepted. The behaviour of the
leader of the group is initiated by the members of the group. Besides this, some
specific group techniques which could be utilised for improvement of the group
process, viz., buzz sessions, role playing, brain storming and recreational
experiences.
In buzz sessions, in which five or six members participate and is organised for
purposes of stimulating discussion. In role playing, problems are handling in such
a manner so that it comes for the benefit of the group. Brain storming in which
group is organised for stimulating discussion. Recreational experiences where
opportunities are provided to the group members to participate in group discussion.
1) What do you mean by Group dynamics?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) According to Cartwright and Zander (1968) what are the basic assumptions
of group dynamics?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) Group dynamics is influenced by (i).................,(ii).................and (iii).............
Importance of group dynamics
The importances of group dynamics are given below:

25
Group Dynamics i) It is essential for effective practice with any type of task.
ii) It promotes out the unproductive meetings.
iii) Individual members or group as a whole benefit in a number of ways.
iv) Underlying group dynamic is the multicultural diversification of the society.
v) The future functioning of the group is influence by group dynamic.
vi) Facilitates the participation of the members.
vii) Helps to achieve the goals of the group in connection with the participation and
satisfaction of the group.
viii) It increases the interpersonal attraction.
ix) It increases the communication processes and interaction patterns.
x) It increases the power and control of the group.
xi) It creates impact on racial, ethnic and cultural background.
2.2.2 Role of Communication in Group Dynamics

Communication involves the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver.
According to Toseland and Rivas (2001) communication includes:
i) encoding of perception, thoughts and feelings into language and other symbols
by a sender;
ii) transmission of language and symbols verbally, non-verbally or virtually; and
iii) decoding of the message by the receiver.
Face-to-face group members experience both verbal and non-verbal

communication, whereas members of telephone groups experience only verbal
communication and members of computer groups experience only virtual
communication. Interaction patterns are also fundamental to group dynamics.
According to David (1980) some of the significant points in this regard include:
i) Leader is the central figure, and communication occurs from member to leader
and leader to member.
ii) Group members take turns talking.
iii) Indication of extension between leader and the member.
iv) All members freely communicate.
v) Interaction pattern focuses on the degree of centralisation of communication.
vi) Group-centered interaction pattern is more valued than leader-centered

interaction pattern.
vii) Indication of full participation among the members.

26
viii) The status and power relationship within the group affect the interaction pattern. Group Dynamics
ix) Interpersonal attraction and the emotional bonds that form between members
influence the interaction pattern.
x) Size of the group affect the interaction pattern. In general, there is more chance
to communicate if the group size is small.
xi) Selective attention, clues and reinforcement may take important role to change
the interaction patterns.
xii) If members do not interact with equal valence, there seems to be indication of
sub-group formation.
xiii) Interpersonal attraction, emotional bonds and interest may create impact on the
group members.
ix) Physical arrangement in some situation may affect interaction patterns.
Thus, we can say the communication processes and interaction patterns are
important factors for group dynamics.
2.2.3 Interpersonal Attraction and Cohesion in Group

Dynamics
We can say that sub-group formation depends on interpersonal attraction among
the group members and the level of cohesion depends on this. There are some
important features that can be mentioned here:
i) Proximity increases interaction among people and ultimately it increases attraction.
ii) Similarity tend to make people attract toward each other.
iii) The important contributing factors are acceptance and approval.
iv) Members are attracted to those who engage in group interactions that meet
their expectations.
v) Interpersonal attraction is just one of the building blocks of group cohesion.
vi) Compatibility tends to promote interpersonal attraction.
vii) Group cohesion is the sum of all the forces that are exerted on members to
remain in a group.
viii) Cohesion means satisfaction of group members’ need for affiliation, recognition
and security.
ix) Participation of the group members increases the prestige and resources.
x) Cohesion reveals the positive relationship among the group members.
xi) Cohesion can lead to a level of conformity that detracts from the work of the
group.
27
Group Dynamics According to Toseland and Rivas (2001) high levels of cohesion have been
associated with beneficial group member behaviours. These include the following:
i) greater perseverance towards group goals;
ii) willingness to take responsibilities for group functioning;
iii) willingness to express feelings;
iv) willingness to listen; and
v) ability to use feedback and evaluations.
High levels of group cohesion are generally associated with positive outcomes.
We can also say in this regard that
l Great satisfaction with the group experience,
l Higher levels of goal attainment by group members and group members and
group as a whole,
l Great commitment by group members,
l Increased feelings of self-confidence, self-esteem and personal adjustment,

amongst members of the group.
Sometimes it happens that high levels of cohesion may lead to dependence on the
group. Some members remain silent. In this context we can say that there is a
relationship between group dynamics and interpersonal attraction as well as
cohesion.
1) Write five importances of group dynamics.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) Write two features of group dynamics.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2.2.4 Group Dynamics and Social Integration

Social integration means how group members fit together and are accepted in the
group. In each and every group there are norms, roles and status. These are the
group dynamics that promote social integration by influencing how members behave.
28 The norm, status and roles help the groups to avoid conflict and unpredictability
which may create chaos. It is true that group can not function effectively without Group Dynamics
a fairly high level of social integration among group members. Social integration
helps to build unanimity about the purposes and goals of the group.
Deutsch and Gerard (1955) postulated two forms of social influence: normative
influence and informational influence. Normative influence is the desire to meet
other people’s expectations and to be accepted by others. Informational influence
is accepting and being persuaded by information provided by others. It is
undoubtedly true that certain amount of predictability, conformity and compliance
is necessary for the group members to work together to achieve the goals of the
group. Actually norms develop slowly in the group, as members experience what
is valued and what is preferred behaviour through group interaction.
On the other hand, roles are shared expectations about the functioning of individual
members of the group. Members may take different roles. Besides this, status
refers to the ranking of importance of members of the group relative to each
other. Status is determined by the prestige, power, position and expertise. Because
a group member’s status is measured in relationship to other members, it may
change when other members join or leave the group. Status is also determined
by the situation. Status hierarchies have a good deal of influence on social integration
within groups. Thus, norms, roles and status are important components of the
social influence that groups have on members.
2.3 CULTURE AND GROUP

Culture as is well known is a combination of values, beliefs and traditions of the
society. Every individual born in that culture and it influence his overall personality.
Values, beliefs, customs, traditions etc. are important factors for culture and these
are shared by group members. When group members meet, they explore their
value system and interpersonal styles, searching for a common ground on which
to relate to each other. The culture of a group is determined by the communality
and also the larger society. The system depends on the nature and extent of their
interaction with the group. Multicultural differences are salient interpersonal factors
that have significance for the group culture. Group processes have reflected the
European and American values of individualism, independence, competitiveness
and achievement. Besides this, cultural experiences of group survival, social
hierarchy, inclusiveness and also ethnic identification influence the way members
interact with one another in the group. Member’s expectations and goals in a
multicultural group vary widely. They significantly influence the dynamics of the
group (Hopps and Pinderhughes, 1991; Matsukawa, 2001). According to Davis
et al (1995), the group leader should be sensitive to racial /ethnic and socio-
economic differences, should understand the effect of these differences on group
dynamics and should translate this knowledge into culturally sensitive modes of
program development and service delivery. Many factors affect group development.
Structural characteristic is one of the important impacts on development.
2.4 MEASUREMENT OF GROUP DYNAMICS

Measurement of group dynamics is essential to understand the behaviour of a
group as a whole as well an individuals who make up the group. There are many
scales to measure group dynamics, viz., Group Climate Questionnaire (Mackenzie,
1983), Group Cohesiveness Scale (Budman, 1993), Group Work Engagement
29
Group Dynamics Measure (Macgowan, 2000) and Group Member Interpersonal Process Scale
(Soldz, 1993). Task groups, such as committees, teams, board of directors are
not merely collections of individuals. The synergy that is created when people
come together to work in these groups transcends the collection of individual
efforts. We have to pay attention to group dynamics because group dynamics
facilitate member participation and satisfaction to achieve the group goal.
2.5 GROUP DEVELOPMENT

As groups develop over time, group dynamic processes evolve. In this context,
we can mention a well-known model by Tuckman (1963), which is known as
stage model (as mentioned in unit 1). The stages are:
i) forming,
ii) storming,
iii) norming and
iv) performing.
There is also the widely used model by Garland, Jones and Kolody (1976) Here
the five significant stages are:
i) Pre-affiliation: Should be affected to the group.
ii) Power and control: Should be able to have some influences over the other
members.
iii) Intimacy: There must be certain closeness and intimacy.
iv) Differentiation: The group members should be able to differentiate their personal
goals from group goals
vi) Separation: This refers to each influence having a separate identity despite being
part of the group.
Beginning stages of group development are characterised by the formation of

group dynamics. Members interact tentatively, establishing norms, roles and status
hierarchies and ultimately a group culture slowly emerges through interaction. At
first, interaction is tentative and cautious and there exists little conflict. After that
members become more comfortable resistance can develop. After that members
want to become a part of the group but at the same time group members maintain
their own identity and independence. Many factors affect group development.
Structural characteristics have an important impact on group development.
2.6 LET US SUM UP

Like individuals, groups are also entities that pose characteristics and properties
which can be observed, measured, classified and predicted. There are certain
conditions which predetermine certain kinds of behaviour on the part of members
of the group and the group as a whole. The term “group processes” is sometimes
applied to the formulations or explanations of such tendencies. “Group dynamics”
is a term introduced by Kurt Lewin. Both “group processes” and “group dynamics”
30 carry the implication that groups are to be considered as entities characterised by
change and on-going activity. Groups may be formed in different ways. Once Group Dynamics
groups have been formed, they tend to take on certain characteristics. They are
likely to develop a structure, whereby members have positions that stand in
relationship to one another. Reciprocal role patterns, positions, expectations and
certain predetermined attitudes and percepts constitute the structure that gives
groups a degree of stability and predictability. The willingness of people to join,
remain with, or leave a group may be explained in terms of the rewards they
receive and the costs that they incur.
Existence of any group depends on the participation and satisfaction of the

individuals comprising the group. Social approval as far as the individual is
concerned is expressed in terms of his being accepted by other members. As far
as the group is concerned, it is expressed in terms of the individual’s conformity
to its norms. The group’s willingness to accept is thus exchanged for the member’s
willingness to conform. It is fundamental to group life. This type of exchange is
so fundamental in group life that it is difficult to imagine ourselves particularly in
any other way. There is an intimate relationship between group acceptance and
individual conformity. Group may be formed voluntarily and spontaneously because
of a felt need to socialise or to accomplish some practical aim or they may be
converted by external authority. The attractiveness of group that develops for its
members is termed as its cohesiveness. Compatibility generally facilitates
cohesiveness but cohesiveness and compatibility are not necessarily conducive to
group effectiveness in some kinds of tasks. Generally, group cohesiveness depends
on the extent to which members recognise and adhere to its norms. Small, intimate,
face-to-face groups are the ones that demand and receive the highest degree of
personal involvement. Group may be inclusive or exclusive depending on their
functions and goals. In traditional societies exclusiveness is more likely to be
based on social status than in more equalitarian societies. Our behaviour is not
static. Interaction is an important part in this regard. Group dynamics is essential
for effective practice with any type of task or treatment group.
Group dynamics mainly depends on:
i) communication process and interaction patterns;
ii) interpersonal attraction and cohesion;
iii) social integration and influence;
iv) power control and
v) culture.
Although an understanding of group dynamics is essential for effective practice

with individuals and communities, it is our belief that focused attention to the
dynamic processes that occur in groups is what distinguishes group work from
other forms of social work practice. We can say that culture, ethnicity and race
affect the dynamic processes that develop and evolve in groups.

1) What do you mean by the term “group dynamics”?
2) Write in brief about the importance of group dynamics. 31

Group Dynamics 3) What is group development?
4) Is there any relationship between interpersonal attraction and cohesion with

group dynamics? – Discuss.
5) Write in brief about culture and group.
2.8 GLOSSARY
Attitude : An enduring system of evaluations or feelings in favour of
Belief : Acceptance of a statement about an object, event, person

or group.
Cognition : Sensation, perception, thoughts, ideas and such processes.
Cohesiveness : The social force which keeps the group together. It is the
product of attractiveness of the interaction with group
members.
Communication : The exchange of meaning and mutual influence.
Cooperation : It arises when groups work together in the pursuit of

common interest.
Culture : The pattern of all arrangements, material or behavioural,

which have been adopted by a society.
Dependence : The condition in which a person or a group relies on

another for its need satisfaction and outcomes.

relationship with one another sharing common norms of
Group dynamics : The way in which changes which take place in the
behaviour of some members of the group lead to changes
in behaviour of other members of the group. This is why
groups can mobilise powerful force which may be
constructive or destructive.
Group structure : The differentiation of roles and status relations within a

group.
Informal group : A group that is not organised.
Power : Ability of an individual or a group to control the process

of decision making even against resistance.
Social change : Alteration in the structure of a society.
Social cohesion : Degree to which group members share common beliefs,

practices and values.
32
Social control : Application of positive and negative sanctions (rewards
and punishments) by a group to encourage its members to Group Dynamics
abide by the group norms, perform the required roles.
Social facilitation : The process by which a person works faster and turns
out more when he is working with others than when he is
working alone.
Social movements : Collective activity aimed at correcting some perceived

inadequacy in the existing social arrangements.
Society : The most complex type of human group composed of

many subgroups.

Baron, R.A. and Byrne, D.(2000). Social Psychology, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall
of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
Kuppuswamy, B.(1980), An Introduction to Social Psychology, 2nd Revised

edition, (reprinted,2004), Asia Publishing House, Mumbai.
Myers, G. David (2008), Social Psychology, 9th edition, The McGraw Hill
Companies, Inc.
33
Group Dynamics
UNIT 3 SOCIAL IDENTITY,
CROWDING AND CROWD
BEHAVIOUR
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Social Identity Theory
3.3 Definition of Crowd
3.3.1 Active Crowd
3.3.2 Inactive Crowd
3.4 Crowd Psychology

3.5 Crowd Behaviour
3.6 Theories of Crowd Behaviour
3.6.1 Classical Theory
3.6.2 Convergence Theory
3.6.3 Group Mind Theory
3.7 Collective Behaviour

3.7.1 Mass Society
3.7.2 Audience
3.7.3 Mob
3.7.4 Fashion
3.8 Let Us Sum Up

3.10 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Individuals are not self-contained units of psychological analysis. Social identity
theory states that people think, feel and act as members of groups, institutions and
cultures. The social identity approach reinforces the idea of the individuals’ social
cognitions which are socially constructed depending on their group or collective
frames of reference. Social identity is mainly composed of four elements, viz.,
categorisation, identification, comparison and psychological distinctiveness. Actually
social identity refers to the membership or associations of an individual with a
primary group ranging from nuclear to extended based on factors as the individual’s
capacities, experiences, mobility and location. Ethnicity is a powerful social identity
with many components, viz., common biological origins, customs, habits, norms
etc. Personal identification with a specific group and the development of an in
group mentality is involved in social identity theory.
34
Social Identity, Crowding
3.1 OBJECTIVES and Crowd Behaviour
After reading this unit you, will be able to:
l define social identity;
l describe crowd;
l elucidate the crowd behaviour theory;
l describe audience, mob, public, mass society, fashion; and
l explain collective behaviour.
3.2 SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY

We, the human being spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves. We can also
say that self is the centre of each person’s social universe. Our self-concept is
mainly acquired through the interaction with the immediate family and also with the
other people with whom we meet throughout our life. Actually self-concept is
one’s self-identity which consists of an organised collection of beliefs and feelings
about oneself. We can further say that we develop our social identity which
includes how we conceptualise ourselves, including how we evaluate ourselves.
Self- concept also includes all of the information and feelings relevant to our past,
present and future selves. We use the term self-concept which influences how we
process information about the social world around us along with information
about ourselves – such as our motives, emotional status, abilities, self-evaluation
etc. All these important things influence how we process social and personal
information that is relevant to our own identities. People want to know about
others’ beliefs, affiliations and intentions in order to interpret their words and
actions and to predict their future behaviour.
Social identity theory explains how people develop a sense of membership and
belonging in particular group. There are many interconnected mechanisms in this
theory. People generally seek out group membership as an affirmation of self-
esteem, but that membership as an affirmation of self-esteem, but that membership
in a group alone is not enough to build an affirm self-esteem. To feel more self-
esteem, people have to believe that they are in the right group, which creates the
need for a positive distinction from other groups.
People want to know about others’ beliefs, affiliations and intentions in order to
interpret their future behaviour. These qualities we are unable to observe directly.
We do not build up our impression of another trait by trait. Interpretation of
identity is subjective. Social identity Theory was developed by Tajfel and Turner
in 1979. In this theory, it was highlighted that a person has not one “personal Self”
but rather several selves that corresponds to widening circles of group membership.
An individual has multiple “social identities”. It is the individual’s self-concept
derived from perceived membership of social groups (Hogg and Vaughan, 2002).
Tajfel and Turner (1979) identified three variables which has contribution to the
in-group favourtism is particularly important.
l the extent to which individuals identify with an in-group to internalise that group
35
membership as an aspect of their self-concept;
Group Dynamics l the extent to which the prevailing context provides ground for comparison
between groups;
l the perceived relevance of the comparison group, which itself will be shaped
by the relative and absolute status of the in-group.
Social identity theory has a considerable impact on social psychology. It is tested

in a wide range of fields and settings and includes prejudice, stereotyping, negotiation
and language use. The social identity theory has implication on the way people
deal with social and organisational change.
Besides this, we can also say that social identity is mainly composed of
i) categorisation,
ii) identification,
iii) comparison, and
iv) psychological distinctiveness.
Generally social identities are associated with normative rights, obligations and
sanctions which within specific collectivities form roles. Social identity refers to the
membership or association of an individual with “primary” and other human beings.
The significant factors which we can mention here are mainly individual’s capacity,
experiences mobility and location.
3.3 DEFINITION OF CROWD

Crowd is a physically compact organisation of human beings brought into direct,
temporary and unorganised contact with one another. If some people stand together
for a short time at any place, then it may be called crowd. The crowd is the most
transitory and unstable of all the social groups. Actually crowd exhibits no patterns,
no characteristic expressions. The collection of human beings in the market or in
the open space is also designated as crowd.
MacIver defines crowd as “A physically compact aggregation of human beings

brought into direct, temporary and unorganised contact with one another”.
According to Kimball Young, “A crowd is a gathering of a considerable number
of persons around a centre or point of common attraction”. According to Majumder,
“A crowd is an aggregation of individuals drawn together by an interest without
premeditation on the part of any of them and without even tentative provision of
what to expect”.
Crowd behaviour involves three aspects:
i) psychological continuity
ii) polarisation of interest and attention and
iii) transition and temporary character.
A crowd collects because of some curiosity, interest and other temporary causes
and dissolves as many as its cause vanishes. If two people start fighting on the
36 road, a crowd will collect and when they stop their struggle, it will break up.
3.3.1 Active Crowd Social Identity, Crowding
and Crowd Behaviour
Crowd can be divided into two classes: (a) Active and (b) Inactive.
Active crowd can be further classified into four classes:
a) Aggressive crowd: It is a crowd of people in an aggressive and destructive

frame of mind, capable of any and every act of destruction and irrationality,
brutality and inhumanity. This kind of crowd exhibits a tremendous excitement.
b) Panicky crowd: Panicky crowd is the panicky or fear-stricken crowd whose

constituent members are almost crazed with fear to a point where they can no
longer think and find reason. They are almost frightened out of their units, so that
thinking is for the time being a think beyond their power. They are concerned
with the prime quest of saving their lives.
c) Acquisitive crowd: The aim and objective of each of its members is to obtain
or acquire something. Acquisitive crowd is composed almost entirely of
individuals whose objectives is to gain or obtain something, be it a cinema ticket,
kerosene oil etc.
d) Expressive crowd: In this kind of crowd some people gathered to give

expression or to manifest their demands or sentiments. Desire of violence is
relatively less pronounced and dominant in the members of an expressive crowd.
3.3.2 Inactive Crowd

No crowd is completely inactive. The difference between an active and inactive
crowd is only relative. The inactive crowd even resembles an audience.
You may join in a crowd, where you can find some special characteristics:
l Crowd has no predetermined aim.
l There is no definite time and place for crowd.
l It is a congregate group of individuals who have temporarily identified themselves

with common interest.
l It seems that members are motivated by emotions and soon become

uncontrollable.
l The behaviour of crowd is not certain.
l People within the crowd stimulate each other.
l Members of the crowd are generally uncontrolled, unorganised and disordered.
l Members are motivated by emotions and soon become uncontrollable.
l The curiosity, values and emotions are temporarily identical and which arises
because of common interest.
l Immersed in the crowd, the individual loses self-control and may engage in
different types of activities. Crowd behaviour arises as a result of the three
mechanisms of anonymity, contagion and suggestibility (Le Bon, 1895). 37
Group Dynamics l Dollard (1939) used the frustration-aggression hypothesis to explain the violent
behaviour of crowds.
l Turner (1964) explained crowd behaviour in terms of “emergent norms”. The

contagion, the spread of the feelings and actions is facilitated by the process of
mixing, the close proximity, the jostling like the sheep in the herd.
l Generally in crowd people of varying interests and abilities convergence because

they share some common quality like hostility, aggressiveness etc.
1) Self- concept also includes all of the ...................... and ......................relevant

to our past, present and future.
2) What does social identity explain?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) Social identity composed of four elements i.e i)........................

ii)........................iii)........................iv).........................
4) Define what is crowd?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
5) What are the two classes of crowd?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3.4 CROWD PSYCHOLOGY

Crowd psychology mainly refers to the studies and theories regarding the behaviour
of the crowd and also the psychological causes and effects of crowd participation.
In a study entitled, “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1895)”, Le Bon
suggested that when people become part of a crowd they lose almost all of their
individuality, autonomy and personal judgment and morality. According to Carl
Jung, it is called “collective unconscious”. Convergence theory emerged during
the twentieth century, thinking that acts of the crowd is in unified way, not because
of the collective ‘mind’ of the crowd but because they tend to be composed of
like-minded people who are attracted into the crowd situation because of a
38
shared interest or objective.
Social Identity, Crowding
3.5 CROWD BEHAVIOUR and Crowd Behaviour
Neither the socio-psychological processes that take place within the crowd nor
the techniques employed by the crowd, lead to understanding of crowd behaviour.
However the leader provides an adequate understanding of the peculiarities of
crowd behaviour. Some of them are as given below:
l In the crowd, with the loss of individuality, a form of group consciousness

develops a fusion of mind with mind, a sympathetic participation on emotional
level which is common to all the participants. Appeals, slogans are the common
features.
l Crowd behaviour is the release of repressed drives. The suggestibility, the

exaltation, the lack of self-consciousness, the egoistic expansion and spontaneity,
exhibited by the members of the crowd are phenomena susceptible to this kind
of explanation.
l We may think of the crowd as a temporary collectivity within which thwarted

impulses are afforded an outlet. The close connection between the underlying
characteristics of the cultural conditions and the types of crowd those are apt to
mark the community life.
l The manifestations of crowd feeling deserve study not only because they reveal
the significance of this transitory form of aggregation, but also because they
throw light on other social phenomena.
3.6 THEORIES OF CROWD BEHAVIOUR

3.6.1 Classical Theory
The minds of the group would merge to form a way of thinking. Le Bon’s idea
is that crowd foster anonymity and sometimes generate emotion. Different
individuals in a group do not think individually but they think experience and act
through the group mind. When individuals collect in a crowd, their individual mind
becomes a part of the collective mind. The collective mind thinks in its own way
and formulates its own ideas and thoughts, which the individual minds do not
formulate in their individual capacities. Emphasis was given on unconscious motives.
According to him, in a crowd these unconscious motives get more active. The
individual is influenced by these unconscious motives and his own conscious
motivation sinks into the background. The person become uninhibited and shows
even the lowliest behaviour in the crowd.
3.6.2 Convergence Theory

Crowd behaviour is not a product of the crowd itself, but is carried into the
crowd by particular individuals. According to the convergence theory people who
wish to act in a certain way come together to form crowds. There is no homogenous
activity within a repetitive practice. This theory states that crowd itself does not
generate racial hatred or violence. Actually, crowd arises from convergence of
people who oppose the presence of particular group of neighbours. Generally
people in crowd express existing beliefs and values so that mob reaction is the
rational product of widespread popular feeling.
39
Group Dynamics 3.6.3 Group Mind Theory
The Group mind theory has been advocated by Lebon, Espinas, Trotter, Durkheim,
Mc. Dougall and Allport. According to this theory, the individual in the crowd
loses his individuality and becomes a part of the crowd which comes to develop
its own crowd consciousness. The mentality of the individual member becomes
de-individualised and the person begins to act on an emotional level which is
common to all the participants.
Its working is based on emotions, slogans, appeals and suggestions. Its actions
are less rational and more emotional. It becomes easily excited and acts in a
hypnotic way. Lebon was the first writer to put forward the theory of group mind
in 1892. According to him, the sentiments and ideas of all the persons in the
gathering take one and the same direction and their conscious personality vanishes.
Different individuals in a group do not think individually but think, experience and
act through the group mind. When individuals collect in a crowd, their individual
minds become a part of the collective mind. Lebon has laid great emphasis on the
unconscious motives. The individual is influenced by the unconscious motives and
his own conscious motivation sinks into the background.
Espinas calls group mind as social consciousness. According to him, there is a

sort of self-consciousness in every group. Collective consciousness is formed out
of the collection of many individuals consciousness taken together.
According to Trotter, everyman is possessed of the instinct of gregariousness.

Man’s gregariousness activates his mental system as a result of which he accepts
the command of the group without any argument and acts according to the
command given.
Durkheim has sought to explain group behaviour in terms of collective

consciousness. According to him, when people collect in a group, a collective
consciousness is created by the mutual exchange of ideas and notions. Actually
mind is another name for the flow of consciousness. Social consciousness is a
compound of several individual consciousness but its qualities are different from
the qualities of the consciousness of the individual.
According to Mc.Dougall, every group has a mind of its own. The group mind
is not a mere collection of the minds of all the individual members of group. The
group-mind has the power of influencing the mind of the individuals. It is because
of this power of the group mind that the thinking of the individual changes when
he becomes a member of the group.
According to Allport, the behaviour of the individual in the crowd is influenced by

two processes of social facilitation and inter-stimulation. Members of the group
motivate each other. Social facilitation and inter-stimulation curb the reasoning
capacity of the individuals and increase their suggestibility.
Sometimes crowd behaviour may be the expression of impulses repressed or

thwarted by the conditions and social controls of everyday life, but it may not be
true of all the crowds. In a crowd all the differences of high and low, rich and
poor are submerged and all act as one man. We can say that crowd behaviour
is learned. In a crowd the individual responsibility is blotted out. De-individualisation
of the individuals in the group leads to reduction of inner restraint and to move
40 expressive behaviour.
Public and Crowd: The public and the crowd while have some factors common, Social Identity, Crowding
they differ a great deal. While both crowd and public are collectivities of people and Crowd Behaviour
and are generally organised, one of the important differences is that there is
physical contact among the members of a crowd, where as public is scattered at
several places. Secondly, public is much bigger group than the crowd and thirdly,
the stimulus in the crowd is simultaneous whereas stimulus in the public is diffused.
The crowd is more suggestible than the public. Thus, we can say that the crowd
and public differ in many ways.
1) Explain crowd behaviour.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) What is classical theory?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) Explain convergence theory.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4) The group-mind theory has been advocated by..........................................
.............................................................. .
5) Differentiate between public and crowd in your own words.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3.7 COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR

All social interactions fall under the category of collective behaviour. When two
or more persons behave in the same way, it may be termed as ‘collective
behaviour’. Any religious congregation may be called collective behaviour. Collective
behaviour brings people into contact with others in situations where conventional 41
Group Dynamics guidelines and formal authority fail to afford direction and supply channels for
action. Social unrest may be both the cause and effect of collective behaviour. It
may sometimes lead to the emergence of new norms and generally accepted
policies. The agitated crowds can develop into disciplined association. Collective
behaviour may act as an agent of flexibility and as a forerunner of social change.
Some special features of collective behaviour are the following
l It takes place in occasional episodes rather than regularly or routinely.

l It is not regulated by any particular set of rules or procedures.
l It is generally guided by unreasoning beliefs, hopes, fears or hatreds.
l It is unpredictable.
Generally we can say that social life is a system of well-structured and stable
relationships. It is characterised by change rather than stability, uncertainty rather
than predictability, disorganisation rather than equilibrium.
Collective behaviour entails a crisis or a break in regular routines. Collective

behaviour may be an agent of flexibility and social movements and revolutions fall
under the category of collective behaviour. A crowd may be said to be more
stable than a mob. Under conditions of stress or danger, a crowd may quickly
turn into a mob. Crowd may include mob behaviour as well as audience behaviour.
Casual crowd is short in time, loosely organised collectivity that may be motivated
by the attraction of the movement. A group of people may collect together when
there is an accident on the road. On the other hand, there is conventional crowd
which are directed by conventional rules like collection of people in religious
festivals.
3.7.1 Mass Society

Mass society is characterised by rationality, impersonal relations, extreme
specialisation of roles and loneliness for the individual in spite of concentration of
sheer numbers and loss of sense of intimacy and security. In such society’s
suggestion, persuasion, propaganda and other aspects of crowd behaviour are
common (Young, 1948). The modern cities are changing rapidly. It consists of
millions of human beings. Personal contacts among the people are reducing day
by day. The loss of personal relationship creates a sense of insecurity, loneliness
and incompleteness. To overcome these problems, they engage in voluntary
organisation, associations and clubs etc. and also affiliate themselves with one or
the other of the ashrams. Another significant feature of mass society, with its
desire for crowd contacts, is irrationality, susceptibility to propaganda and
advertisement. Technological progress and impersonality are based on rational
grounds. The sense of insecurity and sense of loneliness makes the individual
irrational. In the mass society there is a mixture of rational and irrational thing.
3.7.2 Audience
Audience is a polarised crowd which assembles in one place. It is an index of
mental unity. There may be two types of audience
i) casual audience and

42
ii) scheduled audience. A number of people may congregate and become polarised Social Identity, Crowding
by seeing a street quarrel and it is called casual audience. On the other hand, the and Crowd Behaviour
crowd which assembles in a lecture hall or cinema hall may be called scheduled
audience.
In the audience situation several psychological processes are involved in the

interaction of people. This interaction may be of two types, viz.,
i) between audience and speaker or actor and
ii) among the member of the audience themselves. The aim of audience is of many
types. One is to get facts and interpretations. We can also observe some
emotional appeals among audience. Sometimes it may be conversational. As for
example we can say that the dramatic troupe or the musician will have to build
up rapport with the audience so that the audience appreciates and enjoys the
music or the program. If it is unfavourable, then it becomes aggressive one.
Group singing breaks down the individual isolation, removes differences in social
status and helps to build up common emotions and feelings.
3.7.3 Mob
Generally, the members of a mob tend to show a similarity in feelings, thoughts
and actions irrespective of the variation in education, occupation and intelligence.
The members of the mob are attending to and reacting to some common object
in a common way. Sometimes heightened emotionality is a characteristic feature
of mob behaviour. The significant features are anger, fear, joy etc. Sometimes they
become unreasonable, intolerant and fickle-minded. Most common characteristic
of mob behaviour is the diminished sense of responsibility. They are generally
irresponsible. An aggressive mob may indulge in some unfortunate behaviour like
destroying music, puperty attacking the. Not only their sense of autonomy may
also be reduced and may become part of mob behaviour. Suggestion, imitation
and sympathy – are the three mechanisms of interaction which we can observe
in the mob behaviour. It can further be said that mob behaviour is due to the
operation of a number of factors, some of which depend upon the predisposition
of the individuals and some upon the characteristics of the situation in which the
collectivity finds itself. Mob behaviour is conditioned by so many factors – past
as well as present, social as well as individual.
3.7.4 Fashion
Fashion is an important example of collective action and it is common with crowd
behaviour. Fashion is a variation that is permissible within limits of custom. Fashion
as well as fads and crases are based on the desire for change, the desire for
something new. There is a psychological reaction and it is outgrowth of emotional
and irrational tendencies. It can further be said that fashion sometimes furnishes
the desire of conformity, security and social solidarity. Social movements are
collective efforts to change the society. Some movements are local, some are
national and others are international. The term ‘collective behaviour’ is now used
as ‘audience behaviour’, ‘mob behaviour’, ‘social movement’ etc.
1) All ............................... called under the category of collected behaviour.

43
Group Dynamics
2) Write features of collective behaviour.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) Two types of audience are (i) ............................(ii).................................
4) Mob behaviour is conditioned by three factors i)............................

ii)............................iii).............................
3.8 LET US SUM UP

Generally people want to know about others’ beliefs, affiliations and intentions in
order to interpret their words and actions and to predict their future behaviour.
The premise of the social identity concept is that individuals partially derive their
self-concepts from membership in social groups. Social identity concept provides
a robust framework for psychologists to understand issues of labeling, self-esteem,
discrimination, conformity and in-group or out-group perspectives. Individuals are
not self-contained units of psychological analysis. Social identity theory states that
people think, feel and act as members of collective groups, institutions and cultures.
This approach reinforces the idea that individual’s social cognitions are socially
construed depending on their group or collective frames of reference. This theory
incorporates three main points:
i) people are motivated to maintain a positive self-concept;
ii) the self-concept derives largely from group identification ;and
iii) people establish positive social identities by favorably comparing their in-group
against an outgroup.
It is true that group often exerts powerful effects upon their members. In this
context three important aspects are role, status and norms. Different persons
perform different tasks and they expected to accomplish different things for the
group. They fulfill different roles. Generally roles are assigned in a formal manner.
Groups may choose a person as leader and others as follower. Roles are acquired
and people internalise them. They link their roles to key aspects to their self-
concept and self-perception. A role may exert profound effects on a person’s
behaviour. Besides role, another important factor in functioning of group is status.
It is social standing or rank within a group. Different roles or position in a group
is linked with wide range of desirable outcomes. Groups often confer or withhold
status, as a means of influencing the behaviour of their members. Another powerful
factor which has significant impact on group is the ‘norm’. The rules may be
implicit or explicit, established by groups to regulate the behaviour of their members.
In many situations, norms tell group members how to behave or how not to
behave. Generally group insists upon adherence to their norms as a basic
requirement for membership. Groups influence their members through roles, i.e.,
members’ assigned functions in the group; status, i.e., their relative standing in the
group and norms, i.e., rules concerning appropriate behaviour for members, and
44 lastly, cohesiveness, i.e., all the factors that cause members to remain in the group.
In this context another important term we can use, i.e., “crowd”. A crowd is a Social Identity, Crowding
gathering of a considerable number of persons around a centre or point of common and Crowd Behaviour
attraction. Crowd is a temporary, direct and unorganised group of individuals
whose curiosity, values and emotions are temporarily identical and which arise
because of common interest or common stimuli. According to the “group-mind
theory”, the individual in the crowd loses his individuality and becomes a part of
the crowd which comes to develop its own crowd consciousness. Like-minded
people, who are attracted into the crowd situation, have a shared interest or
object, which is based on convergence theory. The other type of groups we can
mention here are mob, audience, mass society etc.

1) What is identity?
2) What do you mean by the term “social identity”?
3) Write in brief about “social identity theory”.
4) What is crowd? Briefly discuss about the crowd behavior.
5) What do you mean by the term mob, audience and mass society?
6) Describe mass society and audience.
7) Describe mob and fashion
3.10 GLOSSARY
Cohesiveness : With respect to conformity, the degree of attraction felt by

an individual toward an influencing group.
Crowd : Aggregation of people in close proximity who share some

common interest
Crowd psychology : Crowd psychology mainly refers to the studies and theories
regarding the behaviour of the crowd and also the
psychological causes and effects of crowd participation.

relationship with one another sharing common norm of
Group structure : The difference of roles and status relations within a group.
Group decision : A procedure in which a group is presented with a problem

process and communication giving the various alternatives, followed
by a discussion and decision regarding the solution of the
problem.
Roles : The sets of behaviour that individuals occupying specific

position within a group are expected to perform.
45
Group Dynamics Role expectations : Anticipations that is associated with a role category.
Role strain : Difficulties in attempting to enact a role.
Social norm : An expectation shared by group members which specifies

behaviour considered appropriate for a given situation.

Baron, R.A. and Byrne, D (2000). Social Psychology, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall
of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
Kuppuswamy, B (1980), An Introduction to Social Psychology, 2nd Revised

edition, (reprinted, 2004), Asia Publishing House, Mumbai.
Companies, Inc.
46
Cooperation, Competition
UNIT 4 COOPERATION, and Conflicts
COMPETITION AND
CONFLICTS
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Social Interaction and Social Process
4.2.1 Social Contact
4.2.2 Communication
4.3 Cooperation
4.3.1 Types of Cooperation
4.3.2 Role of Cooperation
4.4 Competition
4.4.1 Characteristics of Competition
4.4.2 Value of Competition
4.5 Conflict
4.5.1 Causes of Conflict
4.5.2 Characteristics of Conflict
4.5.3 Effects of Conflict
4.5.4 Types of Conflict
4.5.5 Distinction between Conflict and Competition
4.6 Accommodation
4.7 Let Us Sum Up
4.9 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit focuses on three important aspects of management of individuals in a
society. Every individual interacts with other individuals in order to survive. In the
beginning the interaction is with parent or caretaker, later on with other individuals
in the society. As interaction takes place there are cooperation, competition and
conflicts emerging in these relationships. The present unit deals with all these
three aspects and points out their importance and functions and how individuals
work through their conflict, competition and cooperation, so as to achieve their
stipulated goals.
47
Group Dynamics
4.1 OBJECTIVES
l explain social interaction and process;

l define and explain cooperation;
l explain about competition;
l identify conflict situation;
l differentiate between conflict and competition; and
l describe accommodation.
4.2 SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SOCIAL

PROCESS
Each and every person is a social and cultural being. It is very difficult for people
to live in isolation. Human beings always live in various groups and associations.
They act and behave in a certain manner. In each and every moment, the behaviour
of each individual is affected by the behaviour of others. This interaction is the
essence of social life. Green defines social interaction as “the mutual influences
that affects groups. Also these groups affect one another in their attempts to solve
problems and in their striving towards goals”. According to Dawson and Gettys,
“Social interaction is a process whereby men interpenetrate the minds of each
other.” Gish defined social interaction as,“ it is the reciprocal influence in which
human beings exert on each other through inter stimulation and response.” Thus
we can say that social interaction refers to the entire range of social relationships,
wherein there is reciprocal stimulation and response between individuals.
Social interaction produces some definite influence upon social relations that exists
among human beings. Two essential conditions of social interaction are:
i) social contact
ii) communication
4.2.1 Social Contact

Social contact can be established through the medium of radio, letters, telephones
and other media of communication. Social contact is the first and important phase
of interaction. It may be positive or negative. If it is positive, they lead to
cooperation, mutual understanding and assimilation. If it is negative, they create
hatred, jealousy and conflict. The above forms of social interaction are termed
as social processes. MacIver observes, “social process is the manner in which the
relations of the members of a group, are brought together to acquire a certain
distinctive character. According to Gillin and Gillin, “by social processes we mean
those ways of interacting by which we can establish system of relationships or find
out what happens when changes of relationships occur or what happens when
changes disturb already existing modes of life.” In this context we can use three
important terms, viz., cooperation, competition and conflict.
48
4.2.2 Communication Cooperation, Competition
and Conflicts
Social interaction requires essential communication. Besides this, communications
are essential adjuncts of social contact. Language, gestures, symbols, radio,
telephone, television, newspaper etc. are the media for communication. Human
interaction is undoubtedly a communicative interaction. In this context, we can
further say that social interaction usually takes place in the form of co-operation,
competition, conflict, accommodation and assimilation.
Cooperation means working together in the pursuit of a common interest. It is a

joint activity. It is the conscious form of social interaction where two or more
persons work together to gain a common end. Cooperation may be of different
types. Cooperation for human beings is both a psychological and social necessity.
On the other hand, competition is an unconscious, impersonal and continuous
struggle between individuals and groups for satisfaction. It is a contest to obtain
something which does not exist in a quantity sufficient to meet the demand.
Competition, like co-operation, is indispensable in social life. Competition performs

many useful functions in society. At different levels, competition occurs. It may be
economic, cultural, social, and political. There is no society which is exclusively
competitive or exclusively cooperative. Besides competition and cooperation,
conflict is another important process in human relations.
Conflict is a conscious action as well as personal activity. It lacks continuity but

it is a universal phenomena. Causes of conflict are mainly individual differences,
cultural differences, clash of interest, social change etc. Besides this, conflict
serves constructive and positive ends. Conflict has both integrative and disintegrative
effects.
Interaction is a two-way process whereby each individual or group stimulates the

other and in varying degrees modifies the behaviour of the participants. The
behaviour and personality characteristics of individual members of a group affect
the behaviour of others and make a significant impact over the functioning of a
group as a whole. The behaviour of each individual is affected by the behaviour
of other individual. This is known as interaction process and it is the essence of
social life. According to Eldredge and Merril, “social interaction is the general
process whereby two or more persons are in meaningful contact as a result of
which their behaviour is modified, however slightly.” Social interaction refers to
the entire range of social relationship, wherein there is reciprocal stimulation and
response between individuals. Social interaction is of a dual nature, of persons
with persons and of groups with groups. The main forms of social interaction are
cooperation, competition, conflict, accommodation and assimilation. Combinations
of these are called social processes. Social interaction and social process are:
1) sequence of events
2) repetition of events
3) relationship between events
4) continuity of events
5) special results.
49
Group Dynamics Actually society is an arena where there is expression of different social processes.
Social processes are fundamental to the life of a community. Society exists wherever
several individuals are in reciprocal relationships. It constitutes an aggregation of
individuals in a society. So we can say that there are two forms of social interaction
i.e.
i) conjunctive
ii) disjunctive.
Social contact initiates interaction. Social process is a variety of view-points.

Social behaviour can be classified on the basis of - (a) their intrinsic nature, (b)
the inherent drives, instincts, interests, desires etc. and (c) the observable behaviours
upon which observers can agree. We are concerned with the fundamental types,
i.e., cooperating, competition, conflict, accommodation and assimilation. Actually
interaction occurs in the form of the above mentioned processes.
1) According to Dawan and Gettys social interaction is a ....................................

................................................. .
2) The two essential conditions of social interaction are:
i) .......................................... and ii).......................................... .
3) Cooperation means .......................................... .
4) What are the main forms of social interaction?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4.3 COOPERATION
Cooperation is an integrating activity and is believed to be the opposite of
competition. The word “cooperation” is derived from the two Latin words “co”
meaning together and “operari” meaning to work. It is thus a joint activity in
pursuit of common goals or shared rewards. It is goal oriented and conscious
form of social interaction. Actually it involves two elements – (i) common end and
(ii) organised effort. It is the process by which individuals or groups combine their
effort, in a more or less organised way for the attainment of common objective.
Generally co-operation means working together for a common objective. In many
festivals, volunteers work together to collect money from different parts and want
to organise the program successfully and everybody want to stretch forward their
hands to celebrate the occasion successfully. Among the members of the group,
there seems to be indication of good interaction process. All of them behave in
co-operative manner. Co-operation is brought about by several factors which
includes the following:
50
l desire for individual benefits Cooperation, Competition
and Conflicts
l desire to give and share
l total decision on common purposes
l situational necessity and
l desire to achieve larger goals.
4.3.1 Types of Cooperation

We can classify cooperation into five categories, viz.
i) Direct cooperation
ii) Indirect cooperation
iii) Primary cooperation
iv) Secondary cooperation and
v) Tertiary cooperation
i) Direct cooperation: The essential characteristics of this kind of cooperation

are that people do in company the thing which can also do separately. In this
category cooperating individuals do things of common interest together and
perform identical functions. Playing together, worshiping together are the
examples of direct co-operation.
ii) Indirect cooperation: In this type of cooperation individual work towards a

common end each has his own specialised functions. Thus, we can say that
indirect cooperation is obtained when people perform dissimilar tasks towards
a common end, i.e., each has its specialised role to play. In the modern society
it is the indirect cooperation which is more in play than the direct cooperation
because technological changes require specialisation of skills and functions.
iii) Primary cooperation: There is an identity of interest between the individual

and the group. It is the cooperation which is found in primary groups such as
family. Not only family but also peer groups is also called primary cooperation
where people have to choose face-to-face relations. We can also say that interest
of the individual merge with the interest of the primary group.
iv) Secondary cooperation: This type of cooperation is generally found in the

secondary group, viz., government, industry, church and trade union etc.
v) Tertiary cooperation: This is the interaction between various big and small
group to meet a particular situation. Here the individual or group who wants
to compete with one another, come together and cooperate with each other
for a specific purpose. In such type of cooperation the attitudes of the
cooperating parties are purely opportunistic.
4.3.2 Role of Cooperation

It is a universal phenomenon. Cooperation for human beings is both a psychological
and social necessity. Individual as well as collective goals can not be achieved
without cooperation. Cooperation is essential for maintenance of social order. We 51
Group Dynamics can not do anything without cooperation, if we are to live as members of the
society. Family members cooperate with each other in terms of sharing economic,
emotional and social requirements of one another. All the activity in each and
every family is done in a cooperative way. People learn their first lesion in
cooperation as members of the family. The physical, mental and even the spiritual
needs of the individual remain unsatisfied if he does not agree to cooperate with
his fellow members.
1) What are the types of cooperation? Give name only.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) Define direct and indirect cooperation.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) Explain tertiary cooperation in your own words.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4) What is the role of cooperation?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4.4 COMPETITION
Competition is the most important form of social struggle. According to Anderson
and Parker, “Competition is that form of social action in which we strive against
each other for the possession of or use of some limited material and non-material
goods.” According to Sutherland, Woodward and Maxwell, “Competition is an
impersonal, unconscious continuous struggle which, because of their limited supply,
all may not have.” Competition is a form of interaction. It is the struggle for
position to gain economic status. It occurs whenever there is an insufficient supply
of anything that human being desire - insufficient in the sense that all cannot have
52 as much of it as they wish. Sometimes competition happens because of limited
supply and also difficult for equal distribution.
4.4.1 Characteristics of Competition Cooperation, Competition
and Conflicts
The characteristics of competition are:
l Competition is impersonal struggle. Park and Burgess defined competition as

“interaction without social contact.” We can say it is inter-individual struggle that
is impersonal. It is usually not directed against any individual or group in particular.
l Competition is universal. There is no society which is devoid of competition. Not
only this, degree of competition may vary from society to society. It is very
common for society as well as culture.
l Competition is considered as conducive to progress. Competition provides the
individuals better opportunities to satisfy their desires for new experiences and
recognitions.
l Both associative and non-associative dimensions of social processes indicate
competition.
l Competition is mainly an unconscious activity but personal competition or rivalry
is a conscious activity.
l Competition may create emotional disturbances.
l Competition is an innate tendency.
l Competition is a social phenomenon.
l Degree of competition is determined by social values and social structure.
4.4.2 Value of Competition

Competition is indispensable in social life. Competition performs many powerful
functions in society. Sometimes competition is extremely dynamic. It performs five
positive functions.
l It helps to determine the status and location of individual members in a system of

hierarchy.
l It tends to stimulate economy, efficiency and inventiveness.
l It tends to enhance one’s ego.
l It prevents undue concentration of power in an individual or group of individuals.
l It creates respect for the rules of the same group.
We can say that competition determines who is to perform what function. According
to Ross, “Competition performs that broad function of assigning to each individual
in his social world. Competition is a progressive force which fulfils and does not
necessarily destroy.” We can further say that fair competition is conducive to
economic as well as social progress. Competition provides the individuals better
opportunities to satisfy their desires for new experiences and recognition. It believes
in achieved status. Sometimes competition has some negative function. It may
lead to frustration. It may lead to monopoly. It may lead to conflict. It may create
emotional disturbances. It may develop unfriendly and unfavourable attitudes among
the persons or groups toward one another. It is true that unfair competition has
the most disintegrating effects. Sometimes unlimited competition leads to monopoly.
Competition and cooperation differ in many respects. No society is exclusively

competitive or exclusively cooperative. Actually, social system is a balance between 53
competitive and cooperative force. But some competition is healthy and fair.
Group Dynamics
1) Explain competition in our own words.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2) Write three characteristics of competition.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3.) Explain the value of competition in the society.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4.5 CONFLICT
Conflict is a conscious action. It is a deliberate intent to oppose. We can say that
conflict is universal. Not only this, conflict lacks continuity. Besides this, it is a
personal activity. According to Gillin and Gillin, “Conflict is the social process in
which individuals or groups seek their ends up directly challenging the antagonist
by violence or threat of violence.” Green defined, “Conflict is the deliberate
attempt to oppose, resist and coerce the will of another or others.” Conflict is a
competition in its more occasional, personal and hostile forms. It is a process of
seeking to obtain rewards by eliminating or weakening the competitors. It is
inherent in every society or social system. Conflict is apparently noted when an
individual or a group seeks to attain its own end. Conflict is the opposite of
cooperation. Conflict may lead to antagonism, violence or threat to peace. Conflict
is also regarded as non-associative social process.
4.5.1 Causes of Conflict

According to Freud and some other psychologists, the innate instinct for aggression
in man is the main cause of conflicts. Generally it arises from a clash of interest
within groups and societies and between groups and societies. The significant
causes are:
l Individual difference – It is true that, we, the human being, are not alike by
nature, attributes, interests, personalities etc. These differences may lead to
conflict among the human being.
54 l Cultural differences – The culture of a group differs from the culture of the
other group. The cultural differences among the groups sometimes cause tension Cooperation, Competition
and lead to conflict. and Conflicts
l Differences of opinion regarding interest – In fact, the interests of different

people or groups occasionally clash. For example we can say that interests of
the employers and employees vary in many respect which may ultimately leads
to conflict among them.
l Social change – Social changes occur off and on in each and every society.
Conflict is an expression of social disequilibrium. Social change is the cultural
log which leads to conflict.
4.5.2 Characteristics of Conflict

The characteristics of conflicts are:
l Although conflict is universal but it’s nature vary from society to society. No
society is characterised exclusively by conflict.
l Conflict is a conscious action. To achieve the respective goals the members
oppose one another.
l Conflict leads to social change. It is mainly an expression of disequilibrium.
l It primarily remains personal activity. Sometimes it acquires greater intensity and
involves many people. At first, it is manifested at the level of a particular group
but ultimately it involves the entire society.
l Asymmetrical social, political and economic relations coupled with the sense of
relative deprivation as the root cause of social conflict.
l Sometimes conflict is the life of society and progress emerges from a struggle in
which each individual, class or institution seeks to realise its own idea of good.
l We the people are organised into groups to seek a common goal, the probability
of conflict increases.
l All conflicts are not the same.
l We face conflicts on all levels as we have disagreements with family, friends and
co-workers.
l Conflict is an ever-present process in human relations.
l Unmanaged conflict is a threat to the survival of the group and ultimately tends to
make the group less effective.
l Conflict can occur within groups (intra-group conflict) and among groups
(inter-group conflict).
4.5.3 Effects of Conflict

Conflict sometimes creates positive and sometimes creates negative impact. The
effects of conflict are many and manifold. It is varied as well as unpredictable. We
can say that the conflict may have the following effects:
l Increases tension within or between the groups

55
Group Dynamics l Disrupt normal activities
l Weaken group activities
l Harmful to individuals
l Help to restructure the group
l Help to form new groups
l Gives positive result
l Improves decision-making process
l Increase bitterness
l Increase alienation
l Become violent
l Help to gain recognition
l Increase unity and cohesion
l Strengthen group boundaries
l Help to form new group.
Thus, we can say that conflict has both positive and negative effects. It is true that
conflict happens in any set-up and it creates impact on group members.
4.5.4 Types of Conflict

Conflict may be of various types, viz,
1) Overt and covert: Overt conflict has some manifestation but covert conflict or
latent conflict primarily remains invisible.
2) Personal and corporate: Personal conflict occurs within the group due to hostility,
jealousy etc., on the other hand, corporate conflict occurs among the groups
within a society or between two societies.
3) Temporary and perpetual: When conflict occurs among the individuals in the
bus or in the shop or in the road are called temporary conflict, on the other hand
when conflict occurs between two rival groups, then it is called perpetual conflict.
Conflict is not a continuous process. It may stretch for sometime. In each and
every conflict there is intermittent period of peace and social harmony.
According to Gillin and Gillin, conflict can be divided into five types, viz.,
l Personal conflict – It is the conflict between two persons within the same group.
l Racial conflict – It is the result of the feeling or racial superiority or inferiority.
l Class conflict – It is the conflict between two classes.
l Political conflict – It is the conflict between parties of political power.
l International conflict – It is the conflict between two nations.
56
Cooperation, Competition
and Conflicts
1) Explain conflict.
................................................................................................................
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................................................................................................................
2) What are the causes of conflict?
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
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................................................................................................................
3) Write five characteristics of conflict.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
4) Write negative effects of conflicts.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
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4.5.5 Distinction between Conflict and Competition

The salient points are:
l Conflict takes place on a conscious level, competition is unconscious.

l Competition is non-violent, but conflict may create violence.
l Conflict involves contact, competition does not.
l Competition is a continuous process, but conflict is an intermittent process.
l Conflict disregards social norms but competition does care social norms.
l Conflict takes place on a conscious level but competition is unconscious.
Besides this, we can say that conflict and competition have a common root
because in each case individuals and groups are generally striving towards
incompatible goals. Conflict may lead to alliances with other groups, creating
bonds between loosely structured groups or bringing together different individuals
and groups in a community as they write to fight a common threat. The structure 57
Group Dynamics of the group and its degree of tolerance of conflict will affect the results of intra-
group dissatisfaction. Actually conflict is a fundamental human and social trait.
Cooperation is a condition of conflict. Internal harmony and external conflict are
the opposite sides of the same shield.
4.6 ACCOMMODATION
Conflict is a continuous intermittent-societal process. Accommodation is resolution
of conflicts which means adjusting oneself to the new environment. Accommodation
denotes acquired changes in the behaviour of their environment. According to
MacIver, “the term accommodation refers particularly to the process on which
man attains a sense of harmony with his environments. Besides this, as a process,
accommodation is the sequence of steps by which persons are reconciled to
changed conditions of life through the formation of the changed conditions
themselves. Accommodation is a term used by the sociologists to describe the
adjustment of hostile individuals or groups. Accommodation is the process by
which the individuals and groups make the necessary internal adjustments to
social situation which have been created by competition and conflict.
Accommodation is associated with the social order that is fixed and established
in custom and the mores. Assimilation implies a more thorough going transformation
of the personality – transformation which takes place gradually under the influence
of social contacts of the most concrete and intimate sort.
4.7 LET US SUM UP

The interactions – cooperation, competition and conflict are elementary, universal
and fundamental form. Generally, social contact initiates interaction. Interaction
refers to an action done in response to another action, but when this interaction
through repetition leads to a result, then it is called a social process. The essential
elements of social process are:
i) sequence of events,
ii) repetition of events,
iii) relationship between events,
iv) continuity of events; and
v) Special result.
Not only this, there are some classification which classify social behaviour on the
basis of (a) their intrinsic nature, (b) inherent drives, instincts, interests, drives and
(c) the observable behaviour upon which observes can agree. In this context we
are concerned with the fundamental types, i.e., cooperation, competition, conflict,
accommodation and assimilation. People come together in groups to socialise to
get things done, or because they require to do so. Much of what we accomplish
as individuals and as groups depends on our ability to get others to work with
us on common tasks and fort mutually acceptable goals.
Group functions may be centralised or decentralised, may be simple or complex.

But what we are referring to is the process known as cooperation – working
58
together for mutually acceptable goals. Cooperation may involve merely our Cooperation, Competition
participation in a set of mutually understood role behaviours. The kind of and Conflicts
cooperation that takes place between individuals occupying positions of unequal
power and status actually amounts obedience or compliance. Cooperation at a
more advanced level may take place in problem-solving situations – situations that
have a relatively high degree of ambiguity and a low degree of structural or
predictability. Cooperation involves mutual goals, but competition is concerned
with personal goals. In competition, individual try to secure a greater-than-equal
share of the rewards available to members of the group.
Common-sense attitudes towards competition are based on the traditional idea

that there is only a fixed quantity available for use or distribution of the “good
things in life” – economic advantages, comfort, fame, happiness and the like. In
as much as people are attracted in order to satisfy social need, how members feel
about the groups in which they participate in an important consideration. Traditional
societies are likely to be less competitive than urban, industrialised societies. Life
in urbanised societies offers many opportunities, large or small, to prove oneself
competitively. Today we are much concerned about involving people throughout
the world in large-scale problem-solving. The problems of the world – health,
education, peace and war, preservation of the ecology, allocation of scarce resources
– can not be solved by individual people or individual nations. They can be solved
only by cooperation and collaboration. Besides this, social contact, which inevitably
initiates conflict, accommodation, or assimilation invariably, creates sympathies,
prejudices, personal and moral relations, which modify, complicate and control
competition.
Conflict, assimilation and accommodation are all intimately related to control.

Competition is universal in the world of living things. The cumulative effects of
innovations, technological revolution, environmental crisis, generation gap, new
value orientation, break-up of the normative structure etc are the factors which
create conflicts. Social interaction is the reciprocal influences which human being
exert on each other through inter stimulation and response. Social interaction and
social process are interrelated factors. Society is an expression of different social
processes and there are variety forms of social processes. Among the various
processes, cooperation, conflict and competition are the important one.

1) What is social interaction?
2) What do you mean by the term social process?
3) Is there any relationship between competition and conflict? – Discuss.
4) Write in brief about the causes and characteristics of conflict.
5) Elucidate briefly about cooperation.
6) What are the general types of conflicts?
7) Elucidate briefly about accommodation.
59
Group Dynamics
4.9 GLOSSARY
Attitude : An enduring system of evaluations or feelings in favor of
Competition : Competition is impersonal, unconscious, continuous struggle

between individuals or groups for satisfaction which,
because of their limited supply, all may not have.
Competition is that form of social action in which we
strive against each other for the possession of or use of
some limited material or non-material good.
Conflict : Conflict is the social process in which individuals or groups

seek their ends by directly challenging the antagonist by
violence or threat of violence.
Cooperation : Cooperation is a form of social interaction wherein two or

more persons work together to gain a common end. It is
the process by which individuals or groups combine their
effort, in a more or less organised way for the attainment
of common objective.
Group : Two or more people who interact and influence one

another.
Group dynamics : The way in which changes take in the behaviour of other
members of the group. Groups can mobilise powerful
force which may be constructive or destructive.
Interaction : Interaction is a two-way process whereby each individual

or group stimulates the other and in varying degrees which
modifies the behaviour of the participants.
Social cohesion : Degree to which group members share common beliefs,

practices and values and thus act together.
Social distance : Degree to which individuals are willing to interact with

people from different social background.
4.10 SUGGESTED READING AND

REFERENCES
Allport, F.H. (1924). Social Psychology, Houghton, Mifflon.
Baron, R.A. and Byrne, D. (2000). Social Psychology, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall
of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi – 110001.
References
Budman, S., Soldz, S., Demby, A. Davis, M. and Merry, J. (1993). What is
cohesiveness? An empirical examination. Small Group Research, 24, 199-214.
60
Cartwright and Zander (1968). Group Dynamics, Harper and Row, New York. Cooperation, Competition
and Conflicts
David, H. (1968). Social Psychology, Harper and Row, New York.
Davis, L. E., Galinsky, M.J. and Schopler, J. H. (1995). RAP : A framework for
leading multiracial groups, Social Work, 40 (2), 155-165.
Dawson and Gettys, Introduction to Sociology.
Deutsch, M. and Gerard, H. (1955). A study on normative and informational

social influence upon individual judgement. Journal of Abnormal and Social
Dollard, J. (1939). Frustration and Aggression, Yale University Press.
Eldredge and Merrill, Culture and Society, p. 483.
Gillin and Gillin, Cultural Sociology, p. 488.
Gish, N.P., Fundamentals of Sociology, p. 63.
Green Arnold, Sociology, p. 71.
Green, A.W., Sociology, (5th edition) p. 60.
Hopps, J.G. and Pinderhughes, E.B. (1999). Group work with overwhelmed
clients, New York : Free Press.
Krech, Crutchfield and Ballachy (1962). Individual and Society, McGraw Hill,
New York.
Krech, Crutchfield and Ballacy (1962). Individual and Society, McGraw Hill,
New York.
Kuppuswamy, B. (1980), An Introduction to Social Psychology, 2nd revised

edition, (reprinted, 2004), Asia Publishing House, Mumbai.
Kuppuswamy, B. (1980). An Introduction to Social Psychology, Asia Publishing

House, New Delhi.
Kuppuswamy, B.(2002), Elements of Social Psychology, 7th Revised Edition,

Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
Le Bon (1895). The Crowd, Unwin, London.
Macgowan, M.J. (2000). Evaluation of a measure of engagement for group

work, Research on Social Work Practice, 10(3), 348-361.
MacIver, R. M., Society, p. 521.
MacKenzie, K.R. (1983). The clinical application of a group climate measure. In

R. Dies and K.R. MacKenzie (Eds.) Advances in group psychotherapy:
Integrating research and practice (155-170). New York: International Universities
Press.
61
Group Dynamics Matsukawa, L. A. (2001). Group therapy with multiethnic members. In T. Wen-
Sheng and J. Streltzer (Eds.), Culture and psychotherapy: A guide to clinical
practice (243-261), Washington, DC : American Psychiatric.
McDougall, W. (1920). Introduction to social Psychology, London, Methuen.
Companies, Inc.
Companies, Inc.
Secord, P. F. and Backman, C.W. (1974). Social Psychology, McGraw Hill,

New York.
Sherif, M.(1956). Outlines of Social Psychology, Harper, New York.
Soldz, S. Budman, S., Davis, M. and Demby, A. (1993). Beyond the interpersonal
circumplex in group psychotherapy : The structure and relationship to overcome
of the Individual Group Member Interpersonal Process Scale, Journal of Clinical
Sutherland, Woodward and Maxwell, Introductory Sociology.
Tajfel, H. and Turner, J.C. (1986). The social identity theory of inter-group
behaviour. In S. Worchel and L.W. Austin (eds.) Psychology of Intergroup
Relatuions, Chigago : Nelson-Hall.
Toseland, R.W. and Rivas, R. F. (2001). An introduction to group work practice

(4th edition.) Allyn and Bacon.
Tuckman, B. (1963). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological

Bulletin, 63, 384-399.
Turner, J.C. (1964). Social identification and psychological group formation.

In H. Tajfel (Ed.) The social dimensions: European developments in social
psychology, Vol.2, London: Cambridge University Press (pp.10, 318).
62
Basic Process/Concept in
UNIT 1 BASIC PROCESS/CONCEPT IN Research
RESEARCH
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definition and Meaning of Research
1.3 Criteria of Good Research
1.4 Objectives of Good Research
1.5 Qualities of a Good Research
1.6 Research Process: Basic Considerations
1.6.1 Context of Discovery
1.6.1.1 Role of Theories, Hypotheses and Paradigms in Psychological Research
1.6.1.2 Research Biases
1.6.2 Context of Justification
1.6.2.1 Scientific Attitudes and Values Associated with Research Process
1.6.2.2 Objectivity Safeguard in Research Process
1.7 Steps in Research Process
1.7.1 Step-I: Identification of the Problem
1.7.2 Step-II: Formulating a Hypothesis
1.7.3 Step-III: Identifying, Manipulating and Controlling Variables
1.7.4 Step-IV: Formulating a Research Design
1.7.4.1 Constructing Device for Observation and Measurement
1.7.4.2 Sample Selection and Data Collection
1.7.5 Step-V: Data Analysis and their Interpretation
1.7.6 Step-VI: Drawing Conclusion
1.7.7 Step-VII: Preparation of Report and Publication
1.8 Importance of Research in Psychology
1.9 Let Us Sum Up
1.11 Glossary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Let us start our journey into the realm of human mind. A scientific quest for
understanding will be the foremost in our journey. We want to know why we
think, feel and behave as we do. What makes each of us different from all other
people? Why we do often behave as alike in some situations. Psychologists, as
scientists, answer these questions systematically, develop the principles to explain
them and use those principles to solve various problems. They are actively engaged
in process of doing research.
Research is a process through which new knowledge is discovered. A theory,
such as a theory of motivation, or development, or learning, for example, helps
5
Introduction to Research us to organise this new information into a coherent body, a set of related ideas
Methods in Psychology
that explain events that have occurred and predict events that may happen.
Conducting research requires to follow a sequence of steps. The exact sequence
and steps vary somewhat with the type of research. The steps vary slightly by
whether a study involves a quantitative or a qualitative approach and data.
This unit attempts to acquaint you with the nature and relevance of research.
This is followed by the qualities of a good research. Further, you will find the
process of psychological research within the context of discovery (getting and
idea) and context of justification (Testing hypothesis). This unit will provide a
quick glance at the whole process of research to acquaint you with the various
tasks you faced to undertake to carry out your research. It will give your some
idea of what the research journey involved. Finally, this unit will cover the total
spectrum of research and endeavor starting from the problem through to writing
a research report and its publication.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define research;
• Describe the meaning of research;
• Explain the relevance of research;
• Describe the process of conducting research;
• Elucidate how to evaluate a research;
• Analyse how to maintain objectivity and minimize bias in psychological
research;
• Explain the role of theory, hypothesis and paradigm in psychological
research;
• Enlist the various steps needed for conducting a research;
• Explain how theoretical knowledge can be further applied to undertake a
research; and
• Analyse the importance of each steps involved in research process.
1.2 DEFINITION AND MEANING OF RESEARCH

The word research is composed of two syllables, re and search. The dictionary
defines the former as a prefix meaning again, a new or over again and the latter
as a verb, meaning to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe.
Together they form a noun describing a careful, systematic, patient study and
investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or
principles (Grinnell 1993). The simplest meaning of research is to search for
facts, answers to research question and solution for the problem.
Scientific Research is a systematic and objective attempt to provide answers to

certain questions. The purpose of scientific research is to discover and develop
an organised body of knowledge. Therefore, scientific research may be defined
as the systematic and empirical analysis and recording of controlled observation,
6
which may lead to the development of theories, concepts, generalisations and Basic Process/Concept in
Research
principles, resulting in prediction and control of those activities that may have
some cause-effect relationship. Some of the definitions of research in literature
are given below which can help you to understand proper meaning and concept
of research.
Encyclopaedia of Social Science defines research as, “the manipulation of

generalising to extend, connect or verify knowledge…” Manipulation incorporates
experimentation adopted for the purpose of arriving at generalisation.
Kerlinger (1973) defines research as a “systematic, controlled, empirical and

critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relationship
about various phenomena.”
Burns (1994) also defines research as ‘a systematic investigation to find answers

to a problem’.
Thus, the term research refers to the systematic method consisting of enunciating
the problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analysing the
facts and reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solution (s) towards
the concerned problem or in certain generalisations for some theoretical
formulation.
1.3 CRITERIA OF GOOD RESEARCH

The criteria for good research are as follows:
Purpose of research should be clearly defined and common concepts that are
used should be operationally defined.
The research procedure should be precisely planned, focused and appropriately

described in order to enable other researcher to do research for further
advancement.
Research design should be carefully planned to generate results to maintained

objectivity.
The research report should be as much as possible frank enough to gauge effects
of the findings.
Data analysis in the research report should be adequate to reveal its significance
and the method of analysis employed be appropriate and
Validity and reliability of data should be examined carefully.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF GOOD RESEARCH

The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application
of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which
is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each research study
has its own specific purpose, we may think of research objectives as falling into
a number of following broad groupings:
7
Introduction to Research 1) To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it
(studies with this object in view are termed as exploratory research studies);
2) To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation
or group (studies with this object in view are known as descriptive research
studies);
3) To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is
associated with something else (studies with this object in view are known
as diagnostic research studies)’
4) To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies
are known as hypothesis- testing research studies/experimental studies).
Thus, research is the fountain of knowledge for the sake of knowledge and an
important source of providing guidelines for solving different business, personal,
profession governmental and social problems. It is a sort of formal training which
enables one to understand the new developments in one’s field in a better way.
1.5 QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCH

Good research possesses certain qualities which are as follows:
Good research is systematic: it means that research is structured according to
set of rules to follow certain steps in specified sequence. Systematic research
also invites creative thinking, and certainly avoids use of guessing and intuition
for arriving at the conclusion.
Good research is empirical: it implies that any conclusion drawn is based upon
hardcore evidence gathered from information collected from real life experiences
and observations. This provides a basis for external ability to research results.
Good research is valid and verifiable: Research involves precise observation
and accurate description. The researcher selects reliable and valid instruments to
be used in the collection of data and uses some statistical measures for accurate
description of the results obtained. Whatever you conclude on the basis of finding
is correct and can be verified by yourself and others.
Good Research is logical: it suggests that research is guided by the rules of
reasoning and logical process of induction (general to specific) and deduction
(specific to general) that plays an important role in carrying out research. In fact,
logical reasoning makes research feasible and more meaningful in the context of
decision making.
Good research develops theories and principles: which are very helpful in
accurate prediction regarding the variables under study. On the basis of the sample
observed and studied, the researcher makes sound generalisations regarding the
whole populations. Thus, research goes beyond immediate situations, objects or
groups being investigated by formulating a generalisation or theory about these
factors.
Research is replicable: the designs, procedures and results of scientific research
should be replicable so that any person other than the researcher himself may
assess their validity. Thus, one researcher may use or transit the results obtained
by another researcher. Thus, the procedures and results of the research are
replicable as well as transmittable.
8
1.6 RESEARCH PROCESS: BASIC Research
CONSIDERATIONS
Before we examine what researchers have found in the major areas of psychology,
we need to identify the ways psychologists gather data about behaviour and mental
processes. Recall that psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental
functioning of individuals. It is scientific because it uses the principles and
practices of the scientific method.
Let us turn now how psychologists know what they know.

Empirical investigation in any field requires the use of the scientific method to
observe, measure, and experiment. Even if you never do any scientific research
in your life, mastering information on psychological research will be useful. You
can improve your critical thinking skills by learning how to ask the right questions
about behaviour and how to evaluate the answers you find.
Psychological research process can be divided into two major categories that
usually occur in sequence that is (i) getting an idea [context of discovery] and
then (ii) testing it (context of justification).
1.6.1 Context of Discovery

This is the initial phase of research during which observations, belief, information,
and general knowledge etc., lead someone to come up with a new idea or a
different way of thinking about phenomena.
1.6.1.1 Role of Theories, Hypotheses and Paradigms in Psychological
Researches
Researchers begin with the assumption of determinism, the idea that all events
(physical, mental and behavioural) result from specific causal factors. Researchers
also assume that behaviour and mental processes follow set patterns of
relationships that can be discovered and revealed through research.
Psychological theories, in general, attempt to understand how brain, mind,

behaviour, and environment function and how they may be related. Any particular
theory focuses on a more specific aspect of this broad conception, using a body
of interrelated principles to explain or predict some psychological phenomenon.
The value of a theory is often measured in terms of the new ideas, or hypotheses,
that can be derived from it and tested. A hypothesis is a tentative and testable
explanation of the relationship between two or more events or variables. A
variable is any factor that changes, or varies, in size or quality. To illustrate this
mood may be a variable, since people’s moods may vary from one situation to
another. Test performance is another variable, since a person’s score may vary
from one test to the next.
Finally, our understanding of a complex process is also aided by using the correct
paradigm. A paradigm is a model of the functions and interrelationships of a
process, a “way of thinking” about the world and how to study it. Entire field of
knowledge, including psychology, can change directions when new paradigm
challenges existing ones. When paradigms shift, revolutions of knowledge usually
9
Introduction to Research follow (Kuhn, 1970).Before a new theory, hypothesis, or paradigm makes a
difference in science, it has to undergo an “ordeal of proof.” Most often this
happens when researchers publish (i.e. make public) their findings, and other
scholars investigate whether they find the same patterns in their own data. This
process of publication and communication moves scientific research into the
public eye, where ideas are tested and proven.
1.6.1.2 Research Biases

One of the challenges, while doing research is to remain objective and free from
biases. Most of your ideas and beliefs are probably linked with certain bias because
they are influenced by your opinions or values. A variety of biases have been
found to distort people’s impressions of collected data. External influences such
as one’s culture or the media can influence people to accept a particular world
view. Personal bias distorts estimating or evaluating processes as a result of
personal beliefs, attributes, or past experiences. Observer bias operates when
some events are taken as meaningful by some and not taken meaningful by others.
It must be kept in mind that researchers themselves were raised in certain cultures
and societies. They also might have been exposed to certain gender role
expectations. These background factors can all affect the way that researchers
observe and interpret events in their lives. Expectancy bias can affect observations
of behaviour by encouraging reactions to the events being observed. Researchers
sometimes expect to find specific outcomes, they may see what they expect to
see rather than remain objective. Unfortunately, if one is not alert to the possibility
of expectancy bias, it may seem as though the observed events are being
“discovered” instead of created by the observer’s expectations.
Finally, placebo biases operate when people strongly want to believe a treatment
is successful. For example, many people may claim to feel better after taking a
placebo such as a sugar pill. In those cases where the outcome involves a subjective
judgment about results, that is, how well a person feels well or whether the pain
has been reduced or relieved, the desire for a drug or therapeutic method to work
may be enough to achieve the desired result.
1.6.2 Context of Justification

The context of justification is the second phase of research in which results are
prepared for useful communication with other scientists. Psychologists face a
difficult challenge when they try to get accurate data and reliable evidence that
will generate valid conclusions. They rely on one ally to succeed: the scientific
method. Scientific method is a general set of procedures for gathering and
interpreting evidence in ways that limit errors and yield dependable conclusions.
The scientific method also demands special attitudes and values on the part of
research scientists.
1.6.2.1 Scientific Attitudes and Values Associated with Research

Process
Scientists are motivated by a curiosity about the unknown and the uncertain.
Since the truth may be disguised, the scientific method demands a critical and
skeptical attitude toward any conclusion until it has been duplicated repeatedly
by independent investigations. Secrecy is banned from the research procedure
because all data and methods must eventually be open for public verifiability
and domain. Other researchers must have the opportunity to review the data and
10
conclusions and then attempt to replicate the results. Thus, science is not a set of Basic Process/Concept in
Research
rules but rather a process of asking, observing, explaining, testing, and retesting
explanations of reality.
1.6.2.2 Objectivity Safeguards in Research Process

This consists of (i) procedural safeguards (ii) standardisation (iii) operationa-
lisation (iv) avoiding of bias. Let us take each of these and discuss.
Since subjectivity must be minimized in the data collection and analysis phases
of scientific research, procedural safeguards are used to increase objectivity.
These safeguards begin with keeping complete records of observations and data
analyses in a form that other researchers can understand and evaluate. As a result,
most scientific reports are written in a similar form and published by organisations
of scientists. These reports communicate ideas to the entire scientific community
and open those ideas to criticism. A second safeguard is standardisation.
Standardisation means using uniform, consistent procedures in all phases of
data collection. All subjects should receive the same instructions and be treated
in the same way. By applying a standard treatment for all participants in the
course of study, researchers ensure they will have the same basic experience.A
third safeguard involves standardising the meaning of concepts, known as
operationalisation. An operational definition of a concept defines that concept
in terms of how it is measured or what operations produce it. Researchers must
also safeguard objectivity by avoiding bias. As explained earlier, bias from external
influences, personal beliefs, observers’ perspectives, and human expectations
can all distort data. Researchers use various control procedures to avoid such
biases and test hypotheses in ways that are fair and error-free.
1) An investigator comes up with a new idea or a different
way of thinking is known as context of discovery (True/False)
2) Use of uniform consistent procedure in all faces of data
collection is known as standardisation. (True/False)
3) Scientific knowledge is not based on empirical evidences. (True/False)
4) Psychologists should not maintain objectivity by avoiding
biases. (True/False)
5) Psychological researches should be replicable (True/False)
6) Operational definition of a concept is not necessary in
scientific research. (True/False)
Answers: (1) T, (2) T, (3) F, (4) F, (5) T, (6) F
1.7 STEPS IN RESEARCH PROCESS

Research process consists of series of actions and steps needed for conducting
scientific research, if the researcher follows certain steps in conducting the
research, the work can be carried out smoothly with least difficulty. These steps
are described as beneath—
11
Introduction to Research 1.7.1 Step-I: Identification of the Problem
The first and most important step for identifying a problem is asking a question
or identifying a need that arises as a result of curiosity and to which it become
necessary to find an answer. The psychological studies are focused on one or
many of the following kinds of questions:
What are the events that cause or determine a given behaviour or response?
What is the nature of behaviour or action (i.e., its structure) and how it is linked
with other actions and behaviours?
What are the relationships of internal psychological processes with behavioural
phenomenon?
The research question determines the direction of study and researchers have to
struggle a lot in identifying and articulating the same. Essentially two steps are
involved in formulating the research problem, viz, understanding the problem
thoroughly, and rephrasing the same into meaningful terms. The main function
of formulating a research problem is to decide what you want to find out about.
It is extremely important to evaluate the research problem in the light of funds,
time and expertise and knowledge available at your disposal. It is equally
important to identify any gaps in your knowledge of relevant disciplines, such as
statistics required for analysis.
Once the question has been asked, that next step is to identify the factors that
have to be examined to answer the question. Such factors might range from the
most simple, such as a child’s age or socioeconomic status, to more complicated
measures such as the effects of violent cartoons on a child’s behaviour. The
factors may be age of the child, degree of violence in programs, emotional arousal,
facial expression, family communication patterns etc. Besides this, following
factors should be considered by the researcher for identifying in research problem:
Have not been investigated before;
Will contribute to the understanding of your question;
Are available to investigate;
Lead to another question!
For identifying a good solvable problem, the investigator undertakes the review
of literature. A body of prior work related to a research problem is referred to as
literature. Scientific research includes a review of the relevant literature. When a
researcher reviews the previous researches in related fields, he becomes familiar
with several known and unknowns. Therefore one obvious advantage of review
of the literature is that it helps to eliminate duplication of what has already been
done and provide guidance and suggestions for further research. The main purpose
of review of the literature is fourfold. First it gives an idea about the variables
which have been found to be conceptually and practically important and
unimportant in the related field. Thus the review of literature helps in discovering
and selecting variables relevant for the given study. Second the review of the
literature provides as estimate of the previous work and provides an opportunity
for the meaningful extension of the previous work.
Third, a review of the literature helps the researcher in systemising the expanding
12
and growing body of knowledge. This facilitates in drawing useful conclusions
regarding the variables under study and provides a meaningful way of their Basic Process/Concept in
Research
subsequent applications. Fourth, a review of the literature also helps in redefining
the variables and determining the meanings and relationships among them so
that the researcher can build up a case as well as a context for further investigation
that has merit and applicability. There are different sources of review of the
literature such as journals, books, abstracts, indexes and periodicals. If you are
not sure what journals and other resources to examine for research idea, you
should know that the computer search engine PsycINFO is a very effective tool
for going through the technical literature. The print companion to PsycINFO is
psychological abstracts and both of theses contain abstracts of articles from almost
all journals that publish psychological research. If you find an abstract of interest,
you can then read the entire articles for additional information.
1.7.2 Step-II: Formulating a Hypothesis

When the researcher has identified the problem and reviewed the relevant
literature he formulates a hypothesis which is a kind of suggested answer to the
problem Hypothesis plays the key role in formulating and guiding any study.
The hypotheses are generally derived from earlier research findings existing
theories, and personal observations and experiences. From a careful examination
of relevant theory and previous findings, the psychologist would be able to state
one or more prepositions whose validity could be tested. Ideally these hypotheses
would be based on a deductive theory but they may simply be new hypotheses or
hypothesis based on previous research findings. Hypothesis may be defined as a
tentative statement showing a relationship between variables under study. It is
stated in the form of a declarative sentence. For instance suppose you are interested
to know the effect of reward on learning. You have analysed the past research
and found the indication that the two variables are positively related. You need
to convert this idea in terms of a testable statement. At this point you may develop
the following hypothesis. Those who are rewarded shall require lesser number
of trials to learn the lesson than those who are not rewarded. For unbiased research
the researcher must formulate a hypothesis in advance of the data – gathering
process. No hypothesis should be formulated after the data are collected.
1.7.3 Step-III: Identifying, Manipulating and Controlling

Variables
While talking about the hypothesis you will encounter this word i.e. variable in
the scientific literature in the psychology. Variables are defined as those
characteristics which are manipulated, controlled and observed by the
experimenter. At least three types of variables must be recognised at the outset -
the dependent variable, the independent variable and the extraneous variable.
The dependent variable is one about which the prediction is made on the basis of
the experiment. In the other words the dependent variable is the characteristics
or condition that changes as the experimenter changes the independent variables.
The independent variable is that condition or characteristics which is manipulated
or selected by the experimenter is order to find out its relationship to some
observed phenomena. A extraneous variable is the uncontrolled variable that
may affect the dependent variable. The experimenter is not interested in the
changes, produced due to the extraneous variable and hence, he tries to control it
as far as practicable. The extraneous variable is known as the relevant variable.
In order to make a variable clear precise and easy to communicate it is important
13
Introduction to Research that it is operationally defined. An operational definition involves specifying the
actual operations that define a given variable. Operational definition is also
important for the purpose of measurement. Since psychological variables are
complex and their measurement posses special problems. Therefore, psychologists
are very eager to use operational definitions. They frequently use verbal measures,
behavioural measures and psychological measures of variables in their studies,
which are able to help him or her to specify the operations and may allow
quantification.
1.7.4 Step-IV: Formulating a Research Design

A research design may be regarded as the blueprint of those procedures which
are adapted by the researcher for testing the relationship between the dependent
variable and the independent variable. There are several kinds of experimental
designs and the selection of any one is based upon the purpose of the research,
types of variables to be controlled and manipulated as well as upon the conditions
under which the experiment is to be conducted. The main purpose of experimental
design is to help the researcher in manipulating the independent variables freely
and to provide maximum control of the extraneous variables so that it may be
said with all certainty that the experimental change is due to only the manipulation
of the experimental variable. The main function of a research design is to explain
how you will find answers to your research questions. The research design sets
out the logic of your inquiry. A research design should include the following;
logistical arrangements have to made according to proposed research design ,
the measurement procedures, the sampling strategy, the frame of analysis and
the time frame. For any investigation, the selection of an appropriate research
design is crucial in enabling you to arrive at valid findings, comparisons and
conclusions. A faulty design may derive misleading findings. Empirical
investigation is primarily evaluated in the light of the research design adopted.
While selecting a research design it is important to ensure it is valid workable
and manageable.
1.7.4.1 Constructing Devices for Observation and Measurement

When the research design has been formulated, the next step is to construct or
choose appropriate tools of research for scientific observation and measurement.
Questionnaire and interview schedule are the most common tools which have
been developed for the psychological research. If the readymade tools are not
available then the researcher may have develop appropriate tools before
undertaking the study. All these tools of research are ways through which data
are collected by asking for information from person rather than observing them.
1.7.4.2 Sample Selection and Data Collection

After deciding the tools for the study the researcher also decides about the
participants of the study. Usually a small sample is drawn which represents the
population. The participants could be children, adolescents, college students,
teachers, managers, clinical patients or any group of the individual in whom/
where the phenomenon under investigation is prevalent. Depending on the nature
of research problem a researcher may choose particular method (e.g. observation,
experiment, case study, and survey) for data collection. The researcher also
decides how the tools to be administered to collect data that is individual or
group.
14
In data collection phase, researcher must consider recruitment of staff and Basic Process/Concept in
Research
assignment to them, way of increasing response rate and cost of training of staff
etc. Effect of each of these must be evaluated in terms of cost, accuracy, reliability
and validity.
1.7.5 Step-V: Data Analysis and their Interpretation

After making observation the data collected are analysed with the help of various
quantitative / statistical and qualitative techniques .Careful scrutiny of the data
is a critical aspect of scientific method. The purpose of the analysis is to make
sense of the data and see what light they throw on the problem and the hypotheses
of the study and draws conclusion accordingly. Data analysis can be done by
using univariate analysis in which research deals with a single characteristics of
interest, bivariate analysis in which researcher deals with two characteristics of
interest and by using multivariate analysis in which more then two characteristics
are involves.
Depending upon the nature of data and purpose of the experiment, either a
parametric statistic or a non-parametric statistic is chosen for statistical analysis.
In general, the purpose of carrying out the statistical analysis is to reject the null
hypothesis so that the alternative hypothesis may be accepted.
1.7.6 Step-VI: Drawing Conclusions

The investigator, after analysing the results, draws some conclusions. In fact the
investigator wants to make some statement about the research about the research
problem which he could not make without conducting his research. Whatever
conclusion drawn, researcher generalises it to the whole population. During this
phase, hypotheses are accepted or rejected. At the same time the conclusions of
the study are related to the theory or research findings from which the hypotheses
originally came. Depending on the new findings the original theory may have to
be modified.
1.7.7 Step-VII: Preparation of Report and Publication

This is the last step in most of the research studies. The researcher documents all
the steps of his or her research in clear terms this report inform that what you
have done, what you have discovered and what conclusion you have drawn from
findings. If you are clear about the whole process you will also be clear about the
way you want to write in your report. This helps the reader to understand the
study and use it for various purposes. It allows one to replicate the study. The
publication of study in scientific journals or books and in public domain makes
the work available for wider dissemination.
1) The first step of research process is identifying a problem. T/F
2) Hypotheses are formed after formulating a research design. T/F
3) Preparation of report and publications of research study allow
the other researchers to replicate the study. T/F
4) An operational definition of the variables is not necessary for
the purpose of measurement. T/F
5) Selection of particular data collection method depends on the
nature of study. T/F
Answers: (1) T, (2) F, (3) T, (4) F, (5) T
15
Introduction to Research
Methods in Psychology 1.8 IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH IN
PSYCHOLOGY
Importance and relevance of psychological research is well recognised almost in
every sphere of human life. Notable progress has been reported in the field of
organisational behaviour, applied aspects of human being, medical sciences and
education, through application of psychological research findings.
Empirical and theoretical researches in psychology are taking place in various

fields, such as learning, motivation, perception, concept learning and memory
and so on. In the quest of psychological facts, laws and theories, psychologists
have found research studies very helpful in gauging human and animal behaviour.
Practical gains of psychological research are many, yet include discoveries such
as improved methods of treating psychologically disordered people, better designs
of vehicles to make them easier and safe to use, and new ways of enhancing the
performance and happiness of workers.
In psychological researches experimental methods are widely used. Therefore,

nature of majority of psychological researches is highly scientific. Psychological
researches have successfully led to control and manipulation of the variables
associated with widely used generic and comparative methods. Psychologists
have developed such effective experimental designs that that they have helped
to isolate effect of other variables from independent variables.
In psychological researches, rigorous scientific norms and statistical methods

are applied in collection, organisation, description and analysis of the data. By
turning psychological facts into quantitative form, the nature of most of the
psychological researches remains method oriented (scientific).
1.9 LET US SUM UP

Scientific research may be defined as the systematic and empirical analysis and
recording of controlled observation, which may lead to the development of
theories, concepts, generalisations and principles, resulting in prediction and
control of those activities that may have some cause-effect relationship. Qualities
of good research are empirical, logical, verifiable, based on theories and principles
and replicable. Psychological researches use the scientific method to test the
ideas developed within the context of discovery and the context of justification.
In the discovery phase of research, observation, belief and information lead to a
new way of thinking about a phenomenon. External and internal biases can distort
the discovery phase because our conclusions are often subject to personal biases,
observer biases, expectancy biases, and placebo biases. Psychologists use
scientific theories, testable hypothesis, and creative paradigms to unravel the
mysteries of mind and behaviour. In the justification phase, ideas are tested and
either disconfirmed or proven. Psychologist must maintain objectivity by keeping
complete records, standardise procedures, make operational definitions, minimize
biases and control errors. A reliable result is one that can be repeated in similar
conditions by independent investigators. This unit has provided an overview of
the research process. The steps of research process includes problem identification,
formulation of hypothesis, identification manipulation and controlling of the
16
variable, formulation of research design, constructing devices for observation, Basic Process/Concept in
Research
sample selection and data collection, data analysis and interpretation, drawing
conclusions and preparation of report and publications.

1) What is research? Discuss qualities of good research.
2) In your opinion, what may be various criteria of a good research?
3) Discuss importance and relevance of psychological research.
4) How can you minimize research biases in psychological research?
5) What is the role of discovery of justification in psychological research?
6) List the steps involved in research process?
7) Explain the importance of research questions in psychological research?
8) What is the role of review of literature in research process?
9) Why formulates of hypothesis is necessary while conducting it?
10) How the steps in the research process do helps a person to get knowledge?
1.11 GLOSSARY
Empirical Investigation : Research that relies on sensory experience and
observation as research data.
Context of Discovery : Initial phase of research during which an
investigator comes up with a new idea or a
different way of thinking about phenomena.
Theory : A body of interrelated principles used to explain
or predict some psychological phenomenon.
Hypothesis : A tentative and testable explanation of the
relationship between two or more events or
variables.
Paradigm : A model of the functions and interrelationships
of a process; a “way of thinking” about the world
and how to study it.
Context of Justification : Second phase of research, in which results are
tested and prepared for useful communication
with the scientific community.
Standardisation : The use of uniform consistent procedures in all
phases of data collection.
Operational definition : Definition of a concept in terms of how the
concept is measured or what operations produce
it.
Placebo Control : A control strategy where researchers compare
those who received actual treatment with those
who received only attention or a “dummy drug.”
17
Introduction to Research Variable : something that can occur with different values
and can be measured.
Independent Variable : a variable that represents the hypothesised
“cause” that is precisely controlled by the
experimenter and independent of what the
participant does.
Dependent Variable : a variable that represents the hypothesised
“effect “whose values ultimately depend on the
values of independent variable.

Aylward, E.H., Richards, T.L., Berwinger, V.W., Nagy, W.E., Field, K.M.,
Grimme, A.C., Richard, A.L., Thomson, J.B. & Cramer, S.C. (2003). Instructional
Treatment Associated with Changes in Brain Activities in Children with Dyslexia.
Neurology, 61, 212-219.
D; Amato, M.R. (1970): Experimental Psychology. Tokoya : McGraw – Hill.
References
Grinnell, Richard Jr (ed.) 1988, Social Work Research and Evaluation (3rd edition)
Itasca, Illinois, F.E. Peacock Publishers.
Kerlinger, F. N. (1979) Foundation of Behavioural Research, New York, : H

107, Rinehart and Winstem Inc.
Kuhn, T.S. (1970). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (2nd edition) Chicago
: University of Chicago Press.
Kumar. R (2006) Research Methodology. New Delhi: Dorling Kingsley
McGuigan, F.J. (1990): Experimental Psychology: A Methodological Approach.

New York : Printice Hall.
Shaywitz, S.E. (1996): Dyslexia. Scientific American, 275 (5) 98-104.
Townsend, J.C. (1953): Introduction to Experimental Method. Tokyo : McGraw

Hill.
18
UNIT 2 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY Research
(EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL)
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Reliability
2.3 Methods of Estimating Reliability
2.3.1 External Consistency Procedures
2.3.1.1 Test Re-tests Reliability
2.3.1.2 Parallel forms Reliability
2.3.2 Internal Consistency Procedures
2.3.2.1 Split Half Reliability
2.3.2.2 Kudar-Richardson Estimate of Reliability
2.3.2.3 Cronbach’s Alfa (α)
2.4 Comparison of Reliability Estimators
2.5 Validity
2.6 Types of Validity
2.6.1 Content Validity
2.6.2 Criterion Related Validity
2.6.2.1 Concurrent Validity
2.6.2.2 Predictive Validity
2.6.3 Construct Validity
2.6.3.1 Convergent Validity
2.6.3.2 Discriminant Validity
2.6.4 Face Validity
2.6.5 Internal Validity
2.6.5.1 Threats to Internal Validity
2.6.6 External Validity
2.6.6.1 Threats to External Validity
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.9 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Most research is designed to draw the conclusion about the cause and effect
relationship among the variables. The goal of the research remains to develop a
theory that explains the relationship found among variables. This unit mainly
concerns about various problems that can threaten the reliability and validity of
conclusions drawn by the researcher.
There are two goals of research design;
1) Obtain information relevant to the purposes of the study.
2) Collect this information with maximal reliability and validity. 19
Introduction to Research How can a researcher be sure that the data gathering instrument being used will
measure what it is supposed to measure and will do this in a consistent manner?
This is a question that can only be answered by examining the definitions for
and methods of establishing the validity and reliability of a research instrument.
Reliability and validity are central issues in all measurement. Both concern
connecting measures to constructs. Reliability and validity are salient because
constructs are often ambiguous, diffused and not directly observable. Perfect
reliability and validity are virtually very difficult to achieve. These two very
important aspects of research design will be discussed in this unit. All researchers
want their measures to be reliable and valid. Both ideas help to establish the
truthfulness, credibility, or believability of findings. This unit will be discussed
in two parts. First part covers the concept of reliability and the definitions of
reliability. This is followed by various methods of establishing reliability of a
research instrument of this unit. Second part of this unit discusses the concept of
validity in research. You will familiarise with the various types of validity. Finally,
some problems that constitute threats to validity are described.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define reliability;
• Describe the various methods of calculating reliability;
• Explain how test retest reliability is accessed;
• Differentiate between tests of reliability;
• Define validity;
• Describe various methods of validity;
• Identify the problems that constitute threats to internal external validity;
and
• Differentiate between internal and external validity.
2.2 RELIABILITY
Meaning of Reliability
The idea behind reliability is that any significant results must be repeatable.
Other researchers must be able to perform exactly the same experiment, under
same conditions and generate the same results. This will vindicate the findings
and ensure that all researchers will accept the hypothesis. Without this replication
of statistically significant results, experiment and research have not fulfilled all
of the requirements of testability. This prerequisite is essential to a hypothesis
establishing itself as an accepted scientific truth. For example, if you are
performing a time critical experiment, you will be using some type of stopwatch.
Generally, it is reasonable to assume that the instruments are reliable and will
keep true and accurate time. However, scientists take measurements many times,
to minimize the chances of malfunction and maintain validity and reliability. At
the other extreme, any experiment that uses human judgment is always going to
come under question. Human judgment can vary as individual observer may rate
20
things differently depending upon time of day and current mood. This means Reliability and Validity
(External and Internal)
that such experiments are more difficult to repeat and are inherently less reliable.
Reliability is a necessary ingredient for determining the overall validity of a
scientific experiment and enhancing the strength of the results.
Reliability is the consistency of your measurement, or the degree to which an

instrument measures the same way each time it is used under the same condition
with the same subjects. In short, it is the repeatability of measurement. A measure
is considered reliable if a person’s score on the same test given twice is similar.
It is important to remember that reliability is not measured, it is estimated. For
instance, if a test is constructed to measure a particular trait; say, neuroticism,
then each time it is administered, it should yield same results. A test is considered
reliable if we get same result repeatedly.
According to Anastasi (1957), the reliability of test refers to the consistency of

scores obtained by the individual on different occasions or with different sets of
equivalent items.
According to Stodola and Stordahl (1972), the reliability of a test can be defined
as the correlation between two or more sets of scores of equivalent tests from the
same group of individuals.
According to Guilford (1954), reliability is the proportion of the true variance in

obtained test scores.
The reliability of test is also defined from another angle. Whenever we measure
something, measurement involves some kind of measure. Error of measurement
is generally between true scores and the observed score. However, in psychological
term, word error does not imply the mistake has been made. In other words,
error in psychological testing implies that there is always some inaccuracy in
measurement. Hence, goal of psychological measurement remains to find out
the magnitude of such error and develop ways to minimize them.
2.3 METHODS OF ESTIMATING RELIABILITY

There are number of ways of estimating reliability of an instrument. Various
procedures can be classified into two groups:
External consistency procedures
Internal consistency procedures
2.3.1 External Consistency Procedures

External consistency procedures compare findings from two independent process
of data collection with each other as a means of verifying the reliability of the
measure. Two methods are as beneath.
2.3.1.1 Test Re-test Reliability
The most frequently used method to find the reliability of a test is by repeating
the same test on same sample, on two different time periods. The reliability
coefficient in this case would be the correlation between the score obtained by
the same person on two administrations of the test.
21
Introduction to Research Test-Retest reliability is estimated, when same test is administered on same
sample. Therefore, if refers to the consistency of a test among on two different
time periods different administrations. The assumption behind this approach is
that there will be no substantial changes in the measurement of the construct in
question, upon administration on separate occasions. The time gap that is given
between measures is of critical value, the shorter the time gap, higher the
correlation value and vice versa. If the test is reliable, the scores that are attained
on first administration should be more or less equal to those obtained on second
time also. The relationship between the two administrations should be highly
positive.
Limitations of this approach

There are a few limitations which include the following: (i) Memory Effect/
carry over Effect (ii) Practice effect, (iii) Absence. These are being discussed
below:
i) Memory effect /carry over effect: One of the common problems with test-
retest reliability is that of memory effect. This argument particularly holds
true when, the two administrations takes place within short span of time,
for example, when a memory related experiment including nonsense syllables
is conducted whereby, the subjects are asked to remember a list in a serial
wise order, and the next experiment is conducted within 15 minutes, most
of the times, subject is bound to remember his/her responses, as a result of
which there can be prevalence of artificial reliability coefficient since subjects
give response from memory instead of the test. Same is the condition when
pre-test and post-test for a particular experiment is being conducted.
ii) Practice effect: This happens when repeated tests are being taken for the
improvement of test scores, as is typically seen in the case of classical IQ
where there is improvement in the scores as we repeat these tests.
iii) Absence: People remaining absent for re-tests.
2.3.1.2 Parallel Forms Reliability
Parallel-Forms Reliability is known by the various names such as Alternate forms
reliability, equivalent form reliability and comparable form reliability.
Parallel forms reliability compares two equivalent forms of a test that measure
the same attribute. The two forms use different items. However, the rules used to
select items of a particular difficulty level are the same. When two forms of the
test are available, one can compare performance on one form versus the other.
Sometimes the two forms are administered to the same group of people on the
same day.
The Pearson product moment correlation coefficient is used as an estimate of the

reliability. When both forms of the test are given on the same day, the only sources
of variation are random error and the difference between the forms of the test.
Sometimes the two forms of the test are given at different times. In these cases,
error associated with time sampling is also included in the estimate of reliability.
The method of parallel forms provides one of the most rigorous assessments of
reliability commonly in use. Unfortunately the use of parallel forms occurs in
practice less often than is desirable. Often test developers find it burdensome to
22
develop two forms of the same test, and practical constraints make it difficult to Reliability and Validity
retest the same group of individuals. Instead many test developers prefer to base
their estimate or reliability on a single form of a test.
In practice, psychologists do not always have two forms of a test. More often
they have only one test form and must estimate the reliability for this single
group of items. You can asses the different sources of variation within a single
test in many ways. One method is to evaluate the internal consistency of the test
by dividing it into subcomponents.
2.3.2 Internal Consistency Procedures

The idea behind internal consistency procedures is that items measuring same
phenomena should produce similar results. Following internal consistency
procedures are commonly used for estimating reliability-
2.3.2.1 Split Half Reliability

In this method, as the name implies, we randomly divide all items that intends
to measure same construct into two sets .The complete instrument is administered
on sample of people and total scores are calculated for each randomly divided
half; the split half reliability is then, the simply the correlation between these
two scores.
Problem in this approach

A problem with this approach is that when the tests are shorter, they run the risk
of losing reliability and it can most safely be used in case of long tests only. It is,
hence, more useful in case of long tests as compared to shorter ones. However to
rectify the defects of shortness, Spearman- Brown’s formula can be employed,
enabling correlation as if each part were full length:
r = (2rhh)/(1 + rhh) (Where rhh is correlation between two halves)
2.3.2.2 Kudar-Richardson Estimate of Reliability

The coefficient of internal consistency could also be obtained with the help of
Kudar-Richardson formula number 20. One of the techniques for item analysis
is item difficulty index. Item difficulty is the proportion or percentage of those
answering correctly to an item. For example – symbol ‘p’ is used to represent the
difficulty index. Suppose an item ‘X’ has p=0.67.this means item ’X’ was
answered correctly by 74% of those who answered the item. To compute reliability
with the help of Kuder-Richardson formula number 20, the following formula is
used:
N Σ pq
KR-20 = ——— 1 – ——
N–1 σ2
Where
N = the number of items on the test,
σ2 = the variance of scores on the total test,
p = the proportion of examinees getting each item correct,
q = the proportion of examinees getting each item wrong.
Kuder-Richardson formula 20 is an index of reliability that is relevant to the
special case where each test item is scored 0 or 1 (e.g., right or wrong).
23
Introduction to Research 2.3.2.3 α)
Cronbach’s Alpha (α
As proposed by Cronbach (1951) and subsequently elaborated by others (Novick
& Lewis, 1967; Kaiser & Michael, 1975), coefficient alpha may be thought of as
the mean of all possible split-half coefficients, corrected by the Spearman-Brown
formula .The formula for coefficient alpha is
N Σ σ2j
rα = ——— 1 – ———
N–1 σ2
Where rα is coefficient alpha,

N is the no. of items,
σ2j is the variance of one item,
Σσ2j is the sum of variances of all items, and
σ2is the variance of the total test scores.
As with all reliability estimates, coefficient alpha can vary between 0.00 and
1.00.
Coefficient alpha extends the Kuder-Richard-son method to types of tests with

items that are not scored as 0 or 1. For example, coefficient alpha could be used
with an attitude scale in which examinees indicate on each item whether they
strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree.
2.4 COMPARISON OF RELIABILITY ESTIMATORS

All of the reliability estimators listed above have certain pros and cons, like for
example: inter-rater is best suited when the measure involves observation, it
however requires multiple observers as an alternative one can look at of rating
of a single observer repeated on single occasion. It can also be used if the examiner
is interested in using a team of raters.
In a situation that involves use of two forms as alternate measure of the same
thing, parallel forms estimator is best suited. However, this and the internal
consistency measures of reliability have constrains, i.e. one has to have multiple
items engineered to measure same construct.
Cronbach’s Alpha is useful in case, where lots of items are present. The test-
retest reliability is mostly employed in case of experimental and quasi-
experimental designs. This also depends upon string of availability of a control
group that is measured on two different occasions and until post-test is done,
one does not have information about reliability. Accordingly, each one of the
above mentioned estimators will give a different value for reliability. Generally,
test-retest and inter-rater reliability estimates will be lower in value as compared
to parallel forms and internal consistency due to involvement in measurement at
different times or with different raters.
24
Self Assessment Questions (External and Internal)
1) Internal Consistency Concerns whether the various items on
a test are measure the same thing. T/F
2) Memory effect / carry over effect is possible in parallel
form method. T/F
3) K.R. Formula is applied in which each test item is scored
0 or 1. T/F
4) Scores from the two halves of a test are correlated with
one another in split half reliability. T/F
5) Spearman Brown formula is used for adjusting split half
correlation T/F
Answer: 1) T, 2) F, 3) T, 4) T, 5) T
2.5 VALIDITY
As you know that the merit of the psychological test is determine first by its
reliability but then ultimately by its validity. Validity refers to the degree to which
a test measures, what it claims to measure. It is very necessary for a test to be
valid for its proper administration and interpretation.
According to Standard for Educational and Psychological testing (AERA, APA
& NCME 1985, 1999); a test is valid to the extent that inferences drawn from it
are appropriate, meaningful and useful.
According to Cronbach (1951) validity is the extent to which a test measures
what it purports to measure.
According to Freeman (1971) an index of validity shows the degree to which a
test measures what it purports to measure when compared with accepted criteria.
According to Anastasi (1988) the validity of a test concerns what the test measures
and how well it does so.
The above definitions pointed out that for determining the validity of the test,
the test must be compared with some ideal independent measures or criteria.
The correlation coefficients computed between the test and an ideal criterion is
known as the validity coefficients. Independent criteria refer to some measure of
the trait or group of the traits (out side the test) that the test itself claims to
measure.
2.6 TYPES OF VALIDITY

There are six types of validity, viz., (i) Content validity (ii) Criterion-related
validity (iii) Con current validity (iv) Predictive validity (v) Construct validity
(vi) Convergent validity (vii) Discriminate validity and (viii) Face validity. These
are being discussed below:
2.6.1 Content Validity

According to Mc Burney and White (2007); content validity is the notion that a
test should sample range of behaviour that is represented by the theoretical concept
being measured. 25
Introduction to Research It is a non-statistical type of validity with involvement of assessment of the content
of the test to ascertain whether it includes the sample representative of the
behaviour that is intended to be measured. When a test has content validity, the
items on the test represent the entire range of possible items the test should
cover. For instance, if researcher wants to develop an achievement test of spelling
for the third grade children then a researcher could identify nearly all the possible
words that third grade children should know. Individual test items may be taken
from a huge group of items that include a broad range of items.
A test has content validity inbuilt in it. Items are selected in accordance with
their compliance with the requirements of the test after a careful examination of
the subject area.
In certain cases, where a test measures a trait which is difficult to define, an

expert can rate the relevance of items. Since, each judge have their own opinion
on their rating, two independent judges will rate the test separately. Items which
are rated as highly relevant by both judges would be included in the final test.
2.6.2 Criterion-related Validity

Criterion related validity is the idea that a valid test should relate closely to other
measure of the same theoretical concept. A valid test of intelligence should
correlate highly with other intelligence test. If a test demonstrates effective
predicting criterion or indicators of the construct, it is said to possess criterion –
related validity. There are two different types of criterion validity-
2.6.2.1 Concurrent Validity

Its occurrence is found when criterion measures are achieved at the same time as
the test scores. It reflects the degree to which the test scores estimate the
individual’s present status with regards to criterion. For instance, if a test measures
anxiety, it would be said to have concurrent validity if it rightly reflects the
current level of anxiety experienced by an individual. Concurrent evidence of
test validity is usually desirable for achievement tests and diagnostic clinical
test.
2.6.2.2 Predictive Validity

Predictive validity occurs when criterion measures are obtained at a time after
the test. For example, aptitude tests are useful in identifying who will be more
likely to succeed or fail in a particular subject. Predictive validity is part curly
relevant for entrance examination and occupational test.
2.6.3 Construct Validity

Construct validity approach is complex than other forms of validity. Mc Burney
and White (2007) defined construct validity as the property of a test that the
measurement actually measures the constructs they are designed to measure.
There are several ways to determine whether a test generate data that have
construct validity.
i) The test should actually measure whatever theoretical construct it supposedly
tests, and not something else. For example a test of leadership ability should
not actually test extraversion.
26
ii) A test that has construct validity should measure what it intends to measure Reliability and Validity
but not measure theoretically unrelated constructs. For example, a test of
musical aptitude should not require too much reading ability.
iii) A test should prove useful in predicting results related to the theoretical
concepts it is measuring. For example, a test of musical ability should
predict who will benefit from taking music lessons, should differentiate
groups who have chosen music as a career from those who haven’t should
relate to other tests of musical ability and so on.
There are two types of construct validity— ‘convergent validity’ and ‘divergent
validity’ (or discriminant validity).
2.6.3.1 Convergent Validity

It means the extent to which a measure is correlated with other measure which is
theoretically predicted to correlate with.
2.6.3.2 Discriminant Validity

This explains the extent to which the operationalisation is not correlated with
other operationalisations that it theoretically should not be correlated with.
2.6.4 Face Validity

Face validity refers to what appears to measure superficially. It depends on the
judgment of the researcher. Each question is scrutinised and modified until the
researcher is satisfied that it is an accurate measure of the desired construct. The
determination of face validity is based on the subjective opinion of the researcher.
Fill in the blanks
1) If a test measures what it purports to measure it is caleed ……………….
2) If a test is correlated against a criterion to be made available at the
present time it is a type of validity known as……………validity.
3) The property of a test that measurement actually measure the constructs
they are design to measure are known as………………….validity
4) A test should sample the range of behaviour represented by the theoretical
concept being tested, is known as ……………….. validity.
5) .……………. refers to what appears to measure superficially.
Answers: (1) Validity (2) Criterion Validity (3) Construct (4) Content
(5) Face Validity
2.6.5 Internal Validity

Internal validity is the most fundamental type of validity because it concerns the
logic of the relationships between the independent variable and dependent
variable. This type of validity is an estimate of the degree to which inferences
about causal relationship can be drawn, based on the measures employed and
research design. Properly suited experimental techniques, where the effect of an
independent variable upon the dependent one is observed under highly controlled
conditions makes possible higher degree of internal validity.
27
Introduction to Research 2.6.5.1 Threats to Internal Validity
These include (i) confounding, (ii) selection bias, (iii) history, (iv) maturation,
(v) repeated testing ,(vi) instrument change, (vii) regression toward the mean,
(viii) mortality, (ix) diffusion, (x) compensatory rivalry, (xi) experimenter bias.
i) Confounding: Confounding error that occurs when the effects of two
variables in an experiment cannot be separated, resulting in a confused
interpretation of the results. Confounding is one of the biggest threat to
validity in experimentation. The problem of confounding is particurly acute
in research in which the experimenter cannot control the independent
variable. When participants are selected according to presence or absence
of a condition, subject variable can affect the results. Where a false
relationship cannot be avoided, a rival hypothesis may be developed to the
original cause and inference hypotheses.
ii) Selection bias: Any bias in selecting a group can undermine internal validity.
Selection bias indicates the problem that occurs as a result of its existence
at the pre-test differences between groups, may interact with the independent
variable and thus influence the observed outcome and creates problems;
examples would be gender, personality, mental capabilities, and physical
abilities, motivation level and willingness to participate.
If at the time of selection, an uneven number of subjects to be tested have
similar subject-related variables, there could be a threat to the internal
validity, for instance, if two groups are formed i.e. experimental and control
group, the subjects in the two groups are different with regards to independent
variable but alike in one or more subject related variables. It would then be
difficult for the researcher to identify if the difference between in the groups
is the result of independent variable or subject related variable as well as
randomisation of group assignment. It is not possible always as some
significant variables may go unnoticed.
iii) History: Events outside the experiment or between repeated measures of
dependent variables may influence participants’ responses, attitudes and
behaviour during process of experiment, like; natural disasters, political changes
etc. In this condition, it becomes impossible to determine whether change in
dependent variable is caused by independent variable or historical event.
iv) Maturation: Usually, it happens that subjects change during the course of
an experiment or between measurements. For instance, in longitudinal studies
young kids might grow up as a result of their experience, abilities or attitudes
which are intended to be measured. Permanent changes [such as physical
growth] and temporary changes [like fatigue and illness] may alter the way
a subject would react to the independent variable. Thus, researcher may
have trouble in ascertaining if the difference is caused by time or other
variables.
v) Repeated testing: Participants may be driven to bias owing to repeated testing.
Participants may remember correct answers or may be conditioned as a
result of incessant administration of the test. Moreover, it also causes
possibility of threat to internal validity.
vi) Instrument change: If any instrument is replaced/changed during process of
experiment, then it may affect the internal validity as alternative explanation
28 easily available.
vii) Regression toward the mean: During the experiment, if subjects are selected Reliability and Validity
on the basis of extreme scores, then there are chances of occurrence of such
an error. For example, when subjects with minimum mathematical abilities
are chosen, at the end of the study if there is any improvement chances are
that it would be due to regression towards the mean and not due to
effectiveness of the course.
viii) Mortality: It should be kept in mind that there may be some participants
who may have dropped out of the study before its completion. If dropping
out of participants leads to relevant bias between groups, alternative
explanation is possible that account for the observed differences.
ix) Diffusion: It might be observed that there will be a lack of differences between
experimental and control groups if treatment effects spread from treatment
groups to control groups. This, however, does not mean that, independent
variable will have no effect or that there would not be a no relationship
between dependent and independent variable.
x) Compensatory rivalry/resentful demoralisation: There will be a change in
the behaviour of the subject if the control groups alter as a result of the
study. For instance, control group participants may work extra hard to see
that expected superiority of the experimental group is not demonstrated.
Again, this does not imply that the independent variable created no effect or
that there would be no relationship between dependent and independent
variable. Vice-versa, changes in the dependent variable may only be effected
due to a demoralised control group, working less hard or demotivated.
xi) Experimenter bias: Experimenter bias happens while experimenters, without
any intention or reluctance, behave differently to the participants of control
and experimental groups, that in turn, affect the results of the experiment.
Experimental bias can be reduced by keeping the experimenter from knowing
the condition in the experiment or its purpose and by standardising the
procedure as much as possible.
2.6.6 External Validity

According to McBurney and White(2007), external validity concerns whether
results of the research can be generalised to another situation, different subjects,
settings, times and so on.
External validity lacks from the fact that experiments using human participants
often employ small samples collected from a particular geographic location or
with idiosyncratic features (e.g. volunteers). Because of this, it cannot be made
sure that the conclusions drawn about cause-effect-relationships are actually
applicable to the people in other geographic locations or in the absence of these
features.
2.6.6.1 Threat to External Validity

How one may go wrong in making generalisations, is one of the major threats to
external validity. Usually, generalisations are limited when the cause (i.e.
independent variable) is dependent upon other factors; as a result, all the threats
to external validity interact with the independent variable
a) Aptitude-Treatment-Interaction: The sample might have some features that
may interact with the independent variable causing to limit generalisability,
29
Introduction to Research for instance, conclusions drawn from comparative psychotherapy studies
mostly use specific samples (example; volunteers, highly depressed, hardcore
criminals).
b) Situations: All the situational factors, for example, treatment conditions,
light, noise, location, experimenter, timing, scope and degree of measurement
etc may limit generalisations.
c) Pre-Test Effects: When the cause-effect relationships can only be found out
after the pre-tests are carried out, then, this also tends to limit the generality
of the findings.
d) Post-Test Effects: When cause-effect relationships can only be explored after
the post-tests are carried out, then this can also be a cause for limiting the
generalisations of the findings.
e) Rosenthal Effects: When derivations drawn from the cause-consequence
relationships cannot be generalised to other investigators or researchers.
1) Results can not be generalised to another situation or
population in external Validity. T/F
2) Dropping out of some subjects before an experiment is
completed causing a threat to internal validity. T/F
3) Any bias in selecting the groups can enhance the internal
validity. T/F
4) Internal Validity concern the logic of relationship between the
independent variable and dependent variable. T/F
5) Confounding error occurs when the effects of to variable in an
experiment can not be separated. T/F
Answers: (1) F, (2) T, (3) F, (4) T, (5) T
2.7 LET US SUM UP

In psychological testing, reliability refers to the attribute of consistency of
measurement. There are various types of reliability. The Pearson product-moment
correlation coefficient can be used to gauge the consistency of psychological test
scores. This form of reliability is referred to as test-retest reliability. Alternate-
forms reliability is computed by correlating scores on two equivalent forms,
administered in counterbalanced fashion to a large group of heterogeneous
subjects. Internal consistency approaches to reliability include split-half reliability,
in which scores on half tests are correlated with each other, and coefficient alpha,
which can be thought of as the mean of all possible split-half coefficients. For
tests that require examiner judgment for assignment of scores, inter scorer
reliability is needed. Computing inters corer reliability is straightforward: A
sample of tests is independently score by two or more examiners and scores for
pairs of examiners are then correlated.
The validity of a test is the degree to which it measures what it claims to measure.
A test is valid to the extent that inferences made from it are appropriate,
meaningful, and useful. There are various kinds of validity – content validity
30
determine by the degree to which the question, task or items on a test are Reliability and Validity
representative of the universe of behaviour the test was designed to sample. A
test has face validity if it looks valid to test users, examiners, and especially the
examinees. Criterion-related validity is demonstrated when a test is effective in
predicting performance on an appropriate outcome measure. An investigation
has internal validity is a cause-effect relationship actually exists between the
independent and dependent variables. Confounding occurs when the effects of
two independent variables in an experiment cannot be separately evaluated.
External validity concerns whether the results of the research can be generalised
to another situation: different subjects, settings, times, and so forth. Treats to the
internal validity of an experiment include events outside the laboratory,
maturation, effects of testing, regression effect, selection and mortality. Threats
to external validity include problems arising from generalising to other subjects,
other times, or other settings. Experimenter bias can be reduced by keeping the
experiment from knowing he conditions in the experiment or its purpose and by
standardising procedure as much as possible.

1) Define reliability. Discuss any two methods of estimating reliability of test
scores.
2) What is meant by internal consistency reliability. Discuss any two methods
of assessing internal consistency reliability.
3) What are some problems associated with reliability assessed via the test-
retest.
4) State the strengths and drawbacks of parallel forms reliability.
5) Write short notes on:
K-R formula 20
Spearman Brown formula
Cronback alfa
6) Define validity and distinguish between reliability and validity.
7) Explain construct validity. How does it differ from content validity.
8) What is internal validity? Discuss various threats of internal validity.
9) What is external validity? Discuss various threats of external validity.
10) Write short notes on :
Convergent and divergent validity
Concurrent and predictive validity
2.9 GLOSSARY
Concurrent validity : a type of criterion-related validity in which the
criterion measures are obtained at approximately
the same time as the test scores.
Confounding : error that occurs when the effects of two variables
in an experiment cannot be separated, resulting in
a confused interpretation of he results.
31
Introduction to Research Construct : a theoretical, tangible quality or trait in which
individuals differ.
Construct validity : the property of a test that the measurements
actually measure the constructs they are designed
to measure, but no others.
Content validity : idea that a test should sample the range of
behaviour represented by the theoretical concept
being tested.
Criterion validity : idea that a test should correlate with other
measures of the same theoretical construct.
Cronback alpha : an index of reliability that may be thought of as
the mean of all possible split-half co-efficient,
corrected by the Spearman-Brown formula.
External validity : how well the findings of an experiment generalise
to other situations or populations.
Inter observer reliability : the typical degree of agreement between scores.
Internal consistency: the degree to which the
various items on a test are measures of the same
thing.
Internal validity : extent to which a study provides evidence of a
cause-effect relationship betwen the independent
and dependent variables.
Kuder-Richardson : an index of reliability that is relevant to the special
formula 20 case where each test item is scored 0 or 1 (example,
right or wrong)
Maturation : a source of error in an experiment related to the
amount of time between measurements.
Regression effect : regression effect tendency of subjects with
extreme score on a first measure to score closer to
the mean on a second testing.
Reliability : the property of consistency of a measurement that
gives the same result on different occasions.
Spearman-Brown formula: a formula for adjusting split-half correlations so
that they reflect the full length of a scale.
Split-half reliability : a form of reliability in which scores from the two
halves of a test (e.g. even items versus odd items)
are correlated with one another; the correlation is
then adjusted for test length.
Test – retest reliability : the degree to which the same test score would be
obtained on another occasion.
Validity : of a measurement the property of a measurement
that tests what it is supposed to test.
32
2.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES (External and Internal)
Anastasi, Anne. (1988). Psychological Testing (6th edition.) London: Mac-Millan.
Freeman, F. S. (1971). Theory and Practice of Psychological Testing. New Delhi:

Oxford (India).
References
Guilford, J.P. (1954). Psychometric Methods. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
Cronbach, L.(1951). Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests.

Psychometrika, 16, 297-334.
Kaiser, H.F., & Michael, W.B. (1975). Domain Validity and Gernalisability.
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 35, 31-35.
McBurney, D.H. & White, T. L. (2007) Research Methods, New Delhi; Akash
Press.
Novick, M.R., & Lewis, C. (1967). Coefficient Alpha and the Reliability of
Composite Measurements. Psychometrika, 32, 1-13.
Stodola, Q. and Stordahl, K. (1972). Basic Educational Tests and Measurement.

New Delhi: Thomson (India).
33
Methods in Psychology UNIT 3 VARIABLES AND CONSTRUCTS
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Meaning of Variables
3.3 Types of Variables
3.3.1 Stimulus, Organism and Response Variables
3.3.2 Independent and Dependent Variables
3.3.3 Extraneous and Confounded Variables
3.3.4 Active and Attribute Variables
3.3.5 Quantitative and Categorical Variables
3.3.6 Continuous Variables and Discrete Variables
3.4 Constructs
3.5 Types of Constructs
3.5.1 Intervening Variables
3.5.2 Hypothetical Constructs
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In the process of formulating a research problem there are two important
considerations; the use of constructs/concepts and the construction of hypotheses.
Constructs/concepts are highly subjective as their understanding varies from
person to person and therefore, as such, may not be measurable. In a research
study, it is important that the concepts used should be operationalised in
measurable terms so that the extent of variation in respondents understanding is
reduced if not eliminated. Knowledge about constructs and variables are very
important to understand conceptual clarity and quantitative accuracy as they
provide the ‘fine tuning’ to research.
This unit attempts to acquaint you with the term variables and constructs which
are used by the psychologists in gaining knowledge about the behaviour and
mental processes. It begins with definition of variables then you will find the
details about the types of variables along with the examples. Further, you will be
exposed to the nature of the scientific concept or construct and the way in which
behavioural scientist travel from the construct level to observation level. Finally,
types of constructs are described.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define the term variable and construct;
34
• Discuss the types of variable and constructs; Variables and Constructs
• Identify different types of variables i.e. independent variable, dependent

variable, extraneous variables etc. in a research study;
• Distinguish between variable and constructs; and
• Differentiate hypothetical concept and intervening variable.
3.2 MEANING OF VARIABLES

A variable, as the name implies, is something that varies. This is the simplest
way of defining a variable.
Webster says that a variable is “a thing that is changeable” or “a quantity that

may have a number of different values.” True, a variable is something that has at
least two values: however, it is also important that the values of the variable be
observable. Thus, if what is being studied is a variable, it has more than one
value and each value can be observed. For example, the outcome of throwing a
dice is a variable. That variable has six possible values (each side of the dice
having one to six dots on it), each of which can be observed.
However, a behavioural scientist attempts to define a variable more precisely

and specifically. Kerlinger (1986) defined variable ‘a property that taken as
different values’. According to D’Amato (1970) variables may be defined as
those attributes of objects, events, things and beings, which can be measured.
According to Postman and Egan (1949) a variable is a characteristic or attribute
that can take on a number of values, for example, number of items that an
individual solves on a particular test, the speed with which we respond to a
signal, IQ, sex, level of anxiety, and different degree of illumination are the
examples of variables that are commonly employed in psychological research.
1) Variable is a property that taken as different values. T/F
2) Unchangeable physiological and psychological characteristics
of organism are called the organism variables. T/F
3) Variable are tangible. T/F
4) Variables are not related to theoretical concepts. T/F
5) Variables can be manipulated, controlled or observed by
the experimenter. T/F
Answers: (1) T, (2) F, (3) T, (4) F, (5) T
Before discussing the types of variables, it is important to know how the variables
of study related to theoretical concepts. Because the variables exist in the world
but the theory is an idea, researcher makes certain assumption to relate the two.
These assumptions are guide ropes that tie a theory to the real world. The variables
are tangible: duration, frequency, rate, or intensity of bar presses; items checked
on a questionnaire; murders committed; books written. The theoretical concept
is intangible: hunger, motivation, anxiety. The variables are related to the
theoretical concepts by means of the operational definitions used to measure the
concepts.
35
Introduction to Research Suppose a theory reveals that increasing anxiety will increase the affiliation
motive. To test out this theory, you may take the theoretical concepts of anxiety
and affiliation motive and relate them to variables by means of operational
definitions. The theory is an abstract statement. .For example, anxiety can be
measured by the Anxiety Scale and affiliation by how close people sit to each
other in the experiment. These two measures constitute the variables of the study.
The scores on the variables of anxiety and distance apart are related to one another
as test of the hypothesis. The relationship between the variable is taken as
providing support for or against the particular theory that generated the
experiment.
3.3 TYPES OF VARIABLES

To understand how variables are used and discussed in psychological researches,
you would like to understand several distinctions that are made among the type
of variables. The descriptions of different types of variables are given below:
3.3.1 Stimulus, Organism and Response Variables

Psychologists are interested in studying the behaviour or causes of behaviour as
variables. Many psychologists have adopted a theoretical viewpoint or model
called the S-O-R model to explain all behaviour. The symbols S, O, and R
represent different categories of variables. S is the symbol of stimuli, and the
category may be referred to in general as stimulus variables. A stimulus variable
is some form of energy in the environment, such as light, to which the organism
is sensitive. O is the symbol for organism variables , that is the changeable
physiological and psychological characteristics of the organisms being observed.
Examples of such variables are anxiety level, age and heart rate etc. Finally, R is
the symbol for response and, in general, response variables, which refer to some
behaviour or action of the organism like pressing a lever, and reaction to any
stimulus, are the examples of responses variables. You can understand an
application of S-O-R model through the following example .
Suppose that an experiment is conducted in which a rat is placed on a metal grid

floor, the grid is electrified, and the length of time it takes the rat to jump from
the grid to a platform is measured. Using the S-O-R model, the electrical shock
would be called a stimulus variable. The intensity of shock would be the value
of the variable. The particular state of the organisms would be measured by the
organismic variables. For example, the skin resistant of the rat at the time of
shock was introduced would be an organismic variables. A response variable
would be the latency (i.e. the elapsed time between the onsets of the shock and
when the rat reaches the platform).
3.3.2 Independent and Dependent Variables

An independent variable or stimulus variable (as Underwood calls it) is that
factor manipulated or selected by the experimenter in his attempt to ascertain its
relationship to an observed phenomenon.
Dependent upon the mode of manipulation, some experts have tried to divide
the independent variable into ‘Type E’ independent variable and ‘Type S’
independent variable (D’Amato, 1970). Type E independent variable is one of
which is directly or experimentally manipulated by the experimental and type S
36
independent variable is one which is manipulated through the process of selection Variables and Constructs
only. For example the experimenter wants to study the effect of noise upon the
task performance in an industry. Here the IV (Independent Variable) is the noise
and the DV(Dependent Variable) is the task performance. He may manipulate
the noise by dividing into three categories — continuous noise, intermittent noise
and no noise and examine its effect upon the task performance. Here the noise is
being directly manipulated by the experimenter and hence, it constitutes the
example of Type-E independent variable. Suppose, for the time being, that the
experimenter is interested in answering the question: Is the rate of production
dependent upon the age of the workers? Age is here the independent variable.
For investigating this problem, the experimenter will have to select groups of
workers on the basis of their age in a way by which he can get an appropriate
representation from different age groups ranging from say, 16 to 55 years.
Subsequently, he will compare the rate of production obtained by each age group
and finally, conclude whether or not age is a factor in enhancement of the
performance .Hence this constitutes the examples of S-independent variables.
A dependent variable is the factor that appears, disappears, or varies as the

experimenter introduces, removes or varies the independent variable.
(Townsend,1953). The dependent variable is a measure of the behaviour of the
subject. The dependent variable is the response that the person or animal makes.
This response is generally measured using at least one of several different
dimensions (Alberto & Troutman 2006). The dimensions are – (a) frequency –
Number of times that a particular behaviour occurs, ( b) duration - the amount
of time that a behaviour lasts. (c) latency –the amount of time between and when
the behaviour is actually performed (d) force – the intensity or strength of a
behaviour.
Here, you can examine the relationship between independent and dependent
variables. The relationship is that of dependence. One variable depends upon
the other. Suppose you find a relationship between meaningfulness of the learning
material and speed of learning. Speed of learning then depends upon
meaningfulness; the greater the meaningfulness, the faster the learning. The speed
of learning is, therefore, called dependent variable; meaningfulness is independent
variable. Similarly, rest between work periods is independent variables; output
of work is dependent variable. Sudden noise is independent variable; change in
breathing is dependent variable. In an experiment one discovers and confirms a
relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable.
Identify the independent and dependent variables?
1) As the number of trials increases error decreases.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
37
Methods in Psychology 2) Intensity of lights affects the task performance.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3) Healthy parent child relationship facilitated emotional adjustment of
the children.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
4) Teaching methods affects learning.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3.3.3 Extraneous and Confounded Variables

Any and all other variables that may ‘mask’ the relationship between independent
variable and dependent variable are known as extraneous variables. Extraneous
variables may directly affect the dependent variable or may combine with the
independent variable to produce an affect. Therefore, extraneous variables must
be controlled so that the experimenter can determine whether the dependent
variable changes in relation to variation in the independent variable. Several
others factors operating in a real life situation may affect changes in the dependent
variable. These factors, not measured in the study, may increase or decrease the
magnitude or strength of the relationship between independent and dependent
variables. Extraneous variables are relevant in nature, and in experimental studies,
they belong to three major types i.e., organismic variables, situational variables
and sequential variables. The subject related variables include age, sex,
intelligence, personality etc. are organismic variables. The situational variables
include environmental variables operating in the experimental setting (e.g. noise,
temperature, humidity) and variables related to the experimental task. The
sequence related variables deal with sequence effects. They arise when
participants in experiments are required to be tested in several conditions.
Exposure to many conditions may result in adaptation, fatigue or practice effects
which, if allowed to operate, may make the results difficult to interpret.
38
Confounding variables is one that varies with the independent variable. While Variables and Constructs
doing a study if we are not careful then two variables may get combined so that
the effect of one cannot be separated from the effect of other. This is known as
confounding. For instance, if you conducted a study of the effect of television
viewing on perception of violence and the experimental group contained only
adolescents, whereas the control group only adults, the age of participants would
be confounded with the independent variable under study. Confounding makes
the conclusions of the study doubtful. It is ,therefore, necessary that effort should
be made to unconfound the variables.
To explain these variables let us take one example. Suppose you want to study
the relationship between smoking and coronary heart disease. You assume that
affecting this relationship, such as a number of cigarettes or the amount of tobacco
smoked every day; the duration of smoking; the age of the smoker; dietary habits;
and the amount of exercise undertaken by the individuals. All of these factors
may affect the extent to which smoking might cause coronary heart disease.
These variables may either increase or decrease the magnitude of the relationship.
In this example, the extent of smoking is the independent variable, coronary
heart disease is the dependent variable and all the variables that might affect this
relationship, either positively or negatively, are extraneous variables.
Independent, dependent & extraneous variables in a causal relationship
Smoking Coronary Heart

Disease
(Assumed cause)
(Assumed effect)
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Affect the relationship
• The age of the person

• The extent of his/her smoking
• The duration of smoking
• The extent of daily exercise etc.
Extraneous variables
3.3.4 Active and Attribute Variables

Any variable that is manipulated is called active variables. Examples of active
variables are reward, punishment, methods of teaching, creating anxiety through
instructions and so on. Attribute variable is that variable which is not manipulated
but measured by the experimenter. Variables that are human characteristics like
intelligence, Aptitudes, sex, socio economic status, education, field dependence
and need for achievement are the example of attributes variables. The word
‘attribute’ is more accurate enough when used within animated objects or
references. Organisations, institutions, groups, population and geographical areas
39
Introduction to Research have attributes. Organisations are variably productive; groups differ in
cohesiveness; geographical areas vary widely in resources.
3.3.5 Quantitative and Categorical Variables

Quantitative variables is one that varies in amount whereas categorical variables
varies in kind. Speed of response, intensity of sound, level of Illumination,
intelligence etc. are the example of quantitative variables and gender, race, religion
are the example of categorical variables. Precise and accurate measurement are
possible with the quantitative variables because they can be easily ordered in
terms of increasing and decreasing magnitude categorical variables can be of
three types: Constant, dichotomous and polytomous.
When a variable can have only one value or category, for example taxi, tree and
water, it is known as a constant variables. When a variable can have only two
categories as in yes/no, good/bad and rich/poor, it is known as dichotomous
variables. When variables can be divided into more than two categories, for
example: religion (Christian, Muslim, Hindu); political parties (Labor, Liberal,
Democrat); and attitudes (strongly favorable, favorable, uncertain, unfavorable,
strongly unfavorable), it s called a polytomous variable.
1) The event manipulated or altered by the experimenter is termed as ......
........................................................
2) The ....................... is the response that the person or animal makes.
3) Any and all other variables that may mask the relationship between
independent variable and dependent variables are known as ...............
4) Manipulated variables are called ............... and measures variable are
called .......................................
5) .............................. is one that varies in amount whereas ....................
varies in kind.
Answer: (1) Independent variables (2) Dependent variables (3) Extraneous
variables (4) Active variables, Attribute variables (5) Quantitative
variables & Categorical variables.
3.3.6 Continuous Variables and Discrete Variables

Quantitative variables are further divided into two categories, namely, continuous
variables and discrete variables. A distinction between continuous and discrete
variables is especially useful in planning of research and analysis of data. A
continuous variable is one which is capable of being measured in any arbitrary
degree of fineness or exactness. Age, height, intelligence, reaction time, etc., are
some of the examples of a continuous variable. The age of the person can be
measured in years, month and days. Thus, all such variables which can be
measured in the smallest degree of fineness are called continuous variable. The
discrete variables are those variables which are not capable of being measured
in any arbitrary degree of fineness or exactness because the variables contain a
clear gap. For example, the number of members in a family, no. of females in
particular group, no of books in library and so on constitutes the examples of a
discrete variable.
40
Variables and Constructs
Activity -1
Check whether the following are continuous or discrete variables:
C D
a) the bar presses that a rat makes in a Skinner box ( ) ( )
b) the height of six-year-old boys and girls in Chicago ( ) ( )
c) the score you make on a true-false exam ( ) ( )
d) the distance various people can travel in 5 hours ( ) ( )
Activity -2
Identity Types of Variables
A researcher wants to administer an intelligence test to 30 college students.
After collecting information on subjects’ age, sex, height, weight, political
preference, career goals, and socioeconomic status, the researcher administers
and attitude survey on current issues to all 30 subjects.
Required:
Identify examples of the following types of variables in the paragraph and
the scales by which they would be measured:
a) discrete
b) continuous
c) categorical
d) quantitative
3.4 CONSTRUCTS
The terms ‘concept’ and ‘construct’ have similar meanings. Yet, there is an
important distinction. A concept may be defined as any describable regularity of
real or imagined events or objects (Bourne, Ekstrand, & Dominowski, 1971). A
concept is a set of features connected by some rule (Hulse, Egeth, Deese 1980)
Concepts are building block of thinking. They allow us to organise knowledge
in systematic ways. Concept represents objectives of activities, ideas or living
organism. Concept also represents properties, abstraction and relations between
the features. For example – ‘achievement’. It is an abstraction formed from the
observation of certain behaviours of children. These behaviours are associated
with the mastery or “learning” of school tasks – reading words, doing arithmetic
problems, drawing pictures, and so on. The various observed behaviours are put
together and expressed in a word – ‘achievement’. ‘Intelligence’, ‘aggressiveness,’
‘conformity’, and ‘honesty’ are all concepts used to express varieties of human
behaviour of interest to behavioural scientists. Researcher often invents or constructs
new concepts for special scientific purposes; such concepts are called constructs.
Thus, you may well explain construct as concept. It has the added meaning i.e
invented or adopted for a special scientific purpose. For example, “Intelligence”
is a concept, an abstraction from intelligent and nonintelligent behaviours. But,
as a scientific construct, “intelligence” means both more and less than a concept.
It means that scientists consciously and systematically use it in two ways. One, it
41
Introduction to Research enters into theoretical schemes and related in various ways to other constructs.
In this sense, school achievement may also be, in part, a function of intelligence
and motivation. Two, “intelligence” is so defined and specified that it can be
observed and measured. We can make observations of the intelligence of children
by administering X intelligence test to them, or we can ask teachers to tell us the
relative degrees of intelligence of their pupils.
Constructs are created and used for a wide variety of reasons, but generally have
two common characteristics. First, the construct is a part of a theoretical
framework and is related in various ways to other constructs. Second, a construct
usually operationally defined so as to allow its observation and measurement.
An example of a commonly employed psychological construct would be
reinforcement. On a theoretical level, reinforcement can be, and is, related to
other constructs such as drive, motivation, association, and habit strength.
Further reinforcement may be operationally defined as any stimulus or event

which increases the probability of the occurrence of a (desired) response.
3.5 TYPES OF CONSTRUCTS

As Mac-Corquodale & Meehl, (1948) Indicated that there are two types of
constructs which are often employed by psychologist and behavioural scientist:
Intervening variables
Hypothetical construct
3.5.1 Intervening Variables

An intervening variable is construct which is utilised as a summary term for a
group of other construct; It has no meaning apart from context in which it is
utilised. As you know, Clark Hull, a behaviourist who proposed hypothetical
deductive method of learning, utilised intervening variables in the formation of
the learning theory. Hull defined reaction potential as the combination of habit
strength and drive (Hilgard & Bower, 1966). Reaction potential is an intervening
variable, since it only summarizes other constructs (habits strength and drive)
and has meaning only in relation to them. An example of intervening variable is,
hostilitywhich is inferred from hostile and aggressive acts.
3.5.2 Hypothetical Constructs

In contrast, a hypothetical construct is a theoretical term which is employed to
describe something “real.” That is, it is an intermediary which has tangible
characteristics. Habit strength, defined by Hull as the number of reinforced trials,
is a hypothetical construct. As another example, the word “reflex” refers to certain
readily observable characteristics. The patellar reflex or “knee jerk” occurs when
a small force is sharply applied at the appropriate point on the knee. The term
“reflex” refers t the chain of events that occurs within the organism after the
application of the stimulus and before the response. Hence, reflex is a hypothetical
construct.
As a further example, suppose an equation could be developed which would tell

us how much a person knows:
K = AC X IQ
42
Where: Variables and Constructs
K = knowledge
AC = amount of conditioning
IQ = intelligence
AC could be defined as the number of reinforced trials a person receives and IQ
as that person’s score on a standard intelligence test. K could be defined as being
a function of AC and IQ. Therefore, AC and IQ are hypothetical constructs (they
describe something real and are defined directly by the operations that established
them or by which they were measured). On the other hand, K is an intervening
variables (it has no meaning of its own, but only summarizes or stands for other
constructs). However, if K were defined as the number of correct solutions a
person achieved on the “knowledge test,” then K would also be a hypothetical
construct.
Which of the following constructs (as used) would be classified as an
Intervening Variable(IV) or a Hypothetical Construct (HC)?
IV HC
1) Thinking is the mental activity leading to problem ( ) ( )
solving.
2) Arousal is he increase in neural activity in the lower ( ) ( )
brain stem following stimulation.
3) A reinforcement is something that makes you want to ( ) ( )
repeat the behaviour that was rewarded.
4) The id is the deepest part of the psyche and ( ) ( )
motivates our “base” desires.
3.6 LET US SUM UP

Knowledge of different types of variables and constructs play a crucial role in
research. Variables and constructs are important in bringing clarity and specificity
to the conceptualising of a research problem, to formulation of hypothesis and to
the development of a research instrument. They affect how the data can be
analysed, what statistical test can be applied to the data, what interpretation can
be made and what conclusion can be drawn. A variable is some property of an
event that takes on different values. There are different kinds of variables such
as independent variables, dependent variables, quantitative variables and
categorical variables, active and attribute variables, continuous and discrete
variables, extraneous and intervening variables and so on. A construct is a concept.
It has an added meaning and it is adopted for a special scientific purpose.
Constructs are of two types; intervening and hypothetical constructs. Intervening
variables is a term which is internal and directly unobservable psychological
processes that, in turn, inferred from behaviour. A hypothetical construct is a
theoretical term which is employed to describe something “real.” That is, it is an
intermediary which has tangible characteristics.
43
Methods in Psychology 3.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1) Defined variable and discuss the various kinds of variable.
2) Explain Intervening variables and Hypothetical constructs in your own words.
3) Differentiate between variables and constructs. Giving suitable example
elucidate the different types of variables.
4) Write short notes on any two:
i) Independent & dependent variables.
ii) Quantitative & categorical variables.
iii) Active & attribute variables.
5) Explain the nature of extraneous variable with suitable examples.
3.8 GLOSSARY
Variable : A variable is a property that taken as different
values.
Independent variables : The condition manipulated or selected by the
experimenter to determine its effect on
behaviour.
Dependent variables : A measure of the subject’s behaviour that
reflects that independent variable’s effects.
Quantitative variable : One that varies in amount.
Categorical variable : One that varies in kind.
Continuous variable : One that falls along a continuum and is not
lifted to a certain number of values.
Discrete variable : One that that falls into separate bins with no
intermediate values possible.
Active variables : Manipulated variables are active variables.
Attribute variables : Measured variables are attribute variables.
Constructs : Is a concept, used for scientific purpose, is a
part of theoretical framework.
Intervening variables : Is a construct which is utilised as a summary
term for a group of other constructs.
Hypothetical constructs : Is a theoretical term which is employed to
describe something real.

Alberto, P.A. & Troutman, A.C. (2006). Applied Behaviour Analysis for Teachers
(7th ed). Columbus: OH: Merill.
D’ Amato, M. R. (1970). Experimental Psychology: Methodology, Psychophysics

and Learning. Tokyo: McGraw-Hill Kogakusha, Ltd.
44
References Variables and Constructs
Hilgard, E., & Bower, G. Theories of Learning. New York: Appleton-Century-

Crofts.
Kerlinger, F. N. (1986). Foundations of Behavioural Research. New York: Holt

Bourne, L.E., Ekstrand, B., & Dominowski, R. 1971. The Psychology of Thinking.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
MacCorquodale, K., & Meehl, P.E.(1948). On a distinction between hypothetical

constructs and intervening variables. Psychological Review, 55, 95-107.
Postman , L. and Egan, J.P. (1949). Experimental Psychology. New York; Harper
& Row
Townsend, J. C. (1953). Introduction to Experimental Methods. New York:

McGraw-Hill.
45
Methods in Psychology UNIT 4 HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION AND
SAMPLING
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Meaning and Characteristics of Hypothesis
4.3 Formulation of Hypothesis
4.4 Possible Difficulties in Formulation of a Good Hypothesis
4.5 Types of Hypotheses
4.5.1 Null Hypothesis
4.5.2 Alternative Hypothesis
4.6 Errors in Testing a Hypothesis
4.7 Importance of Hypothesis Formulation
4.8 Sampling
4.8.1 Definition of Sampling
4.8.2 Sampling Terminology
4.8.3 Purpose of Sampling
4.9 Sampling Methods
4.9.1 Non Probability Sampling
4.9.2 Probability Sampling
4.10 Importance of Sampling
4.11 Let Us Sum Up
4.12 Unit and Questions
4.13 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Scientific process or all empirical sciences are recognised by two inter-related
concepts, namely; (a) context of discovery (getting an idea) and (b) context of
justification (testing and results). Hypotheses are the mechanism and container
of knowledge moving from the unknown to known. These elements form
techniques and testing ground for scientific discovery. Hypotheses are tentative
explanation and potential answer to a problem. Hypothesis gives the direction
and helps the researcher interpret data. In this unit, you will be familiarised with
the term hypothesis and its characteristics. It is, then, followed by the hypothesis
formulation and types of hypothesis. Errors in hypothesis testing are also
highlighted.
Further, In order to test the hypothesis, researcher rarely collects data on entire
population owing to high cost and dynamic nature of the individual in population.
Therefore, they collect data from a subset of individual – a sample - and make
the inferences about entire population. This leads us to what we should know
about the population and sample. So, researcher plans sample design and uses
46
various method of sampling. This unit will acquaint you with the meaning of Hypothesis Formulation
and Sampling
sampling and basic terminology which is used in sampling design.
Now, it will move to purpose of sampling. And finally, various probability and
non-probability sampling methods along with advantages and disadvantages are
described.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define and describe hypothesis and its characteristics;
• explain formulation of hypothesis;
• Enumerate the possible difficulties in formulating hypothesis;
• Explain types of hypotheses;
• Identify in hypotheses testing;
• Define sampling;
• Explain the purpose of sampling; and
• Analyse various probability and non-probability sampling methods.
4.2 MEANING AND CHARACTERISTICS OF

HYPOTHESIS
In conducting research, the important consideration after the formulation of a
research problem is the construction of hypothesis. As you know, any scientific
inquiry starts with the statement of a solvable problem, when the problem has
been stated, a tentative solution in the form of testable proposition is offered by
the researcher.
Hypothesis is often considered a tentative and testable statement of the possible
relationship between two or more events / variables under investigation.
According to Mcguigan (1990), ‘a testable statement of a potential relationship
between two or more variables, i.e. advance as potential solution to the problem’.
Kerlinger (1973) defined ‘a hypothesis is a conjectural statement of the relation
between two or more variables’. In order to be useful in any study, the hypothesis
needs to be stated in such a way that it might be subjected to empirical testing.
The researcher is responsible to suggest or find some way to check how the
hypothesis stands against empirical data. When a hypothesis is formulated, the
investigator must determine usefulness of the formulated hypothesis. There are
several criteria or characteristics of a good research hypothesis. A good hypothesis
is one which meets such criteria to a large extent. Some of these characteristics
are enumerated below:
1) Hypothesis should be conceptually clear;
2) Hypothesis must be testable;
3) Hypothesis should be related to the existing body or theory and impact;
4) Hypothesis should have logical unity and comprehensiveness;
5) Hypothesis should be capable of verification; and
6) Hypothesis should be operationisable. 47
Methods in Psychology 4.3 FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
Science proceeds with observation, hypothesis formulation and hypothesis testing.
After testing the hypothesis, through various statistical tests, researcher can accept
or reject the hypothesis. If the hypothesis is accepted then researcher can replicate
the results, if hypothesis is rejected then researcher can refined or modify the
results.
By stating a specific hypothesis, the researcher narrows the focus of the data
collection effort and is able to design a data collection procedure which is aimed
at testing the plausibility of the hypothesis as a possible statement of the
relationship between the terms of the research problem.
It is, therefore, always useful to have a clear idea and vision about the hypothesis.
It is essential for the research question as the researcher intents to verify, as it
will direct and greatly help to interpretation of the results.
4.4 POSSIBLE DIFFICULTIES IN FORMULATION

OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS
There are three major possible difficulties; a researcher could face during
formulation of hypothesis. First, the absence of knowledge of a theoretical
framework is a major difficulty in formulating a good research hypothesis. Second,
if detailed theoretical evidences are not available or if the investigator is not
aware of the availability of those theoretical evidences, a research hypothesis
cannot be formulated. Third, when the investigator is not aware of the scientific
research techniques, she/he will not be able to frame a good research hypothesis.
Despite these difficulties, the investigator attempts in her/his research to formulate

a hypothesis. Usually the hypothesis is derived from the problem statement. The
hypothesis should be formulated in a positive and substantive form before data
are collected. In some cases additional hypothesis may be formulated after
collection of data, but they should be tested on a new set of data and not on the
old set which has suggested it. The formulation of a hypothesis is a creative task
and involves a lot of thinking, imagination and innovation. Reichenbach (1938)
has made a distinction between the two processes found commonly in any
hypothesis formulation task. One is the context of discovery and another is the
context of justification. The manner or the process through which a scientist
arrives at a hypothesis illustrates the context of justification. A scientist is
concerned more with a context of justification in the development of a hypothesis.
He never puts his ideas or thoughts as they nakedly occur in the formulation of a
hypothesis. Rather, he logically reconstructs his ideas or thoughts and draws
some justifiable inferences from those ideas and thoughts. He never cares to
relate how he actually arrived at a hypothesis. He does not say, for example, that
while he was shaving, this particular hypothesis occurred to him. He usually
arrives at a hypothesis by the rational reconstruction of thoughts. When a scientist
reconstructs his thoughts and communicates them in the form of a hypothesis to
others, he uses the context of justification. When he arrives at a hypothesis, he
extensively as well as intensively surveys a mass of data, abstracts them, tries to
find out similarities among the abstracted data and finally makes a generalisation
or deduces a preposition in the form of a hypothesis.
48
Here is an important distinction to be made between formulating a hypotheses Hypothesis Formulation
and Sampling
and choosing one. Although a researcher often becomes interested in a question
about human behaviour for personal reasons, the ultimate value of research study
depends on the researcher bringing methodological criteria to bear on the selection
of the hypothesis to be tested. In other words, Good hypothesis are made, not
born.
Hypothesis plays a key role in formulating and guiding any study. The hypotheses
are generally derived from earlier research findings, existing theories and personal
observations and experience. For instance, you are interested in knowing the
effect of reward on learning. You have analysed the past research and found that
two variables are positively related. You need to convert this idea in terms of a
testable statement. At this point you may develop the following hypothesis.
Those who are rewarded shall require lesser number of trails to learn the lesson
than those who are not rewarded.
A researcher should consider certain points while formulating a hypothesis:
i) Expected relationship or differences between the variables.
ii) Operational definition of variable.
iii) Hypotheses are formulated following the review of literature
The literature leads a researcher to expect a certain relationship.
Hypotheses are the statement that is assumed to be true for the purpose of testing
its validity.
As suggested by Russell and Reichenback (1947), the hypotheses should be stated

in the logical form on the general implications. A hypothesis can be put in the
form of an if ................. then statement; if A is true then B should follow. For
example, verbal development theory of amnesia states that childhood amnesia
caused by the development of language. To test this theory, researcher can make
a hypothesis like this – if the lack of verbal ability is responsible for childhood
amnesia, then the children should not be able to verbally recall events usually
words that they did not know at the time of events.

Fill in the blanks
1) Hypothesis is considered as ............... and ................. statement of the
possible relationship between two or more variables.
2) Hypothesis can be put in the form of an if …... statement.
3) Hypothesis is formulated………. to review of literature.
4) ………… of knowledge of a theoretical framework is a major difficulty
in formulating a hypothesis.
5) Formulation of a hypothesis enhances ....................... in the study.
Answers: (1) tentative, testable, (2) then, (3) Prior, (4) Absence,
(5) Objectivity.
49
Methods in Psychology 4.5 TYPES OF HYPOTHESES
As explained earlier, any assumption that you seek to validate through
investigation is called hypotheses. Hence theoretically, there should be one type
of hypotheses on the basis of the investigation that is, research hypothesis.
However, because of the conventions in scientific enquiries and wording used in
the constructions of the hypothesis, Hypotheses can be classified into several
types, like; universal hypotheses, existential hypotheses, conceptual hypotheses
etc. Broadly, there are two categories of the hypothesis:
i) Null hypothesis
ii) Alternative hypothesis
4.5.1 Null Hypothesis

Null hypothesis is symbolised as Ho. Null hypothesis is useful tool in testing the
significance of difference. In its simplest form, this hypothesis asserts that there
is no true difference between two population means, and the difference found
between sample means is, accidental and unimportant, that is arising out of
fluctuation of sampling and by chance. Traditionally null hypothesis stated that
there is zero relationship between terms of the hypothesis. For example, (a)
schizophrenics and normal do not differ with respect to digit span memory (b)
There is no relationship between intelligence and height.
The null hypothesis is an important component of the decision making methods

of inferential statistics. If the difference between the samples of means is found
significant the researcher can reject the null hypothesis. It indicates that the
differences have statistically significant and acceptance of null hypothesis
indicates that the differences are due to chance. Null hypothesis should always
be specific hypothesis i.e. it should not state about or approximately a certain
value.
The null hypothesis is often stated in the following way:
Ho: μHV < μLV
Thus, the null hypothesis is that mean of the population of those children who
have the high vocabulary (group1) is less than or equal to mean of those who
lack the vocabulary (Group 2 ).
4.5.2 Alternative Hypothesis

Alternative hypothesis is symbolised as H1 or Ha, is the hypothesis that specifies
those values that are researcher believes to hold true, and the researcher hopes
that sample data will lead to acceptance of this hypothesis as true. Alternative
hypothesis represents all other possibilities and it indicates the nature of
relationship.
The alternative hypothesis is stated as follows:
H1: μHV > μLV
The alternative hypothesis is that the mean of population of those who have the
vocabulary is grater than the mean of those to lack the vocabulary. In this example
the alternative hypothesis is that the experimental population had higher mean
than the controls. This is called directional hypothesis because researcher predicted
50
that the high vocabulary children would differ in one particular direction from Hypothesis Formulation
and Sampling
the low vocabulary children. Sometimes researcher predicts only that the two
groups will differ from each other but the researcher doesn’t know which group
will be higher. This is non directional hypothesis.
The null and alternative hypothesis in this case would be stated as follows:
Ho: μ1 = μ2
H1: μ1 ? μ2
Thus, the null hypothesis is that mean of group 1 equals the mean of group 2,
and the alternative hypothesis is that the mean of group 1 does not equal the
mean of group 2.
4.6 ERRORS IN TESTING A HYPOTHESIS

You have already learned that hypotheses are assumptions that may be prove to
be either correct or incorrect. It is possible to arrive at a incorrect conclusion
about a hypothesis for the various reasons if –
• Sampling procedure adopted faulty
• Data collection method inaccurate
• Study design selected is faulty
• Inappropriate statistical methods used
• Conclusions drawn are incorrect
Two common errors exist when testing a hypothesis.
Type I error – Rejection of a null hypothesis when it is true.
Type II error - Acceptance of a null hypothesis when it is false.
Self Assessment Questions (State True and False)

1) Null hypothesis is denoted by H1. T/F
2) If the hypothesis is accepted then researcher can replicate
the results. T/F
3) Rejection of a null hypothesis when it is true is called
type II error. T/F
4) Hypothesis can be stated directional and non directional. T/F
5) Alternative hypothesis specifies values that researcher
believes to hold true. T/F
Answers : (1) F, (2) T, (3) F, (4) T, (5) T
4.7 IMPORTANCE OF HYPOTHESIS

FORMULATION
Hypothesis is the basic function of the scientific research. If simple, brief and
clear scientific hypothesis has been formulated, there shall be no problem for the
investigator to proceed in the research field. Its utility or importance for and
research may be studied as under.
51
Introduction to Research Accordingly to Goode and Hatt (‘without’ hypothesis formulation the research
is unfocussed, a random empirical wandering. The results can not be studied as
facts with clear meaning. Formulation of hypothesis links between theory and
investigation which lead to discovery of addition to knowledge.
Study the following research questions and state the possible hypothesis
with specify their types specify their types.
1) Is physical attractiveness related to friendship?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2) Does meaningful of material affect the rate of learning?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3) Does reinforcement improve the learning for solving simple discrimination
task?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4) Does onset of fatigue reduce the efficiency of the worker?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
52
Hypothesis Formulation
4.8 SAMPLING and Sampling
Researchers usually can not make direct observation of every individual in the
population under study. Instead, they collect data from a subset of individuals- a
sample – and use those observations to make inferences about the entire
population.
Ideally, the sample corresponds to the larger population on the characteristics of

(s) of interest. In that case, the researcher’s conclusions from the samples are
properly applicable to the entire population.
Sampling is the process of selection of units (e.g. people, organisation) from a

population of interest so that by studying the sample may fairly generate results
back to the population from which they were chosen.
4.8.1 Definition of Sampling

According to Young (1992) “A statistical sample is miniature picture of cross
selection of the entire group or aggregate from which the sample is taken”.
According to Goode and Hatt(1981) “A sample, as the name implies, is a smaller

representative of a large whole”.
According to Blalock (1960) “It is a small piece of the population obtained by a

probability process that mirrors with known precision, the various patterns and
sub-classes of population”.
4.8.2 Sampling Terminology

Before we explain the purpose, uses and method of sampling, it will be better to
describe those fundamental terms which are concerned to sampling concepts
and principles.
Population: Population is a well defined set up of all elements pertaining to a

given characteristic. It refers to the whole that include all observations or
measurements of a given characteristic. Population is also called universe or
population. It may be defined as any identifiable and well specified group of
individual for example. All primary teachers, nonumber of all college teachers
and all university students are the example of population. A population may be
finite or infinite.
A finite population is one where all the members can be easily counted. An
infinite population is one whose size is unlimited, and can not count easily.
Population of college teachers is an example of finite population and production
of wheat, and fishes in river are the example of infinite population. A measure
based upon the entire population is called a parameter.
Sample: A sample is any number of persons selected to represent the population
according to some rule of plan. Thus, a sample is a smaller representation of the
population. A measure based upon a sample is known as a statistic.
Sample size: No. of selected individual for example, no. of students, families
from whom you obtain the require information is called the sample size and
usually denoted by the letter (n).
53
Introduction to Research Sampling design or strategy: The way researcher selects the sample or students
or families etc. is called the sampling design and strategy. It refers to the techniques
or procedures the researcher would adopt in selecting some sampling units from
which inferences about the population are drawn.
Sampling unit: Each individual or case that becomes the basis for selecting a
sample is called sampling unit or sampling elements.
Sampling frame: The list of people from which the sample is taken. It should be
comprehensive, complete and up-to-date. Examples of sampling frame: Electoral
Register; Postcode Address File; telephone book.
Self Assessment Questions (Fill in the blanks)
1) Any identifiable and well specified group of individual is known as
.............................................
2) List of all the units of the population is called ............................
3) Purposes of sampling is to derive the desired information about the
population at the minimum ..................... and maximum ....................
4) The way the researcher selects the sample is known as .....................
5) ........................... is the miniature picture of entire group.
Answers: (1) population, (2) sampling frame, (3) cost, reliability,
(4) sampling design, (5) sample.
4.8.3 Purpose of Sampling

The objective of sampling is to derive the desired information about the population
at the minimum cost or with the maximum reliability. Further, the aims in selecting
a sample are to achieve maximum precision in estimates within a given sample
size and to avoid bias in the selection of sample. Bias in the selection of sample
can take place if: (a) the researcher selects the sample by non random method
and influenced by human choice. (b) The researcher does not cover the sampling
population accurately and completely (c) A section of a sample population is
impossible to find or refuses to cooperate.
4.9 SAMPLING METHODS

Blalock (1960) indicated that most sampling methods could be classified into
two categories:
i) Non probability sampling methods
ii) Probability sampling methods
4.9.1 Non Probability Sampling Methods

Non probability sampling is one is which there is no way of assessing the
probability of the element or group of elements, of population being included in
the sample. In other words, non-probability sampling methods are those that
provide no basis for estimating how closely the characteristics of sample
approximate the parameters of population from which the sample had been
obtained. This is because non probability sample do not use the techniques of
random sampling. Important techniques of non probability sampling methods
54
are:
i) Haphazard, Accidental, or Convenience Sampling Hypothesis Formulation
and Sampling
Haphazard sampling can produce ineffective, highly unrepresentative samples
and is not recommended. When a researcher haphazardly selects cases that are
convenient, he or she can easily get a sample that seriously misrepresents the
population. Such samples are cheap and quick; however, the systematic errors
that easily occur make them worse than no sample at all. The person-on-the-
street interview conducted by television programs is an example of a haphazard
sample. Likewise, television interviewers often select people who look “normal”
to them and avoid people who are unattractive, poor, very old, or inarticulate.
Such haphazard samples may have entertainment value, but they can give a
distorted view and seriously misrepresent the population.
For example, an investigator may take student of class X into research plan
because the class teacher of the class happens to be his / her friend. This illustrates
accidental or convenience sampling.
ii) Quota Sampling

Quota Sampling is an improvement over haphazard sampling. In quota sampling,
a researcher first identifies relevant categories of people (e.g., male and female;
or under age 30, ages 30 to 60, over age 60, etc.), then decides how many to get
in each category. Thus, the number of people in various categories of the sample
is fixed. For example, a researcher decides to select 5 males and 5 females under
age 30, 10 males and 10 females aged 30 to 60, and 5 males and 5 females over
age 60 for a 40-person sample. It is difficult to represent all population
characteristics accurately.
Quota sampling ensures that some differences are in the sample. In haphazard
sampling, all those interviewed might be of the same age, sex, or background.
But, once the quota sampler fixes the categories and number of cases in each
category, he or she uses haphazard or convenience sampling. Nothing prevents
the researcher from selecting people who act friendly or who want to interviewed.
Quota sampling methods are not appropriate when the interviewers choose who
they like (within above criteria) and may therefore select those who are easiest
to interview, so, sampling bias can take place. Because not using the random
method, it is impossible to estimate the accuracy. Despite these limitations, quota
sampling is a popular method among non-probability methods of sampling,
because it enables the researcher to introduce a few controls into his research
plan and this methods of sampling are more convenient and less costly then
many other methods of sampling.
iii) Purposive sampling

Purposive sampling is a valuable kind of sampling for special situations. It is
used in exploratory research or in field research. It uses the judgment of an expert
in selecting cases or it selects cases with a specific purpose in mind. With
purposive sampling, he researcher never knows whether the cases selected
represent the population. Purposive sampling is appropriate to select unique cases
that are especially informative.
For example, a researcher wants to study the temperamental attributes of certain

problem behaviour children. It is very difficult to list all certain problem behaviour
children and sample randomly from the list. The researcher uses many different
55
Introduction to Research methods to identity these cases and approach them to obtain the relevant
information. The primary consideration in purposes sampling is the judgment of
researcher as to who can provide the best information to achieve the objectives
of the study. The researcher only goes to those people who in his / her opinion
are likely to have the required information and be willing to share it.
For studying attitude toward any national issue, a sample of journalists, teacher
and legislators may he taken as an example of purposive sampling because they
can more reasonably be expected to represent the correct attitude than other
class of people residing in country.
Purposes sampling is some what less costly, more readily accessible, more
convenient and select only those individual that are relevant to research design.
Despite these advantages of purposes sampling, there is no way to ensure that

the sample is truly represent of the population and more emphasis is placed on
the ability of researcher to assess the elements of population.
iv) Snowball sampling

Snowball sampling is also known as network, chain referral or reputation sampling
method. Snowball sampling which is a non probability sampling method is
basically sociometric. It begins by the collection of data on one or more contacts
usually known to the person collecting the data. At the end of the data collection
process (e.g., questionnaire, survey, or interview), the data collector asks the
respondent to provide contact information for other potential respondents. These
potential respondents are contacted and provide more contacts. Snowball sampling
is most useful when there are very few methods to secure a list of the population
or when the population is unknowable.
Snowball sampling has some advantages— 1) Snowball sampling, which is

primarily a sociometric sampling technique, has proved very important and is
helpful in studying small informal social group and its impact upon formal
organisational structure, 2) Snowball sampling reveals communication pattern
in community organisation concepts like community power; and decision-making
can also be studied with he help of such sampling technique.
Snowball sampling has some limitations also— 1) Snowball sampling becomes

cumbersome and difficult when is large or say it exceeds 100, 2) This method of
sampling does not allow the researcher to use probability statistical methods. In
fact, the elements included in sample are not randomly drawn and they are
dependent on the subjective choices of the originally selected respondents. This
introduces some bias in the sampling.
v) Systematic sampling
Systematic sampling is another method of non-probability sampling plan, though
the label ‘systematic’ is somewhat misleading in the sense that all probability
sampling methods are also systematic sampling methods. Due to this, it often
sounds that systematic sampling should be included under one category of
probability sampling, but in reality this is not the case.
Systematic sampling may be defined as drawing or selecting every ninth person

from a predetermined list of elements or individuals. Selecting every 5th roll
56
number in a class of 60 students will constitute systematic sampling. Likewise, Hypothesis Formulation
and Sampling
drawing every 8th name from a telephone directory is an example of systematic
sampling. If we pay attention to systematic sampling plan, it become obvious
that such a plan possesses certain characteristics of randomness (first element
selected is a random one) and at the same time, possesses some non-probability
traits such as excluding all persons between every ninth element chosen.
Systematic sampling is relatively quick method of obtaining a sample of elements

and it is very easy to check whether every ninth number or name has been selected.
Further Systematic sampling is easy to used.
Despite these advantages, systematic sampling ignores all persons between every
ninth element chosen. Then it is not a probability sampling plan. In Systematic
sampling there is a chance to happen the sampling error if the list is arranged in
a particular order.
Activity
Make a list of some research studies where some of the non probability
methods could be used. Also justify the choice of particular sampling method
you have selected for the study.
4.9.2 Probability Sampling

Probability sampling methods are those that clearly specify the probability or
likelihood of inclusion of each element or individual in the sample. Probability
sampling is free of bias in selecting sample units. They help in estimation of
sampling errors and evaluate sample results in terms of their precision, accuracy
and efficiency and hence, the conclusions reached from such samples are worth
generalisation and comparable to similar population to which they belong. Major
probability sampling methods are:
i) Simple random sampling

A simple random sample is a probability sample. A simple random sample requires
(a) a complete listing of all the elements (b) an equal chance for each elements to
be selected (c) a selection process whereby the selection of one element has no
effect on the chance of selecting another element. For example, if we are to
select a sample of 10 students from the seventh grade consisting of 40 students,
we can write the names (or roll number) of each of the 40 students on separate
slips of paper – all equal in size and colour – and fold them in a similar way.
Subsequently, they may be placed in a box and reshuffled thoroughly.
A blindfolded person, then, may be asked to pick up one slip. Here, the probability
of each slip being selected is 1-40. Suppose that after selecting the slip and
noting the name written on the slip, he again returns it to the box. In this case, the
probability of the second slip being selected is again 1/40. But if he does not
return the first slip to the box, the probability of the second slip becomes 1/39.
When an element of the population is returned to the population after being
selected, it is called sampling with replacement and when it is not returned, it is
called sampling without replacement.
Thus random sampling may be defined as one in which all possible combinations
of samples of fixed size have an equal probability of being selected.
57
Introduction to Research Advantages of simple random sampling are:
1) Each person has equal chance as any other of being selected in the sample.
2) Simple random sampling serves as a foundation against which other methods
are sometimes evaluated.
3) It is most suitable where population is relatively small and where sampling
frame is complete and up-to-date.
4) As the sample size increases, it becomes more representative of universe.
5) This method is least costly and easily assessable of accuracy.
Despite these advantages, some of the disadvantages are:
1) Complete and up-to-date catalogued universe is necessary.
2) Large sample size is required to establish the reliability.
3) When the geographical dispersion is so wider therefore study of sample
item has larger cost and greater time.
4) Unskilled and untrained investigator may cause wrong results.
Activity
In a class of 140 students, select a simple random sample of size 20 students
with replacement technique. Also mention the probability of each one of
140 students being included in the sample.
ii) Stratified random sampling

In stratified random sampling the population is divided into two or more strata,
which may be based upon a single criterion such as sex, yielding two strata-male
and female, or upon a combination of two or more criteria such as sex and
graduation, yielding four strata, namely, male undergraduates, male graduates,
female undergraduates and female graduates. These divided populations are called
subpopulations, which are non-overlapping and together constitute the whole
population.
Having divided the population into two or more strata, which are considered to
be homogeneous internally, a simple random sample for the desired number is
taken from each population stratum. Thus, in stratified random sampling the
stratification of population is the first requirement.
There can be many reasons for stratification in a population.
Two of them are:
1) Stratification tends to increases the precision in estimating the attributes of
the whole population.
2) Stratification gives some convenience in sampling. When the population is
divided into several units, a person or group of person may be deputed to
supervise the sampling survey in each unit.
Advantages of stratified Random Sampling are:
1) Stratified sampling is more representative of the population because
formation of stratum and random selection of item from each stratum make
it hard to exclude in strata of the universe and increases the sample’s
representation to the population or universe.
58
2) It is more precise and avoids the bias to great extent. Hypothesis Formulation
and Sampling
3) It saves time and cost of data collection since the sample size can be less in
the method.
Despite these advantages, some of the disadvantages of stratified sampling are:
1) Improper stratification may cause wrong results.
2) Greater geographical concentration may result in heavy cost and more time.
3) Trained investigators are required for stratification.
iii) Cluster sampling
A type of random sample that uses multiple stages and is often used to cover
wide geographic areas in which aggregated units are randomly selected and then
sample are drawn from the sampled aggregated units or cluster
For example, if the investigator wanted to survey some aspect of 3rd grade
elementary school going children. First, a random sample of number of states
from the country would be selected. Next, within each selected state, a random
selection of certain number of districts would be made. Then within district a
random selection of certain number of elementary schools would be made. Finally
within each elementary school, a certain number of children would be randomly
selected. Because each level is randomly sampled, the final sample becomes
random. However, selection of samples is done to different stages. This is also
called multi stage sampling.
This sampling method is more flexible than the other methods. Sub-divisions at
the second stage unit needs be carried out only those unit selected in the first
stage. Despite these merits, this sampling method is less accurate than a sample,
containing the same number of the units in single stage samples.
1) Non probability sampling is one which there is way of assessing the
probability of the element or group of element of population, being
included in the sample. T/F
2) Simple random sampling is the core technique and attaches equal
probability to each unit of the population to be selected. T/F
3) Cluster sampling method sometimes known as multi stage sampling
method. T/F
4) Snowball technique is a probability sampling method. T/F
5) Stratified sampling is more representative for the population than other
methods. T/F
Answer: (1) F, (2) T, (3) T, (4) F, (5) T.
4.10 IMPORTANCE OF SAMPLING

In research, sampling method has obtained great importance. Sampling studies
are becoming more and more popular in all type of studies. The vastness of the
population, the difficulties of contacting people, high refusal rate, difficulties of
ascertaining the universe make sampling the best alternative in case of social
studies. The census method is rarely, if ever tried in matters of social research.
59
Introduction to Research Recent developments in sampling technique have made this method more reliable
and valid. The results of sampling have attained a sufficiently high standard of
accuracy.
The three main advantage of sampling are that cost in lowest, data collection is
faster, and since the data set is smaller, it is possible to ensure homogeneity and
to improve the accuracy and quality of data (Ader, Mellenbergh & Hard (2008)
4.11 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you have learnt about hypothesis formulation and sampling. A
hypothesis is a speculative statement that is subjected to verification through a
research study. In formulating a hypothesis it is important to ensure that it is
simple, specific and conceptually clear; is able to be verified; is rooted in an
existing body of knowledge; and able to be operational zed. There are two broad
types of hypothesis: a null hypothesis and an alternate hypothesis.
Sampling is the act, process, or technique of selection a suitable sample, or a

representative part of a population for the purpose of determining parameters
or characteristics of the whole population.
Researchers rarely survey the entire population for two reasons: The cost is too
high, and the population is dynamic in that the individual making up the
population may change over time. Sampling methods are of two types i.e. Non
probability and probability sampling methods. Probability sampling methods
are those in which some probability to each unit of the population to be included
in the sample and this is more representative. Three different probability sampling
method are discussed as simple random sampling, stratified random sampling
and cluster / multi stage sampling. The other non probability sampling methods
discussed are convenience sampling, Quota sampling, Purposive sampling,
Snowball sampling and systematic sampling. These methods are also used but
lack the representative character of samples.

1) Define hypothesis and explain its characteristics.
2) Write short notes on:
a) Formulation of hypothesis
b) Null hypothesis
c) Alternative hypothesis
3) Write a hypothesis which incorporates each pair of concepts listed below:
a) academic achievement and teaching methods
b) education and social prestige
c) frustration and need for achievement
4) What is sampling? Discuss its importance.
5) What is simple random sampling. Discuss its advantages and disadvantages.
6) What do you mean by probability sampling method. Discuss any two types
of probability sampling methods.
60
7) Define the following: Hypothesis Formulation
and Sampling
1) Sampling unit
2) Population
3) Sampling frame
4.13 GLOSSARY
Hypothesis : A tentative and testable statement of a potential
relationship between two or more variables.
Null hypothesis : The hypothesis that is of no scientific interest;
sometimes the hypothesis of no difference.
Alternative hypothesis : Statistical term for research hypothesis that
specifies values that researcher believes to hold
true.
Population : It is the aggregate from which a sample is drawn.
In statistics, it refers to any specified collection of
objects, people, organisation etc.
Population size : It is the total number of units present in the
population.
Sampling units : They are members of the population.
Sampling frame : It is the list of all the units of population.
Sampling design : It is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a
given population.
Sample size : It is the total number of units in the sample.
Simple random sample : It is a sample in which each unit of the population
has an equal chance of being selected in the
sample.

Ader, H.J., Mellenbergh, G.J., & Hand, D.J. (2008). Advising on Research
Methods: A Consultant’s Companion. Huizen, The Netherlands: Johannes van
kessel Publishing.
Blalock, HM (1960), Social Statistics, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Goode, WJ & Hatt, PK (1981). Methods in Social Research. Tokyo: McGraw
hill Book Company.
References
Kerlinger, FN (1973). Foundations of Behavioural Research. New York: Rinehart
and Winston.
McGuigan, FJ (1990). Experimental Psychology: A Methodological Approach,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-hall.
Reichenbach, H (1938). Experience and Prediction. Chicago: University of
Chicago press.
Reichenbach, H (1947). Elements of Symbolic Logic, New York: Macmillan.
Young, PV (1992). Scientific Social Survey and Research,New Delhi: Prentice-
hall of India. 61
Survey Research
UNIT 1 SURVEY RESEARCH
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Concept and Meaning of ‘Survey Research’
1.3 Steps Involved in Conducting Survey Research
1.4 Methods/ Instruments Used in Collecting Data Through Survey Research
1.5 Types of Survey Research
1.6 Constructing a Survey Research
1.7 Types of Questions in a Survey Research
1.7.1 Structured Questions
1.7.2 Unstructured Questions
1.8 Precautions while Designing Instruments
1.9 Advantages and Disadvantages of Survey Research
1.10 Difficulties and Issues of Survey Research
1.11 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 INTRODUCTION
One of the most important areas of research tools in the field of applied social
science is the ‘survey research’. It is one of the most relevant techniques basically
used for collecting data and involves any measurement procedures that
prominently include asking questions from respondents or the subjects selected
for the research study. The term “survey” can be defined as a process which may
involve an investigation/ examination or assessment in the form of a short paper-
and-pencil feedback form to an intensive one-on-one in-depth interview. With
the help of the questionnaire or other statistical tools, the method tries to gather
data about people, their thoughts and behaviours. This unit tries to focus on the
concept, various methods, the relevance and implications of the survey research
method.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define and describe the survey research method;
• List out the different methods or techniques of the survey research method;
• Elucidate the different types of survey research;
• Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the survey research method;
and
• Describe the kind of questions that should be used in survey.
5
Types of Research
1.2 CONCEPT AND MEANING OF ‘SURVEY
RESEARCH’
The method of survey research is a non-experimental (that is, it does not involves
any observation under controlled conditions), descriptive research method which
is one of the quantitative method used for studying of large sample. In a survey
research, the researcher collects data with the help of standardised questionnaires
or interviews which is administered on a sample of respondents from a population
(population is sometimes referred to as the universe of a study which can be
defined as a collection of people or object which possesses at least one common
characteristic). The method of survey research is one of the techniques of applied
social research which can be helpful in collection of data both through direct
(such as a direct face to face interview) and indirect observation (such as opinions
on library services of an institute).
1.3 STEPS INVOLVED IN CONDUCTING SURVEY

RESEARCH
Any type of survey research follows the following systematic steps:
Step 1: Determination of the aims and objectives of study:
The researcher must at the outset analyse and assess the relevant areas or issues
which need to be studied. Once the research area is selected by the researcher,
the basic aims and objectives have to be clearly specified. These have to be
focused and analysed so as to make the purpose of research relevant and
understandable. The researchers have to come up with the basic aims and
objectives which would be focused and analysed in their over all research.
Step 2: Define the population to be studied:

After selecting the theme of the research, the researcher also needs to define the
target population which would be studied by him/her. As discussed earlier, the
population or universe would be a collection of people or object that would
possess at least one common characteristic, which is going to be helpful and
which would also provide direction in the process of conducting the research.
Step 3: Design and construct a survey:

Once the target population is defined by the researcher, he or she needs to design
a survey research. On the basis of the framed design, the research decides to
conduct a survey, selects instrument for survey (for example telephonic interview)
with the help of which data will be collected. After the selection of the instrument,
the researcher conducts a pilot study (a small survey taken in advance of a major
investigation or research). The pilot study helps the researcher to analyse the
significance and relevance of the instruments selected by the researcher for the
present research.
Step 3: Select a representative sample:

The process of construction of the survey instruments gives a way to the selection
of the sample from the target population. The researcher selects a sample which
represents nearly maximum characteristics of the whole universe/ population. If
the sample selected is a good representation of the population, then the results or
6
the findings of the survey conducted on the sample can be easily generalised on Survey Research
the population as a whole.
Step 4: Administer the survey:
After the selection of the sample, the researcher conducts the survey by
administering the survey instrument or tool on the selected sample. This step
helps in the collection of the required data or information from the sample.
Step 5: Analyse and interpret the findings of the survey:
Once the data has been collected, the researcher analyses the data with the help
of required statistical tools and then interprets the findings on the basis of the
information revealed. This step involves several processes such as coding the
data and then processing it.
Step 6: Prepare the report of the survey:

On the basis of the analysis and interpretation of the results, the researcher prepares
a report of the over all research conducted. The report contains all the details of
aims, objectives, data analysis, interpretation and discussion of the results. In
this step, the researcher tries to evaluate how the findings meet the proposed
aims and objectives of the research.
Step 7: Communicate the findings of the survey:

Last but not the least, the most important step of conducting the survey research
is to disseminate the survey findings. The researcher needs to communicate the
findings to the target population and it is equally important record for the future
research to be done on a similar field. The impacts of the survey results are also
assessed on them, on the basis of which the researcher may also recommend
certain policies on decision making.

Fill in the blanks
1) In a survey research, the researcher collects data with help of ...................
2) On the basis of the analysis and interpretation of the results, the
researcher prepares ........................ of the over all research conducted
3) The population or universe can be defined as ........................................
4) Pilot study can be defined as .................................................................
5) Discuss the steps involved in survey research
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
7
Types of Research
1.4 METHODS/INSTRUMENTS USED IN
COLLECTING DATA THROUGH SURVEY
RESEARCH
It has been argued that surveys should be designed in such a way that helps in
making accurate decisions. Predominantly there are three major ways which can
be used as an instrument in collecting data with the help of survey research.
They are being explained below:
1) Sampling: As discussed earlier, a sample is a representation of the population
or universe selected for the study. The technique of sampling can in itself
act as an instrument in collecting data in survey research. For example if the
researcher wants to study the level of job satisfaction amongst the employees
of an organisation, then the researcher can select and study the attitude of at
least ten persons of each department of the organisation. In order to avoid
any bias, the sampling can be done with the help of randomisation (a method
of sampling which provides an equal chance for each subject to be involved
in the study, which can be done with the help of lottery or fish bowl technique)
or stratification (a method of sampling which categorizes the population in
to various categories and subcategories and then conducting the research).
2) Questionnaire: Questionnaires are basically a kind of paper pencil and
multiple choice test in which the individual needs to select the most suitable
alternative. The researcher may collect data with the help of a questionnaire
from a large number of samples at a single time. Questionnaires can be
administered to the sample in three ways: (i) Mail survey (ii) Group
administered questionnaire and (iii) household drop off survey.These are
being discussed in detail below:
i) Mail survey: The researcher may forward a soft copy of the questionnaire
to a large number of respondents through mail and can get the data
collected from them at a single time. It is one of the relatively
inexpensive, less time consuming and convenient method of getting
responses. Yet, the questions which require on the spot response or
detailed answer is difficult to be achieved through mail survey.
ii) Group administered questionnaire: It is one of the traditional methods
of administering questionnaire. The researcher calls for a large number
of respondents to be present at a stipulated time period as a group.
Under such group settings, the respondents are asked to respond to a
structured sequence of questions written in paper or questionnaire. The
greatest advantage of this method is that the respondents can clarify
their doubt regarding any questioned that has been asked by the
researcher instantly.
iii) Household drop-off survey: In this method, the researcher goes door
to door to the respondents and personally hands over as well as collects
the questionnaire from them. It is a kind of pick and drop facility which
is provided by the researcher so that the researcher can answer the
questions according to their convenience.
3) Interview: Interview is a kind of face to face interaction which helps in
providing more honest answers and responses from the sample, as the
8
interviewer (the one who is interviewing i.e., the researcher) works directly Survey Research
with the respondent or the interviewee (the one who is being interviewed).
Unlike questionnaires, the interviewer has an opportunity to ask follow-up
questions. They are the best suitable methods for those questions which
require opinions or impressions from the respondents. Interviews can be of
different types as given below:
i) Structured interview: Structured interviews are those interviews in
which the questions that are to be asked from the respondents are
prepared and preplanned in advance by the researcher. The researcher
imposes those prepared questions on the respondents serially and notes
down the answers given by them.
ii) Unstructured interview: Interviews are said to be unstructured when

the researcher conducts an interaction with the respondent in an informal
atmosphere. Nothing is preplanned in advance. The response of the
sample gives a clue to the researcher to ask the next question.
iii) Telephonic interview: In order to save time and money, the researcher
may call the subjects or sample through telephone and ask them
questions to collect data. This method helps in saving time and energy
but the sample gets limited to only that part of the population who
have the facility of telephones at their residences or offices.
1.5 TYPES OF SURVEY RESEARCH

Based on the selection of an instrument or method of data collection, the researcher
can use qualitative (e.g. ask open-ended questions) or quantitative (e.g. use forced-
choice questions) measures. Basically there are two major types of survey: cross-
sectional surveys and longitudinal surveys, though there exist some other types
of surveys also. These are explained below:
Cross sectional survey

Cross sectional surveys are used by the researcher when he or she wants to collect
data from varied or different types of groups ( that may be in terms of age, sex,
group, nation, tribes and so on) at a single time. An example of such a survey can
be a study on the effect of socialisation of children of different age groups of a
particular country. This type of survey is less time consuming and economical
as well.
Longitudinal survey
This type of research is used only when the subject wants to study the same
sample for a longer period of time. Such longitudinal studies may be used to
study behavioural changes, attitude changes, religious effects or any event or
practice that may have a long time effect on the selected sample or population.
There are three main types of longitudinal studies which help the researcher to
analyse the long term effects on the selected sample. These three include (i)
Trend studies (ii) Cohort studies and (iii) Panel studies. These are explained in
the following paragraphs.
9
Types of Research i) Trend studies
When the researcher needs to analyse a trend of a phenomenon in a population,
they conduct trend studies. The sample of the selected population might not be
the same (as over a period of time they might have shifted or not available for
various reasons) but they belong to the same population. This selected population
is sampled and examined regularly. Since it is a type of longitudinal research, it
may not be started as well as ended by just one researcher or research project. An
example of trend studies may be a yearly survey of number of graduates actively
using books and journals from the library of a university.
ii) Cohort studies

The focus of this type of longitudinal study is also on a particular population
which is sampled and studied more than once within a time gap. The example of
this study can be an investigation of the number of graduates of the year 2009
who have been actively using the library and four years later, the researcher may
examine the same issue on another sample of the 2009 graduates and investigate
whether after the time gap has there been any difference in the attitudes towards
the importance of the library within the members of the same class. Wherein, in
the trend study, the research scholar would study such an attitude within the
graduates of different batches of the same university.
iii) Panel studies

The researcher in a panel study uses the same sample of people every time and
that sample is called as a ‘panel’. Such a study is used in order to investigate the
changes in attitudes, behaviour or practices of the same panel within a period of
time. They are more specific and focused as the researcher studies a particular
change in the attitude, behaviour, belief or practice of the same group. For
example, a researcher may study the library usage trends amongst the graduate
students and ask them questions related to their frequency of library usage habits.
Thereafter, the researcher may ask the same group or panel, similar questions
and also the reasons behind the changes in their habits, if it has occurred. The
study is difficult enough as it faces a greater trend of attrition rates (difficulty in
availability of the same people).

State whether the following are true or false
1) The panel study is used in order to investigate the changes in
attitudes, behaviour or practices of the same sample within a
period of time. ( )
2) There are different types of longitudinal studies. ( )
3) Interviews are said to be unstructured when the researcher
asks preplanned questions ( )
4) A sample can never be a representation of the population. ( )
1.6 CONSTRUCTING A SURVEY RESEARCH

In the process of conducting a survey research, the researcher needs to design a
framework of the instruments and processes of data collection, on the basis of
10
which the overall research would be done. The researcher needs to decide the Survey Research
content, format and wordings that would be included in the survey instruments.
No doubt the researcher selects any one of the kinds of instruments (that is
questionnaire/ interview), he or she needs to frame questions. The questions
should be so worded that there is clarity in what is being asked and should have
the capability of eliciting response.
The survey instruments are the back bone of research and that is why the
statements or the questions of the researcher should be short and specific as
well. Once the framework of the process of research is decided, then the researcher
constructs the survey instrument by framing questions. While writing the questions
for the survey, the researcher needs to take care of a few basic aspects, given
below:
• Deciding the content, scope and objectives of the question.
• Selecting the most convenient format of response (for example- Likert type
five point scale/ multiple choice questions and so on).
• Deciding on how to frame the questions that would elicit the required
response.
• Formatting the series of questions to bring out the best response and favorable
conditions for the survey.
• The researcher needs to be very sensitive while preparing the questions and
take full care of the moral values and ethics of the respondents to get the
best results.
1.7 TYPES OF QUESTIONS IN A SURVEY

RESEARCH
As discussed earlier, the researcher needs to be very careful while preparing or
constructing the questions of a survey research. Selection of the type of questions
is a very crucial aspect, as the whole research would depend upon such questions.
Broadly survey questions can be divided as structured and unstructured questions.
Each one of them is explained below:
1.7.1 Structured Questions

Structured questions are those questions, the format of which is preplanned and
predefined in advance. Some of the types of structured questions include (i)
Dichotomous Questions. (ii) Level of measurement based questions (iii) Filter
or Contingency Questions
i) Dichotomous questions
A question is said to be dichotomous if it has only two possible responses (for
example – yes or no/ true or false and so on). The lay out of these questions
appear in the following ways in the questionnaire:
Does the library of your university has an electronic data base system?
————Yes
————No
11
Types of Research OR
Please mention your gender:
Male Female
ii) Level of measurement based questions

Not to be mentioned that three basic levels of measurement are: nominal (based
on names, classification of persons, objects and groups), ordinal (based on ranks
and preferences) and interval (based on ratings) measurements. For example, a
nominal question may have numbers before each response, which may only
represent the serial order, like –
Please state the category to which you belong:
General- ————-
OBC- ——————
SC/ST- —————
The numbers here just denote the serial order and have nothing to do with the
preference or ranks.
A question based on the ordinal level of measurement will be based on the

preference or choice of the respondent. For example, the respondent may be
asked to give a ranking for the business tycoons in an order of most trendy or
fashionable to least trendy, where the respondent may be asked to give a rank of
1 to the most trendy tycoon and 4 to the least trendy tycoon:
—————— Subroto Roy
—————— Mukesh Ambani
—————— Bill Gates
—————— Vijay Mallya
The respondent may rank the tycoons on the basis of their own likings and
preferences.
The question based on interval scale may be based on rating the choices, out of
which the most commonly used scale is Likert response scale (which has a rating
of 1 to5, or 1to7, or, 1 to 9). For example:
The university has a well equipped and fully furnished library:
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly agree Agree Can not say Disagree Strongly disagree
iii) Filter or Contingency Questions
When a question is framed in such a way that it is followed by succeeding
questions, which are sub parts of the main question, such types of question design
is known as filter or contingency questions.
For example, if a researcher wants to ask whether the respondent has ever attended
the library of the university and if the researcher also wants to know how many
times the respondent has attended the library, then the format of the question
will be as follows:
12
Have you ever regularly attended the library of your university? Survey Research
Yes
No
If yes, then how many times?

Once in a month
Twice in a month
Every week of the month
Each and every day in a month
The researcher may use multiple filter questions in order to get the subsequent
responses. But he or she should take full care that in order to maintain the interest
of the respondent, they should not exceed more than two to three levels for any
question.
1.7.2 Unstructured Questions

Unstructured questions are usually used in interview, where either the researcher
does not prepare a list of questions and the series of questions might depend
upon the response of the subjects or they ask questions in an informal atmosphere.
In order to get adequate and required information, the researcher should take full
care and should give a silent probe, verbally encourage, ask for clarification and
have full empathy with the respondent.

Choose the correct alternative
1) A question is said to be dichotomous one if,
a) it has more than two responses
b) it has two responses
c) It has a single response
d) none of the above
2) In the process of conducting a survey research, the researcher needs to
design
a) framework of the instruments and processes of data collection
b) the framework of the administrative requirements
c) the framework of the personality requirements
3) A question based on the ordinal level of measurement will be based on
a) the preference or choice of the respondent
b) the ratings of the respondent
c) the classification of the respondent
13
Types of Research
1.8 PRECAUTIONS WHILE DESIGNING
INSTRUMENTS
While preparing the questionnaire or the survey instrument, the researcher should
take full care of the following aspects:
1) The items or the questions of the instruments should be clear , specific,
relevant and short.
2) The respondents of the research should also be capable enough to answer
the questions
3) The researcher should have full empathy with the respondents and should
avoid those questions which might have a negative impact on the respondent.
4) The researcher should also avoid any kind of bias either towards the questions
or towards the respondents of the questions.
1.9 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF

SURVEY RESEARCH
Survey research has the following advantages:
• It is convenient, less time taking and economical for the researcher.
• The survey can be conducted for a longer period of time, which gives a
chance of knowing about the latest changes or advancements that might
have taken place in the agenda under study
• The researcher gets a full chance to well organise and present the reasons of
the study to get full and honest answers from the respondents.
• Yet, the method of survey research lacks the following aspects.
Disadvantages
• Maintaining the privacy of responses of each respondent under a group
interview is questionable and that may also restrict full and honest answers
from them.
• High attrition rate of the respondents might hinder the longitudinal based
studies.
1.10 DIFFICULTIES AND ISSUES OF SURVEY

RESEARCH
If the researcher plans to go for a survey research, there are certain issues which
he or she might have to understand and take full care. They are:
1) Issues on selecting the type of survey
One of the most critical decisions for a researcher is to select the kind of
survey that might be most appropriate or suitable for his or her study. The
researcher should be aware of the kind of population that would be suitable
for the study. Again, they should also be comfortable with the language of
the selected population. The researcher should also analyse the geographic
restrictions and try to find out which method can be most feasible for a
14 dispersed population.
2) Issues on survey instruments Survey Research
While constructing the survey, the researcher should have full knowledge
of the suitability of the questions that would be asked to the respondents.
The type of questions, clarity and specificity of the questions as well as the
length of the questions are some of the controversial issues within a survey
research.
3) Bias Issues
The researcher’s bias and prejudices might have a significant influence on
the findings of the survey research, so they should be fully aware of the
repercussions of their bias. Their behaviour should be socially desired ones,
he or she should not loose track and also should avoid false reports. In such
cases, issues of bias is really difficult but essential agenda in a survey research.
4) Administrative Issues
The cost, mode of survey, feasibility of the area selected, required time period
are also important aspects which needs to be preplanned even before the
advancement of the research.

Fill in the blanks
1) The researchers’ biasness and prejudices might have a significant
influence on the ........................................... of the survey research.
2) High attrition rate of the respondents might ................................... the
longitudinal based studies.
3) The researcher should have full empathy with the ..............................
4) The basic administrative issues are .....................................................
1.11 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we learnt that the method of survey research holds a significant
position in the area of the applied research. We also learnt the steps involved in
conducting survey research. We then learnt about the types of survey research
and explained each of them in detail. We learnt how to construct a survey research
and what are the ways in which questions should be asked in a survey and how
to avoid biases. We dealt with the many precautions while designing instruments
and learnt about the advantages and disadvantages of the survey research. The
methods and kinds of survey research that are most common and are frequently
used by a number of research scholars were also mentioned . Yet it was pointed
out that there are certain aspects which are crucial enough and the researcher
should take full care. The process of constructing of the survey research is also
very significant and important decision that determines the extent to which the
research would be successful.

1) Describe the different methods or techniques of the survey research method.
2) Explain the different types of conducting survey research.
15
Types of Research 3) Explain the different issues of survey research method
4) What are the different types of questions that can be designed for a survey
instrument?
5) Explain the different types of interviews that can be used for conducting a
survey research

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Yin, R.K. (1984). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Beverly Hills,
CA, USA.: Sage Publications.
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32(4): 257-269.
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experiences of breast cancer: a qualitative meta-study. Cancer nursing 30(4):
E27-35.
Attree P. Low-income mothers, nutrition and health: a systematic review of

qualitative evidence. Maternal and Child Nutrition 2005 1(4): 227-240.
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Yu D et al. Living with chronic heart failure: a review of qualitative Humphreys

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nurse, midwife/allied health professional consultants. Journal of Clinical Nursing
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Robinson L. & Spilsbury K. Systematic review of the perceptions and experiences

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Blaxter M. Criteria for evaluation of qualitative research. Medical Sociology

News 1996; 22: 68-71.
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of GPs’ attitudes to clinical practice guidelines. Br J Gen.Pract 2007;
57:971-8.14
Cohen DJ & Crabtree BF. Evaluative criteria for qualitative research in health
care; controversies and recommendations. Annals of Fam. Med 2008; 6 (4):
331- 39.
Dixon-Woods M, Booth A, Sutton AJ. Synthesizing qualitative research: a review

of published reports. Qual Res 2007; 7: 375-421.
Dixon-Woods M, Shaw RL, Agarwal S, Smith JA. The problem of appraising

qualitative research. QSHC 2004;13: 223-225.

of published reports. Qualitative Research 2007; 7(3): 375-422.
Dixon-Woods M, Sutton AF, Shaw RL, Miller T, Smith J, Young B, Bonas S,

Booth A, Jones DR. Appraising qualitative research for inclusion in systematic
reviews: a quantitative and qualitative comparison of three methods. Journal of
Health Service Research and Policy 2007; 12: 42-7.
Edwards A, Elwyn G, Hood K, Rollnick S. Judging the ‘weight of evidence’ in

systematic reviews: introducing rigour into the qualitative overview stage by
assessing Signal and Noise. J Eval Clin Pract. 2000 May;6(2):177-84.
Lincoln YS, Guba EG. Naturalistic Inquiry, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, 1985 .
Guba EG. & Lincoln YS. Fourth Generation evaluation. Newbury Park. CA:
Sage. 1989.
Harden A. Critical Appraisal and Qualitative Research: Exploring sensitivity

analysis. ESRC Research Methods Festival, St. Catherine’s College Oxford, 30th
June-3rd July, 2008.
Hill A & Spittlehouse C. What is critical appraisal? Evidence-Based Medicine

2003; 3 (2): 1-8.
Noyes J & Popay J. Directly observed therapy and tuberculosis: how can a
systematic review of qualitative research contribute to improving services?
A qualitative meta-synthesis. Journal of Advanced Nursing 2007; 57(3), 227–

243.
Morse JM, Barett M, Mayan M, Olson K, Spiers J. Verification strategies for

establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. Int J of Qual Meth
2002; 1 (2):spring. Mays N, Pope C. Qualitative research in health care Assessing
quality in qualitative research. BMJ 2000;320:50-52. 15
Noyes J, Popay J, Pearson A, Hannes K, Booth A. Chapter 20: Qualitative research

and Cochrane reviews. In: Higgins JPT, Green S (editors). Cochrane Handbook
for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Version 5.0.1 [updated September 2008].
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Popay, J.,& Williams, G. (1998). Qualitative research and evidence based

healthcare. Journal of Research in Social Medicine,91(Suppl 35), 32–37.
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http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/dept-pages/sociology/early.html
http://www.stat.ncsu.edu/info/srms/srms.html http://salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/
mscprm/Forms.htm http://salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/mscprm/Forms2.htm.
HREF=”http://srcweb.berkeley.edu:4229/ http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/
tutorial/mugo/tutorial.htm http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~newsted/tutor.htm http:/
/trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/survey.htm.
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/www.worldbank.org/nipr/data/envperf/” http://www.window.state.tx.us/tpr/tspr/
mtplsnt/appendd.htm http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~osrl/orsp/orsp.html
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survaddi.php
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb
http://www.transitionaljustice.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=
view&id=2677&Itemid=49
18
Survey Research
UNIT 2 EX-POST FACTO RESEARCH
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Forms of Research Design
2.3 Concept and Meaning of Ex-post Facto Research
2.4 Characteristics of Ex-post Facto Research
2.5 Differences between an Experimental and an Ex-post Facto Research
2.6 Essentials/Requisites for Inferring Causal Relationships
2.7 Steps of Ex-post Facto Research
2.8 Strengths and Weaknesses of Ex-post Facto Research
2.9 Concept of Post Hoc Fallacy
2.10 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
The present unit will focus on the concept, meaning, significance and types of
ex-post facto research. Research can be briefly explained as an objective based,
specific and the systematic process of exploring new knowledge, skills, behaviour,
attitudes and values as well as practices, or for the re-interpretation of existing
knowledge, behaviour, skills, attitudes and values. Based on the research goal or
problem, the selection of research method by the researcher may vary. When the
researcher wants to study the cause of an event which has already occurred as an
effect of the cause, then the research conducted is known as ‘ex post facto’
research. For example, if there has been an economical recession in a country
and the researcher tries to analyse the ‘cause’ or reason behind such recession
(which is the ‘effect’). In this unit you will be learning all about the ex-post
facto research, its meaning and characteristic features etc. You will also learn
about the differences between ex-post factor and experimental research and how
to infer causal relationships. We also will learn about the strengths and weaknesses
of this type of research.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define ex-post facto research;
• Explain the characteristics of the ex-post facto research;
• Differentiate between experimental and ex-post facto research;
• Elucidate the sequence or steps of the ex-post facto research; and
• Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the ex-post facto research.
19
Types of Research
2.2 FORMS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
On basis of the occurring events, there can be two designs or forms of research
and these are Prospective research design and Retrospective research design.
When the researcher tries to find out the future or potential results that is, the
effect after treating the independent variable or the cause, then the researcher is
actually trying to examine the prospective or the future results. For example, if
the researcher wants to examine the effects of excess of smoking, then the subject
may be asked to smoke under varied conditions which may result in cancer.
The Retrospective research design on the other hand is one in which the researcher
tries to trace the history in order to find out the basic reason behind an event.
Here a result has already occurred, and the researcher is trying to find out the
causes behind its occurrence by going backwards in history. This kind of results
obtained are said to be based on retrospective research design. For example, if
the researcher wants to examine the reason behind the occurrence of cancer in a
person, then they may try to trace the possible reasons that might have led to
cancer. The possibilities may be excess of smoking/ heredity/ diet habits and so
on.

State whether the following statements are True or False
1) In a prospective research design, the researcher tries to trace the
history of an already occurred event ( )
2) When the researcher wants to study the cause of an event then the
research conducted is known as ‘ex post facto’ research ( )
3) When the researcher tries to find out the future or potential results
after manipulating the independent variables, then the researcher is
actually trying to examine the retrospective aspects of the research.
( )
2.3 CONCEPT AND MEANING OF EX-POST

FACTO RESEARCH
The ex-post facto research is a kind of research in which the researcher predicts
the possible causes behind an effect that has already occurred. For example, if a
child is delinquent (that is, one who indulges in criminal activities), then in
order to find the basic reason behind such delinquency, the researcher would try
to find out the various events that have occurred and the many possibilities that
could have contributed to the concerned delinquent behaviour. The expected
possibilities may be lack of discipline at school/ family history/ peer effect/
neighbourhood or socialisation.
It is an interesting point to note that, the researcher predicts a cause on the basis
of a controlled effect (since no variation can be done on the effect which has
already taken place on the basis of the independent variable or the cause).
Thus, an ex-post facto research can be defined as an empirically based

investigation which does not involve the researchers’ direct control over the
20
independent variables because they have already led to effects which can no Ex-Post Facto Research
more be manipulated. The conclusions regarding the relationship between the
variables are inferred without intervening or varying the independent or dependent
variable.
The term ex-post facto according to Landman (1988: 62) is used to refer to an
experiment in which a researcher, instead of finding a treatment, examines the
effect of a naturally occurring treatment after it has occurred. In other words it
is a study that attempts to discover the pre-existing causal conditions between
groups.
It should, however, be pointed out that the most serious danger of ex-post facto-
research is the conclusion that because two factors go together, one is the cause
and the other is the effect.
2.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF EX POST FACTO

RESEARCH
Based on the concept of the ex-post factor research, it is also known as ‘causal
comparative research’. The ex-post facto research has certain characteristic which
distinguishes it from other different types of researches. Some of these
characteristics are presented below in the following paragraphs.
The research has a control or a comparison group

As the research is done on basis of the study of the cause which has already led
to its effects, it becomes necessary for the researcher to keep a control group,
which can be used for comparison with the actual experimental group later on,
in order to analyse the cause of an already occurred event.
The behaviour, action, event or the treatment or the independent variable

of the research cannot be manipulated or changed
As the ex-post research is a kind of study which tries to predict the causes on the
basis of actions that have already occurred, the researcher cannot manipulate or
change the already occurred actions or behaviour.
The research focuses on the effects

Since the researcher tries to analyse and predict the reasons behind the occurrence
of an event or phenomena, their first attempt is to focus on the event or the
phenomena that has already occurred. Only after having a detailed study of the
phenomena or the event, the researcher tries to determine the causes behind such
an event or phenomena.
The research tries to analyse the ‘how’ and ‘what’ aspect of an event
Since the researcher tries to understand the causal effects behind a phenomena,
the research basically focuses on how and what reasons that has led that
phenomena to occur.
Explores possible effects and causes

With the help of an ex-post facto research, the researcher tries to analyse the
cause and effect phenomena of an event, action or behaviour.
21
Types of Research
2.5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AN EXPERIMENTAL
EX-POST FACTO RESEARCH
There is no doubt that both the experimental research and the ex-post facto research
try to investigate relationships between the existing variables, the conclusions of
both are logically as well as empirically valid and reliable, yet there are certain
basic differences between both of them. They can be pointed out as follows:
Experimental research Ex-post facto research

Control over In an experimental research, In an ex-post facto research,
independent the researcher can directly the researcher can not directly
Variable manipulate the independent manipulate the independent
variable/s (that is, the cause) variable/s (that is, the cause) as
in order to examine its effect he or she predicts the cause on
on the dependent variable basis of the dependent variable
(that is, the effect). (that is, the effect).
Principle of The researcher can use the The researcher can not use the
randomisation principle of randomisation in principle of randomisation in
an experimental research on an ex-post facto research as the
basis of which they can researcher has no direct control
conclude or infer that other over the cause and so they infer
things remaining equal/ the possibilities of the causes
constant/controlled the effect on basis of the existing effect.
is a result of manipulation of
the cause.
Manipulation The researcher can The researcher can not
of variables manipulate variables in an manipulate variables in an ex-
experimental research post facto research.
Interpretation It is easier to interpret or infer It is difficult to interpret or
relationships between the infer relationship between the
independent and dependent independent and dependent
variables as they can variables as there can be more
manipulate the independent than one possibilities or cause
variable and see its effect on for a particular effect.
dependent variable

Fill in the blanks:
1) The researcher can use the principle of randomisation in an ..............
research
2) The researcher can not manipulate variables in an ..................... research
3) The ex-post facto research can be defined as ........................................
4) The ex-post facto research is a kind of research in which the researcher
predicts the possible ............................... behind an ............................
that has already occurred
22
Ex-Post Facto Research
2.6 ESSENTIALS/ REQUISITES FOR INFERRING
CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS
In order to infer or conclude the cause and effect relationships, the researcher
needs to take care of the following aspects:
Associative variation
In order to infer/ predict or conclude that a particular effect ‘y’ is a result of a
cause ‘x’, there should be an association between them. Therefore, the researcher
can come to a conclusion only after examining that a variation in ‘x’ yields the
effect ‘y’.
Systematic order of events

The events or the process follows a consistent sequence or order. If variable ‘x’
causes ‘y’, then variable ‘x’ must occur before or simultaneously with ‘y’, and
not after it.
Absence of other causes

The researcher should analyse each aspect of the causal relationship with full
detail and find out the best possible cause/ reason or independent variable that
has ultimately led to the effect /action or event to occur. For example, the etiology
of cancer can be due to several factors. In an ex-post facto research, the researcher
finds out the best possible reason that might have led to the occurrence of that
disease within the person or the subject.
2.7 STEPS OF EX-POST FACTO RESEARCH

The process of ex-post facto research is systematic and follows a definite sequence.
As mentioned by Isaac and Michael (1971), the following are the steps involved
in the expost facto research—
Step 1. Determining the problem

In an ex-post facto research, it is necessary for the researcher to focus on the
problem that he or she needs to study. They not only need to find out a problem,
they also need to determine, analyse and define the problem which they will be
dealing with.
Step 2. Literature Review

Before trying to predict the causal relationships, the researcher needs to study all
the related or similar literature and relevant studies, which may help in further
analysis, prediction and conclusion of the causal relationship between the variables
under study.
Step 3. Formulation of hypothesis

The third step of the ex-post facto research is to propose the possible solutions
or alternatives that might have led to the effect. They need to list out the
assumptions which will be the basis of the hypothesis and procedure of the
research.
23
Types of Research Step 4. Designing the approach
Once the problem has been defined and the hypothesis has been postulated, the
researcher needs to select the sample which fits the criteria of the study. They
also need to select the scale or construct instrument for collecting the required
information / data. Once the designing are all finalised, the researcher analyses
the relationship between the variables.
Step 5. Validity of the research

The researcher needs to validate the significance of their research. They need to
be cautious regarding the extent to which their findings would be valid and
significant and helpful in interpreting and drawing inferences from the obtained
results.
Step 6. Interpretation of the conclusion

Finally, the researcher needs to analyse, evaluate and interpret the information
collected. It is on basis of this step only, the researcher selects the best possible
alternative of causes which might have led the effect to occur.
Similarly, Jacobs et al. (1992: 81) also proposed that the following steps are
involved in conducting an ex-post facto-research:
1st Step: The first step should be to state the problem.
2nd Step: Following this is the determination of the group to be investigated. Two
groups of the population that differ with regard to the variable, should be selected
in a proportional manner for the test sample.
3rd step: The next step refers to the process of collection of data. Techniques like
questionnaires, interviews, literature search etc. are used to collect the relevant
information.
4th Step: The last step is the interpretation of the findings and the results. Based
on the conclusions the hypothesis is either accepted or rejected.
It must be remembered that eventhough the ex-post facto research is a valid
method for collecting information regarding an event that had already occurred,
this type of research has shortcomings, and that only partial control is possible.
2.8 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF EX-POST

FACTO RESEARCH
No research can be perfect in itself. All methods have their strengths as well as
weaknesses. The same is applicable in the case of ex-post factor research too.
The strengths of the ex-post facto research are:
It is considered as a very relevant method in those behavioural researches where

the variables can not be manipulated or altered.
The examples of such researches can include many sociological (e.g. delinquency)
as well as educational variables ( e.g. achievements).
It is more useful than an experimental research as it can be used in analysing a

cause on basis of the effect, which is impossible in an experimental research.
24
It is less time consuming as well as economical. Ex-Post Facto Research
It gives a chance to the researcher to analyse on basis of his personal opinion and
then come out with the best possible conclusion.
The weaknesses as well as the limitations of the ex-post facto research are:
As discussed earlier, in an ex-post facto research, the researcher can not manipulate
the independent variables.
The researcher can not randomly assign the subjects to different groups.
The researcher may not be able to provide a reasonable explanation for the
relationship between the independent and dependent variables under study.
2.9 CONCEPT OF POST HOC FALLACY

While predicting the causal relationships between the variables, the researcher
falls prey to the bias called the post hoc fallacy. The concept of post hoc fallacy
says that, it is a tendency of human to arrive at conclusions or predictions when
two factors go together, one is the cause and the other is the effect. Because
delinquency and parenthood go together, we may come to a conclusion that
delinquency is the effect and the parenthood is the cause, whereas in reality the
peer group to which the child belongs may be the actual reason.

Fill in the blanks
1) The process of ex-post facto research is ........................................... and
follows a definite ................................
2) Once the problem has been defined, the ............................. is postulated
3) Post hoc fallacy is a type of ........................................ which might
dominate the researchers’ logical thought process
2.10 LET US SUM UP

It can therefore be concluded that the ex-post facto research holds a very good
position in the field of behavioural sciences. It is the only method which is
retrospective in nature, that is, with the help of this method one can trace the
history in order to analyse the cause/ reason/action from an effect/behaviour/
event that has already occurred. Although it is a very significant method, yet it
has certain limitations as well . The researcher can not manipulate the cause in
order to see the alterations on its effect. This again marks a question on the
validity of the findings of the research. Equally the researcher can not randomly
assign the subjects in to groups and has no control over the variables.
Yet, it is one of the very useful methods as it has several implications in the field
of applied research as well as behavioural sciences. The investigator can predict
the relationship between the variables on basis of an already existing output or
effect.
25
Types of Research
1) Explain the concept and meaning of ex-post facto research.
2) Explain the characteristics of the ex-post facto research.
3) Differentiate between the concept of experimental and ex-post facto research.
4) Elaborate the sequence or steps of the ex-post facto research.
5) Explain the limitations and strengths of an ex-post facto research.

Myers, Anne, & Hansen, Christine. (2006). Experimental Psychology. Thomson
Wadsworth: Belmont,CA.
Singh A.K. Tests, Measurements and Research Methods in Behavioral Sciences,

reprint (2002). Bharati Bhavan publishers and distributors
Kerlinger, F.N. Foundations of Behavoiral Research, fourth reprint (1998). Surjeet

publications.
References
Jacobs, CD; Haasbroek, JB & Theron, SW (1992) Effektiewe Navorsing.
Navorsingshandleiding vir tersi?re opleidingsinrigtings. Geesteswetenskaplike
komponent. Pretoria: Universiteit van Pretoria.
Klopper, CH (1990) Referaat gelewer tydens ‘n vergadering van lede van die
vereniging van SA Bourekenaars: Komitee van hoofde van
bourekenaarsdepartemente by universiteite gehou op 29 September 1989. UP-
dosent, 11(2): 43 - 72.
Landman, WA (1988) Navorsingsmetodologiese Grondbegrippe. Pretoria:

Serva.
Boyd, H.W. Jr. and Westfall, R. (1972) Marketing Research: Text and Cases,
Irwin, p. 80.
Dillon, W.R., Madden, T.J. and Firtle, N.H. (1994), Marketing Research In A
Research Environment, 3rd edition, Irwin, p. 175.
Green, P.E., Tull, D.S. and Albaum, G. (1993), Research For Marketing Decisions,
5th edition, Prentice-Hall, pp. 105-107.
MacEachen E et al. (2006). Systematic review of the qualitative literature on

32(4): 257-269.
Howard AF, Balneaves LG, Bottorff JL(2007). Ethnocultural women’s

E27-35.
26
Sim J & Madden S. Illness experience in fibromyalgia syndrome: A metasynthesis Ex-Post Facto Research
Blaxter M. Criteria for evaluation of qualitative research. Medical Sociology

News 1996; 22: 68-71.
Booth A. Cochrane or cock-eyed? How should we conduct systematic reviews

2001.
Cohen DJ & Crabtree BF. Evaluative criteria for qualitative research in health
care; controversies and recommendations. Annals of Fam. Med 2008; 6 (4):
331- 39.

Dixon-Woods M, Shaw RL, Agarwal S, Smith JA. The problem of appraising


Websites-
www.wildy.com
www.memsic.com
http://socrates.acadiau.ca/COURSES/PSYC/McLeod/2023Research/ex-post.htm
http://allpsych.com/researchme thods/singlesubject.html.
27
Types of Research
UNIT 3 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
(FIELD EXPERIMENT)
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Experimental Research and Field Experiments
3.2.1 Identifying the Research Problem
3.2.2 Experimental Research
3.2.3 Field Experiment
3.3 Strengths and Weaknesses of Field Experiments
3.4 Constructing the Field Experiment
3.5 Research Design
3.6 Objectives of Research Design
3.7 Criteria for a Good Research Design
3.8 Types of Experimental Research Design
3.8.1 Single Case Experimental Design
3.8.2 Quasi-experimental Design
3.8.3 Experimental Design
3.9 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit you have studied about the concept, meaning, characteristics,
steps, strengths and weakness of Ex-post facto research. Now we are going to
read about the experimental research and field research. Research can be classified
into four major categories: (i) laboratory experiments, (ii) experiment research
(field experiments), (iii) field studies and (iv) survey research. In this unit you
will learn about experiments, types of experimental research design etc. You
will also learn about the criteria of a good experimental design.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define experimental research and field experiments;
• Describe the strength and weaknesses of field experiments;
• Define research design and its objectives;
• Explain criteria for a good research design;
• Explain types of experimental research design and its uses; and
• Elucidate the characteristics of a good research design.
28
Experimental Research
3.2 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH AND FIELD (Field Experiment)
EXPERIMENTS
Every research requires the identification of the problem which itself is an
important step in any research work. In the following section we try to provide
how a research problem is identified and what is research especially experimental
research etc.
3.2.1 Identifying the Research Problem

The first step in any research is to define the research problem.
This helps the investigator to focus on a more narrow research area to be able to
study it appropriately. Some time it is seen that the research problem is often
operationalisation and hence it is imperative to define how to measure the research
problem.
The results in such cases will depend on the exact measurements that the
researcher chooses and may be operationalised to test the conclusions of the
research problem. After defining the research problem the investigator must
formulate hypothesis. This can be positive or negative or it can be null hypothesis
for the research problem.
3.2.2 Experimental Research

Experimental research is mainly used in science subjects such as physics,
chemistry, medicine, biology etc. Experiment requires two variables, one
independent variable and the other dependent variable. It is important that in
experimental research the independent variable is manipulated and the effect of
manipulation is observed on the dependent variable. All other extraneous factors
are completely controlled within the laboratory. It is based on research design
which uses manipulation and controlled testing to understand the causal processes.
Generally, we can manipulate one or more variables to determine their effect on
a dependent variable. In other words it is a systematic and scientific approach to
research in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables, and controls
and measures the other variables.
3.2.3 Field Experiments

Field experiments on the other hand refer to experiments conducted in real life
situations. Here the control of extraneous factors is not possible as it is a natural
setting and there is no way to control any factor so absolutely as one does in the
laboratory experiments. Hence in field experiments we take two groups matched
for a number of factors such as age, sex, education, socio-economic status etc.
Both these groups are in real life setting and thus are subjected to similar
extraneous variables and thus the experimenter can observe the effects of his
manipulation on one group and compare with the other group which is not
subjected to any intervention. Take for example that the researcher wants to
study the effects of different methods of teaching (e.g. lecture vs. tutorial). The
school is the natural setting from where the researcher randomly selects 100
children from a particular standard (5th standard) and randomly assign them to
two groups, viz., experimental (50 children) and control group (50 children).
To the experimental group children the researcher uses the lecture method and to
29
Types of Research the control group tutorial method. Then the effects of the academic performance
of these children are compared before and after the introduction of the methods
of teaching. If there is a difference in the academic performance of children in
regard to the two methods of teaching, the experimenter can conclude that a
particular method of teaching (e.g. tutorial) is more effective than the other method
(lecture).
There are considerable differences between the experimental research and field
experiments which are given in the table below:
Table 3.1:Differences between experimental research and field experiments
Experimental research Field experiment

1) The subjects are homogeneous. 1) The subjects may vary in a number
of characteristics.
2) The experimental subjects are in 2) The subjects are not in controlled
controlled conditions. but in natural settings and
conditions.
3) One experimental group is taken 3) Two groups matched for certain
and subjected to the manipulation of basic characteristics which may
the independent variable (Intervention) confound the results are taken and
and see the effects of it on the one is subjected to intervention
subjects of the experimental group. while the other is not. At the end
the results of two groups on a
dependent variable are compared
to see the effect of intervention.
4) The cause effect relationship can be 4) The cause effect relationship can
clearly established as in the be established to quite an extent
laboratory experiment all extraneous but not to the same accuracy of
factors are controlled and the pure experimental research as
effects of intervention can be extraneous factors are not
studied. controlled as in the laboratory.
5) Predication based on the experiment 5) Prediction is possible to certain
is possible and one can even extent as the real life situation may
accurately predict a phenomenon not be the same in all places where
given the same conditions. the study is conducted.
6) The experiment is always 6) The field experiment is both
quantitative in terms of results. qualitative and quantitative in
terms of results.
7) The experiment is replicable. 7) The field experiments are
replicable but may require
modifications in terms of the
matching factors.
We can use the experimental research in different ways such as:

• There is time priority in a causal relationship (cause precedes effect)
• There is consistency in a causal relationship (a cause will always lead to the
same effect)
30
• The magnitude of the correlation is great. Experimental Research
(Field Experiment)
The word experimental research has many meanings.
This is an experiment where the researchers manipulate one variable, and control
the others variables. It can have a control group for comparison purposes, but
invariably as the experimental situation is highly controlled in the laboratory,
one group is sufficient for the experiment. The subjects are randomly assigned
to experimental conditions if there are more than two experimental conditions.
The researcher must be very clear as to what variable(s) need to be tested and
measured.
Field experiments are also called as quasi experiments, as the researcher actively
influences something to observe the consequences.
When dealing with human subjects it is always possible and advisable to use
field experiments or quasi experiments. This is so because when certain
phenomenon and its changes are observed in natural settings, it provides
considerable inputs, information and knowledge about the phenomenon in real
life situation. If society has to progress this type of research is important.
3.3 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF FIELD

EXPERIMENTS
The advantages or the strength of field experiments are given below:
1) It is useful to behavioural and social scientists such as the social psychologists,
sociologists and educationists.
2) It is an appropriate method for studying complex social influences, processes,
and changes in life like setting. The dynamics and small groups have been
fruitfully studied by this method.
3) It is most suited method to the testing of theory and to the solution of practical
problems.
4) It is suited to testing broad hypotheses.
5. Flexibility and applicability to a wide variety of problems are also possible
by this method.
Weaknesses or limitations of field experiments are as given below:
1) The chances of extraneous variables confounding the research findings are
more in field experiments due to the uncontrolled extraneous variables.
2) One of the problems is the negative attitude of researcher.
3) Consent and cooperation of concerned subjects and the institutional
authorities, (the institution where the research is to be conducted) is required
for the field experiment.
4) This type of research faces lack of precision problem.
3.4 CONSTRUCTING THE FIELD EXPERIMENT

Before constructing an experiment research there are various aspects to consider.
31
Types of Research 1) Planning: A good planning always ensures that the research is carried out
properly and in proper conditions with appropriate tools and measures.
2) Sampling: One of the best ways to ensure that the research is conducted
systematically and appropriately is to have a proper selection of sample.
Sampling is taking any portion of a population or universe as representative
of that population or universe. Sample can be classified into probability
and non probability sample.
Probability samples use some form of random sampling in one or more of
their stages. Non probability samples do not use random sampling; they
thus lack the virtues being discussed. Still, they are often necessary and
unavoidable.
The probability sampling includes stratified, cluster, systematic and random
sampling method.
The non probability sampling includes quota, purposive and accidental
sampling method.
3) Research design: Every research requires a blue print of the research work
that will be carried out. Where the experiment will be conducted, that is the
setting, who will be the subjects, that is the sample, how it will be conducted,
what instruments will be used, what will be manipulated, what will be
measured etc. The experimental design must also provide for the number of
subjects that will be in the experiment and the number of subjects who will
be considered as the control group.
4) Tools of data collection: What are the tools that will be used, how the results
will be measured, and what statistical tools will be used etc.
5) Procedure: Once the subjects have been identified and setting has been
decided where the experiment will be conducted, the next step is to get
permission from authorities to use the setting. Having obtained the
permission let us say from school authorities to conduct field experiment
regarding which method of teaching leads to better academic performance,
the subjects will be selected from a certain class. Let us say we choose
children from class 5 all sections. Let us say there are 200 children. We
need only 100 children and so from each of the 4 sections we take 25 out of
50 children randomly. From these 100 children, we again take 50 for control
group and another 50 for experiment. This again we select randomly. Both
the groups children are tested for academic performance and their scores
are recorded. Then, to the experimental group of children we give instruction
through lecture method and to the other group through tutorial method.
After training for 1 month, the academic performance of both the groups
are retested. Now the difference in the second testing for the two groups
will indicate which method is more effective. Within the group also the pre
and the post test performance could be measured and the difference noted
as improvement or decrease in academic performance.
6) Statistical analysis: Appropriate statistics such as the t test will be used to
find if the differences obtained between the two groups as well as between
the pre and the post tests are statistically significant.
The above 6 steps are the ways in which the field experiment is conducted.
32
3.5 RESEARCH DESIGN (Field Experiment)
Research can be explained as Re + Search= again + explore, to explore the

relationship between different variables. Research is a scientific methodology in
a controlled setting. Observation and experiments are the basic scientific tools
of research which gives the scientific status to the field of psychology. It is a
systematic attempt to study.
The controlled observation means that we have to see the impact of independent
variable and dependent variable under specific controlled condition and we have
to manipulate the independent variable in a systematic way and record the relative
changes in the dependent variable. For controlled observation it is essential for
one to manipulate independent variables with certain controls and the principles
of randomisation should be followed. In other words a good research design is
that in which we can forecast or give a solution to the problem.
According to Kerlinger (1998), Research design is the
i) plan,
ii) structure, and
iii) strategy of investigation.
The research design is conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions
and to control variance. The above three aspects of research design are being
explained below:
i) Plan is the overall scheme or programme of the study. It can be in the form
of proposal of the study.
ii) Structure of the research is more specific. It is the outline, the scheme, the
paradigm of the operation of the variables.
iii) Strategy is more specific than plan. The method that we want to use to collect
the data and analyse or interpret the data. The strategy also implies as to
how the research objectives will be reached and how the problems
encountered in the research will be tackled.
According to Myers (1980), the design is the general structure of the experiments,
not its specific content.

1) The selection of a problem is the last step of research ( ).
2) After defining the research problem the hypothesis must
be formulated ( )
3) Experimental research use in science subjects ( )
4) Field experiments refer in the real life situation ( )
5) Flexibility and applicability is a weakness of field experiments ( )
6) Structure is more specific than plan ( )
33
Types of Research
3.6 OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design has two basic objectives:
i) To provide answers to research questions – The investigator has the answer
to research questions in the form of validity, objectivity, accuracy and
economical aspects of the research concerned. The researcher is not inclined
to answer the research questions in a layman’s term but answer in terms of
validity, objectivity, accuracy etc. For example, the factorial design is a design
which deals with the interaction effect in an economical way. Different
research problems require different research designs.
Research problems can be and are stated in the form of hypotheses and the
research designs are carefully worked out to yield dependent and valid
answers to the research questions epitomised by the hypotheses. If the
hypothesis discussed is one of interaction, a factorial design is evidently
more appropriate (Analysis of variance is used in factorial design). The
adequate planning and executed design helps to make efficient observation
and draw appropriate inferences from the result.
An adequate research design would suggest the number of observations that
have to be made, and which variables are active and which are attributed
etc. According to the adequate research design we can then act to manipulate
the active variables and to categorize the attribute variables.
ii) To control variance under study– The score deviation is called variance
and these variances must be controlled. The investigators follow certain
principles for constructing an efficient research design.
Principle 1: To maximise the variance of variable
The main concern of the investigators is to maximise the variance in a systematic
way. It is called the experimental variance.
The Variance of the dependent variable (DV) is influenced by the independent

variable (IV). The main task of an experimenter is to maximise the variance.
If the independent variable does not vary substantially, there is little chance of
separating its effect from the total variance of the dependent variable.
Hence it is necessary to give chance to the variance to show itself separately

from the total variance. The purpose of a good research design is to maximise
systematic variance.
Principle 2: To control extraneous variance

The purpose of the effective research design is to control extraneous variance
which may confound the results of the experiment.
There are three ways to control extraneous variables confounding the results:
i) to eliminate the variable as a variable;
ii) to control extraneous variance through randomisation,
iii) to build it right into the design as an independent variable.

34
Principle 3: To minimise error variance Experimental Research
(Field Experiment)
Our aim is to minimise error variance from the research study. It is unpredictable.
Some time we see the impact of constant error in the study. For example,
individual differences and intelligence. This type of error affects adversely the
research findings.
We can minimise the error variance by two basic methods:
i) the reduction of errors of measurement through controlled conditions and
ii) an increase in the reliability of measures.
3.7 CRITERIA FOR A GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN

For research design to be considered good, we must ask the following questions?
1) Does the design give specific answer to the research question?
2) Does the design adequately test the hypothesis?
3) Does the design present the appropriate question/problem?
4) Does the design adequately control the extraneous independent variable?
5) Can we generalise the results of a study to other subjects?
6) Does the design give the internal and external validity?
3.8 TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

DESIGNS
The pure experimental research is not always possible in behavioural and social
sciences due to the difficulty in controlling all the variables and influences from
outside of and inside the individuals which is possible only within a laboratory
situation. The experimental situations in which experimenter can manipulate
the independent variables and has liberty to assign subjects randomly to the
treatment groups and the control groups may not be that possible or accurate.
Also the control of the extraneous variables is not possible and children in a
classroom keep getting stimulation from various sources. Hence one has to take
such designs in which to the extent possible randomisation and control of
variances are possible.
To conduct the field experiments there are experimental designs available and
these are being discussed below. Let us consider the different types of designs:
3.8.1 Single Case Experimental Design

The single case experiment is useful in clinical research especially in the area of
behaviour modification. This design provides us the detailed information of
human behaviour which is not possible in the group designs. Repeated
measurements are also possible and we can note subtle changes in the subjects’
behaviour.
The design however is not very suitable for generalising the findings to the larger
population as it is based on a small number of subjects and who have not been
randomly selected.
35
Types of Research 3.8.2 Quasi-Experimental Design
All experimental situations in which the researcher / experimenter does not have
full control over the assignment of experimental units randomly to the treatment
conditions or the treatment cannot be manipulated, are collectively called quasi-
experimental designs.
There are the various experimental situations in which the experimenter does
not have full control over the situations. The plan of such experiments constitutes
the quasi- experimental design.
Though, quasi-experimental investigations have limitations, nevertheless these

have advantages in certain respects. It is possible to select subjects randomly as
pointed out earlier in the case of selecting students from class 5 of a school and
randomly assign them to the experimental and control groups respectively. We
conduct the experiment in natural and real life setting and so it has certain amount
of realism and the information so gathered can also be to quite an extent
generalised. It can provide answers to several kinds of problems about past
situations and those situations which cannot be handled by employing pure
experimental research design.
3.8.3 Experimental Design

This type of design is generally conducted in the laboratory with complete control
over all variables and all subjects. In this type of research design one can assign
subjects randomly to the treatment groups and one can manipulate the independent
variable and study the pure effects of the manipulation on the dependent variable.
Also, in such experiments, the experimenter has complete control over the
scheduling of independent variables. In such experiments one can use high level
advanced statistical methods got analyse the data. For example, the F test,
Correlation and regression and multiple regression analysis, partial correlation
etc. There are also three types of designs that we can use within the experimental
design and these are (i) Between subjects design (ii) Within subject design and
(iii) Mixed design (iv) classical pre test post test design (v) Solomon four groups
design (vi) Factorial design. These are presented in detail below:
i) Between subject design – Each subject is observed only under one of the
several treatments conditions.
ii) Within subject deign or repeated measures design – Each subject is observed
under all the treatment conditions involved in the experiment.
iii) Mixed design – Some factors are involved from between subjects and some
are from within subjects.
iv) Classical pretest-post test – The total population of participants is randomly
divided into two samples; the control sample, and the experimental sample.
Only the experimental sample is exposed to the manipulated variable. The
researcher compares the pretest results with the post test results for both
samples. Any divergence in the results between the two samples is assumed
to be a result of the experiment.
v) Solomon four group design – The sample is randomly divided into four
groups. Two of the groups are experimental samples. Two groups experience
no experimental manipulation of variables. Two groups receive a pretest
36
and a post test. Two groups receive only a post test. This is an improvement Experimental Research
(Field Experiment)
over the classical design because it controls for the effect of the pretest.
vi) Factorial design – This is similar to a classical design except additional
samples are used. Each group is exposed to a different experimental
manipulation.
All the above designs of research can be used in experimental research work for
analysing the data. On the other hand these designs are not suitable for conducting
field experiments though one could use them with certain modifications.
Having presented the experimental research and field experiment, the following
section presents in detail the basis issues related to research design.

Fill in the blanks
1) Research problem can be stated in the form of ....................................
2) Research is a .......................... methodology in a controlled setting.
3) The main task of an experimenter is to maximise the ........................
4) The ..................................... experiment is useful in clinical research.
5) ........................... design is generally conducted in the laboratory with
complete control over all variables and all subjects.
3.9 LET US SUM UP

The key points of our discussion in this unit have been as given below:
Experimental research is a systematic and scientific approach to research in which

the researcher manipulates one or more variables, and controls and measures the
other variables.
Research is a scientific methodology in a controlled observation and experiments

are the basic tool, which gives the status of science of psychology. It is a systematic
attempt to study.
The research design has two basic objectives: (i) To provide answers to research
questions and (ii) To control variance under study.
Field experiment on the other hand is carried out in real life situation and deals
with real life related problems and thus is important for our society.
It helps us to improve our everyday living lives and it is also able to predict the
manay important social phenomena. Typically, an experiment is constructed to
be able to explain some kind of causation.
It has some strength and weakness of field experiment. The three types of
experimental research design are (i) single case experimental design, (ii) quasi-
experimental design, (iii) experimental design.
37
Types of Research
1) Define experimental research.
2) Differentiate between experimental research and field experiment.
3) Define research design.
4) Explain two basic objectives of research design.
5) Explain the importance of field experiment in research.
6) How can we check the criteria of a good research design?
7) What are the three types of experimental research, explain each.
8) Explain Solomon four group designs.

Broota, K.D. (1992) Experimental Design in Behavioural Research, Wiley Eastern
Limited.
Kerlinger, F. N. (1998) Foundation of Behavioural Research, (4th edition) Holt,

Rinehart and Windston, Inc.
Myers, A. (1980). Experimental Psychology., New York: D. Van Nostrand Co.
References
Edwards A.L. (1980) Experimental Design in Psychological Research, Holt,
Richart and Winston, New York
Shavelson, R.S. (3rd edition) Prentice Hall New York.
Internet source: wikipedia.org

QUESTIONS
True or False
1) False, 2) True, 3) True, 4) True, 5) False, 6) False
Fill in the blanks

1) hypothesis, 2) scientific, 3) variance, 4) single case, 5) experimental.
38
UNIT 4 CASE STUDY (Field Experiment)
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Nature of Case Study
4.3 Criteria for Selection of Case Study
4.4 Types of Case Study
4.5 Steps for Case Study
4.6 Ways of Case Studies
4.7 Misconception about Case Study
4.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Earlier you have studied about the survey research, ex-post-facto research and
experimental research. Now we are going to read about the case study method in
research work. In the field of social sciences case study is important tool for a
good research methodology. It can be apply on the single subject, small and
large group, a class within a school, a school with in a city, or event. Case study
methods involve an in-depth study, longitudinal examination of a single subject
or event and it may be descriptive or explanatory. A case study is not different to
a survey method, but instead of collecting data about few factors from a large
number of units the researcher makes a depth and intensive study of a single
subject. It is limited in scope but more exhaustive and more informative as
compared to survey. It can be used in a school atmosphere, for example, a teacher
may use case study to identify the causes of failure in mathematics of a group of
three students in class V of a village primary school who continuously failed in
three unit tests. The teacher will study these cases in detail in order to arrive at
the specific causes of the failure of these students and then take a decision about
the remedial measures, which may be taken to overcome the problem of failures.
In this unit you will be understand the nature of case study, criteria and types of
case study.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define case study;
• Explain the nature of case study;
• explain the criteria for selection of case study;
• Delineate the types of case study; and
• describe the steps involved in case study. 39
Types of Research
4.2 NATURE OF CASE STUDY
Case study provides a systematic and scientific way of perceiving or examining
events, collect data, analyse information, and prepare a report. As a result the
researcher may gain a sharpened understanding of why the instance happened as
it did, and what might become important to look at more extensively in future
research. Case studies lend themselves to both generating and testing hypotheses.
In other words, case study should be defined as a research strategy, an empirical

inquiry that investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context. Case study
research means single and multiple case studies, can include quantitative evidence,
relies on multiple sources of evidence and benefits from the prior development
of theoretical propositions. Case studies based on any evidence of quantitative
and qualitative research.
Single subject-research provides the statistical framework for making inferences

from quantitative case-study data. According to Lamnek (2005) “The case study
is a research approach, situated between concrete data taking techniques and
methodologic paradigms.”
In the past years, case study method was used in the field of clinical psychology
to examine the patient’s previous history regarding the person’s mental health
status. To know about the patient’s physical and mental health, and to make an
accurate diagnosis, it is very important to know about the patient’s past and
present health related and environmental problems and issues.
Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud used case study method to assist his subjects in
solving personality problems. The detailed accounts of interviews with subjects
and his interpretations of their thoughts, dreams and action provide excellent
examples of case studies. Guidance counselors, social workers and other
practitioners conduct case studies for diagnosing particular condition or problem
and recommending remedial measures. They collect data from a particular
individual and confine their interest to the individual as a unique case or collect
data from a small group of individuals, which form a unit for depth study.
The case study approach is based on reality. Some of these studies have been
conducted in school environment, which have mostly centered on behavioural
problems of children. Observation, interviews, psychological tests and inventories
have been used for collecting relevant data about the case or cases. However,
subjective bias is a constant threat to objective data gathering and analysis
techniques. The researcher must be thoroughly familiar with the skills which are
associated with the conduct of case-studies.
The Case study is also useful in psychology. It refers to the use of a descriptive
research approach to obtain an in-depth analysis of a person and group. The
various techniques may be applied on the subject such as personal interviews,
observation, psychometric tests, and archival records. We can use the case study
method in clinical psychology to describe rare events and conditions. Generally
case study is a single-case design, but it can be a multiple-case design, where
replication instead of sampling is the criterion for inclusion. One thing we must
remember about the case study is that it must provide valid and reliable results
for the development of future research.
40
Case Study
4.3 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF CASE STUDY
For selection of cases for the case study, we often use information oriented
sampling. Our cases are based on this only information, which is mostly based
on the extreme cases or typical cases. The average case is often not the richest in
information. Extreme or a typical case reveals more information because they
activate more basic mechanisms and more actors in the situation studied.
In addition, from both understanding oriented and action oriented perspectives,

it is often more important to clarify the deeper causes behind a given problem
and its consequences, than to describe the symptoms of the problem and how
frequently they occur, etc.
Random samples emphasising representativeness will seldom be able to produce

this kind of insight. It is more appropriate to select a few cases for their
validity, but this is not always the case. Three types of information oriented
cases may be distinguished:
• Critical cases
• Extreme or deviant cases
• Paradigmatic cases
Yin (2005) suggested that researchers should decide whether to do single-case
or multiple-case studies and choose to keep the case holistic or have embedded
sub-cases.
4.4 TYPES OF CASE STUDY

There are four types of case studies which are (i) illustrative case studies (ii)
exploratory case studies (iii) cumulative case studies and (iv) critical instance
case studies.
1) Illustrative Case Studies: These are primarily descriptive studies. They
typically utilise one or two instances of an event to show what a situation is
like. Illustrative case studies serve primarily to make the unfamiliar familiar
and to give readers a common language about the topic in question.
2) Exploratory (or pilot) Case Studies: This type of case studies performed
before implementing a large scale investigation. Their basic function is to
help identify questions and select types of measurement prior to the main
investigation. The primary pit fall of this type of study is that initial findings
may seem convincing enough to be released prematurely as conclusions.
3) Cumulative Case Studies: These serve to aggregate information from
several sites collected at different times. The idea behind these studies is
the collection of past studies will allow for greater generalisation without
additional cost or time being expended on new, possibly repetitive studies.
4) Critical Instance Case Studies: These examine one or more sites for either
the purpose of examining a situation of unique interest with little to no
interest in generalisability, or to call into question or challenge a highly
generalised or universal assertion. This method is useful for answering cause
and effect questions.
41
Types of Research
4.5 STEPS FOR CASE STUDY
The following steps are used in the conduct of a case study:
Step 1. Determining the present status of the case or cases
The first step is to determine the present status of the case or cases through direct
observation. In addition to physical examination of the case or cases, a
psychological evaluation is required to determine the general ability level etc.
For example, to make a case study of a ‘slow learner’, the first thing to do is to
determine the present status of the child by making an assessment of his physique
cognitive factors through direct observation and psychological test.
Step 2. Identifying the most probable antecedents of the case or cases

Determining the most probable antecedents of the case or cases is the next
important steps. This information helps in formulating a workable hypothesis or
a set of hypothesis. For example, in case of ‘slow learner’ cited in Step 1, the
researcher may formulate a hypothesis that occurrence of slow learning behaviour
in the child is due to unhealthy have environment, bad study habits and poor
teaching in the school.
Step 3. Verification of Antecedents/Hypotheses

The case is then checked for the presence or absence of the antecedents supposed
to apply to situation of under study. For example, the behaviour of slow learning
of the child. This involves multi-method approach, which includes observation,
past history of the case, interview etc.
Step 4. Diagnosis and Remedial Measures

After the verification of the antecedents or hypothesis (es , the next step is directed
towards the diagnosis of the causes (example, causes of slow learning) and
suggesting remedial measures in the light of the causes.
Step 5. Follow-up of the case or cases

The last step of the case study is the follow-up of the case (es) to study the
impact of remedial measures. If impact is positive, the diagnosis is taken to be
correct.
4.6 WAYS OF CASE STUDIES

There are different ways of using case studies, which are given below:
1) Writing analysis of case study
The most careful analysis of a case study is probably obtained when it is made in
writing. Case studies can be used as term papers with other related readings and
bibliographies.
2) Panel of experts
Although group members miss the advantages of participation, listening to a
panel of experts a case may be useful especially as an introduction to the case
method. A variation of this technique would be to bring in a panel of experts to
analyse a case after a group had already done so.
42
3) Analysis of similar case studies Case Study
Another variation of case discussion is to collect from the group members

incidents from their experience similar to the case under consideration.
Generalisations drawn from the case under consideration may carry over to the
experiences of other members.
4) Cross examination
By cross examination group members with questions prepared in advance, they
will discover that it is necessary to do careful thinking and preparation before
entering into case study. This technique, especially appropriate for use with cases
containing a great deal of detail, gives the researcher many opportunities to ask
individuals to defend their points of views in terms of the data presented.

A) State whether the statement True or False
1) Case study involves in-depth study ( )
2) Case study provides a systematic and scientific ways
of perceive ( )
3) Case study can be used only in clinical psychology ( )
4) The approach of case study is based on the artificial
atmosphere ( )
5) Critical case studies are useful for cause and effect
questions ( )
B) Fill in the blanks
1) Case study means single and ————— case studies.
2) Case studies based on any evidence of quantitative and
..........................research.
3) ................... case study performed before implementing a large scale
investigation.
4) ............................. is the last step of case study.
4.7 MISCONCEPTION ABOUT CASE STUDY

There is little misconception about the case study for using in research work.
Flyvbjerg (2006) define five misconceptions about case study research:
1) Generally, theoretical knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical
knowledge, because one cannot generalise on the basis of an individual
case and, therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific
development.
2) The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, whereas other
methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building.
3) The case study may affect the bias tendency toward verification, i.e., a
tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions.
4) Some time it is difficult to summarise and develop general propositions and
theories on the basis of specific case studies. 43
Types of Research
4.8 LET US SUM UP
The key points of our discussion in this unit have been that case study is an
important area of research which helps the researcher to study the individual and
develop appropriate strategies to provide remedial instructions. In this unit
attempt is made to make you aware about the systematic steps of case study on
the basis of which strategic interventions can be planned for the development of
a particular aspect.
Case study is also useful in psychology. It refers to the use of a descriptive research
approach to obtain an in-depth analysis of a person and group. The various
techniques can be applied on the subject such as personal interviews, observation,
psychometric tests, and archival records.
There are four types of case study (i) illustrative case studies, (ii) exploratory
case study, (iii) cumulative case study, and (iv) critical instance case studies.
There are various steps to conduct the case studies such as, Step 1 Determining
the present status of the case or cases; Step 2 Identifying the most probable
antecedents of the case or cases; Step 3 Verification of Antecedents/Hypotheses;
Step 4 Diagnosis and Remedial Measures; and Step 5 Follow-up of the case or
cases.
There are the different ways to using case study such as, (1) Writing analysis of
case study, (2) Panel of experts, (3) Analysis of similar case studies, (4) Cross
examination.

1) What do you mean by case study method?
2) How can we use case study method in psychology?
3) What are the criteria of case study?
4) Explain types of case study.
5) What are the important steps to conduct the case study?
6) Explain ways of using case studies.
4.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFEENCES

Baver, R.C. (1955) Cases in College Administration: Bureau of Publications:
Teacher College, Columbia University, New York.
Bell, J. (1999) Doing Your Research Project (3rd edition) Milton Keynes: Open
University Press.
DEP-SSA, IGNOU (2008). A Document of Action Research, IGNOU, New Delhi.
Everett, J.B. Downing, Ms. S. Leaviet, H. (1960) Case Studies in School

Supervision, Rincehart & Company, Inc. New York.
44
References Case Study
Flyvbjerg , Bent (2006). “Five Misunderstandings about Case Study Research”

Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 12, (2) pp. 219-245.
Hamberg, M. (1957) Case Studies in Elementary School Administration, Bureau

of Publications, Teachers College Columbia University, New York.
Hitcheock, G. and Hughes, D. (1989), Research and the Teacher: A Qualitative

“Introduction to School based Research, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Koul, L. (1984), Methodology of Educational Research, Vikas Publishing House

Pvt. Ltd. (II revised edition)
Nisbet, J. and Watt, J. (1984), Case study in J.Bell, T. Brush, a Fox, J. Goodley
and s. Goulding (eds.) Conducting Small-scale Investigations in Educational
Management, London : Harperpow.
Lamnek, Siegfried (2005) Qualitative Sozial forschung. Lehrbuch. Auflage.

Beltz Verlag. Weihnhein, Basel.

QUESTIONS
A) True or False
1) True, 2) True, 3) False, 4) False, 5) True.
B) Fill in the blanks
1) multiple, 2) qualitative, 3) exploratory, 4) follow-up.
45
Single Factor Design
UNIT 1 SINGLE FACTOR DESIGN
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Meaning of Research Design
1.3 The Function of A Research Design
1.4 Basic Terminology in Research Design
1.5 Single Factor Design
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Glossary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
There are several ways of collecting and understanding information and finding
answers to question, research is one way. Research is a way of thinking. The
main purpose of research is developing and testing new theories for the
enhancement of knowledge. In research we work within a framework of a set of
theories, use methods and try to be unbiased and objective.
When we intend to do research, the first thing we have to do is to decide what

research question we want to find answers to. Having decided our research
question or problem we now have to decide how to go about finding their answer.
There are various steps through which we just pass in our research journey in
order to find the answers to our research questions. Conceptualising a research
design is one of the important steps in planning a research study. The main function
of a research design is to explain how we will find answers to the research
question. For any investigation the selection of an appropriate research design is
crucial in enabling us to arrive at valid findings and conclusion. There are different
types of research design. In this unit we will learn about one commonly used
research design namely single factor design.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define research design;
• Describe the function of a research design;
• Identify the terms of research design;
• Define Single factor research design;
• Explain Between group research design; and
• Describe Within subject research design.
5
Research Design
1.2 MEANING OF RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so
as to obtain answers to research questions and to control variance. The plan is
the overall scheme or the program of the research. It includes an outline of what
the investigator will do from writing the hypothesis and their operational
implications to the final analysis of data. Structure of the research is outline of
the research design, and the scheme is the paradigm of operation of the variable.
Strategy includes the methods to be used to gather and analyse the data. In other
words, strategy implies how the research objective will be reached and how the
problems encountered in the research will be tackled. (Kerlinger, 2007).
A traditional research design is a blueprint or detailed plan as to how a research

study is to be completed. That is, how it would operationalise variables so that
they can be measured, how to select a sample of interest to the research topic,
how to collect data to be used as a basis for testing hypothesis, and how to
analyse the results. (Thyer, 1993).
Thus in brief we can say that a research design is a plan adopted by the researcher
to answer research question.
1.3 THE FUNCTION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN

On the basis of above definition it can be said that the function of research
design is (i) to provide answer to research question and (ii) to enable the
researcher to answer research question as validly, accurately and as economically
as possible.
According to Kerlinger (2007), the research design has two basic purposes, (i) to
provide answer to research question and (ii) to control variance. In other words,
the purpose of research design is to get dependable and valid answers to research
questions. Research problems are stated in the form of hypothesis. The research
design guides the researcher how to collect data for testing the formulated
hypothesis.
The main function of research design is to control variance. The statistical
principle behind this mechanism is MAXMINCON principle, that is, Maximise
systematic variance, Control extraneous variance and Minimise error variance.
(Kerlinger, 2007).
Systematic variance is the variability in the dependent measure due to the
manipulation of the independent variable. In addition to independent and
dependent variables, there are other variables that may influence dependent
variable known as extraneous variable. Different methods are used to control
the extraneous variable and some of these methods are for example,
randomisation, elimination and matching. The term error variance means those
variance which occur due to the variables that are not controllable by the
experimenter.
1.4 BASIC TERMINOLOGY IN RESEARCH DESIGN

It is essential to get familiar with some term for clear and better understanding of
6 the design.
i) Factors Single Factor Design
The independent variable of an experiment are known as factor of the

experiment. An experiment always has at least one factor.
ii) Levels
A level is a particular value of an independent variable. An independent
variable has at least two levels. For example if we are intended to see the
effect of reward on verbal learning. Then reward is the factor and it has two
levels, reward or no reward.
iii) Treatment
It refers to a particular set of experimental condition. For example in 2 × 2
factorial experiment the subject are assigned to 4 treatments.
1) Define research design and indicate its puposes.
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2) What are the functions of a research design.
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3) Define factors, levels and treatment in research design.
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1.5 SINGLE FACTOR DESIGN

When we have only one independent variable then we use single factor design.
Single factor design can be classified into two categories :
i) Between group design
ii) Within subject design
7
Research Design i) Between group design
Here subjects are assigned at random to different treatment conditions. Here the
effect of different conditions on the subjects are computed. In this you can have
(i) two randomised group design or (ii) Multigroup design.
As for the two randomised group design , in this we randomly assign the subjects
into two groups. For this type of design, the experimenter first defines the
independent variable, dependent variable and the research population. For
example an investigator wants to see the effect of knowledge of result on the rate
of learning of school students in a particular city. Researcher randomly selects a
sample of 100 students from a city. Then researcher will randomly divide these
100 students in two groups with 50 students in experimental group and 50 students
in control group. The random assignment of the subjects into two groups can be
done by various methods.
The most common method of randomly assigning the subjects into two groups
is to use the table of random number. To divide the subjects into experimental
and control group, the researcher may write down the name of all the students in
alphabetical order on a paper and assign 1st student in experimental group, the
2nd in control group, 3rd in experimental group and so on. The researcher also
may write the name of the subjects on separate slips fold them and place them in
a box and pick the slip one by one. The experimenter may place first slip in one
group and second in the second group. It is expected that these two groups will
not differ significantly at the start of the experiment. Now the students of
experimental group will receive the knowledge of result of their performance
and the students of control group do not receive the feedback of their performance.
Then the scores of all subjects of experimental and control group will be recorded
and subjected to statistical analysis. If the statistical test reveals that two groups
differ significantly on dependent variable then it can be concluded that the
difference in rate of learning is due to the manipulation of independent variable.
If the rate of learning of experimental group is more than that of the control
group, then we may conclude that knowledge of result facilitated the learning.
In two randomised group design ‘t’ test or Mann-Whitney U test is most commonly
applied statistical techniques design.
• More than two randomised group design or multi group design

In behavioural science, the researcher some times uses more than two randomised
group design. In such studies, there are more than two or three experimental
groups and one control group. For example in an educational experiment, let us
say that we want to study the effect of schedule of reinforcement on the rate of
learning of a verbal task. We have three experimental groups and one control
group. The experimental group (G1 ) receives reinforcement of every response ,
while the experimental group 2 (G2 ) receives reinforcement at regular time
interval, and the third experimental group (G3 ) receives reinforcement at random
interval and the control group (G4 ) receives no reinforcement. We measure the
rate of learning on the verbal tasks of all these groups and use statistical technique
to answer research question.
In more than two randomised group design some time we have three or four
experimental groups only. For example an experimenter wants to study the effect
8
of four teaching methods on learning of a particular task. Suppose for this, the Single Factor Design
researcher randomly selects 100 students and assign 25 subject randomly in each
group. These groups are supposed to be equivalent groups after random
assignment. In the experiment, one group will be taught by method A, the
second by method B, third by method C and fourth by method D. All subjects
were administered a particular task and the scores are obtained on dependent
variable. Through appropriate statistical technique we can find out which method
of teaching is most effective. In multi group design the two most commonly
applied statistic is the one way analysis of variance and Duncan Range test.
• Matched group design

This design is also known as randomised block design (Edwards, 1968). In
matched group design all subjects are first tested on a common task and then
they are formed into groups. The groups thus formed are known as equivalent
groups. Subsequently, the different values of the independent variable is
introduced to each group and the mean scores of the dependent variable is taken
of both the groups. The matching variable is usually different from the variable
under study but is, in general related to it. The two groups are not necessarily of
the same sise although there should not be large differences in the number of
subjects of two groups.
When we use the matched group design the most important factor is the
identification of the variables on which matching has to be done. The matching
variable should have high correlation with dependent variable. Some time the
dependent variable itself is used as matching variable. Some time an independent
measure may be used as matching variable. But the variable selected should be
somewhat related to the dependent variable. For example in a study the researcher
wants to see the effect of praise on subject’s performance on intelligence test.
We have two groups, one group is praised for its performance on the test and
urged to try to better its scores and the second group does not receive any
comment. For assigning the subjects into two groups the researcher may find the
scores on form A of the intelligence test and obtained the set of scores. On the
basis of the obtained scores on form A subjects can be paired off. Those subjects
who scored 100 were selected for the study. They were divided into two groups
randomly and form B of the same test was administered to see the effect of
incentive on subject’s score. Suitable statistical test is used to find-out the
significant difference in the mean scores of two groups.
In matched group design we may use two methods of matching.

Matching by pairs
In this type of research, matching is done initially by pairs so that each person in
the first group has a match in the second group. For example researcher wants to
study the effect of two teaching methods on mathematical achievement of the IX
grade students. Subjects Intelligence and academic achievement was taken as
matching variable. All subjects were administered mathematical academic
achievement test and scores were obtained. If for instance two subjects scored
80, then one subject is placed in one group and another is placed in another
group. In this way two groups are formed. One group is taught by one method
and another group is taught by another method and academic achievement scores
of both the groups are compared.
9
Research Design Matching in terms of mean and SD
When it is impractical or impossible to set up groups in which subjects have
been matched person to person, investigators often resort to matching of groups
in terms of Mean and Standard Deviation. The matching variable is somewhat
related to the dependent variable. For example intelligence is a matching variable
and the researcher obtained the mean and SD of inelligence scores of two groups.
In the matched group design the subject may be matched on age, educational
level, learning ability and so on. However one should be very careful in choosing
the matching variables.
1) Define Single Factor Design.
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2) What is between group design? Describe the same with examples.
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3) Describe more than two randomised group design or Multi group design.
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4) What is Matched group design?
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5) How do we match in Matched Group Design?
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10
ii) Within subject design Single Factor Design
Within subject design is also known as repeated measure design, because the
same individual is treated differently at different times and we compare their
scores after they have been subjected to different treatment conditions. For
example, let us say a researcher wants to study the effect of colours on reaction
time. The investigator selects three colours say red, green and yellow and let us
say that 10 subjects are selected for the experiment from the population of interest.
After exposing them to different colours, their reaction time is noted and
compared.
Within subject design is further divided into two categories, viz., (i) two
conditions within subject design and (ii) multiple condition within subject design.
• Two conditions, within subject design

The two conditions design is the simplest design. The two conditions are labeled
as ‘condition 1’ and ‘condition 2’. All subjects experience both the conditions.
Let us say that the researcher wants to compare the reaction time of red and
green colour. We select 10 subjects from the population of interest, and the reaction
time of all the subjects is noted down for the two colours. Despite its simplicity,
this design is not used as often as one might expect because many experimenters
involve more than two conditions and there is possibility of carryover effect
from one condition to the other.
• Multiple Conditions within subject design

Psychology experiments generally employ more than two conditions. Usually
the researcher wants to compare several variables or treatments and ascertain
their effectiveness. Another reason for conducting multiple conditions experiment
is to determine the shape of the function that relates the independent and dependent
variables. For example a researcher may want to know how the sensation of
brightness increases with the physiological intensity of a light. For this the
researcher may present each of several intensities of the light to a group of subjects.
From the responses to the various intensities, the researcher can plot the relation
between intensity and brightness. This design can be explained by an example.
Fergus, Craik and Endel Tuluing (1975) examined whether different strategies
of processing words would affect memory. They used different strategies for
processing the word. They flashed words on a screen. Before each word appeared
they asked the subject a question, “Is the word in capital letters ?” or “Does the
word rhyme with train ?” or “Does the word fit in this sense ?” The first strategy
focused on the visual properties of the word, the second on the acoustic properties
and the third on the semantic properties. Researcher hypothesised that each
successive type of strategy would induce greater “depth of processing”. Their
theory predicted that increasing the depth of processing, would increase the
memory for that word.
The experimenter believed that subject could adopt different strategies of

processing on different trials. The type of strategy used was randomly varied for
each trial. After the words were all presented, the experimenter gave the subject
a list which contained all of the words that the experimenter had presented
along with an equal number of words that they had not presented. They asked
the subjects to indicate which word they recognised from the list. The percentage
11
Research Design of words recognised varied as a function of the depth of processing induced by
the question. The subject recognised only 18% of the visually processed words,
but they recognised 70% of the acoustically processed and 96% of the semantically
processed words. The following table shows schematically the above design :
Table 1.1: Subjects and treatment conditions
Treatment
Subjects T1 T2 T3
1 S1 S1 S1
2 S2 S2 S2
3 S3 S3 S3
- - - -
- - - -
N Sn Sn Sn
• Controlling for order and sequence effects in within subjects design

In the within subject experiment, because a subject experiences more than one
experimental conditions, the possibility exists that order effect and sequence
effect may influence the result of the repeated testing.
Order effects according to Mcburney and White (2007); “are those that result
from the ordinal position in which the condition appears in an experiment,
regardless of the specific condition that is experienced”. On the other hand,
according to them, the sequence effect “depends on an interaction between the
specific conditions of the experiment.” For example in an experiment when
judging the heaviness of lifted weights, there is possibility that a light weight
will feel even lighter if it is followed by a heavy one, and vice-versa.
Controlling for order and sequence effect is possible by randomisation, which

can be used when each condition is given several times to each subject. For
example if there are four conditions and each one is to be presented twice, we
may use the following sequence BCAD, ADCB. This type of randomisation is
particularly useful when conditions are presented several times to each subject.
When we have relatively fewer subjects, then several conditions can be presented
only a few times. Then we can use the reverse counterbalancing to control for
order effect. For example we have three conditions ABC then we can present
them ABC, CBA sequence.
• Comparison between group and within subject design

In the within subject design each subject in the experiment receives a number of
treatments or conditions whereas in the ‘between subject’ design, a subject
receives only one treatment.
In within subject design the experimenter repeats the measures on the same group
of subject and this increases the precision of the experiment by eliminating inter-
subject differences as a source of error.
Whether we will use the between group design or within subject design depends
12 on the experimental situation. When there are chances of practice or carry over
effect of one treatment to the subsequent task, then between group design should Single Factor Design
be preferred.
When we have small number of subjects, and they are available for extended
period of experimentation and number of treatment is small then we should
prefer within subject design.
1) Define within subject design. State the two categories of within subject
design.
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2) Describe what is 2 conditions and Multiple conditions in “within subject
design”? Give suitable examples.
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3) How do we control for order and sequence effects in “Within Subjects
Design”?
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4) Compare Between group and within group designs.
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13
Research Design
1.6 LET US SUM UP
Research design is a detailed plan as to how to do the research. The aim of
research design is to give answer to research problem and control variance. There
are different types of research design. When we have one independent variable
then we use single factor research design. Single factor research design can be
classified as between subject and within subject design and also known as repeated
measure research design. In between subject design we have two groups, one is
experimental group and other is control group. The allocation of subject in
experimental and control groups is made randomly. In within subject design
different subjects are treated differently at different times and we compare their
scores after subjecting them to different treatment conditions. In within subject
design, control of order and sequence effect is achieved through randomisation
or counterbalancing.

1) Given below are statement. Indicate whether they are true or false :
i) The research design is used to control error variance.
ii) When we have more than one independent variable we use single factor
design.
iii) Counterbalancing is used to equate the two groups.
iv) Order effect occur in within group design.
v) Matched group technique is used in between subject design.
2) Fill in the blanks :
i) In the within subject design each subject receive ............... treatment.
ii) In matched group technique the variable selected for matching should
be related to ............................ variable.
iii) In two randomised group design .............. test is most commonly used.
iv) In between subject design we have two groups one is ............ group
and other is ............................... group.
3) Descriptive Question :
i) What do you mean by research design ?
ii) Discuss in detail the functions of research design ?
iii) Discuss with example when to use between subject research design ?
iv) When to use within subject research design ? Explain with examples.
v) Differentiate between within subject and between subject experimental
design.
Answers:
1) . (i) T (ii) F (iii) F (iv) T (v) T
2) (i) number of (ii) dependent (iii) ‘t’
(iv) experimental, control
14
Single Factor Design
1.8 GLOSSARY
Independent Variable : Independent variable is one that cause some change
in the value of dependent variable.
Extraneous Variable : Independent variable that are not related to the
purpose of the study but may affect the dependent
variable.
Experimental Group : Group in which subject receive treatment.
Control group : Subjects in an experiment who do not receive
treatment.
Factor : The independent variable of an experiment.
Level : A particular value of an independent variable.
Treatment : Particular set of experimental condition.
Random assignment : Unbiased assignment process that gives each subjects
an equal chance of being placed in any groups.
Counterbalancing : Controlling for order and sequence effect by
arranging that subject experience the various
condition in different orders.

Kerlinger, F.N. (2007), “Foundation of Behavioural Research” (10th reprint),
Delhi, Surjeet publications.
McBurney, D.H. & White, T.L. (2007), “Research Method 7” Delhi, Thomson
Wadsworth.
Thyer, B.A. (1993), Single-System research design in R.M. Grinnell (ed.), “Social
Work, Research and Evaluation” (4th ed.), Itasca Illinois, F.E. Peacock Publishers.
15
Research Design
UNIT 2 FACTORIAL DESIGN
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Meaning of Factorial Design
2.3 Terms Related to Factorial Design
2.4 Simple Two Factor Design
2.4.1 Lay Out of Factorial Design
2.4.2 Example of Factorial Design
2.4.3 Representing Interaction in Graphic Form
2.4.4 Importance of Interaction
2.5 Types of Factorial Design
2.5.1 Within Subject Factorial Design
2.5.2 Between Subject Factorial Design
2.5.3 Mixed Factorial Design
2.6 Advantage of Factorial Design
2.7 Limitation of Factorial Design
2.8 Let Us Sum Up
2.10 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Research problems are stated in the form of hypothesis. They are stated so that
they can be empirically tested. There is a wide range of possibilities of testing
hypothesis. There are as many designs of research that exist as there are
possibilities. Designs are carefully worked out to yield dependable and valid
answers to the hypothesis. The results of the research depends on how the
observation and the inferences are made. How dependable our observation and
inferences will be, depends on how adequately we plan the research design. The
planning of research design depends on the number of independent variables,
the number of levels of each independent variable, the kinds of independent
variable. If we have one independent variable then we use single factor
experimental design. When we have more than one independent variable with
more than one level than we use the factorial design. Factorial design may be
two factor, three factor, four factor etc. In this unit we will discuss two factor
design.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define factorial design;
• Describe the terms related to factorial design;
16
• Formulate factorial design; Factorial Design
• Describe graphically the results of factorial experiment; and

• Identify the advantages and limitations of factorial design.
Traditional research method generally study the effect of one variable at a time
because it is statistically easy to manipulate. However in many cases, two factors
may be interdependent. One of the most significant developments in modern
research design and statistics is, planning and analysis of simultaneous operation
and interaction of two or more variables. Variables do not act independently.
Rather they often act in concert. There is one design i.e. factorial design by
which we can study the effect of more than one independent variable on dependent
variable. The factorial designs have the advantage over the single factor design
in that interaction of two or more variables can also be studied along with the
main effect. In a single factor design the levels of only one factor is varied and
the levels of other relevant variable are held constant. Thus the information
provided by factorial design is far more complete than provided by single factor
design.
2.2 MEANING OF FACTORIAL DESIGN

A factorial design is one in which two or more variable or factors are employed
in such a way that all the possible combinations of selected values of each variable
are used (Mcburney & White, 2007). According to Singh (1998), Factorial design
is a design in which selected values of two or more independent variables are
manipulated in all possible combinations so that their independent as well as
interactive effect upon the dependent variable may be studied. On the basis of
the above definition it can be said that the factorial design is one in which two or
more independent variables are manipulated in all possible combinations and
thus the factorial design enables the experimenter to study the independent effect
as well as interactive effect of two or more independent variables.
2.3 TERMS RELATED TO FACTORIAL DESIGN

Factors : The term factor is broadly used to include the independent variable
that is manipulated by the investigator in the experiment or that is manipulated
through selection. In the research some time it is possible to manipulate the
independent variable directly, for example in a study researcher wants to study
the effect of different drugs on the recovery of the patient. The researcher may
select three dosages 2 mg, 4 mg. and 6 mg. and administer the drug to the subjects.
Further researcher may find that age is another important variable that may
influence the rate of recovery from the diseases. The second independent variable
that is age cannot be directly manipulated by the researcher. The manipulation
of the variable ‘age’ is achieved through selection of the sample. The researcher
then may divide the subjects into three age groups.
Main Effect
This is the simplest effect of a factor on a dependent variable. It is the effect of
the factor alone averaged across the level of other factors.
17
Research Design According to Mcburney & White (2007) main effect in a factorial experiment,
the effect of one independent variable, averaged over all levels of another
independent variable.
Interaction : The conclusion based on the main effects of two independent

variables may be at times misleading, unless we take into consideration the
interaction effect of the two variables also.
According to Mcburney & White (2007) Interaction means when the effect of
one independent variable depends on the level of another independent variable.
An interaction is the variation among the difference between mean for different
levels of one factor over different levels of the other factor. For example a
cholestrol reduction clinic has two diets and one exercise regime. It was found
that exercise alone was effective and diet alone was effective in reducing cholestrol
levels (main effect of exercise and main effect of diet). Also for those patients
who didn’t exercise, the two diets worked equally well (the main effect of diet);
those who follow diet A and exercised got the benefits of both (main effect of
diet A & main effect of exercise). However it was found that those patients who
followed diet B and exercised got the benefit of both plus a bonus, an interaction
effect (main effect of diet B, main effect of exercise plus an interaction effect of
diet and exercise).
Types of Interaction
1) Antagonistic interaction : When main effect is non-significant and
interaction is significant. In this situation the two independent variables
tend to reverse each others effect.
2) Synergistic interaction : When higher level of one independent variable

enhances the effect of another independent variable.
3) Celling effect interaction : When the higher level of one independent

variable reduces the differential effect of another variable. that is one variable
has a smaller effect when paired with higher level of a second variable
(Mcburney & White, 2007).
All of these types of interaction are common in psychological research.

Randomisation : Randomisation is the process by which experimental units are
allocated to treatment; that is by a random process and not by any subjective
process. The treatment should be allocated to units in such a way that each
treatment is equally likely to be applied to each unit.
Blocking: This is the procedure by which experimental units are grouped into
homogenous cluster in an attempt to improve the comparison of treatment by
randomly allocating the treatment within each cluster or block.
2.4 SIMPLE TWO FACTOR DESIGN

In the two factor design we have two independent variables, each of which has
two values or levels. This is known as two by two (2x2) factorial design because
of the two levels of each variables.
18
2.4.1 Layout of Factorial Design Factorial Design
2 × 2 Factorial Design
Factor A
Factor B A1 A2
B1 A1B1 A2B1
B2 A1B2 A2B2
If we have two levels of one variable and three of another variable we would
have two by three (2 × 3) factorial design.
2 × 3 Factorial Design
Factor A
Factors B A1 A2 A3
B1 A1B1 A2B1 A3B1
B2 A1B2 A2B2 A3B2
We may have as many factors and level as we desire but with increasing
complexity we will require more time and data become complicated to interpret.
Most experiment use two or three factors, with two to six levels on the various
factors.
2.4.2 Example of Factorial Design

In an experiment Tulving and Pearlstone (1965) subjects were asked to learn a
list of 12, 24 or 48 words (factor A with three levels). These words can be put in
pairs by categories (for example apple and banana can be grouped as ‘fruits’).
Subjects were asked to learn these words and they were shown the category
name at the same time as the words were presented. Subjects were told that they
did not have to learn the category names. After a very short time, subjects were
asked to recall the words. At that time half of the subjects were given the list of
the category names, and the other half had to recall the words without the list of
categories (factor B with two levels). The dependent variable is the number of
words recalled by each subjects is given in the table below:
Table 2.1
Level of A
A1 A2 A3 Total
Levels of B 12 words 24 words 48 words
B1 A1B1 A2B1 A3B1 42
Cued recall (10) (13) (19)
B2 A1B2 A2B2 A3B2 54
Free recall (10) (15) (29)
Total 20 28 48 96
Here we have two independent variables number of words and presence and
absence of cues and one dependent variable, that is the number of words recalled
by each subject. We could do two separate experiments, one which varied the
number of words and the other which varied the presence or absence of cues.
19
Research Design The first experiment could be as in Table 2. This table shows the independent
effect of number of words. The second experiments could be as in Table 3.
Table 2.2
Cued Recall
12 Words 24 Words 48 Words
A1 A2 A3
Table 2.3
Free recall
12 Words 24 Words 48 Words
A1 A2 A3
In the above example (Table 2.1) there are six cells into which the sample is
divided. Each of the six combination would receive one treatment or experimental
condition. Subjects are assigned at random to each treatment in same manner as
in a randomised group design. The mean (shown in bracket) for different cells
may be obtained along with the means for different rows and columns. Means of
different cells represent the mean scores for the dependent variable and the column
mean in the given design are termed the main effect for number of words without
taking into account any differential effect that is due to the presence or absence
cues. Similarly the row mean in the above design are termed the main effect for
presence or absence of cues without regard to number of words. Thus through
this design we can study not only the main effect of number of words and presence
or absence of cues, but we can also study the interactive effect of number of
words and presence or absence of cues, on the number of words recalled by the
subject.
In this design we have two independent variables, we are able to examine two
possible main effects. We found the main effect of number of words by averaging
effect of number of words over the two levels of presence and absence of cues
when we looked at the column mean. Similarly we found the main effect of
presence or absence of categories by averaging the effect of presence or absence
of categories over the three levels of number of words when we looked at the
row mean.
By these results we can find out the interactive effect. Two variables interact if
the effect of one variable depends on the level of the other. We have an interaction
here. Because the effect of presence or absence of cues depends on the number
of words. Similarly the retention is influence by the length of the test.
Interaction can be presented in a tabular form as well as in graphical form.
2.4.3 Representing Interaction in Graphic Form

We take the fictitious ons data to present the results in graphic form. One
independent variable is task complexity with two levels and second independent
variable is level of arousal, that is low arousal and high arousal and the dependent
variable is average time (in second) to completion of a task. Result are shown in
the Table 2.4.
20
Table 2.4 Factorial Design
Study 1 Task Complexity

High arousal Simple Complex
7.6 13.1
Study 2 Level of arousal
Low arousal High arousal
10.3 10.4
Study 3 Task complexity x level of arousal
Simple Task Complex Task
Low arousal 9.0 11.8
High arousal 6.2 14.4
Graphs Time to Completion (sec.)
18
Time to Completion (sec.)
18
16 16
14
14
• 12
12
10
• •
10
8 8
• 6
6
Low High
Simple Complex
Task Complexity Level of Arousal
a. Study I results b. Study II results

Time to Completion (sec.)
18
16
14 •
12 •
10
•
8
6 •
Low High
Level of Arousal
c. Study III results
The concept of interaction can be understood clearly by looking at the graph

rather than the table. The graph for study III shows the interaction between task
complexity and arousal. The fact that the two lines on that graph for the simple
and complex task groups, are not parallel to one another suggest that there is an
interaction. Whether the lines diverge, converge or even cross whenever they are
not parallel the variable interact. If they are parallel, then the relationship between
the independent variables is an additive one.
Of course, in an actual research study the lines would rarely be perfectly parallel.
There are statistical test that can tell us when they are close enough to parallel to
indicate that there is no interaction, as well as when they deviate enough from
parallel to indicate that there is an interaction.
21
Research Design 2.4.4 Importance of Interaction
Main effect is an average effect. It can be misleading when an interaction is
present. When interaction is present we should examine the effect of any factor
of interest at each level of the interacting factor before making interpretation
(Minimum et.al. 2001). The two factor design is really made up of several one
factor experiments. In addition to main effect, the factorial design also allows us
to test simple effect.
For example we have 2×2 design. One factor A has two levels A1 and A2 and
other factor B has two levels B1 and B2. Main effects compare differences among
the level of one factor averaged across all levels of the other. However, this
particular design consists of four one way experiment and we may analyse each
of them separately. We may be interested in effect of A (all two levels) specifically
for condition B2. Simple effects refer to the results of these one factor analysis.
To make such comparison the interaction must first be significant.
Sometimes researcher is more interested in interaction than in a main effect. For

example, a study involving two methods and learner of low and high intelligence.
Research already established that individual with low intelligence learn more
slowly than individuals with high intelligence. The researcher may not be
interested in confirming the results, but may be interested to explore whether the
relative difference in effectiveness of the two teaching methods is the same for
slow learners and for fast learners, that is related to the question about the
interaction between method and learning ability. It could be that method and
learning ability interact to such a degree that one method is more effective with
slow learner and the other is more effective with fast learner.
1) Given below are statement. Indicate whether they are true or false :
i) Factorial design is used to study the effect of one independent
variable.
ii) Interaction effect can be study by single factor design.
iii) The independent variables of an experiment is known as factors of
the experiment.
iv) In within subject factorial design each subject experience each
condition.
v) The 2×2 design means two independ variables with two levels.
i) The interaction in which two independent variables tend to reverse
each other’s effect is known as ............................................
ii) Interaction in which two independent variables reinforce each
other’s effect is known as ...............................................
iii) If graphical representation of a variables shows curves that are not
parallel line it shows ............................. between the variable.
iv) The effect of one independent variable averaged over all levels of
another independent variable is known as ................................
22
Factorial Design
2.5 TYPES OF FACTORIAL DESIGN
Factorial experiments may be conducted either within subject or between subject.
A mixed factorial design is also used in psychology. A mixed factorial design is
one that has at least one within subject variable and at least one between subject
variable.
2.5.1 Within Subject Factorial Design

In an experiment by Godden & Baddeley (1975), researcher wants to study the
effect of context on memory. They hypothesised that memory should be better
when the condition at test are more similar to the conditions experienced during
learning. To operationalise this idea Godden and Baddeley decided to use a very
particular population : deepsea divers. The divers were asked to learn a list of 50
unrelated words either on the beach or under 10 feet of water. The divers were
then tested either on beach or under sea. The divers were tested in both the
environment in order to make sure that any effect observed could not be attributed
to a global effect of one of the environment. The first independent variable is the
place of learning. It has 2 levels (on the beach and under sea). The second
independent variable is the place of testing. It has two levels (on the beach and
under sea). These 2 independent variables gives 4 experimental conditions :
i) Learning on the beach and recalling on the beach.
ii) Learning on the beach and recalling under sea.
iii) Learning under sea and recalling on the beach.
iv) Learning under sea and recalling under sea.
Each subject in this experiment was tested in all four experimental condition.
The list of words was randomly created and assigned to each subject. The order
of testing was randomised in order to control the carry over effect. The layout of
the within subject factorial design is presented below.
Table 2.5: A within subject factorial design
learning place
A
Testing Place B Onland Under Sea
A1 A2
B1 S1 S1
S2 S2
S3 S3
S4 S4
S5 S5
S6 S6
B2 S1 S1
S2 S2
S3 S3
S4 S4
S5 S5
S6 S6
23
Research Design 2.5.2 Between Subject Factorial Design
A between subject facotoria design is presented in the following table. The
example is 2×2 design. Separate groups of six experience each condition, thus
requiring 24 subjects to get six responses to each of four conditions.
Table 2.6: A between subject factorial design
Factor - A
Factor-B A1 A2
S1 S13
S2 S14
B1 S3 S15
S4 S16
S5 S17
S6 S18
S7 S19
S8 S20
B2 S9 S21
S10 S22
S11 S23
S12 S24

Some time the researcher uses mixed factorial design. Researcher has two
independent variable A and B. Variable A is the within subject variable and variable
B is the between subject variable. Subject either experiences B1, once with A1
and also with A2; or they experience B2 once with A1 and also with A2.
For example we want to study the effect of gender and alcohol on risk taking
while driving. Here we have two independent variables gender (A) and alcohol
level (B). Suppose we have decided to operationalise the independent variable
‘alcohol level’ by having four concentration levels. We decide to have each subject
observed in each alcohol condition. The order of administration of each condition
will be randomised for each subject. The measures are non repeated for the factor
(A) gender and repeated for the factor (B) alcohol level.
Suppose we have 10 subjects 5 males and 5 females. The experimental lay out
will be as follows :
Table 2.7
Between Subject Within Subject
Variables Variable
A B1 B2 B3 B4
S1 S1 S1 S1
S2 S2 S2 S2
A1 S3 S3 S3 S3
24
Factorial Design
S4 S4 S4 S4
S5 S5 S5 S5
S6 S6 S6 S6
S7 S7 S7 S7
A2 S8 S8 S8 S8
S9 S9 S9 S9
S10 S10 S10 S10
This example shows a situation in which you would have to use a mixed design.
2.6 ADVANTAGE OF FACTORIAL DESIGN

Factorial design enables the researcher to manipulate and control two or more
independent variables simultaneously. By this design we can study the separate
and combined effect of number of independent variables.
Factorial design is more precise than single factor design (Kerlinger, 2007).
By factorial design we can find out the independent or main effect of independent
variables and interactive effect of two or more independent variables.
The experimental results of a factorial experiment are more comprehensive and
can be generalised to a wider range due to the manipulation of several independent
variables is one experiment.
2.7 LIMITATION OF FACTORIAL DESIGN

Sometime especially when we have more than three independent variables each
with three or more levels are to be manipulated together, the experimental setup
and statistical analysis become very complicated.
In factorial experiments when the number of treatment combinations or treatments

become large, it becomes difficult for the experimenter to select a homogeneous
group.
2.8 LET US SUM UP

Factorial designs are employed when one wants to study the independent and
joint effect of two or more independent variables. There are different types of
interaction such as antagonistic, synergistic and ceiling effect. Factorial designs
may be conducted as within subject, between subject or they may be used in
mixed experiments that have one within subject and one between subject variable.

1) What do you mean by factorial design. Explain with example.
2) Differential with illustration the between group factorial design and within
subject factorial design.
3) Discuss the advantage and limitation of factorial design.
25
Research Design 4) What do you mean by interaction in factorial design. Discuss various types
of interaction.
SAQ ANSWERS :
1) i) F ii) F iii) T iv) T v) T
2) i) antagonistic interaction ii) synergistic interaction
iii) interaction iv) main effect
2.10 GLOSSARY
Factorial design : Research design that involve all combination of at
least two values of two or more independent
variables.
Main effect : The effect of one independent variable averaged over
all levels of another independent variable.
Interaction : When the effect of one independent variable depends
on the level of another independent variable.

McBurney, D.H. & White, T.L. (2007), “Research Method 7” Delhi, Thomson
Wadsworth.
Kerlinger, F.N. (2007), “Foundation of Behavioural Research” (10th reprint),

Delhi, Surjeet publications.
Godden A., Baddeley A. (1980), When does context influence recognition

memory ? British Journal of Psychology, 71, 99-104.
Singh, A.K. (1998) Tests, Measurement and Research Methods in Behavioural

Sciences (3rd ed.) New Delhi, Bharati Bhawan.
26
Factorial Design
UNIT 3 QUASI EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Meaning of Quasi Experimental Design
3.3 Difference Between Quasi Experimental Design and True Experimental Design
3.4 Types of Quasi Experimental Design
3.4.1 Non-Equivalent Group Posttest only Design
3.4.2 Non-Equivalent Control Group Design
3.4.3 The Separate Pretest-post Test Sample Design
3.4.4 The Double Pretest Design
3.4.5 The Switching Replications Design
3.4.7 Interrupted Time Series Design
3.4.8 Multiple Time Series Design
3.4.9 Repeated Treatment Design
3.4.10 Counter Balanced Design
3.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Quasi Experimental Design
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
For most of the history of scientific psychology, it has been accepted that
experimental research, with its twin assets of random assignment and
manipulation of the independent variable by the researcher, is the ideal method
for psychological research. Some researchers believe this so strongly that
they avoid studying important questions about human personality, sex differences
in behaviour, and other subjects that do not lend themselves to experimental
research.
A few decades ago researchers in psychology were interested in applied
psychology issues conducting research on how students learnt in school, how
social factors influenced the behaviour of an individual, how to motivate factory
workers to perform at a higher level etc. These research questions cannot be
answered by lab experiments as one has to go to the field and the real life situation
like the classroom etc., to find answers to the research issues mentioned above.
Thus the quasi experimental research came into existence. Quasi-experimental
research design can be more easily implemented in natural settings and one can
make direct assessment of subjects, find out the effects of a specific treatment
introduced by the researcher, and while doing so the researcher can also minimise
the influence of extraneous variables. In this unit we will discuss the quasi
experimental design.
27
Research Design
3.1 OBJECTIVES
• Define quasi experimental design;
• Differentiate between quasi experimental and true experimental design;
• Elucidate the different types of quasi experimental design; and
• Enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of quasi experimental design.
3.2 MEANING OF QUASI EXPERIMENTAL

DESIGN
The word quasi means ‘as if’ or ‘to a degree’. Thus quasi experimental design is
one that resembles an experiment but lacks at least one of its defining
characteristics.
According to Mcburney & White (2007) ‘quasi experiment is a research procedure

in which the scientist must select subjects for different conditions from preexisting
groups’.
According to Broota (1989) “All such experimental situations in which the

experimenter does not have full control over the assignment of experimental
units randomly to the treatment conditions or the treatment cannot be manipulated
are called quasi experimental design.”
According to Singh (1998) “A quasi experimental design is one that applies an

experimental interpretation to results that do not meet all the requirement of a
true experiment.”
According to Wikipedia, The quasi experimental design are related to the setting
up a particular type of an experiment or other study in which one has little or no
control over the allocation of the treatment or other factors being studied.
According to Shadish, Cook & Cambell (2002), “The term quasi experimental
design refer to a type of research design that lacks the element of random
assignment.”
Quasi experimental designs are sometimes called ex-post facto design or after
the fact experiment, because the experiment is conducted after the groups have
been formed. The independent variable has already occurred and hence, the
experimenter studies the effect after the occurrence of the variable. For example
if we are interested in gender differences in verbal learning figures we would
have to conduct a quasi experiment because we cannot assign participant to the
two conditions male and female. We cannot create groups of males and females
but instead select members from preexisting groups. In other words, we can say
that in quasi experiments we do not manipulate variables but we observe
categories of subjects. Matching instead of randomisation is used.
28
Quasi Experimental Design
3.3 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QUASI
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND TRUE
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
In true experimental situation experimenter has complete control over the
experiment. In quasi experimental situation, the experimenter does not have
control over the assignment of subject to condition.
In true experimental design we manipulate variables but in quasi experimental

design manipulation of variable is not possible, we observe categories of subjects.
For example, If we want to study the effect of gender then we cannot manipulate
gender we simply label groups according to what we think is the important
difference between them.
In quasi experimental design we present some independent variables to two

preexisting groups. We may not know whether the difference in behaviour was
caused by difference between the groups or by the independent variable. A quasi
experiment leaves open the possibility that other differences exist between the
experimental and control conditions and thus permit other potential differences
to remain.
1) Given below are statement, state whether statement are true or false :
i) Trait anxiety is a quasi experimental variable.
ii) Quasi experimental design have high internal validity.
iii) Quasi experiment may be performed when a true experiment would
be impossible.
iv) In quasi experiment there is lack of random assignment of subjects
in groups.
v) These design are not useful in psychological research.
i) It is possible to ........................ subjects to conditions in a true
experiment, in a quasi experiment it is necessary to ....................
subject from preexisting groups.
ii) The ..................... validity of a quasi experiment is higher than true
experiment.
iii) The research design that allows the same group to be compared
over time to known ......................................
iv) In multiple time series design we have ..................... groups.
v) Manipulation of independent variable is made by ............... in quasi
experimental design.
3) Descriptive question :
Answers:
1) (i) T (ii) F (iii) T (iv) T (v) F
2) (i) assign, select (ii) external (iii) time series design (iv) two
(v) selection
29
Research Design
3.4 TYPES OF QUASI EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
There are many different types of quasi experimental designs that have a variety
of applications in specific context. Here we will study some important quasi
experimental designs.
3.4.1 Non-Equivalent Group, Posttest only Design

The non-equivalent, posttest only design consists of administering an outcome
measure to two groups or to a program/treatment group and a comparison. For
example, one group of students might receive reading instruction using a whole
language program while the other group of students receives a phonetics based
program. After twelve weeks, a reading comprehension test can be administered
to see which program was more effective.
A major problem with this design is that the two groups might not be necessarily
the same before any instruction takes place and may differ in important ways
that influence what reading progress they are able to make. For instance, if it is
found that the students in the phonetics groups perform better, there is no way of
determining if they are better prepared or better readers even before the program
and/or whether other factors are influential to their better performance.
3.4.2 Non-Equivalent Control Group Design

In this design both a control group and an experimental group is compared.
However the groups are chosen and assigned out of convenience rather than
through randomisation. The problem with this design is in determining how to
compare results between the experimental and control group. For example, we
are interested to study the effect of special training programmes, on the grade
point average of 10th grade students. The experimenter could not draw random
sample as the school will not permit the experimenter to regroup the classes.
Therefore researcher selected two sections of X grade from the same school.
Because the subjects were not randomly allocated to the two groups we cannot
say that groups are equivalent before the experimental manipulation was performed.
We find out the grade point at the start of the programme and then again after the
program. The group who does not receive treatment (training) is our control group.
This design may be diagrammed as shown below :
G1 O1 O2
G2 O3 O4
O = Observation
X = Treatment or experimental variable
Here we cannot say whatever difference we find in the grade point of two groups
is because of training programme or because of some other confounding variable.
It is possible that the student of one section who participate in training programme
were inherently different in terms of motivation abilities, intelligence from those
who did not participate.
3.4.3 The Separate Pretest -Posttest Sample Design

The basic idea in this design is that the people we use for the pretest are not the
same as the people we use for posttest. The design may be diagrammed as shown
30 below :
G1 0 Quasi Experimental Design
G1 X 0
G2 0
G2 0
There are four groups but two of these one groups come from a single non
equivalent group and the other two also come from other single non equivalent
group. For example let us say, you have two organisations that you think are
similar. You want to implement your study in one organisation and use other as
a control. You design a program to improve customer satisfaction. Because
customers routinely cycle through your organisation, you cannot measure the
same customer pre-post. Instead you measure customer satisfaction in each
organisation at one point in time, then implement your program and then once
again measure customer satisfaction in the organisation at another point in time
after the program. Here the customers will be different within each organisation
for the pre-test and post-test. Here we cannot match the individual participant
responses from pre to post. We can only look at the change in average customer
satisfaction. Here non equivalence exists not only between the organisations but
that is within organisation the pre and post groups are non-equivalent.
3.4.4 The Double Pre-Test Design

This is a very strong quasi experimental design with respect to internal validity.
Because in pre-post non-equivalent group design the non-equivalent groups may
be different in some way before the program is given and we may incorrectly
attribute post-test differences to the program. Although the pre-test helps to assess
the degree of pre-program similarity, it does not tell us if the groups are changing
at similar rates prior to the program.
The double pre-test design includes two measures prior to the program.
Consequently if the program and comparison group are maturing at different
rates we can detect this as a change from pretest 1 to pretest 2. Therefore this
design explicitly controls for selection maturation threats.
3.4.5 The Switching Replications Design

The Switching Replications quasi-experimental design is also very strong with
respect to internal validity. And, because it allows for two independent
implementations of the program, it may enhance external validity or
generalisability. The design has two groups and three phases of measurement.
In the first phase of the design, both groups are pretested, one is given the program
and both are post-tested.
In the second phase of the design, the original comparison group is given the
program while the original program group serves as the “control”. This design is
identical in structure to its randomised experimental version, but lacks the random
assignment to group. It is certainly superior to the simple pre-post non-equivalent
groups design.
31
Research Design 3.4.6 Mixed Factorial Design with one Non-Manipulated
Variable
This design can be explained by an experiment. In an experiment Edmund Keogh
and Gerke Witt (2001) hypothesise that caffeine intake might influence the
perception of pain and that the effect may be different in men and women. 25
men and 25 women took part in two sessions separated by a week. In one session
the participants drank a cup of coffee that contained caffeine and in the other
session, they drank decaffeinated coffee. In both the sessions the participants
put their non dominant hand in ice water bath and to indicate the point of just
noticeable pair.
Design of the Study

Coffee Beverage
Gender Decaffeinated Caffeinated
S1 S1
Women S2 S2
S25 S25
Men S26 S26
S27 S27
S50 S50
The above is a mixed factorial design because it has one between subject variable
(gender) and one within subject variable (caffeine).
3.4.7 Interrupted Time-Series Designs

These are the research designs that allow the same group to be compared over
time by considering the trend of the data before and after experimental
manipulation. (Mcburney & White, 2007).
In this design pre-testing and post-testing of one group of subject is done at
different intervals. In the time series design, the purpose might be to determine
the long term effect of treatment and therefore the number of pre-test and post-
test can vary from one each to many. Sometimes there is an interruption between
tests in order to assess the strength of treatment over an extended time period.
This design can be diagrammed as below :
01 02 03 04 X 05 06 07 08
The above diagram shows that a series of pre-tests are given to a group. Then
treatment (X) is given and a series of post-tests are given to the same subject.
This design is different from single group pretest posttest design. In this we
give the series of pretests and posttests to a subject, where as in the pre test post
test design we give only single pretest and posttest.
3.4.8 Multiple Time Series Design

In this design we have two groups, one group receives treatment and the other
group does not receive the treatment and this group acts as the control group.
32
This design can be presented as given in the diagram below : Quasi Experimental Design
Pre response measure Treatment Post response measure

G1 01 02 03 04 05 X 06 07 08 09 010
G2 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 010
It is usually a complex setting with many events and trends that might affect the
behaviour in question. The addition of a comparison group for which the same
series of measures is available, but which is not exposed to the treatment whose
effects are being studied, can be useful in clarifying the relationship between the
treatment and any change in the series of behavioural measures being used.
3.4.9 Repeated Treatment Design

Repeated treatment design is one in which a treatment is withdrawn and then
presented the second time (McBurney and White, 2007).
In this design the treatment is presented more than once. The subject’s response
is measured before and after the introduction of a treatment, then the treatment
is withdrawn and the whole process is began again. The design is shown in
following table
Table : A Repeated treatment design
Pretest1 Treatment Posttest1 Withdraw Treatment Pretest1 Posttest2
Repeated treatment design can be explained with the help of a study of the effect
of a ban on alcohol consumption in a small community , let us say the Toda
Community in Tamil Nadu. Let us assume that the government has put a ban on
alcohol consumption as it is detrimental to the health of the workers in that area.
To assess the impact of alcohol policy changes on the productivity of the workers,
medical problems related to alcohol consumption etc., were studied. The results
indicated that the productivity improved as a result of this ban amongst the
community persons.
3.4.10 Counter Balanced Design

Such designs are also called cross-over design (Cochran & Cox, 1957). The
name counter balance was given by Underwood (1949). In this design the
experimental control is achieved by randomly applying experimental treatment.
Here each treatment appears once and only once in each column and in each
row. A counter balance design in which four treatment have been randomly given
to four groups on four different occasion is given below :
Group-A X1 X2 X3 X4 0
Group-B X2 X4 X1 X3 0
Group-C X3 X1 X4 X2 0
Group-D X4 X3 X2 X1 0
Variables like maturation, selection and experimental mortality posing threats to

internal validity are well controlled by the counter balance design.
33
Research Design
3.5 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
QUASI EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Advantages
In social science, where pre selection and randomisation of groups is often
difficult, they can be very useful in generating results for general trends.
E.g. if we study the effect of maternal alcohol use when the mother is pregnant,
we know that alcohol does harm embryos. A strict experimental design would
include that mothers were randomly assigned to drink alcohol. This would be
highly illegal because of the possible harm the study might do to the embryos.
So what researchers does is to ask people how much alcohol they used in their
pregnancy and then assign them to groups.
Quasi-experimental design is often integrated with individual case studies; the

figures and results generated often reinforce the findings in a case study, and
allow some sort of statistical analysis to take place.
In addition, without extensive pre-screening and randomisation needing to be

undertaken, they do reduce the time and resources needed for experimentation.
Since quasi-experimental designs are used when randomisation is impossible

and/or impractical, they are typically easier to set up than true experimental
designs.
Utilising quasi-experimental designs minimises threats to external validity as

natural environments do not suffer the same problems of artificially as compared
to a well-controlled laboratory setting.
Since quasi-experiments are natural experiments, findings in one may be applied

to other subjects and settings, allowing for some generalisations to be made
about population.
This experimentation method is efficient in longitudinal research that involves

longer time periods which can be followed up in difference environments.
Quasi-experimental design is often integrated with individual case studied; the

figures and results generated often reinforce the findings in a case study, and
allow some sort of statistical analysis to take place.
In addition, without extensive pre-screening and randomisation needing to be

undertaken, they do reduce the time and resources needed for experimentation.
Disadvantages
Without proper randomisation, statistical tests can be meaningless.
A quasi experiment constructed to analyse the effects of different educational

programs on two groups of children, for example, might generate results that
show that one program is more effective than the other. These results will not
stand up to rigorous statistical scrutiny because the researcher also needs to control
other factors that may have affected the results.
34
The lack of random assignment in the quasi experimental design method may Quasi Experimental Design
allow studies to be more feasible, but this also poses many challenges for the
investigator in terms of internal validity. This deficiency in randomisation makes
it harder to rule out confounding variables and introduces new threats to internal
validity.
Because randomisation is absent, some knowledge about the data can be

approximated, but conclusions of causal relationships are difficult to determine
due to a variety of extraneous and confounding variables that exist in a social
environment.
Moreover, even if these threats to internal validity are assessed, causation still
cannot be fully established because the experimenter does not have total control
over extraneous variables.
Thus one may conclude that disadvantages aside, as long as the shortcomings of
the quasi experimental design are recognised, these studies can be a very powerful
tool, especially in situations where ‘true’ experiments are not possible.
These are very useful to obtain a general overview and then follow up with a
case study or quantitative experiment so as to focus on the underlying reasons
for the results generated. They are very useful methods for measuring social
variables.
3.6 LET US SUM UP

Quasi experiments may be performed when a true experiment is not possible.
The main difference between true experimental design and quasi experimental
design is random assignment of subject in groups. In quasi experimental design
researcher does not have control over the assignment of subject to condition.
There are different types of quasi experimental design. Some design involve two
groups and other have single group. Some commonly used quasi experimental
designs are non equivalent control group design, the separate pretest protest
design, the double pretest design, mixed factorial design, interrupted time series
design, multiple time series, design etc., repeated treatment design etc. The main
advantage of quasi experimental design is that these can be used when
randomisation of the group is impossible and or impractical. Because of the lack
of random assignment the internal validity of quasi experimental design is very
low. In these design there are possibility of selection bias because the participant
are not randomly assigned.

1) Define and describe the quasi experimental design.
2) Differentiate between true experimental design and quasi experimental
design.
3) Discuss with example the non equivalent control group design.
4) What are the various types of quasi experimental designs.
35
Research Design
3.8 GLOSSARY
Quasi experiment : Research procedure in which the scientist must
select subjects for different conditions from
preexisting groups.
Non-equivalent control : Research design having both an experimental

group design and a control group wherein subjects are not
randomly assigned to group.
Counter balance design : The design in which each treatment appeare

once and only once in each column and row.
Interrupted time : Research design that allows the same group to

series design be compared over time by considering the trend
of the data before and after experimental
manipulation.

Cambell, D.T. and Slanley, J.C. (1966), Experimenal and Quasi Experimental
Design for Research, Chicago : Rand McNally College Pub. Co.
Cook, T.D. I campbell, D.T. (1979), Quasi Experimentation: Design and Analysis
Issues for Field Settings, Chicago : Rand McNally College Pub. Co.
McBurney D.H. & Whitle T.L. (2007), Research Methods, 7, New Delhi,
Thomson Wadsworth.
Singh A.K. (1996). Tests, Measurement and Research Methods in Behavioural

Science, New Delhi, Bharati Bhawan Publishers and Distributor.
36
Quasi Experimental Design
UNIT 4 OTHER DESIGNS
(CORRELATIONAL DESIGN AND
COMPARATIVE DESIGN)
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Definition of Correlational Research Design
4.3 Types of Correlational Research Design
4.4 Evaluation of Correlational Design
4.4.1 Advantages
4.4.2 Disadvantages
4.5 What are the Standard of Quality Used when Assessing Correlational Design
4.6 Causal Comparative Research Design
4.7 Comparison Between Causal-Comparative and Correlational Designs
4.7.1 Similarity
4.7.2 Differences
4.8 Comparison Between Causal Comparative and Experimental Design
4.9 Data Analysis for Causal Comparative Research Design
4.10 Evaluation of Causal Comparative Research Design
4.10.1 Advantages
4.10.2 Limitation
4.11 Let Us Sum Up
4.13 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
The experimental designs which we discussed in first two units provide the most
powerful means of studying the behaviour. As you know the important features
of experimental design is manipulation of independent variable and control over
the experiment. The researcher has enough control over the situation to decide
which participant receives which condition at which time. Sometimes the
researchers are interested in some variables which cannot be manipulated by the
experimenter, where researcher does not have control over the who, what, when,
where and how. For example if we are interested to study:
a) Whether scholastic achievement depended upon the general intelligence of
a child?
b) Does there exist gender difference in aggression?
c) Is there any relationship between the sise of the skull and the general
intelligence of the individual?
Many such questions may arise from time to time for which we may try to find
answers through research. To answer such research questions we have to use 37
Research Design non-experimental research design. The most commonly used non-experimental
research designs are correlational research design and causal comparative research
design. Correlational research design involves correlation between two variables
and causal comparative research design involves comparing two groups in order
to explain existing differences between them on some variable or variables of
interest. In this unit we will learn about correlational research design and causal
comparative research design.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Define correlational design;
• Enumerate the types of correlational design;
• Describe the advantages and limitations of correlational design;
• Define causal comparative design;
• Differentiate between causal and correlation designs; and
• Enumerate the advantages and limitations of causal comparative design.
4.2 DEFINITION OF CORRELATIONAL

RESEARCH DESIGN
Correlational research designs are founded on the assumption that reality is best
described as a network of interacting and mutually causal relationship. Everything
affects and is affected by everything else. This web of relationship is not linear.
Thus, the dynamics of a system, that is how each part of the whole system
affects each other part is more important than causality. The correlational
investigations attempt to compare the level of one variable with those of another
to see if a relationship exists between the two. The correlational design is a
quantitative design.
According to Singh, (1998), Correlational design is one in which the researcher
collects two or more sets of data from the same group of subjects so that the
relationship between the two subsequent sets of data can be determined.
Correlational research design is one which studies relationship among variables,
none of which may be the actual cause of the other (Mcburney & White, 2007).
On the basis of above definitions it can be stated that correlational design is one
which have two or more quantitative variables from the same group of subjects
and which shows the relationship between the two variable.
The correlational design may be diagrammed as follows :
X1 X2
O1 P1
O2 P2
O3 P3
. .
. .
.On Pn
38
The relationship indicated by the symbol r will be the relationship between the Other Designs
(Correlational Design and
observations (O1 ….On) of X1 and (P1….Pn ) of X2 Comparative Design)
4.3 TYPES OF CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

DESIGN
Correlational designs can be broadly categorised in two broad divisions:
1) Those that measure the degree of association between variables and (2) Those
that are used to Predict the score on one variable using knowledge about
the one or more variables.
Within the former, that is those that measure the degree of association between
variables, we have (a) Association between two variables and (b)
Association amongst more than 2 variables. These are being presented below.
For example let us say a researcher wants to study the relationship between
academic stress and academic achievement of college students. For this let
us say that the researcher randomly selects 100 college students and
administers the measure of academic stress and subsequently a test of
academic achievement. Thus the researcher will have two sets of data.
a) Association between two variables
A correlation coefficient can be calculated from those 100 pairs of numbers.
Theoretically it could take a positive or negative absolute value between -
1.00 to 0.00 to +1.00. The larger the coefficient, whether positive or negative,
the more consistent the relationship between the two variables.
If the coefficient takes a positive value it means the individual who is higher
on one variable (X1) will higher on second variable (X2). This is sometimes
referred to as a direct relationship. If the coefficient takes a negative value
between 0 and -1.00, it would indicate that those who have obtained higher
scores on X1 will have lower scores on X2. In our above example if the
correlation is negative it means that those who scored high on academic
stress will have low academic achievement. This is some time referred to
as an inverse relationship.
b) Association between more than two variables
So what if academic stress and academic achievement have significant
correlation ? And what if study habits, intelligence and other factors were
also associated with academic achievement. We could measure the
association between all these variables in the same group of children. We
administer tests for the measurement of study habit and intelligence and
obtain scores on the same group of subjects and find out the multiple
correlation.
2) Those that are used to pedict the score on one variable using knowledge
about the one or more variables.
If there is a correlation between two variables, and we know the score on one,
the second score can be predicted. In this type of situation there are two variables,
one variable that is used to make a forecast about an outcome is known as predictor
variable and the other variable, is what we are trying to predict is known as
criterion variable.
39
Research Design By way of regression analysis we can make this prediction. For example there is
a relationship between stress and health. If we know the stress score, by way of
regression analysis we can predict the future health status score.
Some time the researchers have more than one predictor variable and one criterion
variable. The combination gives us more power to make accurate predictions.
for example if we have stress scores as well as health behaviour score and past
health score then one can make more accurate prediction of health status. Here
we have three predictors, stress, health behaviour and previous health status and
one criterion variable future health.
4.4 EVALUATION OF CORRELATIONAL DESIGN

The advantages and disadvantages of the correlational designs are presented in
the following section. First we deal with advantage and then the disadvantages.
4.4.1 Advantages
The correlational designs are used in many cases because available data makes it
easy to use. Some more careful researchers use the result of correlational studies
to formulate new hypothesis which they can test later using more rigorous research
design rather than test hypothesis about cause and effect directly.
Correlational design is used as the foundation for other designs that permit more
certain causal inferences to be drawn from results.
It usually does not involve repeated administration of a behavioural measure,

thus avoiding pretest sensitisation.
It usually uses very realistic measurements of behaviour and its possible causes
as well.
Correlational research thus avoids the problem of non-representative research

context. It also permits the use of large carefully chosen sample thus avoiding
the threat of non representative sample of participant.
4.4.2 Disadvantages
The major disadvantage of correlational designs is that they leave the actual
reason for the association found quite unclear. For example there is a positive
correlation between exposure to violent program on television and violence on
the playground. If we find the correlation rather positive and high, we may be
tempted to conclude that exposure to violent television causes children to be
aggressive and violent. But such a conclusion is completely unwarranted.
Rarely does a correlational study allow inferences about cause and effect. In this
case, there are many other possible explanations for the relationship. For example,
perhaps children with parents who neglect and physically abuse them just pop
them in front of the TV at night, when the violent shows tend to be on. These
children may have learned from the parent’s abuse and neglect, that aggression
and violence are acceptable ways of relating to others, and so they do it on their
own around their classmates. In such a case, the obtained association between
exposure to violent television and actual violent behaviour may be spurious.
That is, a third variable parental neglect and abuse cause them both.
40
Another possible explanation is that children who tend to be violent, for whatever Other Designs
reason, tend to prefer watching violent television shows. It is not that the violent Comparative Design)
television causes the violent behaviour. Instead, some children are dispositionally
violent (that is, due to personality or genetics also other variables) and it is this
that determines both the preference for violent TV shows and the playground
aggressiveness.
Correlational designs have directional problem. The causation is reversed from

the expected direction. The designation of one of the variables as the independent
variable and one as the dependent variable is arbitrary, compared to a true
experiment, in which the independent variable is manipulated by the researcher.
Children may watch violent television program because they behave aggressively
rather than the other way round. Television program may validate their choice of
activities by showing others who do the same, or children may watch to learn
more about how to behave violently.
Hence, the internal validity of the correlational design is very low.
4.5 WHAT ARE THE STANDARD OF QUALITY

USED WHEN ASSESSING CORRELATIONAL
DESIGN
Researchers must choose the variables to use within a correlational analysis with
great care. A sound theory that takes alternative explanations into account should
be used to determine which variables are of immediate interest.
Correlation is based on the assumption that the variables in question are related
linearly and do not suffer from multicollinearity.
Care must be taken to ensure that artificially restricted distributions, missing
data, and deviant cases or outliers are addressed.
Correlational studies can be made more powerful by using statistical techniques
that themselves allow for the partial control of third variables, when those
variables can be measured. Correlational statistics such as hierarchical multiple
regression, path analysis, and structural equation modeling all fall into this
category. These statistics, in essence, allow the correlation between two variables
to be recalculated after the influence of other key variables are removed. Thus
these types of correlational statistics and designs help to rule out certain causal
hypotheses, even if they cannot demonstrate the true causal relation definitely.
The most important thing to look for in a correlational study, when determining
its validity, is the controls that the researcher puts into place to control the
extraneous variables influence.
4.6 CAUSAL COMPARATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

There are many occasions while conducting research in psychology, where the
researcher is unable to control the independent variable. Or it may be that the
researcher finds it rather unethical to control the independent variable, or it could
also be that it is too difficult to control the independent variable. To cite an
example, let us say that the researcher wants to study “the effect of gender on
aggression”, here the independent variable is gender and dependent variable is 41
Research Design aggression. Researcher cannot manipulate independent variable i.e. gender.
Another example is that if the researcher is interested in studying the effect of
diet (vegetarian V/s. non-vegetarian) on mental health, here again the independent
variable which is cannot be manipulated, as it is unethical to manipulate the diet
from vegetarian to non vegetarian as there are people who are purely vegetarians.
In these types of situation the researcher uses a causal comparative research
design rather than an experimental design for the research.
The basic design of a causal-comparative research study is to select a group that
has the independent variable (the experimental group) and then select another
group of subjects that does not have the independent variable (the control or
comparison group). The two groups are then compared on the dependent variable.
For example, in school, some of the seventh grade math classes use hand held
calculators. We want to find the effect of calculator use on mathematics grades
at the end of the year. So we select a group of students from the classes which
use calculators and then select another group of the same sise from the classes
who do not use calculators and then compare the two groups at the end of the
year on their final math grades. Another variant of this study would be to take
the students from one class that uses calculators and compare them with another
class that does not use calculators. Both these studies would be causal comparative
research studies.
Instead of using an experimental group and a control group as in the study
considered above, we could have a causal comparative research study in which
two or more groups differ in some variable that constitutes the independent
variable for the study. For example in a study researcher might wish to compare
students at four different age levels (or grade levels) on their amount of
participating in extra-curricular activities. The researcher could look at the number
of extra-curricular activities participated in by four groups of students. The first
group would be students in grades 1-3, the second group students in grades 4-6,
the third group students in grades 7-9, and the fourth group students in grades
10-12. The independent variable in this study would be grade placement and the
dependent variable would be participating in extra-curricular activities. Thus
the research would focus on the effect of grade levels on participation in extra-
curricular activities for public school students grades 1-12.
Causal comparative research attempts to identify a causative relationship between
an independent variable and a dependent variable. However this relationship is
more suggestive than proven as the researcher does not have complete control
over independent variable.
Causal comparative design compares two or more groups on one variable. Causal
comparative design is used to determine the cause for or consequences of existing
differences in groups of individuals. For example the researcher may be interested
in finding out the differences in performances of students taught by inquiry
teaching method and by lecture teaching method.
1) Given below are statements, state whether statement are true or false :
i) Correlational design is a quantitative design of research.
ii) Causal comparative research design is an experimental design.
42
Other Designs
iii) Correlational design avoids the threat of non-representative sample (Correlational Design and
of participation. Comparative Design)
iv) Causal comparative research design attempt to identify a causative

relationship between an independent variable and dependent
variable.
v) In causal comparative design researcher manipulate the independent
variable.
i) Correlational design studies the ................. between the variables.
ii) Coefficient of correlation expresses the ................. and ...............
of relationship between the variables.
iii) Causal comparative research looks at ................ between the groups.
iv) Correlational design and causal comparative design both are
........................ research design.
v) When it is possible to manipulate the independent variable then
we use ...................... design.
Answers:
1) i) T ii) F iii) T iv) T v) F
2) i) relationship ii) degree, direction
iii) comparison iv) non-experimental
v) experimental
4.7 COMPARISON BETWEEN CAUSAL-

COMPARATIVE AND CORRELATIONAL
DESIGNS
4.7.1 Similarity
Both are non-experimental methods because they lack manipulation of an
independent variable which is under the control of the experimenter and hence
in both the cases, random assignment of participants is not possible. This means
among other things the variable must be observed as they occur in the natural
setting.
In both the designs, techniques used for controlling confounding variables is the
same. In both the methods matching or quota sampling techniques are used to
control confounding extraneous variables.
In both the research the most common type of independent variable used are
called attribute variable (Kerlinger, 1986). They cannot be manipulated by the
researcher, they represent characteristics or attributes of different persons.
Like correlational research, causal comparative research is sometimes treated as

a type of descriptive research since it too describes conditions that already exist.
43
Research Design 4.7.2 Differences
Causal comparative research involves comparing two groups in order to explain
existing differences between them on some variables of interest. In causal
comprehensive research the groups being compared have already been formed
and if any treatment (if there was a treatment), it also has already been applied.
Correlational research on the other hand does not look at differences between
groups. Rather it looks for relationship within a single group.
Causal comparative research compares groups but the correlational research looks
at one group having nothing to do with establishing evidence of causality.
In correlational research some, independent variable is labelled as predictor
variable but not in causal comparative research.
Both designs differ on the scaling of the independent and/or dependent variables.
Causal comparative researches include at least one categorical variable. The
correlational research includes only quantitative variables. i.e. intelligence,
attitude, age, income, job satisfaction etc.
4.8 COMPARISON BETWEEN CAUSAL

COMPARATIVE AND EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGN
Causal comparative and experimental research both attempt to establish cause
effect relationship and both involve comparison. But there are difference between
two methods.
In experimental design researcher select a random sample and then randomly
divide the sample into two or more groups. Groups are assigned to the treatment
and the study is carried out.
In causal comparative design individuals are not randomly assigned to treatment
groups because they already were assigned into groups before the research began.
In experimental research the independent variable is manipulated by the researcher
whereas in causal comparative research the groups are already firmed and already
different on the independent variable. Independent variable in causal comparative
cannot be manipulated by the researcher.
4.9 DATA ANALYSIS FOR CAUSAL

COMPARATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
An inferential statistic used in both causal comparative and experimental research
designs is the t-test. Where the subjects in the two groups are independent of one
another, that is no matching of subjects or other control procedures were used,
the independent t-test is used to test the significance of a difference between the
means of the two groups in the study.
In research designs where the influence of an extraneous variable has been

controlled, or in designs utilising a pre-test-post-test procedure, the appropriate
t-test to use to compare the two group would be the dependent t-test.
44
When we have three or more groups to compare, the appropriate inferential Other Designs
statistic to use would be one-way analysis of variance. This statistics shows the Comparative Design)
significance of differences in the means of three or more groups of subjects.
In cases where we are using frequency counts for the dependent variable, the
appropriate inferential statistic to use would be the chi-square test. This statistic
tests the significance of differences between two or more groups (independent
variable) in frequencies for the dependent variable. For example, a high school
social studies teacher wants to see if the major party political affiliation for students
is similar to or different from that of the registered voters in the country where
the high school is located. The teacher would ask the students (anonymously) to
indicate whether they would support the democratic party or the republican party.
The proportion of students selecting the democratic or republican parties would
be compared with the country’s proportions of democratic and republican voters.
4.10 EVALUATION OF CAUSAL COMPARATIVE

RESEARCH DESIGN
4.10.1 Advantage
For the behavioural science causal comparative research is more fruitful than
experimental study. Because there are number of organismic variables such as
age, gender etc. cannot be manipulated by the researcher similarly sometime the
nature of the independent variable is such that it may cause physical or mental
harm to participants if it is manipulated by the researcher. For such type of
variables the causal comparative research design is more fruitful.
Experimental studies are more costly than causal comparative studies. Causal
comparative studies help to identify variable worthy of experimental investigation.
Causal comparative research do permit investigation of variables that cannot, or

should not be investigated experimentally, facilitate decision making, providing
guidance for experimental studies and are less costly on all dimensions.
But despite many key advantages causal comparative research does have serious
limitation.
4.10.2 Limitation
Since the independent variable has already occurred the same kind of control
cannot be exercised as in experimental study.
In causal comparative research manipulation of independent variable is not done

by the researcher, the alleged cause of an observed effect may in fact be the
effect itself, or there may be third variable that influence both cause and effect.
For example a research hypothesised that self concept is a determinant of reading
achievement. For this researcher administered a self concept test on a group of
subjects and identify two groups with one group having high self esteem and
one group having low self esteem. If the high self esteem group shows high
reading achievement, we conclude that self esteem influence reading achievement.
Here it is difficult to establish whether self esteem causes achievement or vice
versa. Because both the independent variable and dependent variable would have
already occurred, it would not to be possible to determine which came first. It
45
Research Design would be possible that some third variable, such as parental attitude might be the
main influence on self esteem and achievement. Therefore caution must be
exercised in attributing cause effect relationship based on causal comparative
research.
In causal comparative research the researcher cannot assign participant to

treatment groups because they are already in those groups.
One of the problems with causal comparative research is that since the pupil are
not randomly placed in the groups, the groups can differ on other variables that
may have an effect on the dependent variable. In experimental research we can
assume that these other variables cancel out among the study groups by the process
of randomisation.
4.11 LET US SUM UP

The correlational designs are used when we have two or more quantitative
variables from the same group of subjects and we are interested to determine if
there is a relationship between two variables. Correlation does not show a causal
relation, it can be used for prediction.
Causal comparative design compare two or more groups on one variable. This
design does permit investigation of variables that cannot or should not be
investigated experimentally. Correlational design and causal comparative design
both are non-experimental designs. But one studies the relationship between
variables and the other studies the difference between variables.

1) When to use correlational and causal comparative research design.
2) Write down the advantage and limitation of correlational design.
3) What are the similarities and differences between correlational and causal
comparative research.
4) What are the advantage and limitation of causal comparative design.
4.13 GLOSSARY
Correlational design : Correlational research design is one which
studied relationship among variables none of
which may be the actual cause of other.
Coefficient of correlation : Degree and direction of relationship among

variables. The coefficient of correlation
usually expressed as number between -1 to
+1.
Causal comparative design : Research design compare two or more groups

on one variable.
46
Other Designs
4.14 SUGGESTED READINGS (Correlational Design and
Comparative Design)
Broota, K.D. (2008), Experimental Design in Behavioural Research, New Delhi,
New age international (P) Limited, Publishers.
Campbell, D.T. and Stanley, J.C. (1966). Experimental and Quasi Experimental
Design for Research, Chicago : Rand McNally College Pub. Co.
Cherulnik P.D. (2001) Methods for Behavioural Research. A Systematic

Approach. London, Sage publication.
Cook, T.D. and Campbell, D.T. (1979), Quasi Experimentation : Design and
Analysis Issues for Field Setting, Chicago : Rand McNally College Pub. Co.
Qyen, E. (ed.) (1990), Comparative Methodology : Theory and Practice in

International Social Research, London sage.
47
Introduction Including
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION INCLUDING Ethnography
ETHNOGRAPHY
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Meaning of Qualitative Research
1.3 Types of Qualitative Research
1.4 Qualitative and Quantitative Research: A Comparison
1.5 Relevance of Qualitative Research in Psychology
1.6 Ethnography: The Meaning
1.7 Some Common Terms Used by Ethnographers
1.8 Assumptions in Ethnography
1.9 Types of Ethnographic Research
1.10 Purpose of Ethnographic Research
1.11 Steps of Ethnographic Method
1.12 Ethical Guidelines in Qualitative Research
1.13 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The unit deals with the basic concepts, implications and uses of qualitative
research in psychology. The unit also tries to introduce and describe the meaning
and essence of ‘ethnography’ in qualitative research. It provides the meaning
andn types of qualitative research. Comparing qualitative with quantitative
research, the unit puts forward the relevance of qualitative research in the field
of psychology. In this unit, the various methods of ethnographic research are
presented. The ethical guidelines in qualitative research.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
• define qualitative research;
• differentiate between qualitative and quantitative research;
• explain different types of qualitative research;
• describe the relevance of qualitative research in psychology; and
• explain the concept and importance of ethnography in qualitative research.
5
Qualitative Research in
Psychology 1.2 MEANING OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative research can be defined as a type of scientific research that tries to
bridge the gap of incomplete information, systematically collects evidence,
produces findings and thereby seeks answer to a problem or question. It is widely
used in collecting and understanding specific information about the behaviour,
opinion, values and other social aspects of a particular community, culture or
population. An example of a qualitative research can be studying the concepts of
spiritual development amongst college students. David (1995) had done such a
study at a fairly conservative school. He actually tried to analyse whether there
is uniformity or considerable diversity in people’s understanding of spiritual
development or not.
Qualitative research helps in providing an in depth knowledge regarding human

behaviour and tries to find out reasons behind decision making tendencies of
humans.
1.3 TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Attempting to understand human nature, market research purposes, current trends,
changing tastes and preferences of people, there are certain approaches of
qualitative research. They are:
i) Case study: With the help of this method a case of an individual, group,
event, institution or society is studied. It helps in providing an in depth
knowledge of the nature, process or phenomena of a specific case under
study. Multiple methods of data collection are often used in case study
research (example, interviews, observation, documents, and questionnaires).
The final report of the case study provides a rich (i.e., vivid and detailed)
and holistic (i.e., describes the whole and its parts) description of the case
and its context.
ii) Ethnography: This approach mainly focuses on a particular community. It
is more of a kind of closefield observation and basically tries to study a
socio cultural phenomena. For example, judging others based on the
researchers’ cultural standards. Ethnography can be used for comparative
analysis of cultural groups (e.g. eating habits of North Indians and South
Indians), also known ‘Ethnology’. Further it can also be used to analyse the
cultural past of group of people (e.g. Harrapan civilisation), also known as
‘Ethnohistory’.
iii) Historical method: This method helps in understanding and analysing the
causal relationships. With the help of this technique, the data related to the
occurrence of an event is collected and evaluated in order to understand the
reasons behind occurrence of such events. It helps in testing hypothesis
concerning cause, effects and trends of events that may help to explain present
events and anticipate future events as well.
iv) Grounded theory: This approach involves an active participation of the
researcher in the activities of the group, culture or the community under
study. The data regarding the required information is collected with the
help of observation. It is generally used in generating or developing theories.
This means that the ground theorists can not only work upon generation of
6 new theories, they can test or elaborate previously grounded theories.
Four important characteristics of a grounded theory are: Introduction Including
Ethnography
i) Fit: It helps in analysing whether the theory corresponds to real existing
community
ii) Understanding: The theory generated by grounding is clear and
understandable
iii) Generality: The theory provides much information and scope for further
analysis or generating more theories.
iv) Control: The theory generated is valid as it has been analysed under controlled
conditions.
Functions of Grounded Theory
i) It helps in identifying anchors or codes that allow the key points of the data
to be gathered
ii) It helps in making implicit belief systems explicit with the help of researchers’
questions and analysis.
iii) It consists of a set of steps whose careful execution is thought to “guarantee”
a good theory as the outcome.
iv) Data collection and analysis continue throughout the study.
vi) Phenomenology: In this method, the behavioural phenomena is explained
with the help of conscious experience of events, without using any theory,
calculations or assumptions from other disciplines. The concept can be best
understood with the help of one of the studies that was done in which patients
were asked to describe about caring and non caring nurses in hospitals
Creswell, 1998.The patients explained those nurses to be caring who show
their existential presence and not mere their physical presence. The existential
presence of caring nurses referred to the positive response showed by them
to the patient’s request. The relaxation, comfort and security that the client
expresses both physically and mentally are an immediate and direct result
of the client’s stated and unstated needs being heard and responded to by
the nurse.
Fill in the Blanks
i) ........................... approach involves an active participation of the researcher
in the activities of the group, culture or the community under study.
ii) .......................... method helps in understanding and analysing the causal
relationships.
iii) ............................... helps in testing hypothesis concerning cause, effects
and trends of events that may help to explain present events and
anticipate future events as well
iv) Qualitative research can be defined as ...................................................
v) The behavioural phenomena is explained with the help of conscious
experience of events with the help of ........................... method
vi) Case study is one of the widely used method in .............. (qualitative/
quantitative) research.
7
Psychology 1.4 QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH: A COMPARISON
The basic conceptual difference between both of the research techniques is that,
quantitative research is based on numerical or graphical representation of data
whereas; qualitative research is based on observation and experiences.
Other differences:
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
General Frame Seeks to explore Seeks to confirm hypothesis
work: phenomena using some related to phenomena using
structured methods such as highly structured methods
in depth interviews, such as, questionnaires,
experiences, participant surveys, structured
observation. observation.
Objectives: It aims to describe variation, It aims to quantify variation,
explain relationships, predict causal relationships.
describe behaviour,
experiences and norms of
individuals and groups.
Questions: The questions used for data The questions used for data
collection are open ended collection are close ended
ones ones
Representation Data is represented in form Data is represented in form of
of data: of notes, recordings and numbers and graphs.
video tapes.
Research The research design allows The research design is
Design: some flexibility in certain predetermined and stable from
situational aspects. The the beginning. The questions
questions used for the data used for data collection are
collection differs structured and same for all the
individually and depends participants.
upon the response of the
participants.
(Source: Qualitative Research Method: A Data Collector’s field guide)
1.5 RELEVANCE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

IN PSYCHOLOGY
Qualitative research methods has gained much importance in the discipline of
psychology leaving other human sciences far below such as sociology and nursing,
with the main motive of maintaining the historical attempt to frame psychology
as a natural science.
Comparatively, natural science methods use experimental means in order to
examine the causal relationships, wherein, this approach uses a large number of
participants and effectively captures aspects of our human nature. Qualitative
research is less interested in explaining phenomena than in understanding them
8 and that is why it has several good relevance and implications in psychology.
Qualitative research therefore, helps in attaining an in depth knowledge of human Introduction Including
Ethnography
nature, attitude, behaviour and experiences.
It has several implications in the discipline of psychology, as it:
i) Helps in textual description of experiences of people.
ii) Helps in identifying and explaining social norms, religion, roles of gender
and socio economic status.
iii) Helps in understanding those behavioural phenomena which can not be
quantified.
iv) Helps in collecting data under more natural situations.
v) Helps in determining those factors which are meaningful and are important
to the respondents under study.
The open ended questions used in qualitative research provide a chance to unfold
those facts which can not be done with the help of ‘to the point’ close ended
questions.
Choose the correct alternative
1) Data is represented in form of notes, recordings and video tapes in
a) Qualitative research
b) Quantitative research
c) Both of the above
d) None of the above
2) Qualitative research methods has gained much importance in the
discipline of
a) Psychology
b) Sociology
c) Anthropology
d) All of the above
3) Quantitative research is based on
a) Field notes
b) Numerical data
c) Case study
d) Recordings
4) Qualitative research helps in collecting data under more ....................
situations
a) Normal
b) Natural
c) Experimental
d) Artificial
5) The questions used for data collection in qualitative research are:
a) Open ended ones
9
Psychology b) Closed ended ones
c) Structured ones
6) The questions of the qualitative researchers depends upon
a) The preplanned questions
b) Situations
c) Response of the respondents
d) All of the above
1.6 ETHNOGRAPHY: THE MEANING

The method is also known as ‘ethnomethodology’ or ‘methodology of people’.
This type of research method basically intends to study culture through close
observation and active participation. It focuses on studying socio cultural
phenomena of a community. The ethnographer/ researcher collect information
regarding the socio cultural phenomena from a lot of people belonging to the
community under study.
On behalf of their community, the participants also identify and provide the
researcher some more respondents as a representative of their community (also
known as chaining process). The data is therefore collected using a chain sampling
in all empirical areas of investigation. The selected samples are re- interviewed
in order to elicit deeper and ambiguous responses. The ethnographer stays within
the community for months in order to gain more information through chaining
process and collect data in form of observational transcripts and interview
recordings. The analysis of data leads to development of theories for the socio
cultural phenomena under study, only on basis of the views and perspectives of
its respondents.
1.7 SOME COMMON TERMS USED BY

ETHNOGRAPHERS
i) Symbols: Symbols refers to any tradition or material artifact of a particular
culture such as art, clothing, food, technology and rituals. The ethnographer
tries to understand the cultural connotations behind the symbols of a
particular culture.
ii) Cultural patterning: Ethnographic research believes that the meaning of
symbols can not be understood until it is paired with one or more symbols.
Cultural patterning refers to the study of cultural patterns formed through
relationships between two or more than two symbols.
iii) Tacit knowledge: It refers to those cultural beliefs which are firm in nature.
They are so deeply embedded in their culture that they rarely need to be
discussed by the members in an explicit way. Such knowledge can not be
observed but needs to be inferred by the ethnographer e.g. the prejudices or
the orthodox beliefs)
iv) Situational reduction: It refers to the belief of ethnographers that social
structures and social dynamism are a result of interactions of several social
situations (e.g criminal acts can be due to the poor economic condition,
10 frustration, parenthood, neighbours and peer group of the criminals)
1.8 ASSUMPTIONS IN ETHNOGRAPHY Ethnography
i) Ethnographic research assumes that the main objective of research depends

upon and is affected by the interpretation of community cultural
understandings. There are chances that the researcher over estimates the
role of cultural perception and underestimates the role of causal reasons
behind such cultural belief.
ii) It also assumes that it is very important as well as difficult to identify the
target community that requires to be studied by the researcher. Nature and
size of the community as well as individuals’ perception may play an
important role on the subject that needs to be studied. Chances exist that the
ethnographer may over estimate the role of community culture and
underestimate the causal role of individual beliefs and perceptions.
iii) Ethnography further assumes that that the researcher is an expert and is
thorough with the norm and mores of the culture. The researcher is also
assumed to be an expert in the language spoken in the community. Chances
exist that the researcher may show biasness towards his or her culture while
studying the population of another community.
1.9 TYPES OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

i) Macro ethnography: It is the study of broadly defined cultural groupings
such as – “the Indians”, “the Turkish”. The common perspectives are studied
at a more larger level, which are found to be common under a more broader
strata.
ii) Micro ethnography: It is the study of more specific cultural groupings
such as the “local government”, the “terrorists”.
iii) Emic perspectives: It is the ethnographic approach under which the view
points and responses of the ‘ingroup’ or the members of the culture under
study are noted down.
iv) Etic perspective: It is the ethnographic approach under which the view
points and responses of the ‘out groups’ or the members who do not belong
to the culture under study are noted down. Their viewpoints highlight the
phenomena being followed under a particular culture.
1.10 PURPOSE OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

It helps in cross cultural analysis.
It helps in analysing the past events or the history of the culture
It helps in studying the behaviour, experiences and attitudes of individuals in a
more natural environment.
Close observation increases the chances of validity in the reports and theory
formulated
1.11 STEPS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC METHOD

1) Selection: The ethnographic method begins with selection of a culture. The
researcher selects the culture/ community or population according to his or
her interest. 11
Qualitative Research in 2) Review of Literature: Then the researcher reviews the literature pertaining
Psychology
to the culture to get a brief idea and historical sketch of the culture selected
for study.
3) Identification of variables: The researcher then identifies variables which
interests him or her as well as the members of the culture and needs to be
explored.
4) Entry: The ethnographer then tries to enter the culture and gain the
acceptance of the members of the culture.
5) Cultural Immersion: Ethnographers live in the culture for months or even
years which they have chosen to study. The middle stages of the ethnographic
method involve gaining informants, using them to gain yet more informants
in a chaining process.
6) Data Collection: After gaining the confidence of the respondents, the
researcher collects information in form of observational transcripts and
interview recordings and tapings.
7) Development of theory: After analysing the data, the researcher formulates
theory on the basis of interpretation of the results and reports achieved.
However, the ethnographic researcher tries best to avoid theoretical

preconceptions and formulates theory on the basis of the perspectives of the
members of the culture and from observation. The researcher may seek validation
of induced theories by going back to members of the culture for their reaction.
1.12 ETHICAL GUIDELINES IN QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH
The respondents and their responses should be respected by the researcher.
The researcher must show respect and belongingness to the community he or
she is studying.
The respondents must be made aware of what is being analysed by the researcher.
Researcher must ensure and maintain the confidentialities of the researcher.
Researcher should be aware of the expected risks and benefits including the
psychological and social aspects while performing the research.
State whether True or False.
1) Ethnography is also known as ‘methodology of culture’. ( )
2) The ethnographer/ researcher collects information regarding the socio
cultural phenomena from a lot of people belonging to the community
under study. ( )
3) Macro ethnography is the study of undefined cultural groupings ( )
4) Out groups refers to the people belonging to the same group ( )
5) The process of identifying and providing the researcher some more
respondents by the earlier ones’ as a representative of their community
is also known as chaining process ( )
12
6) The analysis of data leads to development of theories in ethnography. Ethnography
( )
State whether True or False
i) Ethnography assumes that that the researcher is an expert of the culture
which he or she has selected for studying. ( )
ii) The main objective of qualitative research does not depend upon
interpretation of community cultural understandings by the researcher.
( )
iii) The ethnographer tries to understand the cultural connotations using
the symbols of a particular culture. ( )
iv) Cultural patterning refers to the study of cultural patterns formed through
relationships between the respondents ( )
v) It is the duty of the researcher to show respect and belongingness to the
community they are studying. ( )
vi) Tacit knowledge refers to those cultural beliefs which are firm in nature
( )
1.13 LET US SUM UP

Qualitative research is a type of scientific research which helps in collecting,
analysing and interpreting the data of a group, community, culture or a market..
It helps in understanding the reasons behind the behaviour experience and attitudes
of the people of the group, community, culture or market under study. It is
authentic in nature because the researcher takes an active participation in the
activities of the population under study. Unlike quantitative research, it does not
requires a preplanned framework, objective or interest. The primary interest of
the researcher may change according to the community cultural understandings.
Out of the different techniques or types of qualitative research, ‘ethnographic

research’ is one the most important and preferred one. Ethnography involves
collection of data/ information from a number of respondents following a chain
process, that is, the researcher is provided more respondents by the group of
respondents who have already given their response or the required information.
Data can be collected by the help of ethnography through different ways and
perspectives as well.

1) Define qualitative research and discuss the relevance of qualitative research
in psychology.
2) Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative research. Do you think
that qualitative research is advantageous over quantitative research? Give
reasons.
3) Elaborate the different types of qualitative research
4) What do you understand by the term ‘ethnography’? Describe its types and
assumptions.
13
Psychology 1.15 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES
Agar, Michael (1996). Professional Stranger: An Informal Introduction to
Ethnography, Second edition. Academic Press, ISBN 0120444704 .
Bernard H.R. (1995). Research Methods in Anthropology, Second Edition.

London: Sage Publications
Burgess, eds., Methods of Qualitative Research, Vol. III. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications
References
Clifford, J. (1999). On Ethnographic Authority. Ch. 11 in Alan Bryman and Robert
Gold, Raymond L. (1997). The Ethnographic Method in Sociology. Qualitative

Inquiry, Vol. 3, No. 4 (December): 388-402. Gold writes this summary near the
end of his 50-year career in ethnographic research. The article discusses the
requirements of ethnographic research, validity, reliability, sampling, and
systematic data collection.
Hammersley, Martyn, & Atkinson, Paul (1995). Ethnography: Principles in

Practice, Second Ed. . London: Routledge.
Lareau, Annette & Schultz, Jeffrey, eds. (1996). Journeys Through Ethnography:
Realistic Accounts of Field Work. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Websites: http://qualitativeresearch.ratcliffs.net/examples.pdf
http://www.southalabama.edu/coe/bset/johnson/lectures/lec12.htm
Course: 5(Research Methods) Block: 4 (Qualitative Research in Psychology)
14
UNIT 2 GROUNDED THEORY Ethnography
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Goals and Perspectives of Grounded Theory
2.3 Methods of Grounded Theory
2.4 Steps of Grounded Theory
2.4.1 Memoing
2.4.2 Sorting in Grounded Theory
2.4.3 Writing in Grounded Theory
2.5 Types of Coding in Grounded Theory
2.5.1 Selective Coding
2.5.2 Open Coding
2.5.3 Axial Coding
2.6 Relevance of Grounded Theory
2.7 Implications of Grounded Theory
2.8 Criticism of Grounded Theory
2.9 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Grounded theory is one of the basic approach and most prominently used
technique in qualitative research. Grounded theory refers to ‘the process of
generation of theory which is based on collection of data from multiple sources’.
It is the only method of qualitative research which uses quantitative data also, as
and when required. The grounded theory approach aims to collect data and
interpret the data from the textual base (for example, a collection of field notes
or video recordings). After the process of interpreting, the data base is categorised
in to different variables and then the interrelationship between these variables
are analysed and studied.
Any how, the process of dividing and forming variables requires a thorough
knowledge of the literature as well as the selection of the technique for creating
the variables is equally important. The ability to analyse and interpret variables
is termed as “ theoretical sensitivity”. The theorist needs to emphasise and enhance
this sensitivity. The approach of grounded theory was developed by Glaser and
Strauss in 1960’s. This unit deals with the basic goals and perspectives of grounded
theory. It further deals with the different methods or techniques used in grounded
theory. The steps or stages used in formulation of the theory by this method will
also be discussed. The unit tries to clarify the concept of the grounded theory
approach and discuss the other related facts to the theoretical approach.
15
Psychology 2.1 OBJECTIVES
• describe the basic approach of grounded theory;
• explain the basic goals and perspectives of grounded theory;
• analyse the different methods applied for generation of theories using the
grounded theory approach;
• describe the different stages of grounded theory methodology; and
• explain the significance of grounded theory in the field of research.
2.2 GOALS AND PERSPECTIVES OF GROUNDED

THEORY
Grounded theory provides a direction to the researcher and directs them to generate
new theories or modify the existing ones. The interpretation and conclusion of
the grounded theory approach is more reliable as it is based on data collected
from multiple sources. The theory takes similar cases for analysis rather than
variable perspective. The selected cases are similar on the variables, that is the
variables of the cases are similar in nature but the outcome of these cases are
different. The ground theorists/ researcher take these cases and compare them to
analyse the causes and reasons behind the different outcomes of similar variables
of the selected cases.
The basic goals of the grounded theory are:

i) Since the approach consists of a series of systematic steps and the data is
collected from more than one source, it assures to provide a ‘good theory’
as the output.
ii) The grounded theory approach emphasises on the process by which the theory
is evaluated. This determines the quality of the theory.
iii) The grounded theory approach also emphasises on enhancing the theoretical
sensitivity.
iv) One goal of a grounded theory is to formulate hypotheses based on conceptual
ideas.
v) On the basis of the questions asked the researcher tries to discover the
participants’ main concern and how they continually try to resolve it.
vi) It also aims to generate those concepts which explain people’s actions
regardless of time and place. The descriptive parts of a GT are there mainly
to illustrate the concepts.
In the words of Glaser (1998), “GT (grounded theory) is multivariate. It happens
sequentially, subsequently, simultaneously, serendipitously, and scheduled”.
However, the results of grounded theories are not a reporting of facts but a set of
probability statements about the relationship between concepts, or an integrated
set of conceptual hypotheses developed from empirical data (Glaser 1998).
16
Grounded Theory
Fill in the Blanks.
1) The ability to analyse and interpret variables is termed as .....................
2) The process of generation of theory which is based on collection of
data from multiple sources is termed as ...............................................
.............................. helps in formulating hypotheses based on conceptual
ideas.
3) Grounded theories are a set of ........................... about the relationship
between concepts.
4) Grounded theory approach is the only method of ......................... which
uses quantitative data also, as and when required.
5) The approach of grounded theory was developed by .............................
2.3 METHODS OF GROUNDED THEORY

Unlike other methods of qualitative research, the grounded theorists do not believe
in collecting data through taping and transcribing interviews as it is believed to
be a waste of time in grounded theories. The process of grounded theories is far
quick and faster as the researcher delimits the data by field-noting interviews
and soon after generates concepts that fit with data, are relevant and work in
explaining what participants are doing to resolve their main concern.
Discussing about the theory before it is written up drains the researcher of

motivational energy. Discussions and talks can either render praise or criticism,
and both diminish the motivational drive to write memos that develop and refine
the concepts and the theory (Glaser, 1998). Data is a fundamental property of the
grounded theory which means that everything that gets in the researcher’s way
when studying a certain area is data. Not only interviews or observations but
anything is data that helps the researcher generating concepts for the emerging
theory. Field notes can come from informal interviews, lectures, seminars, expert
group meetings, newspaper articles, Internet mail lists, even television shows,
conversations with friends etc. It is even possible, and sometimes a good idea,
for a researcher with much knowledge in the studied area to interview own self,
treating that interview like any other data, coding and comparing it to other data
and generating concepts from it. Interviewing one’s own self helps in gaining an
insight from the knowledge that the researcher has at the conceptual level and
grounded theory deals with nothing but the conceptual level data.
2.4 STEPS OF GROUNDED THEORY

Grounded theory approach helps in generating theories on the basis of the
following systematic steps –
2.4.1 Memoing
The first objective of the researcher is to collect data in form of memos. Memos
are a form of short notes that the researcher writes and prepares. These memos
act as a source of data which is further put in other processes of anlysis and
interpretation. These short notes or memos can be prepared in three ways:
17
Qualitative Research in a) Theoretical note
Psychology
This form of note contains the details regarding how a textual data bas is related
to the existing literature of the concerned study. The note consists of about one
to five pages, Any how, the final theory and report consists of an integration of
several such theoretical notes.
b) Field note
Field note consists of the notes prepared when the researcher actively participates
with the population/ culture or the community under study. It can be the
observations of behaviours, interactions, events or situations that occurs on the
spot and it also contains the causal notes behind such actions.
c) Code notes
The researcher or the ground theorist may also prepare notes by naming, labeling
or categorising things, properties and events. The code notes are those notes
which discuss the codes of such labeling. These code notes further acts as a
source of formation of final reports. Further, these code notes also acts as a guide
to the ground theorists while analysing a text or a case.
2.4.2 Sorting in Grounded Theory

Once the short notes or the memos are prepared, the collected information (or
the data) is sorted in order to organise them in proper order. Sorting helps in
putting all the data in proper order which leads to proper linkage of information
and ideas. The researcher may also get an insight of some more relevant
information and ideas which were not revealed during the preparation of memos.
2.4.3 Writing in Grounded Theory

After the memos are sorted, the next stage towards preparation of theory is
“writing”. The ground theorist arranges, relates and puts the collected information
in to words. Therefore, in this step the researcher tries to give a shape as well as
meaning to the relevant data. This may be said to be a crucial stage, as it is this
stage in which the researcher interprets the information on the basis of his own
perspectives. The collected information is also linked with the existing relevant
literature in order to put the theory in a scholarly context.
State whether the statements are true of false:
1) The process of grounded theories is far quick and faster as the researcher
delimits the data by field-noting interviews. ( )
2) Data is not a fundamental property of the grounded theory ( )
3) Memos are long notes that the researcher writes and prepares during
his or her survey. ( )
4) Sorting helps in putting all the data in proper order which leads to proper
linkage of information and ideas. ( )
5) Sorting may be said to be a crucial stage in the steps of generating
theories through grounded theory approach. ( )
6) Code notes acts as a guide to the ground theorists ( )
18
Grounded Theory
2.5 TYPES OF CODING IN GROUNDED THEORY
Ground theorists analyse and categorise events and try to identify the meaning
of the text with the help of the prepared code notes. Preparation of the code
notes can be done in three ways-
2.5.1 Selective Coding

In this type of coding out of all the available categories, the ground theorist
selects one category to be the center or the major one and then tries to relate the
other categories with the selected major category. In this way, the ground theorist
tries to analyse how other categories are affecting the major category or how the
major category is having an effect on the other related categories.
2.5.2 Open Coding

It is the process of identifying, labeling and analysing the phenomena found in
the text. The ground theorist on the basis of generalisation categorises names,
events or properties in to more general categories or dimensions.
2.5.3 Axial Coding

It is the process of relating the categories or properties (that is the codes) to each
other with the help of deductive and inductive thinking. The ground theorists try
to analyse the causal relations between these variables, that is, which of the code
is the ‘cause’ which has led to the occurrence of other codes- the ‘context’. The
ground theorist analyses and interprets the ‘cause’ codes and the ‘context’ codes
without showing much interest on the ‘consequences’ of the phenomenon itself.
2.6 RELEVANCE OF GROUNDED THEORY

The data or the information collected and the theory generated with the help of
grounded theory is significant because –
i) The ground theorists prepare report on the basis of information collected
with the help of various sources which increases the chances of reliability
and validity of the theory.
ii) The ground theory approach gives an opportunity for exploring the facts
and analysing the causal reasons behind those facts.
iii) It is an inductive type of research which has its basis or is ‘grounded’ on the
base of observations and data collected.
iv) The grounded theory approach also provides a base to specify how a
knowledge base should be changed in the light of new information.
v) The grounded theory data often categorises data which further forms a basis
for organising and reporting results.
2.7 IMPLICATIONS OF GROUNDED THEORY

On the basis of the significance and importance of the research based grounded
theory, the discipline of research is having much gains and benefits. Following
are some of the important implications of the grounded theory approach –
19
Qualitative Research in i) Grounded theory is often used in formulation of policies and program
Psychology
evaluation research, since it can more effectively help in solving the
unanswered questions,
ii) Grounded theory approach can also be used to analyse the consumers’
demands and preferences in the existing market.
iii) The approach can also be used to analyse product positioning and advertising
opportunities.
iv) It is one of the best theoretical approaches that can be used in the field of
education, management, women’s studies, information studies, politics and
communities, etc.
v) It helps in understanding, analysing and describing human psychology and
experience.
2.8 CRITICISM OF GROUNDED THEORY

Basically grounded theory is an approach which systematically analyses the data
and generates a theory. But unlike the theory says, there exists chances that the
researcher may involve some preconceptions and in collection and analysis of
data. Further, there is no doubt that the collection of corpus data helps in attaining
more and more information, yet the content validity is questionable in this
approach.
However, the grounded theory approach is still one of the most widely used and
prominent methodology in the field of social science. It has a propensity to
systematically generate theories.
Choose the correct alternative:
1) In this type of coding out of all the available categories, the ground
theorist selects one category to be the center or the major one–
a) Selecting
b) Axial
c) Open
d) All of the above
2) The process of relating the categories or properties (that is the codes) to
each other with the help of deductive and inductive thinking is also
known as–
a) Writing
b) Sorting
c) Coding
d) Analysing
3) Grounded theory is often used in formulation of–
a) Policies and program evaluation research
b) Opportunity for exploring the facts
20
Grounded Theory
c) Categorising data
4) The ground theorists prepare report on the basis of–
a) The information collected
b) The existing information
c) The unexplored information
d) All of the above
2.9 LET US SUM UP

It can be summed up that, grounded theory is one of the best ways of systematically
generating a theory on the basis of a corpus (that is a collected mass) of data. The
data collected by the theorists is analysed systematically and their interpretation
leads to formation of reports, which ultimately leads to creation of theories.
Wherein, theory can be defined as a framework on the basis of which things,
properties, behaviour and events can be interpreted. The basic purpose of the
grounded theory approach is to emphasise on the process or method of formulation
of a theory. Grounded theorists therefore help in providing a classic theory.
Memoring, sorting and writing are the systematic steps or stages of the grounded
theory. The researcher needs to take care of the data or the information collected
he or she needs to enhance the sensitivity of the variables. Grounded theory is
the only qualitative research which allows the researcher to take the help of
quantitative data as well. The theory has gained much importance and utilisation
not only in the field of psychology, but also in management, sociology,
anthropology, information, political science and several other fields. It has also
gained much popularity in the field of market research.

1) Describe the basic goals and perspectives of grounded theory?
2) Explain the steps of grounded theory?
3) How can you say that the grounded theory approach is one of the systematic
way to generate a theory?
4) What are the different types of coding?
5) Describe the relevance and implications of the grounded theory?

Allan, G. (2003). A critique of using grounded theory as a research method,
Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods. 2(1) pp 1-10.
Anselm L. Strauss; Leonard Schatzman; Rue Bucher; Danuta Ehrlich & Melvin
Sabshin: Psychiatric ideologies and institutions (1964)
Barney G. Glaser; Anselm L. Strauss: The Discovery of Grounded Theory.

Strategies for Qualitative Research (1967)
21
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Internet, research ethics, report-writing, and more.
GAO (2003). Federal programs: Ethnographic studies can inform agencies’

actions GAO-03-455, March 2003. Available at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/
getrpt?GAO-03-455. Numerous case examples of federal agencies’ use of
ethnographic research.
Glaser, B. (1992). Basics of grounded theory analysis. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology
Press.
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Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Grounded Theory
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1993.
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[8], 1994.
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Glaser BG (ed). Gerund Grounded Theory: The Basic Social Process Dissertation.
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Glaser BG. Doing Grounded Theory - Issues and Discussions. Sociology Press
[11], 1998.
Glaser BG. The Grounded Theory Perspective I: Conceptualisation Contrasted

with Description. Sociology Press [12], 2001.
Glaser BG. The Grounded Theory Perspective II: Description’s Remodeling of

Grounded Theory. Sociology Press [13], 2003.
Glaser BG. The Grounded Theory Perspective III: Theoretical coding. Sociology
Press, 2005.
Gold, Raymond L. (1997) The ethnographic method in sociology. Qualitative

Inquiry, Vol. 3, No. 4 (December): 388-402. Gold writes this summary near the
end of his 50-year career in ethnographic research. The article discusses the
requirements of ethnographic research, validity, reliability, sampling, and
systematic data collection.
Goulding, C. Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide for Management, Business

and Market Researchers. London: Sage Publications, 2002.
Hammersley, Martyn, & Atkinson, Paul (1995) Ethnography: Principles in

practice, Second Ed. London: Routledge.
Hodson, Randy (1999). Analysing documentary accounts. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage Publications. Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences Series No.
128. Describes random sampling of ethnographic field studies as a basis for
applying a meta-analytic schedule. Hodson covers both coding issues and
subsequent use of statistical techniques.
Johnson, Allan G. (2000). The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology, Second ed.

Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Kelle, U. (2005). “Emergence” vs. “Forcing” of Empirical Data? A Crucial

Problem of “Grounded Theory” Reconsidered. Forum Qualitative
Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 6(2),
Art. 27, paragraphs 49 & 50. [1]
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Qualitative Research in Kvale, Steinar (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research
Psychology
interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Not specifically
ethnographic, but treats approaches to interviews and surveys from the concerns
of phenomenology, hermeneutics, and postmodernism.
Lareau, Annette & Schultz, Jeffrey, eds. (1996). Journeys Through ethnography:
Realistic accounts of field work. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Madison, D. Soyini (2005) Critical ethnography: Method, Ethics, and

Performance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Martin, Patricia Yancey, Turner, Barry A. (1986) Grounded Theory and

Organisational Research. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 22(2),141.
Retrieved June 21, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID:
1155984).
Puente, Manuel de la (2000). Ethnographic research at the U.S. Census Bureau

the enumeration of border communities along the US/Mexico border during
Census 2000. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC-CH, School of Public Health. Minority
Health Project. Discusses ethnographic research at the U.S. Census Bureau dating
back to 1971 and illustrates how ethnographic techniques are used at the Census
Bureau, using the example of ethnographic research on border communities during
Census 2000. See http://www.census.gov/srd/papers/pdf/mdp9501.pdf.
Sanday, Peggy R. (1979). The ethnographic paradigm(s). Administrative Science

Quarterly, 24: 527-38.
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about theory, ground and discovery, British Educational Research Journal, 32, 6,
767–795.
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Cambridge University Press.
Websites:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grounded Theory
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualapp.php
24
Grounded Theory
UNIT 3 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Definition of Discourse/Content Analysis
3.3 Assumptions of Discourse Analysis
3.4 Approaches or Theories of Discourse Analysis
3.5 Steps of Discourse Analysis
3.6 Relevance/Implications/Significance of the Discourse Analysis
3.7 Issues of Reliability and Validity in Discourse Analysis
3.8 Concept of Critical Discourse Analysis
3.9 Implications of Critical Discourse Analysis
3.10 Concept of Content Analysis
3.11 Examples of Content Analysis
3.12 Implications of Content Analysis
3.13 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The unit enlightens knowledge upon the basic concept of discourse analysis in
the field of research. Talking about the term –‘discourse or content analysis’, in
a lay man’s language, the word ‘discourse’ refers to ‘talk’, which refers to the
ways in which people describe or explain their experiences. The term ‘discourse
analysis’ has its origin since 1960s, and is prominently being used in
interdisciplinary fields. It basically refers to the explanation of the researchers or
analysts in form of talks or texts. It may be a talk or text of historical incidents or
any kind of social activity like- the discourses of academic activity, the discourses
of the family, domesticity or of the gang.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
With the help of this unit, you will be able to:
• explain the concept of discourse analysis;
• define discourse analysis;
• explain different assumptions, theories and approaches of discourse analysis;
• describe the steps and implications of the discourse analysis;
• explain the concept and significance of critical discourse analysis; and
• explain the concept and significance of content analysis.
25
Psychology 3.2 DEFINITION OF DISCOURSE/CONTENT
ANALYSIS
Discourse analysis has been defined in different ways. Some of the basic
definitions are as follows:
In the words of Hammersley, M. (2002) It is a study of the way versions or the

world, society, events and psyche are produced in the use of language and
discourse. The Semiotics, deconstruction and narrative analysis are forms of
discourse analysis.
Bernard Berelson defined content analysis as “a research technique for the

objective, systematic, and quantitative description of manifest content of
communications” (Berelson,1974). It can also be defined as an analysis of speech
units larger than the sentence and of their relationship to the contexts in which
they are used.
Basically the discourse analysis identifies the linguistic dependencies which exist
between sentences or utterances. Anyhow, it is really difficult to define the concept
of discourse analysis. Instead of categorising it under the different kinds of
research methods, it can be alleged as one of the creative ways of approaching
and thinking about a problem. Alternatively, it can be said to be a way of providing
a tangible answer to problems based on scientific research. Eventually the method
of discourse analysis will helps in unveiling the hidden motivations behind a
text or behind the choice of a particular method of research to interpret that
text. Expressed in today’s more trendy vocabulary, Critical or Discourse Analysis
is nothing more than a deconstructive reading and interpretation of a problem or
text.
Fill in the blanks:
i) Discourse analysis identifies the ................................. which exist
between sentences or utterances.
ii) The term ‘discourse analysis’ has its origin since .................................
iii) The discourse analysis may be in form of a .................................. of
historical incidents or any kind of social activity like ............................
iv) Critical or Discourse Analysis is nothing more than a ..........................
reading and interpretation of a problem or text.
3.3 ASSUMPTIONS OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Theoretically discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary approach and has been
widely used by the social scientists and cognitive psychologists. Some of the
basic assumption of this approach can be outlined as follows:
Psychologists assume that the human behaviour can only be studied with
objectivity that is, without involvement of any biasness or subjectivity of the
researcher as well as the subject/people under study. However, this has been
disputed – people, including researchers, cannot be objective. A researcher is
26
very likely to hold some position (expectation, belief, or set of cultural values) Discourse Analysis
when they are conducting their research.
Those expectations may be revealed while interpreting and explaining the events
and experiences.
The approach also assumes that, reality is socially constructed. It is assumed in a

scientific research that ‘reality’ can be categorised. The constructs generally used
by psychologists like – personality, intelligence and thinking are explained as
real and naturally occurring categories or events. However, the assumption ignores
the fact that it is language which gives a shape to the categories and constructs
we use. Since language is a social and cultural thing, our sense of reality is
socially and culturally constructed.
It is also assumed that, people are the result of social interaction. In the scientific
approach it is assumed that many of the constructs used are ‘inner essences’.
That is to say that personality, anxiety, drives, and so on exist somewhere within
our heads and our bodies and are revealed only when the individual socially
interacts with others. However, it may be the case that many of these so-called
essences are actually the products of social interaction.
3.4 APPROACHES OR THEORIES OF DISCOURSE

ANALYSIS
There are numerous “types” or theories of discourse analysis. The various
discourses has been explained or categorised on basis of several theories and
approaches. Some of them are:
Modernism: The theorists of modernism were guided by achievement and reality

based orientation. Thereby they viewed discourse as being relative to talking or
way of talking. They emphasised that the discourse and language transformations
are needed to develop new or more “accurate” words in order to describe new
inventions, innovations, understandings, or areas of interest. Both language and
discourse are now conceptualised as natural or real products of common sense
usage or progress. Modernism gave rise to various discourses of rights, equality,
freedom, and justice
Structuralism: The structuralism theorists squabble that the human actions and
social formations are related to language and discourse and they can be implicated
or considered as systems of related elements. The approach believed that the
individual elements of a system only have significance when they are considered
in context to the structure as a whole. The structures can be defined as self-
contained, self-regulated, and self-transforming entities. In other words, it is the
structure itself that determines the significance, meaning and function of the
individual elements of a system. Structuralism has made an eminent contribution
to the world of language and social systems.
Postmodernism: Unlike the approaches of the modern theory, the postmodern

theorists examined and investigated the variety of experience of individuals and
groups and emphasised more on differences over similarities and common
experiences. Postmodern researchers insisted more upon analysing discourses
as texts, language, policies and practices. In the field of discourse analysis, the
27
Qualitative Research in most prominent figure was Michel Foucault. Foucault (1977, 1980) has defined
Psychology
discourse as “systems of thoughts composed of ideas, attitudes, courses of action,
beliefs and practices that systematically construct the subjects and the worlds of
which they speak.” He emphasised that the discourse analysis has a significant
role in social processes of legitimating and power. Discourses can help researchers
in emphasising the construction of current truths, how they are maintained and
what power relations they carry with them. He later added that discourse is a
channel through which power relations (for example– power relation between
boss and subordinate, professor and students) produce speaking subjects and
that power is an in evitable or unavoidable aspect. Foucault (1977, 1980) argued
that power and knowledge are inter-related and therefore every human relationship
is a struggle and negotiation of power. Discourse according to Foucault (1977,
1980, 2003) is related to power as it operates by rules of exclusion. Post-
modernism was one of the mid- to late 20th century development and believes
that the human mind is free from the constraints of tradition, belief, faith and
tries to explore the furthermost horizons of human development.
Feminism: Feminists explained discourse as events of the social practices. They

investigated the complex relationships that exist among power, ideology, language
and discourse. They emphasised on the concept of ‘performing gender’. According
to them gender is a property, not of persons themselves but of the behaviours to
which members of a society ascribe a gendering meaning.
Fill in the blanks
i) The theorists of modernism were guided by ..........................................
ii) The term ‘discourse analysis’ has its origin since .................................
iii) The postmodern theorists examined and investigated the ...................
iv) Critical or Discourse Analysis is nothing more than a ...........................
reading and interpretation of a problem or text.
v) The approach also assumes that, reality is socially constructed. It is
assumed in a scientific research that ‘reality’ can be ............................
3.5 STEPS IN DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

The method of discourse analysis evaluates the patterns of speech, such as how
people talk about a particular subject, what metaphors they use, how they take
turns in conversation, and so on. These analysts see speech as a performance.
The analysts or the researchers of the discourse analysis believe that the speech
performs an action instead of describing a specific state of affairs or specific
state of mind. Much of this analysis is intuitive and reflective, but it may also
involve some form of counting, such as counting instances of turn-taking and
their influence on the conversation and the way in which people speak to others.
The researchers collect and interpret information in the following steps:
i) Target orientation: First of all, the analysts need to know their target or
focus of study. Since beginning, they need to think about the ways by which
they will analyse and interpret data after collecting the information.
28
ii) Significance of data: Once the relevant information is collected, the Discourse Analysis
researchers need to judge or examine the value of the collected data,
especially those which may have come from more than one source.
iii) Interpretation of the data: As the research progresses the analyst needs to
try to understand and interpret the data so that the researchers as well as
others can gain an understanding of what is going on.
iv) Analysis of the findings: Finally, the researcher needs to undertake the
mechanical process of analysing, interpreting and summarising the data
collected. On basis of the analysis of the information, the findings can be
summarised and concluded. There are many qualitative analysis programs
available to social researchers that can be used for a variety of different
tasks. For example, software could locate particular words or phrases; make
lists of words and put them into alphabetical order; insert key words or
comments; count occurrences of words or phrases or attach numeric codes.
With the help of the software’s, the analysts or the researcher can retrieve
text, analyse text and build theories. Although a computer can undertake
these mechanical processes, it cannot think about, judge or interpret
qualitative data.
3.6 RELEVANCE/ IMPLICATIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE

OF THE DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
With the usage of talks, languages and texts the analysts or the researchers can
easily understand the connotations behind historical events as well as current
social practices.
Some of the other relevance or significance of this approach are:
Discourse analysis enable us to understand the conditions behind a specific
“problem” and make us realise that the essence of that “problem”
Discourse Analysis helps us in gaining a comprehensive view of the “problem”
and helps ourselves to relate with that “problem”.
It helps the researcher in understanding hidden motivations within ourselves
and researchers as well and therefore enable us to solve concrete problems.
Though critical thinking about and analysis of situations/texts is as ancient as
mankind or philosophy itself, and no method or theory as such.
It helps in meaningful interpretation of the people and the world.
It also aids in “deconstructing” concepts, belief-systems, or generally held social
values and assumptions.
Discourse Analysis can be applied to any text that is, to any problem or situation
and requires no guidelines to be followed.
State whether the following are true or false.
1) Discourse analysis enables us to understand the conditions behind a
specific “problem”. ( )
2) On basis of the discourse analysis of the information, the findings can
be summarised and concluded. ( )
29
Psychology 3) Once the relevant information is collected, the researchers need not
judge or examine the value of the collected data. ( )
4) Discourse analysis does not lead to meaningful interpretation of the

people and the world. ( )
5) Discourse Analysis can be applied to any text or problem. ( )
3.7 ISSUES OF RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY IN

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
No doubt the method of discourse analysis has been well appreciated and it is
being used by several disciplines, yet the approach or the methodology of this
analysis lacks reliability and validity on certain grounds, like-
i) Since the method of discourse analysis lacks a proper format or guideline,

the processing of data through this approach is controversial.
ii) Further, the interpretation of the information collected through this data is
again questionable, as it may involve the subjectivity or biasness of the
researcher or the analysts.
iii) As there is no hard data provided through discourse analysis, the reliability
and the validity of one’s research/findings depends on the force and logic of
one’s arguments. Even the best constructed arguments are subject to their
own deconstructive reading and counter-interpretations.
iv) The validity of critical analysis is, therefore, dependent on the quality of the
rhetoric. Despite of the above controversies and arguments, the method is
well appreciated and withholds a good position and has certain concrete
applications.
3.8 CONCEPT OF CRITICAL DISCOURSE

ANALYSIS
The emergence of television, broadcastings and media has given a way to the out
growth of the implications of discourse analysis. The method of critical discourse
analysis (CDA) is nothing but one of the type of discourse based research. It is
one of the method which tries to study the current social and political activities
like, the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted,
reproduced, and resisted by text and are discussed in the social and political
context. With the help of this research, the researcher explicitly (that is, overtly)
tries to realise, experience, and ultimately overcome social inequality and injustice
occurring within the society. The researcher focuses on the powerful groups of
the society, especially the leaders, social groups and institutions who have a
good control over one or more types of public discourse. Thus, professors control
scholarly discourse, teachers educational discourse, journalists media discourse,
lawyers legal discourse, and politicians policy and other public political discourse.
30
Discourse Analysis
3.9 IMPLICATIONS OF CRITICAL DISCOURSE
ANALYSIS
In order to understand, create awareness, expose and fight against the social
unjust, the researcher or the critical discourse analysts takes full use of media
and broadcasts. The method has the following implications for the individuals,
groups, institution and society:
i) The method allows the researcher as well as the research to be an “active
agent” while attempting to expose “inequality and injustice”.
ii) As the researcher critically tries to evaluate the social conditions, the method
emphasises on both the structure and the social context of media texts .This
enables the media critic to “denaturalise,” or expose the “taken-for-granted”
of ideological messages as they appear in isolated speech when combined
with methods of discourse analysis.
iii) The discourse analysis is also being used critically (CDA) in applied
linguistics which has led to the development of a different approach to
understand the messages spread by the media.
iv) With the help of critical discourse analysis language can be used as an
interdisciplinary tool and can be used by scholars with various backgrounds,
including media criticism.
v) Undoubtedly, the method of critical discourse analysis helps in having a
cross cultural study of the social activities with the help of media texts.
vi) The method of critical discourse analysis critically tries to examine the
dimensions of theoretical and descriptive accounts of texts.
vii) CDA is one of the best forms of discourse analysis which ideologically uses
language as a type of social practice.

State whether the following are true or false.
i) The method of CDA allows the researcher to act as an “active agent”.
( )
ii) Language can not be used as an interdisciplinary tool. ( )
iii) The method of discourse analysis does not require proper format or
guideline. ( )
iv) The method of critical discourse analysis helps in having a cross cultural
study. ( )
3.10 CONCEPT OF CONTENT ANALYSIS

Another form of discourse analysis is content analysis. It is one of the method
which is used in summarising any form of content only after having a deep study
of the actual content. This enables the researcher to more objectively evaluate
and understand the situations. For example, an impressionistic summary of a TV
program, can not help in analysing the over all aspects of the content of the
program.
31
Qualitative Research in Content analysis, tries to analyse written words. The results of content analysis
Psychology
are numbers and percentages. It starts with the process of selecting content for
analysis, then preparing the content for coding. After the content is coded, it is
counted and weighed. Later, conclusions are drawn on the basis of the weighing.
After doing a content analysis, the researcher can make a statement such as “27%
of programs on FM Radio in November 2009 mentioned at least one aspect of
antiterrorism, compared with only 3% of the programs in 2006”.
The content analysis therefore serves two basic purposes:
i) It helps in removing much of the subjectivity from summaries
ii) It also helps in detection of trends in an easier and simpler manner.
3.11 EXAMPLES OF CONTENT ANALYSIS

Content analysis can be done with the help of media content (when the sources
of media) is being used or audience content (when individual feedbacks are being
used). Few of the examples of media content are: print media, broadcasts, and
recordings. While, the audience content is analysed with the help of questionnaire,
interviews, group discussions and letters to the editors.
3.12 IMPLICATIONS OF CONTENT ANALYSIS

Content analysis has several implications:
i) Content analysis enables the researcher to make links between causes (e.g.
program content) and effect (e.g. audience size).
ii) The content analysis is used to evaluate and improve the programming of
the media world.
iii) It also helps in increasing awareness and summarising the various notes or
documentaries which focus on a specific issue.
iv) It also helps in making inferences of the causes.
3.13 LET US SUM UP

It can therefore be summarised that discourse analysis is on of the technique
which uses language in form of talks and texts to analyse human behaviour and
social situations. Discourse analysis and critical thinking is applicable to every
situation and every subject. The new perspective provided by discourse analysis
allows personal growth and a high level of creative fulfillment. The method
does not requires any set guidelines or framework. Rather it can help in bringing
about fundamental changes in the practices of an institution, the profession, and
society as a whole. However, Discourse Analysis does not provide definite
answers; it is not a “hard” science, but an insight/knowledge based on content
analysis and critical thinking.
Yet the method is being used as an interdisciplinary a cross cultural approach to

create and experience the social and political practices.
32
Discourse Analysis
i) What do you understand by the term- discourse analysis?
ii) Explain different assumptions, theories and approaches of discourse analysis.
iii) How can you say that the discourse analysis is a systematic process? Give
your answer with respect to the steps of discourse analysis.
iv) Explain the concept and significance of critical discourse analysis.
v) Explain the concept and significance of content analysis.

Cooley, C. H. (1956) Social Organisation, Free Press
Howarth, D. (2000) Discourse. Philadelphia, Pa.: Open University Press.
References
Edward T. Hall, The Silent Language, New York: Doubleday, 1959.
Garfinkel, H. (1967) Studies in Ethno Methodology, Prentice-Hall
Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory:
Strategies for Qualitative Research, Aldine: Atherton
Goffman, E. (1961) Asylums, New York, Anchor
Goffman, E. (1970) Strategic Interaction, Oxford, Basil Blackwell.
Hartley, J. (1982) Understanding News, London and New York, Methuen.
Kaplan, R. “Concluding Essay: On Applied Linguistics and Discourse Analysis,”
ed Robert Kaplan, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Vol. II, 1990.
Kress, G, “Critical Discourse Analysis,” Robert Kaplan, ed., Annual Review of
Applied Linguistics, II, 1990.
Laing, R. D. (1976 edition) The Politics of the Family, and other essays,
Harmondsworth, Penguin.
Larrain, J. (1994). Ideology and cultural identity: Modernity and the third world
presence. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Lessa, I. (2006). “Discoursive struggles within social welfare: Restaging teen
motherhood”. British Journal of Social Work 36: 283–298. Doi:10.1093/bjsw/
bch256.
Mead, G. H. (1934) Mind, Self and Society, University of Chicago Press
M. Foucault (1969). L’Archéologie du savoir. Paris: Éditions Gallimard.
M. Foucault (1970). The order of things. Pantheon.
M. Foucault (1972). Archaeology of knowledge. New York: Pantheon.
M. Foucault (1977). Discipline and Punish. New York: Pantheon.
M. Foucault (1980). “Two Lectures,” in Colin Gordon, ed., Power/Knowledge:
Selected Interviews. New York: Pantheon. 33
Qualitative Research in M. Foucault (2003). Society Must Be Defended. New York: Picador.
Psychology
Saussure, de F. (1960) Course in General Linguistics, London: Owen
Schostak, J. F. (1993 ) Dirty Marks: The Education of Self, Media and Popular
Culture, Pluto Press, London
Schostak, J.F. (2002) Understanding, Designing and Conducting Qualitative
Research in Education. Framing the Project. Open University Press
Schutz, A. (1976) The Phenomenology of the Social World, tr. G. Walsh and F.
Lehnert, London: Heineman
McHoul, A. & Grace, W. (1993). A Foucault primer: Discourse, power, and the
subject. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Motion, J. & Leitch, S. (2007). “A toolbox for public relations: The oeuvre of
Michel Foucault”. Public Relations Review 33 (3): 263–268. doi:10.1016/
j.pubrev.2007.05.004.
Mullaly, R. (1997). Structural social work: Ideology, theory, and practice (2nd
edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
Norton, B (1997). “Language, identity, and the ownership of English”. TESOL
Quarterly (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL))
31(3): 409–429. doi:10.2307/3587831. http://jstor.org/stable/3587831.
Strega S. (2005). The view from the poststructural margins: Epistemology and
methodology reconsidered. In L. Brown, & S. Strega (Eds.), Research as resistance
(pp. 199–235). Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Sunderland, J. (2004) Gendered discourses. New York: PalgraveMacmillan.
Teun Van Dijk, Racism and the Press, in Robert Miles, ed., Critical Studies in
Racism and Migration, (New York: Routledge, 1991).
Wodak, R. (1989 Language Power and Ideology: Studies in Political Discourse
(London: Benjamins Publishing Company, ).
Websites-
www.creativityandcognition.com/content/view/129/131/
www.csa.com/discoveryguides/linglaw/gloss.php
portal.bibliotekivest.no/terminology.htm
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/content.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse
http://www.eamonfulcher.com/discourse_analysis.html
http://users.utu.fi/bredelli/cda.html
http://www.audiencedialogue.net/kya16a.html
34
Discourse Analysis
UNIT 4 REPORTING AND EVALUATING IN
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Concept and Meaning of Evaluating or Analysing of Data in Qualitative
Research
4.3 Steps of Evaluating or Analysing of Data in Qualitative Research
4.4 Concept and Meaning of Interpreting of Data in Qualitative Research
4.5 Strategies of Data Interpretation in Qualitative Research
4.6 Concept and Meaning of Reporting of the Data in Qualitative Research
4.7 Steps of Preparing a Report of the Data in Qualitative Research
4.8 Contents of Research Report
4.9 Do’s and don’ts in Evaluating, Interpreting and Reporting Data in
Qualitative Research
4.10 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
No research is complete without having detailed information of the results or
achievements in form of reports of the research survey conducted by the
researcher. After the collection of data, the researcher needs to analyse, evaluate
and then report data in an organised and systematic way. The reports thus generated
not only helps in understanding the basics behind certain events, objects,
behaviours or practices; it also serves as a source for scope of future research.
The present unit tries to discuss the systematic ways in which research
interpretations are evaluated and reported by the researcher. It also will emphasise
on the practical implications of evaluation and presentation of such reports
basically in qualitative research.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
• define and describe the meaning of evaluating, interpreting and reporting
data in qualitative research;
• explain the steps of evaluating or analysing of data in qualitative research;
• enumerate the steps in preparing report in qualitative research;
• analyse the Strategies of data interpretation in qualitative research;
• list the contents of research report; and
• explain the do’s and don’ts in evaluating, interpreting and reporting data in
qualitative research. 35
Psychology 4.2 CONCEPT AND MEANING OF EVALUATING
OR ANALYSING OF DATA IN QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
After collecting of data through various techniques or methods of research, the
researcher tries to find out a solution to a problem, behaviour or uncertain
environment. Such a solution or conclusion can be reached only with the help of
systematically analysing or evaluating the data or information gathered and then
organising the analysis and interpretations in form of reports. Once the data has
been collected with the help of questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, or
whatever, the data needs to be analysed or evaluated.
The concept of evaluation in qualitative research refers to an attempt to understand

the extent to which the information collected helps in providing an answer to the
pre planned aims and objectives or goals of the research. The researcher tries to
evaluate the information, on basis of which he or she tries to understand the
reasons, justifications or predictions of certain objects, behaviours, incidents or
practices of the existing world. Evaluation helps in providing an insight to the
problems or aims and goals of the research.
4.3 STEPS OF EVALUATING OR ANALYSING OF

DATA IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
The process of evaluating the collected information or the data follows a
systematic step. The researcher tries to organise and give meaning to the collected
information in such a way, so that there is less chance of bias or confusion. With
the help of systematically evaluating a data, the researcher can find several
answers, purpose and also unveil several facts of the variables, events, behaviour
or practices under study.
Following are the steps of the process of evaluating data:
i) Reading the overall collected data
ii) Categorising the collected data
iii) Naming or labeling the categories
iv) Identification of the causal relationships
v) Recording or filing the data
Let us take up each of these steps and explain.
i) Reading the overall collected data: Firstly, the researcher tries to go through
the details of the information collected through various sources ( for example-
interviews, video tapes, audio tapes, observation and so on). This step helps
in getting as much information as is required regarding the variables which
the researcher selects for studying.
ii) Categorising the collected data: From the collected information, the
researcher or the analysts sorts relevant information, which may have a direct
or indirect effect on the behaviour, objects, events or practices selected for
the study. After sorting the data, the researcher categorises similar information
under various categories or themes, as for example, the researcher may
36
categorise the information into concerns, suggestions, strengths, weaknesses, Reporting and Evaluating
in Qualitative Research
similar experiences, program inputs, recommendations, outputs, outcome
indicators, and so on .
iii) Naming or labeling the categories: The third systematic step in evaluation
process of the research is labeling the sorted and categorised themes, for
example keeping all the information of suggestions under the category of
propositions.
iv) Identification of the causal relationships: With the help of categorising and
labeling of information, the researcher gets an idea of the direction or flow
of information. This helps the researcher or the analysts to discover patterns,
or associations and causal relationships amongst the categorised themes.
For example, if most people of the sample under study belonged to the
same geographic area, we may state that people if live in that area may have
a certain problem. Or, most people of the sample under study belonged to
same salary strata, then we would state that because they all have the same
salary strata they are not adequately motivated. These patterns or associations
of the themes are done on the basis of the experience of the responses of the
sample and experience of the researcher during the study.
v) Recording or filing the data: Once the patterns of relationships are analysed,
the analysts need to keep a track or record of the same. These records or
files serves as a guide for future reference, while the similar sample is being
studied.
4.4 CONCEPT AND MEANING OF INTERPRETING

OF DATA IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Interpretation of data refers to summarising the findings of the data analysis in
such a way that it provides useful information related to the goals of research.
The researcher or the analysts attempts to put the information in the form of a
viewpoint. For example, the researcher may compare the findings of the results
with what was expected in the beginning stage.
It may also be a comparison or description in context of the standardised products,
services or goals. Or it may simply be an explanation of the achievements and
accomplishments. The interpretation may also be in a simple way of SWOT
analysis (that is, analysing the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) of
the research conducted.
While interpreting the data, it is suggested that the researchers should summarise
the findings in such a way that it would not only help the group under study but
also provide an opportunity for the other researchers to conduct the related
research in a better and more efficient way. It is also taken care that the
interpretations are summarised in such a way that the findings can be justified
later on in the process of reporting. The findings should also have a proper support
of the relevant literature review.
Choose the correct alternative.
1) Which of the following best differentiates evaluation from interpretation?
37
Psychology a) Interpretation requires more conceptual and integrative thinking
than data analysis.
b) Interpretation involves computerised analysis of data.
c) Evaluation is explanatory and interpretation conceptual
d) Evaluation involves conceptualisation but interpretation does not.
2) Which of the following describes the nature of qualitative data
interpretation?
a) Reflection
b) Integrative
c) Explanatory
4.5 STRATEGIES OF DATA INTERPRETATION IN

There are various ways in which data can be interpreted or summarised. Few of
them are:
(i) Making a final list, (ii) Elaborate narratives, (iii) Use of matrices.
The researcher may summarise the labeled categories and also code them and
prepare a final list of findings which can further be explained in the later stage of
forming reports.
Elaborate narratives
The researcher can also give meaning or elaborate the findings from the data
collected through interviews, recordings and discussion.
Use of Matrices
A matrix is a type of chart which contains words and it looks like a cross table.
The researchers may use matrices if they need to compare different groups or
data sets on important variables, presented in key words.
For example if the researcher wants to compare the number of girls and boys of
a school who are using a cosmetic product of a company, then he may represent
the information in form of the following matrix–
Table: Matrix indicating age group and gender
Age Groups No. of boys No. of girls
>15 yrs 45 48
>20 yrs 11 13
Figure: Matrix on introduction of a cosmetic product among students of different
age groups
Flow chart
A flow chart is a diagrammatic representation of boxes containing variables and
38 arrows indicating the relationships between these variables.
When analysing the number of boys and girls of different age groups using the Reporting and Evaluating
product as in the above example, it can be represented in form of the following
figure
No. of boys
Age group- 45
The cos- >15to19yrs
metic
product No. of girls
48
Age group- No. of boys
>20 yrs 11
No. of girls
13
Fig.: A flow chart on introduction of a cosmetic product among students of different age
groups
4.6 CONCEPT AND MEANING OF REPORTING OF

THE DATA IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Preparing a report of the findings of the research conducted is the ultimate
challenge to the researcher or the analyst. Reporting of a data refers the ultimate
discussion of the interpretations and findings backed by relevant support of
relevant literature and the reasons behind such findings.
4.7 STEPS OF PREPARING A REPORT OF THE

DATA IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
While preparing the final report of the research conducted, the researcher needs
to be very cautious and least biased. The reports can be represented in an organised
way, only if the following steps are followed by them, viz., (i) Preparation of the
content of the report (ii) Review and discussion of the report (iii) Preparation of
the executive summary (iv) Scope of future research.
i) Preparation of the content of report

Even before starting the procedure of writing down the report, the researcher
needs to formulate the findings according to the need and requirement of those
for whom the report is intended to. For example, the researcher has to create the
scope and content of research on basis of the funders / bankers, employees, clients,
customers, the public, etc. for whom the research was being conducted.
ii) Review and discussion of the report

The researcher then needs to review and also discuss the interpretations and
results with the people on whom the research was conducted.
iii) Preparation of the executive summary

The researcher then prepares an executive summary (that is, a summing up of
the conclusions and recommendations). The summary may contain the description
of the organisation people, event, and practices under study. It also contains an
39
Qualitative Research in explanation of the research goals, methods, and analysis procedures; listing of
Psychology
conclusions and recommendations; and any relevant attachments. If required,
the summary may also include the details of questionnaires, interview guides
which have been used by the researcher.
iv) Scope of future research

On basis of the over all research conducted, the analyst also prepares a list of
areas which may be studied further. Such scope acts as a research plan which can
be referred when a similar research is conducted in the future.

Fill in the blanks
1) A flow chart is a diagrammatic representation of ................................
2) Reporting of a data refers the ultimate discussion of the ......................
and findings
3) A matrix is a type of .......................................................................
4.8 CONTENTS OF RESEARCH REPORT

Since the research reports are not only a descriptive summary of the over all
findings, they also act as a guide for future research in similar areas, the
documentation of the report is very crucial and sensitive. The report should have
a record of enough information which can be easily understood and followed as
and when required. There a several ways in which the contents of a report is
prepared. One of them can be discussed as follows:
1) Title Page
The first page of the report contains the details of the topic of the research as
well as the name of the organisation that is being, or has a product/service/
program that is being researched as well as the date.
2) Table of Contents
After getting done with the title page, the researcher prepares the list of
contents of the research work and their page numbers.
3) Executive Summary
Then the report contains an executive summary or abstract of the research
and its findings. It is usually a one-page, concise overview of findings and
recommendations of the research conducted.
4) Purpose of the Report
The purpose of the report shows the aims and objectives of the research. It
also shows the details of the type of the research (qualitative or quantitative)
that was used by the researcher.
5) Contextual background of the research target
This topic shows a historical background of the people/ event/ practice/
program/organisation under study. It also mentions the problem that needs
to be studied and also the over all goals of the research as well as the suggested
outcomes of the research. The topic also shows what questions are being
40
answered by conducting the present research. This section may also involve Reporting and Evaluating
the relevant literature review which was done by the researcher.
6) Methodology
The section of methodology deals with measures and procedures used for
conducting the research. Basically it contains the following details:
i) Sample: It represents the number of sample which are being used from
the total population for the research study.
ii) Scales used: The details of the instruments and questionnaires which
are being referred for the concerned research are mentioned in this
section.
iii) Type of data collected: The details of the types of data (for example-
interviews, questionnaires, recordings, observations etc.) are also
mentioned in the methodology section.
7) Results and findings
This section deals with the analysis of the data collected. It discusses the
results and findings of the research.
8) Interpretation and Conclusion
This section deals with the interpretation and discussion of the findings of
the data analysed. On basis of the interpretations, the results are concluded.
The conclusion section shows how the result is significant and to what extent
is it helpful to the research targets and other researchers.
9) Limitations of the study or research
This section consists of the restrictions of limitations of the findings. It shows
how and under which conditions the results can be generalised.
10) Recommendations and implications
The researcher recommends suggestions and implications of the study
conducted.
11) References
The researcher acknowledges the authors, books, studies and journals which
were helpful in providing relevant literature review for the research
conducted.
12) Appendices
The last section of the research report contains the various sources (like
questionnaire, company forms, case studies, data in tabular format,
testimonials) which were analysed and used by the researcher.
4.9 DO’S AND DON’TS IN EVALUATING ,

INTERPRETING AND REPORTING DATA IN
While evaluating, analysing and reporting the data, the analyst needs to be cautious
regarding the following do’s and don’ts –
41
Qualitative Research in Do’s:
Psychology
The researcher should take full care and always try to include the following
aspects while processing the data.
1) The analyst should be clear, specific and describe the sample populations
2) The analyst should code the data for their convenience in processing the
data.
3) The analyst should frequently use diagrams, flow charts or matrices for
conveniently summarising and explaining the data.
4) The analyst should draw conclusion on basis of the present study and other
related study in the similar field.
5) As and when required, the analyst should develop policies for further
evaluating or confirming the (qualitative) data in order to prove their validity.
Don’ts
The researcher should take full care and always try to exclude or avoid the
following aspects while processing the data:
1) The analyst should not depend fully upon the research design selected as no
research design is perfect on its own.
2) The analyst should not interview about only the successes, the failures can
also provide significant information to them.
3) The analyst should not completely depend upon questionnaires, as much of
the information can only be available through observations and interviews.

State whether the following statements are true or false–
1) The analyst should be clear, specific and describe the sample
populations. ( )
2) The analyst should interview about only the successes. ( )
3) Results are concluded on basis of interpretations. ( )
4) The analyst should avoid the frequent use of diagrams, ( )
flow charts or matrices.
4.10 LET US SUM UP

On basis of the above discussions, it can be summed up that the quality assessment
of qualitative research studies still remains a challenging area. The systematic
steps of each procedure in the way of processing the data (that is, evaluating,
interpreting and reporting) is equally significant and case sensitive.
The reliability of the report depends upon the selection of good strategies while
interpreting the data. The researcher also needs to be cautious with certain do’s
and certain don’t’s (pitfalls) while processing the data of the research conducted.
42
Reporting and Evaluating
4.11 UNIT END QUESTIONS in Qualitative Research
1) Describe the concept and meaning of evaluating, interpreting and reporting

the data in qualitative research?
2) Explain the steps of evaluating or analysing of data as well as preparing
report in qualitative research?
3) Illustrate the strategies of data interpretation in qualitative research?
4) What are the basic requirements that are needed to be included as well as
avoided while processing the data ?

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http://www.idrc.ca/cp/ev-56467-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
http://www.phru.nhs.uk/Doc_Links/Qualitative%20Appraisal%20Tool.pdf
http://www.joannabriggs.edu.au/cqrmg/tools_3.html.
http://www.joannabriggs.edu.au/pdf/sumari_user_guide.pdf
http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/default.aspx?tabid=2370&language=en-US.
www.cochrane-handbook.org.
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/downloads/evaluating_policy/a_quality_framework.pdf
45
UNIT 1 PARAMETRIC AND NON-
PARAMETRIC STATISTICS
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definition of Parametric and Non-parametric Statistics
1.3 Assumptions of Parametric and Non-parametric Statistics
1.3.1 Assumptions of Parametric Statistics
1.3.2 Assumptions of Non-parametric Statistics
1.4 Advantages of Non-parametric Statistics

1.5 Disadvantages of Non-parametric Statistical Tests
1.6 Parametric Statistical Tests for Different Samples
1.7 Parametric Statistical Measures for Calculating the Difference Between Means
1.7.1 Significance of Difference Between the Means of Two Independent Large and
Small Samples
1.7.2 Significance of the Difference Between the Means of Two Dependent Samples
1.7.3 Significance of the Difference Between the Means of Three or More Samples
1.8 Parametric Statistics Measures Related to Pearson’s ‘r’

1.8.1 Non-parametric Tests Used for Inference
1.9 Some Non-parametric Tests for Related Samples

1.10 Let Us Sum Up
1.12 Glossary
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit you will be able to know the various aspects of parametric and non-
parametric statistics. A parametric statistical test specifies certain conditions such as
the data should be normally distributed etc. The non-parametric statistics does not
require the conditions of parametric stats. In fact non-parametric tests are known
as distribution free tests.
In this unit we will study the nature of quantitative data and various descriptive
statistical measures which are used in the analysis of such data. These include measures
of central tendency, variability, relative position and relationships of normal probability
curve etc. will be explained.
The computed values of various statistics are used to describe the properties of
particular samples. In this unit we shall discuss inferential or sampling statistics, which
are useful to a researcher in making generalisations of inferences about the populations
from the observations of the characteristics of samples.
For making inferences about various population values (parameters), we generally
5
Introduction to Statistics make use of parametric and non-parametric tests. The concept and assumptions of
parametric tests will be explained to you in this section along with the inference
regarding the means and correlations of large and small samples, and significance of
the difference between the means and correlations in large and small independent
samples.
The assumptions and applications of analysis of variance and co-variance for testing
the significance of the difference between the means of three or more samples will
also be discussed.
In the use of parametric tests for making statistical inferences, we need to take into
account certain assumptions about the nature of the population distribution, and also
the type of the measurement scale used to quantify the data. In this unit you will learn
about another category of tests which do not make stringent assumptions about the
nature of the population distribution. This category of test is called distribution free
or non-parametric tests. The use and application of several non-parametric tests
involving unrelated and related samples will be explained in this unit. These would
include chi-square test, median test, Man-Whitney U test, sign test and Wilcoxon-
matched pairs signed-ranks test.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
z define the terms parametric and non-parametric statistics;
z differentiate between parametric and non-parametric statistics;
z describe the nature and meaning of parametric and non-parametric statistics;
z delineate the assumptions of parametric and non-parametric statistics; and
z list the advantages and disadvantages of parametric and non-parametric statistics.
1.2 DEFINITION OF PARAMETRIC AND NON-

Statistics is an Independent branch and its use is highly prevalent in all the fields of
knowledge. Many methods and techniques are used in statistics. These have been
grouped under parametric and and non-parametric statistics. Statistical tests which
are not based on a normal distribution of data or on any other assumption are also
known as distribution-free tests and the data are generally ranked or grouped.
Examples include the chi-square test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.
The first meaning of non-parametric covers techniques that do not rely on data
belonging to any particular distribution. These include, among others:
1) Distribution free methods: This means that there are no assumptions that the
data have been drawn from a normally distributed population. This consists of
non-parametric statistical models, inference and statistical tests.
2) Non-parametric statistics: In this the statistics is based on the ranks of
observations and do not depend on any distribution of the population.
3) No assumption of a structure of a model: In non-parametric statistics, the
techniques do not assume that the structure of a model is fixed. In this, the
6
individual variables are typically assumed to belong to parametric distributions, Parametric and Non-
parametric Statistics
and assumptions about the types of connections among variables are also made.
These techniques include, among others:
a) Non-parametric regression
b) Non-parametric hierarchical Bayesian models.
In non-parametric regression, the structure of the relationship is treated non-
parametrically.
In regard to the Bayesian models, these are based on the Dirichlet process,
which allows the number of latent variables to grow as necessary to fit the
data. In this the individual variables however follow parametric distributions
and even the process controlling the rate of growth of latent variables follows
a parametric distribution.
4) The assumptions of a classical or standard tests are not applied to non-
parametric tests.
Parametric tests
Parametric tests normally involve data expressed in absolute numbers or values
rather than ranks; an example is the Student’s t-test.
The parametric statistical test operates under certain conditions. Since these conditions
are not ordinarily tested, they are assumed to hold valid. The meaningfulness of the
results of a parametric test depends on the validity of the assumption. Proper
interpretation of parametric test based on normal distribution also assumes that the
scene being analysed results from measurement in at least an interval scale.
Let us try to understand the term population. Population refers to the entire group
of people which a researcher intends to understand in regard to a phenomenon. The
study is generally conducted on a sample of the said population and the obtained
results are then applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected.
Tests like t, z, and F are called parametrical statistical tests.
T-tests: A T-test is used to determine if the scores of two groups differ on a single
variable.
A t-test is designed to test for the differences in mean scores. For instance, you could
use t-test to determine whether writing ability differs among students in two classrooms.
It may be mentioned here that the parametric tests, namely, t-test and F-test, are
considered to be quite robust and are appropriate even when some assumptions are
not met.
Parametric tests are useful as these tests are most powerful for testing the significance
or trustworthiness of the computed sample statistics. However, their use is based
upon certain assumptions. These assumptions are based on the nature of the population
distribution and on the way the type of scale is used to quantify the data measures.
Let us try to understand what is a scale and its types. There are four types of scales
used in measurement viz., nominal scale, ordinal scale, interval scale, and ratio scale.
1) Nominal scale deals with nominal data or classified data such as for example
the population divided into males and females. There is no ordering of the data
in that it has no meaning when we say male > female. These data are also given 7
Introduction to Statistics arbitrary labels such as m / f and 1 //0 . These are also called as categorical
scale , that is these are scales with values that are in terms of categories (i.e.
they are names rather than numbers).
2) Ordinal scale deals with interval data. These are in certain order but the
differences between values are not important. For example, degree of satisfaction
ranging in a 5 point scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating least satisfaction and 5
indicating high satisfaction.
3) Interval scale deals with ordered data with interval. This is a constant scale but
has no natural zero. Differences do make sense . Example of this kind of data
includes for instance temperature in Centigrade or Fahrenheit. The dates in a
calendar. Interval scale possesses two out of three important requirements of
a good measurement scale, that is, magnitude and equal intervals but lacks the
real or absolute zero point.
4) Ratio scale deals with ordered, constant scale with a natural zero. Example of
this type of data include for instance, height, weight, age, length etc.
The sample with small number of items are treated with non-parametric statistics
because of the absence of normal distribution, e.g. if our sample size is 30 or less;
(N ≤ 30). It can be used even for nominal data along with the ordinal data.
A non-parametric statistical test is based on model that specifies only very general
conditions and none regarding the specific form of the distribution from which the
sample was drawn.
Certain assumptions are associated with most non-parametric statistical tests, namely
that the observation are independent, perhaps that variable under study had underlying
continuity, but these assumptions are fewer and weaker than those associated with
parametric tests.
More over as we shall see, non-parametric procedures often test different hypotheses
about population than do parametric procedures.
Finally, unlike parametric tests, there are non-parametric procedures that may be
applied appropriately to data measured in an ordinal scale, or in a nominal scale or
categorical scale.
Non-parametric statistics deals with small sample sizes.
Non-parametric statistics are assumption free meaning these are not bound by any
assumptions.
Non-parametric statistics are user friendly compared with parametric statistics and
economical in time.
We have learnt that parametric tests are generally quite robust and are useful even
when some of their mathematical assumptions are violated. However, these tests are
used only with the data based upon ratio or interval measurements.
In case of counted or ranked data, we make use of non-parametric tests. It is argued
that non-parametric tests have greater merit because their validity is not based upon
assumptions about the nature of the population distribution, assumptions that are so
frequently ignored or violated by researchers using parametric tests. It may be noted
that non-parametric tests are less precise and have less power than the parametric
tests.
8
Parametric and Non-
1.3 ASSUMPTIONS OF PARAMETRIC AND NON- parametric Statistics
1.3.1 Assumptions of Parametric Statistics
Parametric tests like, ‘t and f’ tests may be used for analysing the data which satisfy
the following conditions :
The population from which the sample have been drawn should be normally
distributed.
Normal Distributions refer to Frequency distribution following a normal curve, which
is infinite at both the ends.
The variables involved must have been measured interval or ratio scale.
Variable and its types: characteristic that can have different values.
Types of Variables
Dependent Variable: Variable considered to be an effect; usually a measured variable.
Independent Variable: Variable considered being a cause.
The observation must be independent. The inclusion or exclusion of any case in the
sample should not unduly affect the results of study.
These populations must have the same variance or, in special cases, must have a
known ratio of variance. This we call homosedasticity.
The samples have equal or nearly equal variances. This condition is known as
equality or homogeneity of variances and is particularly important to determine when
the samples are small.
The observations are independent. The selection of one case in the sample is not
dependent upon the selection of any other case.
1.3.2 Assumptions of Non-parametric Statistics

We face many situations where we can not meet the assumptions and conditions and
thus cannot use parametric statistical procedures. In such situation we are bound to
apply non-parametric statistics.
If our sample is in the form of nominal or ordinal scale and the distribution of sample
is not normally distributed, and also the sample size is very small, it is always
advisable to make use of the non-parametric tests for comparing samples and to
make inferences or test the significance or trust worthiness of the computed statistics.
In other words, the use of non-parametric tests is recommended in the following
situations:
Where sample size is quite small. If the size of the sample is as small as N=5 or N=6,
the only alternative is to make use of non-parametric tests.
When assumption like normality of the distribution of scores in the population are
doubtful, we use non-parametric tests.
When the measurement of data is available either in the form of ordinal or nominal
scales or when the data can be expressed in the form of ranks or in the shape of
+ signs or – signs and classification like “good-bad”, etc., we use non-parametric
9
statistics.
Introduction to Statistics The nature of the population from which samples are drawn is not known to be
normal.
The variables are expressed in nominal form.
The data are measures which are ranked or expressed in numerical scores which
have the strength of ranks.
1.4 ADVANTAGES OF NON-PARAMETRIC

STATISTICS
If the sample size is very small, there may be no alternative except to use a non-
parametric statistical test.
Non-parametric tests typically make fewer assumptions about the data and may be
relevant to a particular situation.
The hypothesis tested by the non-parametric test may be more appropriate for
research investigation.
Non-parametric statistical tests are available to analyse data which are inherently in
ranks as well as data whose seemingly numerical scores have the strength of ranks.
For example, in studying a variable such as anxiety, we may be able to state that
subject A is more anxious than subject B without knowing at all exactly how much
more anxious A is. Thus if the data are inherently in ranks, or even if they can be
categorised only as plus or minus (more or less, better or worse), they can be treated
by non-parametric methods.
Non-parametric methods are available to treat data which are simply classificatory
and categorical, i.e., are measured in nominal scale.
Samples made up of observations from several different populations at times cannot
be handled by Parametric tests.
Non-parametric statistical tests typically are much easier to learn and to apply than
are parametric tests. In addition, their interpretation often is more direct than the
interpretation of parametric tests.
1.5 DISADVANTAGES OF NON-PARAMETRIC

STATISTICAL TESTS
If all the assumptions of a parametric statistical model are in fact met in the data and
the research hypothesis could be tested with a parametric test, then non-parametric
statistical tests are wasteful.
The degree of wastefulness is expressed by the power-efficiency of the non-parametric
test. It will be remembered that, if a non-parametric statistical test has power-
efficiency of say, 90 percent, this means that when all conditions of parametric
statistical test are satisfied the appropriate parametric test would be just as effective
with a sample which is 10 percent smaller than that used in non-parametric analysis.
Another objection to non-parametric statistical test has to do with convenience.
Tables necessary to implement non-parametric tests are scattered widely and appear
in different formats (The same is true of many parametric tests too).
10
Parametric and Non-
1.6 PARAMETRIC STATISTICAL TESTS FOR parametric Statistics
DIFFERENT SAMPLES
Suppose we wish to measure teaching aptitude of M.A. Psychology Students(LARGE
SAMPLE) by using a verbal aptitude teaching test.
It is not possible and convenient to measure the teaching aptitude of all the enrolled
M.A. Psychology Students trainees and hence we must usually be satisfied with a
sample drawn from this population.
However, this sample should be as large and as randomly drawn as possible so as
to represent adequately all the M.A. Psychology Students of IGNOU.
If we select a large number of random samples of 100 trainees each from the
population of all trainees, the mean values of teaching aptitude scores for all samples
would not be identical.
A few would be relatively high, a few relatively low, but most of them would tend
to cluster around the population mean.
The sample means due to ‘sampling error’ will not vary from sample to sample but
will also usually deviate from the population mean. Each of these sample means can
be treated as a single observation and these means can be put in a frequency
distribution which is known as sampling distribution of the means.
An important principle, known as the ‘Central Limit Theorem’, describes the
characteristics of sample means. According to this theorem, if a large number of
equal-sized samples, greater than 30 in size, are selected at random from an infinite
population:
The means of the samples will be normally distributed.
The average value of the sample means will be the same as the mean of the population.
The distribution of sample means will have its own standard deviation.
This standard deviation is known as the ‘standard error of the mean’ which is
denoted as SEM or óM.
It gives us a clue as to how far such sample means may be expected to deviate from
the population mean.
The standard error of a mean tells us how large the errors are in any particular
sampling situation.
The formula for the standard error of the mean in a large sample is:
SEM or óM = ó / N
Where
ó = the standard deviation of the population
N = the size of the sample
In case of small samples, the sampling distribution of means is not normal. It was
in about 1815 when William Seely Gosset developed the concept of small sample
size. He found that the distribution curves of small sample means were some what
different from the normal curve. This distribution was named as t-distribution. When
the size of the sample is small, the t-distribution lies under the normal curve. 11
Introduction to Statistics
1.7 PARAMETRIC STATISTICAL MEASURES FOR
CALCULATING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
MEANS
In some research situations we require the use of a statistical technique to determine
whether a true difference exists between the population parameters of two samples.
The parameters may be means, standard deviations, correlations etc. For example,
suppose we wish to determine whether the population of male M.A. Psychology
Students enrolled with IGNOU differs from their female counterparts in their attitude
towards teaching… In this case we would first draw samples of male and female
M.A. Psychology Students. Next, we would administer an attitude scale measuring
attitude towards teaching on the selected samples, compute the means of the two
samples, and find the difference between them. Let the mean of the male sample be
55 and that of the females 59. Then it has to be ascertained if the difference of 4
between the sample means is large enough to be taken as real and not due only to
sampling error or chance.
In order to test the significance of the obtained difference of 4, we need to first find
out the standard error of the difference of the two means because it is reasonable
to expect that the difference between two means will be subject to sampling errors.
Then from the difference between the sample means and its standard error we can
determine whether a difference probably exists between the population means.
In the following sections we will discuss the procedure of testing the significance of
the difference between the means and correlations of the samples.
1.7.1 Significance of the Difference between the Means of

Two Independent Large and Small Samples
Means are said to be independent or uncorrelated when computed from samples
drawn at random from totally different and unrelated groups.
Large Samples
You have leant that the frequency distribution of large sample means, drawn from the
same population, fall into a normal distribution around the population mean (Mpop)
as their measure of central tendency. It is reasonable to expect that the frequency
distribution of the difference between the means computed from the samples drawn
from two different populations will also tend to be normal with a mean of zero and
standard deviation which is called the standard error of the difference of means.
The standard error is denoted by ódm which is estimated from the standard errors
of the two sample means, óm1 and óm2. The formula is:
ó dM = (óM12 + óM12)Under root
in which
ó M1 = SE of the mean of the first sample
ó Mw = SE of the mean of the second sample
N1 = Number of cases in first sample
N2 = Number of cases in second sample
12
1.7.2 Significance of the Differences between the Means of Two Parametric and Non-
Dependent Samples
Means are said to be dependent or correlated when obtained from the scores of the
same test administered to the same sample upon two occasions, or when the same
test is administered to equivalent samples in which the members of the group have
been matched person for person, by one or more attributes.
T = M1 + M2 /
óM21 + - 2 r 12
óM1 óM2
in which
M1 and M2 = Means of the scores of the initial and final testing.
óM1 = Standard error of the initial test mean.
óM2 = Standard error of the final test mean.
r12 = Correlation between the scores on initial and final testing.
1.7.3 Significance of the Difference between the Means of

Three or More Samples
We compute CR and t-values to determine whether there is any significant difference
between the means of two random samples. Suppose we have N(N>2) random
samples and we want to determine whether there are any significant differences
among their means. For this we have to compute F value that is Analysis of Variance.
Analysis of variance has the following basic assumptions underlying it which should
be fulfilled in the use of this technique.
The population distribution should be normal. This assumption, however, is not
especially important.
Eden and Yates showed that even with a population departing considerably from
normality, the effectiveness of the normal distribution still held.
All the groups of certain criterion or of the combination of more than one criterion
should be randomly chosen from the sub-population having the same criterion or
having the same combination of more than one criterion.
For instance, if we wish to select two groups in a population of M.A. Psychology
Student trainees enrolled with IGNOU, one of males and the other of females, we
must choose randomly from the respective sub populations. The assumption of
randomness is the key stone of the analysis of variance technique. There is no
substitute for randomization.
The sub-groups under investigation should have the same variability. This assumption
is tested by applying Fmax test.
Fmax =Largest Variance / Smallest Variance
In analysis of variance, we have usually three or more groups i.e. there will be three
or more variances.
Unless the computed value of Fmax equals or exceeds the appropriate F critical value
at .05 level in the Table N of the Appendix, (Statistics book) it is assumed that the
variances are homogeneous and the difference is not significant.
13
1.8 PARAMETRIC STATISTICS MEASURES
RELATED TO PEARSON’S ‘r’
The mathematical basis for standard error of a Pearson’s co-efficient of correlation
‘r’ is rather complicated because of the difficulty in its nature of sampling distribution.
The sampling distribution of r is not normal except when population r is near zero
and size of the sample is large (N=30 or greater).
When r is high (0.80 or more) and N is small, the sampling distribution of r is
skewed. It is also true when r is low (0.20 or less).
In view of this, a sound method for making the inference regarding Pearson’s r,
especially when its magnitude is very high or very low, is to convert r into Fisher’s
Z coefficient using conversion table provided in the Appendix (Statistics book) and
find the standard error (SE) of Z.
The sampling distribution of Z co-efficient is normal regardless of the size of sample
N and the size of the population r. Furthermore, the SE of Z depends only upon the
size of sample N.
The formula for standard error of Z (ó z) is:
SEz = 1/ N–3
The method of determining the standard error of the difference between Pearson’s
co-efficient of correlation of two samples is first to convert the r’s into Fisher’s Z
co-efficient and then to determine the significance of the difference between the two
Z’s.
When we have two correlations between the same two variables, X and Y, computed
from two totally different and unmatched samples, the standard error of a difference
between two corresponding Z’s is computed by the formula:
SEdz= ó z1-z2 = (1/N1– 3 + 1/ N 2– 3)
in which
N1 and N2 = sizes of the two samples
The significance of the difference between the two Z’s is tested with the following
formula:
CR = Z1 - Z2 / SEDZ
1.8.1 Non-parametric Tests Used for Inference

The most frequently used non-parametric tests for drawing statistical inferences in
case of unrelated or independent samples are:
1) Chi square test;
2) Median test; and
3) Mann-Whitney ‘U’ test.
The use and application of these tests are discussed below:
The Chi Square (X2) Test
14 The chi square test is applied only to discrete data. The data that are counted rather
than measured. It is a test of independence and is used to estimate the likelihood that Parametric and Non-
some factor other than chance accounts for the observed relationship.
The Chi square (X2) is not a measure of the degree of relationship between the
variables under study.
The Chi square test merely evaluates the probability that the observed relationship
results from chance. The basic assumption, as in case of other statistical significance,
is that the sample observations have been randomly selected.
The formula for chi-square (X2) is:
(X2) = ∑ [(fo-fe)2 / fe]

In which
Fo = frequency of occurrence of observed or experimentally determined facts.
Fe = expected frequency of occurrence.
The Median Test
The median test is used for testing whether two independent samples differ in central
tendencies. It gives information as to whether it is likely that two independent samples
have been drawn from populations with the same median. It is particularly useful
when even the measurements for the two samples are expressed in an ordinal scale.
In using the median test, we first calculate the combined median for all measures
(scores) in both samples. Then both sets of scores at the combined median are
dichotomized and the data are set in a 2 x 2 table with two rows one containing
below median and the other row containing above median. On the column side we
have two columns, one containing the sample 1 and the other column containing
sample 2.
The Mann-Whitney U Test
The Mann-Whitney U test is more useful than the Median test. It is one of the most
useful alternative to the parametric t test when the parametric assumptions cannot be
met and when the measurements are expressed in ordinal scale values.
1.9 SOME NON-PARAMETRIC TESTS FOR

RELATED SAMPLES
Various tests are used in drawing statistical inferences in case of related samples. In
this section we shall confine our discussion to the use of Sign Test and Wilcoxon
Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Test Only
The Sign Test
The sign test is the simplest test of significance in the category of non-parametric
tests. It makes use of plus and minus signs rather than quantitative measures as its
data. It is particularly useful in situations in which quantitative measurement is impossible
or inconvenient, but on the basis of superior or inferior performance it is possible to
rank with respect to each other, the two members of each pair.
The sign test is used either in the case of single sample from which observations are
obtained under two experimental conditions. The researcher wants to establish that
the two conditions are different. 15
Introduction to Statistics The use of this test does not make any assumption about the form of the distribution
of differences. The only assumption underlying this test is that the variable under
investigation has a continuous distribution.
The Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Ranks Test
The Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test is more powerful than the sign test
because it tests not only direction but also the magnitude of differences within pairs
of matched groups.
This test, like the sign test, deals with dependent groups made up of matched pairs
of individuals and is not applicable to independent groups. The null hypothesis would
assume that the direction and magnitude of pair difference would be about the same.
1.10 LET US SUM UP

Parametric and non-parametric tests are important for students especially researchers
working in any field. Parametric tests include all methods of statistics when the
sample size is large whereas in non-parametric test the sample size is small. There
are some advantages and disadvantages of both the tests. In this unit we discussed
the statistical inference based on parametric tests. It included the assumptions on
which the use of parametric tests are based; inferences regarding means of large and
small samples; significance of the difference between the means of two large and
small independent samples; significance of the difference between means of the two
dependent samples; significance of the difference between means of three or more
samples; significance of Pearson’s coefficients of correlation; and significance of the
difference between Pearson’s coefficients of correlation of two independent samples.
F test is used for testing the significance between the means of three or more
samples. It involves the use of analysis of variance or analysis of co-variance. For
testing the significance of Pearson’s r, we make use of Fisher’s Z transformation or
t-test.

1) Define parametric statistics.
2) Discuss non-parametric statistics?
3) Write various assumptions of parametric statistics?
4) What are the advantages of non-parametric statistics?
5) Differentiate between parametric and non-parametric statistics?
6) List the assumptions on which the use of Parametric Tests is base.
7) Describe the characteristics of Central Limit Theorem.
8) Define the standard error of mean.
1.12 GLOSSARY
Statistics : Measurement which are associated with sample
Parameters : Measurements which are associated with
population
16
Assumptions : Prerequisite conditions Parametric and Non-
Population : Larger group of people to which inferences are
made.
Sample : Small proportion of the population which we
assert representing population.
Normal Curve : Bell shaped frequency distribution that is
symmetrical and unimodel.
Distribution free tests : Hypothesis – testing procedure making non
assumptions about population parameters.
Categorical Scale : Variable with values that are categories that is,
they are name rather than numbers.
Test : Test is a tool to measure observable behaviour
Homosedasity : Populations must have some variance or in
special cases must have a known ratio of
variance.

Asthana H.S, and Bhushan. B. (2007) Statistics for Social Sciences (with SPSS
Applications).
B.L. Aggrawal (2009). Basic Statistics. New Age International Publisher, Delhi.
Guilford, J.P. (1965); Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. New
York: McGraw Hill Book Company.
Siegel, S. (1956): Non-parametric Statistics for Behavioural Sciences. Tokyo:
McGraw Hill Hoga Kunsa Ltd.
Sidney Siegel, & N. John Castetellan, Jr. (1958) Non-parametric Statistics for
the Behavioural Science. McGraw Hill Books company, New Delhi
17
UNIT 2 DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL
STATISTICS
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Meaning of Descriptive Statistics
2.3 Organisation of Data
2.3.1 Classification
2.3.1.1 Frequency Distribution can be with Ungrouped Data and Grouped Data
2.3.1.2 Types of Frequency Distribution
2.3.2 Tabulation
2.3.3 Graphical Presentation of Data
2.3.3.1 Cumulative Frequency Curve or Ogive
2.3.4 Diagrammatic Presentation of Data
2.4 Summarisation of Data
2.4.1 Measures of Central Tendency
2.4.2 Measures of Dispersion
2.4.3 Skewness and Kurtosis
2.4.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Descriptive Statistics
2.5 Meaning of Inferential Statistics
2.5.1 Estimation
2.5.2 Point Estimation
2.5.3 Interval Estimation
2.6 Hypothesis Testing
2.6.1 Statement of Hypothesis
2.6.2 Level of Significance
2.6.3 One Tail and Two Tail Test
2.7 Errors in Hypothesis Testing
2.7.1 Type I Error
2.7.2 Type II Error
2.7.3 Power of a Test
2.8 General Procedure for Testing A Hypothesis
2.9 Let Us Sum Up
2.11 Glossary
2.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will be dealing with descriptive and inferential statistics. First we start
with defining descriptive statistics and indicate how to organise the data , classify,
tabulate etc. This unit also presents as to how the data should be presented graphically.
Once the data is collected the same has to be made meaningful which can be done
through averaging the data or working out the variances in the data etc. Then we
18 deal with the advantages and disadvantages of descriptive statistics. This is followed
by defining what is inferential statistics and delineating its meaning. In this unit the Descriptive and Inferential
Statistics
student will also gain knowledge regarding point and interval estimation so as to
validate the results. We also learn in this unit about hypothesis testing, how it is done
and the methods thereof. We also deal with different types of errors in hypothesis
testing including sampling error etc.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
z define the nature and meaning of descriptive statistics;
z describe the methods of organising and condensing raw data;
z explain concept and meaning of different measures of central tendency;
z analyse the meaning of different measures of dispersion;
z define inferential statistics;
z explain the concept of estimation;
z distinguish between point estimation and interval estimation; and
z explain the different concepts involved in hypothesis testing.
2.2 MEANING OF DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

The word statistics has different meaning to different persons. For some, it is a one-
number description of a set of data. Some consider statistics in terms of numbers
used as measurements or counts. Mathematicians use statistics to describe data in
one word. It is a summary of an event for them. Number , n, is the statistic
describing how big the set of numbers is, how many pieces of data are in the set.
Also, knowledge of statistics is applicable in day to day life in different ways.
Statistics is used by people to take decision about the problems on the basis of
different types of information available to them. However, in behavioural sciences
the word ‘statistics’ means something different, that is its prime function is to draw
statistical inference about population on the basis of available quantitative and qualitative
information.
The word statistics can be defined in two different ways. In singular sense ‘Statistics’
refers to what is called statistical methods. When ‘Statistics’ is used in plural sense
it refers to ‘data’.
In this unit we will use the term ‘statistics’ in singular sense. In this context, it is
described as a branch of science which deals with the collection of data, their
classification, analysis and interpretations of statistical data.
The science of statistics may be broadly studied under two headings:
i) Descriptive Statistics, and (ii) Inferential Statistics
i) Descriptive Statistics: Most of the observations in this universe are subject to
variability, especially observations related to human behaviour. It is a well
known fact that attitude, intelligence and personality differ from individual to
individual. In order to make a sensible definition of the group or to identify the
group with reference to their observations/ scores, it is necessary to express
them in a precise manner. For this purpose observations need to be expressed
as a single estimate which summarises the observations. 19
Introduction to Statistics Descriptive statistics is a branch of statistics, which deals with descriptions of obtained
data. On the basis of these descriptions a particular group of population is defined
for corresponding characteristics. The descriptive statistics include classification,
tabulation, diagrammatic and graphical presentation of data, measures of central
tendency and variability. These measures enable the researchers to know about the
tendency of data or the scores, which further enhance the ease in description of the
phenomena. Such single estimate of the series of data which summarises the distribution
are known as parameters of the distribution. These parameters define the distribution
completely.
Bascially descriptive statistics involves two operations:
(i) Organisation of data, and (ii) Summarination of data
2.3 ORGANISATION OF DATA

There are four major statistical techniques for organising the data. These are:
i) Classification
ii) Tabulation
iii) Graphical Presentation, and
iv) Diagrammatical Presentation
2.3.1 Classification
The arrangement of data in groups according to similarities is known as classification.
A classification is a summary of the frequency of individual scores or ranges of scores
for a variable. In the simplest form of a distribution, we will have such value of
variable as well as the number of persons who have had each value.
Once data are collected, it should be arranged in a format from which they would
be able to draw some conclusions. Thus by classifying data, the investigators move
a step ahead in regard to making a decision.
A much clear picture of the information of score emerges when the raw data are
organised as a frequency distribution. Frequency distribution shows the number of
cases following within a given class interval or range of scores. A frequency distribution
is a table that shows each score as obtained by a group of individuals and how
frequently each score occurred.
2.3.1.1 Frequency Distribution can be with Ungrouped Data and Grouped

Data
i) An ungrouped frequency distribution may be constructed by listing all score
values either from highest to lowest or lowest to highest and placing a tally mark
(/) besides each scores every times it occurs. The frequency of occurrence of
each score is denoted by ‘f’.
ii) Grouped frequency distribution: If there is a wide range of score value in the
data, then it is difficult to get a clear picture of such series of data. In this case
grouped frequency distribution should be constructed to have a clear picture of
the data. A group frequency distribution is a table that organises data into
classes.
20
It shows the number of observations from the data set that fall into each of the class. Descriptive and Inferential
Statistics
Construction of frequency distribution
To prepare a frequency distribution it is essential to determine the following:
1) The range of the given data =, the difference between the highest and lowest
scores.
2) The number of class intervals = There is no hard and fast rules regarding
the number of classes into which data should be grouped. If there are very few
scores it is useless to have a large number of class-intervals. Ordinarily, the
number of classes should be between 5 to 30.
3) Limits of each class interval = Another factor used in determining the number
of classes is the size/ width or range of the class which is known as ‘class
interval’ and is denoted by ‘i’.
Class interval should be of uniform width resulting in the same-size classes of frequency
distribution. The width of the class should be a whole number and conveniently
divisible by 2, 3, 5, 10, or 20.
There are three methods for describing the class limits for distribution:
(i) Exclusive method, (ii) Inclusive method and (iii) True or actual class method.
i) Exclusive method
In this method of class formation, the classes are so formed that the upper limit
of one class become the lower limit of the next class. In this classification, it is
presumed that score equal to the upper limit of the class is exclusive, i.e., a
score of 40 will be included in the class of 40 to 50 and not in a class of 30
to 40 (30-40, 40-50, 50-60)
ii) Inclusive method
In this method the classes are so formed that the upper limit of one class does
not become the lower limit of the next class. This classification includes scores,
which are equal to the upper limit of the class. Inclusive method is preferred
when measurements are given in whole numbers. (30-39, 40-49, 50-59)
iii) True or Actual class method
Mathematically, a score is an internal when it extends from 0.5 units below to
0.5 units above the face value of the score on a continuum. These class limits
are known as true or actual class limits. (29.5 to 39.5, 39.5 to 49.5) etc.
2.3.1.2 Types of Frequency Distribution

There are various ways to arrange frequencies of a data array based on the requirement
of the statistical analysis or the study. A couple of them are discussed below:
i) Relative frequency distribution: A relative frequency distribution is a distribution
that indicates the proportion of the total number of cases observed at each
score value or internal of score values.
ii) Cumulative frequency distribution: Sometimes investigator may be interested to
know the number of observations less than a particular value. This is possible
by computing the cumulative frequency. A cumulative frequency corresponding 21
Introduction to Statistics to a class-interval is the sum of frequencies for that class and of all classes prior
to that class.
iii) Cumulative relative frequency distribution: A cumulative relative frequency
distribution is one in which the entry of any score of class interval expresses that
score’s cumulative frequency as a proportion of the total number of cases.
1) Complete the following statements
i) Statistics in plural means ...............................
ii) Statistics in singular means ...............................
iii) Data collection is .............................. step in statistics.
iv) The last step in statistics is ...............................
2) Define following concepts
1) Descriptive statistics
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2) Inferential statistics
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3) Exclusive method of classification
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
4) Actual method of classification
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
5) Frequency distribution
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2.3.2 Tabulation
Frequency distribution can be either in the form of a table or it can be in the form
of graph. Tabulation is the process of presenting the classified data in the form of
a table. A tabular presentation of data becomes more intelligible and fit for further
statistical analysis. A table is a systematic arrangement of classified data in row and
columns with appropriate headings and sub-headings. The main components of a
table are:
i) Table number: When there is more than one table in a particular analysis a table
should be marked with a number for their reference and identification. The
22
number should be written in the center at the top of the table.
ii) Title of the table: Every table should have an appropriate title, which describes Descriptive and Inferential
Statistics
the content of the table. The title should be clear, brief, and self-explanatory.
Title of the table should be placed either centrally on the top of the table or just
below or after the table number.
iii) Caption: Captions are brief and self-explanatory headings for columns. Captions
may involve headings and sub-headings. The captions should be placed in the
middle of the columns. For example, we can divide students of a class into
males and females, rural and urban, high SES and Low SES etc.
iv) Stub: Stubs stand for brief and self-explanatory headings for rows.
v) Body of the table: This is the real table and contains numerical information or
data in different cells. This arrangement of data remains according to the
description of captions and stubs.
vi) Head note: This is written at the extreme right hand below the title and explains
the unit of the measurements used in the body of the tables.
vii) Footnote: This is a qualifying statement which is to be written below the table
explaining certain points related to the data which have not been covered in title,
caption, and stubs.
viii) Source of data: The source from which data have been taken is to be mentioned
at the end of the table.
TITLE
Stub Head Caption

Column Head I Column Head II
Stub Entries
Sub Head Sub Head Sub Head Sub Head
MAIN BODY OF THE TABLE
Total
Footnote(s):
Source :
2.3.3 Graphical Presentation of Data

The purpose of preparing a frequency distribution is to provide a systematic way of
“ looking at” and understanding data. To extend this understanding, the information
contained in a frequency distribution often is displayed in graphic and/or diagrammatic
forms. In graphical presentation of frequency distribution, frequencies are plotted on
a pictorial platform formed of horizontal and vertical lines known as graph.
A graph is created on two mutually perpendicular lines called the X and Y–axes on
which appropriate scales are indicated. The horizontal line is called the abscissa and
vertical the ordinate. Like different kinds of frequency distributions there are many
kinds of graph too, which enhance the scientific understanding of the reader. The 23
Introduction to Statistics commonly used graphs are Histogram, Frequency polygon, Frequency curve,
Cumulative frequency curve. Here we will discuss some of the important types of
graphical patterns used in statistics.
i) Histogram: It is one of the most popular methods for presenting continuous
frequency distribution in a form of graph. In this type of distribution the upper
limit of a class is the lower limit of the following class. The histogram consists
of series of rectangles, with its width equal to the class interval of the variable
on horizontal axis and the corresponding frequency on the vertical axis as its
heights.
ii) Frequency polygon: Prepare an abscissa originating from ‘O’ and ending to ‘X’.
Again construct the ordinate starting from ‘O’ and ending at ‘Y’. Now label
the class-intervals on abscissa stating the exact limits or midpoints of the class-
intervals. You can also add one extra limit keeping zero frequency on both side
of the class-interval range.
The size of measurement of small squares on graph paper depends upon the
number of classes to be plotted. Next step is to plot the frequencies on
ordinate using the most comfortable measurement of small squares depending
on the range of whole distribution.
To plot a frequency polygon you have to mark each frequency against its
concerned class on the height of its respective ordinate. After putting all frequency
marks a draw a line joining the points. This is the polygon.
iii) Frequency curve: A frequency curve is a smooth free hand curve drawn
through frequency polygon. The objective of smoothing of the frequency polygon
is to eliminate as far as possible the random or erratic fluctuations that are
present in the data.
2.3.3.1 Cumulative Frequency Curve or Ogive

The graph of a cumulative frequency distribution is known as cumulative frequency
curve or ogive. Since there are two types of cumulative frequency distribution e.g.,
“ less than” and “ more than” cumulative frequencies. We can have two types of
ogives.
i) ‘Less than’ Ogive: In ‘less than’ ogive , the less than cumulative frequencies are
plotted against the upper class boundaries of the respective classes. It is an
increasing curve having slopes upwards from left to right.
ii) ‘More than’ Ogive : In more than ogive , the more than cumulative frequencies
are plotted against the lower class boundaries of the respective classes. It is
decreasing curve and slopes downwards from left to right.
2.3.4 Diagrammatic Presentation of Data

A diagram is a visual form for the presentation of statistical data. They present the
data in simple , readily comprehensible form. Diagrammatic presentation is used only
for presentation of the data in visual form, whereas graphic presentation of the data
can be used for further analysis. There are different forms of diagram e.g., Bar
diagram, Sub-divided bar diagram, Multiple bar diagram, Pie diagram and Pictogram.
i) Bar diagram: Bar diagram is most useful for categorical data. A bar is defined
as a thick line. Bar diagram is drawn from the frequency distribution table
24 representing the variable on the horizontal axis and the frequency on the vertical
axis. The height of each bar will be corresponding to the frequency or value Descriptive and Inferential
Statistics
of the variable.
ii) Sub- divided bar diagram: Study of sub classification of a phenomenon can be
done by using sub-divided bar diagram. Corresponding to each sub-category
of the data the bar is divided and shaded. There will be as many shades as there
will sub portion in a group of data. The portion of the bar occupied by each
sub-class reflects its proportion in the total.
iii) Multiple Bar diagram: This diagram is used when comparisons are to be shown
between two or more sets of interrelated phenomena or variables. A set of bars
for person, place or related phenomena are drawn side by side without any gap.
To distinguish between the different bars in a set , different colours , shades are
used.
iv) Pie diagram: It is also known as angular diagram. A pie chart or diagram is a
circle divided into component sectors corresponding to the frequencies of the
variables in the distribution. Each sector will be proportional to the frequency
of the variable in the group. A circle represents 360O. So 360O angles is divided
in proportion to percentages. The degrees represented by the various component
parts of given magnitude can be obtained by using this formula.
After the calculation of the angles for each component, segments are drawn in the
circle in succession, corresponding to the angles at the center for each segment.
Different segments are shaded with different colours, shades or numbers.
1) In ‘ less than’ cumulative frequency distribution, which class limit is omitted
i) upper
ii) lower
iii) last
iv) none of these
2) Differentiate between following components of a statistical table that is “Caption”
and “Stub head” “Head note” and “Foot note”.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Explain the following terms
i) Histogram,
..............................................................................................................
ii) Bar diagram,
..............................................................................................................
iii) Frequency polygon, and
..............................................................................................................
iv) Pie diagram.
..............................................................................................................
25
2.4 SUMMARISATION OF DATA
In the previous section we have discussed about tabulation of the data and its
representation in the form of graphical presentation. In research, comparison between
two or more series of the same type is needed to find out the trends of variables.
For such comparison, tabulation of data is not sufficient and it is further required to
investigate the characteristics of data. The frequency distribution of obtained data
may differ in two ways, first in measures of central tendency and second, in the
extent to which scores are spread over the central value. Both types of differences
are the components of summary statistics.
2.4.1 Measures of Central Tendency

It is the middle point of a distribution. Tabulated data provides the data in a systematic
order and enhances their understanding. Generally, in any distribution values of the
variables tend to cluster around a central value of the distribution. This tendency of
the distribution is known as central tendency and measures devised to consider this
tendency is know as measures of central tendency. A measure of central tendency
is useful if it represents accurately the distribution of scores on which it is based. A
good measure of central tendency must possess the following characteristics:
It should be clearly defined- The definition of a measure of central tendency should
be clear and unambiguous so that it leads to one and only one information.
It should be readily comprehensible and easy to compute.
It should be based on all observations- A good measure of central tendency should
be based on all the values of the distribution of scores.
It should be amenable for further mathematical treatment.
It should be least affected by the fluctuation of sampling.
In Statistics there are three most commonly used measures of central tendency.
These are:
1) Arithmetic Mean 2) Median, and 3) Mode
1) Arithmetic Mean: The arithmetic mean is most popular and widely used measure
of central tendency. Whenever we refer to the average of data, it means we are
talking about its arithmetic mean. This is obtained by dividing the sum of the
values of the variable by the number of values. It is also a useful measure for
further statistics and comparisons among different data sets. One of the major
limitations of arithmetic mean is that it cannot be computed for open-ended
class-intervals.
2) Median: Median is the middle most value in a data distribution. It divides the
distribution into two equal parts so that exactly one half of the observations is
below and one half is above that point. Since median clearly denotes the
position of an observation in an array, it is also called a position average. Thus
more technically, median of an array of numbers arranged in order of their
magnitude is either the middle value or the arithmetic mean of the two middle
values. It is not affected by extreme values in the distribution.
3) Mode: Mode is the value in a distribution that corresponds to the maximum
concentration of frequencies. It may be regarded as the most typical of a series
value. In more simple words, mode is the point in the distribution comprising
maximum frequencies therein.
26
2.4.2 Measures of Dispersion Descriptive and Inferential
Statistics
In the previous section we have discussed about measures of central tendency. By
knowing only the mean, median or mode, it is not possible to have a complete
picture of a set of data. Average does not tell us about how the score or measurements
are arranged in relation to the center. It is possible that two sets of data with equal
mean or median may differ in terms of their variability. Therefore, it is essential to
know how far these observations are scattered from each other or from the mean.
Measures of these variations are known as the ‘measures of dispersion’. The most
commonly used measures of dispersion are range, average deviation, quartile deviation,
variance and standard deviation.
i) Range
Range is one of the simplest measures of dispersion. It is designated by ‘R’. The
range is defined as the difference between the largest score and the smallest score
in the distribution. It gives the two extreme values of the variable. A large value of
range indicates greater dispersion while a smaller value indicates lesser dispersion
among the scores. Range can be a good measure if the distribution is not much
skewed.
ii) Average deviation
Average deviation refers to the arithmetic mean of the differences between each
score and the mean. It is always better to find the deviation of the individual
observations with reference to a certain value in the series of observation and then
take an average of these deviations. This deviation is usually measured from mean
or median. Mean, however, is more commonly used for this measurement.
Merits: It is less affected by extreme values as compared to standard deviation. It
provides better measure for comparison about the formation of different distributions.
iii) Standard deviation
Standard deviation is the most stable index of variability. In standard deviation,
instead of the actual values of the deviations we consider the squares of deviations
and the outcome is known as variance. Further, the square root of this variance is
known as standard deviation and designated as SD. Thus, standard deviation is the
square root of the mean of the squared deviations of the individual observations from
the mean. The standard deviation of the sample (ó) and population denoted by (ì)
respectively. If all the score have an identical value in a sample, the SD will be
0 (zero).
Merits: It is based on all observations. It is amenable to further mathematical
treatments.
Of all measures of dispersion, standard deviation is least affected by fluctuation of
sampling.
2.4.3 Skewness and Kurtosis

There are two other important characteristics of frequency distribution that provide
useful information about its nature. They are known as skewness and kurtosis.
i) Skewness
Skewness is the degree of asymmetry of the distribution. In some frequency
distributions scores are more concentrated at one end of the scale. Such a distribution 27
Introduction to Statistics is called a skewed distribution. Thus, skewness refers to the extent to which a
distribution of data points is concentrated at one end or the other. Skewness and
variability are usually related, the more the skewness the greater the variability.
ii) Kurtosis
The term ‘kurtosis’ refers to the ‘peakedness’ or flatness of a frequency distribution
curve when compared with normal distribution curve. The kurtosis of a distribution
is the curvedness or peakedness of the graph.
If a distribution is more peaked than normal it is said to be leptokurtic. This kind
of peakedness implies a thin distribution.
On the other hand, if a distribution is more flat than the normal distribution it is
known as Platykurtic distribution.
A normal curve is known as mesokurtic.
2.4.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Descriptive Statistics

The Advantages of Descriptive statistics are given below:
z It is essential for arranging and displaying data.
z It forms the basis of rigorous data analysis.
z It is easier to work with, interpret, and discuss than raw data.
z It helps in examining the tendencies, variability, and normality of a data set.
z It can be rendered both graphically and numerically.
z It forms the basis for more advanced statistical methods.
The disadvantages of descriptive statistics can be listed as given below:
z It can be misused, misinterpreted, and incomplete.
z It can be of limited use when samples and populations are small.
z It offers little information about causes and effects.
z It can be dangerous if not analysed completely.
z There is a risk of distorting the original data or losing important detail.
1) Which one of the alternative is appropriate for descriptive statistics?
i) In a sample of school children, the investigator found an average IQ was
110.
ii) A class teacher calculates the class average on their final exam. Was
64%.
2) State whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
i) Mean is affected by extreme values ( )
ii) Mode is affected by extreme values ( )
28
Descriptive and Inferential
iii) Mode is useful in studying qualitative facts such as intelligence ( ) Statistics
iv) Median is not affected by extreme values ( )

v) Range is most stable measures of variability ( )
vi) Standard deviation is most suitable measures of dispersion ( )
vii) Skewness is always positive ( )
2.5 MEANING OF INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

In the previous section we discussed about descriptive statistics, which basically
describes some characteristics of data. But the description or definition of the
distribution or observations is not the prime objective of any scientific investigation.
Organising and summarising data is only one step in the process of analysing the
data. In any scientific investigation either the entire population or a sample is considered
for the study.
In most of the scientific investigations a sample, a small portion of the population
under investigation, is used for the study. On the basis of the information contained
in the sample we try to draw conclusions about the population. This process is
known as statistical inference.
Statistical inference is widely applicable in behavioural sciences, especially in
psychology. For example, before the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha election
process starts or just before the declaration of election results print media and
electronic media conduct exit poll to predict the election result. In this process all
voters are not included in the survey, only a portion of voters i.e. sample is included
to infer about the population. This is called inferential statistics.
Inferential statistics deals with drawing of conclusions about large group of individuals
( population) on the basis of observation of a few participants from among them or
about the events which are yet to occur on the basis of past events. It provides tools
to compute the probabilities of future behaviour of the subjects.
Inferential statistics is the mathematics and logic of how this generalisation from
sample to population can be made.
There are two types of inferential procedures: (1) Estimation, (2) Hypothesis testing.
2.5.1 Estimation
In estimation, inference is made about the population characteristics on the basis of
what is discovered about the sample. There may be sampling variations because of
chance fluctuations, variations in sampling techniques, and other sampling errors.
Estimation about population characteristics may be influenced by such factors.
Therefore, in estimation the important point is that to what extent our estimate is
close to the true value.
Characteristics of Good Estimator: A good statistical estimator should have the
following characteristics, (i) Unbiased (ii) Consistent (iii) Accuracy . These are being
dealt with in detail below.
i) Unbiased
An unbiased estimator is one in which, if we were to obtain an infinite number of 29
Introduction to Statistics random samples of a certain size, the mean of the statistic would be equal to the
parameter. The sample mean, ( x ) is an unbiased estimate of population mean (μ)
because if we look at possible random samples of size N from a population, then
mean of the sample would be equal to μ.
ii) Consistent
A consistent estimator is one that as the sample size increased, the probability that
estimate has a value close to the parameter also increased. Because it is a consistent
estimator, a sample mean based on 20 scores has a greater probability of being
closer to (μ) than does a sample mean based upon only 5 scores
ii) Accuracy
The sample mean is an unbiased and consistent estimator of population mean (μ).
But we should not over look the fact that an estimate is just a rough or approximate
calculation. It is unlikely in any estimate that ( x ) will be exactly equal to population
mean (μ). Whether or not x is a good estimate of (μ) depends upon the representative
ness of sample, the sample size, and the variability of scores in the population.
2.5.2 Point Estimation

We have indicated that x obtained from a sample is an unbiased and consistent
estimator of the population mean (μ). Thus, if an investigator obtains Adjustment
Score from 100 students and wanted to estimate the value of (μ) for the population
from which these scores were selected, researcher would use the value of x as an
estimate of population mean (μ). If the obtained value of x were 45.0 then this value
would be used as estimate of population mean (μ).
This form of estimate of population parameters from sample statistic is called point
estimation. Point estimation is estimating the value of a parameter as a single point,
for example, population mean (μ) = 45.0 from the value of the statistic x = 45.0
2.5.3 Interval Estimation

A point estimate of the population mean (μ) almost is assured of being in error, the
estimate from the sample will not equal to the exact value of the parameter. To gain
confidence about the accuracy of this estimate we may also construct an interval of
scores that is expected to include the value of the population mean. Such intervals
are called confidence interval. A confidence interval is a range of scores that is
expected to contain the value of (μ). The lower and upper scores that determine
the interval are called confidence limits. A level of confidence can be attached to this
estimate so that, the researcher can be 95% or 99% confidence level that encompasses
the population mean.
1) What is statistical inference?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) Explain with illustrations the concept of
i) Estimation,
30
..............................................................................................................
Descriptive and Inferential
ii) Point estimation, Statistics
..............................................................................................................
iii) Interval estimation
..............................................................................................................
3) What are the procedures involved in statistical inference?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2.6 HYPOTHESIS TESTING

Inferential statistics is closely tied to the logic of hypothesis testing. In hypothesis
testing we have a particular value in mind. We hypothesize that this value characterise
the population of observations. The question is whether that hypothesis is reasonable
in the light of the evidence from the sample. In estimation no particular population
value need be stated. Rather, the question is , what is the population value. For
example, Hypothesis testing is one of the important areas of statistical analyses.
Sometimes hypothesis testing is referred to as statistical decision-making process. In
day-to-day situations we are required to take decisions about the population on the
basis of sample information.
2.6.1 Statement of Hypothesis

A statistical hypothesis is defined as a statement, which may or may not be true about
the population parameter or about the probability distribution of the parameter that
we wish to validate on the basis of sample information.
Most times, experiments are performed with random samples instead of the entire
population and inferences drawn from the observed results are then generalised over
to the entire population.
But before drawing inferences about the population it should be always kept in mind
that the observed results might have come due to chance factor. In order to have an
accurate or more precise inference, the chance factor should be ruled out.
The probability of chance occurrence of the observed results is examined by the null
hypothesis (H0). Null hypothesis is a statement of no differences. The other way to
state null hypothesis is that the two samples came from the same population. Here,
we assume that population is normally distributed and both the groups have equal
means and standard deviations.
Since the null hypothesis is a testable proposition, there is counter proposition to it
known as alternative hypothesis and denoted by H1. In contrast to null hypothesis,
the alternative hypothesis (H1) proposes that
i) the two samples belong to two different populations,
ii) their means are estimates of two different parametric means of the respective
population, and
iii) there is a significant difference between their sample means.
The alternative hypothesis (H1) is not directly tested statistically; rather its acceptance 31
Introduction to Statistics or rejection is determined by the rejection or retention of the null hypothesis. The
probability ‘p’ of the null hypothesis being correct is assessed by a statistical test. If
probability ‘p’ is too low, H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted.
It is inferred that the observed difference is significant. If probability ‘p’ is high, H0
is accepted and it is inferred that the difference is due to the chance factor and not
due to the variable factor.
2.6.2 Level of Significance

The level of significance (p<.05 ) is that probability of chance occurrence of observed
results up to and below which the probability ‘p’ of the null hypothesis being correct
is considered too low and the results of the experiment are considered significant
(p ≤ ).
On the other hand, if p exceeds , the null hypothesis (H0) cannot be rejected because
the probability of it being correct is considered quite high and in such case, observed
results are not considered significant (p > ).
The selection of level of significance depends on the choice of the researcher. Generally
level of significance is taken to be 5% or 1%, i.e., = .05 or = .01). If null hypothesis
is rejected at .05 level, it means that the results are considered significant so long as
the probability ‘p’ of getting it by mere chance of random sampling works out to be
0.05 or less (p< .05). In other words, the results are considered significant if out of
100 such trials only 5 or less number of the times the observed results may arise from
the accidental choice in the particular sample by random sampling.
2.6.3 One-tail and Two-tail Test

Depending upon the statement in alternative hypothesis (H1), either a one-tail or two-
tail test is chosen for knowing the statistical significance. A one-tail test is a directional
test. It is formulated to find the significance of both the magnitude and the direction
(algebraic sign) of the observed difference between two statistics. Thus, in two-tailed
tests researcher is interested in testing whether one sample mean is significantly higher
(alternatively lower) than the other sample mean.
2.7 ERRORS IN HYPOTHESIS TESTING

In hypothesis testing, there would be no errors in decision making as long as a null
hypothesis is rejected when it is false and also a null hypothesis is accepted when
it is true. But the decision to accept or reject the null hypothesis is based on sample
data. There is no testing procedure that will ensure absolutely correct decision on the
basis of sampled data. There are two types of errors regarding decision to accept
or to reject a null hypothesis.
2.7.1 Type I Error

When the null hypothesis is true, a decision to reject it is an error and this kind of
error is known as type I error in statistics. The probability of making a type I error
is denoted as ‘á’ (read as alpha). The null hypothesis is rejected if the probability
‘p’ of its being correct does not exceed the p. The higher the chosen level of p for
considering the null hypothesis, the greater is the probability of type I error.
2.7.2 Type II Error

32 When null hypothesis is false, a decision to accept it is known as type II error. The
probability of making a type II error is denoted as ‘â’ (read as beta). The lower the Descriptive and Inferential
Statistics
chosen level of significance p for rejecting the null hypothesis, the higher is the
probability of the type II error. With a lowering of p, the rejection region as well as
the probability of the type I error declines and the acceptance region (1-p) widens
correspondingly.
The goodness of a statistical test is measured by the probability of making a type I
or type II error. For a fixed sample size n, á and â are so related that reduction in
one causes increase in the other. Therefore, simultaneous reductions in á and â are
not possible. If n is increased, it is possible to decrease both á and â.
2.7.3 Power of a Test

The probability of committing type II error is designated by â. Therefore, 1-â is the
probability of rejecting null hypothesis when it is false. This probability is known as
the power of a statistical test. It measures how well the test is working. The probability
of type II error depends upon the true value of the population parameter and sample
size n.
1) Fill in the blanks
i) Alternative hypothesis is a statement of ......................... difference.
ii) Null hypothesis is denoted by ..........................
iii) Alternative hypothesis is ......................... directly tested statistically.
iv) ......................... is that probability of chance of occurrence of observed
results.
v) One tail test is a ......................... statistical test.
vi) When the null hypothesis is true, a decision to reject is known as.........
vii) When a null hypothesis is false, a decision to accept is known as.........
2.8 GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR TESTING A

HYPOTHESIS
Step 1. Set up a null hypothesis suitable to the problem.
Step 2. Define the alternative hypothesis.
Step 3. Calculate the suitable test statistics.
Step 4. Define the degrees of freedom for the test situation.
Step 5. Find the probability level ‘p’ corresponding to the calculated value of the test
statistics and its degree of freedom. This can be obtained from the relevant tables.
Step 6. Reject or accept null hypothesis on the basis of tabulated value and calculated
value at practical probability level.
There are some situations in which inferential statistics is carried out to test the
hypothesis and draw conclusion about the population , for example (i) Test of
hypothesis about a population mean (Z test), (ii) Testing hypothesis about a
population mean (small sample ‘ t’ test).
33
2.9 LET US SUM UP
Descriptive statistics are used to describe the basic features of the data in investigation.
Such statistics provide summaries about the sample and measures. Data description
comprises two operations: organising data and describing data. Organising data
includes: classification, tabulation, graphical and diagrammatic presentation of raw
scores. Whereas, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion are used
in describing the raw scores.
In the above section, the basic concepts and general procedure involved in inferential
statistics are also discussed. Inferential statistics is about inferring or drawing
conclusions from the sample to population. This process is known as statistical
inference. There are two types of inferential procedures: estimation and hypothesis
testing. An estimate of unknown parameter could be either point or interval. Hypothesis
is a statement about a parameter. There are two types of hypotheses: null and
alternative hypotheses. Important concepts involved in the process of hypothesis
testing example, level of significance, one tail test, two tail test, type I error, type
II error, power of a test are explained. General procedure for hypothesis testing is
also given.

1) What is descriptive statistics? Discuss its advantages and disadvantages.
2) What do you mean by organisation of data? State different methods of organising
raw data.
3) Define measures of dispersion. Why is it that standard deviation is considered
as the best measures of variability?
4) Explain the importance of inferential statistics.
5) Describe the important properties of good estimators.
6) Discuss the different types of hypothesis formulated in hypothesis testing.
7) Discuss the errors involved in hypothesis testing.
8) Explain the various steps involved in hypothesis testing.
2.11 GLOSSARY
Classification : A systematic grouping of data
Cumulative frequency : A classification, which shows the cumulative
distribution frequency below, the upper real limit of the
corresponding class interval.
Data : Any sort of information that can be analysed.
Discrete data : When data are counted in a classification.
Exclusive classification : The classification system in which the upper
limit of the class becomes the lower limit of
next class
Frequency distribution : Arrangement of data values according to their
34 magnitude.
Inclusive classification : When the lower limit of a class differs the upper Descriptive and Inferential
Statistics
limit of its successive class.
Mean : The ratio between total and numbers of scores.
Median : The mid point of a score distribution.
Mode : The maximum occurring score in a score
distribution.
Central Tendency : The tendency of scores to bend towards center
of distribution.
Dispersion : The extent to which scores tend to scatter from
their mean and from each other.
Standard Deviation : The square root of the sum of squared
deviations of scores from their mean.
Skewness : Tendency of scores to polarize on either side
of abscissa.
Kurtosis : Curvedness of a frequency distribution graph.
Range : Difference between the two extremes of a score
distribution.
Confidence level : It gives the percentage (probability) of samples
where the population mean would remain within
the confidence interval around the sample mean.
Estimation : It is a method of prediction about parameter
value on the basis Statistic.
Hypothesis testing : The statistical procedures for testing hypotheses..
Level of significance : The probability value that forms the boundary
between rejecting and not rejecting the null
hypothesis.
Null hypothesis : The hypothesis that is tentatively held to be
true (symbolised by Ho)
One-tail test : A statistical test in which the alternative
hypothesis specifies direction of the departure
from what is expected under the null hypothesis.
Parameter : It is a measure of some characteristic of the
population.
Population : The entire number of units of research interest.
Power of a test : An index that reflects the probability that a
statistical test will correctly reject the null
hypothesis relative to the size of the sample
involved.
Sample : A sub set of the population under study.
35
Introduction to Statistics Statistical inference : It is the process of concluding about an
unknown population from known sample drawn
from it.
Statistical hypothesis : The hypothesis which may or may not be true
about the population parameter.
t-test : It is a parametric test for the significance of
differences between means.
Type I error : A decision error in which the statistical decision
is to reject the null hypothesis when it is actually
true.
Type II error : A decision error in which the statistical decision
is not to reject the null hypothesis when it is
actually false.
Two-tail test : A statistical test in which the alternative
hypothesis does not specify the direction of
departure from what is expected under the null
hypothesis.

Asthana, H. S. and Bhushan, B. (2007). Statistics for Social Sciences ( with SPSS
Application). Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
Garret, H. E. (2005). Statistics in Psychology and Education. Jain publishing,
India.
Elhance, D. N., and Elhance, V. (1988). Fundamentals of Statistics. Kitab Mahal,
Allahabad
Nagar, A. L., and Das, R. K. (1983). Basic Statistics. Oxford University Press,
Delhi.
Sani, F., and Todman, J. (2006). Experimental Design and Statistics for Psychology.
Blackwell Publishing U.K.
Yale, G. U., and M.G. Kendall (1991). An Introduction to the Theory of Statistics.
Universal Books, Delhi.
36
UNIT 3 TYPE I AND TYPE II ERRORS
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Definition and Concepts
3.2.1 Hypothesis Testing
3.2.2 The Core Logic of Hypothesis Testing
3.2.3 The Hypothesis – Testing Process
3.2.4 Implications of Rejecting or Failing to Reject the Null Hypothesis
3.2.5 One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Hypothesis Tests
3.2.6 Decision Errors
3.3 Type I Error

3.4 Type II Error
3.5 Relationship between Type I and Type II Errors
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Glossary
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Each and every discipline needs Statistics and thus is the importance of statistics.
One finds that statistics is of great importance to government organisations, non
government organisation, experts of all the fields and also to students. Statistics is
used for a wide variety of purposes. It is also true that all the time they are not
accurate and correct. Sometimes the results are known and sometimes unknown.
In the words of Statistics these are known as errors. To achieve accuracy in the
concerned field it is important to understand these concepts in detail. It is also
important to understand and discuss the related concepts which would be helpful to
understand type I and type II errors. In this unit we would be dealing with the
definition and concept of errors in statistics and focus on type I and type II errors
wich are essential to understand when we deal with statistics and make interpretation
of the results using statistics.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and differentiate between Type I and Type II errors;
z describe probability concept and the level of significance;
z define and differentiate between one tailed and two tailed tests;
z explain the significance of Normal probability curve;
z define the Cut off sample scores; and
37
z describe what is z-scores.
3.2 DEFINITION AND CONCEPTS
Before moving onwards we should know the related concepts of Type I and Type
II Errors. The concepts that need to be understood include the following:
1) Hypothesis testing
2) The hypothesis – testing process
3) Null Hypothesis
4) Population
5) Sample
6) Rejecting and accepting null hypothesis
7) One-tailed and two-tailed hypothesis
8) Decision errors
3.2.1 Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis testing has a vital role in psychological measurements. By hypothesis we
mean the tentative answer to any questions. Hypothesis testing is a systematic
procedure for deciding whether the results of a research study, which examines a
sample, support a particular theory or practical innovation, which applies to a
population. Hypothesis testing is the central theme in most psychology research.
Hypothesis testing involves grasping ideas that make little sense. Real life psychology
research involves samples of many individuals. At the same time there are studies
which involve a single individual.
3.2.2 The Core Logic of Hypothesis Testing

There is a standard kind of reasoning researchers use for any hypothesis/testing
problem. For this example, it works as follows. Ordinarily, among the population of
babies that are not given the specially purified vitamin, the chance of a baby’s starting
to walk at age 8 months or earlier would be less than 2% Thus, walking at 8 months
or earlier is highly unlikely among such babies. But what if the randomly selected
sample of one baby in our study does start walking by 8 months? If the specially
purified vitamin had no effect on this particular baby’s walking age (which means that
the baby’s walking age should be similar to that of babies that were not given the
vitamin), it is highly unlikely (less than a 2% chance) that the particular baby we
selected at random would start walking by 8 months. So, if the baby in our study
does in fact start walking by 8 months, that allows us to reject the idea that the
specially purified vitamin has no effect. And if we reject the idea that the specially
purified vitamin has no effect, then we must also accept the idea that the specially
purified vitamin does have an effect. Using the same reasoning, if the baby starts
walking by 8 months, we can reject the idea that this baby comes from a population
of babies with a mean walking age of 14 months. We therefore conclude that babies
given the specially purified vitamin will start to walk before 14 months. Our explanation
for the baby’s early walking age in the study is that the specially purified vitamin
speeded up the baby’s development.
The researchers first spelled out what would have to happen for them to conclude
that the special purification procedure makes a differences. Having laid this out in
38
advance the researchers could then go on to carry out their study. In this example,
carrying out the study means giving the specially purified vitamin to a randomly Type I and Type II Errors
selected baby and watching to see how early that baby walks. Suppose the result
of the study is that the baby starts walking before 8 months. The researchers would
then conclude that it is unlikely the specially purified vitamin makes no difference and
thus also conclude that it does make a difference.
This kind of testing the opposite-of-what-you-predict, roundabout reasoning is at the
heart of inferential statistics in psychology. It is something like a double negative. One
reason for this approach is that we have the information to figure the probability of
getting a particular experimental result if the situation of there being no difference is
true. In the purified vitamin example, the researchers know what the probabilities are
of babies walking at different ages if the specially purified vitamin does not have any
effect. It is the probability of babies walking at various ages that is already known
from studies of babies in general – that is, babies who have not received the specially
purified vitamin. (Suppose the specially purified vitamin has no effect. In that situation,
the age at which babies start walking is the same whether or not they receive the
specially purified vitamin.)
Without such a tortuous way of going at the problem, in most cases you could just
not do hypothesis testing at all. In almost all psychology research, we base our
conclusions on this question: What is the probability of getting our research results.
If the opposite of what we are predicting were true? That is, we are usually predicting
an effect of some kind. However, we decide on whether there is such an effect by
seeing if it is unlikely that there is not such an effect. If it is highly unlikely that we
would get our research results if the opposite of what we are predicting were true,
that allows us to reject that opposite prediction. If we reject that opposite prediction,
we are able to accept our prediction. However, if it is likely that we would get our
research results if the opposite of what we are predicting were true, we are not able
to reject that opposite prediction. If we are not able to reject that opposite prediction,
we are not able to accept our prediction.
3.2.3 The Hypothesis – Testing Process

Let’s look at example in this time going over each step in some detail. Along the way,
we cover the special terminology of hypothesis-testing. Most important, we introduce
five steps of hypothesis testing you use for the rest of the course.
Step 1: Restate the question as a research Hypothesis and Null Hypothesis about the
populations
Our researchers are interested in the effects on babies in general (not just this
particular baby). That is, the purpose of studying samples is to know about populations
thus, it is useful to restate the research question in terms of populations.
In our example, we can think of two populations of babies.
Population 1: Babies who take the specially purified vitamin.
Population 2: Babies who do not take the specially purified vitamin
Population 1 comprises those babies who receive the experimental treatment. In our
example, we use a sample of one baby to draw a conclusion about the age that
babies in Population 1 start to walk. Population 2 is a kind of comparison baseline
of what is already known.
The prediction of our research team is that Population 1 babies (those who take the
39
Introduction to Statistics specially purified vitamin) will on the average walk earlier than population 2 babies
(those who do not take the specially purified vitamin) μ 1< μ 2
The opposite of the research hypothesis is that the populations are not different in
the way predicted. Under this scenario, population 1 babies (those who take the
specially purified vitamin) will on the average not walk earlier than Population 2
babies (those who do not take the specially purified vitamin). That is, this prediction
is that there is no difference in when population 1 and Population 2 babies start
walking. They start at the same time. A statement like this, about a lack of difference
between populations, is the crucial opposite of the research hypothesis. It is called
a null hypothesis. It has this name because it states the situation in which there is no
difference (the difference is “null”) between the between the populations. In symbols,
the null hypothesis is μ 1 < μ2 .
1
The research hypothesis and the null hypothesis are complete opposites: if one is
true, the other cannot be. In fact, the research hypothesis is sometimes called the
alternative hypothesis – that is, it is the alternative to the null hypothesis. This is a bit
ironic. As researchers, we care most about the research hypothesis. But when doing
the steps of hypothesis so that we can decide about its alternative (the research
hypothesis).
Step 2: Determine the Characteristics of the comparison Distribution
Recall that the overall logic of hypothesis testing involves figuring out the probability
of getting a particular result if the null hypothesis is true. Thus, you need to know
what the situation would be if the null hypothesis were true. Population 2 we know
μ = 14, σ = 3, and it is normally distributed. If the null hypothesis is true,
Population 1 and Population 2 are the same – in our example, this would mean
Populations 1 and 2 both follow a normal curve, μ = 14, σ = 3 .
In the hypothesis-testing process, you want to find out the probability that you could
have gotten a sample score as extreme as what you got (say, a baby walking very
early) if your sample were from a population with a distribution of the sort you would
have if the null hypothesis were true. Thus, in this book we call this distribution a
comparison distribution. (The comparison distribution is sometimes called a statistical
model or a sampling distribution – an idea we discuss in Chapter 5.) That is, in the
hypothesis-testing process, you compare the actual sample’s score to this comparison
distribution.
In our vitamin example, the null hypothesis is that there is no difference in walking
age between babies that take the specially purified vitamin (Population 1) and babies
that do not take the specially purified vitamin (Population 2). The comparison
distribution is the distribution for Population 2, since this population represents the
walking age of babies if the null hypothesis is true. In later chapters, you will learn
about different types of comparison distributions, but the same principle applies in all
cases: The comparison distribution is the distribution that represents the population
situation if the null hypothesis is true.
Step 3-Determine the Cutoff Sample Score on the comparison Distribution at Which
the null hypothesis sould be rejected.
Ideally, before conducting a study, researchers set a target against which they will
compare their result – how extreme a sample score they would need to decide
40 against the null hypothesis: that is, how extreme the sample score would have to be
for it to be too unlikely that they could get such an extreme score if the null hypothesis Type I and Type II Errors
were true. This is called the cutoff sample score. (The cutoff sample score is also
known as the critical value.)
Step 4: Determine your sample’s Score on the Comparison Distribution
The next step is to carry out the study and get the actual result for your sample. Once
you have the results for your sample, you figure the Z score for the sample’s raw
score based on the population mean and standard deviation of the comparison
distribution.
Assume that the researchers did the study and the baby who was given the specially
purified vitamin started walking at 6 months. The mean of the comparison distribution
to which we are comparing these results is 14 months and the standard deviation is
3 months. That is μ = 14, σ = 3 . Thus, a baby who walks at 6 months is 8
2
months below the population mean. This puts this baby 2 standard deviations
3
below the population mean. The Z score for this sample baby on the comparison
distribution is thus – 2.67 (Z = [6 - 14]/3=-2.67).
Step 5: Decide Whether to reject the null hypothesis
To decide whether to reject the null hypothesis, you compare your actual sample’s
Z score (from Step 4) to the cutoff Z score (from Step 3). In our example, the actual
result was – 2.67. Let’s suppose the researchers had decided in advance that they
would reject the null hypothesis if the sample’s Z score was below – 2. Since – 2.67
is below – 2, the researchers would reject he null hypothesis.
Or, suppose the researchers had used the more conservative 1% significance level.
The needed Z score to reject the null hypothesis would then have been – 2.33 or
lower. But, again, the actual Z for the randomly selected baby was – 2.67 (a more
extreme score than – 2.33). Thus, even with this more conservative cutoff, they
would still reject the null hypothesis.
3.2.4 Implications of Rejecting or Failing to Reject the Null

Hypothesis
It is important to emphasise two points about the conclusions you can make from
the hypothesis-testing process. First, suppose you reject the null hypothesis. Therefore,
your result supports the research hypothesis (as in our example). You would still not
say that the results prove the research hypothesis or that the results show that the
research hypothesis is true. This would be too strong because the results of research
studies are based on probabilities. Specifically, they are based on the probability
being low of getting your result if the null hypothesis were true. Proven and true are
okay in logic and mathematics, but to use these worlds in conclusions from scientific
research is quite unprofessional. (It is okay to use true when speaking hypothetically)
– for example, “if this hypothesis were true, then…” – but not when speaking of
conclusions about an actual result.) what you do say when you reject the null
hypothesis is that the results are statistically significant.
Second, when a result is not extreme enough to reject the null hypothesis, you do
not say that the result supports the null hypothesis. You simply say the result is not
statistically significant.
A result that is not strong enough to reject the null hypothesis means the study was 41
Introduction to Statistics inconclusive. The results may not be extreme enough to reject the null hypothesis, but
the null hypothesis might still be false (and the research hypothesis true). Suppose in
our example that the specially purified vitamin had only a slight but still real effect.
In that case, we would not expect to find a baby given the purified vitamin to be
walking a lot earlier than babies in general. Thus, we would not be able to reject the
null hypothesis, even though it is false. (You will learn more about such situations in
the Decision Errors section later in this chapter).
Showing the null hypothesis to be true would mean showing that there is absolutely
no difference between the populations it is always possible that there is a difference
between the populations, but that the difference is much smaller than what the
particular study was able to detect. Therefore, when a result is not extreme enough
to reject the null hypothesis, the results are inconclusive. Sometimes, however, if
studies have been done using large samples and accurate measuring procedures,
evidence may build up in support of something close to the null hypothesis – that
there is at most very little difference between the populations.
3.2.5 One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Hypothesis Tests

In our examples so far, the researchers were interested in only one direction of result.
In our first example, researchers tested whether babies given the specially purified
vitamin would walk earlier than babies in general. In the happiness example, the
personality psychologists predicted the person who received $10 million would be
happier than other people. The researchers in these studies were not interested in the
possibility that giving the specially purified vitamin would cause babies to start walking
later or that people getting $10 million might become less happy.
Directional hypotheses and One-Tailed tests
The purified vitamin and happiness studies are examples of testing directional
hypotheses. Both studies focused on a specific direction of effect. When a researcher
makes a directional hypothesis, the null hypothesis is also, in a sense, directional.
Suppose the research hypothesis is that getting $10 million will make a person
happier. The null hypothesis, then, is that the money will either have no effect or
make the person less happy (in symbols, if the research hypothesis is μ > μ 2, then
the null hypothesis is μ1 ≤ μ2 ≤ is the symbol for less than or equal to.) thus to
reject the null hypothesis, the sample had to have a score in one particular tail of the
comparison distribution – the upper extreme or tail (in this example, the top 5%) of
the comparison distribution. (When it comes to rejecting the null hypothesis with a
directional hypothesis, a score at the other tail would be the same as a score in the
middle – that is, it would not allow you to reject the null hypothesis). For this reason,
the test of a directional hypothesis is called a one-tailed test. A one-tailed test can
be one-tailed in either direction. In the happiness study example, the tail for the
predicted effect was at the high end. In the baby study example, the tail for the
predicted effect was at the low end (that is, the prediction tested was that babies
given the specially purified vitamin would start walking unusually early).
Non-directional hypotheses and two-tailed tests
Sometimes, a research hypothesis states that an experimental procedure will have an
effect, without saying whether it will produce a very high score or a very low score.
Suppose an organisational psychologist is interested in how a new social skills program
will affect productivity. The program could improve productivity by making the working
42 environment more pleasant. Or, the program could hurt productivity by encouraging
people to socialise instead of work. The research hypothesis is that the social skills Type I and Type II Errors
program changes the level of productivity; the null hypothesis is that the program
does not change productivity one way or the other. In symbols, the research hypothesis
is ì 1 ≠ ì2 the null hypothesis is ì 1= ì2
When a research hypothesis predicts an effect but does not predict a particular
direction for the effect, it is called a non-directional hypothesis. To test the significance
of a non-directional hypothesis, you have to take into account the possibility chance
of non-directional hypothesis, you have to take into account the possibility that the
sample could be extreme at either tail of the comparison distribution. Thus this is
called a two-tailed test.
3.2.6 Decision Errors

Another crucial topic for making sense of statistical significance is the kind of errors
that are possible in the hypothesis-testing process. The kind of errors we consider
here are about how, in spite of doing all your figuring correctly, your consider here
are about how, in spite of doing all your figuring correctly, your conclusions from
hypothesis-testing can still be incorrect. It is not about making mistakes in calculations
or even about using the wrong procedures. That is, mistakes in calculations or even
about using the wrong procedures. That is, decision errors are situations in which the
right procedures lead to the wrong decisions.
Decision errors are possible in hypothesis testing because you are making decisions
about populations based on information in samples. The whole hypothesis testing
process is based on probabilities. The hypothesis-testing process is set up to make
the probability of decision errors as small as possible. For example, we only decide
to reject the null hypothesis if a sample’s mean is so extreme that there is a very small
probability (say, less than 5%) that we could have gotten such an extreme sample
if the null hypothesis is true. But a very small probability is not the same as a zero
probability! Thus, in spite of your best intentions, decision errors are always II
errors.
3.3 TYPE I ERROR

You make a Type I error if you reject the null hypothesis when in fact the null
hypothesis is true. Or, to put it in terms of the research hypothesis, you make a Type
I error when you conclude that the study supports the research hypothesis when in
reality the research hypothesis is false.
Suppose you carried out a study in which you had set the significance level cut off
at a very lenient probability level, such as 20%. This would mean that it would not
take a very extreme result to reject the null hypothesis. If you did many studies like
this, you would often (about 20% of the time) be deciding to consider the research
hypothesis supported when you should not. That is, you would have a 20% chance
of making a Type I error.
Even when you set the probability at the conventional .05 or .01 levels, you will still
make a Type I error sometimes (5% or 1% of the time). Consider again the example
of giving the new therapy to a depressed patient. Suppose the new therapy is not
more effective than the usual therapy. However, in randomly picking a sample of one
depressed patient to study, the clinical psychologists might just happen to pick a
patient whose depression would respond equally well to the new therapy and the
usual therapy. Randomly selecting a sample patient like this is unlikely, but such
extreme samples are possible, and should this happen, the clinical psychologists 43
Introduction to Statistics would reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the new therapy is different than
the usual therapy. Their decision to reject the null hypothesis would be wrong – a
Type I error. Of course, the researchers could not know they had made a decision
error of this kind. What reassures researchers is that they know from the logic of
hypothesis testing that the probability of making such a decision error is kept low
(less than 5% if you use the .05 significance level).
Still, the fact that Type I errors can happen at all is of serious concern to psychologists,
who might construct entire theories and research programs, not to mention practical
applications, based on a conclusion from hypothesis testing that is in fact mistaken.
It is because these errors are of such serious concern that they are called Type I.
As we have noted, researchers cannot tell when they have made a Type I error.
However, they can try to carry out studies so that the chance of making a Type I
error is as small as possible.
What is the chance of making a Type I error? It is the same as the significance level
you set. If you set the significance level at p < .05, you are saying you will reject
the null hypothesis if there is less than a 5% (.05) chance that you could have gotten
your result if the null hypothesis were true. When rejecting the null hypothesis in this
way, you are allowing up to a 5% chance that you got your results even though the
null hypothesis was actually true. That is, you are allowing a 5% chance of a Type
I error.
The significance level, which is the chance of making a Type I error, is called alpha
(the Greek letter Ü). The lower the alpha, the smaller the chance of a Type I error.
Researchers who do not want to take a lot of risk set alpha lower than .05 such a
p<.001 in this way the result of a study has to be very extreme in order for the
hypothesis testing process to reject the null hypothesis.
Using a .001 significance level is like buying insurance against making a Type I error.
However, when buying insurance, the better the protection, the higher the cost. There
is a cost in setting the significance level at too extreme a level. We turn to that cost
next.
3.4 TYPE II ERROR

If you set a very stringent significance level, such as .001, you run a different kind
of risk. With a very stringent significance level, you may carry out a study in which
in reality the research hypothesis is true, but the result does not come out extreme
enough to reject the null hypothesis. Thus, the decision error you would make is in
not rejecting the null hypothesis when in reality the null hypothesis is false to put this
in terms of the research hypothesis, you make this kind of decision error when the
hypothesis-testing procedure leads you to decide that the results of the study are
inconclusive when in reality the research hypothesis is true. This is called a Type II
error. The probability of making a Type II error is called beta (the Greek letter β).
3.5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TYPE I AND TYPE

II ERRORS
When it comes to setting significance levels, protecting against one kind of decision
error increases the chance of making the other. The insurance policy against Type I
error (setting a significance level of, say, .001) has the cost of increasing the chance
44
of making a Type II error. (This is because with a stringent significance level like
.001, even if the research hypothesis is true, the results have to be quite strong to Type I and Type II Errors
be extreme enough to reject the null hypothesis.) The insurance policy against Type
II error (setting a significance level of say .20) has the cost of increasing the chance
of making a Type I error. (This is because with a level of significance like .20, even
if the null hypothesis is true, it is fairly easy to get a significant result just by accidentally
getting a sample that is higher or lower than the general population before doing the
study.)
3.6 LET US SUM UP

Hypothesis testing considers the probability that the result of a study could have
come about even if the experimental procedure had no effect. If this probability is
low, the scenario of no effect is rejected and the theory behind the experimental
procedure is supported.
The expectation of an effect is the research hypothesis, and the hypothetical situation
of no effect is the null hypothesis.
When a result (that is, a sample score) is so extreme that the result would be very
unlikely if the null hypothesis were true, the null hypothesis is reject and the research
hypothesis supported. If the result is not that extreme, the null hypothesis is not
rejected and the study is inconclusive.
Psychologists usually consider a result too extreme if it is less likely than 5% (that
is, a significance level of .05) to have come about, if the null hypothesis were true.
Psychologists sometimes use a more stringent 1% (.01 significance level), or even
.01% (.001) significance level), cutoff.
The cutoff percentage is the probability of the result being extreme in a predicted
direction in a directional or one-tailed test. The cutoff percentages are the probability
of the result being extreme in either direction in a non-directional or two-tailed test.
There are two kinds of decision errors one can make in hypothesis testing. A Type
I error is when a researcher rejects the null hypothesis, but the null hypothesis is
actually true. A Type II error is when a researcher does not reject the null hypothesis,
but the null hypothesis is actually false.
There has been much controversy about significance tests, including critiques of the
basic logic and, especially, that they are often misused. One major way significance
tests are misused is when researchers interpret not rejecting the null hypothesis as
demonstrating that the null hypothesis is true.
Research articles typically report the results of hypothesis testing by saying a result
was or was not significant and giving the probability level cutoff (usually 5% or 1%)
the decision was based on. Research articles rarely mention decision errors.

1) Fill in the blanks with appropriate terms:
i) The research hypothesis and_____________are completely opposite.
ii) Cutoff sample score are also known as________________
iii) In Type I Error we __________ hypothesis when it is true.
iv) The hypothesis in which we Accept Null hypothesis is called___________ 45
Introduction to Statistics 2) Mark (T) for True statement and (F) for False Statement:
i) The probability of making Type II error is called. ( )
ii) The significance level, which is chance of making Type II Error,
is called. ( )
iii) The significance level, which is chance of making Type I error
is called. ( )
iv) One directional hypothesis is termed as two tailed test. ( )
v) A hypothesis which predicts an effect but does not predict
a particular direction for the effect is called non-directional
hypothesis. ( )
vi) One tailed test has either direction only. ( )
3) Give brief answers of the following questions:
i) What is Comparison distribution?
ii) What is research hypothesis?
iii) What is directional hypothesis?
iv) What is Type I error?
v) What do you mean by two tailed test?
vi) Describe briefly the relationship between Type I & Type II errors.
3.8 GLOSSARY
Hypothesis : Tentative statement which can be tested.
Research hypothesis : Statement about the predicted relation between
populations.
Null hypothesis : A Statement opposite to the research
hypothesis.
Alternate hypothesis : A statement which is opposite to the null
hypothesis
Level of Significance : Probability of getting statistical significance of
null hypothesis is accurately true.
Comparison distributions : Distribution used in hypothesis testing.
One tailed test : Hypothesis testing procedure for a directional
hypothesis
Two tailed test : Hypothesis testing procedure for a non-
directional hypothesis
Sample : Scores of particular group of people studied.
Type I Error : When we reject a null hypothesis when it is
true
46
Type II : When we accept a null hypothesis when it is Type I and Type II Errors
false
α(alpha) : Probability of making type – I Error
β (Beta) : Sampling distribution Probability of making type
I Error
Normal curve : Bell shaped frequency distribution that is
Symmetrical and unimodel.

Applications).
Gupta, S.C. (1990) Fundamentals of Statistics
Sidney Siegel, & N. John Castetellan, Jr. Non-parametric Statistics for the
Behavioural Science. McGraw Hill Books company
Y.P. Aggarwal. Statistical Methods Concepts, Application & Computation Sterling
homosedasity publishers Pvt. Ltd.
47
UNIT 4 SETTING UP THE LEVELS OF
SIGNIFICANCE
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Hypothesis Testing
4.3 Null Hypothesis
4.4 Errors in Hypothesis Testing
4.4.1 Basic Experimental Situations in Hypothesis Testing
4.5 Confidence Limits
4.5.1 Meaning and Concept of Level of Significance
4.5.2 Application and Interpretation of Standard Error of the Mean in Small Samples
4.5.3 The Standard Error of a Median, σ Mdn
4.6 Setting up Level of Confidence or Significance

4.6.1 Size of the Sample
4.6.2 Two-tailed and One-tailed Tests of Significance
4.6.3 One Tailed Test
4.7 Steps in Setting up the Level of Significance
4.7.1 Formulating Hypothesis and Stating Conclusions
4.7.2 Types of Errors for a Hypothesis Testing
4.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.10 Glossary
4.0 INTRODUCTION
In behavioural sciences nothing is absolute. Therefore, while obtaining the findings
through statistical analyses, behavioural scientists usually ignore the error to the
maximum of 5%. In statistics, a result is called statistically significant if it is unlikely
to have occurred by chance. The phrase, “test of significance” was coined by Ronald
Fisher. As used in statistics, significance does not mean importance or meaning fitness
as it does in everyday speech. In this unit we will be dealing with the definition and
concept of level of significance and how the level of significance is decided. Since
level of significance is related to hypothesis testing we will be dealing with null
hypothesis and alternative hypothesis and how these are to be tested in different
types of experiments. While dealing with hypothesis testing we will also be dealing
with experimental designs , errors in hypothesis testing etc. We will also learn what
is meant by confidence limits and how these are established.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
z define and put forward the concept of null hypothesis;
48
z describe the process of hypothesis testing; Setting Up the Levels of
Significance
z explain the confidence limits;
z elucidate the errors in hypothesis testing and its relationship to levels of significance;
z explain level of significance;
z describe the setting up of level of significance; and
z analyse the experimental designs in relation to levels of significance.
4.2 HYPOTHESIS TESTING

Many a time, we strongly believe some results to be true. But after taking a sample,
we notice that one sample data does not wholly support the result. The difference
is due to
i) the original belief being wrong, or
ii) the sample being slightly one sided.
Tests are, therefore, needed to distinguish between two possibilities. These tests tell
about the likely possibilities and reveal whether or not the difference can be due to
only chance elements. If the difference is not due to chance elements, it is significant
and, therefore, these tests are called tests of significance. The whole procedure is
known as Testing of Hypothesis.
Setting up and testing hypotheses are essential part of statistical inference. In order
to formulate such a test, usually some theory is put forward, either because it is
believed to be true or because it is to be used as a basis for argument, but has not
been proved. For example, the hypothesis may be the claim that a new drug is better
than the current drug for treatment of a disease, diagnosed through a set of symptoms.
In each problem considered, the question of interest is simplified into two competing
claims that is the hypotheses between which we have a choice; the null hypothesis,
denoted by Ho, against the alternative hypothesis, denoted by H1. These two
competing claims or hypotheses are not however treated on an equal basis. Special
consideration is given to the null hypothesis which states that there is no difference
between the two drugs. Null hypothesis is also called as “No Difference” hypothesis.
We have two common situations: Let us say we have formulated the null hypothesis
stating that “There will be no difference between the two drugs in regard to treating
a disorder” We carry out an experiment to prove that the null hypothesis is true or
reject that null hypothesis as the experimental results show that there is a difference
in the treatment by the two drugs. Thus we have two situations as given below:
i) The experiment has been carried out in an attempt to prove or reject a particular
hypothesis, the null hypothesis. We give priority to the null hypothesis and say
that we will reject it only if the evidence against it is sufficiently strong.
ii) If one of the two hypotheses is ‘simpler’, we give it priority so that a more
‘complicated’ theory is not adopted unless there is sufficient evidence against
the simpler one. For example, it is ‘simpler’ to claim that there is no difference
in the treatment between the two drugs than to state the alternate hypothesis that
drug A will be better than dug B, that is stating that there is a difference.
The hypotheses are often statements about population parameters like expected
value and variance. Take for example another null hypothesis, H0, the statement that 49
Introduction to Statistics the expected value of the height of ten year old boys in the Indian population is not
different from that of ten year old girls.
A hypothesis can also be a statement about the distributional form of a characteristic
of interest. For instance, the statement that the height of ten year old boys is
normally distributed within the Indian population. This is a hypothesis in statement
form regarding the distribution of 10 year old boys height in the population.
4.3 NULL HYPOTHESIS

The null hypothesis, H0, represents a theory that has been put forward, either because
it is believed to be true or because it is to be used as a basis for argument, but has
not been proved. For example, in respect of a clinical trial of a new drug, the null
hypothesis might be that the new drug is no better, on average, than the current drug.
We would write H0: there is no difference between the two drugs on average.
We give special consideration to the null hypothesis. This is due to the fact that the
null hypothesis relates to the statement being tested, whereas the alternative hypothesis
relates to the statement to be accepted if when the null hypothesis is rejected.
The alternative hypothesis, H1, is a statement of what a statistical hypothesis test is
set up to establish. For example, in a clinical trial of a new drug, the alternative
hypothesis might be that the new drug has a different effect, on average, compared
to that of the current drug.
We would write H1: the two drugs have different effects, on average.
The alternative hypothesis might also be that the new drug is better, on average, than
the current drug. In this case, we would write H1: the new drug is better than the
current drug, on average.
The final conclusion once the test has been carried out is always given in terms of
the null hypothesis. We either ‘reject H0 in favour of H1’ or ‘do not reject Ho’; we
never conclude ‘reject H1’, or even ‘accept H1’.
If we conclude ‘do not reject H0’, this does not necessarily mean that the null
hypothesis is true, It only suggests that there is not sufficient evidence against H0 in
favour of H1 that we reject the null hypothesis. It only suggests that the alternative
hypothesis may be true.
Thus one may state that Hypothesis testing is a form of statistical inference that uses
data from a sample to draw conclusions about a population parameter or a population
probability distribution.
First, a tentative assumption is made about the parameter or distribution. This
assumption is called the null hypothesis and is denoted by H0. An alternative hypothesis
(denoted by H1), which is the opposite of what is stated in the null hypothesis, is then
defined. The hypothesis-testing procedure involves using sample data to determine
whether or not H0 can be rejected. If H0 is rejected, the statistical conclusion is that
the alternative hypothesis H1 is true.
A hypothesis is a statement supposed to be true till it is proved false. It may be based
on previous experience or may be derived theoretically. First a statistician or the
investigator forms a research hypothesis that an exception is to be tested. Then she/
he derives a statement which is opposite to the research hypothesis (noting as H0).
The approach here is to set up an assumption that there is no contradiction between
50
the believed result and the sample result and that the difference, therefore, can be Setting Up the Levels of
Significance
ascribed solely to chance. Such a hypothesis is called a null hypothesis (H0). It is the
null hypothesis that is actually tested, not the research hypothesis. The object of the
test is to see whether the null hypothesis should be rejected or accepted.
If the null hypothesis is rejected, that is taken as evidence in favour of the research
hypothesis which is called as the alternative hypothesis (denoted by H1). In usual
practice we do not say that the research hypothesis has been “proved” only that it
has been supported.
For example, assume that a radio station selects the music it plays based on the
assumption that the average age of its listening audience is 30 years. To determine
whether this assumption is valid, a hypothesis test could be conducted with the null
hypothesis as H0: = 30 and the alternative hypothesis as H1: 30. Based on a sample
of individuals from the listening audience, the sample mean age, can be computed
and used to determine whether there is sufficient statistical evidence to reject H0.
Conceptually, a value of the sample mean that is “close” to 30 is consistent with the
null hypothesis, while a value of the sample mean that is “not close” to 30 provides
support for the alternative hypothesis.
Fill in blanks with appropriate terms.
1) Generally the .05 and the _______________ levels of significance are mostly
used.
2) Standard Error of mean is calculated by the formula __________________.
3) In case of two-tailed test (+1.96) with fall on ____________________ of the
normal curve.
4) In case of .05 level of significance amount of confidence will be ___________.
4.4 ERRORS IN HYPOTHESIS TESTING

Ideally, the hypothesis-testing procedure leads to the acceptance of H0 when H0 is
true and the rejection of H0 when H0 is false. Unfortunately, since hypothesis tests
are based on sample information, the possibility of errors must be considered. A
Type-I error corresponds to rejecting H0 when H0 is actually true, and a Type-II
error corresponds to accepting H0 when H0 is false.
In testing any hypothesis, we get only two results: either we accept or we reject it.
We do not know whether it is true or false. Hence four possibilities may arise.
i) The hypothesis is true but test rejects it (Type-I error).
ii) The hypothesis is false but test accepts it (Type-II error).
iii) The hypothesis is true and test accepts it (correct decision).
iv) The hypothesis is false and test rejects it (correct decision)
Type-I Error
In a hypothesis test, a Type-I error occurs when the null hypothesis is rejected when
it is in fact true. That is, H0 is wrongly rejected. For example, in a clinical trial of
a new drug, the null hypothesis might be that the new drug is no better, on average,
51
Introduction to Statistics than the current drug. That is, there is no difference between the two drugs on
average. A Type-I error would occur if we concluded that the two drugs produced
different effects when in fact there was no difference between them.
A Type-I error is often considered to be more serious, and therefore more important
to avoid, than a Type-TI error.
The hypothesis test procedure is therefore adjusted so that there is a guaranteed
‘low’ probability of rejecting the null hypothesis wrongly;
This probability is never 0. This probability of a Type-I error can be precisely
computed as, P (Type-I error) significance level =
The exact probability of a Type-I error is generally unknown.
If we do not reject the null hypothesis, it may still be false (a Type-I error) as the
sample may not be big enough to identify the falseness of the null hypothesis (especially
if the truth is very close to hypothesis).
For any given set of data, Type-I and Type-Il errors are inversely related; the smaller
the risk of one, the higher the risk of the other.
A Type-I error can also be referred to as an error of the first kind.
Type-II Error
In a hypothesis test, a Type-II error occurs when the null hypothesis, Ho, is not
rejected when it is in fact false. For example, in a clinical trial of a new drug, the null
hypothesis might be that the new drug is no better, on average, than the current drug;
that is Ho: there is no difference between the two drugs on average.
A Type-II error would occur if it was concluded that the two drugs produced the
same effect, that is, there is no difference between the two drugs on average, when
in fact they produced different effects.
A Type-II error is frequently due to sample sizes being too small.
The probability of a Type-II error is symbolised by â and written:
P (Type-II error) = â (but is generally unknown).
A Type-II error can also be referred to as an error of the second kind.
Hypothesis testing refers to the process of using statistical analysis to determine if the
observed differences between two or more samples are due to random chance
factor (as stated in the null hypothesis) or is it due to true differences in the samples
(as stated in the alternate hypothesis).
A null hypothesis (H0) is a stated assumption that there is no difference in parameters
(mean, variance) for two or more populations. The alternate hypothesis (H1) is a
statement that the observed difference or relationship between two populations is
real and not the result of chance or an error in sampling.
Hypothesis testing is the process of using a variety of statistical tools to analyse data
and, ultimately, to fail to reject or reject the null hypothesis. From a practical point
of view, finding statistical evidence that the null hypothesis is false allows you to reject
the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis.
Because of the difficulty involved in observing every individual in a population for
52
research purposes, researchers normally collect data from a sample and then use the Setting Up the Levels of
Significance
sample data to help answer questions about the population.
A hypothesis test is a statistical method that uses sample data to evaluate a hypothesis
about a population parameter.
The hypothesis testing is standard and it follows a specific order as given below.
i) first state a hypothesis about a population (a population parameter, e.g. mean
ii) obtain a random sample from the population and also find its mean , and
iii) compare the sample data with the hypothesis on the scale (standard z or normal
distribution).
1) What is Type I error? Give suitable examples.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) What is Type II error? Give example.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
3) What is hypothesis testing? What are the steps for the same?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4) What is Null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4.4.1 Basic Experimental Situations for Hypothesis Testing

i) It is assumed that the mean, t, is known before treatment. The purpose of the
experiment is to determine whether or not the treatment has an effect on the
population mean, e.g. a researcher will like to find out whether increased
stimulation of infants has an effect on their weight. It is known from national
statistics that the mean weight, t, of 2-year old children is 13 kg. The distribution
is normal with the standard deviation, á =2 kg.
ii) To test the truth of the claim a researcher may take 16 new born infants and
give their parents detailed instructions for giving these infants increased handling
and stimulations. At age 2, each of the 16 children will be weighed and the mean
weight for the sample will be computed.
iii) The researcher may conclude that the increased handling and stimulation had an
effect on the weight of the children if there is a substantial difference in the
weights from the population mean.
A hypothesis test is typically used in the context of a research study, i.e. a researcher
completes one round of a field investigation and then uses a hypothesis test to
53
Introduction to Statistics evaluate the results. Depending on the type of research and the type of data, the
details will differ from one research situation to another.
The probability of making a Type-I error is denoted by á, and the probability of
making a Type-II error is denoted by â.
In using the hypothesis-testing procedure to determine if the null hypothesis should
be rejected, the person conducting the hypothesis test specifies the maximum allowable
probability of making a Type-I error, called the level of significance for the test.
Common choices for the level of significance are á = 0.05 and á = 0.01. Although
most applications of hypothesis testing control the probability of making a Type I
error, they do not always control the probability of making a Type-Il error.
A concept known as the p-value provides a convenient basis for drawing conclusions
in hypothesis-testing applications. The p-value is a measure of how likely the sample
results are, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. The smaller the p-value, the
lesser likely are the sample results reliable. If the p-value is less than á, the null
hypothesis can be rejected, otherwise, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. The
p-value is often called the observed level of significance for the test.
A hypothesis test can be performed on parameters of one or more populations as
well as in a variety of other situations. In each instance, the process begins with the
formulation of null and alternative hypotheses about the population. In addition to the
population mean, hypothesis-testing procedures are available for population parameters
such as proportions, variances, standard deviations, and medians.
Hypothesis tests are also conducted in regression and correlation analysis to determine
if the regression relationship and the correlation coefficient are statistically significant.
A goodness-of-fit test refers to a hypothesis test in which the null hypothesis is that
the population has a specific probability distribution, such as a normal probability
distribution. Non-parametric statistical methods also involve a variety of hypothesis
testing procedures.
For example, if it is assumed that the mean of the weights of the population of a
college is 55 kg, then the null hypothesis will be: the mean of the population is 55
kg, i.e. Ho: = 55 kg (Null hypothesis). In terms of alternative hypothesis (i) H1: >
55 kg, (ii) H1: <55 kg.
Now fixing the limits totally depends upon the accuracy desired. Generally the limits
are fixed such that the probability that the difference will exceed the limits is 0.05 or
0.01. These levels are known as the ‘levels of significance’ and are expressed as 5%
or 1% levels of significance.
What does this actually mean? When we say the limits not to exceed .05 level, that
means what ever result we get we can say with 95% confidence that these are
genuine results and not because of any chance factor. If we say .01 level, then it
means that we can say with 99% confidence that the obtained results are genuine and
not due to any chance factor.
Rejection of null hypothesis does not mean that the hypothesis is disproved. It simply
means that the sample value does not support the hypothesis. Also, acceptance does
not mean that the hypothesis is proved. It means simply it is being supported.
54
Setting Up the Levels of
Self Assessment Questions Significance
1) What is a goodness of fit test?

......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) How do we fix the limits for significance in hyopothesis testing?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
3) What are the basis experimental situations for hypothesis testing?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4.5 CONFIDENCE LIMITS

The limits (or range) within which the hypothesis should lie with specified probabilities
are called the confidence limits or fiduciary limits. It is customary to take these limits
as 5% or 1% levels of significance. If sample value lies between the confidence limits,
the hypothesis is accepted; if it does not, the hypothesis is rejected at the specified
level of significance.
4.5.1 Meaning and Concept of Levels of Significance

Experimenters and researchers have selected some arbitrary standards—called levels
of significance to serve as the cut-off points or critical points along the probability
scale, so as to separate the significant difference from the non significant difference
between the two statistics, like means or SD’s.
Generally, the .05 and the .01 levels of significance are the most popular in social
sciences research. The confidence with which an experimenter rejects—or retains—
a null hypothesis depends upon the level of significance adopted. These may, hence,
sometime be termed as levels of confidence. Their meanings may be clear from the
following:
Meaning of Levels of Confidence
Level Amount of confidence Interpretation
.05 95% If the experiment is repeated a 100
times, only on five occasions the
obtained mean will fall outside the
limited µ ± 1.96 SE
.01 99% If the experiment is repeated a 100
times, only on one occasions the
obtained mean will fall outside the
limited µ ± 2.58 SE
The values 1.96 and 2.58 have been taken from the t tables keeping large samples
in view. The .01 level is more rigorous and higher a standard as compared to the
.05 level and would require a larger value of the critical ratio for the rejection of the
55
Introduction to Statistics Ho. Hence if an obtained value of t is significant at 01 level, it is automatically
significant at .05 level but the reverse is not always true.
4.5.2 Application and Interpretation of Standard Error of the

Mean (SEM) in Small Samples
The procedure of calculation and interpretation of Standard Error of Mean in small
samples differs from that for large samples, in two respects.
1) The denominator N-1 instead of N is used in the formula for calculation of the
SD of the sample.
2) The appropriate distribution to be used for small samples is t distribution instead
of normal distribution.
The rest of the line of reasoning used in determining and interpreting SE in small
samples is similar to that for the large samples.
4.5.3 The Standard Error of a Median, σ Mdn

It has been established that the variability of the sample medians is about 25 per cent
greater than the variability of means in a normally distributed population. Hence the
standard error of a median can be estimated by using the formulas:
1.253σ
SEMdn, óMdn =
N
1.253σ
ó Mdn =
N
(Standard Error of the Median in terms of ó and Q)
1) Describe confidence limits.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) Elucidate the concept of significance level.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
3) What is standard error of the mean? How is it useful in hypothesis testing?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4) What is standard error of median? How is it calculated ? What is its
significance?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
56
4.6 SETTING UP THE LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE OR Significance
SIGNIFICANCE
The experimenter has to take a decision about the level of confidence or significance
at which the hypothesis is going to be tested. At times the researcher may decide
to use 0:05 or 5% level of significance for rejecting a null hypothesis (when a
hypothesis is rejected at the 5% level it is said that the chances are 95 out of 100,
that the hypothesis is not true and only 5 chances out of 100 that it is true). At other
times, the researcher may prefer to make it more rigid and therefore, use the 0.01
or 1% level of significance. If a hypothesis is rejected at this level, the chances are
99 out of 100, that the hypothesis is not true and that only 1 chance out of 100 is
true. This level on which we reject the null hypothesis, is established before doing
the actual experiment (before collecting data). Later we have to adhere to it.
4.6.1 Size of the Sample

The sampling distribution of the differences between means may look like a normal
curve or t distribution curve depending upon the size of the samples drawn from the
population. The t distribution is a theoretical probability distribution. It is symmetrical,
bell-shaped, and similar to the standard normal curve. It differs from the standard
normal curve, however, in that it has an additional parameter, called degrees of
freedom, which changes its shape.
If the samples are large (N = 30 or greater than 30), then the distribution of
differences between means will be a normal one. If it is small (N is less than 30),
then the distribution will take the form of a I distribution and the shape of the t-curve
will vary with the number of degrees of freedom.
In this way, for large samples, statistics advocating normal distribution of the
characteristics in the given population will be employed, while for small samples, the
small sample statistics will be used.
Hence in the case of large samples possessing a normal distribution of the differences
of means, the value of standard error used to determine the significance of the
difference between means will be in terms of standard sigma (z) scores. On the other
hand, in the case of small samples possessing a t- distribution of differences between
means, we will make use of t values rather than z scores of the normal curve. From
the normal curve table we see that 95% and 99% cases lie at the distance of l.96
and 2.58 . Therefore, the sigma or z scores of 1.96 and 2.58 are taken as critical
values for rejecting a null hypothesis.
If a computed z value of the standard error of the differences between means
approaches or exceeds the values 1.96 and 2.58, then we may safely reject a null
hypothesis at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels.
To test the null hypothesis in the case of small sample means, we first compute the
t ratio in the same manner as z scores in case of large samples. Then we enter the
table of t distribution (Table C in the Appendix) with N1 + N2 — 2 degrees of
freedom and read the values of t given against the row of N1 + N2 — 2 degrees
of freedom and columns headed by 0.05 and 0.01 levels of significance. If our
computed t ratio approaches or exceeds the values of t read from the table, we will
reject the established null hypothesis at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels of significance,
respectively.
57
Introduction to Statistics 4.6.2 Two-Tailed and One-Tailed Tests of Significance
Two-tailed test. In making use of the two-tailed test for determining the significance
of the difference between two means, we should know whether or not such a
difference between two means really exists and how trustworthy and dependable this
difference is.
In all such cases, we merely try to find out if there is a significant difference between
two sample means; whether the first mean is larger or smaller than the second, is of
no concern. We do not care for the direction of such a difference, whether positive
or negative. All that we are interested in, is a difference.
Consequently, when an experimenter wishes to test the null hypothesis, Ho: M1 = 0,
against its possible rejection and finds that it is rejected, then the researcher may
conclude that a difference really exists between the two means, however no assertion
is made about the direction of the difference. Such a test is a non-directional test.
It is also named as two-tailed test, because it employs both sides, positive and
negative, of the distribution (normal or t distribution) in the estimation of probabilities.
Let us consider the probability at 5% significance level in a two-tailed test with the
help of figure given below:
Fig.: Two-tailed test at the 5% level
(Mean of the distribution of scores concerning the differences between sample means)
Two-tailed test at the 5% level.
Therefore, while using both the tails of the distribution we can say that area of the
normal curve falls to the right of 1.96 standard deviation units above the mean and
2.5% falls to the left of 1.96 standard deviation units below the mean.
The area outside these limits is 5% of the total area under the curve. In this way, for
testing the significance at the 5% level, we may reject a null hypothesis if the computed
error of the difference between means reaches or exceeds the yardstick 1.96.
Similarly, we may find that a value of 2.58 is required to test the significance at the
1% level in the case of a two-tailed test.
4.6.3 One-tailed Test

As we have seen, a two-tailed or a non-directional test is appropriate, if we are only
concerned with the absolute magnitude of the difference, that is, with the difference
regardless of sign.
58
However, in many experiments, our primary concern may be with the direction of the Setting Up the Levels of
Significance
difference rather than with its existence in absolute terms. For example, if we plan
an experiment to study the effect of coaching work on computational skill in
mathematics, we take two groups—the experimental group, which is provided an
extra one hour coaching work in mathematics, and the control group, which is not
provided with such a drill. Here, we have reason to believe that the experimental
group will score higher on the mathematical computation ability test which is given
at the end of the session.
In our experiment we are interested in finding out the gain in the acquisition of
mathematical computation skill (we are not interested in the loss, as it seldom happens
that coaching will decrease the level of computation skill).
In cases like these, we make use of the one-tailed or directional test, rather than the
two-tailed or non-directional test to test the significance of difference between means.
Consequently, the meaning of null hypothesis, restricted to an hypothesis of no
difference with two-tailed test, will be somewhat extended in a one-tailed test to
include the direction-positive or negative-of the difference between means.
1) How is size of sample important in setting up level of confidence?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) What is one tailed tests of significance? Explain with examples.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
3) What is a two tailed test? When is it useful? Give suitable examples.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4.7 STEPS IN SETTING UP THE LEVEL OF

SIGNIFICANCE
i) State the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis. (Note: The goal of
inferential statistics is to make general statements about the population by using
sample data. Therefore in testing hypothesis, we make our predictions about the
population parameters).
ii) Set the criteria for a decision.
iii) Level of significance or alpha level for the hypothesis test: This is represented
by µ which is the probability used to define the very unlikely sample outcomes,
if the null hypothesis is true.
In hypothesis testing, the set of potential samples is divided into those that are
likely to be obtained and those that are very unlikely if the hypothesis is true.
iv) Critical Region: This is the region which is composed of extreme sample values
that are very unlikely outcomes if the null hypothesis is true. The boundaries for
59
Introduction to Statistics the critical region are determined by the alpha level. If sample data fall in the
critical region, the null hypothesis is rejected. The cut off level that is set affects
the outcome of the research.
v) Collect data and compute sample statistics using the formula given below
x −μ
z= σx
where, x = sample mean,

μ = hypothesised population mean, and
óx = standard error between x and μ .
vi) Make a decision and write down the decision rule.
Z-Score is called a test statistics. The purpose of a test statistics is to determine
whether the result of a research study (the obtained difference) is more than what
would be expected by the chance alone.
Obtained difference
z=
Difference due to chance
Now suppose a manufacturer, produces some type of articles of good quality. A
purchaser by chance selects a sample randomly. It so happens that the sample
contains many defective articles and it leads the purchaser to reject the whole product.
Now, the manufacturer suffers a loss even though he has produced a good article
of quality. Therefore, this Type-I error is called “producers risk”.
On the other hand, if we accept the entire lot on the basis of a sample and the lot
is not really good, the consumers are put to loss. Therefore, this Type-Il error is
called the “consumers risk”.
In practical situations, still other aspects are considered while accepting or rejecting
a lot. The risks involved for both producer and consumer are compared. Then Type-
I andType-Il errors are fixed; and a decision is reached.
In summary, the following procedure is recommended for formulating hypotheses
and stating conclusions.
4.7.1 Formulating Hypothesis and Stating Conclusions

i) State the hypothesis as the alternative hypothesis H1.
ii) The null hypothesis, Ho, will be the opposite of H1 and will contain an equality
sign.
iii) If the sample evidence supports the alternative hypothesis, the null hypothesis
will be rejected and the probability of having made an incorrect decision (when
in fact Ho is true) is α, a quantity that can be manipulated to be as small as
the researcher wishes.
iv) If the sample does not provide sufficient evidence to support the alternative
hypothesis, then conclude that the null hypothesis cannot be rejected on the
basis of your sample. In this situation, you may wish to collect more information
60
about the phenomenon under study.
An example is given below: Setting Up the Levels of
Significance
Example
The logic used in hypothesis testing has often been likened to that used in the
courtroom in which a defendant is on trial for committing a crime.
i) Formulate appropriate null and alternative hypotheses for judging the guilt or
innocence of the defendant.
ii) Interpret the Type-I and Type-Il errors in this context.
iii) If you were the defendant, would you want á to be small or large? Explain.
Solution
i) Under a judicial system, a defendant is “innocent until proven guilty”. That is,
the burden of proof is not on the defendant to prove his or her innocence;
rather, the court must collect sufficient evidence to support the claim that the
defendant is guilty. Thus, the null and alternative hypotheses would be
H0 : Defendant is innocent
H1: Defendant is guilty
ii) The four possible outcomes are shown in the table below. A Type-I error
would be to conclude that the defendant is guilty, when in fact he or she is
innocent; a Type-II error would be to conclude that the defendant is innocent,
when in fact he or she is guilty.
Table : Conclusions and Consequences
Decision of Court
Defendant is Defendant is
Innocent Guilty
True State of Defendant if Correct decision Type-II error
Nature Innocent Type-I error Correct decision
Defendant is
Guilty
iii) Most people would probably agree that the Type-I error in this situation is by
far the more serious. Thus, we would want α, the probability of committing a
Type-I error, to be very small indeed.
A convention that is generally observed when formulating the null and alternative
hypotheses of any statistical test is to state Ho so that the possible error of incorrectly
rejecting Ho (Type-I error) is considered more serious than the possible error of
incorrectly failing to reject Ho (Type-II error).
In many cases, the decision as to which type of error is more serious is admittedly
not as clear-cut though experience will help to minimize this potential difficulty.
4.7.2 Types of Errors for a Hypothesis Test

The goal of any hypothesis testing is to make a decision. In particular, we will decide
whether to reject the null hypothesis, Ho, in favour of the alternative hypothesis, H1.
Although we would like always to be able to make a correct decision, we must
remember that the decision will be based on sample information, and thus we are
subject to make one of two types of error, as defined in table below.
The null hypothesis can be either true or false. Further, we will make a conclusion 61
Introduction to Statistics either to reject or not to reject the null hypothesis. Thus, there are four possible
situations that may arise in testing a hypothesis as shown in table .
Table: Conclusions and Consequences for Testing a Hypothesis
Decision of Court
Defendant is Defendant is
Innocent Guilty
True “State of Null Hypothesis Correct Type-I error
Nature” Conclusion
Alternative Type-II error Correct
Hypothesis Conclusion
The kind of error that can be made depends on the actual state of affairs (which,
of course, is unknown to the investigator). Note that we risk a Type-I error only if
the null hypothesis is rejected, and we risk a Type-II error only if the null hypothesis
is not rejected.
Thus, we may make no error, or we may make either a Type-I error (with probability
a), or a Type-II error (with probability 3), but not both. We don’t know which type
of error corresponds to actuality and so would like to keep the probabilities of both
types of errors small.
Remember that as α increases, β decreases, similarly, as β increases, α decreases.
The only way to reduce α and β simultaneously is to increase the amount of
information available in the sample, i.e. to increase the sample size.
You may note that we have carefully avoided stating a decision in terms of “accept
the null hypothesis H0”. Instead, if the sample does not provide enough evidence to
support the alternative hypothesis H1 we prefer a decision “not to reject H0”.
This is because, if we were to “accept H0”, the reliability of the conclusion would
be measured by α, the probability of Type-II error. However, the value of β is not
constant, but depends on the specific alternative value of the parameter and is
difficult to compute in most testing situations.

1) Elucidate the steps in setting up the level of significance.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) How do you formulate hypothesis and state the conclusions?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
3) Explain the concept if α increases β decreases. If β increases α decreases.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4) Why β is more important than β? Explain.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
62
4.8 LET US SUM UP Significance
In this unit, we pointed out how drawing conclusions about a population on the basis
of sample information is called statistical inference. Here we have basically two things
to do: statistical estimation and hypothesis testing.
An estimate of an unknown parameter could be either a point or an interval. Sample
mean is usually taken as a point estimate of population mean. On the other hand, in
interval estimation we construct two limits (upper and lower) around the sample
mean. We can say with stipulated level of confidence that the population mean, which
we do not know; is likely to remain within the confidence interval.
We learnt about confidence interval and how to set the same. In order to construct
confidence interval we need to know the population variance or its estimate. When
we know population variance, we apply normal distribution to construct the confidence
interval. In cases where population variance is not known, we use t distribution for
the above purpose.
Remember that when sample size is large (n>30) t-distribution approximates normal
distribution. Thus for large samples, even if population variance is not known, we can
use normal distribution for estimation of confidence interval on the basis of sample
mean and sample variance.
Subsequently we discussed the methods of testing a hypothesis and drawing
conclusions about the population. Hypothesis is a simple statement (assertion or
claim) about the va1ue assumed by the parameter. We test a hypothesis on the basis
of sample information available to us. In this Unit we considered two situations: i)
description of a single sample, and ii) comparison between two samples.
In the case of qualitative data we pointed out how we cannot have parametric values
and hypothesis testing on the basis of z statistic or t-statistic cannot be performed.

1) What do you mean by a null hypothesis?
2) What is significance of size of sample is hypothesis testing?
3) Write down two levels of significance which are mainly used in hypothesis
testing?
4) Write down a short note on level of significance.
4.10 GLOSSARY
Contingency Table : A two-way table to present bivariate data. It is
called contingency table because we try to find
whether one variable is contingent upon the other
variable.
Degrees of Freedom : It refers to the number of pieces of independent
information that are required to compute some
characteristic of a given set of observations.
Estimation : It is the method of prediction about parameter
values on the basis of sample statistics.
63
Introduction to Statistics Expected Frequency : It is the expected cell frequency under the
assumption that both the variables are
independent.
Nominal Variable : Such a variable takes qualitative values and do
not have any ordering relationships among them.
For example, gender is a nominal variable taking
only the qualitative values, male and female;
there is no ordering in ‘male’ and ‘female’ status.
A nominal variable is also called an attribute.
Parameter : It is a measure of some characteristic of the
population.
Population : It is the entire collection of units of a specified
type in a given place and at a particular point
of time.
Random Sampling : It is a procedure where every member of the
population has a definite chance or probability
of being selected in the sample. It is also called
probability sampling. Random sampling could
be of many types: simple random sampling,
systematic random sampling and stratified
random sampling.
Sample : It is a sub-set of the population. It can be drawn
from the population in a scientific manner by
applying the rules of probability so that personal
bias is eliminated. Many samples can be drawn
from a population and there are many methods
of drawing a sample.
Sampling Distribution : It is the relative frequency or probability
distribution of the values of a statistic when the
number of samples tends to infinity.
Sampling Error : In the sampling method, we try to approximate
some feature of a given population from a
sample drawn from it. Now, since in the sample
all the members of the population are not
included, howsoever close the approximation
is, it is not identical to the required population
feature and some error is committed. This error
is called the sampling error.
Significance Level : There may be certain samples where population
mean would not remain within the confidence
interval around sample mean. The percentage
(probability) of such cases is called significance
level. It is usually denoted by.
64
4.11 SUGGESTED READINGS Significance
Applications).
Guilford, J.P. (1965); Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. New
York: McGraw Hill Book Company.
Gupta, S.C. (1990) Fundamentals of Statistics.
Siegel, S. (1956): Non-parametric Statistics for Behavioural Sciences. Tokyo:
McGraw Hill Hoga Kunsa Ltd.
65
UNIT 1 PRODUCT MOMENT COEFFICIENT
OF CORRELATION
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Correlation: Meaning and Interpretation
1.2.1 Scatter Diagram: Graphical Presentation of Relationship
1.2.2 Correlation: Linear and Non-Linear Relationship
1.2.3 Direction of Correlation: Positive and Negative
1.2.4 Correlation: The Strength of Relationship
1.2.5 Measurements of Correlation
1.2.6 Correlation and Causality
1.3 Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation

1.3.1 Variance and Covariance: Building Blocks of Correlations
1.3.2 Equations for Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation
1.3.3 Numerical Example
1.3.4 Significance Testing of Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient
1.3.5 Adjusted r
1.3.6 Assumptions for Significance Testing
1.3.7 Ramifications in the Interpretation of Pearson’s r
1.3.8 Restricted Range
1.4 Unreliability of Measurement

1.4.1 Outliers
1.4.2 Curvilinearity
1.5 Using Raw Score Method for Calculating r

1.5.1 Formulas for Raw Score
1.5.2 Solved Numerical for Raw Score Formula
1.6 Let Us Sum Up

1.0 INTRODUCTION
We measure psychological attributes of people by using tests and scales in order to
describe individuals. There are times when you realise that increment in one of the
characteristics is associated with increment in other characteristic as well. For example,
individuals who are more optimistic about the future are more likely to be happy. On
the other hand, those who are less optimistic about future (i.e., pessimistic about it)
are less likely to be happy. You would realise that as one variable is increasing, the
other is also increasing and as the one is decreasing the other is also decreasing. In
the statistical language it is referred to as correlation. It is a description of “relationship”
or “association” between two variables (more than two variables can also be correlated,
we will see it in multiple correlation).
5
Correlation and Regression In this unit you will be learning about direction of Correlation that is, Positive and
Negative and zero correlation. You will also learn about the strength of correlation
and how to measure correlation. Specifically you will be learning Pearson’s Product
Moment Coefficient of Correlation and how to interpret this correlation coefficient.
You will also learn about the ramifications of the Pearson’s r. You will also learn the
coefficient of correlation equations with numerical examples.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading and doing exercises in this unit, you will be able to:
z describe and explain concept of correlation;
z plot the scatter diagram;
z explain the concept of direction, and strength of relationship;
z differentiate between various measures of correlations;
z analyse conceptual issues in correlation and causality;
z describe problems suitable for correlation analysis;
z describe and explain concept of Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation;
z compute and interpret Pearson’s correlation by deviation score method and raw
score method; and
z test the significance and apply the correlation to the real data.
1.2 CORRELATION: MEANING AND

INTERPRETATION
Correlation is a measure of association between to variables. Typically, one variable
is denoted as X and the other variable is denoted as Y. The relationship between
these variables is assessed by correlation coefficient. Look at the earlier example of
optimism and happiness. It states the relationship between one variable, optimism
(X) and other variable, happiness (Y). Similarly, following statements are example of
correlations:
As the intelligence (IQ) increases the marks obtained increases.
As the introversion increases number of friends decreases.
More the anxiety a person experiences, weaker the adjustment with the stress.
As the score on openness to experience increases, scores on creativity test also
increase.
More the income, more the expenditure.
On a reasoning task, as the accuracy increases, the speed decreases.
As the cost increases the sales decrease.
Those who are good at mathematics are likely to be good at science.
As the age of the child increases, the problems solving capacity increase.
6 More the practice, better the performance.

All the above statements exemplify the correlation between two variables. The variables Product Moment
Coefficient of Correlation
are shown in italics. In this first section, we shall introduce ourselves to the concept
of correlation.
1.2.1 Scatter Diagram: Graphical Presentation of

Relationship
Scatter diagram (also called as scatterplot, scattergram, or scatter) is one way to
study the relationship between two variables. Scatter diagram is to plot pairs of
values of subjects (observations) on a graph. Let’s look at the following data of five
subject, A to E (Table 1.1). Their scores on intelligence and scores on reasoning task
are provided. The same data is used to plot a scatter diagram shown in Figure 1.1.
Now, I shall quickly explain ‘how to draw the scatter diagram’.
Table 1: Data of five subjects on intelligence and scores of reasoning
Subject Intelligence Scores on reasoning

task
A 104 12
B 127 25
C 109 18
D 135 31
E 116 19

Step 1. Plotting the Axes

Draw the x and y axis on the graph and plot one variable on x-axis and another on
y-axis.
(Although, correlation analyses do not restrict you from plotting any variable on any
axis, plot the causal variable on x-axis in case of implicitly assumed cause-effect
relationship.)
Also note that correlation does not necessarily imply causality.
Step 2. Range of Values
Decide the range of values depending on your data.
Begin from higher or lower value than zero.
Conventionally, the scatterplot is square.
So plot x and y values about the same length.
Step 3. Identify the pairs of values
Identify the pairs of values.
A pair of value is obtained from a data.
A pair of values is created by taking a one value on first variable and corresponding
value on second variable.
Step 4. Plotting the graph
Now, locate these pairs in the graph.
7
Correlation and Regression Find an intersection point of x and y in the graph for each pair.
Mark it by a clear dot (or any symbol you like for example, star).
Then take second pair and so on.
The scatterplot shown below is based on the data given in table 1. (Refer to Figure
1).
40
Scores on Reasoning Task

30
20
10
100 110 120 130 140
Intelligence
Fig. 1: Scatter diagram depicting relationship between intelligence and score on

reasoning task
The graph shown above is scatterplot representing the relationship between intelligence
and the scores on reasoning task. We have plotted intelligence on x-axis because it
is a cause of the performance on the reasoning task. The scores on reasoning have
started from 100 instead of zero simply because the smallest score on intelligence is
104 which is far away from zero. We have also started the range of reasoning scores
from 10 since the lowest score on reasoning is 12. Then we have plotted the pair
of scores. For example, subject A has score of 104 on intelligence and 12 on
reasoning so we get x,y pair of 104,12. We have plotted this pair on the point of
intersection between these two scores in the graph by a dot. This is the lowest dot
at the left side of the graph. You can try to practice the scatter by using the data given
in the practice.
1.2.2 Correlation: Linear and Non-Linear Relationship

The relationship between two variables can be of various types. Broadly, they can
be classified as linear and nonlinear relationships. In this section we shall try to
understand the linear and nonlinear relationships.
Linear Relationship
One of the basic forms of relationship is linear relationship. Linear relationship can
be expressed as a relationship between two variables that can be plotted as a
straight line. The linear relationship can be expressed in the following equation (eq.
1.1):
Y=á+âX (eq. 1.1)
In the equation 1.1,
z Y is a dependent variable (variable on y-axis),
8
z á (alpha) is a constant or Y intercept of straight line, Product Moment
z â (beta) is slope of the line and
z X is independent variable (variable on x-axis).
We again plot scatter with the line that best fits for the data shown in table 1. So
you can understand the linearity of the relationship. Figure 2 shows the scatter of the
same data. In addition, it shows the line which is best fit line for the data. This line
is plotted by using the method of least squares. We will learn more about it later
(Unit 4). Figure 2 shows that there is a linear relationship between two variables,
intelligence and Scores on Reasoning Task. The graph also shows the straight line
relationship indicating linear relation.
Fig. 2: Scatter showing linearity of the relationship between Intelligence and Scores on
Reasoning Task
Non-linear Relationship
There are other forms of relationships as well. They are called as curvilinear or non-
linear relationships. The Yorkes-Dodson Law, Steven’s Power Law in Psychophysics,
etc. are good examples of non-linear relationships. The relationship between stress
and performance is popularly known as Yorkes-Dodson Law. It suggests that the
performance is poor when the stress is too little or too much. It improves when the
stress is moderate. Figure 3 shows this relationship. The non-linear relationships,
cannot be plotted as a straight line.
The performance is poor at extremes and improves with moderate stress. This is one
type of curvilinear relationship.
9
Correlation and Regression
Fig. 3: Typical relationship between stress and performance
The curvilinear relationships are of various types (cubic, quadratic, polynomial,

exponential, etc.). The point we need to note is that relationships can be of various
types. This block discussed only linear relationships. Other forms of relationship are
not discussed. The types of correlation presented in this block represent linear
relationships. Pearson’s product-moment correlation, Spearman’s rho, etc. are linear
correlations.
The Stevens’ Power Law states that r = csb where, r is sensation, s is stimulus, c
and b are constants and coefficients, respectively. This is obviously a non-linear
relationship between stimulus and sensation. Although, a reader who can recall some
basic mathematics of 10th grade can easily understand that by taking the log of both
sides, the equation can be converted into linear equation.
1.2.3 Direction of Correlation: Positive and Negative

The direction of the relationship is an important aspect of the description of relationship.
If the two variables are correlated then the relationship is either positive or negative.
The absence of relationship indicates “zero correlation”. Let’s look at the positive,
negative and zero correlation.
Positive Correlation
The positive correlation indicates that as the values of one variable increases the
values of other variable also increase. Consequently, as the values of one variable
decreases, the values of other variable also decrease. This means that both the
variables move in the samer direction. For example,
a) As the intelligence (IQ) increases the marks obtained increases.
b) As income increases, the expenditure increases.
The figure 4 shows scatterplot of the positive relationship. You will realise that the
higher scores on X axis are associated with higher score on Y axis and lower scores
on X axis are generally associated with lower score on Y axis. In the ‘a’ example,
higher scores on intelligence are associated with the higher score on marks obtained.
Similarly, as the scores on intelligence drops down, the marks obtained has also
dropped down.
10
90
Product Moment
80
Marks Obtained
70
60
50
40
80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
Intelligence
Fig. 4: Positive correlation: Scatter showing the positive correlation between intelligence
and marks obtained.
Negative Correlation
The Negative correlation indicates that as the values of one variable increases, the
values of the other variable decrease. Consequently, as the values of one variable
decreases, the values of the other variable increase. This means that two variables
move in the opposite direction. For example,
a) As the intelligence (IQ) increases the errors on reasoning task decreases.
b) As hope increases, depression decreases.
Figure 5 shows scatterplot of the negative relationship. You will realise that the
higher scores on X axis are associated with lower scores on Y axis and lower scores
on X axis are generally associated with higher score on Y axis.
In the ‘a’ example, higher scores on intelligence are associated with the lower score
on errors on reasoning task. Similarly, as the scores on intelligence drops down,
the errors on reasoning task have gone up.
2
Errors on Reasoning Task
-1
-2
-3
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Intelligence
Fig. 5: Negative correlation: Scatter showing the negative correlation between intelligence
and errors on reasoning task 11
Correlation and Regression No Relationship
Until now you have learned about the positive and negative correlations. Apart from
positive and negative correlations, it is also possible that there is no relationship
between x and y. That is the two variables do not share any relationship. If they do
not share any relationship (that is, technically the correlation coefficient is zero), then,
obviously, the direction of the correlation is neither positive nor negative. It is often
called as zero correlation or no correlation.
(Please note that ‘zero order correlation’ is a different term than ‘zero correlation’
which we will discuss afterwards).
For example, guess the relationship between shoe size and intelligence?
This sounds an erratic question because there is no reason for any relationship
between them. So there is no relationship between these two variables.
The data of one hundred individuals is plotted in Figure 6. It shows the scatterplot
for no relationship.
10
6
Shoe
0
60 80 100 120 140 160
Intelligence
Fig. 6: Scatter between shoe size and intelligence of the individual
1.2.4 Correlation: The Strength of Relationship

You have so far learnt the direction of relationship between two variables. Any
curious reader will ask a question “how strong is the relationship between the two
variables?” For example, if you correlate intelligence with scores on reasoning, and
creativity, what kind of relationship will you expect?
Obviously, the relationship between intelligence and reasoning as well as the relationship
between intelligence and creativity are positive. At the same time the correlation
coefficient (described in the following section) is higher for intelligence and reasoning
than for intelligence and creativity, and therefore we realise that the relationship
between intelligence and reasoning is stronger than relationship between intelligence
and creativity. The strength of relationship between the two variables is an important
information to interpret the relationship.
Correlation Coefficient
The correlation between any two variables is expressed in terms of a number, usually
called as correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient is denoted by various
symbols depending on the type of correlation. The most common is ‘r’ (small ‘r’)
indicating the Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient.
12
The representation of correlation between X and Y is rxy. Product Moment
The range of the correlation coefficient is from –1.00 to + 1.00.
It may take any value between these numbers including, for example, – 0.72, –
0.61, – 0.35, + 0.02, + 0.31, + 0.98, etc.
If the correlation coefficient is 1, then relationship between the two variables is
perfect.
This will happen if the correlation coefficient is – 1 or + 1.
As the correlation coefficient moves nearer to + 1 or – 1, the strength of relationship
between the two variables increases.
If the correlation coefficient moves away from the + 1 or – 1, then the strength of
relationship between two variables decreases (that is, it becomes weak).
So correlation coefficient of + 0.87 (and similarly – 0.82, – 0.87, etc.) shows strong
association between the two variables. Whereas, correlation coefficient of + 0.24 or
– 0.24 will indicate weak relationship. Figure 7 indicates the range of correlation
coefficient.
Fig. 7: The Range of Correlation Coefficient.
You can understand the strength of association as the common variance between
two correlated variables. The correlation coefficient is NOT percentage.
explain this point. See, every variable has variance. We denote it as S x2 (variance
of X). Similarly, Y also has its own variance ( S y2 ). In the previous block you have
learned to compute them. From the complete variance of X, it shares some variance
with Y. It is called covariance.
The Figure 8 shown below explains the concept of shared variance. The circle X
indicates the variance of X. Similarly, the circle Y indicates the variance of Y. The
overlapping part of X and Y, indicated by shaded lines, shows the shared variance
between X and Y. One can compute the shared variance.

X Y
Variance of X Variance of Y
Variance shared by X and Y
Fig. 8: Covariance indicates the degree to which X shares variance with Y
To calculate the percentage of shared variance between X and Y (common variance),

one needs to square the correlation coefficient (r). The formula is given below:
13
Percentage of common variance between X and Y = rxy2 × 100 (eq. 1.2)
For instance, if the correlation between X and Y is 0.50 then the percent of variation
shared by X and Y can be calculated by using equation 1.2 as follows.
Percentage of common variance between X and Y = rxy2 × 100 = 0.502 × 100 =

0.25 × 100 = 25%
It indicates that, if the correlation between X and Y is 0.50 then 25% of the variance
is shared by the two variables, X and Y. You would note that this formula is applicable
to negative correlations as well. For instance, if rxy = – 0.81, then shared variance
is:
Percentage of common variance between X and Y = × 100 = – 0.812 × 100 =
0.6561 × 100 = 65.61%
1.2.5 Measurements of Correlation

Correlation coefficient can be calculated by various ways. The correlation coefficient
is a description of association between two variables in the sample. So it is a
descriptive statistics. Various ways to compute correlation simply indicate the degree
of association between variables in the sample. The distributional assumptions are
not required to compute correlation as a descriptive statistics. So it is not a parametric
or nonparametric statistics.
The calculated sample correlation coefficient can be used to estimate population
correlation coefficient.
The sample correlation coefficient is usually denoted by symbol ‘r’.
The population correlation coefficient is denoted by symbol ‘ñ’.
It is Greek letter rho(ñ), pronounced as row (Spearman’s correlation coefficient is
also symbolised as rho.
This may create some confusion among the readers. Therefore, I shall use symbol
rs for Spearman’s rho as a sample statistics and ñs to indicate the population value
of the Spearman’s rho.
Henceforth, I shall also clearly mention the meaning with which ñ is used in this
block.
z When the population correlation coefficient is estimated from sample correlation
coefficient.
z then the correlation coefficient becomes an inferential statistic.
z Inference about population correlation (ñ) is drawn from sample statistics (r).
z The population correlation (ñ) is always unknown.
z What is known is sample correlation (r).
z The population indices are called as parameters and the sample indices are
called as statistics.
z So ñ is a parameter and r is a statistics.
14
While inferring a parameter from sample, certain distributional assumptions are required. Product Moment
From this, you can understand that the descriptive use of the correlation coefficient
does not require any distributional assumptions.
The most popular way to compute correlation is ‘Pearson’s Product Moment
Correlation (r)’. This correlation coefficient can be computed when the data on both
the variables is on at least equal interval scale or ratio scale.
Apart from Pearson’s correlation there are various other ways to compute correlation.
Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation or Spearman’s rho (rs) is useful correlation
coefficient when the data is in rank order.
Similarly, Kendall’s tau (ô) is a useful correlation coefficient for rank-order data.
Biserial, Point Biserial, Tetrachoric, and Phi coefficient, are the correlations that are
useful under special circumstances.
Apart from these, multiple correlations, part correlation and partial correlation are
useful ways to understand the associations (Please note that the last three require
more than two variables).
1.2.6 Correlation and Causality

The correlation does not necessarily imply causality. But, if the correlation between
two variables is high then it might indicate the causality. If X and Y are correlated,
then there are three different ways in which the relationship between two variables
can be understood in terms of causality.
1) X is a cause of Y.
2) Y is cause of X.
3) Both, X and Y are caused by another variable Z.
However, causality can be inferred from the correlations.
Regression analysis, path analysis, structural equation modeling, are some examples
where correlations are employed in order to understand causality.
1.3 PEARSON’S PRODUCT MOMENT

COEFFICIENT OF CORRELATION
The Person’s correlation coefficient was developed by Karl Pearson in 1886. Person
was a editor of “Biometrica” which is a leading journal in statistics. Pearson was a
close associate of psychologist Sir Francis Galton. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient
is usually calculated for two continuous variables. If either or both the variables are
not continuous, then other statistical procedures are to be used. Some of them are
equivalent to Pearson’s correlation and others are not. We shall learn about these
procedure after learning the Pearson’s Correlation coefficient.
1.3.1 Variance and Covariance: Building Blocks of

Correlations
Understanding product moment correlation coefficient requires understanding of mean,
variance and covariance. We shall understand them once again in order to understand
correlation.
15
Correlation and Regression n
Mean : Mean of variable X (symbolised as X ) is sum of scores ( ∑ X i ) divided

i =1
by number of observations (n). The mean is calculated in following way.
∑X i
X= i =1 (eq. 1.3)
n
You have learned this in the first block. We will need to use this as a basic element
to compute correlation.
Variance
The variance of a variable X (symbolised as S X2 ) is the sum of squares of the

deviations of each X score from the mean of X ( ∑ ( X − X ) 2 )divided by number
of observations (n).
(eq. 1.4)
You have already learned that standard deviation of variable X , symbolised as , is

square root of variance of X, symbolised as .
Covariance
The covariance between X and Y ( or S XY ) can be stated as
Cov XY =
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y ) (eq. 1.5)
n
Covariance is a number that indicates the association between two variables. To

compute covariance, deviation of each score on X from its mean ( ) and deviation
of each score on Y from its mean ( y ) is initially calculated.
Then products of these deviations are obtained.

Then, these products are summated.
This sum gives us the numerator for covariance.
Divide this sum by number of observations (n). The resulting number is covariance.
1.3.2 Equations for Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient of

Correlation
Having revised the concepts, we shall now learn to compute the Pearson’s Correlation
Coefficient.
Formula
Since we have already learned to compute the covariance, the simplest way to define
Pearson’s correlation is…
16
Product Moment
CovXY
r= (eq. 1.6)
S X SY
Where,
the Cov XY is covariance between X and Y,
S X is standard deviation of X
SY is standard deviation of Y.
Since, it can be shown that CovXY is always smaller than or equal to S X SY , the
maximum value of correlation coefficient is bound to be 1.
The sign of Pearson’s r depends on the sign of CovXY .
If the CovXY is negative, then r will be negative and
if CovXY is positive then r will be a positive value.
The denominator of this formula ( S X SY ) is always positive. This is the reason for a
– 1 to + 1 range of correlation coefficient. By substituting covariance equation (eq.
1.5) for covariance we can rewrite equation 1.6 as
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y )
r= n
S X SY
(eq. 1.7)
By following a simple rule, a÷ b ÷ c = a ÷ (b × c), we can rewrite equation 1.7

as follows.
r=
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y )
nS X rSY=
(eq. 1.8)
1.3.3 Numerical Example
Now we shall use this formula to compute Pearson’s correlation coefficient. For this
purpose we will use the following data. The cognitive theory of depression argues
that hopelessness is associated with depression. Aron Beck developed instruments
to measure depression and hopelessness. The BHS (Beck Hopelessness Scale) and
the BDI (Beck Depression Inventory) are measures of hopelessness and depression,
respectively.
Let’s take a hypothetical data of 10 individuals on whom these scales were
administered. (In reality, such a small data is not sufficient to make sense of correlation;
roughly, at least a data of 50 to 100 observations is required). We can hypothesize
that the correlation between hopelessness and depression will be positive. This
hypothetical data is given below in table 2.
17
Correlation and Regression Table 2: Hypothetical data of 10 subjects on BHS and BDI
Subject BHS BDI X − X Y − Y ( X − X )2 (Y − Y ) 2 ( X − X )(Y − Y )

(X) (Y)
1 11 13 0 1 0 1 0
2 13 16 2 4 4 16 8
3 16 14 5 2 25 4 10
4 9 10 -2 -2 4 4 4
5 6 8 -5 -4 25 16 20
6 17 16 6 4 36 16 24
7 7 9 -4 -3 16 9 12
8 12 12 1 0 1 0 0
9 5 7 -6 -5 36 25 30
10 14 15 3 3 9 9 9
n = 10 ∑X ∑Y ∑ ( X − X ) ∑ (Y − Y )
2 2
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y )
=110 =120 = 156 = 100 = 117
X = 11 Y = 12
SX = ∑ (X − X ) 2
/ n = 4.16
SY = ∑ (Y − Y ) 2
/ n = 3.33
r = ∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y ) / nS X SY = 117 / (10)(4.16)(3.33) = + 0.937
Step 1. You need scores of subjects on two variables. We have scores on ten
subjects on two variables, BHS and BDI.
Step 2. Then list the pairs of scores on two variables in two columns. The order will
not make any difference. Remember, same individuals’ two scores should be kept
together. Label one variable as X and other as Y. We label BHS as X and BDI as
Y.
Step 3. Compute the mean of variable X and variable Y. It was found to be 11 and
12 respectively.
Step 4. Compute the deviation of each X score from its mean ( ) and each Y
score from its own mean ( Y ). This is shown in the column labeled as
X − X and Y − Y . As you have learned earlier, the sum of these columns has to be
zero.
Step 5. Compute the square of x − x and y − y .
This is shown in next two columns labelled as ( x − x )2 and ( y − y )2.
Step 6. Then compute the sum of these squared deviations of X and Y. The sum of
squared deviations for X is 156 and for Y it is 100.
Step 7. Divide them by n to obtain the standard deviations for X and Y. The Sx was
18 found to be 4.16. Similarly, the Sy was found to be 3.33.
Step 8. Compute the cross-product of the deviations of X and Y. These cross- Product Moment
products are shown in the last column labeled as ( x − x ) ( y − y ).
Step 9. Then obtain the sum of these cross-products. It was found to be 117. Now,
we have all the elements required for computing r.
Step 10. Use the formula of r to compute correlation. The sum of the cross-product
of deviations is numerator and n, Sx, Sy, are denominators. Compute r. the value of
r is 0.937 in this example.
1.3.4 Significance Testing of Pearson’s Correlation

Coefficient
Statistical significance testing is testing the hypothesis about the population parameter
from sample statistics. When the Pearson’s Correlation coefficient is computed as an
index of description of relationship between two variables in the sample, the significance
testing is not required. The interpretation of correlation from the value and direction
is enough.
However, when correlation is computed as an estimate of population correlation,
obviously, statistical significance testing is required.
“Whether the obtained sample value of Pearson’s correlation coefficient is greater
than the value that can be obtained by chance?” is the question answered by statistical
significance testing about correlation coefficient.
Different values of correlation can be obtained between any two variables, X and Y,
for different samples of different sizes belonging to the same population.
The researcher is not merely interested in knowing the finding in the specific sample
on which the data are obtained. But they are interested in estimating the population
value of the correlation.
Testing the significance of correlation coefficient is a complex issue. It is because of
the distribution of the correlation coefficient. The t-distribution and z-distribution are
used to test statistical significance of r.
The population correlation between X and Y is denoted by ñxy. The sample correlation
is rxy.
As you have learned, we need to write a null hypothesis (HO) and alternative hypothesis
(HA) for this purpose.
The typical null hypothesis states that population correlation coefficient between X
and Y (ñxy) is zero.
HO : ñxy = 0
HA: ñxy ≠ 0
If we reject the HO then we accept the alternative (HA) that the population correlation
coefficient is other than zero. It implies that the finding obtained on the data is not
a sample-specific error.
Sir Ronald Fisher has developed a method of using t-distribution for testing this null
hypothesis.
The degrees of freedom (df) for this purpose are n – 2. Here n refers to number
19
of observations.
Correlation and Regression We can use Appendix C in a statistic book for testing the significance of correlation
coefficient. Appendix C provides critical values of correlation coefficients for various
degrees of freedom. Let’s learn how to use the Appendix C. We shall continue with
the example of BHS and BDI.
The correlation between BHS and BDI is +.937 obtained on 10 individuals. We
decide to do statistical significance testing at 0.05 level of significance, so our á =
.05.
We also decided to apply two-tailed test.
The two-tailed test is used if alternative hypothesis is non-directional, i.e. it does not
indicate the direction of correlation coefficient (meaning, it can be positive or negative)
and one-tail test is used when alternative is directional (it states that correlation is
either positive or negative).
Let us write the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis:
Null hypothesis
Η O : ρBHS BDI = 0
Η A : ρBHS BDI ≠ 0
Now we will calculate the degree of freedom for this example.

df = n – 2 = 10 – 2 = 8 (eq. 1.9)
So the df for this example are 8. Now look at Appendix C. Look down the leftmost
df column till you reach df = 8. Then look across to find correlation coefficient from
column of two-tailed test at level of significance of 0.05. You will reach the critical
value of r:
rcritical = 0.632
Because the obtained (i.e., calculated) correlation value of + 0.937 is greater than
critical (i.e., tabled) value, we reject the null hypothesis that there is no correlation
between BHS and BDI in the population.
So we accept that there is correlation between BHS and BDI in the population. This
method is used regardless of the sign of the correlation coefficient.
We use the absolute value (ignore the sign) of correlation while doing a two-tailed
test of significance. The sign is considered while testing one-tailed hypothesis.
For example, if the HA: ñ > 0, which is a directional hypothesis, then any correlation
that is negative will be considered as insignificant.
1.3.5 Adjusted r
The Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) calculated on the sample is not an unbiased
estimate of population coefficient (ñ). When the number of observations (sample
size) are small the sample correlation is a biased estimate of population correlation.
In order to reduce this bias, the calculated correlation coefficient is adjusted. This is
called as adjusted correlation coefficient (radj).
(1 − r 2 )(n − 1)
radj = 1 −
n−2
Where,
20 radj= adjusted r
r2- = the square of Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient obtained on sample, Product Moment
n = sample size
In case of our data, presented in table 1.2, the correlation between BHS and BDI
is +.937 obtained on the sample of 10. The adjusted r can be calculated as follows
(1 − .9372 )(10 − 1) (.1220)(9)

radj = 1 − = 1− = 1 − 0.1373 = .929
10 − 2 8
The radj is found to be 0.929. This coefficient is unbiased estimate of population
correlation coefficient.
1.3.6 Assumptions for Significance Testing

One may recall that simple descriptive use of correlation coefficient does not involve
any assumption about the distribution of either of the variables. However, using
correlation as an inferential statistics requires assumptions about X and Y. These
assumptions are as follows. Since we are using t-distribution, the assumptions would
be similar to t.
Assumptions:
Independence among the pairs of score
This assumption implies that the scores of any two observations (subjects in case of
most of psychological data) are not influenced by each other. Each pair of observation
is independent. This is assured when different subjects provides different pairs of
observation.
The population of X and the population of Y follow normal distribution and the
population pair of scores of X and Y has a normal bivariate distribution.
This assumption states that the population distribution of both the variables (X and
Y) is normal. This also means that the pair of scores follows bivariate normal distribution.
This assumption can be tested by using statistical tests for normality.
It should be remembered that the r is a robust statistics. It implies that some violation
of assumption would not influence the distributional properties of t and the probability
judgments associated with the population correlation.
1.3.7 Ramifications in the Interpretation of Pearson’s r

The interpretation of the correlation coefficient depends primarily on two things:
direction and strength of relationship. We have already discussed them in detail and
hence repetition is avoided.
Direction
If the correlation is positive, then the relationship between two variables is positive.
It means that as there is an increase in one there is an increase in another, and as
there is a decrement in one there is a decrease in another. When the direction of
correlation is negative then the interpretation is vice-versa.
Strength
The strength can be calculated in terms of percentage. We have already learned this
formula. So we can convert the correlation coefficient into percentage of common
21
Correlation and Regression variance explained and accordingly interpret. For example, if the correlation between
X and Y is 0.78, then the common variance shared by X and Y is 60.84 percent.
Usually distinct psychological variables do not share much of the common variance.
In fact, the reliability of psychological variables is an issue while interpreting the
correlations. Cohen and Cohen have suggested that considering the unreliability of
psychological variables, the smaller correlations should also be considered significant.
Although, direction and strength are key pointers while interpreting the correlation,
there are finer aspects of interpretation to correlations.
They are :
z range,
z outliers,
z reliability of variables, and
z linearity
The above are some of the important aspects which all obscure the interpretation
of correlation coefficient. Let’s discuss them one by one.
1.3.8 Restricted Range

It is expected the variables in correlation analysis are measured with full range. For
example, suppose we want to study the correlation between hours spent in studies
and marks. We are suppose to take students who have varying degree of hours of
studies, that is, we need to select students who have spent very little time in studies
to the once who have spent great deal of time in studies. Then we will be able to
obtain true value of the correlation coefficient.
But suppose we take a very restricted range then the value of the correlation is likely
to reduce. Look at the following examples the figure 1.9a and 1.9b.
The figure 1.9a is based on a complete range.
The figure 1.9b is based on the data of students who have studied for longer
durations.
The scatter shows that when the range was full, the correlation coefficient was
showing positive and high correlation. When the range was restricted, the correlation
has reduced drastically.
You can think of some such examples. Suppose, a sports teacher selects 10 students
from a group of 100 students on basis of selection criterion, that is their athletic
performance.
The actual performance of these ten selected students in the game was correlated
with the selection criterion. A very low correlation was obtained between selection
criterion and actual game performance. This would naturally mean that the selection
criterion is not related with actual game performance. Is it true..? Why so…?
If you look at the edata, you will realise that the range of the scores on selection
criterion is extremely restricted (because these ten students were only high scorers)
and hence the relationship is weak. So note that whenever you interpret correlations,
the range of the variables is large. Otherwise the interpretations will not be valid.
22
r = .96 r = .50
Product Moment
50 50 Coefficient of Correlation
40 48
30 46
20 44
MARKS
10 42
marks
MARKS
0 40
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5
hours studied Hours Studied
Fig. 1.9a: Scatter showing full range Fig. 1.9b: Scatter with restricted
on both variables range on hours studied
1.4 UNRELIABILITY OF MEASUREMENT

Psychological research involves the use of scales and tests. One of the psychometric
property psychological instruments should poses is reliability. Reliability refers to
consistency of a measurement. If the instrument is consistent, then the test has high
reliability. But at times one of the variable or both the variables may have lower
reliability. In this case, the correlation between two less reliable variable reduces.
Generally, while interpreting the correlation, the reliability is assumed to be high. The
general interpretations of correlations are not valid if the reliability is low. This reduction
in the correlation can be adjusted for the reliability of the psychological test. More
advanced procedures are available in the books of psychological testing and statistics.
They involve calculating disattenuated correlations. Correlation between two variables
that have less than perfect reliability is adjusted for unreliability. This is called as
disattenuated correlation. If both variables were perfectly reliable then correlation
between them is disattenuated correlation.
1.4.1 Outliers
Outliers are extreme score on one of the variables or both the variables. The presence
of outliers has deterring impact on the correlation value. The strength and degree of
the correlation are affected by the presence of outlier. Suppose you want to compute
correlation between height and weight. They are known to correlate positively. Look
at the figure below. One of the scores has low score on weight and high score on
height (probably, some anorexia patient).
Figure 1.10. Impact of an outlier observation on correlation. Without the outlier, the
correlation is 0.95. The presence of an outlier has drastically reduced a correlation
coefficient to 0.45.
r = +.45
70
60
50
40
30
Weight
20
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5
Height
23
Correlation and Regression 1.4.2 Curvilinearity
We have already discussed the issue of linearity of the relationship. The Pearson’s
product moment correlation is appropriate if the relationship between two variables
is linear. The relationships are curvilinear then other techniques need to be used. If
the degree of cruviliniarity is not very high, high score on both the variable go
together, low scores go together, but the pattern is not linear then the useful option
is Spearman’s rho.
1.5 USING RAW SCORE METHOD FOR

CALCULATING r
The method which we have learned to compute the correlation coefficient is called
as deviation scores formula. Now we shall learn another method to calculate Pearson’s
correlation coefficient. It is called as raw score method. First we will understand
how the two formulas are similar. Then we will solve a numerical example for the raw
score method. We have learned following formula for calculating r.
1.5.1 Formulas for Raw Score

We have already learnt following formula of correlation (eq. 1.8). This is a deviation
score formula.
r=
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y )
nS X SY
The denominator of correlation formula can be written as
∑ ( X − X ) (Y − Y )
2 2
(eq. 1.10)
Which is
( SS X SSY ) (eq. 1.11)
We have already learnt that
(∑ X )2
SS X = ∑ ( X − X ) = ∑ X −
2 2
(eq. 1.12)
n
and
(∑ Y ) 2
SSY = ∑ (Y − Y ) 2 = ∑ Y 2 − (eq. 1.13)
n
The numerator of the correlation formula can be written as
(∑ X )(∑ Y )
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y ) = ∑ XY − n
(eq. 1.14)
24
So r can be calculated by following formula which is a raw score formula: Product Moment
∑ XY − ∑ n ∑
( X )( Y )
r= (eq. 1.15)
(SS X SSY )
1.5.2 Solved Numerical for Raw Score Formula

We shall solve the same numerical example by using the formulas shown above.
Table 3 shows how to calculate Pearson’s r by using raw score formula.
Table 1.3: Table showing the calculation of r by using raw score formula.
Subject BHS BDI X2 Y2 XY

(X) (Y)
1 11 13 100 676 260
2 13 16 64 529 184
3 16 14 81 529 207
4 9 10 169 676 338
5 6 8 121 576 264
6 17 16 196 900 420
7 7 9 256 729 432
8 12 12 144 729 324
9 5 7 225 841 435
10 14 15 144 625 300
Summation 110 120 1366 1540 1437
X = 11 Y = 12
SS X = ∑ X 2 − ( ∑ X ) 2 / n = 1366 – (110) /10 = 156

2
SSY = ∑ Y 2 − (∑ Y ) 2 / n = 1540 – (120)2 / 10 = 100
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y ) = ∑ XY − ∑ n ∑
( X )( Y )
=117
∑ XY − ∑ n ∑
( X )( Y )
=0.937
r=
(SS X SSY )
Readers might find one of the methods easier. There is nothing special about the
methods. One should be able to correctly compute the value of correlation.
1.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we started with definition and meaning of correlation and followed it up
with how the correlation could be depicted in graphical form and scatter diagram.
We then learnt about linear and non-linear and curvilinear relationship amongst
variables. We also learnt that the direction of relationship could be either in the
positive or in the negative direction. It can also be no correlation in that it can be
a zero correlation. Then we learnt the methods of measurement of correlation and
25
Correlation and Regression learnt how to use the formula for calculating the Pearson’s r, that Pearson’s Product
Moment Coefficient of Correlation. We then discussed about the building blocks of
correlation which included variance and co variance. We also learnt how to test
the level of significance of a particular coefficient of correlation calculated by us.
Then we learnt about the interpretation of the correlation coefficient and also its
ramifications. Then we looked into the unreliability of a correlation and the causes
for the same such as the inclusion of outliers etc.

1) Problem:
Plot scatter diagram for the following data. Compute Pearson’s correlation between
x and y. Write the null hypothesis stating that population correlation is zero. Test the
significance of the correlation coefficient.
X Y
12 20
13 22
15 28
17 31
11 22
9 24
8 18
10 21
11 23
7 16
2) Plot scatter for following example. The data was collected on Perceived stress
and anxiety on 10 subjects. Compute the Pearson’s correlation between them State
the null hypothesis. Test the null hypothesis using this hypothesis. Do the similar
exercise after deleting a pair that clearly looks an outlier observation.
Perceived Anxiety
stress
9 12
8 11
7 9
4 5
8 9
4 6
6 8
14 2
7 11
11 9
9 11
26
3) Data showing scores on time taken to complete 200 meters race and duration Product Moment
of practice for 5 runners. Plot the scatter. Compute mean, variance, SD, and
covariance. Compute correlation coefficient. Write the null hypothesis.
Time taken Duration of

(in Seconds) Practice
(in months)
31 11
32 14
36 9
26 15
38 7
4) Data showing scores on dissatisfaction with work and scores on irritability

measured by standardised test for thirteen individuals. Plot the scatter. Compute
mean, variance, SD, and covariance. Compute correlation coefficient. Write the null
hypothesis stating no relationship. Test the significance at 0.05 level of significance.
Dissatisfaction Irritability
with work scores
12 5
16 7
19 9
27 13
30 16
25 11
22 6
26 14
11 7
17 9
19 14
21 18
23 19
5) Check whether the following statements are true or false.
1) Positive correlation means as X increases Y decreases. True/False

2) Negative correlation means as X decreases Y decreases. True/False
3) Generally, in a scatter, lower scores on X are paired True/False
with lower scores on Y for negative correlation.
4) – 1.00 ≤ Pearson’s correlation ≤ + 1.00 True/False
5) Generally, in a scatter, lower scores on X are paired True/False
with higher scores on Y in positive correlation.
6) The scatter diagram cannot indicate the direction of the True/False
relationship.
7) Percentage of shared variance by X and Y can be True/False
obtained by squaring the value of correlation.
Answers: 1) = False, 2) = False, 3) = False, 4) = True, 5) = False, 6) = False,

7) = True
27
Correlation and Regression Answer in brief.
6) What is correlation coefficient?
7) What is the range of correlation coefficient?
8) Is correlation coefficient a percentage?
9) How to calculate common variance from correlation coefficient?
10) What is the percentage of variance shared by X and Y if the rxy = 0.77?
11) What is the percentage of variance shared by X and Y if the rxy = – 0.56?
Answers:
A number expressing the relationship between two variables.
The range of correlation coefficient is from –1.00 to + 1.00.
No. Correlation is not a percentage. But it can be converted into percentage of
variance shared.
Common variance is calculated from correlation coefficient by using a formula: rxy2
× 100.
59.29%
31.36%

Aron, A., Aron, E. N., Coups, E.J. (2007). Statistics for Psychology. Delhi: Pearson
Education.
Minium, E. W., King, B. M., & Bear, G. (2001). Statistical Reasoning in Psychology
and Education. Singapore: John-Wiley.
Guilford, J. P., & Fructore, B. (1978). Fundamental Statistics for Psychology and
Education. N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.
Wilcoxon, R. R. (1996). Statistics for Social Sciences. San Diego: Academic Press.
28
UNIT 2 OTHER TYPES OF CORRELATION
(PHI-COEFFICIENT)
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Special types of Correlation
2.3 Point Biserial Correlation rPB
2.3.1 Calculation of rPB
2.3.2 Significance Testing of rPB
2.4 Phi Coefficient ( φ )

2.4.1 Significance Testing of phi ( φ )
2.5 Biserial Correlation

2.6 Tetrachoric Correlation
2.7 Rank Order Correlations
2.7.1 Rank-order Data
2.7.2 Assumptions Underlying Pearson’s Correlation not Satisfied
2.8 Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation or Spearman’s rho (rs)

2.8.1 Null and Alternate Hypothesis
2.8.2 Numerical Example: for Untied and Tied Ranks
2.8.3 Spearman’s Rho with Tied Ranks
2.8.4 Steps for rS with Tied Ranks
2.8.5 Significance Testing of Spearman’s rho
2.9 Kendall’s Tau (ô)

2.9.1 Null and Alternative Hypothesis
2.9.2 Logic of ô and Computation
2.9.3 Computational Alternative for ô
2.9.4 Significance Testing for ô
2.10 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
We have learned about the correlation as a concept and also learned about the
Pearson’s coefficient of correlation. We understand that Pearson’s correlation is
based on certain assumptions, and if those assumptions are not followed or the data
is not appropriate for the Pearson’s correlation, then what has to be done ? This unit
is answering this practical problem. When either the data type or the assumptions are
not followed then the correlation techniques listed in this unit are useful. Out of them
some are actually Pearson’s correlations with different name and some are non-
Pearson correlations. The rank data also poses some issues and hence this unit is
29
also providing the answers to this problem. In this unit we shall learn about Special
Correlation and Regression Types of Pearson Correlation, Special Correlation of Non-Pearson Type, and
correlations for rank-order data. The special types of Pearson correlation are Point-
Biserial Correlation and Phi coefficient. The non-Pearson correlations are Biserial
and Tetrachoric. The rank order correlations discussed are Spearman’s rho and
Kendall’s tau.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
z describe and explain concept of special correlation;
z explain the concept of special correlation and describe and differentiate between
their types;
z describe and explain concept of Point-Biserial and Phi coefficient;
z describe and explain concept of Biserial and Tetrachorich coefficient;
z compute and interpret Special correlations;
z test the significance and apply the correlation to the real data;
z explain concept of Spearman’s rho and tau coefficient;
z compute and interpret rho and tau; and
z apply the correlation techniques to the real data.
2.2 SPECIAL TYPES OF CORRELATION

The correlation we have learned in the last unit is Pearson’s product moment coefficient
of correlation. The Pearson’s r is one of the computational processes for calculating
the correlation between two variables. Nevertheless, this is not the only way to
calculate correlations. It is just one of the ways of calculating correlation coefficient.
This correlation can be calculated under various restrictions. The variables X and Y
were assumed to be continuous variables. The distribution of these variables is
expected to be normal. Some homogeneity among the variables is also expected.
Linearity of the relationship is also required for computing the Pearson’s r. There
might be instances when one or more of these conditions are not met. In such cases,
one needs to use alternative methods of correlations. Some of them are Pearson’s
correlation modified for specific kind of data. Others are non-Pearson correlations.
Let us take a quick note on distinction between measures of correlation and measures
of association. Howell (2002) made this point quite clear. Measures of correlations
are those where some sort of order can be assigned to each of the variable. Increment
in scores either represent higher levels (or lower levels) of some quantified attribute.
For example, number of friends, BHS hope scores, time taken to complete a task,
etc. Measures of association are those statistical procedures that are utilised for
variables that do not have a property of order. They are categorical variables, or
nominal variables, for example association of gender (male and female) with ownership
of residence (own and do not own). Both these variables are nominal variables and
do not involve any order.
In this unit we shall learn about Special Types of Pearson Correlation, Special
Correlation of Non-Pearson Type, and correlations for rank-order data. The special
30
types of Pearson correlation are Point-Biserial Correlation and Phi coefficient. The Other Types of
Correlations (phi-
non-Pearson correlations are Biserial and Tetrachoric. The rank order correlations coefficient)
discussed are Spearman’s rho and Kendall’s tau.
2.3 POINT BISERIAL CORRELATION (rPB)

Some variables are dichotomous. The dichotomous variable is the one that can be
divided into two sharply distinguished or mutually exclusive categories. Some examples
are, male-female, rural-urban, Indian-American, diagnosed with illness and not
diagnosed with illness, Experimental group and Control Group, etc. These are the
truly dichotomous variables for which no underlying continuous distribution can be
assumed. Now if we want to correlate these variables, then applying Pearson’s
formula have problems because of lack of continuity. Pearson’s correlation requires
continuous variables.
Suppose we are correlating gender, then male will be given a score of 0, and females
will be given a score of 1 (or vice versa; indeed you can give a score of 5 to male
and score of 11 to female and it won’t make any difference for the correlation
calculated).
Point Biserial Correlation (rpb) is Pearson’s Product moment correlation between one
truly dichotomous variable and other continuous variable. Algebraically, the rpb = r.
So we can calculate rpb in a similar way.
2.3.1 Calculation of rpb

Let’s look at the following data. It is a data of 20 subjects, out of which 9 are male
and 11 are females. Their marks in the final examination are also provided. We want
to correlate marks in the final examination with sex of the subject. The marks
obtained in the final examination are a continuous variable whereas sex is truly
dichotomous variable, taking two values male or female. We are using value of 0 for
male subject and value of 1 for female subjects. The correlation appropriate for this
purpose is Point-Biserial correlation (rpb).
Table 1: Data showing the gender and mark for 20 subjects
Subject Sex (male) Marks Subject Sex (Female Marks

X (Y) (X) (Y)
1 0 46 11 1 58
2 0 74 12 1 69
3 0 58 13 1 76
4 0 67 14 1 78
5 0 62 15 1 65
6 0 71 16 1 69
7 0 54 17 1 59
8 0 63 18 1 53
9 0 53 19 1 73
10 1 67 20 1 81
Meansex = 0.55 Mean marks

= 64.8 Mean Marks male
= 60.88
Ssex = 0.497 S marks
= 9.17 Mean Marks female
= 68
31
Correlation and Regression Cov XY
= 1.76
CovXY 1.76
r= = = 0.386
S X SY 0.497 × 9.17
The Pearson’s correlation (point biserial correlation) between sex and marks obtained
is 0.386. The sign is positive. The sign is arbitrary and need to be interpreted
depending on the coding of the dichotomous group. The interpretation of the sign is
the group that is coded as 1 has a higher mean than the group that is coded as 0.
The strength of correlation coefficient is calculated in a similar way. The correlation
is 0.386, so the percentage of variance shared by both the variables is r2 for
Pearson’s correlation. Same would hold true for point biserial correlation. The rpb2
is 0.3862 = 0.149. This means that 15% of information in marks is shared by sex.
2.3.2 Significance Testing of rpb

The null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis for this purpose are as follows:
Ho: ñ = 0
HA: ñ ≠ 0
Since the rpb is Pearson’s correlation, the significance testing is also similar to it. the
t- distribution is used for this purpose with n – 2 as df.
rpb n − 2
t=
1 − rpb2
(eq. 2.1)
The t value for our data is 1.775. The df = n – 2 = 20 – 2 = 18. The value is not
significant at 0.05 level. Hence we retain the null hypothesis.
2.4 PHI COEFFICIENT (φ )

The Pearson’s correlation between one dichotomous variable and another continuous
variable is called as point-biserial correlation. When both the variables are dichotomous,
then the Pearson’s correlation calculated is called as Phi Coefficient ( φ ).
For example, let us say that you have to compute correlation between gender and
ownership of the property. The gender takes two levels, male and female. The
ownership of property can be measured as either the person owns a property and
the person do not own property. Now you have both the variables measured as
dichotomous variables. Now if you compute the Pearson’s correlation between these
two variables is called as Phi Coefficient ( φ ). Both the variables take value of either
of 0 or one. Look at the data given in the table below.
32
Table 2: Data and calculation for correlation between gender and Other Types of
Correlations (phi-
ownership of property coefficient)
X: Gender 0= Male
1 = Female
Y: Ownership of 0=No ownership
Property 1 = Ownership
X 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
Y 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1
Calculations
X = 0.5 Sx = 0.52
Y = .58 Sy = 0.51 Cov XY = –
0.13
Cov XY −0.13
rXY = φ XY = = = −.465
S X SY 0.52 × 0.51
The value of φ coefficient is found to be – .465.
The relationship is negative, is function of the way we have assigned the number 0
and 1 to each of the variable. If we assign 0 to females and 1 to males, then we
will get the same value of correlation with positive sign. Nevertheless, this does not
mean that sign of the relationship cannot be interpreted. Once these numbers have
been assigned, then we can interpret the sign. Male is 0 and female is 1; whereas
0 = no ownership and 1 is ownership.
The negative relation can be interpreted as follows: as we move from male to female
we move negatively from no ownership to ownership. Meaning that male have more
ownership than females. We can also calculate the proportion of variance shared by
these two variables.
That is r2 = φ 2 = – .4652 = 0.216 percent.
2.4.1 Significance Testing of Phi ( φ )

The significance can be tested by using the Chi-Square (÷2) distribution.
The φ can be converted into the ÷2 by obtaining a product of n and φ 2.
The Chi-Square of n φ 2 will have df = 1.
The null and alternative hypothesis are as follows:

HO: ñ = 0
HA: ñ ‘“ 0
÷2 = n φ 2 = 12 × .216 = 2.59 (eq. 2.2)
The value of the chi-square at 1 df is 3.84. the obtained value is less than the tabled
value. So we accept the null hypothesis which states that the population correlation
is zero. 33
Correlation and Regression One need to know that this is primarily because of the small sample size. If we take
a larger sample, then the values would be significant. Quickly note the relationship
between ÷2 and φ .
χ2
φ=
n (eq. 2.3)
So one can compute the chi-square and then calculate the phi coefficient.
2.5 BISERIAL CORRELATION

The biserial correlation coefficient (rb), is a measure of correlation. It is like the point-
biserial correlation. But point-biserial correlation is computed while one of the variables
is dichotomous and do not have any underlying continuity. If a variable has underlying
continuity but measured dichotomously, then the biserial correlation can be calculated.
An example might be mood (happy-sad) and hope, which we have discussed in the
first unit. Suppose we measure hope with BHS and measure mood by classifying
those who have clinically low vs. normal mood. Actually, it is fair to assume that
mood is a normally distributed variable.
But this variable is measured discretely and takes only two values, low mood (0) and
normal mood (1).
Let’s call continuous variable as Y and dichotomized variable as X. the values taken
by X are 0 and 1.
So biserial correlation is a correlation coefficient between two continuous variables
(X and Y), out of which one is measured dichotomously (X). The formula is very
similar to the point-biserial but yet different:
⎡Y − Y ⎤ ⎡ P P ⎤
rb = ⎢ 1 0 ⎥ ⎢ 0 1 ⎥ (eq. 2.4)
⎣ SY ⎦ ⎣ h ⎦
where Y0 and Y1 are the Y score means for data pairs with an X score of 0 and 1,
respectively, P0 and P1 are the proportions of data pairs with X scores of 0 and 1,
respectively, and SY is the standard deviation for the Y data, and h is ordinate or the
height of the standard normal distribution at the point which divides the proportions
of P0 and P1.
The relationship between the point-biserial and the biserial correlation is as follows.
rpb p0 p1
rb = (e.q 2.5)
h
So once you compute the rpb, its easy to compute the rb.
2.6 TETRACHORIC CORRELATION (rTET)

Tetrachoric correlation is a correlation between two dichotomous variables that have
underlying continuous distribution. If the two variables are measured in a more
refined way, then the continuous distribution will result. For example, attitude to
females and attitude towards liberalisation are two variables to be correlated. Now,
we simply measure them as having positive or negative attitude. So we have 0
(negative attitude) and 1 (positive attitude) scores available on both the variables.
Then the correlation between these two variables can be computed using Tetrachoric
correlation (rtet).
34
The correlation can be expressed as Other Types of
Correlations (phi-
r = cos θ (eq. 2.6) coefficient)
Where, è is angle between the vector X and Y. Using this logic, rtet can also be
calculated.
⎡ ⎤
⎢ 1800 ⎥
rtet = cos ⎢ ⎥
⎢ ad ⎥
⎢1 + bc ⎥ (eq. 2.6)
⎣ ⎦
Look at the following data summarised in table. 3.

Table 3: Data for Tetrachoric correlation.
X variable: Attitude towards women
0 1 Sum of
(Negative attitude) (Positive attitude) row
Attitude 0 68 (a) 32 (b) 100
towards (Negative attitude)
Liberalisation 1 30 (c) 70 (d) 100
(Positive attitude)
Sum of columns 98 102 total =200
The table values are self explanatory. Out of 200 individuals, 68 have negative
attitude towards both variables, 32 have negative attitude to liberalisation but positive
attitude to women, and so on. The tetrachoric correlation can be computed as
follows.
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
⎢ 1800 ⎥ ⎢ 0 ⎥
180
rtet = cos ⎢ ⎥ = cos ⎢ ⎥ = cos 55.7840 = .722
⎢ ad ⎥ ⎢ (68)(70) ⎥
⎢⎣1 + bc ⎥⎦ ⎢1 + ⎥
(30)(32) ⎦
⎣
So the tetrachoric correlation between attitude towards liberalisation and attitude
towards women is positive.
2.7 RANK ORDER CORRELATIONS

We have learned about Pearson’s correlation in earlier unit. The Pearson’s correlation
is calculated on continuous variables. Pearson’s correlation is not advised under two
circumstances: one, when the data are in the form of ranks and two, when the
assumptions of Pearson’s correlation are not followed by the data. In this condition,
the application of Pearson’s correlations is doubtful. Under such circumstances,
rank-order correlations constitute one of the important options. The ordinal scale
data is called as rank-order data. Now let us look at these two aspects, rank-order
and assumption of Pearson’s correlations, in greater detail.
2.7.1 Rank-Order Data
When the data is in rank-order format, then the correlation that can be computed
is called as rank order correlations. The rank-order data present the ranks of the
individuals or subjects. The observations are already in the rank order or the rank
order is assigned to them. Marks obtained in the unit test will constitute a continuous
data. But if only the merit list of the students is displayed then the data is called as
rank order data. If the data is in terms of ranks, then Pearson’s correlation need not
be done. Spearman’s rho constitutes a good option. 35
Correlation and Regression 2.7.2 Assumptions Underlying Pearson’s Correlation not
Satisfied
The statistical significance testing of the Pearson’s correlation requires some assumptions
about the distributional properties of the variables. We have already delineated these
assumptions in the earlier unit. When the assumptions are not followed by the data,
then employing the Pearson’s correlation is problematic. It should be noted that small
violations of the assumptions does not influence the distributional properties and
associated probability judgments. Hence it is called as a robust statistics. However,
when the assumptions are seriously violated, then application of Pearson’s correlation
should no longer be considered as a choice. Under such circumstances, Rank order
correlations should be preferred over Pearson’s correlation.
It needs to be noted that rank-order correlations are applicable under the circumstances
when the relationship between two variables is not linear but still it is a monotonic
relationship. The monotonic relationship is one where values in the data are consistently
increasing and never decreasing or consistently decreasing and never increasing.
Hence, monotonic relationship implies that as X increases Y consistently increase or
as X increases Y consistently decrease. In such cases, rank-order is a better option
than Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
However, some caution should be observed while doing so. A careful scrutiny of
Figure 1 below indicates that, in reality, it is a power function. So actually a
relationship between X and Y is not linear but curvilinear power function. So, indeed,
curve-fitting is a best approach for such data than using the rank order correlation.
The rank-order can be used with this data since the curvilinear relationship shown
in figure 1 is also a monotonic relationship. It must be kept in mind that all curvilinear
relationships would not be monotonic relationships.
In the previous unit, we have discussed the issue of linearity in the section 1.1.2. I
have exemplified the non-linear relationship with Yorkes- Dodson law. It states that
relationship between stress and performance is non-linear relationship. But this
relationship is NOT a monotonic relationship because initially Y increasers with the
corresponding increase in X. But beyond the modal value of X, the scores on Y
decrease. So this is not a monotonic relationship. Hence, rank-order correlations
should not be Calculated for such a data.
Fig. 1: The figure shows a monotonic relationship between X and Y
36
Other Types of
2.8 SPEARMAN’S RANK-ORDER CORRELATION Correlations (phi-
coefficient)
OR SPEARMAN’S RHO (rS)
A well-known psychologist and intelligence theorist, Charles Spearman (1904),
developed a correlation procedure called in his honor as Spearman’s rank-order
correlation or Spearman’s rho (rs). It was developed to compute correlation when
the data is presented on two variables for n subjects. It can also be calculated for
data of n subjects evaluated by two judges for inter-judge agreement. It is suitable
for the rank-order data. If the data on X or Y or on both the variables are in rank-
order then Spearman’s rho is applicable. It can also be used with continuous data
when the assumptions of Pearson’s assumptions are not satisfied. It is used to assess
a monotonic relationship.
The range of Spearman’s rho (rs) is also from – 1.00 to + 1.00. Like Pearson’s
correlation, the interpretation of Spearman’s rho is based on sign of the coefficient
and the value of the coefficient.
If the sign of rs is positive the relationship is positive, if the sign of rs is negative then
the relationship is negative. If the value of rs is close to zero then relationship is weak,
and as the value of rs approaches to ± 1.00, the strength of relationship increases.
When the value of rs is zero then there is no relationship between X and Y. If rs is
± 1.00, then the relationship between X and Y is perfect. Whatever the value of rs
may take, it does not directly imply causation. We have already discussed the
correlation and causality in the previous unit.

The Spearman’s rho can be computed as a descriptive statistics. We do not carry
out statistical hypothesis testing for descriptive use of rho. If the rs is computed as
a statistic to estimate population correlation (parameter), then null and alternative
hypothesis are required.
The null hypothesis states that
HO: ñs = 0
It means that the value of Spearman’s correlation coefficient between X and Y is zero
in the population represented by sample.
The alternative hypothesis states that
HA: ñs ≠ 0
It means that the value of Spearman’s rho between X and Y is not zero in the
population represented by sample. This alternative hypothesis would require a two-
tailed test.
Depending on the theory, the other alternatives could also be written. They are either
HA: ñs < 0
or
HA: ñs > 0.
The first alternative hypothesis, HA, states that the population value of Spearman’s
rho is smaller than zero. The second HA denotes that the population value of Spearman’s
rho is greater than zero. Remember, only one of them has to be tested and not both. 37
Correlation and Regression You can recall from earlier discussion that one-tailed test is required for this hypothesis.
2.8.2 Numerical Example: for Untied and Tied Ranks

Very obviously, the data on X and Y variables on are required to compute Spearman’s
rho. If the data are on continuous variables then it need to be converted into a rank-
orders. The computational formula of Spearman’s rho (rs) is as follows:
6∑ D 2
rs = 1 − (eq. 2.7)
n(n 2 − 1)
Where,
rs = Spearman’s rank-order correlation
D = difference between the pair of ranks of X and Y
n = the number of pairs of ranks
Steps:
Let’s solve an example. We have to appear for entrance examination after the under-
graduate studies. We are interested in correlating the undergraduate marks and
performance in the entrance test. We have a data of 10 individuals. But we only
have ranks of these individuals in undergraduate examination, and merit list of the
entrance performance. We want to find the correlation between rank in undergraduate
examination and rank in entrance. The data are provided in table 4 and 5. Since
this is a rank order data, we can carry out the Spearman’s rho. (If the data on one
or both variable were continuous, we need to transfer this data into ranks for
computing the Spearman’s rho.)
Table 4: Data for Spearman’s rho.
The steps for computation of rs are given below:

Step 1: List the names/serial number of subjects (students, in this case) in column 1.
Step 2: Write the scores of each subject on X variable (undergraduate examination)
in the column labeled as X (column 2), and write the scores of each subject on Y
variable (Entrance test) in the column labeled as Y (column 3). We will skip this step
because we do not have original scores in undergraduate examination and entrance
test.
38
Step 3: Rank the scores of X variable in ascending order. Give rank 1 to the lowest Other Types of
Correlations (phi-
score, 2 to the next lowest score, and so on. In case of our data, the scores are coefficient)
already ranked.
Step 4: Rank the scores of Y variable in ascending order. Give rank 1 to the lowest
score, 2 to the next lowest score, and so on. This column is labeled as RY (Column
5). Do cross-check your ranking by calculating the sum of ranks. In case of our data,
the scores are already ranked.
Step 5: Now find out D, where D = RX – RY (Column 6).
Step 6: Square each value of D and enter it in the next column labeled as D2
(Column7). Obtain the sum of the D2. This is written at the end of the column D2.
∑D
2
This is 18 for this example.
Step 7: Use the equation 4.1 (given below) to compute the correlation between rank
in undergraduate examination and rank in entrance test.
6∑ D 2
rs = 1 − (eq. 2.8)
n(n 2 − 1)
Table 5: Table showing the data on rank obtained in undergraduate
examination and ranks in entrance examination. It also shows the computation
of Spearman’s rho.
Students Rank in
Rank in
Undergraduate
entrance RX RY D = RX – RY D2
Examination
test (Y)
(X)
A 1 4 1 4 -3 9
B 5 6 5 6 -1 1
C 3 2 3 2 1 1
D 6 7 6 7 -1 1
E 9 10 9 10 -1 1
F 2 1 2 1 1 1
G 4 3 4 3 1 1
H 10 9 10 9 1 1
I 8 8 8 8 0 0
J 7 5 7 5 2 4
n = 10 ∑D2=20
6∑ D 2 6 × 20 180
rs = 1 − = 1− = 1− = 1 − 0.1818 = 0.818
n(n − 1)
2
10(10 − 1)
2
990
Now the Spearman’s rho has been computed for this example. The value of rho is
0.818. This value is positive value. It shows that the correlation between the ranks
in undergraduate examination and the ranks in entrance test is positive. It indicates
that the relationship between them is positively monotonic. The value of the correlation
coefficient is very close to 1.00 which indicates that the strength association between
the two set of ranks is very high. The tied ranks were not employed in this example
since it was the first example. Now I shall introduce you to the problem of tied ranks.
Interesting point need to be noted about the relationship between Pearson’s correlation 39
Correlation and Regression and Spearman’s rho. The Pearson’s correlation on ranks of X and Y (i.e., RX and
RY) is equal the Spearman’s rho on X and Y. That’s the relationship between
Pearson’s r and Spearman’s rho. The Spearman’s rho can be considered as a
special case of Pearson’s r.
2.8.3 Spearman’s rho with Tied Ranks

The ranks are called as tied ranks when two or more subjects have the same score
on a variable. We usually get larger than the actual value of Spearman’s rho if we
employ the formula in the equation 2.1 for the data with the tied ranks. So the
formula in equation 2.1 is not appropriate for tied ranks. A correction is required in
this formula in order to calculate correct value of Spearman’s rho. The recommended
procedure of correction for tied ranks is computationally tedious. So we shall use a
computationally more efficient procedure. The easier procedure of correction actually
uses Pearson’s formula on the ranks. The formula and the steps are as follows:
( ∑ X )( ∑ Y )
∑ XY − n
r = rs =
⎡ ( X)
⎢∑ X 2 − ∑
⎤⎡ ( ∑ Y) ⎤
2 2
⎥ ⎢∑Y −
2
⎥ (eq. 2.10)
⎢ n ⎥⎢ n ⎥
⎣ ⎦⎣ ⎦
Where,
rs = Spearman’s rho
X = ranks of variable X
Y = rank on variable Y
n = number of pairs
Look at the example we have solved for Pearson’s correlation. It is an example of
relationship between BHS and BDI. The data is different than the one we have used
in the earlier unit. We shall solve this example with Spearman’s rho.
2.8.4 Steps for rs with Tied Ranks

If the data are not in ranks, then convert it into rank-order. In this example, we have
assigned ranks to X and Y (column 2 and 3) in column 4, and 5.
Appropriately rank the ties (Cross-check the ranking by using sum of ranks check).
This is the basic information for the Spearman’s rho.
Compute the square of rank of X and rank of Y for all the observations. It is in
columns 6 and 7.
Multiply the rank of X by rank of Y for each observation. It is provided in column
8.
Obtain sum of all the columns. Now all the basic data for the computation is available.
Enter this data into the formula shown in the equation 2.2 and calculate rs.
40
Table 6: Spearman’s rho for tied ranks Other Types of
Correlations (phi-
Subject BHS BDI Rank Rank (Rank X)2 (Rank Y)2 (Rank X) coefficient)
(X) (Y) X Y (Rank Y)

1 7 8 3.5 2.5 12.25 6.25 8.75
2 11 16 6.5 9.5 42.25 90.25 61.75
3 16 14 9 7 81 49 63
4 9 12 5 5.5 25 30.25 27.5
5 6 8 2 2.5 4 6.25 5
6 17 16 10 9.5 100 90.25 95
7 7 9 3.5 4 12.25 16 14
8 11 12 6.5 5.5 42.25 30.25 35.75
9 5 7 1 1 1 1 1
10 14 15 8 8 64 64 64
Sum 55 55 384 383.5 375.75
( ∑ X )( ∑ Y ) (55)(55)
∑ XY − n
375.75 −
10 73.25
rs = = = = 0.902
⎡ ( X)
⎢∑ X 2 − ∑
⎤⎡ ( ∑ Y) ⎤ ⎡ 552 ⎤ ⎡ 552 ⎤ 81.2496
2 2
⎥ ⎢∑ Y −
2
⎥ ⎢384 − 10 ⎥ ⎢383.5 − 10 ⎥
⎢ n ⎥⎢ n ⎥ ⎣ ⎦⎣ ⎦
⎣ ⎦⎣ ⎦
The Spearman’s rho for this example is 0.902. Since this is a positive value, the
relationship between them is also positive. This value is rather near to 1.00. So the
strength of association between the ranks of BDI and BHS are very high. This is a
simpler way to calculate the Spearman’s rho with tied ranks. Now, we shall look at
the issue of significance testing of the Spearman’s rho.
2.8.5 Significance Testing of Spearman’s rho

Once the statistics of Spearman’s rho is calculated, then the significance of Spearman’s
rho need to be found out. The null hypothesis tested is
HO: ñs = 0
It states that the value Spearman’s rho between X and Y is zero in the population
represented by sample.
The alternative hypothesis is
HA: ñs ≠ 0
It states that the value Spearman’s rho between X and Y is not zero in the population
represented by sample. This alternative hypothesis requires a two-tailed test. We
have already discussed about writing a directional alternative which requires one-
tailed test.
We need to refer to Appendix D for significance testing. The appendix in statistics
book, provides critical values for one-tailed as well as two-tailed tests. Let us use
the table for the purpose of hypothesis testing for the first example of correlation
between ranks in undergraduate examination and entrance test (table 2).
41
Correlation and Regression The obtained Spearman’s rho is 0.818 on the sample of 10 individuals. For n = 10,
and two-tailed level of significance of 0.05, the critical value of rs = 0.648. The
critical value of rs = 0.794 at the two-tailed significance level of 0.01.
The obtained value of 0.818 is larger than the critical value at 0.01. So the obtained
correlation is significant at 0.01 level (two-tailed). We reject the null hypothesis and
accept the alternative hypothesis. It indicates that the value of the Spearman’s rho
is not zero in the population represented by the sample.
For the second example (table 3), the obtained rs value is 0.902 on the sample of
10 individuals. For n = 10, the critical value is 0.794 at the two-tailed significance
level of 0.01. The obtained value of 0.902 is larger than the critical value at 0.01.
So the obtained correlation is significant at 0.01 level (two-tailed). Hence, we reject
the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis.
When the sample size is greater than ten, then the t-distribution can be used for
computing the significance with df = n – 2. Following equation is used for this
purpose.
rs n − 2
t= (eq. 2.10)
1 − rs2
For the example shown in table 2, the t-value is computed using equation 2.11.
rs n − 2 0.818 10 − 2
t= = = 4.022 (eq.2.11)
1− r s
2
1 − 0.8182
At the df = 10 – 2 = 8, the critical t-value at 0.01 (two-tailed) is 3.355. The

obtained t-value is larger than the critical t-value. Hence, we reject the null hypothesis
and accept the alternative hypothesis.
2.9 KENDALL’S TAU (τ )

Kendall’s tau is another useful measure of correlation. It is as an alternative to
Spearman’s rho (rs).
This correlation procedure was developed by Kendall (1938). Kendall’s tau is
based on an analysis of two sets of ranks, X and Y. Kendall’s tau is symbolised as
ô, which is a lowercase Greek letter tau. The parameter (population value) is
symbolised as ô and the statistics computed on the sample is symbolised as. The
range of tau is from – 1.00 to + 1.00. The interpretation of tau is based on the sign
and the value of coefficient. The tau value closer to ±1.00 indicates stronger
relationship. Positive value of tau indicates positive relationship and vice versa. It
should be noted that Kendall’s Concordance Coefficient is a different statistics and
should not be confused with Kendall’s tau.

When the Kendall’s tau is computed as a descriptive statistics, statistical hypothesis
testing is not required. If the sample statistic τ is computed to estimate population
correlation ô, then null and alternative hypothesis are required.
The null hypothesis states that
42 HO: ô = 0
It stated that the value Kendall’s tau between X and Y is zero in the population Other Types of
Correlations (phi-
represented by sample. coefficient)
The alternative hypothesis states that

HA: ô ≠ 0
It states that the value Kendall’s tau between X and Y is not zero in the population
represented by sample. This alternative hypothesis requires a two-tailed test.
Depending on the theory, the other alternatives could be written. They are either
1) HA: ô < 0 or
2) HA: ô > 0.
The first HA denotes that the population value of Kendall’s tau is smaller than zero.
The second HA denotes that the population value of Kendall’s tau is greater than
zero. Remember, only one of them has to be tested and not both. One-tailed test
is required for these hypotheses.
2.9.2 Logic of τ and Computation

The tau is based on concordance and discordance among two sets of ranks. For
example, table 4.4 shows ranks of four subjects on variables X and Y as RX and RY.
In order to obtain concordant and discordant pairs, we need to order one of the
variables according to the ranks, from lowest to highest (we have ordered X in this
fashion).
Take a pair of ranks for two subjects A (1,1) and B (2,3) on X and Y.
Now, if sign or the direction of RX – RX for subject A and B is similar to the sign
or direction of RY – RY for subject A and B, then the pair of ranks is said to be
concordant (i.e., in agreement).
In case of subject A and B, the RX – RX is (1 – 2 = – 1) and RY – RY is also (1
– 3 = – 2). The sign or direction of A and B pair is in agreement. So pair A and
B is called as concordant pair.
Look at second example of B and C pair. The RX – RX is (2 – 3 = – 1) and RY
– RY is also (3 – 2 = +1). The sign or the direction of B and C pair is not in
agreement. This pair is called as discordant pair.
Table 7: Small data example for tau on four subjects
Subject RX RY
A 1 1
B 2 3
C 3 2
D 4 4
How many such pair we need to evaluate? They will be n (n – 1)/2 = (4 × 3)/2 = 6,
so six pairs. Here is an illustration: AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, and CD. Once we know
the concordant and discordant pairs, then we can calculate by using following
equation.
43
Correlation and Regression nC − nD
τ =
⎡ n(n − 1) ⎤ (eq. 2.13)
⎢⎣ 2 ⎥⎦
Where,
τ = value of ô obtained on sample

nC = number of concordant pairs
nD = number of discordant pairs
n = number of subjects
Now, I illustrate a method to obtain the number of concordant (nC) and discordant
(nD) pairs for this small data in the table above. We shall also learn a computationally
easy method later.
Step 1. First, Ranks of X are placed in second row in the ascending order.
Step 2. Accordingly ranks of Y are arranged in the third row.
Step 3. Then the ranks of Y are entered diagonally.
Step 4. Start with the first element in the diagonal which is 1 (row 4).
Step 5. Now move across the row.
Step 6. Compare it (1) with each column element of Y. If it is smaller then enter C
in the intersection. If it is larger, then enter D in the intersection. For example, 1 is
smaller than 3 (column 3) so C is entered.
Step 7. In the next row (row 5), 3 is in the diagonal which is greater than 2 (column
4) of Y, so D is entered in the intersection.
Step 8. Then “C and “D are computed for each row.
Step 9. The nC is obtained from ∑ ∑ C (i.e., 5) and

Step 10. nD is obtained from ∑ ∑ D (i.e., 1).
Step 11. These values are entered in the equation 4.4 to obtain.
Table 8. Computation of concordant and discordant pairs.
Subjects A B C D ∑C ∑D
Rank of X 1 2 3 4
Rank of Y 1 3 2 4
1 C C C 3 0
3 D C 1 1
2 C 1 0
4 0 0
∑∑C = 5 ∑∑D = 1
nC − nD 5 −1 4
τ = = = = 0.667
⎡ n(n − 1) ⎤ ⎡ 4(4 − 1) ⎤ 6
⎢⎣ 2 ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣ 2 ⎥⎦
44
2.9.3 Computational Alternative for τ Other Types of
Correlations (phi-
This procedure of computing the tau is tedious. I suggest an easier alternative. coefficient)
Suppose, we want to correlate rank in practice sessions and rank in sports
competitions. We also know the ranks of the sportspersons on both variables. The
data are given below for 10 sportspersons.
Table 9: Data of 10 subjects on X (rank in practice session) and Y (ranks
in sports competition)
Subjects being ranked
A B C D E F G H I J
Practice session (Ranks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
on X)
Sports competition
2 1 5 3 4 6 10 8 7 9
(Ranks on Y)
First we arrange the ranks of the students in ascending order (in increasing order;
begin from 1 for lowest score) according to one variable, X in this case. Then we
arrange the ranks of Y as per the ranks of X. I have drawn the lines to connect the
comparable ranking of X with Y. Please note that lines are not drawn if the subject
gets the same rank on both the variables. Now we calculate number of inversions.
Number of inversions is number of intersection of the lines. We have five intersections
of the lines.
So the following equation can be used to compute τ
2(ns )
τ = 1 −
n(n − 1) (eq. 2.14)
2
Where
τ = sample value of ô
ns = number of inversions
n = number of subjects
2(ns ) 2(5) 10
τ = 1 − = 1− = 1− = 1 − 0.222 = 0.778
n(n − 1) 10(10 − 1) 45
2 2
The value of Kendall’s tau for this data is 0.778. The value is positive. So the
relationship between X and Y is positive. This means as the rank on time taken
increases the rank on subject increases. Interpretation of tau is straightforward. For
example, if the τ is 0.778, then it can be interpreted as follows: if the pair of subjects
is sampled at random, then the probability that their order on two variables (X and
Y) is similar is 0.778 higher than the probability that it would be in reverse order.
The calculation of tau need to be modified for tied ranks. Those modifications are
not discussed here.
45
Correlation and Regression 2.9.4 Significance Testing of ô
The statistical significance testing of Kendall’s tau is carried out by using either
Appendix E and referring to the critical value provided in the Appendix E. The other
way is to use the z transformation. The z can be calculated by using following
equation
τ
z=
2(2n + 5) (eq. 2.15)
9n(n − 1)
You will realise that the denominator is the standard error of tau. Once the Z is
calculated, you can refer to Appendix A for finding out the probability.
For our example in table 4, the value of τ = 0.664 for the n = 4. The Appendix E
provides the critical value of 1.00 at two-tailed significance level of 0.05. The obtained
value is smaller than the critical value. So it is not statistically significant. Hence, we
retain the null hypothesis which states HO: ô = 0. So we accept this hypothesis. It
implies that the underlying population represented by the sample has no relationship
between X and Y.
For example in table 6, the obtained value of tau is 0.778 with the n = 10. From
the Appendix E, for the n = 10, the critical value of tau is 0.644 at two-tailed 0.01
level of significance. The value obtained is 0.778 which is higher than the critical
value of 0.664. So the obtained value of tau is significant at 0.01 level. Hence, we
reject the null hypothesis HO: ô = 0 and accept the alternative hypothesis HA: ô ≠
0. It implies that the value of tau in the population represented by sample is other
than zero. So there exists a positive relationship between practice ranks and sports
competition ranks.
Other way of testing significance is to convert the obtained value of the tau into z.
Then use the z distribution for testing the significance of the tau. For this purpose,
following formula can be used.
τ 0.778
z= = = 3.313
2(2n + 5) 2(2 × 10 + 5)
9n(n − 1) 9 × 10(10 − 1)
The z table (normal distribution table) in the Appendix A has a value of z = 1.96 at
0.05 level and 2.58 at 0.01 level. The obtained value of z = 3.313 is far greater than
these values. So we reject the null hypothesis at 0.01 level of significance.
Kendall’s tau is said to better alternative to Spearman’s rho under the conditions of
tie ranks. The tau is also supposed to do better than Pearson’s r under the conditions
of extreme non-normality. This holds true only under the conditions of very extreme
cases. Otherwise, Pearson’s r is still a coefficient of choice.
2.10 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we have learned the specific types of correlations that can be used under
circumstances that are special. These correlations are either Pearsons correlations
with different names or non-Pearson correlations. We have also learned to compute
the values as well as test the significances of these correlations. We have also learned
the coorelations that can be calculated for the ordinal data. They are Spearman’s rho
and tau. Indeed we also got to know that Spearman’s rho can be considered as a
special case of Pearson’s correlation. The tau is useful under ties ranks. This will help
46 you to handle the correlation data of various types.
Other Types of
2.11 UNIT END QUESTIONS Correlations (phi-
coefficient)
1) What are the special types of correlations and why are they to be used?
2) Discuss the point biserial correlation and indicate its advantages.
3) Calculate point biserial for the following data:
Subject Sex (male) X Marks Subject Sex Marks
(Y) (Female (Y)
(X)
1 0 30 11 1 38
2 0 56 12 1 69
3 0 68 13 1 78
4 0 48 14 1 58
5 0 52 15 1 55
6 0 80 16 1 89
7 0 78 17 1 82
8 0 72 18 1 85
9 0 55 19 1 73
10 0 48 20 1 62
4) How will you do the significance of testing for point biserial correlation
5) When do we use Phi Coefficient?
6) Calculate phi coefficient for the following data
X: Gender 0= Male
1 = Female
Y: Ownership of 0=No ownership
Property 1 = Ownership
X 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
Y 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
7) What is biserial correlation? When do we use biserial correlation?

8) Discuss the use of Tetrachoric correlation.
9) What are the important assumptions of rank order correlation?
10) Discuss in detail Spearman’s Rank Correlation and compare it with Kendall’s
tau.
11) Calculate Rho for the following data and test the significance of Rho
Students Marks in history Marks in English

A 50 60
B 45 48
C 63 72
D 65 76
E 48 58
F 59 60
G 62 68
47
Correlation and Regression 12) Discuss Kendall’s Tau.
13) Discuss the significance testing of Tau.
14) Calculate Tau for the following data
A B C D E F G H I J
Practice session (Ranks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
on X)
Sports competition
5 1 2 4 4 10 6 7 9 8
(Ranks on Y)

Garrett, H.E. (19 ). Statistics In Psychology And Education. Goyal Publishing
House, New Delhi.
Guilford, J.P.(1956). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education.
McGraw Hill Book company Inc. New York.
48
UNIT 3 PARTIAL AND MULTIPLE
CORRELATIONS
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Partial Correlation (rp)
3.2.1 Formula and Example
3.2.2 Alternative Use of Partial Correlation
3.3 Linear Regression

3.4 Part Correlation (Semipartial correlation) rsp
3.4.1 Semipartial Correlation: Alternative Understanding
3.5 Multiple Correlation Coefficient (R)

3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
While learning about correlation, we understood that it indicates relationship between
two variables. Indeed, there are correlation coefficients that involve more than two
variables. It sounds unusual and you would wonder how to do it? Under what
circumstance it can be done? Let me give you two examples. The first is about the
correlation between cholesterol level and bank balance for adults. Let us say that we
find a positive correlation between these two factors. That is, as the bank balance
increases, cholesterol level also increases. But this is not a correct relationship as
Cholesterol level can also increase as age increases. Also as age increases, the bank
balance may also increase because a person can save from his salary over the years.
Thus there is age factor which influences both cholesterol level and bank balance.
Suppose we want to know only the correlation between cholesterol and bank balance
without the age influence, we could take persons from the same age group and thus
control age, but if this is not possible we can statistically control the age factor and
thus remove its influence on both cholesterol and bank balance. This if done is called
partial correlation. That is, we can use partial and part correlation for doing the
same. Sometimes in psychology we have certain factors which are influenced by
large number of variables. For instance academic achievement will be affected by
intelligence, work habit, extra coaching, socio economic status, etc. To find out the
correlation between academic achievement with various other factors ad mentioned
above can be done by Multiple Correlation. In this unit we will be learning about
partial, part and multiple correlation.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
z Describe and explain concept of partial correlation;
49
Correlation and Regression z Explain, the difference between partial and semipartial correlation;
z Describe and explain concept of multiple correlation;
z Compute and interpret partial and semipartial correlations;
z Test the significance and apply the correlation to the real data;
z Compute and interpret multiple correlation; and
z Apply the correlation techniques to the real data.
3.2 PARTIAL CORRELATION (rP)

Two variables, A and B, are closely related. The correlation between them is partialled
out, or controlled for the influence of one or more variables is called as partial
correlation. So when it is assumed that some other variable is influencing the correlation
between A and B, then the influence of this variable(s) is partialled out for both A
and B. Hence it can be considered as a correlation between two sets of residuals.
Here we discuss a simple case of correlation between A and B is partialled out for
C. This can be represented as rAB.C which is read as correlation between A and B
partialled out for C. the correlation between A and B can be partialled out for more
variables as well.
3.2.1 Formula and Example

For example, the researcher is interested in computing the correlation between anxiety
and academic achievement controlled from intelligence. Then correlation between
academic achievement (A) and anxiety (B) will be controlled for Intelligence (C).
This can be represented as: rAcademic Achievement(A) Anxiety (B) . Intelligence (C) . To calculate the
partial correlation (rP) we will need a data on all three variables. The computational
formula is as follows:
rAB − rAC rBC
rp = rAB.C = (eq. 3.1)
(1 − rAC
2
)(1 − rBC
2
)
Look at the data of academic achievement, anxiety and intelligence. Here, the academic
achievement test, the anxiety scale and intelligence test is administered on ten students.
The data for ten students is provided for the three variables in the table below.
Table 3.1: Data of academic achievement, anxiety and intelligence for 10
subjects
Subject Academic Anxiety Intelligence

Achievement
1 15 6 25
2 18 3 29
3 13 8 27
4 14 6 24
5 19 2 30
6 11 3 21
7 17 4 26
8 20 4 31
9 10 5 20
50 10 16 7 25
In order to compute the partial correlation between the academic achievement and Partial and Multiple
Correlations
anxiety partialled out for Intelligence, we first need to compute the Pearson’s Product
moment correlation coefficient between all three variables. We have already learned
to compute it in the first Unit of this Block. So I do not again explain it here.
The correlation between anxiety (B) and academic achievement (A) is – 0.369.
The correlation between intelligence (C) and academic achievement (A) is 0.918.
The correlation between anxiety (B) and intelligence (C) is – 0.245.
Give the correlations, we can now calculate the partial correlation .
rAB − rAC rBC −0.369 − (0.918 × −0.245) −.1441
rAB.C = = = = −0.375
(1 − rAC
2
)(1 − rBC
2
) (1 − 0.9182 )(1 − (−0.2452 )) 0.499
(eq.3.2)
The partial correlation between the two variables, academic achievement and anxiety
controlled for intelligence, is -0.375. You will realise that the correlation between
academic achievement and anxiety is -0.369. Whereas, after partialling out for the
effect of intelligence, the correlation between them has almost remained unchanged.
While computing this correlation, the effect of intelligence on both the variables,
academic achievement and anxiety, was removed.
The following figure explains the relationship between them.
Fig. 3.1: Venn diagram explaining the partial correlation

Significance testing of the partial correlation
We can test the significance of the partial correlation for the null hypothesis
H0 : ñP = 0
and the alternative hypothesis
H0: ñP = 0
Where, the ñP denote the population partial correlation coefficient. The t-distribution
is used for this purpose. Following formula is used to calculate the t-value.
rP n − v
t= (eq. 3.3)
1 − rP2 51
Correlation and Regression Where,
rp = partial correlation computed on sample, rAB.C
n = sample size,
v = total number of variables employed in the analysis.
The significance of the rP is tested at the df = n – v.
In the present example, we can employ significance testing as follows:
rP n − v −.375 10 − 3 −0.992
t= = = = 1.69
1− r2
P 1 − (−.375 ) 2 0.927
We test the significance of this value at the df = 7 in the table for t-distribution in
the appendix. You will realise that at the df = 7, the table provides the critical value
of 2.36 at 0.05 level of significance. The obtained value of 1.69 is smaller than this
value. So we accept the null hypothesis stating that H0 : ñP = 0.
Large sample example:
Now we take a relatively large sample example. A counseling psychologist is interested
in understanding the relationship between practice of study skills and marks obtained.
But she is skeptical about the effectiveness of the study skills. She believes that they
can be effective because they are good cognitive techniques or they can be effective
simply because the subjects believes that the study skills are going to help them. The
first is attribute of the skills while second is placebo effect. She wanted to test this
hypothesis. So, along with measuring the hours spent in practicing the study skills and
marks obtained, she also took measures on belief that study skill training is useful.
She collected the data on 100 students. The obtained correlations are as follows.
The correlation between practice of study skills (A) and unit test marks (B) is 0.69
The correlation between practice of study skills (A) and belief about usefulness of
study skills (C) is 0.46
The correlation between marks in unit test (B) and belief about usefulness of study
skills (C) is 0.39
rAB − rAC rBC 0.69 − (0.46 × 0.39) .51

rAB.C = = = = 0.625
(1 − rAC
2
)(1 − rBC
2
) (1 − 0.462 )(1 − 0.392 )) 0.82
The partial correlation between practice of study skills (A) and unit test marks (B)
is 0.625. Let’s test the null hypothesis about the partial correlation for a null hypothesis
which states that H0 : ñP = 0.
rP n − v .625 100 − 3 1.65

t= = = = 2.12
1− rP
2
1 − .625 2 0.781
The t value is significant at 0.05 level. So we reject the null hypothesis and accept
that there is a partial correlation between A and B. This means that the partial
correlation between practice of study skills (A) and unit test marks (B) is non-zero
at population. We can conclude that the correlation between practice of study skills
(A) and unit test marks (B) still exists even after controlled for the belief in the
52 usefulness of the study skills. So the skepticism of our researcher is unwarranted.
3.2.2 Alternative Use of Partial Correlation Partial and Multiple
Correlations
Suppose you have one variable which is dichotomous. These variables take two
values. Some examples are, male and female, experimental and control group, patients
and normal, Indians and Americans, etc. Now these two groups were measured on
two variables, X and Y. You want to correlate these two variables. But you are also
interested in testing whether these groups influence the correlation between the two
variables. This can be done by using partial correlations. Look at the following data.
This data is for male and female subjects on two variables, neuroticism and intolerance
to ambiguity.
Table 3.2: Table showing gender wise data for IOA and N.
Male Female
IOA N IOA N
12 22 27 20
17 28 25 15
7 24 20 18
12 32 19 12
14 30 26 18
11 27 23 13
13 29 24 20
10 17 22 9
21 34 21 19
If you compute the correlation between Intolerance of Ambiguity and neuroticism for
the entire sample of male and female for 20 subjects. It is – 0.462. This is against
the expectation.
This is a surprising finding which states that the as the neuroticism increases the
intolerance to ambiguous situations decreases. What might be the reason for such
correlation? If we examine the mean of these two variables across gender, then you
will realise that the trend of mean is reversed.
If you calculate the Pearson’s correlations separately for each gender, then they are
well in the expected line (0.64 for males and 0.41 for females).
The partial correlations can help us in order to solve this problem. Here, we calculate
the Pearson’s product moment correlation between IOA and N partialled out for
sex. This will be the correlation between neuroticism and intolerance of ambiguity
from which the influence of sex is removed.
rAB − rAC rBC −0.462 − (0.837 × −0.782) .193
rAB.C = = = = 0.566
(1 − rAC
2
)(1 − rBC
2
) (1 − 0.837 2 )(1 − (−0.782 2 )) 0.341
The correlation partialled out for sex is 0.57. Let’s test the significance of this
correlation.
rP n − v .566 18 − 3 2.194
t= = = = 2.66
1 − rP2 1 − .5662 0.824
The tabled value form the appendix at df = 15 for 0.05 level is 2.13 and for 0.01
level is 2.95. The obtained t-value is significant at 0.05 level. So we reject the null 53
Correlation and Regression hypothesis which stated that population partial correlation, between IOA and N
partialled out for sex is zero.
Partial correlation as Pearson’s Correlation between Errors
Partial Correlation can also be understood as a Pearson’s correlation between two
errors.
Before you proceed you need to know what is regression equation
3.3 LINEAR REGRESSION

Regression goes one step beyond correlation in identifying the relationship between
two variables. It creates an equation so that values can be predicted within the range
framed by the data. That is if you know X you can predict Y and if you know Y
you can predict X. This is done by an equation called regression equation.
When we have a scatter plot you have learnt that the correlation between X and Y
are scattered in the graph and we can draw a straight line covering the entire data.
This line is called the regression line.
Here is the line and the regression equation superimposed on the scatterplot:
Source: http://janda.org/c10/Lectures/topic04/L25-Modeling.htm
From this line, you can predict X from Y that is % votes in1984 if known, you can
find out the % of votes in 1980. Similarly if you know % of votes in 1980 you can
know % of votes in 1984.
The regression line seen in the above diagram is close to the scatterplots. That is
the predicted values need to be as close as possible to the data. Such a line is called
the best fitting line or Regression line. There are certain guidelines for regression lines:
1) Use regression lines when there is a significant correlation to predict values.
2) Do not use if there is not a significant correlation.
3) Stay within the range of the data. For example, if the data is from 10 to 60,
do not predict a value for 400.
54
4) Do not make predictions for a population based on another population’s Partial and Multiple
Correlations
regression line.
The y variable is often termed the criterion variable and the x variable the predictor
variable. The slope is often called the regression coefficient and the intercept the
regression constant. The slope can also be expressed compactly as ß1= r × sy/sx.
Normally we then predict values for y based on values of x. This still does not mean
that y is caused by x. It is still imperative for the researcher to understand the
variables under study and the context they operate under before making such an
interpretation. Of course, simple algebra also allows one to calculate x values for a
given value of y.
To obtain regression equation we use the following equation:
β = {N * ∑xy}- {∑y²*∑y} / {(N * ∑x²) – (∑y²)}
Regression equation can also be written including error component ‘å’

The regression equation can be written as
(eq. 4.8)
Where,
Y = dependent variable or criterion variable
á = the population parameter for the y-intercept of the regression line, or regression
coefficient (r=óy/ óx)
â = population slope of the regression line or regression coefficient (r*óx/ óy)
å = the error in the equation or residual
The value of á and â are not known, since they are values at the level of population.
The population level value is called the parameter. It is virtually impossible to calculate
parameter. So we have to estimate it. The two parameters estimated are á and â.
The estimator of the á is ‘a’ and the estimator for â is ‘b’. So at the sample level
equation can be written as
(eq. 4.9)
Where,
Y = the scores on Y variable
X = scores on X variable
a = the Y-intercept of the regression line for the sample or regression constant in
sample
b = the slope of the regression line or regression coefficient in sample
e = error in prediction of the scores on Y variable, or residual
Let us take an example and demonstrate
Example: Write the regression line for the following points:
55
x y
1 4
3 2
4 1
5 0
8 0
Solution 1: x = 21; y = 7; x2 = 115; y2 = 21; xy = 14
Thus ß0 = [7*115 – 21*14] ÷ [5 * 115 - 212] = 511 ÷ 134 = 3.81 and ß1 = [5*14
– 21*7] ÷ [5 * 115 - 212] = -77 ÷ 134 = -0.575.
Thus the regression equation for this example is y = -0.575x + 3.81.
Thus if you have x , then you can find or predict y.
If you have y you can predict x.
Let’s continue with the first example.
It was relationship between anxiety and academic achievement. This relationship was
controlled for (partialled out for) intelligence.
In this case we can write two linear regression equations and solve them by using
ordinary least-squares (OLS). They are as follows:
Academic Achievement = a1 + b1 × Intelligence + e1
Where, ‘a1’ is a y intercept of the regression line;
‘b1’ is the slope of the line;
‘e1’ is the error in the prediction of academic achievement using intelligence.
Anxiety = a2 + b2 × Intelligence + å2
Now we have e1 and e2. They are residuals of each of the variables after intelligence
explain variation in them. Meaning, e1 is the remaining variance in academic
achievement once the variance accounted for intelligence is removed. Similarly, e2 is
the variance left in the anxiety once the variance accounted for the intelligence is
removed.
Now, the partial correlation can be defined as the Pearson’s correlation between e1
and e2.
(eq. 3.4)
You will realise that this correlation is the correlation of academic achievement and
anxiety, from which a linear influence of intelligence has been removed. That is called
56
as partial correlation.
Partial and Multiple
3.4 PART CORRELATION (SEMIPARTIAL Correlations
CORRELATION) rSP
The Part correlation is also known as semi-partial correlation (rsp). Semipartial
correlation or part correlation are correlation between two variables, one of which
is partialled for a third variable.
In partial correlations (rp = rAB.C) the effect of the third variable (C) is partialled out
from BOTH the variables (A and B).
In semipartial correlations (rsp = rA(B.C)), as the name suggests, the effect of third
variable (C) was partialled out from only one variable (B) and NOT from both the
variables.
Let’s continue with the earlier example. The example was about the correlation
between anxiety (A) and academic achievement (B).
In the earlier example of partial correlation, we have partialled the effect of intelligence
(C) from both academic achievement and anxiety.
One may argue that the academic achievement is r=the only variable that relates to
intelligence.
So we need to partial out the effect of the intelligence only from academic achievement
and not from anxiety.
Now, we correlate anxiety (A) as one variable and academic achievement partialled
for intelligence (B.C) as another variable.
If we correlate these two then, the correlation of anxiety (A) with academic
achievement partialled for intelligence (B.C) is called as semipartial correlation (rA(B.C)).
In fact, if there are three variables, then total six semipartial correlations can be
computed. They are rA(B.C), rA(C.B), rB(A.C), rB(C.A), rC(A.B), and rC(B.A).
Formula:
In order to compute the semipartial correlation coefficient, following formula can be
used.
rAB − rAC rBC
rSP = rA( B.C ) = (eq. 3.5)
1 − rBC
2
Where,
rA(B.C) is a semipartial correlation of A with the B after linear relationship that C has
with B is removed
rAB Pearson’s product moment correlation between A and B
rAC Pearson’s product moment correlation between A and C
rBC Pearson’s product moment correlation between B and C
Example:
Let’s take the data from the earlier example of academic achievement, anxiety and
intelligence. The data table 3.1 is as follows.
57
Correlation and Regression Subject Academic Anxiety Intelligence
Achievement
1 15 6 25
2 18 3 29
3 13 8 27
4 14 6 24
5 19 2 30
6 11 3 21
7 17 4 26
8 20 4 31
9 10 5 20
10 16 7 25
The correlation between anxiety (A) and academic achievement (B) is – 0.369.
The correlation between intelligence (C) and academic achievement (B) is 0.918.
The correlation between anxiety (A) and intelligence (C) is – 0.245.
Given the correlations, we can now calculate the semipartial correlation (rSP) as
follows. We are not computing the correlation coefficients, simply because you have
already learned to compute the correlations earlier. The formula for semipartial
correlation is as follows:
rAB − rAC rBC

rSP = rA( B.C ) = (eq. 3.6 )
1 − rBC
2
Now we can calculate semipartial correlation by using this formula.
rAB − rAC rBC −0.369 − (−0.245 × 0.918) −.1441

rAB.C = = = = −0.363
1− r 2
BC 1 − (0.918 )
2 0.3966
The semipartial correlation between anxiety and academic achievement after the
linear relationship between the academic achievement and intelligence is removed is
-0.363.
The significance of the semipartial correlation can be tested by using t-distribution.
The null hpothsis and the alternate hypothesis are as follows.
H0: ñSP = 0
HA: ñSP ≠ 0
Where, the ñSP is the semipartial correlation in the population. We test the null
hypothesis whether the semipartial correlation in the population is zero. This can be
done by using following formula
rSP n − v
t= (eq. 3.7)
1 − rSP2
Where,
58 t = students t-value
rSP = semipartial correlation computed on sample, Partial and Multiple
Correlations
n = sample size,
v = number of variables used in the analysis
The significance of this t-value is tested at the df = n – v. when three variables are
involved then the df is n – 3.
For our example, the t-values can be computed as follows:
−0.363 10 − 3
t= = −1.032
1 − (−0.3632 )
The obtained t-value is tested at df = n – v = 10 – 3 = 7.
The t-value at .05 level is 2.364. The obtained t-value is smaller than that. So we
accept the null hypothesis that the population semipartial correlation is zero.
It has an interesting implication for our data. The correlation between anxiety and
academic achievement is zero in the population if the linear relationship between
academic achievement and intelligence is removed.
3.4.1 Semipartial Correlation: Alternative Understanding

Partial Correlation can also be understood as a Pearson’s correlation between a
variable and error (residual).
Let us continue with the first example. It was relationship between anxiety and
academic achievement. This relationship was controlled for (partialled out for)
intelligence and academic achievement. (So far you have not learned regression and
you may not follow some of the points and equations. So you can revisit this
discussion after learning regression.)
In this case we can write a linear regression equation and solve them by using
ordinary least-squares (OLS). They are as follows:
Academic Achievement = a1 + b1 × Intelligence + e1
Now we have e1. It is a residuals of academic achievement after intelligence explain
variation in academic achievement.
That is, e1 is the remaining variance in academic achievement once the variance
accounted for intelligence is removed.
Now, the semipartial correlation can be defined as the Pearson’s correlation between
anxiety and e1.
You will realise that this correlation is the correlation of academic achievement and
anxiety, from which a linear influence of intelligence on academic achievement has
been removed.
That is called the semipartial correlation.
59
Correlation and Regression (Since you have not learned the regression equation you may not be able to understand
this point. So revisit this point after learning regression.)
3.5 MULTIPLE CORRELATION COEFFICIENT (R)

The multiple correlation coefficient denoting a correlation of one variable with multiple
other variables. The multiple correlation coefficient is denoted as RA.BCD…k which
denotes that A is correlated with B, C, D, up to k variables.
For example, we want to compute multiple correlation between A with B and C then
it is expressed as RA.BC. In this case we create a linear combination of the B and C
which is correlated with A.
We continue with the same example which we have discussed for partial and
semipartial correlations. This example has academic achievement, anxiety and
intelligence as three variables. The correlation between academic achievement with
the linear combination of anxiety and intelligence is multiple correlation.
This denotes the proportion of variance in academic achievement explained by
intelligence and anxiety. We denote this as
R (Academic Achievement. Intelligence, Anxiety), which is a multiple correlation.
Often, it is used in the context of regression, where academic achievement is a
criterion variable and intelligence and anxiety are called as predictors.
We are not using regression equation since you have not learned it. The Multiple R
can be calculated for two predictor variable as follows.
2
rAB + rAC
2
− 2rAB rAC rBC
RA . BC = (eq. 3.7)
1 − rBC
2
Where,
R A . BC = is multiple correlation between A and linear combination of B and C.
rAB = is correlation between A and B
rAC = is correlation between A and C
rBC = is correlation between B and C
Example
We shall continue with the earlier data.
The data table 3.1 is as follows.
Subject Academic Anxiety Intelligence

Achievement
1 15 6 25
2 18 3 29
3 13 8 27
4 14 6 24
5 19 2 30
6 11 3 21
7 17 4 26
8 20 4 31
9 10 5 20
10 16 7 25
60
The correlation between anxiety (A) and academic achievement (B) is – 0.369. Partial and Multiple
Correlations
The correlation between intelligence (C) and academic achievement (B) is 0.918.
The correlation between anxiety (A) and intelligence (C) is – 0.245.
The multiple correlation can be calculated as follows.
2
rAB + rAC
2
− 2rAB rAC rBC
RA . BC =
1 − rBC
2
−0.3692 + 0.9182 − 2 × −.369 × .918 × −.245

=
1 − (−0.245)2
0.813
=
0.94
= 0.929
This means that the multiple correlation between academic achievement and the
linear combination of intelligence and anxiety is 0.929 or 0.93. We have earlier
learned that the square of the correlation coefficient can be understood as percentage
of variance explained.
The R2 is then percentage of variance in academic achievement explained by the
linear combination of intelligence and anxiety. In this example the R2 is 0.9292 which
is 0.865. The linear combination of intelligence and anxiety explain 86.5 percent
variance in the academic achievement.
We have already converted the R into the R2 value. The R2 is the value obtained
on a sample. The population value of the R2 is denoted as P2. The R2 is an estimator
of the P2.
But there is a problem in estimating the P2 value from the R2 value.
The R2 is not an unbiased estimator of the P2.
So we need to adjust the value of the R2 in order to make it unbiased estimator.
Following formula is used for this purpose.
Let R 2 denote an adjusted R2. Then R 2 can be computed as follows:
(1 − R )(n − 1)
2
R 2 = 1 − (eq. 3.8)
n − k −1
Where,
R 2 = adjusted value of R
2
k = number of predicted variables (or the variable for which a linear combination is
created)
n = sample size
61
Correlation and Regression For our example the R 2 value need to be computed.
(1 − R )(n − 1)
2
R 2 = 1 −
n − k −1
(1 − 0.865)(10 − 1)
R 2 = 1 −
10 − 2 − 1
1.217
R 2 = 1 − = 0.826
7
So the unbiased estimator of the R2 the adjusted value, R 2 , is 0.826 which is smaller
than the value of R2. It is usual to get a smaller adjusted value.
The significance testing of the R:
This can be used for the purpose of the significance testing. The null hypothesis and
the alternative hypothesis employed for this purpose are
H0 : P2 = 0
H A : P2 ≠ 0
The null hypothesis denotes that the population R2 is zero whereas the alternative
hypothesis denotes that the population R2 is not zero.
The F-distribution is used for calculating the significance of the R2 as follows:
(n − k − 1) R 2
F= (eq. 3.9)
k (1 − R 2 )
The value of R2 can be adjusted R2 ( R 2 = .825) value of the R2 value (.865).
When the sample size is small, it is recommended that R 2 value be used. As the
sample size increase the difference between the resulting F values reduce considerably.
Since our sample is obviously small, we will use unbiased estimator.
(n − k − 1) R 2
F=
k (1 − R 2 )
(10 − 2 − 1) × 0.826 5.783

F= = = 16.635
2 × (1 − 0.826) 0.348
The degrees of freedom employed in the significance testing of this F value are df
num
= k and df denominator = n – k – 1.
For our example the degrees of freedom are as follows:
df num
=k=2
df denominator
= n – k – 1 = 10 – 2 – 1 = 7
The tabled value for the F (2, 7) = 4.737 at 0.05 level of significance and the F (2, 7)
= 9.547 at 0.01 level of significance. The calculated value of the F 16.635 is greater
than the critical value of F. so we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative
hypothesis which stated that the P2 is not zero at less than 0.01 level.
62
You could have computed the F value using the R2 instead of adjusted R2 ( R 2 ). Partial and Multiple
Correlations
Often the statistical packages report the significance of R2 and not significance of
adjusted R2 ( R 2 ).
It is the judgment of the researcher to use either of them. In the same example if R2
value is substituted for the adjusted R2 ( R 2 ) value then the F is 22.387 that is
significant at .01 level.
3.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have learned about the interesting procedures of computing the
correlations. Especially, when we are interested in controlling for one or more variable.
The multiple correlations provide us with an opportunity to calculate correlations
between a variable and a linear combination of other variable. You practice them
by solving some of the example given below, and you will understand the use of
them.

Problems
1) A clinical psychologist was interested in testing the relationship between health
and stress. But she realised that coping skills will have an influence on this
relationship so she administered General Health Questionnaire, Stress Scale and
a coping scale. The data was collected on 15 individuals. Calculate the multiple
correlation for this problem and test the significance. The data is as follows:
Health Stress Coping

9 5 18
10 5 21
8 7 17
7 4 16
8 7 22
9 6 19
12 8 25
11 3 17
10 5 20
14 6 22
7 7 18
9 9 22
6 7 17
16 3 20
14 8 26
In addition, answer the following questions:

Which correlation coefficient she should compute, if she wants to control the
relationship between stress and health for the effect of coping?
Write a null and alternative hypothesis for partial correlation. 63
Correlation and Regression Calculate the partial correlation between stress and health controlled for the effect
of coping.
Test the significance of the relationship.
Which correlation coefficient she should compute, if she wants to control the
relationship between stress and health for the effect of coping only on stress?
Write a null and alternative hypothesis for part correlation.
Calculate the part correlation between stress and health controlled for the effect of
coping on stress and test the significance.
Which correlation coefficient she should compute, if she wants to know the relationship
between health (Y) and linear combination of stress (X1) and coping (X2)?
Answer:
a) Partial correlation; b) H0: rp = 0 and HA : rp ≠ 0; c) –.77; d) significant
at 0.01 level; e) part (semipartial); f) H 0: r sp = 0 and H A : r sp ≠ 0;
g) –.62, p <.05. h) Multiple correlation; i) R = 0.86, p <.01.
2) A social psychologist was interested in testing the relationship between attitude
towards women (ATW) and openness to values (OV). But she realised education
(EDU) will influence this relationship so she administered attitude to women scale,
openness to values scale and also recorded the years spent in formal education. The
data was collected on 10 individuals.
Calculate the multiple correlation for this problem and test the significance.
The data is as follows:
ATW OV Edu
2 7 14
4 10 13
8 14 11
7 13 9
8 9 5
9 10 14
1 6 5
0 9 6
6 12 11
5 10 12
In addition, answer the following questions:

1) Which correlation coefficient she should compute, if she wants to control the
relationship between ATW and OV for the effect of EDU?
2) Write a null and alternative hypothesis for partial correlation.
3) Calculate the partial correlation between ATW and OV controlled for the effect
of EDU.
4) Test the significance of the relationship.
64
5) Which correlation coefficient she should compute, if she wants to control the Partial and Multiple
Correlations
relationship between ATW and OV for the effect of EDU only on OV?
6) Write a null and alternative hypothesis for part correlation.
7) Calculate the part correlation between ATW and OV controlled for the effect
of EDU on OV and test the significance.
8) Which correlation coefficient she should compute, if she wants to know the
relationship between ATW (Y) and linear combination of OV (X1) and EDU
(X2)?
9) Write a null and alternative hypothesis for multiple correlation.
Answer:
a) Partial correlation; b) H0: rp = 0 and HA : rp ≠ 0; c) .64; d) insignificant (the
n is small); e) part (semipartial); f) H0: rsp = 0 and HA : rsp ≠ 0; g) 0.61, p >.05.
h) Multiple correlation; i) R = 0.67, p >.05.

House, New Delhi.
65
UNIT 4 BIVARIATE AND MULTIPLE
REGRESSION
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Bivariate and Multiple Regression
4.2.1 Predicting one Variable from Another
4.2.2 Plotting the Relationship
4.2.3 Mean, Variance and Covariance: Building Blocks of Regression
4.2.4 The Regression Equation
4.2.5 Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)
4.2.6 Significance of Testing of b.
4.2.7 Accuracy of Prediction
4.2.8 Assumptions Underlying Regression
4.2.9 Interpretation of Regression
4.3 Standardised Regression Analysis and Standardised Coefficients

4.4 Multiple Regression
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Psychologists, as other scientists, are also interested in prediction. Since our domain
of enquiry relates with human behaviour, our predictions are associated with human
behaviour. We are interested in knowing how human beings will behave provided we
have some information about them. It is not that we all the time depend on theories
such as psychoanalysis, behaviourism or cognitive in order to predict human behaviour.
There are also statistical methods which can help predict certain phenomenon of
human behaviour. We would study in this unit the statistical methods that can be
used for the purpose of prediction. These statistical methods are called Regression.
We will first learn the concept of regression, then learn how to plot the relationship
between variables, and learn to work out The Regression Equation. We will also deal
with how far we can be accurate in predicting with the help of regression equation
by the help of tests of significance. Finally we will be dealing with how to interpret
regression and deal with also Multiple regression, that is, which variables influence
a particular phenomenon.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
z Describe and explain concept of regression correlation;
z Explain, describe and differentiate between bivariate regression and multiple
regresion;
66
z Describe and explain concept of multiple correlation; Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
z Develop a regression equation;
z Compute the a and b of bivariate regression by using OLS;
z Test the significance of regression;
z Interpret regression results;
z Apply the regression techniques to the real data;
z Explain Multiple regression; and
z Use Multiple regression in real data.
4.2 BIVARIATE AND MULTIPLE REGRESSION

We always see that the meteorology department predicts the rain, the economists
predict the outcome of a particular policy, financial experts predict the share market,
the election experts predict the outcome of voting and so on. Similarly using
statistical method, psychologists too can predict certain human behaviours. For
example, one can predict the examination marks after writing the examination by
checking what questions we have attempted and how we have faired in it and what
marks we can expect for each question and so on.
Most of us are interested in this exercise of prediction. On many occasions, we also
predict the behaviour of our friends, colleagues and family. Predicting and trying to
speculate about what might happen in future is integral part of human curiosity. While
there are many theories of psychology and personality that would help us predict
behaviours, one can also predict a certain phenomenon in terms of statistics. This
method is called regression in statistics.
The simplest form of the regression is simple linear regression (at times also called
as bivariate regression). Carl Frederick Gauss discovered a method of least squares
(1809) and later on developed Gauss-Markov theorem (1821). Sir Fransis Galton
contributed to the method of regression and also gave the name.
Let us see what this is all about. Let us say we have data on two variables (Y and
X), and we create an equation, called regression equation, which later on helps us
in predicting the score of one variable (Y) by simply using the scores on another
variable (X). Let us learn about the utility of the regression analysis, how to do it,
how to test the significance and issues surrounding it.
Regression analysis tries to predict Y variable from X variable. In the general form,
it tries to predict Y from a X1, X2, …, Xk, where k is number of predictor variables.
Initially we will learn about two variable prediction, one of which is a predictor and
the other one will be predicted. Then we will look at the general form of Regression.
Just think of the variables that can be used in prediction in psychology. Look at the
following statements. (See the box below)
z Stress leads to health deterioration.
z Openness increases creativity.
z Extraversion increases social acceptance.
67
z Social support influences coping with mental health problems.
z Stigma about mental illness decides the help seeking behaviour.
z Parental intelligence leads to child’s intelligence
z Attitude to job and attrition depends on affective commitment to the organisation.
What do you see in common in all these statements?
All the statements above have two variables.
One of the variables can potentially predict the other variable.
4.2.1 Predicting One Variable from Another

Let us now consider the problem of prediction. How to predict Y from X.
The Y variable is called the dependent variable. It is also called as criterion variable.
It is the variable that has to be predicted.
The X variable is a called as independent variable. It is also called as predictor
variable (Please note that in experimental psychology we define independent variable
as the variable that is manipulated by the experimenter, whereas in regression the
term is used less strictly. In Regression, the independent variable is not manipulated
by the researcher or experimenter.)
If X is predicting Y, then typically it is said that ‘X is regressed on Y’.
Let’s identify the X and Y in our statements given in the box.
In the first statement Stress (X) lead to the health (Y) deterioration
In the second statement, Openness (X) increases the creativity (Y).
In the third statement, Extroversion (X) increases the social acceptance (Y).
In fourth statement, Social support (X) influences the coping with mental health
problems (Y).
In the fifth statement, Stigma about mental illness (X) decided the help seeking
behaviour (Y).
In the sixth statement, Parental intelligence (X) leads to child’s intelligence (Y).
In the last statement, Attitude (Y) to job and attrition depends on affective
commitment(X) to the organisation
Before we learn how to do the regression, we shall quickly browse through the
basic concepts in regression analysis.
4.2.2 Plotting the Relationship

We have already learned to plot the scatter plots. We shall try to plot a scatter and
try to understand regression graphically.
The perfect relationship
Look at the following example. You have data of five swimmers on two variables,
hours of practice per day (X) and time taken (Y).
68
Swimmer hours of practice Time taken Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
per day (in seconds)
A 1 50
B 2 45
C 3 40
D 4 35
E 5 30
Now plot the relationship between them as a scatter. You know how to do that. We
have now tried to draw a line that passes through all the data points in the scatter.
And we have successfully done it.
Looking at figure 4.1 you realise that as the number of hours spent in practice
increase the time taken is reducing. There is a perfect linear relationship between
them. This means that you can draw a line on the scatter that passes through all the
data points on the scatter.
Fig. 4.1: Figure showing the data between number of hours spent in
practice and time take.
For this data, the slope of the line can be calculated by using a simple technique.
Y2 − Y1
Slope = (eq. 4.1)
X 2 − X1
Where Y2 and Y1 are any two points on Y axis and X2 and X1 are corresponding
two points on X axis.
For example, take Y2 = 45 and Y1 = 40 and corresponding X2 and X1 are 2 and
3. The slope is
Y2 − Y1 45 − 40 5
Slope = = = = −5 (eq. 4.2)
X 2 − X1 2−3 −1
The slope of the line is – 5.
The point at which the line passes through the Y axis (the Y intercept of the line) is
55.
Now, if we ask about the unknown score, 6 hours of practice per day, then the
predicted X score is 25 seconds (which is very close the world record).
How have we obtained it? we have solved it for a equation of straight line. That
equation is
69
Y = a + bX (eq. 4.3)
Where a = point where the line passes the Y axis and
b = is a slope of the line.
We have a = 55 and b = –5 . So for X = 6 the Y will be
(eq. 4.4)
The Imperfect Relationship.
But the problem is the real data will not be so systematic and all data points in scatter
will not fall on a straight line.
Look at the following example of the stigma and visits to mental health professionals.
The Table 4.2 shown below display the data of stigma and number of appointments
missed to mental health professional.
Table 4.2: Data of stigma and number of appointments missed to mental
health professional
This data was obtained from ten patients who are suffering due to mental illness. The
data was collected on King, Show and others (2007) Stigma scale and the data
were obtained on number of visits missed by the patients. The data is plotted in the
scatter plot below.
Fig. 4.2: Scatter showing the relationship between stigma and number
of appointments missed
70
Now you will realise that it is not possible to draw a straight line that passes through Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
all the data points. Then how to know the relationship between X and Y and then
predict the scores of Y from scores of X. How to draw the straight line for this data?
This is a problem one would face with real data. The linear regression analysis solves
this problem.
4.2.3 Mean, Variance and Covariance: Building Blocks of

Regression
In order to understand the building blocks of regression we must describe some of
the terms such as (i) the mean, (ii) variance, and (iii) covariance which are presented
in the following section.
i) Mean
Mean of variable X (symbolised as X ) is sum of scores ( ∑ X i ) divided by number

i =1
of observations (n). The mean is calculated in following way.
∑X i
X= i =1 (eq. 4.5)
n
You have learned this in the first block. We will need to use this as a basic element
to compute correlation.
ii) Variance
The variance of a variable X (symbolised as S X2 ) is the sum of squares of the

deviations of each X score from the mean of X ( ∑ ( X − X ) 2 ) divided by number
of observations (n).
∑ ( X − X )2
X =
2
n (eq. 4.6)
You have already learned that standard deviation of variable X , symbolised as S X ,

is square root of variance of X, symbolised as .
iii) Covariance
The covariance between X and Y ( Cov XY or S XY ) can be stated as
Cov XY =
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y ) (eq. 4.7)
n
Covariance is a number that indicates the association between two variables. To

compute covariance, deviation of each score on X from its mean ( X ) and deviation
of each score on Y from its mean ( Y ) is initially calculated.
Then products of these deviations are obtained.

Then, these products are summated. 71
Correlation and Regression This sum gives us the numerator for covariance.
Divide this sum by number of observations (n).
The resulting number is covariance.
4.2.4 The Regression Equation

The regression equation can be written as
Y =α + β X +ε (eq. 4.8)
Where,
Y = dependent variable or criterion variable
á = the population parameter for the y-intercept of the regression line, or regression
coefficient (r=óy/ óx)
â = population slope of the regression line or regression coefficient (r*óx/ óy)
å = the error in the equation or residual
The value of á and â are not known, since they are values at the level of population.
The population level value is called the parameter. It is virtually impossible to calculate
parameter. So we have to estimate it. The two parameters estimated are á and â.
The estimator of the á is ‘a’ and the estimator for â is ‘b’. So at the sample level
equation can be written as
Y = a + bX + e (eq. 4.9)
Where,
Y = the scores on Y variable
X = scores on X variable
a = the Y-intercept of the regression line for the sample or regression constant in
sample
b = the slope of the regression line or regression coefficient in sample
e = error in prediction of the scores on Y variable, or residual
Yl = a + bX (eq. 4.10)
Where, Y = predicted value of Y in sample. This value is not an actual value but the
value of Y that is predicted using the equation Yl = a + bX . So we can write error
as by substituting the in the earlier equation.
2
S x (eq. 4.11)
Y − Yl = e (eq. 4.12)
This is a useful expression. We shall use it while computing the statistical significance
of the regression and will also be useful for understanding the least squares.
4.2.5 Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)

Just recall the data between the stigma scores and number of appointments missed
by the person. Now, if we have to draw the straight line that will explain the
relationship between the stigma scores and number of appointments missed, then
there will be many such lines possible. Out of them, which line we should consider
as the best fit line?
72
It is not possible to draw a straight line that will pass through all the points. And many Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
lines are possible with the earlier equation Y = a + bX + e
This problem is solved by the method of least squares or ordinary least squares
(OLS).
One easy way to judging how good the line is, is to know how close various values
of Yl are to corresponding values of Y, which means to check how close predicted
value ( Yl ) is to the actual value of the Y.
These predicted values are computed by using the various values of X in the data.
But how to decide what is the best fit?
One logical solution to this problem is to look at the error term, e. the e is defined
as
Y − Yl = e
Which means,
Y − (a + bX ) = e (eq. 4.13)
The Y − Yl is the error in prediction of the Y.

This error is called as an obtained residual of the regression.
The best line is the one that minimises this residual.
Some of the predicted values of Y will be higher than the actual value of Y and some
would be lower, and hence the sum of residual will be zero.
In order to take care of this problem, the summation is not done over the Y − Yl Instead
∑ (Y − Yl )
2
the is summated. An attempt to minimise the sum of the squared
∑( )
2
errors — minimise the Y − Yl is made, this is called as least squares.
Calculation of a and b
The values for a and b that minimises the sum of the squared errors — minimise the
∑ (Y − Yl )
2
need to be calculated. The b can be calculated as follows.
Cov XY
b= (eq. 4.14)
S X2
Where,
CovXY = covariance between X and Y. This is given by the formula ∑ (X-X)(Y-Y)
/ N S X2 = variance of X
The b is covariance of X and Y divided by the variance of X. it can be rewritten
as
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y )
b= n (eq. 4.15)
S X2 73
b=
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y ) (eq. 4.16)
nS X2
The a can be calculated as follows by using our earlier equation.
Y = a + bX (eq. 4.17)
a = Y − bX (eq. 4.18)
Once we know how to calculate a and b, then we can solve the problem of
regression. Let’s now solve the example we have started with. The example was
about the predicting the number of appointments missed by the patient (Y) by using
the Stigma scale scores (X). The data is as follows:
Table 4.3: Table showing the computation of a and b.
Patient Stigma Number X − X Y − Y ( X − X )2 (Y − Y ) 2 ( X − X )(Y − Y )

scores of
appoint
ments
missed
1 60 5 -1 -1 1 1 1
2 50 2 -11 -4 121 16 44
3 70 9 9 3 81 9 27
4 73 6 12 0 144 0 0
5 64 9 3 3 9 9 9
6 68 4 7 -2 49 4 -14
7 56 3 -5 -3 25 9 15
8 54 8 -7 2 49 4 -14
9 49 3 -12 -3 144 9 36
10 66 11 5 5 25 25 25
X ∑X ∑ Y =60 ∑ ( X − X )2 ∑ (Y − Y ) 2
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y )
=610 = 648 = 86 = 129
n = 10 X = 61 Y=6
SX = ∑ ( X − X ) / n = 8.50
2
SY = ∑ (Y − Y ) / n = 2.93
2
Cov XY =
∑ ( X − X )(Y − Y ) = 129 = 12.9
n 10
Cov XY 12.9 12.9
b= = = = 0.1991
S X2 8.502 64.8
a = Y − bX = 6 − (0.1991× 61) = −6.144
Step 1. You need scores of subjects on two variables. We have scores on ten
subjects on two variables, the Stigma scores (X) and number of appointments missed
(Y).
Then list the pairs of scores on two variables in two columns.
The order will not make any difference.
74
Remember, same individuals’ two scores should be kept together. Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
Label the predictor variable as X and criterion as Y.
Step 2. Compute the mean of variable X and variable Y. It was found to be 61 and
6 respectively.
Step 3. Compute the deviation of each X score from its mean ( X ) and each Y
score from its own mean ( Y ). This is shown in the column labeled as
X − X and Y − Y . As you have learned earlier, the sum of these columns has to be
zero.
Step 4. Compute the square of and . This is shown in next two

columns labeled as ( )2 and ( )2. Then compute the sum of these squared
deviations of X and Y.
The sum of squared deviations for X is 648 and for Y it is 86.
Divide them by n to obtain the standard deviations for X and Y. The was found to
be 8.49. Similarly, the Sy was found to be 3.09.
Step 5. Compute the cross-product of the deviations of X and Y. These cross-
products are shown in the last column labeled as ( ) and ( ). Then obtain
the sum of these cross-products. It was found to be 129. Now, we have all the
elements required for computing b.
Step 6. Compute the covariance between X and Y, which turned out to be 12.9.
Step 7. Compute the b value by dividing the covariance XY (Cov XY) by the variance
of . We compute S x2 by taking n as a denominator the S x2 value is 64.8. The b
is found to be 0.1991. Now we can easily compute the a which is
a = Y − bX = 6 − (0.1991× 61) = −6.144 .
Once the a and b are computed, we can write the regression equation to get the
predicted values of Y as follows:
Yl = a + bX (eq. 4.19)
Yl = −6.144 + (0.1991× X )
Now we can compute the predicted values for each of the X value. For example
the predicted value for the first X value (60) is as follows:
5.80 = −6.144 + (0.1991× 60)
In this way you can compute the predicted Y value for each of the X score. Now
you realise that this value is not Y value but the predicted Y value obtained from X.
Now look at the table below. It gives the X, Y and Predicted Y values.
75
Correlation and Regression Table 4.4: Table showing the computation of the significance for the b,
the slope of the line
Stigma Number of Predicted Residual Residual Variance Variance
Ss scores appointments value of Y Y − Yl = e (Y − Yl )2 = e2explained explained
(X) missed Yˆ − Y Squared
(Y) (Yˆ − Y ) 2
1 60 5 5.80 -0.80 0.64 -0.20 0.04
2 50 2 3.81 -1.81 3.28 -2.19 4.80
3 70 9 7.79 1.21 1.46 1.79 3.21
4 73 6 8.39 -2.39 5.71 2.39 5.71
5 64 9 6.60 2.40 5.77 0.60 0.36
6 68 4 7.39 -3.39 11.52 1.39 1.94
7 56 3 5.00 -2.00 4.02 -1.00 0.99
8 54 8 4.61 3.39 11.52 -1.39 1.94
9 49 3 3.61 -0.61 0.37 -2.39 5.71
10 66 11 7.00 4.00 16.04 1.00 0.99
Sum 610 60 60 0 60.32 0 25.68
With the availability of residual, we can obtain the sum of squared residual. The sum
of squared residual is 60.32. This is the minimum value that can be obtained if a
straight line is drawn for the relationship between X and Y.
There is no other line than can give value as small as this.
So this line is considered as a best fit line.
The mean of Y is 6. So we can now obtain an interesting expression. This expression
is Yˆ − Y .
This will provide us the amount of variance in Y explained by the predicted value of
Y which is Yˆ .
The sum of this difference is bound to be zero. So we square the difference.

The sum of square of the difference between predicted value of Y and mean of Y
is given below:
∑ (Yˆ − Y )
2
,
This is the amount of variance explained in the Y by the predicted value of the Y.
This can be expressed as follows:
Total Variance in Y = Variance Explained by Regresion + Residual variance
(eq. 4.20)
This can be written as
Y − Y = (Yˆ − Y ) + (Y − Yˆ ) (eq. 4.21)
∑ Y − Y = ∑ (Yˆ − Y ) + ∑ (Y − Yˆ ) (eq. 4.22)
Since the summation of these differences are zero, we square the difference. The
76 equation can be rewritten as
Bivariate and Multiple
∑ (Y − Y )2 = ∑ (Yˆ − Y )2 + ∑ (Y − Yˆ )
2
(eq. 4.23) Regression
Where,
∑ (Y − Y ) 2
= Total variance in Y. Total sum of squares (SST).
∑ (Yˆ − Y ) 2
= Variance in Y explained by X. Sum of squares explained (SSRegression).
∑ (Y − Yˆ ) = variance in Y not explained by X. Residual sum of squares (SS

2
).
Residual
SSTotal = SS Re gresion + SS Re sidual (eq. 4.24)
Look at the figure below. You will understand the division of SSTotal into SS Regression
and SS Residual.
It shows that the distance between the Y and Y is total deviation of that Y value from
Y . This is shown as (Y − Y ) .
From this total deviation or variation, the explained variation is distance between Y
and the predicted Y value. This is shown as Yˆ − Y .
This is explained by the regression line. The distance that regression equation fails to
explain is between Y and predicted value of Y. This distance is residual or remaining
variance that regression equation cannot explain. This is shown as Y − Yˆ .
Fig. 4.3: The figure showing the scatter of X and Y, the regression line, and also explains
the variance explained, residual and total.
4.2.6 Significance Testing of b

The F-distribution is employed to test the significance of the b.
The slope or regression coefficient obtained on sample is an estimator of the population
slope or population regression coefficient called as â.
We already have completed the basics for computing the F-distribution.
S 2 Between
F= (eq. 4.25) 77
S 2Within
Correlation and Regression In case of regression, the same formula is used. The sum of squares total, sum of
squares regression, and sum of squares residual have already been computed. We
will use them now. Look at the table below.
Table 4.5: Table showing the computation of significance of b.
Source Sum of Squares df S2 F
Regression ∑ (Yˆ − Y )2 k
∑ (Yˆ − Y )2 S 2 Re gresion
k S 2 Re sidual
Residual
∑ (Y − Yˆ ) ∑ (Y − Yˆ )
2 2
n–k–1
n − k −1
Total ∑ (Y − Y ) 2 n–1
Where, n = sample size, and k = number of independent variables.

The null and the alternative hypothesis tested are as follows:
The F is computed for our example.
Table 4.6: Table showing the computation of the F-statistics for the data.
Source Sum of Squares df S2 F

Regression 25.68 1 25.68 25.68
= 3.41
7.54
Residual 60.32 8 7.54
Total 86 9
The F-value needs to be tested for its significance. The F-value at numerator df =
1, and denominator df = 8 at 0.05 level is 5.31. The obtained value of the F is
smaller than the tabled value of the F. This means that we need to accept the null
hypothesis which states that the â = 0.
This might look surprising for some of you. But one thing we need to understand is
the fact that the sample size (n) for this example is very small. Given that small n,
the ability to reject the false null hypothesis is not so good and that’s the reason we
are accepting this null hypothesis.
4.2.7 Accuracy of Prediction

The present example has not turned out to be significant. But we will continue to
discuss the issues in regression. How accurate we are in predicting Y from X is one
of the important issues. We will look at various measures that tell us about the
accuracy of prediction. We will continue to use this example considering it as significant
even when it is not.
Standard Error of Measurement:
The standard error of estimate provides us an estimate of the error in the estimation.
It can be calculated as follows:
sY . X =
∑ (Y − Yˆ ) 2
=
SS Re sidual
(eq. 4.26)
78
n−2 df
The standard error in our example can be computed using the formula as follows: Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
SS Re sidual 60.32
sY . X = = = 7.54
df 8
Percentage of Variance Explained: r2

The r2 can be used as a measure of amount of variance X explained in Y. This shows
the proportion of variance explained from total variance. Look at the following
equation.
SSRe gression
r2 = (eq. 4.27)
SSTotal
r2 =
∑ (Yˆ − Y )
(eq. 4.28)
∑ (Y − Y )
r2 =
∑ (Yˆ − Y ) = 25.68 = 0.299
∑ (Y − Y ) 86
Which means that 29.9 percent variance in Y is explained by X. This ‘explained
variance’ around 30 percent is a good amount of variance considering the unreliability
of psychological variables.
Indeed, the square root of the r2, will give us the correlation between the X and Y.
Proportional Improvement in Prediction
The Proportional Improvement in Prediction (PIP) is one of the measure of accuracy.
It is calculated as follows:
PIP = 1 − (1 − r 2 ) (eq. 4.29)
In case of our example,
PIP = 1 − (1 − r 2 ) = 1 − (1 − .299 = 0.162
The PIP value for our example is 0.162. So the proportional improvement in prediction
is .162.
4.2.8 Assumption Underlying Regression

Some of the important assumptions for doing the regression analysis are as follows:
i) Independence among the pairs of score.
This assumption implies that the scores of any two observations (subjects in
case of most of psychological data) are not influenced by each other. Each pair
of observation is independent. This is assured when different subjects provides
different pairs of observation.
ii) The variance of the error terms is constant for each value of X.
iii) The relationship between X and Y is linear. 79
Correlation and Regression iv) The error terms follow the normal distribution with a mean zero and variance
one.
v) Independence of Error Terms. The error terms are independent. They are
uncorrelated.
vi) The population of X and the population of Y follow normal distribution and
the population pair of scores of X and Y has a normal bivariate distribution.
This assumption(vi) states that the population distribution of both the variables (X
and Y) is normal. This also means that the pair of scores follows bivariate normal
distribution. This assumption can be tested by using statistical tests for normality.
4.2.9 Interpretation of Regression

The linear regression analysis provides us with lot of information about the data. This
information need to be carefully interpreted. The intercept (á), the slope (â), the r2,
the F-value, need to be interpreted. Let us take these one by one .
The Intercept (á)
The intercept of regression line is the point at which regression line passes through
the y-axis. This point is called as a in the sample and á in the population.
One straightforward interpretation of the a is it is a regression constant. It is that
value, which we need to add into bX in order to get the predicted value of Y.
The other way of understanding the intercept is, intercept of regression line is that
value of Y when the X value is zero. This interpretation looks intuitive. The correctness
of this interpretation depends on whether we have sufficient X values near zero. In
our example, the X was Stigma scores. The lowest value of the stigma scores was
49. Obviously we do not have any scores of X that are near zero. So the interpretation
is unwarranted. This is due to two reasons.
i) We have not taken the complete range of the X values since we are studying
the group of patients.
ii) The real zero X value is almost near impossible and the value of intercept
6.144, which is a Y-value when X is zero, is defiantly not possible.
iii) Nobody would miss -6 appointments. The best is not a single appointment is
missed. So this interpretation is not applicable.
Slope (â):
The slope parameter is most important part of regression. The slope is called as
regression coefficient. This also has straightforward interpretation.
The slope is that change in the Y when X changes by one unit.
So rate of change interpretation is common interpretation of the slope.
In our example, the slope value is 0.1991. This means that if the score on Stigma
scale increases by one unit, the number of appointments missed will change by a
value of .20.
This would also mean that as the score increases by 5 scale points on the Stigma
scale, the person is likely to miss one appointment.
80
The r2.: Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
The r2 is the value that gives us the percentage of the variance X explains in Y.
The value is .299 in our example.
This means that roughly 30 percent variance in Y can be explained by X.
This can also be understood as proportional reduction in error.
Since we obtain r2 by dividing the SS Total
– SS Error
by the SS Total.
This tells us about how much of the error is reduced.

The F ratio
The F-statistics is computed to test a null hypothesis â = 0.
If the F-value is statistically significant then the null hypothesis â = 0 is rejected.
Otherwise one has to accept the null hypothesis. If the null hypothesis is accepted,
then there is no need to do the rest of the statistics.
This clearly means that X cannot linearly predict the Y.
However, in our example, the sample size is too small.
So the power of the statistical test is also small.
4.3 STANDARDISED REGRESSION ANALYSIS AND

STANDARDISED COEFFICIENTS
We have learned about doing the regression analysis with X and Y. In previous
chapters we have also learned to calculate the Z-scores. The Z is a standard score
of a variable. To remind you, the Z can be calculated for each of the variable with
the formula given below:
X −X
Z=
S
The mean of the Z is zero and the standard deviation is one.

Now, instead of predicting Y from X, we calculate the Z scores for both X and Y.
They will be denoted as ZX and ZY.
Now we carry out the regression on standard variables than on unstandardised
variables.
The regression equation will be
ZY = a + bZ X + e (eq. 4.30)
Now, the intercept term is completely redundant in this equation because when we
take the standard variable (that is Z) then the Y-intercept of the regression line is by
default becomes zero. so the equation reduces to
ZY = bZ X + e (eq. 4.31)
The beta value obtained in this regression equation is quite interesting. 81

Correlation and Regression Let us recall the correlation coefficient.
The correlation coefficient r = CovXY /SXSY.
Now, with both the variable being standardised, the SX, SY and SX2, will all be equal
to one.
The slope for regression is calculated as b = CovXY/ SX2.
Now you will realise that the slope (b) is equal to the r, correlation coefficient.
4.4 MULTIPLE REGRESSION

When we have multiple predictors than a single predictor variable, the regression
carried out is called as multiple regression.
So we have a dependent variable and a set of independent variables. Suppose we
have X1, X2, X3, … up to Xk as k independent variables, and Y as a dependent
variable, then the regression equation for sample can be written as:
Y = a + b1 X 1 + b2 X 2 + ... + bk K k (eq. 4.32)
The same equation for the population can be written as
Y = α + β1 X 1 + β 2 X 2 + ... + β k K k (eq. 4.33)
Look at the following data. The data is about three variables, number of appointments
missed, stigma scores, and the distance between the hospital and home.
Generally, one would expect that if the stigma is high, then the appointments would
be missed. Similarly if the hospital is far away, then the appointments may be missed.
Table 4.7: Table of the data for appointments missed, stigma scores and
distance of the hospital from home for 10 patients
Appointments Stigma Distance of the

Missed (Y) Scores (X1) hospital (X2)
2 40 2
3 43 5
4 45 4
5 46 7
6 60 9
7 63 5
8 69 2
9 54 8
11 70 6
11 62 9
The equation for which we carry out the regression analysis is as follows:
Appointmnets Missed (Y ) = a + b1 Stigma Score + b2 Distance from Home + e
We will solve the numerical for this problem. I shall directly provide you with the
answer.
82
The Multiple R2 for this problem is 0.81. which means that 81 percent information Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
in appointments missed is explained by these two variables.
The adjusted value for the same is .76.
The value of intercept is –7.88.
The slope for stigma is 0.22 and
The slope for distance is 0.40.
The results of significance testing are as follows:
Table 4.8: Table showing the significance testing and the ANOVA
summary
Source Sum of Df Mean F Sig.

Squares Square
Regression 73.279 2 36.640 14.981 .003
Residual 17.121 7 2.446
Total 90.400 9
The obtained F-value tells us that the overall model we have tested for is turning out
to be significant. We can actually test the significance of each of the b separately.
When that is done, the b of stigma turned out to be significant (t = 4.61, p <.01)
but the distance did not (t = 1.93, p >.05).
Here too the size of the sample appears to be the problem leading to non significant
results.
The multiple regression equation can be solved hierarchically or directly.
When the equation is solved directly, all the predictors are entered into the equation
simultaneously.
When the equation is solved hierarchically, then the predictors are entered one after
another depending on the theory or simply depending on their statistical ability to
predict the Y.
The multiple regression is very useful technique in psychological research.
4.5 LET US SUM UP

Now we know how to solve the problem of prediction in psychological research.
We can develop suitable regression equation and test it against the data. We can test
the predictability, amount of information in dependent explained by independent, etc.
this technique is very informative.
When we do regression, it does not mean that the causality appears in the equation.
It is not a function of statistics. It has to come from theory.
We now know how to set up a multiple regression equation. Though we do not
know how to do the calculations, we can understand the results of multiple regression.
83
Given below are some problems with Answers
1) A researcher was interested in predicting marks obtained in the first year of the
college form the marks obtained in the high school. He collected data of 15
individuals which is given below. Find out the Independent Variable and
Dependent Variable.
Write regression equation, calculate a and b, plot the scatter and straight line,
write null and alternative hypothesis, determine significance, and comment on
the accuracy of the prediction.
School College
marks marks
67 65
45 50
65 60
60 71
55 54
53 49
59 58
64 69
67 75
69 73
70 64
58 66
63 62
71 65
74 78
2) A researcher was interested in predicting general satisfaction of people form
perceived social support. She collected data of 10 individuals which is given
below. Find out the IV and DV, Write regression equation, calculate a and b,
plot the scatter and straight line, write null and alternative hypothesis, determine
significance, and comment on the accuracy of the prediction.
Satisfaction Perceived
with Life Social
Support
7 7
6 6
5 6
8 3
9 6
7 4
6 4
3 2
11 9
8 5
84
3) A researcher was interested in predicting stage performance form social anxiety. Bivariate and Multiple
Regression
She collected data of 10 individuals which is given below. Find out the IV and
DV, Write regression equation, calculate a and b, plot the scatter and straight
line, write null and alternative hypothesis, determine significance, and comment
on the accuracy of the prediction.
Stage Social
Performance Anxiety
9 11
7 9
6 11
10 7
10 11
9 9
9 8
5 7
14 13
10 9
4) A researcher was interested in predicting attitude to working condition form

affective commitment to job. She collected data of 12 individuals which is given
below. Find out the IV and DV, Write regression equation, calculate a and b,
plot the scatter and straight line, write null and alternative hypothesis, determine
significance, and comment on the accuracy of the prediction.
Attitude to Affective
Work Commitment
5 10
7 13
4 8
5 9
7 14
9 16
3 10
2 6
8 16
7 13
6 9
9 8
Answers:
1) r = .78, r2 = .608, a = 9.27, b = .87, SSRegression = 641.75, SSResidual = 413.19,
F = 20.19.
2) r = .64, r2 = .41, a = 3.41, b = .69, SSRegression = 17.98, SSResidual = 26.02,
F = 5.53.
85
Correlation and Regression 3) r = .51, r2 = .26, a = 2.7, b = .65, SSRegression = 14.67, SSResidual = 42.22,
F = 2.78.
4) r = .67, r2 = .45, a = .958, b = .458, SSRegression = 25.21, SSResidual = 30.79,
F = 8.19.

House, New Delhi.
86
UNIT 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF NORMAL
DISTRIBUTION
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Normal Distribution/ Normal Probability Curve
1.2.1 Concept of Normal Distribution
1.2.2 Concept of Normal Curve
1.2.3 Theoretical Base of the Normal Probability Curve
1.2.4 Characteristics or Properties of Normal Probability Curve (NPC)
1.3 Interpretation of Normal Curve/ Normal Distribution

1.4 Importance of Normal Distribution
1.5 Applications/ Uses of Normal Distribution Curve
1.6 Table of Areas Under the Normal Probability Curve
1.7 Points to be Kept in Mind Consulting Table of Area Under Normal Probability
Curve
1.8 Practical Problems Related to Application of the Normal Probability Curve
1.9 Divergence in Normality (The Non-Normal Distribution)
1.10 Factors Causing Divergence in the Normal Distribution/Normal Curve
1.11 Measuring Divergence in the Normal Distribution/ Normal Curve
1.11.1 Measuring Skewness
1.11.2 Measuring Kurtosis
1.12 Let Us Sum Up

1.0 INTRODUCTION
So far you have learnt in descriptive statistics, how to organise a distribution of
scores and how to describe its shape, central value and variation. You have used
histogram and frequency polygon to illustrate the shape of a frequency distribution,
measures of central tendency to describe the central value and measures of variability
to indicate its variation. All these descriptions have gone a long way in providing
information about a set of scores, but we also need procedures to describe individual
scores or cutting point scores to categorize the entire group of individuals on the
basis of their ability or the nature of test paper, which a psychometerician or teacher
has used to assess the outcomes of the individual on a certain ability test. For
example, suppose a teacher has administered a test designed to appraise the level
of achievement and a student has got some score on the test. What did that score
mean? The obtained score has some meaning only with respect to other scores either
the teacher may be interested to know how many students lie within the certain range 5
Normal Distribution of scores? Or how many students are above and below certain referenced score?
Or how many students may be assign A, B, C, D etc. grades according to their
ability?
To have an answer to such problems, the curve of Bell shape, which is known
as Normal curve, and the related distribution of scores, through which the bell
shaped curve is obtained, generally known as Normal Distribution, is much helpful.
Thus the present unit presents the concept, characteristics and use of Normal
Distributions and Normal Curve, by suitable illustrations and explanations.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
z Explain the concept of normal distribution and normal probability curve;
z Draw the normal probability curve on the basis of given normal distribution;
z Explain the theoretical basis of the normal probability curve;
z Elucidate the Characteristics of the normal probability curve and normal
distribution;
z Analyse the normal curve obtained on the basis of large number of observations;
z Describe the importance of normal distribution curve in mental and educational
measurements;
z Explain the applications of normal curve in mental measurement and educational
evaluation;
z Read the table of area under normal probability curve;
z Compare the Non-Normal with normal Distribution and express the causes of
divergence from normalcy; and
z Explain the significance of skewness and kurtosis in the mental measurement
and educational evaluation.
1.2 NORMAL DISTRIBUTION/ NORMAL

PROBABILITY CURVE
1.2.1 Concept of Normal Distribution
Carefully look at the following hypothetical frequency distribution, which a teacher
has obtained after examining 150 students of class IX on a Mathematics achievement
test.
6
Table 1.2.1: Frequency distribution of the Mathematics achievement test Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
scores
Class Intervals Tallies Frequency

85 – 89 I 1
80 – 84 II 2
75 – 79 IIII 4
70 – 74 IIII II 7
65 – 69 IIII IIII 10
60 – 64 IIII IIII IIII I 16
55 – 59 IIII IIII IIII IIII 20
50 – 54 IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII 30
45 – 49 IIII IIII IIII IIII 20
40 – 44 IIII IIII IIII I 16
35 – 39 IIII IIII 10
30 – 34 IIII II 7
25 – 29 IIII 4
20 – 24 II 2
15 – 19 I 1
Total 150
Are you able to find some special trend in the frequencies shown in the column 3
of the above table? Probably yes! The concentration of maximum frequencies (f =
30) lies near a central value of distribution and frequencies gradually tapper off
symmetrically on both the sides of this value.
1.2.2 Concept of Normal Curve

Now, suppose if we draw a frequency polygone with the help of above distribution,
we will have a curve as shown in the fig. 1.2.1
Fig. 1.2.1: Frequency Polygon of the data given in Table 1.2.1
The shape of the curve in Fig. 1.2.1 is just like a ‘Bell’ and is symmetrical on both
the sides.
If you compute the values of Mean, Median and Mode, you will find that these three
are approximately the same (M = 52; Md = 52 and Mo = 52)
7
Normal Distribution This Bell shaped curve technically known as Normal Probability Curve or simply
Normal Curve and the corresponding frequency distribution of scores, having just the
same values of all three measures of central tendency (Mean, Median and Mode)
is known as Normal Distribution.
Many variables in the physical (e.g. height, weight, temperature etc.) biological (e.g.
age, longevity, blood sugar level and behavioural (e.g. Intelligence; Achievement;
Adjustment; Anxiety; Socio-Economic-Status etc.) sciences are normally distributed
in the nature. This normal curve has a great significance in mental measurement.
Hence to measure such behavioural aspects, the Normal Probability Curve in simple
terms Normal Curve worked as reference curve and the unit of measurement is
described as σ (Sigma).
1.2.3 Theoretical Base of the Normal Probability Curve

The normal probability curve is based upon the law of Probability (the various games
of chance) discovered by French Mathematician Abraham Demoiver (1667-1754).
In the eighteenth century, he developed its mathematical equation and graphical
representation also.
The law of probability and the normal curve that illust-rates it are based upon the
law of chance or the probable occurrence of certain events. When any body of
observations conforms to this mathematical form, it can be represented by a bell
shaped curve with definite characteristics.
1.2.4 Characteristics or Properties of Normal Probability

Curve (NPC)
The characteristics of the normal probability curve are:
1) The Normal Curve is Symmetrical: The normal probability curve is symmetrical
around it’s vertical axis called ordinate. The symmetry about the ordinate at the
central point of the curve implies that the size, shape and slope of the curve on
one side of the curve is identical to that of the other. In other words the left and
right halves to the middle central point are mirror images, as shown in the figure
given here.
Fig. 1.2.2
2) The Normal Curve is Unimodel: Since there is only one maximum point in
the curve, thus the normal probability curve is unimodel, i.e. it has only one
mode.
8
3) The Maximum Ordinate occurs at the Center: The maximum height of the Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
ordinate always occur at the central point of the curve, that is the mid-point. In
the unit normal curve it is equal to 0.3989.
4) The Normal Curve is Asymptotic to the X Axis: The normal probability
curve approaches the horizontal axis asymptotically; i.e. the curve continues to
decrease in height on both ends away from the middle point (the maximum
ordinate point); but it never touches the horizontal axis. Therefore its ends
extend from minus infinity (- ∞) to plus infinity (+ ∞).
Fig. 1.2.3
5) The Height of the Curve declines Symmetrically: In the normal probability

curve the height declines symmetrically in either direction from the maximum
point.
6) The Points of Influx occur at point ±1 Standard Deviation (± ± 1 σ): The
normal curve changes its direction from convex to concave at a point recognised
as point of influx. If we draw the perpendiculars from these two points of influx
of the curve to the horizontal X axis; touch at a distance one standard deviation
unit from above and below the mean (the central point).
7) The Total Percentage of Area of the Normal Curve within Two Points of
Influxation is fixed: Approximately 68.26% area of the curve lies within the
limits of ± 1 standard deviation (± 1 σ) unit from the mean.
Fig. 1.2.4
8) The Total Area under Normal Curve may be also considered 100 Percent
Probability: The total area under the normal curve may be considered to
approach 100 percent probability; interpreted in terms of standard deviations.
9
The specified area under each unit of standard deviation are shown in this figure.
Normal Distribution
Fig. 1.2.5: The Percentage of the Cases Failing Between Successive Standard Deviation in
Normal Distribution
9) The Normal Curve is Bilateral: The 50% area of the curve lies to the left
side of the maximum central ordinate and 50% of the area lies to the right side.
Hence the curve is bilateral.
10) The Normal Curve is a mathematical model in behavioural Sciences
Specially in Mental Measurement: This curve is used as a measurement
scale. The measurement unit of this scale is ± 1σ (the unit standard deviation).
1) Define a Normal Probability Curve.
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2) Write the properties of Normal Distribution.
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3) Mention the conditions under which the frequency distribution can be
approximated to the normal distribution.
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4) In a distribution what percentage of frequencies are lie in between
(a) -1 σ to + 1 σ
10
Characteristics of Normal
(b) -2 σ to + 2 σ Distribution
(c) -3 σ to + 3 σ
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5) Practically, why are the two ends of normal curve considered closed at the
points ±3 σ of the base.
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1.3 INTERPRETATION OF NORMAL CURVE/

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
What do normal curve/ normal distribution indicate? Normal curve has great significance
in the mental measurement and educational evaluation. It gives important information
about the trait being measured.
If the frequency polygon of observations or measurements of certain trait is a normal
curve, it is a indication that
1) The measured trait is normally distributed in the universe.
2) Most of the cases i.e. individuals are average in the measured trait and their
percentage in the total population is about 68.26%.
3) Approximately 15.87% (50-34.13%) of cases are high in the trait measured.
4) Similarly 15.87% of cases are low in the trait measured.
5) The test which is used to measure the trait is good.
6) The test which is used to measure the trait has good discrimination power as
it differentiates between poor, average and high ability group individuals.
7) The items of the test used are fairly distributed in terms of difficulty level.
1.4 IMPORTANCE OF NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

The Normal distribution is by far the most used distribution in inferential statistics
because of the following reasons:
1) Number of evidences are accumulated to show that normal distribution provides
a good fit or describe the frequencies of occurrence of many variable facts in
biological statistics, e.g. sex ratio in births, in a country over a number of years.
The anthropometrical data, e.g. height, weight, etc. The social and economic
data e.g. rate of births, marriages and deaths. In psychological measurements
11
Normal Distribution e.g. Intelligence, perception span, reaction time, adjustment, anxiety etc. In
errors of observation in physics, chemistry, astronomy and other physical sciences.
2) The normal distribution is of great value in educational evaluation and educational
research, when we make use of mental measurement. It may be noted that
normal distribution is not an actual distribution of scores on any test of ability
or academic achievement, but is, instead, a mathematical model. The distributions
of test scores approach the theoretical normal distribution as a limit, but the fit
is rarely ideal and perfect.
1.5 APPLICATIONS/USES OF NORMAL

DISTRIBUTION CURVE
There are number of applications of normal curve in the field of psychology as well
as educational measurement and evaluation. These are:
i) To determine the percentage of cases (in a normal distribution) within given
limits or scores.
ii) To determine the percentage of cases that are above or below a given score
or reference point.
iii) To determine the limits of scores which include a given percentage of cases to
determine the percentile rank of an individual or a student in his own group.
v) To find out the percentile value of an individual on the basis of his percentile
rank.
vi) Dividing a group into sub-groups according to certain ability and assigning the
grades.
vii) To compare the two distributions in terms of overlapping.
viii) To determine the relative difficulty of test items.
1.6 TABLE OF AREAS UNDER THE NORMAL

PROBABILITY CURVE
How do we use all the above applications of normal curve in mental as well as in
educational measurement and evaluation? It is essential first to know about the Table
of areas under the normal curve.
The Table 1.6.1 gives the fractional parts of the total area under the normal curve
found between the mean and ordinates erected at various σ (sigma) distances from
the mean.
The normal probability curve table is generally limited to the areas under unit normal
curve with N = 1, σ = 1. In case, when the values of N and σ are different from
these, the measurements or scores should be converted into sigma scores (also
referred to as standard scores or z scores). The process is as follows :
X−M x
z= or z =
σ σ
In which: z = Standard Score X = Raw Score
12 M = Mean of X Scores σ = Standard Deviation of X Scores
The table of areas of normal probability curve are then referred to find out the Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
proportion of area between the mean and the z value.
Though the total area under the N.P.C. is 1, but for convenience, the total area under
the curve is taken to be 10,000 because of the greater ease with which fractional
parts of the total area, may be then calculated.
The first column of the table, x/σ gives distance in tenths of σ measured off on the
base line for the normal curve from the mean as origin. In the row, the x/σ distance
are given to the second place of the decimal.
To find the number of cases in the normal distribution between the mean, and the
ordinate erected at a distance of lσ unit from the mean, we go down the x/σ column
until 1.0 is reached and in the next column under .00 we take the entry opposite 1.0,
namely 3413. This figure means that 3413 cases in 10,000; or 34.13 percent of the
entire area of the curve lies between the mean and lσ. Similarly, if we have to find
the percentage of the distribution between the mean and 1 .56 σ, say, we go down
the x/σ column to 1.5, then across horizontally to the column headed by .06, and
note the entry 44.06. This is the percentage of the total area that lies between the
mean and 1.56σ.
Table 1.6.1: Fractional parts of the total area (taken as 10,000) under the
normal probability curve, corresponding to distance on the
baseline between the mean and successive points laid off from
the mean in units of standard deviation.
x/σ .00 .01 .02 .03 .04 .05 .06 .07 .08 .09
0.0 0000 0040 0080 0120 0160 0199 0239 0279 0319 0359
0.1 0398 0438 0478 0517 0557 0596 0636 0675 0714 0753
0.2 0793 0832 0871 0910 0948 0987 1026 1064 1103 1141
0.3 1179 1217 1255 1293 1331 1368 1406 1443 1480 1517
0.4 1554 1591 1628 1664 1700 1736 1772 1808 1844 1879
0.5 1915 1950 1985 2019 2054 2088 2123 2157 2190 2224
0.6 2257 2291 2324 2457 2389 2422 2454 2486 2517 2549
0.7 2580 2611 2642 2673 2704 2734 2764 2794 2823 2852
0.8 2881 2910 2939 2967 2995 3023 3051 3078 3106 3133
0.9 3159 3186 3212 3238 3264 3290 3315 3340 3365 3389
1.0 3413 3438 3461 3485 3508 3531 3554 3577 3599 3621
1.1 3643 3665 3686 3708 3729 3749 3770 3790 3810 3830
1.2 3849 3869 3889 3907 3925 3944 3962 3980 3997 4015
1.3 4032 4049 4066 4082 4099 4115 4131 4147 4162 4177
1.4 4192 4207 4222 4236 4251 4265 4279 4292 4306 4319
1.5 4332 4345 4357 4370 4383 4394 4406 4418 4429 4441
1.6 4452 4463 4474 4484 4495 4505 4515 4525 4535 4545
1.7 4554 4564 4573 4582 4591 4599 4608 4616 4625 4633
1.8 4641 4649 4656 4664 4671 4678 4686 4693 4699 4706
1.9 4713 4719 4726 4732 4738 4744 4750 4756 4761 4767
2.0 4772 4778 4783 4788 4793 4798 4803 4808 4812 4817
2.1 4821 4826 4830 4834 4838 4842 4846 4850 4854 4857
2.2 4861 4864 4868 4871 4875 4878 4881 4884 4887 4890
2.3 4893 4896 4898 4901 4904 4906 4909 4911 4913 4916
2.4 4918 4920 4922 4925 4927 4929 4931 4932 4934 4936
2.5 4938 4940 4941 4943 4945 4946 4948 4949 4951 4952
2.6 4953 4955 4956 4957 4959 4960 4961 4962 4963 4964
2.7 4965 4966 4967 4968 4969 4970 4971 4972 4973 4974
2.8 4974 4975 4976 4977 4977 4978 4979 4979 4980 4981
2.9 4981 4982 4982 4988 4984 4984 4985 4985 4986 4986
3.0 4986.5 4986.9 4987.4 4987.8 4988.2 4988.6 4988.9 4989.3 4989.7 4990.0
3.1 4990.3 4990.6 4991.0 4991.3 4991.6 4991.8 4992.1 4992.4 4992.6 4992.9
3.2 4993.129 13
Normal Distribution
3.3 4995.166
3.4 4996.631
3.5 4997.674
3.6 4998.409
3.7 4998.922
3.8 4999.277
3.9 4999.519
4.0 4999.683
4.5 4999.966
5.0 4999.997133
⎛x ⎞
Example: Between the mean and a point 1.38 σ ⎜ = 1.38 ⎟ are found 41.62% of
⎝σ ⎠
the entire area under the curve.
We have so far considered only σ distances measured in the positive direction from
the mean. For this we have taken into account only the right half of the normal curve.
Since the curve is symmetrical about the mean, the entries in Table apply to distances
measured in the negative direction (to the left) as well as to those measured in the
positive direction. If we have to find the percentage of the distribution between mean
and -1.28σ, for instance, we take entry 3997 in the column .08, opposite 1.2 in the
x/σ column. This entry means that 39.97 percent of the cases in the normal distribution
fall between the mean and -1.28σ.
For practical purposes we take the curve to end at points -3σ and +3σ distant from
the mean as the normal curve does not actually meet the base line. Table of area
under normal probability curve shows that 4986.5 cases lie between mean and
ordinate at +3σ. Thus 99.73 percent of the entire distribution, would lie within the
limits -3σ and +3σ. The rest 0.27 percent of the distribution beyond ±3σ is considered
too small or negligible except where N is very large.
1.7 POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND WHILE

CONSULTING TABLE OF AREA UNDER
NORMAL PROBABILITY CURVE
The following points are to be kept in mind to avoid errors, while consulting the
N.P.C. Table.
1) Every given score or observation must be converted into standard measure i.e.
Z score, by using the following formula:
X−M
z=
σ
2) The mean of the curve is always the reference point, and all the values of areas
are given in terms of distances from mean which is zero.
3) The area in terms of proportion can be converted into percentage, and
4) While consulting the table, absolute values of z should be taken. However, a
negative value of z shows that the scores and the area lie below the mean and
this fact should be kept in mind while doing further calculation on the area. A
positive value of z shows that the score lies above the mean i.e. right side.
14
Self Assessment Questions Distribution
i) What formula is to use to convert raw score X into standard score i.e. z score.
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ii) What is the reference point on the normal probability curve.
iii) Mean value of the z scores is ____________
iv) The value of standard deviation of z scores is ___________
v) The total area under the N.P.C. is always ___________
vi) The negative value of z scores shows that ___________
vii) The positive value of z scores shows that _________
1.8 PRACTICAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO

APPLICATION OF THE NORMAL
PROBABILITY CURVE
Under the caption 1.5 you have studied the Application of normal Distribution/
Normal Curve in mental and educational measurements. Now how the practical
problems related to these application are solved you go through the following examples
carefully and thoughroly.
1) To determine the percentage of cases in a normal distribution within
given limits of scores.
Often a psychometrician or psychology teacher is interested to know the number of
cases or individuals that lie in between two points or two limits. For example, a
teacher may be interested as to how many students of his class got marks in
between 60% and 70% in the annual examination, or he may be interested in how
many students of his got marks above 80%.
Example 1
An adjustment test was administered on a sample of 500 students of class VIII. The
mean of the adjustment scores of the total sample obtained was 40 and standard
deviation obtained was 8, what percentage of cases lie between the score 36 and
48, if the distribution of adjustment scores is normal in the universe.
Solution:
In the problem it is given that
N = 500
M = 40
σ=8
We have to find out the total % of the students who obtained score in between 36
and 48 on the adjustment test.
To find the required percentage of cases, first we have to find out the z scores for
the raw scores (X) 36 and 48, by using the formula.
X−M
z=
σ
15
Normal Distribution ∴ z score for raw score 36 is
36 − 40
z1 = =
8
or z1 = -0.5 σ
Similarly z score for raw score
40 is
48 − 40
z2 = =
8 Fig. 1.8.1
or z2 = +1 σ
According to table of area under Normal Probability curve (N.P.C.) i.e. Table No.
1.6.1 the total area of the curve lie in between M to +1σ is 34.13 and in between
M to -0.56 is 19.15.
∴ The total area of the curve in between -0.5 σ to +1 σ is 19.15 + 34.13 = 53.28
Thus the total percentage of students who got scores in between 36 and 48 on the
adjustment test is 53.28 (Ans.)
Example 2
A reading ability test was administered on the sample of 200 cases studying in IX
class. The mean and standard deviation of the reading ability test score was obtained
60 and 10 respectively. Find how many cases lie in between the scores 40 and 70.
Assume that reading ability scores are normally distributed.
Solution:
Given N = 200
M = 60
σ = 10
X1 = 40 and
X2 = 70
To find out: The total no. of cases in between the two scores 40 and 70.
To find the required no. of cases, first we have to find out the total percentage of
cases lie in between Mean and 40 and mean and 70. See the Fig. 1.8.2 For the
purpose, first the given raw scores (40 & 70) should be converted into z scores by
using the formula
X−M
z=
σ
40 − 60
∴ z1 = =
10
or z1 = - 2σ
16
70 − 60 Distribution
Similarly z2 = =
10
or z2 = +1σ
According to Table 1.6.1 the area of
the curve in between M and -2σ is
47.72% and in between M and +1σ
is 34.13%.
Fig. 1.8.2
∴ The total area of the curve in
between -2σ to +1σ is = 47.72 +
34.13 = 81.85%
Therefore, the total no. of cases in between the two scores 40 and 70 are =
81.85 × 200
= 163.7 or 164
100
Thus total no. of cases who got scores in between 40 and 70 are = 164. (Ans.)
2) To determine the percentage of cases lie above or below a given score
or reference point.
Example 3
An intelligence test was administered on a group of 500 cases of class V. The mean
I.Q. of the students was found 100 and the S.D. of the I.Q. scores was 16. Find
how many students of class V having the I.Q. below 80 and above 120.
Solution:
Given M = 100, σ = 16, X1 = 80 and X2 = 120
To find out : (i) The total no. of cases below 80
(ii) The total no. of cases above 120
To find the required no. of cases first we have to find z scores of the raw scores
X1 = 80 and X2 = 120 by using the formula
z=
80 − 100 20
z1 = =−
16 16
or z1 = - 1.25 σ
Similarly,
z2 =
Fig. 1.8.3
or z2 = + 1.25 σ
17
Normal Distribution According to NPC table (Table 1.6.1) the total percentage of area of the curve lie
in between Mean to 1.25 σ is = 39.44.
According to the properties of N.P.C. the 50% area lies below to the mean i.e. in
left side and 50% area lie above to the mean i.e. in right side.
Thus the total area of NPC curve below M = (100) is = 50 – 39.44 = 10.56
Similarly the total area of NPC curve above M = (100) is = 50 – 39.44 = 10.56
Therefore total cases below to the I.Q. 80 = = 52.8 = 53 Appox.
Similarly Total cases above to the I.Q. 120 = = 52.8 = 53 Appox.
Thus in the group of 500 students of V class there are total 53 students having I.Q.
below 80. Similarly there are 53 students who have I.Q. above 120. (Ans.)
3) To determine the limits of scores which includes a given percentage of
cases
Some time a psychometerician or a teacher is interested to know the limits of the
scores in which a specified group of individuals lies. To understand, read the following
example-4 and its solution.
Example 4
An achievement test of mathematics was administered on a group of 75 students of
class VIII. The value of mean and standard deviation was found 50 and 10
respectively. Find limits of the scores in which middle 60% students lies.
Solution:
Given that, N = 75, M = 50, σ = 10
To find out: Value of the limits of middle 60% cases i.e. X1 and X2
As per given condition (middle 60% cases), 30%-30% cases lie left and right to the
mean value of the group (see the fig. 1.8.4.)
According to the formula
z=
If the value of M, σ and z is known, the value of X can be find out. In the given
problem the value of M and σ are given. We can find out the value of z with the help
of the NPC Table No. 1.6.1 as the area of the curve situated right and left to the
mean (30%-30% respectively) is also given.
According to the table (1.6.1) the value of z1 and z2 of the 30% area is ± 0.84σ
Therefore by using formula
X1 − M
z1 =
σ
18
X1 − 50 Distribution
-0.84 =
10
or X1 = 50 – 0.84 × 10
= 41.60 or 42
Similarly,
X2 − M
z2 =
σ
Fig. 1.8.4
X 2 − 50
-0.84 =
10
or X2 = 50 + 0.84 × 10
= 58.4 or 58
ThusX1 = 42
X2 = 58
Therefore, the middle 60% cases of the entire group (75, students) got marks on
achievement test of mathematics in between 42 – 58. Ans.
The observation given in the example 4, i.e. M = 50 and S.D. (σ) = 10
1) Find the limits of the scores middle 30% cases
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4) To determine the percentage rank of the individual in his group.
The percentile rank is defined as the percentage of cases lie below to a certain
score (X) or a point.
Some time a psychologist or a teacher is interested to know the position of an
individual or a student in his own group on the bases of the trait is measured (for
more clarification go through the following example carefully)
19
Normal Distribution Example 5
In a group of 60 students of class X, Sumit got 75% marks in board examination.
If the mean of whole class marks is 50 and S.D. is 10. Find the percentile rank of
the Sumit in the class.
Solution:
See the fig. 1.8.5. and pay the attention to the definition of percentile given above
carefully.
It is clear from the fig. that we have to find out the total percentage of cases (i.e.
the area of N.P.C.) lie below to the point X = 75 (See Fig. 1.8.5.)
To find the total required area (shaded part) of the curve, it is essential first to know
the area of the curve lie in between the points 50 and 75.
This area can be determined very easily, by taking up the help of N.P.C. Table, i.e.
Table No. 1.6.1., if we know the value of z of score 75.
According to the formula
z=
75 − 50 25
z= =
10 10
or = + 2.50 σ
Fig. 1.8.5
According to NPC Table (Table No. 1.6.1) the area of the curve lies M and +2.50
σ is 49.387.
In the present problem we have determined 49.38% area lies right to the mean and
50% area lies to the left of the Mean. (According to the properties of NPC see
caption 1.2.4 property no. 9)
Thus according to the definition of percentile the total area of the curve lies below
to the point X = 75 is
= 50 + 49.38%
= 99.38% or 99% Approx.
Therefore the percentile rank of the Sumit in the class is 99th. In other words Sumit
is the topper student in the class, remaining 99% students lie below to him. (Ans.)
In a test of 200 items, each correct item has 1 mark.
If M = 100, σ = 10
1) Find the position of Rohit in the group who secured 85 marks on the test.
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20
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2) Find the percentile rank of Sunita she got 130 marks on the test. Distribution
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5) To find out the percentile value of an individual’s percentile rank.
Some time we are interested to know that the person or an individual having a
specific percentile rank in the group, than what is the percentage of score he got on
the test paper. To understand, go through the following example and its solution –
Example 6
An intelligence test was administered on a large group of student of class VIII. The
mean and standard deviation of the scores was obtained 65 and 15 respectively. On
the basis intelligence test if the Ramesh’s percentile rank in the class is 80, find what
is the score of the Ramesh, he got on the test?
Solution:
Given : M = 65, σ = 15, and PR = 80
To find out : The value of P80
Look at the Fig. No. 1.8.6., as per definition of percentile rank, the 30% area of
the curve lie from mean to the point P80 and 50% are lie to the left side of the mean.
The z value of the 30% area of the curve lie in between M and P80 is = +0.85 σ
(Table No. 1.16)
X−M
We know that z =
σ
X - 65
or + 0.85 =
15
or X = 65 + 15 × 0.85
= 65 + 12.75 Fig. 1.8.6
= 77.75 or 78 Approx.
Thus Ramesh’s intelligence score on the test is = 78 (Ans.)
1) If M = 100, σ = 10
Find the values of
i) P75 = __________________________
ii) P10 = __________________________
iii) P50 = __________________________
iv) P80 = __________________________
21
Normal Distribution 6) Dividing a group of individuals into sub-group according to the level of
ability or a certain trait. If the trait or ability is normally distributed in
the universe.
Some time we are making qualitative evaluation of the person or an individual on the
basis of trait or ability, and assign them grades like A, B, C, D, E etc. or 1st grade
2nd grade, 3rd grade etc. or High, Average or Low. For example a company
evaluate their salesman as A grade, B grade and C grade salesman. A teacher
provides A, B, C etc. grades to his students on the basis of their performance in the
examination. A psychologist may classify a group of person on the basis of their
adjustment as highly adjusted, Average and poorly adjusted. In such conditions,
always there is a question that how many persons or individuals, we have to provide
A, B, C, D and E etc. grades to the individuals and categorize them in different
groups.
For further clarification go through the following examples:
Example 7
A company wants to classify the group of salesman into four categories as Excellent,
Good, Average and Poor on the basis of the sale of a product of the company, to
provide incentive to them. If the number of salesman in the company is 100, their
average sale of the product per week is 10,00,000 Rs. and standard deviation is Rs.
500/-. Find the number of salesman to place as Excellent, Good, Average and Poor.
Solution:
As per property of the N.P.C. we know that total area of the curve is 6σ over a
range of -3σ to +3σ.
According to the problem, the total area of the curve is divided into four categories.
Therefore area of each category is 6σ/4 = ± 1.5σ. It means the distance of each
category from the mean on the curve is 1.5σ respectively.
The distance of each category is shown in the figure 1.8.7
Fig. 1.8.7
i) Total % of salesman in “Good” category

According to N.P.C. Table (Table No. 1.6.1), the
Total area of the curve lies in between M an +1.5σ is = 43.32%
∴ The total % of salesman in “Good” category is 43.32%
22
ii) Total % of salesman in “Average” category Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
Total area of the curve lies in between Mean and – 1.5σ is also = 43.32%
∴ The total % of salesman in Average category is = 43.32
iii) Total % of salesman in “Excellent” category
The total area of the curve from M to +3σ and above is
= 50% ......... (As per properties of Normal Curve)
∴ The total % of salesman in the category Excellent is = 50 – 43.32 = 6.68%
iv) Total % of salesman in “Poor” category
The total area of the curve from M to -3σ and below is
= 50% ......... (As per properties of Normal Curve)
∴ The total % of the salesman in the poor category is = 50 – 43.32 = 6.68%
Thus,
i) The number of salesman should place in “Excellent” category
6.68 × 100
= = 6.68 or 7
100
ii) The number of salesman should place in “Good” category
43.32 × 100
= = 43.32 or 43
100
iii) The number of salesman should place in “Average” category
43.32 × 100
= = 43.32 or 43
100
iv) The number of salesman should place in “Poor” category
6.68 × 100
= = 6.68 or 7
100
Total = 100 (Ans.)
In the above example no. 7 if the salesman are categorised into six categories as
excellent, v. good, good average, poor and v. poor. Find the number of salesman
in each category as per their sales ability.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
Example 8
A group of 1000 applicant’s who wishes to take admission in a psychology course.
The selection committee decided to classify the entire group into five sub-categories
A, B, C, D and E according to their academic ability of last qualifying examination.
23
Normal Distribution If the range of ability being equal in each sub category, calculate the number of
applicants that can be placed in groups ABCD and E.
Solution:
Given: N = 1000
To find out: The 1000 cases to be categorised into five categories A, B, C, D, and
E.
We know that the base line of a normal distribution curve is considered extend from
-3σ to +3σ that is range of 6σ.
Dividing this range by 5 (the five subgroups) to obtain σ distance of each category,
i.e. the z value of the cutting point of each category (see the fig. given below)
6σ
∴z= = ± 1.20 σ
5
(It is to be noted here that the entire group of 1000 cases is divided into five
categories. The number of subgroups is odd number. In such condition the middle
group or middle category (c) will lie equally to the centre i.e. M of the distribution
of scores. In other words the number of cases of “c” category or middle category
remain half to the left area of the curve from the point of mean and half of the right
area of the curve from the mean.
1.2σ
∴ the limits of “c” category is = = ± 0.60 σ
2
i.e. the “c” category will remain on
NPC curve in between the two limits
-0.6 σ to +0.6 σ
Now,
The limits of B category
Lower limit = +0.6 σ
and Upper limit = 0.60 σ + 1.20 σ Fig. 1.8.8
or = +1.80 σ
The limits of A category
Lower limit = + 1.8 σ
and Upper limit = + 3 σ and above
Similarly, the limits of D category
Upper limit = - 0.6 σ
Lower limit = (- 0.60 σ) + (-1.20 σ)
or = -1.80 σ
The limits of E category
Upper limit = -1.8 σ
24
Lower limit = -3σ and below Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
(For limits of each category see the fig. 1.8.8 carefully)
i) The total % area of the NPC for A category
According to NPC Table (1.6.1) the total % of area in between
Mean to +1.80 σ is = 46.41
∴ The total % of area of the NPC for A category is = 50 – 46.41 = 3.59
ii) The total % Area of the NPC for B category –
According to NPC Table (1.6.1) the total % of Area in between
Mean and + 0.60 σ is = 22.57
∴ The total % area of NPC for B category is = 46.41 – 22.57 = 23.84
iii) The total % area of the NPC for C category –
According to NPC table the total % area of NPC in between
M and + 0.06 σ is = 22.57
Similarly the total % area of NPC in between
M and – 0.06 σ is also = 22.57
∴ The total % area of NPC for C category is = 22.57 + 22.57 = 45.14
iv) In similar way the total % area of NPC for D category is = 23.84
v) The total % area of NPC for E category is = 3.59
Thus the total number of applicants (N = 1000) in –
3.59 × 1000
A category is = = 35.9 = 36
100
23.84 × 1000
B category is = = 238.4 = 238
100
45.14 × 1000
C category is = = 451.4 = 452
100
23.84 × 1000
D category is = = 238.4 = 238
100
3.59 × 1000
E category is = = 35.9 = 36
100
Total= 1000 (Ans.)
1) In the example 8 if the total applicants are categorised into three categories.
Find how many applicants will be the categories A, B and C?
.....................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................... 25
Normal Distribution 7) To compare the two distributions in terms of overlapping.
Example 9
A numerical ability test was administered on 300 graduate boys and 200 graduate
girls. The boys Mean score is 26 with S.D. (σ) of 4. The girls’ mean. Mean score
is 28 with a σ 8. Find the total number of boys who exceed the mean of the girls
and total number of girls who got score below to the mean of boys.
Solution:
Given: For Boys, N = 300, M = 26 and σ = 6
For Girls, N = 200, M = 28 and σ = 8
To find: 1- Number of boys who exceed the mean of girls
2- Number of girls who scored below to the mean of boys
As per given conditions, first we have to find the number of cases above the point
28
(The mean of the numerical ability scores of girls) by considering M=26 and σ=6
Second, we to find no. of cases below to the point 26 (The mean score of the boys),
by considering M = 28 and 5 – 8 (see the fig. 1.8.9 given below carefully)
Fig. 1.8.9
28 − 26 2
1) The z score of X (28) is = =
6 6
or = + 0.33 σ
According to NPC Table (1.6.1) the total % of area of the NPC from M
= 26 to + 0.33 σ is = 12.93
∴ The total % of cases above to the point 28 is = 50 – 12.93 = 37.07
Thus the total number of boys above to the point 28 (mean of the girls) is
37.07 × 300
= = 111.21 = 111
100
26 − 28 2
2) The z score of X = 26 is = = = - 0.25 σ
8 8
According to the NPC table the total % of area of the curve in between M =
28 and -0.25 σ is = 9.87
26
∴ Total % of cases below to the point 26 is = 50 – 9.87 = 40.13 Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
Thus the total number of girls below to the point 26 (mean of the boys) is
40.13 × 200
= = 80.26 = 80
100
Therefore,
1) The total number of boys who exceed the mean of the girls in
numerical ability is = 111
2) The total number of girls who are below to the mean of the boys is = 88
(Ans.)
1) In the example given above (Example 9) find.
i) Number of boys between the two means 26 and 28 __________
ii) Number of girls between the two means 26 and 28 __________
iii) Number of boys below to the mean of girls __________
iv) Number of girls above to the mean of boys __________
v) Number of boys above to the Md of girls which is 28.20 __________
vi) Number of girls exceed to the Md of the boys which is 26.20 __________
8) To determine the relative difficulty of a test items:
Example 10
In a mathematics achievement test ment for 10th standard class, Q.No. 1, 2 and 3
are solved by the students 60%, 30% and 10% respectively find the relative difficulty
level of each Q. Assume that solving capacity of the students is normally distributed
in the universe.
Given: The percentage of the students who are solving the test items (Qs) of a
question paper correctly.
To Find: The relative difficulty level of each item of the test paper given.
Solution:
First of all we shall mark the relative position of test items on the basis of percentage
of students solving the items successfully on the NPC scale.
Q.No.3 of the test paper is correctly solved by the 10% students only. It means 90%
students unable to attend the Q.No. 3. On the NPC scale, these 10% cases lies
extreme to the right side of the mean (see the fig. given below). Similarly 30%
students who are solving Q.No. 2 correctly also lying to the right side of the curve.
While the 60% students who are solving Q.No. 1 correctly are lying left side of the
N.P.C. curve.
Now, we have to find out the z value of the cut point of the each item (Q.No.) on
the NPC base line
27
Normal Distribution
Fig. 1.8.10
i) The z value of the cut point of Q.No. 3
The total percentage of cases lie in between mean and cut point of Q.No. 3 is
= (50% - 10%) in right half of NPC
∴ The z value of the right 40% of area of the NPC is = 11.28 σ
ii) The z value of the cut point of Q.No.2
The total percentage of cases lie between the mean and cut point of Q.No. 2
is = 20% (50% - 30%) in right half of NPC
∴ The z value of the right 20% area of the NPC is = + 0.52 σ
iii) The z value of the cut point of Q.No. 3
The total percentage of cases lie between the mean and cut point of Q.No. 3
is = (60% - 50%) in left half of NPC
∴ The z value of the left of 10% of area = - 0.25 σ
Therefore corresponding z value of each item (Q) passed by the students is
Item (Q.No.) Passed By z value Z difference
3 10% + 1.28 σ -
2 30% + 0.52 σ 0.76 σ
1 60% - 0.25 σ 0.77 σ
We may now compare the three questions of the mathematics achievement test,
Q.No. 1 has a difficulty value of 0.76 σ higher than the Q.No. 2. Similarly the Q.No.
2 has a difficulty value of 0.77 σ higher than the Q.No. 3. Thus the Q.No. 1, 2 and
3 of the mathematics achievement test are the good items having equal level of
difficulty and are quite discriminative. (Ans.)
Self Assessment Question
1) The three test items 1, 2 and 3 of an ability test are solved by 10%, 20% and
30% respectively. What are the relative difficulty values of these items?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
28
1.9 DIVERGENCE IN NORMALITY (THE NON- Distribution
NORMAL DISTRIBUTION)
In a frequency polygon or histogram of test scores, usually the first thing that strikes
one is the symmetry or lack of it in the shape of the curve. In the normal curve
model, the mean, the median and the mode all coincide and there is perfect balance
between the right and left halves of the curve. Generally two types of divergence
occur in the normal curve.
1) Skewness
2) Kurtosis
1) Skewnes: A distribution is said to be “skewed” when the mean and median fall
at different points in the distribution and the balance i.e. the point of center of
gravity is shifted to one side or the other to left or right. In a normal distribution
the mean equals, the median exactly and the skewness is of course zero
(SK = 0).
There are two types of skewness which appear in the normal curve.
a) Negative Skewness : Distribution said to be skewed negatively or to the
left when scores are massed at the high end of the scale, i.e. the right side
of the curve are spread out more gradually toward the low end i.e. the left
side of the curve. In negatively skewed distribution the value of median will
be higher than that of the value of the mean.
Fig. 1.9.1: Negative Skewness
b) Positive Skewness: Distributions are skewed positively or to the right,

when scores are massed at the low; i.e. the left end of the scale, and are
spread out gradually toward the high or right end as shown in the fig.
Fig. 1.9.2: Negative Skewness
29
Normal Distribution 2) Kurtosis: The term kurtosis refers to (the divergence) in the height of the curve,
specially in the peakness. There are two types of divergence in the peakness
of the curve
a) Leptokurtosis: Suppose you have a normal curve which is made up of
a steel wire. If you push both the ends of the wire curve together. What
would happen in the shape of the curve? Probably your answer may be
that by pressing both the ends of the wire curve, the curve become more
peeked i.e. its top become more narrow than the normal curve and
scatterdness in the scores or area of the curve shrink towards the center.
Thus in a Leptokurtic distribution, the frequency distribution curve is more peaked
than to the normal distribution curve.
Fig. 1.9.3: Kurtosis in the Normal Curve

b) Platykurtosis: Now suppose we put a heavy pressure on the top of the
wire made normal curve. What would be the change in the, shape of the
curve? Probably you may say that the top of the curve become more flat
than to the normal.
Thus a distribution of flatter Peak than to the normal is known Platykurtosis distribution.
When the distribution and related curve is normal, the vain of kurtosis is 0.263 (KU
= 0.263). If the value of the KU is greater than 0.263, the distribution and related
curve obtained will be platykurtic. When the value of KU is less than 0.263, the
distribution and related curve obtained will be Leptokurtic.
1.10 FACTORS CAUSING DIVERGENCE IN THE

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION /NORMAL CURVE
The reasons on why distribution exhibit skewness and kurtosis are numerous and
often complex, but a careful analysis of the data will often permit the common causes
of asymmetry. Some of common causes are –
1) Selection of the Sample: Selection of the subjects (individuals) produce
skewness and kurtosis in the distribution. If the sample size is small or sample
is biased one, skewness is possible in the distribution of scores obtained on the
basis of selected sample or group of individuals.
If the scores made by small and homogeneous group are likely to yield narrow and
leptokurtic distribution. Scores from small and highly hetrogeneous groups yield
30 platykurtic distribution.
2) Unsuitable or Poorly Made Tests: If the measuring tool or test is Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
unappropriate, or poorly made, the asymmetry is possible in the distribution of
scores. If a test is too easy, scores will pile up at the high end of the scale,
whereas the test is too hard, scores will pile up at the low end of the scale.
3) The Trait being Measured is Non-Normal: Skewness or Kurtosis or both
will appear when there is a real lack of normality in the trait being measured,
e.g. interest, attitude, suggestibility, deaths in a old age or early childhood due
to certain degenerative diseases etc.
4) Errors in the Construction and Administration of Tests: The unstandardised
with poor item-analysis test may cause asymmetry in the distribution of the
scores. Similarly, while administrating the test, the unclear instructions – Error
in timings, Errors in the scoring, practice and motivation to complete the test all
the these factors may cause skewness in the distribution.
1) Define the following:
a) Skewness
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
b) Negative and Positive Skewness
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
c) Kurtosis
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
d) Platykurtosis
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
e) Leptokurtosis
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
2) In case of normal distribution what should be the value of skewness.
.....................................................................................................................
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31
Normal Distribution
3) In case of normal distribution what should be the value of Kurtosis.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
4) What is the significance of the knowledge of skewness and kurtosis to a
school teacher?
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1.11 MEASURING DIVERGENCE IN THE NORMAL

DISTRIBUTION / NORMAL CURVE
In psychology and education the divergence in normal distribution/normal curve have
a significant role in construction of the ability and mental tests and to test the
representativeness of a sample taken from a large population. Further the divergence
in the distribution of scores or measurements obtained of a certain population reflects
some important information about the trait of population measured. Thus there is a
need to measure the two divergence i.e. skewness and kurtosis of the distribution of
the scores.
1.11.1 Measuring Skewness

There are two methods to study the skewness in a distribution.
i) Observation Method
ii) Statistical Method
i) Observation Method: There is a simple method of detecting the directions of
skewness by the inspection of frequency polygon prepared on the basis of the
scores obtained regarding a trait of the population or a sample drawn from a
population.
Looking at the tails of the frequency polygon of the distribution obtained, if
longer tail of the curve is towards the higher value or upper side or right side
to the centre or mean, the skewness is positive. If the longer tail is towards the
lower values or lower side or left to the mean, the skewness is negative.
ii) Statistical Method: To know the skewness in the distribution we may also use
the statistical method. For the purpose we use measures of central tendency,
specifically mean and median values and use the following formula.
3( Mean − Median)
SK =
σ
32 Another measure of skewness based on percentile values is as under

(P − P )
SK = 90 10 − P50 Distribution
2
Here, it is to be kept in mind that the above two measures are not mathematically
equivalent. A normal curve has the value of SK = 0. Deviations from normality can
be negative and positively direction leading to negatively skewed and positively
skewed distributions respectively.
1.11.2 Measuring Kurtosis

For judging whether a distribution lacks normal symmetry or peakedness; it may
detected by inspection of the frequency polygon obtained. If a peak of curve is thin
and sides are narrow to the centre, the distribution is leptokurtic and if the peak of
the frequency distribution is too flat and sides of the curve are deviating from the
centre towards ±4σ or ±5σ than the distribution is platikurtic.
Kurtosis can be measured by following formula using percentile values.
Q
KU = P − P
90 10
where Q = quartile deviation i.e.

P10 = 10th percentile
P90 = 90th percentile
A normal distribution has KU = 0.263. If the value of KU is less than 0.263 (KU <
0.263), the distribution is leptokurtic and if KU is greater than 0.263 (KU > 0.263),
the distribution is platykurtic.
1) How we can instantly study the skewness in a distribution.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) What is the formula to measure skewness in a distribution?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) What indicates the kurtosis of a distribution?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
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..................................................................................................................... 33
Normal Distribution
4) What formula is used to calculate the value of kurtosis in a distribution?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
5) How we decide that a distribution is leptokurtic or platykurtic?
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1.12 LET US SUM UP

The normal distribution is a very important concept in the behavioural sciences
because many variables used in behavioural research are assumed to be normally
distributed.
In behavioural science each variable has a specific mean and standard deviation,
there is a family of normal distribution rather than just a single distribution. However,
if we know the mean and standard deviation for any normal distribution we can
transform it into the standard normal distribution. The standard normal distribution is
the normal distribution in standard score (z) form with mean equal to 0 and standard
deviation equal to 1.
Normal curve is much helpful in psychological and educational measurement and
educational evaluation. It provides relative positioning of the individual in a group. It
can be also used as a scale of measurement in behavioural sciences.
The normal distribution is a significant tool in the hands of teacher and researcher of
psychology and education. Through which he can decide the nature of the distribution
of the scores obtained on the basis of measured variable. Also he can decide about
his own scoring process which is very lenient or hard; he can Judge the difficulty level
of the test items in the question paper and finally he may know about his class,
whether it is homogeneous to the ability measured or it is hetrogeneous one.

1) Take some frequency distributions and prepare the frequency polygons. Study
the normalcy in the distribution. If you will obtained non-normal distribution,
determine the type of skewness and kurtosis. Also list down the probable
causes associated to the non-normal distribution.
2) Collect the annual examination marks of various subjects of any class and study
the nature of distribution of scores of each subject. Also determine the difficulty
level of the question papers of each subject.
3) Determine which variables related to cognitive and affective domain of behaviour
are normally distributed.
34
4) As a psychological test constructor or teacher, what precautions are to be Characteristics of Normal
Distribution
considered, while preparing a question paper or test paper.

Aggarwal, Y.P.: “Statistical Methods-Concepts, Applications and Computation”.
New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Ferguson, G.A.: “Statistical Analysis in Psychology and Education”. New York:
McGraw Hill Co.
Garrett, H.E. & Woodworth, R.S.: “Statistics in Psychology and Education”.
Bombay : Vakils, Feffer & Simons Pvt. Ltd.
Guilford, J.P. & Benjamin, F.: “Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and
Education”. New York: McGraw Hill Co.
Srivastava, A.B.L. & Sharma, K.K.: “Elementary Statistics in Psychology and
Education”, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
35
UNIT 2 SIGNIFICANCE OF MEAN
DIFFERENCES, STANDARD ERROR
OF THE MEAN
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 The Concept of Parameters and Statistics and Their Symbolic Representation
2.2.1 Estimate
2.2.2 Parameter
2.3 Significance and Level of Significance of the Statistics
2.4 Sampling Error and Standard Error
2.4.1 Sampling Errors
2.4.2 Standard Error
2.5 ‘t’ Ratio and ‘t’ Ratio Distribution Table
2.5.1 ’t’ Ratio
2.5.2 The Sampling Distribution of “t” Distribution
2.6 Standard Error of Sample Statistics – The Sample Mean
2.6.1 Meaning of Standard Error of Mean
2.6.2 The Standard Error of Mean of Large Sample
2.6.3 Degree of Freedom
2.6.4 The Standard Error of Means of Small Sample
2.7 Application of the Standard Error of Mean
2.7.1 Estimation of the Population of Statistics – The Mpop
2.7.2 Determination of the Size of Sample
2.8 Importance and Application of Standard Error of Mean
2.9 The Significance of the Difference Between Two Means
2.9.1 Standard Error of the Difference of Two Means and Critical Ratio (CR)
2.9.2 Levels of Significance
2.9.3 The Null Hypothesis
2.9.4 Basic Assumption of Testing of Significance Difference Between the Two Sample
Means
2.9.5 Two Tailed and One Tailed Test of Significance
2.9.6 Uncorrelated (Independent) and Correlated (Dependant) Sample Means
2.10 Significance of the Two Large Independent or Uncorrelated Sample Means
2.11 Significance of the Two Small Independent on Uncorrelated Sample Means
2.12 Significance of the Two Large Correlated Samples
2.13 Significance of Two Small Correlated Means
2.14 Points to be Remember While Testing the Significance in Two Means
2.15 Errors in the Interpretation of the Results, While Testing the Significant Difference
Between Two Means
2.16 Let Us Sum Up
2.18 Points for Discussion
36 2.19 Suggested Readings
Significance of Mean
2.0 INTRODUCTION Differences, Standard
Error of the Mean
The main function of statistical analysis in behavioural sciences is to draw inferences
or made generalisation regarding the population on the basis of results obtained.
Therefore the infrential statistics is that branch of statistics which primarily deals with
inferences from a sample to a large population from which the sample has been
taken. This depends on the fact that how good is the sample estimate. If the sample
estimate is not good i.e. having the considerable error or not reliable, we could not
be able to draw correct or good inference about the parent population. Thus before
to draw inference about the whole population or to made generalisation, it is essential
first to determine the reliability or trustworthiness of computed sample mean or other
descriptive statistical measures obtained on the basis of a sample taken from a large
population.
As an implication of the trustworthiness of the sample measures, we are concerned
also with the comparison of two sample estimates with a view to find out if they
come from the same population. In other words, the two sample estimates of a given
trail of the population do not differ significantly from each other.
Here significant difference means a difference larger than expected by chance or due
to sampling fluctuations.
Thus the present unit, highlights the concept of standard error of a sample mean and
to compare the two sample means drawn randomly from large population. So that
we may be able to test our null hypothesis scientifically, which is made in relation to
our experiment or study and to draw the inferences about the population authentically.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
z Define and explain the meaning of inference;
z Describe the concept of statistics and parameters;
z Distinguish between statistics and parameters;
z Explain the meaning of significance, significance level;
z Elucidate their role and importance to draw inference and to make generalisation
about the population;
z Explain and differentiate between Sampling Error, Measurement Error and
Standard;
z Error of Mean value obtained on the basis of a sample from a population;
z Analyse the ‘t’ distribution and its role in inferential statistics;
z Describe the standard error of large and small size sample means;
z Analyse the mean of the population on the basis of the mean of a sample taken
from the population with certain level of confidence;
z Determine the appropriate sample size for a experimental study or for a research
work Compare the means of two sample means obtained from the same
population;
z Differentiate between independent sample means and correlated sample means;
z Test the null hypothesis (Ho) made in relation to an experimental study; and
z Analyse the errors made in relation to testing the null hypothesis.
37
Normal Distribution
2.2 THE CONCEPT OF PARAMETERS AND
STATISTICS AND THEIR SYMBOLIC
REPRESENTATION
Suppose you have administered a verbal test of intelligence on a group of 50 students
studying in class VIII of a school of your city. Further, suppose you find the mean
I.Q. of this specified group is “105”. Can you from this data or information obtained
on the relatively small group, say any thing about the I.Q. of all the VIII class
students studying in your city. The answer is “Yes” but under certain conditions. The
specified condition is “the degree to which sample mean (M) which is also known
as “Estimate” represents its parent population mean which is known as “True Mean”
or “Parameter”. Therefore the two terms Estimates and Parameters are defined as
given below.
2.2.1 Estimate
The statistical measurements e.g. measures of central tendency, measures of variations,
and measures of relationships obtained on the basis of a sample are known as
“Estimates” or Statistics. Symbolically, these are generally represented by using the
English alphabets e.g.
Mean = M, Standard Deviation = S.D. or σ, Correlation = r etc.
2.2.2 Parameter
The statistical measurements obtained on the basis of entire population are known
as “True Measures” or “Parameters”.
Symbolically, these are represented by putting over the bar (-) over corresponding
English alphabets or represented by Greek letters e.g.
True Mean or Population Mean = M or μ (Mu)
True S.D. or Population S.D. = S.D. or σ
True or Population correlation = r or η
It is rarely if ever possible to measure all the units or members of a given population.
Therefore, practically or for case we draw a small segment of the population with
convenient specified number of units or members, which is known as the sample of
the population.
Therefore, we do not know the parameters of a given population. But we can under
specified condition, forecast the parameters from our sample statistics or estimates
with known degree of accuracy.
2.3 SIGNIFICANCE AND LEVEL OF

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STATISTICS
Ordinarily, we draw only a single sample from its parent population. However, our
problem becomes one of determining how we can infer or estimate the mean of the
population (Mpop) on the basis of the sample mean (M). Thus the degree to which
a sample mean (M) represents its parameter is an index of the “Significance” or
Trustworthiness of the computed sample mean.
38
When we draw a sample from the population, the observed statistics or estimate Significance of Mean
Differences, Standard
that is the mean of the sample obtained, may be some time large or small to the mean Error of the Mean
of the population (Mpop). The difference may have arisen “by chance” due to the
differences in the composition of our sample, or due to its selection method or the
procedure followed in the sample selection. The gap between the two measures
sample mean (M) and population mean (Mpop), if is low and negligible the sample
mean is considered to be trustworthy and we can forecast or estimate the population
mean (Mpop) successfully.
Therefore, a sample mean (M) is statistically trustworthy or significant to forecast the
mean of the population (Mpop), depending upon the probability that the difference
between the two measures i.e. Mpop and M could have been arisen “by chance”.
And the confidence level to which this forecast has been made is known as level of
confidence or level of significance.
In simpler terms, the level of significance or level of confidence is a degree to which
we accept or reject or predict a happening or incidence with confidence.
There are a number of levels of confidence or levels of significance e.g. 100%, 99%,
95%, 90% .......... 50% etc. In psychology and other behavioural sciences, generally,
we consider only two levels of significance viz. the 99% level of significance or level
of confidence and 95% level of significance a level of confidence.
The amount 99% and 95% confidence is also termed as 0.01 and 0.05 level of
confidence. The 0.01 level means, if we repeatedly draw a sample or conduct an
experiment 100 times, only on one occasion, the obtained sample mean or results
will fallout side the limits Mpop ± 2.58 S.E.
Here the term S.E. means the standard error exists in the estimate or sample statistics.
Similarly 0.05 level means, if repeatedly draw a sample or conduct an experiment
100 times, only on five occasions the obtained sample mean will fall out side the
limits Mpop ± 1.96 S.E.
The value 1.96 and 2.58 have been taken from the ‘t’ distribution or ‘t’ table (P...).
Keeping large size sample in view.
The 0.01 level is more rigorous and higher in terms of standard, as compared to
the 0.05 level and would require a high level of accuracy and precision. Hence, if
an obtained value (on the basis of a sample or an experiment) is significant at 0.01
level, it is automatically significant at 0.05 level but the reverse is not always true.
2.4 SAMPLING ERROR AND STANDARD ERROR

The score of an individual of a group obtained on a certain test consists of two types
of errors (i) measurement error and (ii) statistics error.
In other words,
True Score XT = observed score or obtained score (X0) ± error (E)
and error E is = Measurement Error + Statistics Error
The measurement error is caused by a measuring instrument used to measure a trait
or variable and personal observation made by the individual on the instrument.
39
Normal Distribution The measurement error is due to the reliability of a test, as no test is perfectly reliable
specially in behavioural sciences. In other words no test or a measuring instrument
gives us 100% accurate measurement. The personal error is dependent upon the
accurate perception and attention of the individual to take observations or measurement
on the measuring instrument.
The statistics error refers to the errors of sample statistical measurements or estimates
obtained on the basis of a sample drawn from a population.
As it is not possible to have perfectly true representative sample of a population in
behaviourable sciences. The statistics error is of two types: (i) Sampling Error (ii)
Standard Error of statistics i.e. statistical measurements. Now let us see what are
these two errors in detail.
2.4.1 Sampling Errors

Sampling error refers to the difference between the mean of the entire population
and the mean obtained of the sample taken from the population.
Thus sampling Error = Mpop ~ M or M - M
As the difference is low the mean obtained on the basis of sample is near to the
population mean and sample mean is considered to be representing the population
mean ( or Mpop)
2.4.2 Standard Error

The standard error is nothing but the intra differences in the sample measurements
of number of samples taken from a single population.
As the intra differences in the number of sampling observation i.e. the statistics of the
same parent population is less and tending to zero, we may say the obtained sample
statistics is quite reliable and can be considered as representative of the Mpop or
M.
For more clarification, suppose you wish to determine the I.Q. level of the high
school going students studying in the various schools of your district. Is it possible
for you to administer the intelligence test on all the high school going students of your
district and get the Average I.Q.? Your answer may be certainly not.
The easiest method is to select a sample of 10 schools each from urban and rural
areas of your district by using random method and administer the intelligence test to
the students studying in high school class of these selected 20 schools in total. In such
condition, you may have approximately 20 samples of high school going students and
have 20 means of intelligence scores obtained on the intelligence test which you have
administered. It is possible that all the mean values you have obtained are not equal.
Some may be small and some may be large in their values. Theoretically, there should
be no difference in the mean value obtained and all the mean values should be equal
as all the samples are taken from the same parent population by using random
method of sample selection. Thus the inter variation lies within the values of 20 mean
values indicating that the error lies within the various observations taken.
Further, to have the mean I.Q. of all the high school going students you may calculate
combined mean or average mean of all 20 means obtained on the basis of samples
taken. This obtained combined or average mean value is the I.Q. of the parent
40 population i.e. the high school going students of your district. If you compare all the
20 sample means to the obtained combined mean value i.e. the population mean, you Significance of Mean
will find that some of sample means are lesser than this Mpop value, and some are Error of the Mean
higher.
Further one step more, you calculate the difference of these sample means from the
population mean obtained, i.e. find (Mpop – M1), (Mpop – M2) ........... (Mpop –
M20). You will find that some of these difference values are negative and some are
positive. The mean of all these differences should be zero and the standard deviation
of all these differences should be 1.
As the errors are normally distributed in the universe, in simple terms we can say
that we have a normal distribution of specific statistics or sample statistical
measurement, which is also known as sampling distribution.
Therefore, theoretically the standard error of the statistics (sample statistical
measurements) is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the statistics
and is represented by the symbol S.E.M.
Standard Error of sampling measurements on statistics is calculated by using the
formula given below :
σ
S.E.M or σM =
N
Where, S.E.M = Standard Error of sampling measurement
σ = Standard deviation of the scores obtained from the population.

N = Size of the sample or total number of units in a sample
Look carefully and study the formula given above, you will find, the standard error
of any statistics depends mathematically upon two characteristics.
i) the variability or spread of scores around the mean of the population and
ii) the number of units or cases in the sample taken from the population.
As there is low variability in the scores of population, i.e. the population is
homogeneous on the trait being measured, and also the number of cases in the
sample are too large, the standard error of the statistics is tending to zero.
In the formula, standard error of statistics is directly proportionate to the standard
deviation (σ) of the scores of population and inversely proportionate to the size of
sample or number of cases in the sample (N).
Thus in brief, it can be said that if the population is homogeneous to the variable or
trait being measured and a large size of sample (say more than the 500 units), taken
from the population; in such condition the sample drawn will be representative to its
parent population and is highly reliable.
1) Explain the following terms:
a) Estimate
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Normal Distribution
b) Parameter
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c) Statistics
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d) Sampling Error
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e) Measurement Error
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f) Standard Error
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2) What is the general formula to know the standard errors of the various statistical
measures?
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3) What do you mean by significance and levels of significance?
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4) In behavioural sciences, which levels of confidence are considered
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5) What is the difference between significance of statistics and confidence interval
for true statistics?
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42
2.5 ‘t’ RATIO AND ‘t’ RATIO DISTRIBUTION Differences, Standard
Error of the Mean
TABLE
2.5.1 ‘t’ Ratio
So far we have studied two types of distributions viz.,
1) Distribution of scores – Normal distribution (unit I)
2) Distribution of ‘statistics’ or sample statistical measures (p - )
For more clarification, again going back. suppose we have drawn 100 samples of
equal size (say n = 500) from a parent population and we calculate the mean value
of the scores of a trait of the population obtained from each sample. Thus we have
a distribution of 100 means.
Of course all these sample means will not be alike. Some may have comparatively
large values and some may have small. If we draw a frequency polygon of the mean
values or the “statistics” obtained, the curve will be “Bell – Shaped” i.e. the normal
curve and having the same characteristics or properties as the normal probability
curve has.
The distribution of statistics values or sample statistical measurements is known as
the “sampling – distribution” of the statistics.
X–M
The corresponding standard score formula i.e. z = , may now become as –
σ
M–M pop M–M
t= or
S.E.M S.E.M
where t = standard score of the sample measures or statistics and termed as “t.Ratio”
M = Mean of specific statistics or sample measure.
M or Mpop = Mean of the parameter value of the specific statistics or mean of the
specific statistics of the population
S.E.M = Standard Error of the statistics i.e. the standard deviation of the sampling
distribution of the statistics.
Actually, t is defined as we have defined the z. It is the ratio of deviation from the
mean or other parameter, in a distribution of sample statistics, to the standard error
of that distribution.
To distinguish z score of the sampling distribution of sample statistics, we use “t”
which is also known as “student’s t”.
The “t” ratio was discovered by an English statistician, W.S. Gossett in 1908 under
the pen name “student”. Therefore, the “t” ratio is also know as “student’s t” and its
distribution is known as “student’s t distribution”.
As the “t” ratio is the standard score (like z score) with mean = 0 and standard
deviation ±1, therefore the t ratio is a deviation of sample mean (M) from population
mean ( M or Mpop).
If this deviation is large the sample statistics mean is not reliable or trustworthy and
if the deviation is small, the sample statistics mean is reliable and representative to
the mean of its parent population ( M ).
43
Normal Distribution 2.5.2 The Sampling Distribution of “t” Distribution
Just now we have studied about the sampling distribution of sample statistics and the
“t” ratio. Imagine that we have taken number of independent samples with equal size
from a population. Let us say we have computed the “t” ratio for every sample
statistics with N constant. Thus a frequency distribution of these ratios would be a
sampling distribution of “t” and is known as “t” distribution. The mean of all “t” ratios
is zero and standard deviation of all “t” ratios i.e. σ is always ±σt.
It has been observed that if the sample size varies the sampling distribution of “t”
also varies, though it is normal distribution. The sampling distribution of “t” may vary
in kurtosis. Student’s t distribution becomes increasingly leptokurtic as the size of
sample decreases.
As the size of sample is tending to be large, the distribution of “t” approaches to
the normal distribution. Thus we have a family of “t” distributions, rather to one and
the σt values varies on the x axis.
Fisher has prepared a table of “t” distribution having N, i.e. the size of sample
different for different levels of significance. The details of the same are given below:
Table 2.5.1 : Table of “t” for use in determining the significance of
statistics
44
Let us now take an example. Let us say there are 26 subjects. N = 26. Significance of Mean
Example: When N = 26, the corresponding degree of freedom (df) is N-1 i.e. 25. Error of the Mean
In column 3 at 0.05 level of significance the t value is 2.06.

It means that five times in 100 trials a divergence of sample mean or statistics
obtained may be expected at a 2.05 σ to M, that is to its mean population either
to its left or right side.
The “t” distribution table has great significance in inferential statistics testing the null
hypothesis framed in relation to various experiments made in psychology and
education.
2.6 STANDARD ERROR OF SAMPLE STATISTICS –

THE SAMPLE MEAN
The standard error of sample statistics or the statistical measurements of a sample
has great importance in inferential statistics. With the help of the standard error
statistics we can determine the reliability or trustworthiness of the descriptive statistics
e.g. proportion percentage, measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode)
measures of variability (standard deviation & quartile deviation), Measures of
correlation (r, p and R) etc.
For convenience here we discuss only the significance of means which are detained
as under :
2.6.1 Meaning of Standard Error of Mean
The Standard error of mean measures the degree to which the mean is affected by
the errors of measurement as well as by the errors of Sampling or Sampling fluctuations
from one random sample to the other. In other words how dependable is the mean
obtained from a sample to its parameter i.e. population Mean (M pop).
Keeping in mind the Sample Size; there are two situations:
i) Large Sample
ii) Small Sample
2.6.2 The Standard Error of Mean of Large Sample
When we say large sample, the number of items in the sample will be more than 30.
That is N>30. In such condition the Standard error of the Mean is determined
by using the formula given below:
S.E.M = σ / N when N= >30
Where
S.E.M= Standard Error of the Mean of the scores of a large sample
σ = Standard deviation of the scores of a population
N = Size of the sample or number of cases in the sample
This formula is used when the population parameter of standard deviation ( σ ) is
known. But in practice it is not possible to have the value of Ïó. Having the situation
that the sample is selected from the population by using random method of sample
selection, σ can be replaced by the ó. The value of the standard deviation of the
scores of the sample taken. Therefore, in the above formula the σ can be replaced
by ó.
45
Normal Distribution
S.E.M = ó / N when N >30
where
S.E.M = Standard Error of the Mean of the scores of a Sample
ó = Standard Deviation of the scores of a sample.
N = Number of units or cases in the Sample.
Example 1: A reasoning test was administered on a sample of 225 boys of age
group 15 + years. The mean of the scores obtained on the test is 40 and the
standard deviation is 12. Determine how dependable the mean of sample is.
Given : N=225. M=40 and ó = 12
To find : The trustworthyness of the sample mean we know that standard error
of the mean, when N>30 is determined by using the formula-
S.E.M = ó/ N
S.E.M = 12 / 225
= 12 / 15 = 0.80
Or S.EM = 0.80
i.e. = 0.80
Interpretation of the Result
Keeping in mind the logic of sampling distribution, that is if we draw 100 samples,
each sample has 225 units from a large population of boys of age group 15+ years,
we will have 100 sample means falling into a normal distribution around the Mpop
and ó M (the standard deviation of sampling distribution of Means i.e. the standard
error of Mean)
As per properties of Normal Distribution, in 95% cases the sample means will lie
within the range of ±1.96 in to the Mpop (see Z table in unit I). Conversely out of
100, the 99 sample means having equal size, will be within the range of ±2.57 (2.57
×0.80) of the Mpop.
Fig. 2.6.1: Image graph

(Source: kmblog.rmutp.ac.th/.../28/normal-distribution/)
46
From the figure it is quite evident that the S.E. of the M=40. Sample of 225 having Significance of Mean
bó = 12 lie within the acceptable region of the N.P.C.(Normal Probability curve). Error of the Mean
Thus the sample mean obtained is quite trustworthy with the confidence of 95%
probability. There are only 5% chances that the sample mean obtained will lie in the
area of the rejection of M.P.C.
In simplest term we can say that, there is 95% probability the maximum possibility
of the standard error of the sample mean (40) is ± 1.57 (1.96×0.80) which is less
than the value of T=1.96 at .05 level of confidence for df=224 (N-1) Thus the
obtained sample mean (40) is quite dependable to its Mpop with the confidence level
of 95%.
Example 2: In the example 1, suppose in place of N=225, we have a sample of
625 units and the remaining observations are the same. Determine how good an
estimate is it of the population mean?
Solution
Given : N=625, M=40 and ó=12
To find : Dependency of sample Mean or reliability of sample mean
We know that
σ
ó M / S.E.M =
N
12
=
625
12
= = 0.48
25
Or S.E.M=0.48.
Interpretation of Result
The maximum standard error of sample M=40 and Σ =12 having 625 units is ±0.94
(1.96×0.48) at 95% level of confidence which is much less than the value of t.05
= ± 1.96. Therefore, the obtained sample mean is reliable and to the considered as
representative to its Mpop at 95% level of confidence.
1) Compare the two results obtained from Example no 1 and 2 respectively.
What you have observed and what is your conclusion.
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47
Normal Distribution
2) The mean achievement score of a random sample of 400 psychology students
is 57 and D.D. is 15? Determine how dependable is the sample mean?
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3) A sample of 80 subjects has the mean = 21.40 and standard deviation 4.90.
Determine how far the sample mean is trustworthy to its Mpop.
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2.6.3 Degree of Freedom

Before to proceed for the standard error of small sample mean, it is imperative here
to understand the concept of Degrees of Freedom.
The expression degrees of freedom is abbreviated from the full expression “Degrees
of Freedom to Vary”. A point in the space has unlimited freedom to move in any
direction, but a point on a straight line has only one freedom to move on the line
i.e. it is free to move in one dimension only. A point on the plane has two degrees
of freedom. A point on a three dimension space having three degree of freedom to
move.
This shows that the degree of freedom is associated to the number of restrictions
imposed upon the observations.
The degree of freedom is a mathematical concept and is a of key importance in
inferential statistics. Almost all test of significance require the calculation of degree of
freedom.
When a sample statistics is used to estimate a parameter, the number of degrees of
freedom depends upon the number of restrictions placed upon the scores, each
restriction reducing one degree of freedom (df).
For example, we have four numbers 4, 5, 8 and 3, the sum of these numbers is 20
which is fixed. e.g. here we have restricted freedom to get sum 20, as we have only
to change the values of first three figures and not the last one, as it depends upon
the fixed sum 20,
i.e.
6+6+9 +———-20
Or 2 + 7 + 10 + ———20
Or 6 + 7 + 5 +———20
In the above sum expressions we have last one freedom to determine the value of
48
last 4th numeral figure as to get fixed sum 20. Therefore in the above expressions, Significance of Mean
we are bound to take forcefully the numeral figures 4,1 and 2 respectively. Error of the Mean
Like wise, in Statistics, when we calculate Mean or S.D. of a given distribution of

scores we lose one degree of freedom to get fixed sums. Therefore we have N-1
df to compute statistical measures , specifically the standard deviation of the scores
given and N-2 in case to compute the co-efficient of correlation. It means the degree
of freedom is not always (N-1) however, but will vary with the problem and the
restrictions imposed.
In the case of very large sample used in behavioural sciences or social sciences no
appreciable difference takes place in the value of óM by N-1 instead of N. The use
of N or N-1 thus remains a matter of arbitrary decision. But in the case of small
samples having number of units or cases below 30 ó M no correction (N-1) has
been applied in computation of S.D and thus a considerable variation occurs on the
value of ó M … Therefore, it is imperative to use N-1 in place of N in computation
of óM of the small sample.
Further you have to study the t” distribution table (table No-2.5.1) very carefully. In
the process, you will find that as the size of sample or degree of freedom approaches
to 500 or above, the “t” value approaches to the value of 95% and 99% are 1.96
and 2.58 respectively and remain constant. It means the “t” distribution becomes
normal distribution or Z-distribution. When the size of sample decreases especially
below 30 you will find the “t” values are gradually increasing at 95% level and 99%
level considerably. In such condition the óM values gives us wrong information and
we may interpret the results inappropriately.
2.6.4 The Standard Error of Means of Small Sample

The small sample means, when size of sample (N) is about 30 or less, is treated
as small sample. The formula for the standard error of small sample mean score is
as follows–
S.E.M on SM= ó / N–1

As here S.EM= Standard error of Mean of Small sample
Standard deviation of the population
N = Size of the sample i.e. 30 or below
Note : For practice we replace -ó by ó i.e. standard deviation of the sample.
Because of the reason ó is not possible to obtain for whole population.
Example 3: A randomly selected group of 17 students were given a word cancellation
test. The mean and S.D obtained for cancelling the words per minute is 58 and 8
respectively. Determine how far sample mean is acceptable to represent the Mean
of the population?
Solution
Given : N=17, M=58 and ó =8
To find : dependency of the sample mean
In the problem the size of sample is less than 30. Therefore to find the standard
error of sample mean is
49
Normal Distribution
σ
S.EM =
N −1
8
S.EM =
17 − 1
8
=
16
= 8/4=2
In the “t” table (table no. . 2.5.1) at .01 level, the value of “t” for 16 df is 2.92 and
the obtained value of t = 2.00. which is less in comparison to the “t” value given
in the able. Therefore, the obtained sample mean (58) is quite trustworthy and
representing its Mean population by 99% confidence. There is only one chance out
of 100, that sample mean is low or high.
1) What is the concept of Degree of Freedom (df)?
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2) Why we consider the (df) which determining the reliability or trustworthiness
of the statistics.
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3) What is the difference to calculate the standard error of Mean of Large Size
and Small Size samples.
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2.7 APPLICATION OF THE STANDARD ERROR OF

MEAN
2.7.1 Estimation of the Population Statistics – The Mpop
The wider use or application of S.E.M is to estimate the population Statistical
measurements i.e. the M pop. Here we are concerned only with the mean. Therefore
we will discuss to estimate the mean of population on the basis of standard error of
50
the mean obtained on either large size sample or small size sample.
Here, it is important to note that the estimation is always in range rather to point Significance of Mean
estimation because exact single value of any measurement is not possible. For example Error of the Mean
a student can not forecast with confidence that he will secure 85 to 95 marks out
of 100 in statistics in the final examination.
Therefore, estimation of Mpop is always in range rather to point. Thus the limits
obtained of Mpop (The lower and upper limits) are also known as Fiduciary limits.
The term Fiduciary limits was used by R.A. Fisher for the confidence interval of
parameter and the confidence placed in the interval defined as Fiduciary Probability.
The simplest formula to estimate the Mpop is as under:
Mpop or M = M± 2.58 óM ——— (at .01 level of significance)
Mpop or M= M±1.96 ó M ————(at .05 level of significance)
For more classification study the following examples carefully:-
Example 4: One language test was given to 400 boys of VIII class, the mean of
their performance is 56 and the standard deviation is 14. What will be the Mean of
the population of 99% level of confidence?
Solution
Given: N=400, M=56 and ó =14
To find out: Estimation of population mean at 99% level of confidence.
We know that Mpop at .01 level or at 99% confidence level is
Mpop .01 or M.01= M±2.58 ó M
Where
M .01: Mean of the population at 99% confidence level of confidence
M : Mean of the sample
ó M : Standard Error of the sample mean.
In the problem the values of Mean and N are known and the value of ó M is
unknown. The value of óM can be determined by using the formula.
σ
óM =
N
14 14
∴ óM = =
400 20
Or ó M = 0.70
Thus M .01 = 56± 2.58×0.70
= 56±1.806
= 54.194-57.806
Or M .01 = 54-58
The Mean of the population at 99% level of confidence will be within the limits
54 to 58. In other words there are 99% chances that the Mean of the population
lie within the range 54-58 scores. There is only 1% chance that mean of the
population lie beyond this limit.
51
Normal Distribution Example 5: A randomly selected group of 26 VI grade students having a weight
of 35 kg and S.D = 10 kg. How well does this value estimate the average weight
of all VI grade students at .99 and .95 level of confidence?
Solution
Given : N =26, M = 35kg and ó= 10 kg.
To find out : The fiduciary limits of the population mean at .05 and .01 levels.
In the problem the given sample size is below 30, Therefore to have the standard
error of sample mean we will use the formula:
SM = 2.0
And = N – 1 = 26 – 1
Or df = 25
i) Fiduciary limits of M at .01 level of confidence
By consulting the t table, level of confidence, the value of “t” for 25 df is 2.79
Thus, the Fiduciary limit of M at .01 or 99% level is
= M ± 2.79 σ M
= 3.5± 2.79×2.00
= 3.5±5.50
∴ M .01= 29.42-38.58 = (9.16)
ii) The fiduciary limits of M at .05 level of confidence
M0.05 = M± 2.06 σ M
= 35±2.06×2.0
= 35±4.12
Or M0.05 = 30.88–39.12
i) Thus The Fiduciary Limits of M .01 = 29.42-38.58
ii) The Fiduciary Limits of M.05 = 30.88-39.12
2.7.2 Determination of the Size of Sample

Standard error of the statistics is also used to estimate the sample size for test results.
In order to learn how to use the standard error of the statistics you must go through
the following examples.
Example 6
If the standard deviation of a certain population (ó) is 20. How many cases would
require in a sample in order that standard error of the mean should not miss by 2.
Solution
Given: ó= 20, and S. E.M=20.
52
To Find Out : No of cases in the sample to be selected i.e. to determine the Differences, Standard
Size of Sample (N) Error of the Mean
We know that
σ
S.EM =
N
20
∴ 2=
N
20
Or N = = 10
2
Or N = (10)2
Or N = 100
If the standard error of the sample mean should not be more than 2 in such
condition the maximum sample Size Should be 100 i.e. N=100 .
Example 7: The standard deviation of the intelligence scores of an adolescent
population is 16. If the maximum acceptable standard error of the mean of the
sample should not miss by 1.90, what should be the best sample size at 99% level
of confidence?
Solution
Given :ó = 16, SEM= 1.90
To find out : Sample size which represent its parent population upto the level
of 99%.
We know that the Z value of 99% cases is 2.58 (From Z Table)
It means due to chance factors the sample mean would deviate from Mpop by
2.58 óM. Further in keeping view the measurement and other uncontrolled factors,
the measured error in the sample mean we would like to accept is 1.90.
Therefore the maximum error in the sample which we would like to select from
the parent population is
2.58
S.EM = ó ×
N
σ × 2.58
Or N = SE M
2
⎛ σ × 2.58 ⎞
Or N = ⎜ ⎟
⎝ SE M ⎠
2
⎛ 16 × 2.58 ⎞
∴N = ⎜ ⎟
⎝ 1.90 ⎠
Or N = 472
To have a representative sample up to the level of 99% to the parent population,
it is good to have a sample size more than 472 cases.
53
Normal Distribution
1) Given M =26.40, ó = 5.20 and N=100 compute
The fiduciary limits of True Mean at 99% confidence interval
The fiduciary limits of Population Mean at .95confidence interval.
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2) The mean of 16 independent observations of a certain magnitude is 100 and
S.D is 24. At .05 confidence level what are the fiduciary limits of the True
Mean.
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3) Suppose it is known that S.D of the scores in a certain population is 20. How
many cases would we in a sample in order that the S.E of the sample mean
be σ 2.
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2.8 IMPORTANCE AND APPLICATION OF

STANDARD ERROR OF MEAN
The Standard error of statistics has wide use in inferential statistics. It helps the
experimenter or researcher in drawing concrete conclusions rather than abstract
ones.
The various uses of standard error of the statistics are as under:
Various devices are used for determining the reliability of a sample taken from the
large population. The reliability of the sample depends upon the reliability of the
statistics, which is very easy to calculate.
The main focus of the standard error of statistics is to estimate the population
parameters. No sampling device can ensure that the sample selected from a population
may be representative. Thus the formula of the standard error of statistics provides
us the limits of the parameters, which may remain in an interval of the prefixed
confidence interval.
54 The method of estimating the population parameters the research work feasible,
where the population is unknown as impossible to measure. It makes the research Significance of Mean
work economical from the point of crew of time. Energy and money. Error of the Mean
Another application of the standard error of the statistics is to determine the size of
the sample for experimental study or a survey study.
The last application of the standard error of statistics to determine the significance
of difference of two groups to ascertained by eliminating the sampling or change by
estimating the sampling or change errors.
2.9 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN TWO MEANS
Suppose we wish to study the linguistic ability of the two groups say boys and girls
of age group 15 years.
First we have to select two large and representative samples from the two different
populations. The population of the Boys of age group 15 years old and second, the
population of girls of same age as of the Boys has has to be selected.
To administer the linguistic ability test Battery to both the groups of Boys and Girls
selected as sample.
To compute the mean values of like scores obtained by the two groups on the
linguistic ability test battery and find the difference between them.
After the above procedural steps, suppose that there is a difference in the means
of the two groups and the difference is in favour of the girls of age group 15+ years
old. Is this evidence sufficient to draw the conclusion that girls are superior in
linguistic ability in comparison to the boys having same age level?
Probably the answer to this question may either be “yes” or “No” depending upon
further testing of the difference of the means of two groups whether it is statistically
significant or not. In other words, it is essential to test further, that how far the
difference exists in the mean values of two groups is due to “ chance” factor or is
it “real and dependable”
This question involves the standard error of the difference that exists between the
mean values of the two groups and the same as significant or not. Therefore, in order
to test the significance of an obtained difference, we must first have a S.E. of the
difference of sample means. Then from the difference between the sample means and
the standard error of the difference of sample means (S.E. D.M.), we can determine
whether a difference probably exists between the population means.
A difference is called Significant when the probability is high that it cannot be
attributed to chance (i.e. by temporary and accidental factors or by sampling
fluctuations) and hence represents a true difference between population means. And
a difference is non-significant or chance, when it appears reasonably certain that it
could be easily have arisen from sampling fluctuations and hence implies no real or
true difference between the population means.
Thus the above discussion leads us to conclude that the significance of the difference
between two sample means obtained from the two populations either independent or
correlated depend upon two factors, viz.,
i) Standard Error of Difference between the two means, and
ii) The levels at which S.E DM is significant.
55
iii) Standard Error of the difference of two means (ΣDM ) and critical ratio (C.R)
Normal Distribution 2.9.1 Standard Error of the Difference of Two Means and
Critical Ratio (CR)
Suppose we have two independent large populations, say A and B, and let us say
that we have taken several numbers of samples (say two) from each population.
Now if we compute the mean values of the scores of a trait of the two populations,
we have 100 sample means obtained from the population A and 100 sample means
obtained from the population B, and let us say that we find that there is a difference
between the two sample means of population A and B. Thus in this way we have
100 differences of sample means. If we plot the frequency polygon of these hundred
samples, certainly we will have a normal curve, and the distribution of the sample
mean differences will be known as sampling Distribution of Mean Differences.
The standard error of the sample mean differences can be obtained by computing
standard deviation of the sampling distribution of mean differences. This can be
computed by using the formula:
Σ12 + Σ 22
S.EM or ΣDM = (In case of two independent population)
N1 + N 2
Where
Σ1 = Standard Deviation of the scores of a trait of the sample-1
Σ2 = Standard Deviation of the scores of a trait of the sample-2
N1= Number of cases in sample-1
N2= Number of cases in sample-2
After having the standard error of the sample mean differences, the next step is to
decide how far the particular sample mean difference is deviating from the two
population mean differences ( M1 ~ M2 ) on the normal probability curve scale. For
the purpose we have to calculate Z score of the particular two sample mean
differences, using the formula
X–M
Z= σ (see unit-I)
DM
or
(M1 ~M 2 )–(M1 ~M 2 )
Z= ∑12 + σ 2
N1 +N 2
To distinguish the Z score of the difference of two sample means, the symbol C.R
(Critical Ratio) is used. Therefore
(M1 ~M 2 )–(M1 ~M 2 )
C.R = ∑ DM
If the two independent populations are alike or same about a trait being measured,
then
56
M1~M2 =0
(M1 ~M 2 )–0 Significance of Mean
∴ C.R. = σ DM
Error of the Mean
(M1 ~M 2 )
Or C.R = σ DM
This is the general formula to decide the significance of the difference exists in the
two sample means taken from the two independent populations.
The formula of C.R. clearly indicates that it is a simple ratio between difference of
the two sample means and the standard error of the sample mean differences.
Further it is nothing but a Z score, which indicates how far the two sample mean
difference is deviating from the two parent population mean difference, which is
Zero.
2.9.2 Levels of Significance

Whether a difference in the two statistic i.e. the statistical measures obtained or the
parameters are to be considered as statistically significant?
It depends upon the probability that the given difference could have arisen “by
chance.”.
It also depends upon the purposes of experiment, usually, a difference is marked
“significant”, when the gap between the two sample means points to or signifies a real
difference between parameters of the population from which the sample are drawn.
The research workers as the experimenters have an option to choose several arbitrary
standards called levels of significance of which the .05 and .01 levels are most often
used. The confidence with which an experimenter or research worker, rejects or
retains (accept) a null hypothesis, depends upon the level of significance adopted.
You carefully look at the table Z distribution presented in unit 1, table no. 1.6.1, you
will find that at the point ±1.96 the total 95% cases fall.
If we take ±1.96 at the base line of normal distribution curve as two points, we find
that total 95% area of the curve lie between these two points.
Remaining 5% area lies left on to the right side of the curve i.e. 2½ % area lies to
the left and 2 ½ % area lies to the right side of the curve.
If the Z Score of the mean difference which is also known as “C. R. value of t ratio”
is 1.96 or below, it means the difference of the two means lies within the acceptance
area of the normal distribution of the sampling distribution of the area differences.
Hence the null hypotheses (Ho) are retained. “CR” or “t ratio” is higher than 1.96,
means the mean difference falls within the area of rejection, hence the null hypotheses
(Ho) is rejected.
Further, you see the table 1.6.1 again, you will find that at the point ±2.58ó on the
base of the normal distribution curve total 99% area of the curve or cases lie within
the range -2.58 ó to + 2.58ó.
Only 1% area of the curve or cases lie beyond these two units. If the CR value or
“t ratio” is below the value of 2.58, i.e. within the area of acceptance of 99% level
the obtained mean difference is significant at .01 level or 99% level.
57
Normal Distribution If the CR value of t. ratio is obtained above to the 2.58% , the null hypothesis (Ho)
said to be rejected at 99% level or .01 level of significance.
2.9.3 The Null Hypothesis

In the above paragraphs a term Null Hypothesis is used in relation to determining of
the significance of difference between the two means. Before we proceed further, it
is essential to know about the null hypothesis and its rate in determining the significance
of the difference of “Zero difference” or “No difference” in the relative specific
parameters of the population and symbolically it is denoted as Ho.
Hypothesis is a suggested or pre determined relation of a problem which is tested
on the basis of the evidences collected. Null hypothesis is a useful tool in testing the
significance of the difference.
The null hypothesis a states that there is no true difference between two population
means, and that the difference found between sample means, therefore, are only by
chance i.e. accidental and unimportant.
The null hypothesis is based on the simple logic that a man is innocent until he is
proved guilty. It constitutes or brings a challenge before the experimenter to call the
necessary evidences to reject or retain the null hypothesis which he has framed.
After rejection of the null hypothesis automatically the alternative hypotheses will he
accepted, For Example: In a study of Linguistic ability of boys and girls of group
14+years, the researcher has framed the following two hypothesis-
Ho: There is no difference in the means of linguistic ability scores of male and female
adolescents of age group 14+ years.
HA: The mean of the linguistic ability scores is in favour of the adolescents girls than
the boys of age group 14+ -16 + years.
It is obvious that if the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected on the basis of statistical
treatment made on the related evidences collected, the alternative hypothesis (HA)
will be accepted. If the null hypothesis (Ho) is accepted on the basis of the evidences
collected, in such condition the alternative hypothesis (HA) will be rejected.
2.9.4 Basic Assumption of Testing of Significance difference

between the Two Sample Means
The formula which is used to test the significance of the difference between the two
sample means (see 2.9.1) is based on certain basic assumptions. The assumptions
are as under:
1) The variable or the trait being measured or studied is normally distributed in the
universe.
2) There is no difference in the Means of the two or more populations. i.e. My=Mz
If there is a violation or deviation in the above assumptions in testing the
significant difference in the two means, we can not use “C.R” or “t” test of
significance. In such condition, there are other methods, which are used for the
purpose.
3) The samples are drawn from the population using random method of sample
selection.
58 4) The size of the sample drawn from the population is relatively large.
2.9.5 Two Tailed and One Tailed Test of Significance Significance of Mean
Under the null hypothesis, difference between the obtained sample means from two Error of the Mean
populations i.e. M1 and M2 may be either plus or minus and is often in one direction.
In yet another case, the differences between true parameters may be difference of
Zero i.e. M1-M2=0, or MzDM=0, so that in determining probabilities we consider
both traits of the sampling distribution. This two tailed test, as it is sometimes called,
is generally used when we wish to discover whether two groups have conceivably
been drawn from the same population with respect to the trait being measured.
In many research studies or experiments the primary concern is with the direction of
the difference rather than with its existence in absolute terms. This situation arises
when we are not interested in negative differences or in the losses made as this has
no importance practically. However, we are much interested in the positive directions
i.e. gains or growth or developments. For example, suppose we want to study the
effect of extrinsic motivation on solving the mathematical problems or in sentence
construction, it is unlikely that extrinsic motivation leads to loss in either solving the
mathematical problems correctly or framing the sentences correctly.
Thus here only we are interested the positive effect of motivation and we study both
gain made by the learners in solving the mathematical problems or constructing the
sentences correctly. In such condition we use one tail of the normal probability curve
that is the positive side and the Z or ó values will be changed after 95% and 99%
level of significance far. In case of large samples the Z or ó values for 95% level
it becomes 12.33 ó in place of 2.58ó.
2.9.6 Uncorrelated (Independent) and Correlated

(Dependant) Sample Means
When we are interested to test whether two groups differ significantly on a trait or
characteristics measured, the two situations arises with respect to differences
between means
1) Uncorrelated or Independent two sample means
2) Correlated or Dependent two sample means
The two sample means are uncorrelated or independent when computed from different
samples selected by using random method of sample selection from one population
or from different populations or from uncorrelated tests administered to the same
sample.
The two sample means are correlated when a single group of population is tested
in two different situations by using the same test. In other words when one test is
used on a single group before the experiment and after the experiment or when the
units of the Group or the population from which two sample are drawn are not
mutually exclusive.
In the latter situation, the modified formula for calculating the standard error of the
difference of two sample means is applied.
Thus to test the significance of sample means, there are always following four s
situations:
1) Two Large Independent Sample. i.e. when N1 and N2 >30
59
Normal Distribution 2) Two Small Independent Samples i.e. when N1 and N2 <30
3) Two Large correlated samples.
4) Two Small correlated samples.
2.10 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO LARGE

INDEPENDENT OR UNCORRELATED
SAMPLE MEANS
The formula for testing the significance of two large independent sample means is as
follows:
σ M1 +σ M 2
2 2
CR=M1~M2 where ó DM = or
= σ 12 / N1 + ó22 / N2

1) What do you mean by significance of the difference in two means?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) Define Standard Error of the difference of the two sample means.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Define Sampling distribution of the differences of Means of two Samples.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
4) What should be the mean value of sampling distribution of the difference of the
means?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
60
5) What indicates S.E.DM or ____DM ? Differences, Standard
Error of the Mean
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
6) What do you mean by Ho, Define it.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
7) What are the assumptions on which testing of the difference of two Mean is
based?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
8) What do you mean by One Tail Test and Two Tail Test? When these two
tails are used?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
9) What is meant by uncorrelated and correlated sample means?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
Thus
CR = M1~M2 / ó D
M1 ~M 2
=
σ 12 + σ 22
N1 N2
61
Normal Distribution Where
CR : Critical Ratio
M1 : Mean of the Sample or Group 1
M2 : Mean of the Sample or Group 2
ó1 : Standard Deviation of the Scores of sample 1
ó2 : Standard Deviation of the Scores of sample 2
N1 : Number of cases in Sample 1
N2 : Number of cases in sample 2
Example 8: An Intelligence test was administered on the two groups of Boys and
Girls. These two groups were drawn from the two populations independently by
using random method of sample selection. After administration of the test, the following
statistics was obtained
Groups N M Σ
Boys 65 52 13
Girls 60 48 12
Determine the difference between the mean values of Boys and Girls significant?
Solution
In the given problem, the two samples are quite large and independent. Therefore,
to test the significance difference in the mean values of Boys and Girls. First we
have to determine the null hypothesis which is
Ho=MB=MG i.e.
There is no significant difference in the mean value of the Boys and Girls and the
two groups are taken from the same population
M1 ~M 2 –0
C.R. =
σD
( M1 ~M 2 )
= σ 12 σ 22
+
N1 N2
( 52–48 ) =
4
4
C.R. = 132 12 2 169 144 =
+ + 5
65 60 65 60
Or C.R. = 1.79
df = (N1-1) + (N2-1)
= (65-1) + (60-1)
= 123
62
To test the null hypothesis, which is framed, we will use two tail test. In the “t” Significance of Mean
distribution table (sub heading no. 2.5.2) at 123 df the “t” value at .05 level and .01 Error of the Mean
level is 1.98 and 2.62 respectively (The “t” table has 100 and 125 df, but df 123
is not given, therefore nearest of 123 i.e. 125df is considered ). The obtained t value
(1.79) is much less than these two values, hence it is not significant and null hypothesis
is accepted at any level of significance.
Interpretation of the Results
Since our null hypothesis is retained, we can say that Boys and Girls do not differ
significantly in their level of intelligence. Whatever difference is observed in the
obtained mean values of two samples is due to chance factors and sampling fluctuations.
Thus we can say with 99% level of confidence that no sex difference exists in the
intelligence level of the population.
2.11 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO SMALL

INDEPENDENT ON UNCORRELATED SAMPLE
MEANS
When the N’s of two independent samples are small (less than 30), the S.E. DM or
-óDM (standard error of the difference between two means) should depend upon the
Standard Deviation (S.D. or ó ) values computed by using the correction
The formula used to test the significance of the difference of two means of small
independent samples is :
M1 ~M 2
t = S.E
DM
Where
N1 + N 2
S.E = S.D
DM N1 × N 2
Σ (x1-M1) 2 +Σ (x2-M2) 2
And S.D =
( N1 –1)( N 2 –1)
For simplification the above formula can also be written as
M1~M2
t = Σd2+Σd2 2 N1+N2 — (i)
×
N1+N2-2 N1N2
Where
D1= (S1-M1), and
D2= (x2-M2)
Here, X1 and X2 are the new scores of two groups, M1 and M2 are given in relation
to the two samples or groups having the small number units or cases.
63
Normal Distribution When the raw data are not given and we have statistics or the estimates of two small
size sample, in such condition, we use the formula-
The corresponding Mean values of the scores of the two groups N1 and N2 are the
number of the units or cases in the two groups t is also a critical ratio in which more
exact estimate of the ó DM is used. Here ‘t’ in place C.R. is used because sampling
distribution of “t” is not normal when N is small i.e. <30, “t” is a critical ratio (C.R.),
but all C.R’s are not “t’s.
M1 ~M 2
t= σ 1 ( N1 –1) σ 2 ( N2 –1) × ( N1 +N 2 ) / N1 N 2
2 2 .......(ii)
Where
M1 = Mean of the scores of sample -1
ó1 = Standard Deviation of the scores of sample-1
ó2 = Standard Deviation of the scores of sample-2
N1 = Number of units or cases on the sample-1
N2 = Number of units or cases in the sample-2
For more clarification study the following examples very carefully.
Example 9: An attitude test regarding a vocational course was given to 10 urban
boys and 5 rural boys. The obtained scores are as under-
Urban Boys (x1) = 6, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 9, 10, 0, 9
Rural Boys (x2) = 4, 3, 2, 1, 5
Determine at .05 level of significance that its there a significant difference in the
attitude of boys belonging to rural and urban areas in relation to a vocational course?
Solution
Ho=b1=b2 : H1=b1 ≠ b2
Level of significance = .05
For acceptance or rejection of null hypothesis at .05 level of significance, the two
tail test is used.
Thus
64
Urban Boys Rural Boys Differences, Standard
X1 d1=(x1-m1) d12 X2 d2=(X2-M2) d22 Error of the Mean
6 -4 16 4 +1 1
7 -3 9 3 0 0
8 -2 4 2 -1 1
10 0 0 1 -2 4
15 +5 25 5 +2 4
16 +6 36 _______
9 -1 1 ∑x2=15 _______
10 0 0 ∑d22=10
10 0 0 M= 15/5
9 -1 1 M= 3
________
∑x1=100 ∑d12=92
M= ∑x/N
= 100/10
M=10
We know that
M1 ~M 2
t = Σd1 +Σd2 2 N1 +N 2
2
×
N1 +N 2 -2 N1N 2
10–3
= 92 + 10 × 10+5
10+5–2 10×5
7 7 7
= = =
7.8 × 0.30 2.34 1.54
Or t = 4.46
df = (N1-1)+(N2-1)
= 9+4
=13
In “t” distribution table (table 2.5.1), the t value for 13 df at .05 level is 2.16. The
obtained t value 4.46 is much greater than this value. Hence null hypothesis is
rejected.
Interpretation of the Result
Our null hypothesis is rejected at .05 level of significance for 13 df. Thus we can say
that in 95% cases significant difference in the attitude of the urban and rural boys
regarding a vocational course. There are only 5% chances out of 100 that the two
groups have same attitude towards a vocational course.
Example 10: music interest test was administered on 15 + years did boys and girls
sample taken independently from the two populations. The following statistics was
obtained:
65
Normal Distribution
Mean S.D. N
Girls 40.39 8.69 30
Boys 35.81 8.33 25
Is the mean difference is in favour of girls?
Solution:
Ho= b1= b2
H1= b1 ≠ b2
In the given problem, the row scores of the two groups are not given. Therefore
we will use the following formula for testing of the difference of means of two
uncorrelated sample means:
M1 ~M 2
t = Σ12 ( N1 – 1) +Σ 22 ( N 2 – 1) N1 +N 2
×
N1 +N 2 -2 N1×N 2
40.39–35.81
t = (8.69) 2 (30-1) + (8.33) 2 (25-1) 30+25
×
30+25–2 30×25
4.58
=
75.516 × 29 + 69.389 × 24 × 55
4.58 4.58
= =
7274 × .073 2.309
Or t = 1.98
d f= (N1–1) + (N2–1) = 53
In the t distribution table for 53 df the t value at .05 level is 2.01. Our calculated
t value 1.98 is less than this value. Therefore, the null hypothesis is retained.
Since our null hypothesis is accepted at .05 level of significance. Therefore it can be
said that in 95 cases out of 100, there is no significant difference in the mean values
of boys and girls regarding their interest in music. There are only 5% chances that
the two groups do not have equal interest in music. Hence with 95% confidence, we
can say that both boys and girls have equal interest in music. Whatever difference
is deserved in the mean values of the groups is by chance or due to sampling of
fluctuations.
2.12 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO LARGE

CORRELATED SAMPLES
In some of the experimental studies a single group is tested in two different conditions
and the observations are in pairs. Or two groups are used in the experimental
66
condition, but they are matched by using pairs method. In these conditions, a modified Significance of Mean
formula of standard error of the difference of means is used. Therefore the formula Error of the Mean
for testing of the difference of two means of large correlated samples is –
M1 ~M 2
t =
σ M12 +σ M 2 2 – 2r12σ M1 σ M 2
In the formula
óM1 = Standard Error of the Mean of sample-1
Σ1
i.e. óM1 = N1
Σ2
óM2 = N1
and r1,2 = correlation between two sets of scores.

For more classification go through the following examples
Example 11: An Intelligence test was administered on a group of 400 students
twice after an interval of 2 months. The data obtained are as under-
M S.D
Testing –I : 25 8
Testing-II : 30 5
N : 400
r12 : 65
Test if there is a significant difference in the means of intelligence scores obtained in
two testing conditions.
Solution:
Ho => b1=b2 and H1=>b1 ≠ b2
M1 ~M 2
∴ t =
σ M1 +σ M 22 – 2r12σ M1 σ M 2
2
According the formula all values are given except S.E of means ( ∑ M ). Therefore
first we have to calculate standard errors of the means of the two sets of scores
Σ12 82 64
∴ óM1= N = =
1 400 20
67
Normal Distribution
Or óM1 = 3.20
Similarly
σ 22 52 25
óM2 = = =
N2 400 20
Or óM2= 1.25
Thus
30–25
t = (3.20) 2 +(1.25) 2 – 2 × .65 × 3.20 × 1.25
5
=
10.24 + 1.5625 − 5.20
5 5
= =
6.6025 2.57
t = 1.95
df = N-1 = 400-1
df = N-1= 400-1 (In the example N is same i.e. the single group is tested in
two different time intervals)
a df = 399
According to “t” distribution table (Table no-2.5.1) the value of t for 399 df at .01
level is 2.59. Our calculated value of t is 1.95, which is smaller than the value of
t given in “t” distribution table. Hence the obtained t value is not significant even
at .05 level. Therefore our null hypothesis is retained at .01 level of significance.
Since the obtained t value is found insignificant level for 399 df; thus the difference
in the mean values of the intelligence scores of a group, tested after an interval of
two months is not significant in 99 conditions out of 100, there is only 1% hence that
the difference in two means is significant at .01 level.
Example 12: In a vocational training course an achievement test was administered
on 64 students at the time of admission. After training of one year the same achievement
test was administered. The results obtained are as under:
M ó
Before Training : 52.50 7.25
After Training : 58.70 5.30
Is the gain, after training significant?
Solution:
Ho= b1=b2 (The gain after training is insignificant)
68 H1= b1 ≠ b2
(Note: Read the problem carefully, here we will use one tail test rather to use two Differences, Standard
tail test. Because here we are interested in gain due to training, not in the loss. That Error of the Mean
is we are interested in one side of the B.P.C which is +ve side. 99% confidence
and .05 for 95% confidence. See the table no-2.5.1 carefully and read the footnote)
We know that formula of testing the difference between two large correlated
means is–
M1 ~M 2
Formula t =
σ M1 + σ M 2 – 2r12σ M1 σ M 2
2 2
Where
σ1 7.25 7.25
óM1 = = =
N 100 10
Or óM1 = .725
σ2 530 5.30 5.30

And óM2 = = = = .53
N N 100 10
Or óM2 = .53
58.70–52.50
t= (.725) + (.53) 2 – 2 ×.50 × .725 × .53
2
6.2 6.2
= =
0.4223 .65
t = 9.54
df = (100-1)
= 99
In the‘t’ distribution table (table No. 2.5.1) at .02 level the t value for 99 df is 2.36
and out obtained t value is 9.54, which is much greater than the “t” value of the
table. Thus the obtained t value is significant at 99% level of significance. Therefore
our null hypothesis is rejected.
Since the obtained “t” value is found significant at .02 level for 99df. Thus we can
say that gain on the achievement test made by the students after training is highly
significant. Therefore we can say with 99% confidence that given vocational training
is quite effective. There is only 1 chance out of hundred, the vocational training is
ineffective.
2.13 SIGNIFICANCE OF TWO SMALL

CORRELATED MEANS
In case of determining the significance difference between the two correlated small
sample mean we have two methods, which are as under
i) Direct Method: i.e. we have to calculate Mean Values standard deviation
values of the two groups and the coefficient of correlation (r12) between the scores
of two groups. In such condition the formula used to test significant difference in the 69
Normal Distribution two means is –
M1 ~M 2
t = σ 12 σ 22 σ 1σ 2
+ – 2r12
N–1 N–1 N–1
M1 ~M 2
t = 2 2
Sm + Sm 2 − 2r12Sm1Sm 2
1
Where
σ1
Sm1 = (standard error of the small sample mean)
N–1
σ2
Sm2=
N–2
ii) Difference Method: In this method we have the raw data of two small groups
or sample and we are not calculate coefficient of correlation (r12) between the two
sets of scores.
Examples 13: A pre test and past test are given to 12 subjects. The scores obtained
are as under–
S. No.- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Pre-Test: 42 50 51 26 35 42 60 41 70 38 62 55
Past-Test: 40 62 61 35 30 52 68 51 84 50 72 63
Determine if the gain on past test score significant?
Solution:
S.No. of Post Test Pre Test Difference D-MD

Subjects X1 X2 (X2-X1) d d2
1 40 42 -2 -10 100
2 62 50 12 4 16
3 61 51 10 2 4
4 35 26 9 1 1
5 30 35 -5 -13 169
6 52 42 10 2 4
7 68 60 8 0 0
8 51 41 10 2 4
9 24 70 14 6 36
10 50 38 12 4 16
11 72 62 10 2 4
12 63 55 8 0 0
∑D = 96 ∑d2= 354
MD= ∑D ____
N SD= √∑d²
N-1
___
= √354
14
Or SD= 5.67
‫∴؞‬ SEDM= σD
√N
70
Where Differences, Standard
Error of the Mean
SEDM = Standard Error of the Mean of Differences.
ΣD = Standard Deviation of the Differences
And N = Total No. of cases.
5.67 5.67
Thus SEDM = =
12 3.464
= 1.631
MD 8
∴ t = SE = 1.637 = 4.88, df = 11
DM
In the “t” distribution table (Table 2.5.1 subheading 2.5.2) for 11 df at .02 level
the value is 2.72 and our calculated value of t (4.88) is much greater than the table
value. Therefore the null hypothesis is rejected at .01 level of significance.
Since our null hypothesis is rejected at.01 level of significance, therefore we can say
that the gain made by the subject on past test is real in 99 cases out of 100. There
are only 1% chance that the gain shown by the subjects in cue to chance factors as
by sampling fluctuations.
2.14 POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED WHILE

TESTING THE SIGNIFICANCE IN TWO MEANS
When you compare the means of two groups or to compare the means of a single
group tested in two different situations or conditions and to know, whether the
difference found in the two means is real and significant, or it is due to chance,
factors, you should keep in mind the following steps as a process of testing the
difference between two means.
i) Set up null hypothesis (Ho) and the alternative hypothesis (H1), according to
the requirements of the problem.
ii) Decide about the level of significance for the test, usually in behavioural or social
science, .05 and .01 levels are taken into consideration for acceptance or
rejection of the null hypothesis.
iii) Decide whether one tailed or two tailed test of significance for independent or
the correlated means.
iv) Decide whether the large or samples are involved in the problem or in the
experiment.
v) Calculate either C.R value or “t” ratio value as per nature and size of the
samples, by using the formulas discussed on the precious pages.
vi) Calculate degree of freedom (df). It should be N1+N2-2 for independent t or
uncorrelated samples. While in case of correlated samples it should be N-1.
vii) Consult the “t” distribution table with df keeping in mind the level of significance,
which we have decided at step number-11. 71
Normal Distribution viii) Compare the calculated value of “t” with the “t” value given in the table with
respect to df and level of significance.
ix) Interpret the Results:
If null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected, there is a significant difference between the two
means.
If null hypothesis is accepted, there is no significant difference in the two means.
Whatever the difference exists it has arisen due to sampling fluctuations or chance
factors only.
1) How you can define “Critical Ratio” and “t” Ratio?
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2) What is the difference between “CR” and “t”?
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3) What is the difference between C.R. and Z Score?
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4) How can you define the standard Error of the Difference of Means?
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5) What formula you will use in the following conditions:
a) When two independent large samples are given.
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72
b) When two correlated large samples are given. Differences, Standard
Error of the Mean
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c) When two independent small samples are given.
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d) When two small independent samples are given.
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6) What do you mean by independent samples?
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7) What do you mean by correlated samples?
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2.15 ERRORS IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THE

RESULTS, WHILE TESTING THE SIGNIFICANT
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO MEANS
While interpreting the results obtained from the test of significance of a single mean
or the difference between two means, we should take case and not to depend much
on the statistical results obtained. Generally while interpreting the results, we may
make following two type of Error.
Type-I Error or á Errors:
This Error occurs when the null hypothesis is true, but we reject the same by marking
significant difference between the two means.
Type-II Error or â Error:
This error occurs when the null hypothesis is wrong or to be rejected while the same
73
is retained.
Normal Distribution This probability of occurrence of type-II error or â error due to finding high level
of significance i.e. above to the .01 level of significance which may be .001 or the
above.
2.16 LET US SUM UP

The Standard error of the estimates or statistics or sample statistical measures (S.E.M)
consists –
Error of Sampling, and
Error of Measurement
Fluctuations from sample to sample, the so called sampling error or errors of sampling
are not to be thought of as mistakes, features, and the like, but as variations arising
from the fact that no two samples are over exactly alike.
Mean values and standard deviations (Σ’s) obtained from random samples taken
from a population are estimates of their parameters (the true statistical measurements
of the population) and the standard error (S.EM) measures the tepidness of these
estimates.
If the S.EM is large, it does not follow necessarily that the obtained statistics is
effected by a large sampling error, as much of the variations may be due to error of
measurements, when error of measurements are low i.e. the measuring tools or tests
are highly reliable, a large S.EM indicates considerable sampling error.
In the comparative studies or the experiments it is to decide whether the obtained
differences of such magnitude is attributed to chance factor or sampling variations or
it really exists? For such decisions the standard error of the difference is considered.
The critical or “t” ratio are nothing, but these are the Z scores , which tells how far
the sample mean difference derivates to the population mean difference on a normal
distribution curve.
“C.R” and “t” are the ratio of the mean difference of the two groups and the standard
error of the mean differences.
While deciding the significance of any statistical measure or the difference on the
means of two samples or two populations, the degree of freedom and levels of
confidence are considered, and in the light of these two we either accept the null
hypothesis or to reject the same.
While taking the decision a care is to be taken, so that type-I and type-II error
should not be occur.

1) Explain the term “Statistical Inference”. How is the statistical inference is based
upon the estimation of parameters.
2) Indicate the role of standard error for statistical generalisation.
3) Differentiate between significance of statistics and confidence interval of fiduciary
limits.
4) Enumerate the various uses of Standard Error of the statistics.
74
5) What type of errors can occur while interpreting the results based on test of Significance of Mean
significance? How we can overcome these errors? Error of the Mean
6) A Sample of 100 students with mean score 26.40 and SD 5.20 selected
randomly from a population. Determine the .95 and .99 for confidence intervals
for population true mean.
7) A small sample of 10 cases with mean score 175-50 and ∑ =5.82 selected
randomly. Compute finding limits of parameter mean at .05 and .01 level of
confidence.
8) The mean and standard deviation of the intelligence scores obtained on a group
of 200 randomly selected students are 102 and 10.20 respectively. How
dependable is mean I.Q. of the students?
The following are the data for two independent samples :
N M S.D.
Boys 60 48.50 10.70
Girls 70 53.60 15.40
Is the difference in the mean values of Boys and Girls significant.
A reasoning ability test was given to 8 urban and 6 rural girls of the same Class.
The data obtained are differ significantly in there reasoning ability.
Groups Scores
Urban Girls 16,9,4,23,19,10,5,2
Rural Girls 20,5,1,16,2,4.
The observations given below obtained on 10 subjects in a experiment of Pre
and Post test. Is gain trade by the students on post test significant?
Subjects 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Scores on
Pre Test 5 15 9 11 4 9 8 13 6 16
Scores on
Post Test 7 9 4 15 6 13 9 5 6 12
9) A group of 10 students was given 5 trials on a test of physical efficiency. Their
score on the I and V trials are given below. Test whether there is a significant
effect of practice on the improvement made in first to fifth trial.
Subject A B C D E F G H I J
Trial I 15 16 17 20 25 30 17 18 10 12
Trial V 20 22 22 25 35 30 21 23 17 20
10) A group of 35 students randomly selected was tested before and after
experimental treatment. The observations obtained are as under:
M ó
Pre Test 15.5 5.2
Post Test 21.6 4.8 75
Normal Distribution Coefficient of
Correlation between 0.70
The scores of Pre
and Post Test
Find out the groups is different significantly on the two testing conditions.
2.18 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION

1) What will happen on the standard error of sample mean if
a) Sample is homogeneous and large
b) Sample is heterogeneous and large
c) Sample is heterogeneous and small
d) Sample is homogeneous as well as small
2) Differentiate between “t” distribution and Z distribution. What is the basic
difference between “t” Test and Z Test.
3) When the “t” distribution and “Z” distribution become conside
4) The necessity of a theoretical distribution model for estimation.

Aggarwal Y.P. (1990) Statistical Methods – Concepts Application and
Computation. Sterling Publications Pvt Ltd. New Delhi.
Walker . H.M. and Lev. J. (1965). Statistical Inference. Oxford and I B H Publishing
Co. Calcutta.
76
UNIT 3 ONE WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Analysis of Variance
3.2.1 Meaning of the Variance
3.2.2 Characteristics of Variance
3.2.3 The Procedure of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
3.2.4 Steps of One Way Analysis of Variance
3.2.5 Assumptions Underlying Analysis of Variance
3.2.6 Relationship between F test and t test
3.2.7 Merits or Advantages of Analysis of Variance
3.2.8 Demerits or Limitations of Analysis of Variance
3.3 F Ratio Table and its Procedure to Use

3.4 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In the foregoing unit you have learned about how to test the significance of a mean
obtained on the basis of observations taken from a group of persons and the test of
significance of the differences between the two means. No doubt the test of significance
of the difference between the two means is a very important technique of inferential
statistics, which is used to test the null hypothesis scientifically and help to draw
concrete conclusion. But its scope is very limited. It is only applicable to the two sets
of scores or the scores obtained from two samples taken from a single population
or from two different populations.
Now imagine if we have to compare the means of more than two populations or the
number of groups, then what would happen? Can we apply successfully the Critical
Ratio Test (CR) or the t test? The answer is yes, but not convenient to apply CR
test or t test. The reason can be stated with an example. Suppose we have three
groups A,B & C and we want to compare the significance difference in the means
of the three groups, then first we have to make the pairs of groups e.g. A and B,
then B and C, and then A and C and apply C.R. test or t test as the conditions
required. In such condition we are to calculate three C.R. values or t values instead
of one.
Now suppose we have eight groups and want to compare the difference in the
means of the groups, in such condition we have to calculate 28 C.R. or t values as
the condition may require.
It means when there are more than two groups say 3, 4, 5 ….. and k, it is not easy
to apply ‘C.R.’ or ‘t’ test of significance very conveniently.
Further ‘C.R.’ or ‘t’ test of significance simply consider the means of two groups and
test the significance of difference exists between the two means. It has no concern 77
Normal Distribution in the variance that exist in the scores of the two groups or variance of the scores
from the mean value of the groups.
For example let us say that A reaction time test was given to 5 boys and 5 girls of
age group 15+ yrs. The scores were obtained in milliseconds are as given in the
table below.
Groups Reaction time in M. Sec Sum Mean
Girls 15 20 5 10 35 85 17M.Sec.
Boys 20 15 20 20 10 85 17M.Sec.

From the mean values shown in the table we can say that the two groups are equal
in their reaction time and the average reaction time is 17 M. Sec. In this example,
if we apply ‘t’ test of significance, we will find, the difference in the two means
insignificant and our null hypothesis is retained.
But if we look carefully to the individual scores of the reaction time of boys and girls,
we will find that there is a difference in the two groups. The group of girls is very
heterogeneous in their reaction time in comparison to the boys.
As the variation between the scores is ranging from 5 to 30 and deviation of scores
from mean varies from 12 M. Sec. to 18 M. Sec.
While the group of boys is more homogeneous in their reaction time, as the variation
in the individual scores is ranging from 5 to 10 and deviation of the scores from mean
is 3 M. Sec to 7 M. Sec therefore group B is much better in their reaction time in
comparison to the group A.
From, this example, you have seen that the test of significance of difference between
the two means, some time lead us to draw wrong conclusion and we may wrongly
retain the null hypotheses, though it should be rejected in real conditions.
Therefore, when we have more than two, say three or four or so forth and so on,
the ‘CR’ or ‘t’ test of significance are not very useful. In such condition, ‘F’ test is
more suitable and it is known as one way analysis of variance. Because we are
testing the significance difference in the average variance exists between the two or
more than two groups, instead to test the significance of the difference of the means
of the groups.
In this unit we will be dealing with F test or the analysis of variance.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
z Define variance;
z Differentiate between variance and standard deviation;
z Define analysis of variance;
z Explain when to use the analysis of variance;
78
z Describe the process of analysis of variance; One Way Analysis of
Variance
z Apply analysis of variance to obtain ‘F’ Ratio and to solve related problems;
z Analyse inferences after having the value of ‘F’ Ratio;
z Elucidate the assumptions of analysis of variance;
z List out the precautions while using analysis of variance; and
z consult the ‘F’ table correctly and interpret the results.
3.2 ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE

The analysis of variance is an important method for testing the variation observed in
experimental situation into different part each part assignable to a known source,
cause or factor.
In its simplest form, the analysis of variance is used to test the significance of the
differences between the means of a number of different populations. The problem of
testing the significance of the differences between the number of means results from
experiments designed to study the variation in a dependent variable with variation in
independent variable.
Thus the analysis of variance, as the name indicates, deals with variance rather than
with standard deviations and standard errors. It is a method of dividing the variation
observed in experimental data into different parts, each part assignable to a known
source, cause or factor therefore
Variance between the groups σ 2 Between the groups

F= = 2
Variance within the groups σ Within the groups
In which is the population variance.
The technique of analysis of variance was first devised by Sir Ronald Fisher, an
English statistician who is also known as the father of modern statistics as applied
to social and behavioural sciences. It was first reported in 1923 and its early
applications were in the field of agriculture. Since then it has found wide application
in many areas of experimentation.
3.2.1 Meaning of the Variance

Before to go further the procedure and use of analysis of variance to test the
significance difference between the means of various populations or groups at a time,
it is very essential, first to have the clear concept of the term variance.
In the terminology of statistics the distance of scores from a central point i.e. Mean
is called deviation and the index of variability is known as the mean deviations or
standard deviation ( ).
In the study of sampling theory, some of the results may be some what more simply
interpreted if the variance of a sample is defined as the sum of the squares of the
deviation divided by its degree of freedom (N-1) rather than as the mean of the
squares deviations.
The variance is the most important measure of variability of a group. It is simply the
square of S.D. of the group, but its nature is quite different from standard deviation, 79
Normal Distribution though formula for computing variance is same as standard deviation (S.D.)
Σ( X − M )
2
∴ Variance = S.D. or σ =
2 2
N
Where X : are the raw scores of a group, and

M : Mean of the raw scores.
Thus we can define variance as “the average of sum of squares of deviation
from the mean of the scores of a distribution.”
3.2.2 Characteristics of Variance

The following are the main features of variance:
z The variance is the measure of variability, which indicates the among groups or
between groups difference as well as within group difference.
z The variance is always in plus sign.
z The variance is like an area. While S.D. has direction like length and breadth
has the direction.
z The scores on normal curve are shown in terms of units, but variance is a area,
therefore either it should be in left side or right side of the normal curve.
z The variance remain the some by adding or subtracting a constant in a set of
data.
1) Define the term variance.
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2) Enumerate the characteristics of Variance.
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3) Differentiate between standard deviation and variance.
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80
One Way Analysis of
4) What do you mean by Analysis of Variance? Why it is preferred in comparison Variance
to ‘t’ test while determining the significance difference in the means.
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3.2.3 The Procedure of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

In its simplest form the analysis of variance can be used when two or more than two
groups are compared on the basis of certain traits or characteristics or different
treatments of simple independent variable is studied on a dependent variable and
having two or more than two groups.
Before we discuss the procedure of analysis of variance, it is to be noted here that
when we have taken a large group or a finite population, to represent its total units
the symbol ‘N’ will be used.
When the large group is divided into two or more than two sub groups having equal
number of units, the symbol ‘n’ will be used and for number of groups the symbol
‘k’ will be used.
Now, suppose in an experimental study, three randomly selected groups having equal
number of units say ‘N’ have been assigned randomly, three kinds of reinforcement
viz. verbal, kind and written were used. After a certain period, the achievement test
was given to three groups and mean values of achievement scores were compared.
The mean scores of three groups can then be compared by using ANOVA. Since
there is only one factor i.e. type of reinforcement is involved, the situation warrants
a single classification or one way ANOVA, and can be arranged as below:
Table 3.2.1
Group - A Group - B Group – C

S.N. Scores of Verbal Scores of Kind Scores of Written
Reinforcement Reinforcement Reinforcement
Xa Xb Xc1
Xa1 Xb1 Xc1
Xa2 Xb2 Xc2
Xa3 Xb3 Xc3
Xa4 Xb4 Xc4
Xa5 Xb5 Xc5
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
Xan Xbn Xcn
Sum b
Mean =Ma =Mb =Mc
81
Normal Distribution To test the difference in the means i.e. MA, MB and MC, the one way analysis of
variance is used. To apply one way analysis of variance, the following steps are to
be followed:
( ∑ xa + ∑ xb + ∑ xx )
2
(∑ x)
2
Step 1 Correction tem Cx = =

N n1 + n2 + n3
Step 2 Sum of Squares of Total SST = ∑ x2 − Cx
(∑ x)
2
= ∑x 2
−
N
( ∑ x3 )
= ( ∑ xa + ∑ xb + ∑ xc ) −
2 2 2
(∑ x)
2
Step 3 Sum of Squares Among the Groups SSA = − Cx

N
( ∑ xa ) ( ∑ xb ) ( ∑ xc ) (∑ x)
2 2 2 2
= + + −
n1 n2 n3 N
Step 4 Sum of Squares Within the Groups SSW = SST – SSA
SS A
Step 5 Mean Scores of Squares Among the Groups MSSA =
k −1
Where k = number of groups.
SSW
Step 6 Mean Sum of Squares Within the Groups MSSW =
n−k
Where N = Total number of units.
MSS A
Step 7 F Ratio i.e. F = MSS
W
Step 8 Summary of ANOVA

Table 3.2.2: Summary of ANOVA
Source of variance Df S.S. M.S.S. F Ratio
Among the Groups k-1 SSA
Within the groups (Error N-K SSW

Variance)
Total N-1

The obtained F ratio in the summary table, furnishes a comprehensive or overall test
of the significance of the difference among means of the groups. A significant F does
not tell us which mean differ significantly from others.
If F-Ratio is not significant, the difference among means is insignificant. The existing
or observed differences in the means is due to chance factors or some sampling
82
fluctuations.
To decide whether obtain F-Ratio is significant or not we are taking the help of F One Way Analysis of
Variance
table from a statistics book.
The obtained F-Ratio is compared with the F value given in the table keeping in mind
two degrees of freedom k-1 which is also known as greater degree of freedom or
df1 and N-k, which is known as smaller degree of freedom or df2. Thus, while testing
the significance of the F ratio, two situations may arise.
The obtained F Ratio is Insignificant:
When the obtained F ratio is found less than the value of F ratio given in F table for
corresponding lower degrees of freedom df1 that is, k-1 and higher degree of
freedom df that is, (df=N-K) (See F table in a Statistics Book) at .05 and .01 level
of significance it is found to be significant or not significant. Thus the null hypothesis
is rejected retained. There is no reason for further testing, as none of the mean
difference will be significant.
When the obtained ‘F Ratio’ is found higher than the value of F ratio given in F table
for its corresponding df1 and df2 at .05 level of .01 level, it is said to be significant.
In such condition, we have to proceed further to test the separate differences among
the two means, by applying ‘t’ test of significance. This further procedure of testing
significant difference among the two means is known as post-hoc test or post ANOVA
test of difference.
To have clear understanding, go through the following working examples very carefully.
Example 1
In a study of intelligence, a group of 5 students of class IX studying each in Arts,
Commerce and Science stream were selected by using random method of sample
selection. An intelligence test was administered to them and the scores obtained are
as under. Determine, whether the three groups differ in their level of intelligence.
Table 3.2.3
Arts Group Comm. Group Science Group
S.No.
Intelligence scores Intelligence scores Intelligence scores
1 15 12 12
2 14 14 15
3 11 10 14
4 12 13 10
5 10 11 10
Solution: In the example k = 3 (i.e. 3 groups), n =5 (i.e. each group having 5

cases), n = 15 (i.e. the total number of units in the group)
Null hypothesis H0 =
i.e. the students of IX class studying in Arts, Commerce and Science stream do not
differ in their level of intelligence.
Thus
83
Normal Distribution Table 3.2.4
Arts Group Commerce Group Science Group

X1 X2 X3
15 225 12 144 12 144
14 196 14 196 15 225
11 121 10 100 14 196
12 144 13 169 10 100
10 100 11 121 10 100
5 5 5
12.40 12.00 12.20

Step 1 : Correction term
∑ (x) ( ∑ x1 + ∑ x2 + ∑ x3 ......... ∑ xk ) ( 62 + 62 + 61) (183)

2 2 2 2
Cx= = = =
N n1 + n2 + n3 ......nk 5+5+5 15
Or Cx = 2232.60
Step 2 : SST (Sum of squares of total) = ∑ x 2 – Cx
(∑ x)
2
Or (
= ∑ x1 + ∑ x 2 + ∑ x 3 ......... ∑ x k
2 2 2 2
) –
N
= (786+730+765) – 2232.60
= 2281.00 – 2232.60
SST = 48.40
(∑ x)
2
Step 3 : SSA (Sum of squares among the groups) = ∑ – Cx

N
( ∑ x1 ) ( ∑ x2 ) ( ∑ x3 ) ( ∑ xk )
2 2 2 2
Or = + + + ........... + – Cx
n1 n2 n3 nk
( 62 ) ( 60 ) ( 61)
2 2 2
= + + – 2232.60
5 5 5
= 2233.00 – 2232.60
Or SSA = 0.40
Step 4 : SSW (Sum of squares within the groups) = SST – SSA
Or = 48.40 – 0.40
SSW = 48.00
Step 5 : MSSA (Mean sum of squares among the groups)
SSA 0.40 0.40
MSSA = = =
k – 1 3 −1 2
84
Or MSSA = 0.20
Step 6 : MSSW (Mean sum of squares within the groups) One Way Analysis of
Variance
SSW 48 48
= = =
N − K 15 − 3 12
MSSW = 4.00
MSS A 0.20
Step 7 : F Ratio = MSS = 4.00 = 0.05
W
Step 8 : Summary of ANOVA

Table 3.2.5 : Summary of ANOVA
Source of variance df SS MSS F Ratio
Among the Groups (k-1)
0.40 0.20
3-1 = 2
0.05
Within the Groups (N-k)
48.00 4.00
15-3 = 12
Total 14

From F table (refer to statistics book) for 2 and 12 df at .05 level, the F value is
3.59. Our calculated F value is .05, which is very low than the F value given in the
table. Therefore the obtained F ratio is not significant at .05 level of significance for
2 and 12 df. Thus the null hypothesis (H0) is accepted.
Interpretation of Results
Because null hypothesis is rejected at .05 and .01 level of significance therefore with
99% confidence it can be said that the students studying in Arts, Commerce and
Science stream do not differ significantly in their level of intelligence.
Example 2
An experimenter wanted to study the relative effects of four drugs on the physical
growth of rats. The experimenter took a group of 20 rats of same age group, from
same species and randomly divided them into four groups, having five rats in each
group. The experimenter then gave 4 drops of corresponding drug as a one doze to
each rat of the concerned group. The physical growth was measured in terms of
weight. After one month treatment, the gain in weight is given below. Determine if the
drugs are effective for physical growth? Find out if the drugs are equally effective and
determine, which drug is more effective in comparison to other one.
Table 3.2.6 : Observations (Gain in weight in ounce)
Group A Group B Group C Group D
(Drug P) (Drug Q) (Drug R) (Drug S)
4 9 2 7
5 10 6 7
1 9 6 4
0 6 5 2
2 6 2 7
Solution: Given k = 4, n = 5, N = 20 and Scores of 20 rats in terms of weight
Null hypothesis H0 = μ1 = μ2 = μ3
85
Normal Distribution i.e. All the four drugs are equally effective for the physical growth of the rats.
Therefore:
Table 3.2.7
Group A Group B Group C Croup D
X1 X2 X3 X4
4 16 9 81 2 4 7 49
5 25 10 100 6 36 7 49
1 1 9 81 6 36 4 36
0 0 6 36 5 25 2 4
2 4 6 36 2 4 7 49
Sum 12 46 40 334 21 105 27 167
n 5 5 5 5
Mean 2.40 8.0 4.20 5.40
(∑ x) (12 + 40 + 21 + 27 ) (100 )
2 2 2
Step 1 : Correction Term Cx = = =

N 20 20
= 500.00
Step 2 : Sum of Squares of total SST = ∑ x 2 – Cx
= (46+334+105+167) – 500.00
= 152
(∑ x)
2
Step 3 : Sum of Squares Among groups SSA = ∑ – Cx

n
⎛ (12 ) 2 ( 40 ) 2 ( 21) 2 ( 27 ) 2 ⎞
= ⎜⎜ 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 ⎟⎟ − 500.00
⎝ ⎠
= 82.80
Step 4 : Sum of Squares Within groups SSW = SST – SSA
= 152 – 82.80
= 69.20
Step 5 : Summary of ANOVA
Table 3.2.8: Summary of ANOVA
Source of
df SS MSS F Ratio
variance
Among Groups 4-1 = 3 82.80
Within Groups 40-4 = 16 69.20

86 (Error variance)
Total 19

In F table F.05 for 3 and 16 df = 3.24 One Way Analysis of
Variance
and
F.01 for 3 and 16 df = 5.24
Our obtained F ratio (6.39) is greater than the F value at .01 level of significance
for 3 and 16 df. Thus the obtained F ratio is significant at .01 level of confidence.
Therefore the null hypothesis is rejected at .01 level of confidence. i.e. the drugs P,
Q, R, S are not equally effective for physical growth.
In the given problem it is also to be determined which drug is comparatively more
effective. Thus we have to make post-hoc comparisons.
For post-hoc comparisons, we apply ‘t’ test of significance. The common formula
of ‘t’ test is –
M1 ~ M 2
t= S .E DM
Where :
M1 = Mean of first group
M2 = Mean of second group, and
SEDM = Standard Error of Difference of Means.
1 1
Here SEDM = SDW +
n1 n2
Where SDW or σ w = MSSW
i.e. S.DW is the within groups S.D. and n1 and n2 are the size of the samples or
groups being compared.
In the given example the means of four groups A, B, C and D are ranging from 2.40
ounce to 8.00 ounce, and the mean difference from 5.60 to 1.20. To determine the
significance of the difference between any two selected means we must compute ‘t’
ratio by dividing the given mean difference by its S.E.DM. The resulting t is then
compared with the ‘t’ value given in ‘t’ table (Table no 2.5.1 of Unit 2) keeping in
view the df of within the groups i.e. dfW. Thus in this way for four groups we have
to calculate 6, ‘t’ values as given below:
Step 6 : Standard deviation of within the groups
SDW = MSSW = 4.32
= 2.08
Step 7 : Standard Error of Difference of Mean (S.EDM)
1 1
S.E.DM = SDW +
n1 n2
= 1.31
(All the groups have same size therefore the value of SEDM for the two groups will
87
remain same)
Normal Distribution Step 8 : Comparison of the means of the various pairs of groups.
Group A vs B
M A − M B 8.0 − 2.40 5.60
t= = =
S .EDM 1.31 1.31 = 4.28 (Significant at .01 level for 16 df).
Group A vs C
4.20 − 2.40 1.80
t= = = 1.37 (Insignificant at .05 level for 16 df).
1.31 1.31
Group A vs D
5.40 − 2.40 3.0

t= = t = 2.29 (Significant at .05 level for 16 df).
1.31 1.31
Group B vs C
8.0 − 4.90 3.80

t= = t = 2.90 (Significant at .05 level for 16 df).
1.31 1.31
Group B vs D
8.0 − 5.40 2.60

1.31 1.31
Group C vs D
5.40 − 4.20 1.20
1.31 1.31
Results :
Out of 6 ‘t’ values, only 3 t values are found statistically significant. Among these
three, one value is found significant at .01 level, while the two values are found
significant at .05 level of significance. From these ‘t’ values, it is quite clear that the
group B is better in physical growth in comparison to the group A and C, similarly
group D is found better in comparison to Group A. The group B & D and groups
C & D are found almost equal in their physical growth.
Since the group B is found better in physical growth of the rats in comparison to
group A at 99% confidence level and at 95% confidence level it is found better in
case of group C. But the group B and D are found approximately equally good in
physical growth. Therefore the drug Q and S are effective for physical growth in
comparison to the drugs P and R. Further the drug Q is comparatively more effective
than the other drugs P, R and S respectively.
From the forgoing illustrations you have noted that if obtained F value is not significant,
it means, there is no difference either of the pairs of groups. There is no need to
follow ‘t’ test. If F is found significant, then the complete procedure of analysis of
variance is to specify the findings by using ‘t’ test. Therefore you have noticed that
only the F value is not sufficient when it is found significant. It is to be completed
when supplemented by using the ‘t’ test.
88
3.2.4 Steps of One Way Analysis of Variance One Way Analysis of
Variance
From the foregoing two illustration, it is clear that following steps are to be followed
when we use analysis of variance.
Step 1 : Set up null hypothesis.
Step 2 : Set the raw scores in table form as shown in the two illustrations.
Step 3 : Square the individual scores of all the sets and write the same in front of
the corresponding raw score.
Step 4 : Obtain all the sum of raw scores and the squares of raw scores. Write them
at the end of each column.
Step 5 : Obtain grand sums of raw scores as and square of raw square
as ∑ x 2
Step 6 : Calculate correction term by using the formula
( ∑ x1 + ∑ x2 + ∑ x3 ............ + ∑ xk )
2
∑ x2
Cx = Or Cx =
N n1 + n2 + n3 + ..........nk
Step 7 : Calculate sum of squares i.e. SST by using the formula-
SST = ∑ x2 – Cx
Step 8 : Calculate sum of squares among the groups i.e. SSA by using the formula-
∑ x2
SSA = – Cx
n
(∑ x ) + (∑ x ) + (∑ x ) (∑ x )
2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2
+ ............. + − Cx
1 2 3 k
Or SSA =
n1 n2 n3 nk
Step 9 : Calculate sum of squares within the groups i.e. SSw by using the formula
SSW = SST – SSA
Step 10 : Calculate the degrees of freedom as
greater degree of freedom df1 = k – 1 (where k is number of groups)
Smaller degree of freedom df2 = N-k (where N is the total number in the group)
Step 11 : Find the value of Mean sum of squares of two variances as-
SS A
Mean sum of squares between the group MSSA =
k −1
SSW
Mean sum of squares within the groups MSSW =
N −K
Step 12 : Prepare summary table of analysis of variance as shown in 3.2.5 or 3.2.8.
Step 13 : Evaluate obtained F Ratio with the F ratio value given in F table (Table
no. 3.3.1) keeping in mind df1 and df2.
Step 14 : Retain or Reject the Null Hypothesis framed as in step no-I.
Step 15 : If F ratio is found insignificant and null hypothesis is retained, stop further
calculation, and interpret the results accordingly. If F ratio is found significant and null
hypothesis is rejected, go for further calculations and use post-hoc comparison, find
89
the t values and interpret the results accordingly.
Normal Distribution 3.2.5 Assumptions Underlying the Analysis of Variance
The method of analysis of variance has a number of assumption. The failure of the
observations or data to satisfy these assumptions, leads to the invalid inferences. The
following are the main assumptions of analysis of variance.
The distribution of the dependent variable in the population under study is normal.
There exists homogeneity of variance i.e. the variance in the different sets of scores
do not differ beyond chance, in other words σ 1 = σ 2 = σ 3 = ...... = σ k .
The samples of different groups are selected from the population by using random
method of sample selection.
There is no significant difference in the means of various samples or groups taken
from a population.
3.2.6 Relationship between ‘F’ test and ‘t’ test

The F test and t test are complementary to each other, because-
‘t’ is followed when ‘F’ value is significant for the specification of inferences.
‘F’ test is followed, when ‘t’ value is not found significant. Because within groups
variance is not evaluated by ‘t’ test. It evaluate only the difference between variance.
There is a fixed relation between ‘t’ and ‘F’. the F is the square of ‘t’, while ‘t’ is
a square root of F.
F = t 2 or t = F
3.2.7 Merits or Advantages of Analysis of Variance

The analysis of variance technique has the following advantages:
z It is the improved technique over the ‘t’ test or ‘z’ test, it evaluates both types
of variance ‘between’ and ‘within’.
z This technique is used for ascertaining the difference among several groups or
treatments at a time. It is an economical device.
z It can involve more than one variable in studying their main effects and interaction
effects.
z In some of the experimental design e.g. simple random design and levels X
treatment designs are based on one way analysis of variance.
z If ‘t’ is not significant, F test must be followed, to analyse the difference between
two means.
3.2.8 Demerits or Limitations of Analysis of Variance

The analysis of variance technique has following limitations also:
z We have seen that analysis of variance techniques is based on certain assumptions
e.g. normality and homogeneity of the variances among the groups. The departure
of the data from these assumptions may effect adversely on the inferences.
z The F value provides global findings of difference among groups, but it can not
specify the inference. Therefore, for complete analysis of variance, the ‘t’ test
is followed for specifying the statistical inference.
90
z It is time consuming process and requires the knowledge and skills of arithmetical One Way Analysis of
Variance
operations as well the high vision for interpretations of the results.
z For the use of ‘F’ test, the statistical table of ‘F’ value is essential without it
results can not we interpreted.
3.3 F RATIO TABLE AND THE PROCEDURE TO

USE
The significance of difference between two means is analysed by using ‘t’ test or ‘z’
test as it has been discussed in earlier unit 2. The calculated or obtained t value is
evaluated with the help of ‘t’ distribution table. With df at .05 and .01 levels of
significance. The df is the main base to locate the ‘t’ values at different levels of
significance given in the table.
In a similar way the calculated F ratio value is evaluated by using F table (refer to
statistics book) by considering the degree of freedom between the groups and within
the groups.
You observe the F table, carefully, you will find there are rows and columns. In the
first row there are the degrees of freedom for larges variance i.e. for greater mean
squares or between the variance. The first column of the table has also degree of
freedom of smaller mean squares or the variance within the groups. Along with these
two degree of freedom the F ratio values are given at .05 and .01 level of significance.
The normal print values is the values at .05 level and the bold or dark print values
are at .01 level of significance.
In the first illustrated example in the summary table the F ratio value is 0.05, df1, is
2 and df2 is 12. For evaluating the obtained F value with F value given in table df1
= 2 is for row and df2 is for column. In the column you will find 12, proceed
horizontally or row wise and stop in column 2, you will find F values 3.88, which
is for .05 level of confidence and 6.93 (in dark bold print) which is meant for .01
level of confidence. Our calculated F value .05 is much less than these two values.
Hence the F ratio is not significant also at .05 level. Thus the null hypothesis is
retained.
1) State the assumptions of ANOVA.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) What happens when these assumptions are violated?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
91
Normal Distribution
3) Compare the ‘F Ratio’ test and ‘t Ratio’ test in terms of their relative merits
and demerits.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
4) What is the mathematical relationship between F and t.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
5) What is the relationship between S.D. and Mean sum of squares within the
groups?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
6) When the post ANOVA test of difference is applied?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
7) How many degree of freedom are associated with the variation in the data for-
A comparison of four means for independent samples each containing 10
cases?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
8) A comparison of three groups selected independently each containing 15 units.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
92
One Way Analysis of
3.4 LET US SUM UP Variance
Analysis of variance is used to test the significance of the difference between the
means of a number of different populations say two or more than two.
Analysis of variance deals with variance rather to deal with means and their standard
error of the difference exist between the means.
The variance is the most important measure of variability of a group. It is simply the
square of S.D. of the group i.e. v = σ 2
The problem of testing the significance of the differences between the number of
means results from experiments designed to study the variation in a dependent variable
with variation in independent variable.
Analysis of variance is used when difference in the means of two or more groups is
found insignificant.
There is a fixed relationship between ‘t’ ratio and ‘F’ ratio. The relationship can be
expressed as F = t2 or t = F.
While determining the significance of calculated or obtained ratio, we consider two
types of degrees of freedom. One greater i.e. degree of freedom between the groups
and second smaller i.e. degree of freedom within the groups.

1) The four groups are given four treatments, each group consists of 5 subjects.
At the end of treatment a test is administered, the obtained scores are given in
the following table. Test significance of difference among four treatments.
Scores of the treatment
Group – A Group – B Group – C Group – D

X1 X2 X3 X4
14 19 12 17
15 20 16 17
11 19 16 14
10 16 15 12
12 16 12 17

2) A Test Anxiety test was given to three groups of students of X class, classified
as high achievers, average achievers and low achievers. The scores obtained on
the test are shown below. Are the three groups differ in their test anxiety.
High-achievers Average achievers Low achievers

15 19 12
14 20 14
11 16 12
12 19 12

93
Normal Distribution 3) Apply ANOVA on the following sets of scores. Interpret your results.
Set-I Set-II Set-III
10 3 10
7 3 11
6 3 10
10 3 5
4 3 6
3 3 8
2 3 9
1 3 12
8 3 9
9 3 10

4) Summary of analysis of variance is given below:

Source of variance Df SS MSS F
Between sets 2 180 90.00
17.11
Within sets 27 142 5.26
Total 29

Interpret the result obtained.

Note Table F values are
F.05 for 2 and 27 df = 3.35
F.01 for 2 and 27 df = 5.49
5) Given the following statistics of the two groups obtained on a verbal reasoning
test:
Group N M
Boys 95 29.20 11.60
Girls 83 30.90 7.80

Calculate:
‘t’ ratio for the two groups.
‘F’ ratio for the two groups.
What should be the degree of freedom for ‘t’ ratio.
What should be the degrees of freedom for ‘F’ ratio.
Interpret the results obtained on ‘t’ ratio and ‘F’ ratio.
6) Why it is necessary to fulfill the assumptions of ‘F’ test, before to apply analysis
of variance.
94
7) Why the ‘F’ ratio test and ‘t’ ratio tests are complementary to each other. One Way Analysis of
Variance
8) What should be the various problems of psychology and education. Where the
ANOVA can be used successfully.

Aggarwal, Y.P. (1990). Statistical Methods – Concept, Applications, and
Computation. New Delhi : Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Ferguson, G.A. (1974). Statistical Analysis in Psychology and Education. New
York : McGraw Hill Book Co.
Garret, H.E. & Woodwarth, R.S. (1969). Statistics in Psychology and Education.
Guilford, J.P. & Benjamin, F. (1973). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and
Education. New York : McGraw Hill Book Co.
Srivastava, A.B.L. & Sharma, K.K. (1974). Elementary Statistics in Psychology
and Education. New Delhi : Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Walker, H.M. & Lev. J. (1965). Statistical Inference. Calcutta : Oxford & I.B.H.
Publishing Co.
95
UNIT 4 TWO WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Two Way Analysis of Variance
4.3 Interactional Effect
4.4 Merits and Demerits of Two Way ANOVA
4.4.1 Merits of Two Way Analysis of Variance
4.4.2 Demerits or Limitationsof Two Way ANOVA
4.5 Let Us Sum up

4.0 INTRODUCTION
In the preceding unit 3 we have learned about the one way analysis of variance. In
this technique, the effect of one independent or one type of treatment was studied
on single dependent variable, by taking number of groups from a population or from
different population heaving different characteristics. Generally, in one way analysis
of variance simple random design is used.
Now, suppose we want to study the effect of two independent variables on a single
dependent variable. Further suppose our aim is to study the independent effects of
the independent variables as well as their combined or joint effect on the dependent
variable. For example a medicine company has developed two types of drugs to get
relief from smoking habit. The company wants to know:
1) The independent effect of drug A on smoking behaviour,
2) The independent effect of drug B on smoking behaviour, and
3) The joint or interactional effect of drug A and B i.e. A x B on the smoking
behaviour.
Take another example, in a field experiment, a psychologist wants to study effect of
type of families on the cognitive development of the children of the age group 3 to
5+ years of age in relation to their sex.
In this field experiment there are two independent variables viz. Type of Family and
gender of the Children. The dependent variable is Cognitive Development.
Further the type of family variable has two levels i.e. joint families and nuclear
families.
Similarly the gender variable has also two levels viz. boys and girls.
The experimenter wants to study the independent effects of type of family (Joint vs
Nuclear) gender (Boys vs Girls) and the interactional effect i.e. joint effect of type
of family and gender on the dependent variable viz. Cognitive Development.
96
Such type of studies related to field experiments or real experiments are known as Two Way Analysis of
Variance
factorial design of 2 × 2 which indicates there are two independent variables each
having two levels.
Like wise there are several situations in which the effect of two or more than two
independent variable is studied on a single dependent variable.
In such experimental studies, the one way analysis of variance is not applicable. We
have to use two, three or four way of analysis of variance, which depends upon the
number of independent variables and their number of levels.
4.1 OBJECTIVES
z Define two way analysis of variance;
z Use analysis of variance vertically or column wise and horizontally or row wise;
z Explain the independent effects of two or more than two variables having each
two or more than two levels;
z Explain the term interaction effect;
z Analyse the interaction effect of two or more than two variables;
z Differentiate between one way analysis of variance and two way analysis of
variance;
z Analyse problems related to field experiments and true experiments where
factorial designs are used;
z Explain the interactional effect of two variables on dependent variables; and
z Explain variables graphically.
4.2 TWO WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE

In two way analysis of variance, usually the two independent variables are taken
simultaneously. It has two main effects and one interactional or joint effect on dependent
variable. In such condition we have to use analysis of variance in two way i.e.
vertically as well as horizontally or we have to use ANOVA, column and row wise.
To give an example , suppose you are interested to study the intelligence i.e. I.Q.
level of boys and girls studying in VIII class in relation to their level of socio
economic status (S.E.S.). in such condition you have the following 3 x 2 design.(Refer
to table 4.2.1)
Table 4.2.1: SES, Intelligence and Gender factors
Levels of S.E.S.
Groups
High Average Low Total
Boys MHB MAB MLB MB
Girls MHG MAG MLG MG
Total MH MA ML M

In the table above,

M : Mean of intelligence scores.
MHB, MAB, & MLB : Mean of intelligence scores of boys belonging to
different levels of S.E.S. i.e. High, Average & Low
respectively. 97
Normal Distribution MHG, MAG, & MLG : Mean of intelligence scores of girls belonging to
different levels of S.E.S. respectively.
MH, MA, & ML : Mean of the intelligence scores of students belonging
to different levels of S.E.S. respectively.
MB, MG : Mean of the intelligence scores of boys and girls
respectively.
From the above 3 x 2 contingency table, it is clear, first you have to study the
significant difference in the means column wise or vertically, i.e. to compare the
intelligence level of the students belonging to different categories of socio-economic
status (High, Average and Low).
Second you have to study the significant difference in the means row wise or horizontally,
i.e. to compose the intelligence level of the boys and girls.
Then you have to study the interactional or joint effect of sex and socio-economic
status on intelligence level i.e. we have to compare the significant difference in the
cell means of columns and rows.
Obviously, you have more than two groups, and to study the independent as well as
interaction effect of the two variables viz. socio-economic status and sex on dependent
variable viz. intelligence in terms of I.Q., you have to use two way analysis of
variance i.e. to apply analysis of variance column and row wise.
Therefore, in two way analysis of variance technique, the following type of effects
are to be tested:
z Significance of the effect of A variable on D.V.
z Significance of the effect of B variable on A.V.
z Significance of the interaction effect of A x B variables on D.V.
In two way analysis of variance, the format of summary table after applying the
analysis of variance is as under-
Table 4.2.2: Summary of two way ANOVA
Source of variance df SS MSS F Ratio
Among the groups
Between the group A SSA MSSA F1 =
Between the Group B SSB MSSB F2 =
Interrelation A x B ( SSAxB MSSAxB F3 =
Within the Groups (Error N
variance)
Total N–1
For interpretation of the obtained F ratios, we have to evaluate each F ratio value
with the F ratio given in F table (refer to statistics book) keeping in view the
corresponding grater and smaller df and the level of confidence. There may be two
possibilities.
All the obtained F ratios may be found insignificant even at .05 level. This shows
98
that there is no independent (i.e. individual) as well as interaction (i.e. joint) effect of
the two independent variables on dependent variable. Hence null hypothesis will Two Way Analysis of
Variance
retain. There is no need to do further calculations.
All the three obtained F ratio’s may be found significant either at .05 level of
significance or at .01 level of significance. This shows that there is a significant
independent (i.e. individual) as well as interactional (i.e. joint) effect of the independent
variables on the dependent variable. Therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. In such
condition if the two independent variables have more than two levels i.e. three or
four, we have to go for further calculations and use post-hoc comparisons by finding
out various ‘t’ values by pairing the groups.
Similarly the significant interactional effect will also be studied further by applying ‘t’
test of significance or by applying graphical method.
At least one or two obtained F ratio will be found significant either at .05 level of
significance or at .01 level of significance. Thus the null hypothesis may partially be
retained. In such condition too we have to do further calculations, by making post-
hoc comparisons and use ‘t’ test of significance, if the independent variables have
more than two levels.
For more clarification, go through the following illustration carefully.
Example 1
A researcher wanted to study the effect of anxiety and types of personality (Extroverts
and Introverts) on the academic achievement of the undergraduate students. For the
purpose, he has taken a sample of 20 undergraduates by using random method of
sample selection. He administered related test and found following observations in
relation to the academic achievement of the students.
Level of Anxiety
Groups High anxiety Low anxiety
Extroverts 12 14
13 14
14 13
15 15
Type of Personality
14 15
Introverts 14 11
16 10
16 12
16 12
15 16

Determine the independent as well as interactional effect of anxiety and types of

personality on the academic achievement of the undergraduates.
Solutions:
Given
Two independent variables
a) type of personality having two levels viz. extroverts and introverts
b) Anxiety it has also two level viz. high anxiety and low anxiety.
Dependent variable scores
Academic achievement scores. 99
Normal Distribution Number of groups i.e. k = 4.
Number of units in each cell i.e. n = 5.
Total no. of units i.e. N = 20.
To find out :
Independent effect of type of personality and anxiety on the academic achievement
of the students.
Interactional i.e. joint effect of anxiety and type of personality on academic achievement
of the students.
Therefore
H0 : “There is no significant effect of types of personality and level of anxiety on
academic achievement.”
For convenience, the given 2 x 2 table is rearranged as under:
Table 4.2.3
Extroverts Introverts
S.N. High Anxiety Low Anxiety High Anxiety Low Anxiety

X1 X2 X3 X4
1 12 144 14 196 14 196 11 121
2 13 169 14 196 16 256 10 100
3 14 196 13 169 16 256 12 144
4 15 225 15 225 16 256 12 144
5 14 196 15 225 15 225 16 256
Sums 68 930 71 1011 77 1189 61 765
N 5 5 5 5
M 13.60 14.20 15.40 12.20

Step 1 : Correction Term Cx =

(∑ x )2
( 68 + 71 + 77 + 61) ( 277 )
2 2
= =
20 20
= 3836.45
Step 2 : Sum of Squares of Total SST = ∑ x 2 – Cx
= 930+1011+1189+765 – 3836.45
= 58.55
Step 3 : Sum of Squares Among the Groups
(∑ x)
2
SSA = ∑ – Cx
n
( 68 ) ( 71) ( 77 ) ( 61)
2 2 2 2
= + + + = 3836.45
5 5 5 5
100 = 26.55
Step 4 : Sum of squares Between the A Groups (i.e. between types of personality) Two Way Analysis of
Variance
( ∑ x1 + ∑ x2 ) ( ∑ x3 + ∑ x4 )
2 2
SS BTP = + − Cx
n1 + n2 n3 + n4
= 3836.50 – 3836.45
= .05
Step 5 : Sum of squares Between the B Groups (i.e. Between level of Anxiety)
( ∑ x1 + ∑ x2 ) ( ∑ x3 + ∑ x4 )
2 2
SS Anx = + − Cx
n1 + n2 n3 + n4
( 68 + 77 ) ( 71 + 61)
2 2
= + − 3836.45
5+5 5+5
= 8.45
Step 6 : Sum of squares of Interaction
SSAxB = SSA – SSBTP – SSBAnx
i.e. SSAxB = Sum of squares Among the Groups – Sum of Squares Between Type
of Personality – Sum of Squares Between Anxiety Levels.
SSAxB = 26.55 – 0.05 – 8.45
= 18.05
Step 7 : Sum of Squares Within the Groups
SSW = SST – SSA – SSB
= 58.55 – 26.55
= 32.00
Step 8 : Preparation of Result of Summary Table
Table 4.2.4 : Summary of Two-way ANOVA
Sum of Mean SS
Source of df Squares (MSS) F Ratio
variance (SS)
Among the (k-1) (26.55)
Groups (4-1=3)
Between the 0.05
Groups- (k1-1)
(Types of 2 – 1 =
personality) 1
(Anxiety (k2-1) 8.45
levels) 2 – 1 =
1
SSAxB (k1- 18.05
1)(k2-1)
1 x 1 =
1
Within the (N-k) 32.00
Groups 20 – 4 =
16
Total 19
101
Normal Distribution In the F table (refer to statistics book) for 1 and 6 df, the F value at .01 and .05
level are 8.86 and 4.60 respectively.
Our calculated F values for type of personality and anxiety are smaller than the table
F value 4.60.
Therefore the obtained F ratio values are not significant even at .05 level of significance.
Hence the null hypotheses is in relation to Type of Personality and Anxiety are
retained.
In case of interaction effect the obtained F ratio value 9.025 is found higher than the
F value given in table at .01 level of significance. Thus the F for interaction effect is
significant at .01 level. Hence, null hypothesis for interaction effect is rejected.
Since our null hypotheses are accepted at .05 and .01 level of significance, for type
of personality, therefore it can be said that there is no independent as well as
interactional effect of Types of Personality and levels of Anxiety on the academic
achievement of the students. In other words it can be said that the students who are
either Extroverts or Introverts are equally good in their academic performance.
Similarly, the anxiety level of the students do not cause any significant variation in the
academic achievement of the students.
But the students having different type of personality and have different level of
anxiety, their academic achievement varies in 99% cases. From the mean values in
the table 4.2.3 it is evident that the students who are Extroverts and have low level
of anxiety are comparatively good in their academic achievement (M = 14.20).
In the case of Introverts those who have high level of anxiety are better in their
academic achievement (M = 15.40) in comparison to others.
Example 2
In a study, effect of intelligence and sex on the mathematical creativity a group of 40
students (20 boys and 20 girls) was selected from a population of high school going
students by using random method of sample selection. A test of intelligence and
mathematics creativity was administrated to them. The observations obtained are
given below. Determine the independent as well as interactional effect of sex and
Intelligence on the mathematical creativity of the high school going students.
102
Table 4.2.5: Observations obtained on the mathematical creativity test Two Way Analysis of
Variance
Groups Boys Girls
15 14
15 13
15 13
12 15
High 13 15
Intelligent 15 13
16 13
16 14
16 15
20 14
15 10
14 12
12 10
13 13
Low 15 13
Intelligent 14 10
15 11
14 12
13 10
12 10
Total units 20 20

Solution:
Given :
Two independent variables A- Sex, B- Intelligence. Each having 2 levels.
Dependent variable : Mathematical Creativity
Number of Groups k = 4
Number of cases in each group n = 10
Total number of units in the group N = 40
To find out : i) Independent effect of intelligence and sex on mathematical creativity.
ii) Interactional effect of intelligence and sex on mathematical creativity.
H0 : There is no significant independent as well as interactional effect of Intelligence
and Sex on the mathematical creativity of the students.
Therefore.
103
Normal Distribution Table 4.2.6
Groups Boys (A1) Girls (A2)
High Low
Low Intelligence High Intelligence
Intelligence Intelligence
S.No. (B2) (B1)
(B1) (B2)
X1 X2 X1 X2 X1 X2 X1 X2
1 15 225 15 225 14 196 10 100
2 15 225 14 196 13 169 12 144
3 15 225 12 144 13 169 10 100
4 12 144 13 169 15 225 13 169
5 13 169 15 225 15 225 13 169
6 15 225 14 196 13 169 10 100
7 16 256 15 225 13 169 11 121
8 16 256 14 196 14 196 12 144
9 16 256 13 169 15 225 10 100
10 20 400 12 144 14 196 10 100
Sum 153 2381 137 1889 139 1939 111 1247
n 10 10 10 10
Mean 15.30 13.70 13.90 11.10

∑( x) (153 + 137 + 139 + 111)

2 2
Step 1 : Correction Term = Cx = =

N 40
= 7290.00
Step 2 : Sum of Squares of total SST = ∑ x 2 − Cx
= (2381+1889+1939+1247) – 7290
= 166.00
∑( x)
2
Step 3 : Sum of Squares Among groups SSA = ∑ − Cx

N
⎛ (153) 2 (137 ) 2 (139 ) 2 (111)2 ⎞
= ⎜⎜ 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 ⎟⎟ − 7290.00
⎝ ⎠
= 92
Step 4 : Sum of squares Between the Groups (Sex)
( ∑ x1 + ∑ x2 ) ( ∑ x3 + ∑ x4 )
2 2
SSBSex = + − Cx
n1 + n2 n3 + n4
(153 + 137 ) (139 + 111)

2 2
= + − 7290
20 20
= 40.00
Step 5 : Sum of squares Between the Groups (Intelligence)
( ∑ x1 + ∑ x2 ) ( ∑ x3 + ∑ x4 )
2 2
SSBInt = + − Cx
n1 + n2 n3 + n4
(153 + 139 ) (137 + 111)

2 2
= + − 7290.00
10 + 10 10 + 10
104 = 48.40
Step 6 : Sum of squares Between the Interactions (Sex x Intelligence) Two Way Analysis of
Variance
SSBSex×Int = SSA – SSBSex– SSBInt
= 3.60
Step 7 : Sum of Squares within the Groups
SSW = SST – SSA
= 166 – 92
= 74.00
Step 8 : Preparation of Summary Table / Result table
Table 4.2.7 : Summary of Analysis of Variance
Source of variance df Sum of Mean SS F Ratio

Squares MSS
SS
1) Among the Groups (k-1)
(92) (30.67) (14.88)
4-1=3
2) Between the Groups
i) (k1-1)
40.00 40.00 19.42
2-1=1
ii) (k2-1)
48.40 48.40 23.49
2-1=1
iii)
1x1=1 3.60 3.60 1.75
3.Within the Groups (N-k)
(Error variance) 74.00 2.06
40-4=36
Total 39

From F table, the value of F.05 for 1 and 36 df = 4.12 and F.01 for 1
and 36 df = 7.42
Interpretation of the Results:
Independent Effects
Sex : From the ANOVA summary table the F ratio value for Sex is found 19.42,
which is high in comparison to the F value given in F table for 1 and 36 df. Therefore
F ratio for Sex variable is found significant at .01 level. Hence null hypothesis is
rejected. In conclusion it can be said that in 99% cases, the boys are high in
mathematical creativity in comparison to the girls. There are only 1% chance that the
girls are better in mathematical creativity than the boys.
Intelligence: From the ANOVA summary table the F ratio value for intelligence is
found 23.49, which is also significant at .01 level for 1 and 36 df. Thus the null
hypothesis is rejected at .01 level of confidence.
Therefore, in 99% cases the high intelligent high school going students are high in
their mathematical creativity in comparison to the low intelligent students. Only in 1
105
Normal Distribution case out of 100, the low intelligent high school going students are high in mathematical
creativity.
Interactional Effect
From the ANOVA summary table it is evident that the F ratio for interactional effect
is found insignificant even at .05 level of significance for 1 and 36 df. Thus the null
hypothesis is accepted.
Therefore, the joint effect of sex and intelligence do not cause any significant variation
in the scores of mathematical creativity. In other words both boys and girls who are
high in their intelligence are equally good in their mathematical creativity.
Similarly the low intelligent boys and girls also do not differ in their mathematical
creativity. In the group of boys the high intelligent and low intelligent high school going
students also do not differ in their mathematical creativity. Similarly in the group of
girls, the high intelligent and low intelligent girls are also do not differ significantly in
their mathematical creativity. This fact is also confirmed from the following Figure A
and B.
Fig. 4.2.1(A) Fig. 4.2.1(B)
The two figures 4.2.1 (A) and 4.2.1 (B) both are showing two parallel lines. Which
indicates that there is no interaction effect of sex and intelligence on the mathematical
creativity of the high school going students.
1) What is the difference between one way analysis of variance and two way
analysis of variance?
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2) When we use two way analysis of variance?
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106
Two Way Analysis of
3) In two way analysis of variance how many effects are tested. Variance
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4) What indicates K(a), K(b) and K(c)
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5) What is meant by df1 and df2?
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6) In what way we decide the significance of F ratio obtained in relation to
various effects?
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7) What do you mean by
2 x 2 Level design
3 x 3 Level design
2 x 4 Level design
3 x 3 Level design
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4.3 INTERACTIONAL EFFECT

In the foregoing discussion we have frequently used the term “interaction” or
“interactional effect” therefore it is essential to clarify the same.
In the two way analysis of variance, the consideration and interpretation of the
interaction of variables or factors become important. Without considering the interaction
between the different variables in a study, there is no use of two way or three way
analysis of variance. 107
Normal Distribution The interactions may be between two or more than two independent variables and
its effect is measured on the dependent variable or the criterion variable. The need
to know interaction effect on criterion variable or dependent variable is to know the
combined effect of two or more than two independent variables on the criterion
variable.
The reason, suppose there are two independent variables A & B and each has their
own significance to create high variations in the criterion or dependent variable, but
their joint or combined effect may cause very high, or low or their nullified effect on
the dependent variable or criterion variable.
To have more clear idea let us suppose we have two types of fertilizers e.g. Urea
and Phosphate. These have their own importance in the growth of the corps
independently. But when we use the two chemical fertilizers in combined way with
proper ratio, it might be possible, the growth of crops may be increased tremendously.
Or it might be possible, the growth of crops may go down.
In the field of psychology and education suppose a treatment or a method of teaching
A has its own significance to increase the level of achievement in a school subject,
similarly the treatment B or a teaching method B is also good for encouraging results
in academic achievement. But when we use the two methods of teaching jointly or
give two treatments in combination we may get more encouraging results in academic
achievement, or we do not have any significant effect on the achievement of the
learners.
In the illustration-2, presented in this unit, compare the mean values, which we have
shown in each cell in table 4.2.6. for convenience we are taking the same values here
and presenting in the following 2 x 2 table.
Table 4.3.1
Boys Girls Total
Intelligence
M1 M2 Mean
High 15.30 13.90 14.60
Low 13.70 11.10 12.40
Total Mean 14.50 12.50 13.50
In the above table, if we compare the total mean of first and second column, it is
quite clear that there is a difference in the mean values of boys and girls and the
higher mean is in the favour of boys. This is an independent effect of sex on
mathematical creativity.
Similarly if we compare the total means of two rows we find, there is a difference
in the means of high intelligent and low intelligent students and higher mean is in
favour of the high intelligent group. It is actually the independent effect of intelligence
on mathematical creativity.
Further in the above table 4.3.1, sex effects for boys and girls are
(14.50-13.50) = 1 and (12.50 – 13.50) = -1 respectively. If we subtract the first
effect 1, from all averages in the first row and add 1 to all the averages in the second
row, we have the following table:
108
Table 4.3.2: Sex factor Two Way Analysis of
Variance
Groups Boys Girls Total M
High Intelligence 14.30 12.90 13.60
Low Intelligence 14.70 12.10 13.40
Total Mean 14.50 12.50 13.50
Similarly in table 4.3.1 we subtract 1 from first column and add to the second column
we have the following table:
Table 4.3.3: Sex factor
Groups Boys Girls Total M
High Intelligence 14.30 12.90 14.60
Low Intelligence 14.70 12.10 12.40
Total M 13.50 13.50 13.50
Table 4.3.2 and table 4.3.3 give the intersectional resultant average, which show the
direction of interaction and also indicates that there is no interaction effect of the A
and B independent variable on dependent variable. In such condition if we plot the
graph between the two independent variables we have approximately two parallel
lines, as we have seen in the graphical presentation (see fig. 4.2.1 A and 4.2.1 B)
respectively.
If there is a significant interactional effect of the two or more independent variables
on the dependent variables; in such condition the graphical representation of the
interactional effect will show two lines which are interacting at a point. For example,
in example 1 the interactional effect of type of personality and anxiety is found
significant at .01 level. If we draw the graph for interaction effect of Type of Personality
and Level of Anxiety by considering the mean values of academic achievement, the
obtained graph will be as under. (table 4.3.4. and graphs figures 4.3.1. A and B)
Table 4.3.4: the mean values of Extroverts and Introverts having high
and low level of anxiety
Groups Extroverts M1 Introverts Total Mean
M2
High Anxiety 13.60 15.40 14.50
Low Anxiety 14.20 12.20 13.20
Total Mean 13.90 13.80 13.85
109
Normal Distribution (Mean values from table 4.2.3)
Fig. 4.3.1 (A) Fig. 4.3.1 (B)
4.4 MERITS AND DEMERITS OF TWO WAY ANOVA

4.4.1 Merits of Two Way Analysis of Variance
The following are the advantages of two way analysis of variance-
z This technique is used to analyse two types of effects viz. main effects and
Interaction Effects.
z More than two factors effects are analysed by this technique.
z For analysing the data obtained on the basis of factorial designs, this technique
is used.
z This technique is used to analyse the data for complex experimental studies.
4.4.2 Demerits or Limitations of Two Way ANOVA

The following limitations are found in this technique:
z When there are more than two classification of a factor or factors of study. F
ratio value provides global picture of difference among the main treatment
effects. The inference can be specified by using ‘t’ test in case when F ratio is
found significant for a treatment.
z This technique also follows the assumptions on which one way analysis of
variance is based. If these assumptions are not fulfilled, the use of this technique
may give us spurious results.
z This technique is difficult and time consuming.
z As the number of factors are increased in a study, the complexity of analysis
in increased and interpretation of results become difficult.
z This technique requires high level arithmetical and calculative ability. Similarly it
also requires high level of imaginative and logical ability to interpret the obtained
results.
4.5 LET US SUM UP

The two way analysis of variance is a very important parametric technique of inferential
statistics. It helps in taking concrete decisions about the effect of various treatments
110 on criterion or dependent variable independently and jointly.
The independent effect of a variable on treatment means the direct or isolate effect Two Way Analysis of
Variance
of it on the dependent or criterion variable.
The interactional effect means joint effect of the two or more variables acting together
on a dependent or criterion variables.
In case of insignificant interactional effect of the two or more predictors or independent
variables on a criterion or dependable variable. The graphical representation will
show the parallel lines, when the interactional effect is significant, its graphical
representation will show the two crossed lines.
The two way analysis variance is a useful technique in experimental psychology as
well as in experimental education especially in the field of teaching and learning. It
is frequently used in field experiments or true experiments, when we use factorial
designs specifically.
Interaction variance might be more reasonably expected in a combination of teacher
and instruction method, of kind of task and method of attack by the learner, and of
kind of reward when combined with a certain condition of motivation.

1) What do you mean by Two-way Analysis of Variance.?
2) What is the difference between one way and two way ANOVA?
3) Indicate the graphical presentation of interaction effects?
4) Highlight the advantages and limitations of two way analysis of variance.
5) From the following hypothetical data, (Table below) determine-Which teaching
method is effective than others. Also, Which teacher is contributing effectively
in the learning outputs of the learners.
6) How far the joint effect of teaching method and the teacher is contributing in the
learning performance of the students.
Teaching Methods
Teacher A B C
10 3 10
7 3 11
T1 6 3 10
10 3 5
4 3 6
3 3 8
1 3 9
T2 8 3 12
9 3 9
2 3 10

Four groups of 8 students each having an equal number of boys and girls were
selected randomly and assigned to different four conditions of an experiment. Test
main effects due to conditions and sex and the interaction of the two conditions
111
Normal Distribution I II III IV
Graphs
7 9 12 12
0 4 6 14
Boys
5 5 10 9
8 6 6 5
3 4 3 6
3 7 7 7
Girls
2 5 4 6
0 2 6 5

7) In 4 × 3 factorial design 5 subjects are assigned randomly in each graph of 12

cells.
The following data obtained at the end of the experiment
Method of Teaching
Level of M1 M2 M3 M4
Intelligence
6 8 7 9
2 3 6 6
High
4 7 9 8
(L1)
2 5 8 8
6 2 5 9
4 6 9 7
1 6 4 8
Average
5 2 8 4
(L2)
2 3 4 7
3 6 8 4
4 3 6 6
2 1 4 5
Low
1 1 3 7
(L3)
1 2 8 9
2 3 4 8

Test the significance difference of difference of main effects and interaction effects.

Aggarwal, Y.P. (1990). Statistical Methods-Concept, Applications, and
Computation. New Delhi : Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Ferguson, G.A. (1974). Statistical Analysis in Psychology and Education. New
York : McGraw Hill Book Co.
Garret, H.E. & Woodwarth, R.S. (1969). Statistics in Psychology and Education.
Guilford, J.P. & Benjamin, F. (1973). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and
Education. New York : McGraw Hill Book Co.
Srivastava, A.B.L. & Sharma, K.K. (1974). Elementary Statistics in Psychology
and Education. New Delhi : Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
112
UNIT 1 RATIONALE FOR NON-
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definition of Non-parametric Statistics
1.3 Assumptions of Parametric and Non-parametric Statistics
1.3.1 Level of Measurement
1.3.2 Nominal Data
1.3.3 Ordinal Data
1.3.4 Interval and Ratio Data
1.3.5 Sample Size
1.3.6 Normality of the Data
1.4 The Use of Non-parametric Tests

1.4.1 Differences between Independent Groups
1.4.2 Differences between Dependent Groups
1.4.3 Relationships between Variables
1.4.4 Descriptive Statistics
1.4.5 Problems and Non-parametric Tests
1.4.6 Non-parametric Statistics
1.4.7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Non-parametric Statistics
1.5 Misconceptions about Non-parametric Tests

1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Statistics is of great importance in the field of psychology. The human behaviour which
is so unpredictable and cannot be so easily measured or quantified, through statistics
attempts are made to quantify the same. The manner in which one could measure
human behaviour is through normal distribution concept wherein it is assumed that most
behaviours are by and large common to all and only a very small percentage is in either
of the extremes of normal distribution curve. Keeping this as the frame of reference,
the behaviour of the individual is seen and compared with this distribution. For analysis
of obtained information about human behaviour we use both parametric and non-
parametric statistics. Parametric statistics require normal distribution assumptions
whereas non-parametric statistics does not require these assumptions and need not
also be compared with normal curve. In this unit we will be dealing with non-parametric
statistics, its role and functions and its typical characteristics and the various types of
non-parametric statistics that can be used in the analysis of the data.
5
Non-Parametric Statistics
1.1 OBJECTIVES
z Define non-parametric statistics;
z Differentiate between parametric and non-parametric statistics;
z Elucidate the assumptions in non-parametric statistics;
z Describe the characteristics of non-parametric statistics; and
z Analyse the use of non-parametric statistics.
1.2 DEFINITION OF NON-PARAMETRIC

STATISTICS
Non-parametric statistics covers techniques that do not rely on data belonging to any
particular distribution. These include (i) distribution free methods (ii) non structural models.
Distribution free means its interpretation does not depend on any parametrized
distributions. It deals with statistics based on the ranks of observations and not necessarily
on scores obtained by interval or ratio scales.
Non-parametric statistics is defined to be a function on a sample that has no dependency
on a parameter. The interpretation does not depend on the population fitting any
parametrized distributions. Statistics based on the ranks of observations are one example
of such statistics and these play a central role in many non-parametric approaches.
Non-parametric techniques do not assume that the structure of a model is fixed. Typically,
the model grows in size to accommodate the complexity of the data. In these techniques,
individual variables are typically assumed to belong to parametric distributions, and
assumptions about the types of connections among variables are also made.
Non-parametric methods are widely used for studying populations that are based on
rank order (such as movie reviews receiving one to four stars). The use of non-parametric
methods may be necessary when data have a ranking but no clear numerical
interpretation. For instance when we try to assess preferences of the individuals, (e.g.
I prefer Red more than White colour etc.), we use non parametic methods. Also when
our data is based on measurement by ordinal scale, we use non-parametric statistics.
As non-parametric methods make fewer assumptions, their applicability is much wider
than those of parametric methods. Another justification for the use of non-parametric
methods is its simplicity. In certain cases, even when the use of parametric methods is
justified, non-parametric methods may be easier to use. Due to the simplicity and greater
robustness, non-parametric methods are seen by some statisticians as leaving less room
for improper use and misunderstanding.
A statistic refers to the characteristics of a sample, such as the average score known as
the mean. A parameter, on the other hand, refers to the characteristic of a population
such as the average of a whole population. A statistic can be employed for either
descriptive or inferential purposes and one can use either of the two types of statistical
tests, viz., parametric Tests and non-parametric Tests (assumption free test).
The distinction employed between parametric and non-parametric test is primarily based
on the level of measurement represented by the data that are being analysed. As a
general rule, inferential statistical tests that evaluate categorical / nominal data and ordinal
rank order data are categorised as non-parametric tests, while those tests that evaluate
6
interval data or ratio data are categorised as parametric tests.
Differences between parametric and non-parametric statistics Rationale for Non-
The parametric and non-parametric statistics differ from each other on these various
levels
Level of Differences Parametric Non Parametric

Assumed Distribution Normal Any
Homogenous and
Assumed Variance Homogeneous
Heterogeneous both
Typical data Ratio or Interval Ordinal or Nominal
Usual Central measure Mean Median
Can Draw more Simple and less affected
Benefits
conclusions by extreme score
Level of measurement is an important criterion to distinguish between the parametric

and non-parametric tests. Its usage provides a reasonably simple and straightforward
schema for categorisation that facilitates the decision making process for selecting an
appropriate statistical test.
1.3 ASSUMPTIONS OF PARAMETRIC AND NON-

Assumptions to be met for the use of parametric tests are given below:
z Normal distribution of the dependent variable
z A certain level of measurement: Interval data
z Adequate sample size (>30 recommended per group)
z An independence of observations, except with paired data
z Observations for the dependent variable have been randomly drawn
z Equal variance among sample populations
z Hypotheses usually made about numerical values, especially the mean
Assumptions of Non-parametric Statistics test are fewer than that of the parametric
tests and these are given below.:
z An independence of observations, except with paired data
z Continuity of variable under study
Characteristics of non-parametric techniques:
z Fewer assumptions regarding the population distribution
z Sample sizes are often less stringent
z Measurement level may be nominal or ordinal
z Independence of randomly selected observations, except when paired
z Primary focus is on the rank ordering or frequencies of data
z Hypotheses are posed regarding ranks, medians, or frequencies of data
There are three major parametric assumptions, which are, and will continue to be
routinely violated by research in psychology: level of measurement, sample size, and
normal distribution of the dependent variable. The following sections will discuss these
assumptions, and elucidate why much of the data procured in health science research
7
violate these assumptions, thus implicating the use of non-parametric techniques.
1) Define Non-parametric statistics.
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2) What are the charateristic featurs of non-parametric statistics?
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3) Differentiate between parametric and non-parametric statistics.
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4) What are the assumptions underlying parametric and non-parametric statistics?
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When statistical tests are to be used one must know the following:
1.3.1 Level of Measurement

When deciding which statistical test to use, it is important to identify the level of
measurement associated with the dependent variable of interest. Generally, for the use
of a parametric test, a minimum of interval level measurement is required. Non-parametric
techniques can be used with all levels of measurement, and are most frequently associated
with nominal and ordinal level data.
1.3.2 Nominal Data

The first level of measurement is nominal, or categorical. Nominal scales are usually
composed of two mutually exclusive named categories with no implied ordering: yes or
no, male or female. Data are placed in one of the categories, and the numbers in each
category are counted (also known as frequencies). The key to nominal level measurement
is that there are no numerical values assigned to the variables. Given that no ordering or
meaningful numerical distances between numbers exist in nominal measurement, we
cannot obtain the coveted ‘normal distribution’ of the dependent variable. Descriptive
8
research in the health sciences would make use of the nominal scale often when collecting Rationale for Non-
demographic data about target populations (i.e. pain present or not present, agree or
disagree).
Example of an item using a nominal level measurement scale
1) Does your back problem affect your employment status? Yes No
2) Are you limited in how many minutes you are able to walk continuously with or
without support (i.e. cane)? Yes No
1.3.3 Ordinal Data

The second level of measurement, which is also frequently associated with non-parametric
statistics, is the ordinal scale (also known as rank-order). Ordinal level measurement
gives us a quantitative ‘order’ of variables, in mutually exclusive categories, but no
indication as to the value of the differences between the positions (squash ladders,
army ranks). As such, the difference between positions in the ordered scale cannot be
assumed to be equal. Examples of ordinal scales in health science research include pain
scales, stress scales, and functional scales. One could estimate that someone with a
score of 5 is in more pain, more stressed, or more functional than someone with a score
of 3, but not by how much. There are a number of non-parametric techniques available
to test hypotheses about differences between groups and relationships among variables,
as well as descriptive statistics relying on rank ordering. Table below provides an example
of an ordinal level item from the Oswestry Disability Index.
Table: Walking (Intensity of pain in terms of the ability to walk)
S. No. Description Intensity
1 Pain does not prevent me walking any distance Lowest intensity of pain
2 Pain prevents me from walking more than Some level of intensity
2 kilometres of pain
3 Pain prevents me from walking more than Moderate intensity of
1 kilometre pain
4 Pain prevents me from walking more than High intensity of pain
500 meters
5 I can only walk using a stick or crutches Very high intensity of
pain
1.3.4 Interval and Ratio Data

Interval level data is usually a minimum requirement for the use of parametric techniques.
This type of data is also ordered into mutually exclusive categories, but in this case the
divisions between categories are equidistant. The only difference between interval data
and ratio data, is the presence of a meaningful zero point. In interval level measurement,
zero does not represent the absence of value. As such, you cannot say that one point is
two times larger than another. For example, 100 degrees Celsius is not two times hotter
than 50 degrees because zero does not represent the complete absence of heat.
Ratio is the highest level of measurement and provides the most information. The level
of measurement is characterised by equal intervals between variables, and a meaningful
zero point. Examples of ratio level measurement include weight, blood pressure, and
force. It is important to note that in health science research we often use multi item
9
scales, with individual items being either nominal or ordinal.
Non-Parametric Statistics 1.3.5 Sample Size
Adequate sample size is another of the assumptions underlying parametric tests. In a
large number of research studies, we do use small sample size and in certain cases we
just use one case study and observe that case over a period of time. Some times, we
take small sample sizes from a certain place and such samples are called as convenience
samples, and limited funding. Thus, the assumption of large sample size is often violated
by such studies using parametric statistical techniques.
The sample size required for a study has implications for both choices of statistical
techniques and resulting power. It has been shown that sample size is directly related to
researchers’ ability to correctly reject a null hypothesis (power). As such, small sample
sizes often reduce power and increase the chance of a type II error. It has been found
that by using non-parametric techniques with small sample sizes, it is possible to gain
adequate power. However, there does not seem to be a consensus among statisticians
regarding what constitutes a small sample size. Many statisticians argue that if the sample
size is very small, there may be no alternative to using a non-parametric statistical test,
but the value of ‘very small’ is not delineated. It has been suggested by Wampold et al.
(1990) , that the issue of sample size is closely related to the distribution of the dependent
variable, given that as sample size increases, the sampling distribution approaches
normal(n>100).
At the same time, one can state that if the distribution of the dependant variable resembles
closely the normal distribution, then it will amount to the sampling distribution of the
mean being approximately normal. For other distributions, 30 observations might be
required. Furthermore, in regard to decision about the statistical technique to be used,
there is no clear cut choice but one can choose a technique depending on the nature of
the data and sample size. Thus even the choice of parametric or non-parametric tests
‘depends’ on the nature of the data, the sample size, level of measurement, the
researcher’s knowledge of the variables’ distribution in the population, and the shape
of the distribution of the variable of interest. If in doubt, the researcher should try using
both parametric and non-parametric techniques.
1.3.6 Normality of the Data

According to Pett (1997), in choosing a test we must consider the shape of the
distribution of the variable of interest. In order to use a parametric test, we must assume
a normal distribution of the dependent variable. However, in real research situations
things do not come packaged with labels detailing the characteristics of the population
of origin. Sometimes it is feasible to base assumptions of population distributions on
empirical evidence, or past experience. However, often sample sizes are too small, or
experience too limited to make any reasonable assumptions about the population
parameters. Generally in practice, one is only able to say that a sample appears to
come from say, a skewed, very peaked, or very flat population. Even when one has
precise measurement (ratio scale), it may be irrational to assume a normal distribution,
because this implies a certain degree of symmetry and spread.
Non-parametric statistics are designed to be used when we know nothing about the
distribution of the variable of interest. Thus, we can apply non-parametric techniques to
data from which the variable of interest does not belong to any specified distribution
(i.e. normal distribution). Although there are many variables in existence that are normally
distributed, such as weight, height and strength, this is not true of all variables in social
or health sciences.
10
The incidence of rare disease and low prevalence conditions are both non-normally Rationale for Non-
distributed populations. However, it seems that most researchers using parametric
statistics often just ‘assume’ normality. Micceri et al. (1989) states that the naïve
assumption of normality appears to characterise research in many fields.
However, empirical studies have documented non normal distributions in literature from
a variety of fields. Micceri et al. (1989) investigated the distribution in 440 large sample
achievement and psychometric measures. It was found that all of the samples were
significantly non-normal (p<0.01).
It was concluded that the underlying tenets of normality assuming statistics appeared to
be fallacious for the commonly used data in these samples. It is likely that if a similar
study, investigating the nature of the distributions of data were to be conducted with
some of the measures commonly used in health science research, a similar result would
ensue, given that not all variables are normally distributed.
1) What are the aspects to be kept in mind before we decide to apply parametric or
non-parametric tests?
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2) What is ordinal data? Give suitable examples?
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3) What are interval and ratio data ? Give examples.
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4) Why is sample size important to decide about usingparametric or non-parametric
tests?
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5) What is meant by normality of a data? Explain.
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11
1.4 THE USE OF NON-PARAMETRIC TESTS
It is apparent that there are a number of factors involved in choosing whether or not to
use a non-parametric test, including level of measurement, sample size and sample
distribution. When the choice of statistical technique for a set of data is not clear, there
is no harm in analysing the data with both these methods, viz., parametric and on
parametric methods.
It must be remembered that for each of the main parametric techniques there is a non-
parametric test available. Also, experiments with the data would also determine which
test provides the best power, and the greatest level of significance. In general, these
tests fall into the following categories:
Tests of differences between groups (independent samples);
Tests of differences between variables (dependent samples);
Tests of relationships between variables.
1.4.1 Differences between Independent Groups

Usually, when we have two samples that we want to compare concerning their mean
value for some variable of interest, we would use the t-test for independent samples).
The non-parametric alternatives for this test are the Wald-Wolfowitz runs test, the
Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test.
If we have multiple groups, we would use analysis of variance (see ANOVA/MANOVA.
The non-parametric equivalents to this method are the KruskalWallis analysis of ranks
and the Median test.
1.4.2 Differences between Dependent Groups

If we want to compare two variables measured in the same sample we would customarily
use the t-test for dependent samples. For example, we want to compare the math skills
of students just at the beginning of the year and again at the end of the year, we would
take the scores and use the t-test for such comparison and state that there is a significant
difference between the two periods. Non-parametric alternatives to this test are the
Sign test and Wilcoxon’s matched pairs test.
If the variables of interest are dichotomous in nature (i.e., “pass” vs. “no pass”) then
McNemar’s Chi-square test is appropriate.
If there are more than two variables that were measured in the same sample, then we
would customarily use repeated measures ANOVA.
Non-parametric alternatives to this method are Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance
and Cochran Q test (if the variable was measured in terms of categories, e.g., “passed”
vs. “failed”). Cochran Q is particularly useful for measuring changes in frequencies
(proportions) across time.
1.4.3 Relationships between Variables

To express a relationship between two variables one usually computes the correlation
coefficient. Non-parametric equivalents to the standard correlation coefficient of Pearson
‘r’ are Spearman R, Kendall Tau.
The appropriate non-parametric statistics for testing the relationship between two
12
variables are the Chi-square test, the Phi coefficient, and the Fisher exact test. In addition, Rationale for Non-
a simultaneous test for relationships between multiple cases is available, as for example,
Kendall coefficient of concordance. This test is often used for expressing inter rater
agreement among independent judges who are rating (ranking) the same stimuli.
1.4.4 Descriptive Statistics

When one’s data are not normally distributed, and the measurements at best contain
rank order information, then using non prametric methods is the best. For example, in
the area of psychometrics it is well known that the rated intensity of a stimulus (e.g.,
perceived brightness of a light) is often a logarithmic function of the actual intensity of
the stimulus (brightness as measured in objective units of Lux). In this example, the
simple mean rating (sum of ratings divided by the number of stimuli) is not an adequate
summary of the average actual intensity of the stimuli. (In this example, one would
probably rather compute the geometric mean.) Non-parametrics and Distributions will
compute a wide variety of measures of location (mean, median, mode, etc.) and
dispersion (variance, average deviation, quartile range, etc.) to provide the “complete
picture” of one’s data.
There are a number advantages in using non-parametric techniques in health science
research. The most important of these advantages are the generality and wide scope of
non-parametric techniques. The lack of stringent assumptions associated with non-
parametric tests implies that there is little probability of violating assumptions, which
implies robustness. The application of non-parametric tests in social and Health science
researcsh is wide, given that they can be applied to constructs for which it is impossible
to obtain quantitative measures (descriptive studies), as well as to small sample sizes.
1.4.5 Problems and Non-parametric Tests

The most common non-parametric tests used for four different problems include the
following:
i) Two or more independent groups: The Mann-Whitney ‘U’ test and the Kruskal-
Wallis one-way analysis of variance (H) provide tests of the null hypothesis that
independent samples from two or more groups come from identical populations.
Multiple comparisons are available by the Kruskal- Wallis test.
ii) Paired observations: The sign test and Wilcoxon Signed-rank test both test the
hypothesis of no difference between paired observations.
iii) Randomized blocks: The Friedman two-way analysis of variance is the non-
parametric equivalent of a two-way ANOVA with one observation per cell or a
repeated measures design with a single group. Multiple comparisons are available
for the Friedman test. Kendall’s coefficient of concordanceis a normalization of
the Friedman statistic.
iv) Rank correlations: The Kendall and Spearman rank correlations estimate the
correlation between two variables based on the ranks of the observations.
13
Non-Parametric Statistics The Table below gives an overview of when to use which test:
Choosing TEST
PARAMETRIC NON PARAMETRIC
Correlation test Pearson Spearman
Independent Measures, Independent- Measures t- Mann-Whitney test
2 Groups test (‘U’ Test)
Independent Measures, One Way Independent
Kruskal-Wallis Test
> 2 Groups Measures ANOVA
Repeated Measures, Matched-Pair
Wilcoxon test
2 Conditions t-Test
Repeated Measures, One-Way, Repeated
Friedman’s Test
> 2 Conditions Measures ANOVA
These statistics are discussed in many texts, including Siegel (1956), Hollander and
Wolfe (1973), Conover (1980), and Lehmann (1975). Each of these non-parametric
statistics has a parallel parametric test.
1) When do we use the non-parametric statistics?
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2) What is meant by descriptive statistics in the context of non-parametric statistics?
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3) State when to use which test – parametric or non-parametric?
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4) What are the four problems for which non-parametric statistics is used?
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14
1.4.6 Non-parametric Statistics Rationale for Non-
The primary barrier to use of non-parametric tests is the misconception that they are
less powerful than their parametric counterparts (power is the ability to correctly reject
the null hypothesis). It has been suggested that parametric tests are almost always more
powerful than non-parametric tests. These assertions are often made with no references
to support them, suggesting that this falls into the realm of ‘common knowledge’.
Evidence to support this is not abundant, nor conclusive. Rather, on closer examination,
it is found that parametric tests are more powerful than non-parametric tests only if all
of the assumptions underlying the parametric test are met.
Pierce (1970) suggests that unless it has been determined that the data do comply with
all of the restrictions imposed by the parametric test; the greater power of the parametric
test is irrelevant. This is because ‘the purpose of applied statistics is to delineate and
justify the inferences that can be made within the limits of existing knowledge - that
purpose is defeated if the knowledge assumed is beyond that actually possessed’.
Thus, the power advantage of the parametric test does not hold when the assumptions
of the parametric test are not met, when the data are in ranks, or when the non-parametric
test is used with interval or ratio data.
When comparison studies have been made between parametric and non-parametric
tests, the non-parametric tests are frequently as powerful as parametric, especially with
smaller sample sizes. Blair et al. (1985) compared the power of the paired sample t-
test (a common parametric test), to the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test (non-parametric),
under various population shapes and sample sizes (n=10, 25, 50), using a simple pre-
post test design. It was found that in some situations the t-test was more powerful than
the Wilcoxon.
However, the Wilcoxon test was found to be the more powerful test in a greater number
of situations (certain population shapes and sample sizes), especially when sample sizes
were small. In addition, the power advantage of the Wilcoxon test often increased with
larger sample sizes, suggesting that non-parametric techniques need not be limited to
studies with small sample sizes. It was concluded that insofar as these two statistics are
concerned, the often-repeated claim that parametric tests are more powerful than non-
parametric test is not justified.
Generally, the rationale for using the t-test over the Wilcoxon test is that the parametric
tests are more powerful under the assumption of normality. However, it was shown in
this study that even under normal theory, there was little to gain, in terms of power by
using the t-test as opposed to the Wilcoxon.
It was suggested by Blair that ‘it is difficult to justify the use of a t-test in situations
where the shape of the sampled population is unknown on the basis that a power
advantage will be gained if the populations does happen to be normal’. Blair concluded
by saying that ‘although there were only two tests compared here, it should be viewed
as part of a small but growing body of evidence that is seriously challenging the traditional
views of non-parametric statistics’. This study demonstrated that the use of non-
parametric techniques is implicated whenever there is doubt regarding the fulfilment of
parametric assumptions, such as normality or sample size.
Answer the following as True or False.
1) Parametric tests are equally assumptive as Non-parametric tests. T/F
15
2) Non-parametric tests are most applicable when data is in rank form. T/F
3) Small sample size is not entertained by parametric tests. T/F
4) Parametric tests are more statistically grounded than Non-parametric tests. T / F
5) Non-parametric statistics cannot be used for complex research designs. T / F
1.4.7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Non-parametric

Statistics
Advantages
1) Non-parametric test make less stringent demands of the data. For standard
parametric procedures to be valid, certain underlying conditions or assumptions
must be met, particularly for smaller sample sizes. The one-sample t test, for
example, requires that the observations be drawn from a normally distributed
population. For two independent samples, the t test has the additional requirement
that the population standard deviations be equal. If these assumptions/conditions
are violated, the resulting P-values and confidence intervals may not be trustworthy.
However, normality is not required for the Wilcoxon signed rank or rank sum tests
to produce valid inferences about whether the median of a symmetric population
is 0 or whether two samples are drawn from the same population.
2) Non-parametric procedures can sometimes be used to get a quick answer with
little calculation.
Two of the simplest non-parametric procedures are the sign test and median test.
The sign test can be used with paired data to test the hypothesis that differences
are equally likely to be positive or negative, (or, equivalently, that the median
difference is 0). For small samples, an exact test of whether the proportion of
positives is 0.5 can be obtained by using a binomial distribution. For large samples,
the test statistic is:
(plus - minus)² / (plus + minus) , where plus is the number of positive values and
minus is the number of negative values. Under the null hypothesis that the positive
and negative values are equally likely, the test statistic follows the chi-square
distribution with 1 degree of freedom. Whether the sample size is small or large,
the sign test provides a quick test of whether two paired treatments are equally
effective simply by counting the number of times each treatment is better than the
other.
Example: 15 patients given both treatments A and B to test the hypothesis that
they perform equally well. If 13 patients prefer A to B and 2 patients prefer B to A,
the test statistic is (13 - 2)² / (13 + 2) [= 8.07] with a corresponding P-value of
0.0045. The null hypothesis is therefore rejected.
The median test is used to test whether two samples are drawn from populations
with the same median. The median of the combined data set is calculated and each
original observation is classified according to its original sample (A or B) and
whether it is less than or greater than the overall median. The chi-square test for
homogeneity of proportions in the resulting 2-by-2 table tests whether the population
medians are equal.
3) Non-parametric methods provide an air of objectivity when there is no reliable
16
(universally recognized) underlying scale for the original data and there is some
concern that the results of standard parametric techniques would be criticized for Rationale for Non-
their dependence on an artificial metric. For example, patients might be asked
whether they feel extremely uncomfortable / uncomfortable / neutral /
comfortable / very comfortable. What scores should be assigned to the comfort
categories and how do we know whether the outcome would change dramatically
with a slight change in scoring? Some of these concerns are blunted when the data
are converted to ranks4.
4) A historical appeal of rank tests is that it was easy to construct tables of exact
critical values, provided there were no ties in the data. The same critical value
could be used for all data sets with the same number of observations because
every data set is reduced to the ranks 1,...,n. However, this advantage has been
eliminated by the ready availability of personal computers.
5) Sometimes the data do not constitute a random sample from a larger population.
The data in hand are all there are. Standard parametric techniques based on sampling
from larger populations are no longer appropriate. Because there are no larger
populations, there are no population parameters to estimate. Nevertheless, certain
kinds of non-parametric procedures can be applied to such data by using
randomization models.
From Dallal (1988): Consider, for example, a situation in which a company’s workers
are assigned in haphazard fashion to work in one of two buildings. After a year physical
tests are administered, it appears that workers in one building have higher lead levels in
their blood. Standard sampling theory techniques are inappropriate because the workers
do not represent samples from a large population—there is no large population. The
randomization model, however, provides a means for carrying out statistical tests in
such circumstances. The model states that if there were no influence exerted by the
buildings, the lead levels of the workers in each building should be no different from
what one would observe after combining all of the lead values into a single data set and
dividing it in two, at random, according to the number of workers in each building. The
stochastic component of the model, then, exists only in the analyst’s head; it is not the
result of some physical process, except insofar as the haphazard assignment of workers
to buildings is truly random.
Of course, randomization tests cannot be applied blindly any more than normality can
automatically be assumed when performing a t test. (Perhaps, in the lead levels example,
one building’s workers tend to live in urban settings while the other building’s workers
live in rural settings. Then the randomization model would be inappropriate.)
Nevertheless, there will be many situations where the less stringent requirements of the
randomization test will make it the test of choice. In the context of randomization models,
randomization tests are the ONLY legitimate tests; standard parametric test are valid
only as approximations to randomization tests.
Disadvantages
Such a strong case has been made for the benefits of non-parametric procedures that
some might ask why parametric procedures are not abandoned entirely in favour of
non-parametric methods!
The major disadvantage of non-parametric techniques is contained in its name. Because
the procedures are non-parametric, there are no parameters to describe and it becomes
more difficult to make quantitative statements about the actual difference between
populations. (For example, when the sign test says two treatments are different, there is
no confidence interval and the test does not say by how much the treatments differ.) 17
Non-Parametric Statistics However, it is sometimes possible with the right software to compute estimates (and
even confidence intervals!) for medians, differences between medians. However, the
calculations are often too tedious for pencil-and-paper. A computer is required. As
statistical software goes though its various iterations, such confidence intervals may
become readily available, but are not there.
The second disadvantage is that non-parametric procedures throw away information.
The sign test, for example, uses only the signs of the observations. Ranks preserve
information about the order of the data but discard the actual values. Because information
is discarded, non-parametric procedures can never be as powerful (able to detect
existing differences) as their parametric counterparts when parametric tests can be
used.
1.5 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT NON-

PARAMETRIC TESTS
The lack of use of non-parametric techniques is owing to a series of common
misconceptions about this branch of statistics.
Non-parametric statistics have long taken the back seat to parametric statistics, often
being portrayed as inferior in practice and teaching. It has been suggested that researchers
are hesitant to use these techniques, due to fears that peer reviewers may not be
completely familiar with these statistics, and therefore unable to properly interpret, and
review the results.
The above opinion could be due to the widespread case of limited exposure of
researchers and clinicians to this type of statistics.
Non-parametric techniques are often left out of basic statistics courses, and relegated
to the last chapter of texts, making them seem less important, while reinforcing the
focus on parametric statistics.
Another common misconception concerning non-parametric statistics is that they are
restricted in their application. It is thought that there are only a limited number of simple
designs that can be analysed using these techniques.
However, there are non-parametric techniques which span from simple 2-group analysis,
to complex structural equation modelling. Basically, for any parametric test, there is a
non-parametric equivalent that would be equally, or in some cases, more appropriate
for use.
1) What are the advantages of non-parametric statistics?
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2) What are the disadvantages of non-parametric statistics?
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18 .....................................................................................................................
Rationale for Non-
3) What are the misconceptions about non-parametric statistic tests? parametric Statistics
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1.6 LET US SUM UP

The key points of our discussion in this unit are:
1) Characteristics common to most non-parametric techniques:
z Fewer assumptions regarding the population distribution
z Sample sizes are often less stringent
z Measurement level may be nominal or ordinal
z Independence of randomly selected observations, except when paired
z Primary focus is on the rank ordering or frequencies of data
z Hypotheses are posed regarding ranks, medians, or frequencies of data
2) Conditions when it is appropriate to use a non-parametric Test:
z Nominal or ordinal level of measurement
z Small sample sizes
z Non-normal distribution of dependent variable
z Unequal variances across groups
z Data with notable outliers
3) Advantages and disadvantages of Non-parametric Tests:
z Methods quick and easy to apply
z Theory fairly simple
z Assumptions for tests easily satisfied
z Accommodate unusual or irregular sample distributions
z Basic data need not be actual measurements
z Use with small sample sizes
z Inherently robust due to lack of stringent assumptions
z Process of collecting data may conserve time and funds
z Often offer a selection of interchangeable methods
z Can be used with samples made up of observations from several different
populations
19
1) What are the major differences between parametric and non-parametric statistics?
2) Enumerate the advantages of non-parametric statistics.
3) Are there any assumptions for “Assumption Free tests”? If yes what are the
assumptions of non-parametric statistics?
4) “Non-parametric Statistics has much wider scope than parametric statistics” support
the statement with your arguments.
5) What are the major misconceptions regarding non-parametric statistics?
1.8 SUGGESTED READING

Cohen J. (1988) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences. Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Micceri T. (1989) The Unicorn, The Normal Curve, and Other Improbable Creatures.
Psychological Bulletin, 156-66.
Kerlinger F.N. (1964) Foundations of Behavioural Research. New York: Holt,
Pett M.A. (1997) Non-parametric Statistics for Health Care Research. London,
Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Siegel S. and Castellan N.J. (1988) Non-parametric Statistics for the Behavioral
Sciences (2nd edition). New York: McGraw Hill.
Wampold BE & Drew CJ. (1990) Theory and Application of Statistics. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
20
UNIT 2 MANN WHITNEY ‘U’ TEST FOR
TWO SAMPLE TEST
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Definition of Two Sample Tests
2.3 Mann Whitney ‘U’ Test
2.4 Relevant Background Information on ‘U’ Test
2.5 Step by Step Procedure for ‘U’ Test for Small Sample
2.6 Step by Step Procedure for ‘U’ Test for Large Sample
2.7 Computing Mann-Whitney U Test in SPSS
2.8 Wilcoxon Matched Pair Signed Rank Sum Test
2.9 Relevant Background Information on Wilcoxon Test
2.10 Step by Step Procedure for Wilcoxon Test for Small Sample
2.11 Step by Step Procedure for Wilcoxon Test for Large Sample
2.12 Computing the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Sum Test in SPSS
2.13 Comparison of Mann-Whitney ‘U’ Test and Wilcoxon MPSR test with t-test
2.14 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Non-parametric statistics are distribution free statistics and can be used for small samples
as well as any kind of distribution. It has many tests which are equivalent to the parametric
tests. For instance for the tests like mean, we have Mann Whitney U test, for Pearson
‘r’ we have Kendall tau test and so on. The non-parametric tests are available for
single sample, matched pair sample, two samples and k samples. In this unit we will be
dealing with Two sample tests and the various non-parametric tests that we can use
analyse data if we have two samples. We will initially start with the definition of what is
two sample test and go on to present different non-parametric statitistics that could be
applied to analyse such data and then finally present how to solve problems based on
such data.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
z Define two sample data;
z Explain what are two sample tests;
21
Non-Parametric Statistics z Present the various non-parametric tests that can be used to analyse two sample
data;
z Explain the significance levels and interpretation of such data; and
z Solve problems in two sample data.
2.2 DEFINITION OF TWO SAMPLE TESTS

Two sample tests are those which we call as tests of independence rather than goodness
of fit tests. We are testing to see whether or not 2 variables are “related” or “dependent”.
Thus, the Ho , that is the Null Hypothesis, takes the general form
Ho: x and y are independent.
In a parametric test, we have seen earlier that to find out if two groups differ in
performance , we used the t-test and if the t value was significant at .05 level, we
rejected the null hypothesis and concluded that the two groups differed in their
performance. In this type of t test we required the performance to be nornmally
distributed and the sample size to be more than 30 and such other parametric test
conditions. However if the sample size is less than 30 and the data is not normally
distributed we would use the non-parametric test to find out if the two groups differed
in their performance.
Let us say the 2 samples are males and females . We are comparing their marks in
History at the final examination. Here one sample is gender, categorised into male and
female. This is a nominal scale measurement. The other is ‘scores obtained in History’,
a continuous variable which can range from zero to 100 or more depending on out of
how many marks a score has been taken as performance.
Thus one variable , let us say Gender , that is X variable is in nominal scale of measurement
and dichotomous (takes on only 1 of 2 possible values – that is male or female). The
marks in History Y variable is treated as continuous (can take on a whole range of
values on a continuum). To find out if males scored significantly higher than females in
history in the final examination, we may if the sample size was more than 30, apply t-
test and if the t value is significant, and also males average or the mean score is higher
than that of female students, then we will conclude that males have scored significantly
higher in history as compared to female students.
To take another example, let us say 2 groups matched in many respects each receive a
different teaching method, and their final exam scores are compared.
Let us say X = Teaching method categorised into 1 and 2 methods.(X1 and X2)
Y = the final exam scores
Ho: X1 and X2 will not differ in terms of marks obtained
Here X = the independent variable and
Y = the dependent variable. (Marks in history)
We are trying to find out which of the two teaching methods is producing higher marks
in final exam performance. The null hypothesis states there will be no difference in the
marks obtained irrespective of X1 or X2 method of teaching.
Now all the subjects marks are taken for the two groups of persons undergoing two
22 different methods of teaching. For this the ideal non-parametric test will be the t-test.
If the t-value goes beond the value given in the table at .05 level, we reject the null Mann Whitney ‘U’ Test for
Two Sample Test
hypothesis and state that the two teaching methods do bring about a change in the
performance of the students.
However if the sample size is small and there is no assumption of normality, then we
would apply non-parametric test. These tests help in rejecting or accepting null hypothesis
depending on the analysis.
Now let us see what are the various tests do we have under the non-parametrict test
that can be applied.
2.3 MANN WHITNEY ‘U’ TEST

The Mann-Whitney (Wilcoxon) rank-sum test is a non-parametric analog of the two-
sample t test for independent samples. The Mann-Whitney U test is a non-parametric
test that can be used to analyse data from a two-group independent groups design
when measurement is at least ordinal. It analyses the degree of separation (or the
amount of overlap) between the Experimental (E) and Control (C) groups.
The null hypothesis assumes that the two sets of scores (E and C) are samples from
the same population; and therefore, because sampling was random, the two sets of
scores do not differ systematically from each other.
The alternative hypothesis, on the other hand, states that the two sets of scores do
differ systematically. If the alternative is directional, or one-tailed, it further specifies the
direction of the difference (i.e., Group E scores are systematically higher or lower than
Group C scores).
The statistic that is calculated is either U or U’.
U1 = the number of Es less than Cs
U2 = the number of Cs less than Es
U = the smaller of the two values calculated above
U’ = the larger of the two values calculated above
When you perform these tests, your data should consist of a random sample of
observations from two different populations. Your goal is to compare either the location
parameters (medians) or the scale parameters of the two populations. For example,
suppose your data consist of the number of days in the hospital for two groups of
patients: those who received a standard surgical procedure and those who received a
new, experimental surgical procedure. These patients are a random sample from the
population of patients who have received the two types of surgery. Your goal is to
decide whether the median hospital stays differ for the two populations.
2.4 RELEVANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION

ON ‘U’ TEST
The Mann-Whitney U test is employed with ordinal (rank-order) data in a hypothesis
testing situation involving a design with two independent samples. If the result of the
Mann-Whitney U test is significant, it indicates there is a significant difference between
the two sample medians, and as a result of the latter the researcher can conclude there
is a high likelihood that the samples represent populations with different median values.
Two versions of the test to be described under the label of the Mann-Whitney U test 23
Non-Parametric Statistics were independently developed by Mann and Whitney (1947) and Wilcoxon (1949).
The version to be described here is commonly identified as the Mann-Whitney U test,
while the version developed by Wilcoxon (1949) is usually referred to as the Wilcoxon-
Mann-Whitney test.’Although they employ different equations and different tables, the
two versions of the test yield comparable results.
In employing the Mann-Whitney U test, one of the following is true with regard to the
rank order data that are evaluated:
a) The data are in a rank order format, since it is the only format in which scores are
available; or
b) The data have been transformed into a rank order format from an interval ratio
format, since the researcher has reason to believe that the normality assumption
(as well as, perhaps, the homogeneity of variance assumption) of the t test for two
independent samples (which is the parametric analog of the Mann-Whitney U
test) is saliently violated.
It should be noted that when a researcher elects to transform a set of interval/ratio data
into ranks, information is sacrificed. This latter fact accounts for the reluctance among
some researchers to employ non-parametric tests such as the Mann-Whitney U test,
even if there is reason to believe that one or more of the assumptions of the t test for
two independent samples have been violated.
Various sources (e.g., Conover (1980, 1999), Daniel (1990), and Marascuilo and
McSweeney (1977)) note that the Mann-Whitney U test is based on the following
assumptions:
a) Each sample has been randomly selected from the population it represents;
b) The two samples are independent of one another;
c) The original variable observed (which is subsequently ranked) is a continuous
random variable. In truth, this assumption, which is common to many non-
parametric tests, is often not adhered to, in that such tests are often employed with
a dependent variable which represents a discrete random variable; and
d) The underlying distributions from which the samples are derived are identical in
shape. The shapes of the underlying population distributions, however, do not
have to be normal.
Maxwell and Delaney (1990) pointed out the assumption of identically shaped
distributions implies equal dispersion of data within each distribution. Because of this,
they note that like the t test for two independent samples, the Mann-Whitney U test
also assumes homogeneity of variance with respect to the underlying population
distributions.
Because the latter assumption is not generally acknowledged for the Mann-Whitney U
test, it is not uncommon for sources to state that violation of the homogeneity of variance
assumption justifies use of the Mann-Whitney U test in lieu of the t test for two
independent samples.
It should be pointed out, however, that there is some empirical evidence which suggests
that the sampling distribution for the Mann-Whitney U test is not as affected by violation
of the homogeneity of variance assumption as is the sampling distribution for t test for
two independent samples. One reason cited by various sources for employing the Mann-
24
Whitney U test is that by virtue of ranking interval/ratio data, a researcher will be able Mann Whitney ‘U’ Test for
Two Sample Test
to reduce or eliminate the impact of outliers.
1) Which non-parametric test should we use when the data is obtained from two
different samples (Independent of each other) and we wish to see the difference
between the two samples on a particular variable?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) What is the underlying assumption of Mann-Whitney U test?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2.5 STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE FOR ‘U’ TEST

FOR SMALL SAMPLE
Step-by-step procedure
Mann Whitney U Test for Small Sample case (not more than 20 items in each set), use
U if the data is
a) in the form of ranks or
b) not normally distributed
c) there is an obvious difference in the variance of the two groups.
STEP 1: Rank the data (taking both groups together) giving rank 1 to the lowest score,
and the highest rank to then highest score.
STEP 2: Find the sum of the ranks for the smaller sample
STEP 3: Find the sum of the ranks for the larger sample
STEP 4: Find U applying the formula given below:
U = N1N2 + [N1(N1 + 1) / 2] - Σ R1
and
U′ = N1N2 + [ N2(N2 + 1) / 2 ] - Σ R2
STEP 5: Look up the smaller of U and U’ in Table H. There is a significant difference if
the observed value is equal to or more than the table value.
STEP 6: Translate the results of the test back in the terms of experiment.
Worked Up Example: 25
Non-Parametric Statistics Assessment Center Rating By Two Teams: Officers Randomly Assigned to Teams
Step 1: Rank the ratings from lowest to highest regardless of assessment team.
Step 2: Sum the ranks in either group
Σ (R1) = 148
Σ (R2) = 177
Step 3: Calculate U
U = N1N2 + [N1(N1 + 1) / 2] - Σ R1
U = (12) (13) + [12 (12 + 1) / 2 ] - 148
U = 156 + 78 – 148 = 86
And Calculate U’
U′ = N1N2 + [N2(N2 + 1) / 2] - Σ R2
U′ = (12) (13) + [13(13 + 1) / 2] - 177
U′ = 156 + 91 – 175 = 70
Step 4: Determine the significance of U
Decide whether you are making a one- or a two-tailed decision
Compare the smaller value of U to the appropriate critical table value for N1 and N2
If the observed U is smaller than the table value, the result is significant.
Step 5: The critical value of U for N1 = 12 and N2 = 13, two-tailed α = 0.05, is 41.
Since the smaller obtained value of U (U′ = 70) is larger than the table value, the null
hypothesis is accepted. And we conclude that there is no significant difference in the
ratings given by the two assessment teams.
26
Mann Whitney ‘U’ Test for
2.6 STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE FOR ‘U’ TEST Two Sample Test
FOR LARGE SAMPLE
When both sample sizes are greater than about 20, the sampling distribution of U is for
practical purposes, normal. Therefore, under these conditions, one can perform a z-
test as follows:
The procedure to obtain U is similar as in small sample case (Step 1 to 3). Then the
formula for Z is applied as:
Z = [U – (N1N2) / 2 ] / N1N2 (N1 + N 2 + 1)/12

If we are dealing with a two-tailed test, then the observed z is significant at the 5 per
cent level if it exceeds 1.96. For one tailed test, 5 per cent significance is attained if z
exceeds 1.64 (Check these in table D in Statistics book original).
The ranking procedure can become quite laborious in large samples. Partly for this
reason and partly because violation of the assumptions behind parametric statistics
become less important for large sample, the Mann Whitney U test tends to be restricted
to use with relatively small samples.
1) What unit of sample is considered as an appropriate sample for Mann Whitney
U test for small sample?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) What is the rationale of applying Z test be applied in a non-parametric setting?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2.7 COMPUTING MANN-WHITNEY U TEST IN

SPSS
Step 1.Choose Analyse
Step 2. Select Non-parametric Tests
Step 3. Select 2 Independent Samples
Step 4. Highlight your test variable (in our example this would be age) and click on the
arrow to move this into the Test Variable List box
Step 5. Highlight the grouping variable and click on the arrow to move this into the
Grouping Variable box.
Step 6. Click on Define Groups and type in the codes that indicate which group an
observation belongs to (in our example, the codes which indicate whether a subject is
male or female). Click on Continue
Step 7. Under Test Type make sure that Mann-Whitney U is selected
Step 8. If you want exact probabilities, click on Exact, choose Exact, then Continue
27
Click on OK
2.8 WILCOXON MATCHED PAIR SIGNED RANK
TEST
The Wilcoxon Matched Pair signed-ranks test is a non-parametric test that can be used
for 2 repeated (or correlated) measures when measurement is at least ordinal. But
unlike the sign test, it does take into account the magnitude of the difference.
In using this test, the difference is obtained between each of N pairs of scores observed
on matched objects, for example, the difference between pretest and post-test scores
for a group of students.
The difference scores obtained are then ranked.
The ranks of negative score differences are summed and the ranks of positive score
differences are summed.
The test statistic T is the smaller of these two sums.
Difference scores of 0 are eliminated since a rank cannot be assigned.
If the null hypothesis of no difference between the groups of scores is true, the sum of
positive ranks should not differ from the sum of negative ranks beyond that expected
by chance.

ON WILCOXON TEST
The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test (Wilcoxon (1945, 1949)) is a non-
parametric procedure employed in a hypothesis testing situation involving a design with
two dependent samples. Whenever one or more of the assumptions of the t test for two
dependent samples are saliently violated, the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks
test (which has less stringent assumptions) may be preferred as an alternative procedure.
The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test is essentially an extension of the Wilcoxon
signed-ranks test (which is employed for a single sample design) to a design involving
two dependent samples.
In order to employ the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed ranks test, it is required that
each of n subjects (or n pairs of matched subjects) has two interval/ratio scores (each
score having been obtained under one of the two experimental conditions).
A difference score is computed for each subject (or pair of matched subjects) by
subtracting a subject’s score in Condition 2 from his score in Condition 1.
The hypothesis evaluated with the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test is whether
or not in the underlying populations represented by the sampled experimental conditions,
the median of the difference scores equals zero.
If a significant difference is obtained, it indicates that there is a high likelihood that the
two sampled conditions represent two different populations.
The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test is based on the following assumptions:
a) The sample of n subjects has been randomly selected from the population it
represents;
28
b) The original scores obtained for each of the subjects are in the format of interval/ Mann Whitney ‘U’ Test for
Two Sample Test
ratio data; and
c) The distribution of the difference scores in the populations represented by the two
samples is symmetric about the median of the population of difference scores.
As is the case for the t test for two dependent samples, in order for the Wilcoxon
matched pairs signed ranks test to generate valid results, the following guidelines should
be adhered to:
a) To control for order effects, the presentation of the two experimental conditions
should be random or, if appropriate, be counterbalanced; and
b) If matched samples are employed, within each pair of matched subjects each of
the subjects should be randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions
As is the case with the t test for two dependent samples, the Wilcoxon matched-pairs
signed-ranks test can also be employed to evaluate a “one-group pretest-posttest”
design. The limitations of the one group pretest posttest design are also applicable
when it is evaluated with the Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test.
It should be noted that all of the other tests in this text that rank data (with the exception
of the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test), ranks the original interval/ratio scores of subjects.
The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test, however, does not rank the original
interval/ratio scores, but instead ranks the interval/ratio difference scores of subjects
(or matched pairs of subjects).
For this reason, some sources categorise the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks
test as a test of interval/ratio data.
Most sources, however, categorise the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test as a
test of ordinal data, by virtue of the fact that a ranking procedure is part of the test
protocol.
1) Which non-parametric test should we use when the data is obtained from two
related sample and we wish to see the difference between the two samples on a
particular variable?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2) Which one assumption does not apply to Wilcoxon Matched Pair Test, which
applies to Mann Whitney U test?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
29
3) What is the difference between t Test for Matched Pair sample and Wilcoxon
Matched Pair Test?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2.10 STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE FOR WILCOXON

TEST FOR SMALL SAMPLE
Step-by-step procedure
Wilcoxon Test-Small Sample case (not more than 25 pairs of scores).
For matched pairs or repeated measures designs: use instead of a correlated t-test if
either
a) the differences between treatments can only be ranked in size or
b) the data is obviously non-normal or
c) there is an obvious difference in the variance of the two groups.
STEP 1: Obtain the difference between each pair of reading, taking sign into account
STEP 2: Rank order these differences (ignoring the sign), giving rank 1 to the smallest
difference
STEP 3: Obtain T, the sum of the ranks for differences with the less frequent sign
STEP 4: Consult Table J. If the observed T is equal to or less than the table value then
there is a significant difference between two conditions
STEP 5: Translate the result of the test back in terms of the experiment
Worked Up Example:
Eight pairs of twins were tested in complex reaction time situations; one member of
each pair was tested after drinking 3 double whiskies, the other member was completely
sober. The following reaction times were recorded:
Sober Group Whisky Group Step 1: Differences Step 2:Ranks
310 300 -10 1
340 320 -20 2
290 360 70 5
270 320 50 4
370 540 170 6
330 360 30 3
320 680 360 7
30
320 1120 800 8
STEP 3: Less frequent sign of difference is negative, Mann Whitney ‘U’ Test for
Two Sample Test
T=1+2=3
STEP 4: From Table J, when N = 8, T = 4. As the observed value of T is less than the
table value, there is a significant difference between the two conditions.
STEP 5: Complex reaction time scores are significantly higher after drinking 3 double
whiskies than when sober.
2.11 STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE FOR WILCOXON

TEST FOR LARGE SAMPLE
When both sample sizes are greater than about 20, the sampling distribution of U is (for
practical purposes) normal.
As with the Mann Whitney U test, the sampling distribution of the statistics (In this case
T) approaches the normal distribution as the sample size becomes large. Therefore,
under these conditions, again one can perform a z-test as follows:
Z= {T- (N(N+1) / 4)}/ N(N+1)(2N+1) / 24
The significance decisions are identical to those for the Mann Whitney largesample
case. Thus, if we have a two tailed test, the observed z is significant at the 5 per cent
level if it exceeds 1.96. For the one-tailed test, significance is attained if z exceeds 1.64.
However, as with the Mann-Whitney test, and for the same reasons, the Wilcoxon test
tends to be restricted to use with relatively small samples.
What unit of sample is considered as an appropriate sample for Mann Whitney
U test for small sample?Give the underlying assumptions of Mann Whitney U
test?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2.12 COMPUTING THE WILCOXON SIGNED RANK

SUM TEST IN SPSS
• Choose Analyse
• Select Non-parametric Tests
• Select 2 Related Samples
• Specify which two variables comprise your pairs of observation by clicking on
them both then clicking on the arrow to put them under Test Pair(s) List.
• Under Test Type select Wilcoxon
If you want exact probabilities (i.e. based on the binomial distribution), click on Exact,
choose Exact, then Continue
Click on OK 31
2.13 COMPARISON OF MANN-WHITNEY ‘U’ TEST
AND WILCOXON MPSR TEST WITH T-TEST
The power efficiency of the Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests, whilst usually somewhat
lower than the corresponding t-test, compares very favourably with it. The Mann-
Whitney and Wilcoxon tests can be used in situations where the t –Test would be in-
appropriate (e.g. where the assumptions of the t-test obviously do not apply). In other
words, they are capable of wider application.
Different statisticians give different advice as to the relative merits of parametric and
non-parametric tests. The non-parametric camp claims that their tests are simpler to
compute, have fewer assumptions and can be used more widely. The parametric camp
claims that their tests are robust with respect to violations of their assumptions and have
greater power efficiency.
The strategy recommended here is to use the t-test unless the data is in form of ranks,
or where the sample is small and either the distribution is obviously non-normal or there
are obviously large differences in variance.
However, if you are particularly pressed for time or have a large number of analyses to
do there is particularly nothing inappropriate about using non-parametric statistics, even
in cases where t-tests might have been used.
2.14 LET US SUM UP

Two Sample test can be of two types independent sample test (two different samples
being tested on one variable wherein one sample does not affect the other sample) or
paired or dependent sample (same sample being tested twice or sample have some
relation with each other).
The t-test is the parametric test for a two sample test, in non-parametric tests, Mann-
Whitney ‘U’ test and Wilcoxon test are used for independent and paired sample
respectively.
Both these tests have their own advantages, and can be used for a smaller sample size,
do not have too many assumptions and can be used more widely.

1) A researcher had an experimental group of m = 3 cases and a control group of n
= 4 cases. The scores were as following:
Exprimental scores: 9, 11, 15
Control scores: 6, 8, 10, 13
2) In the problem 1 above, Assume these groups are independent, apply appropriate
statistics and state whether the experimental condition and control conditions differ
or not.
3) In the problem 1 above, Assume these groups are correlated, apply appropriate
statistics and state whether the experimental condition and control conditions differ
or not.
4) Doctor Radical, a math instructor at Logarithm University, has two classes in
advanced calculus. There are six students in Class 1 and seven students in Class 2.
32
The instructor uses a programmed textbook in Class 1 and a conventional textbook Mann Whitney ‘U’ Test for
Two Sample Test
in Class 2. At the end of the semester, in order to determine if the type of text
employed influences student performance, Dr. Radical has another math instructor,
Dr. Root, to rank the 13 students in the two classes with respect to math ability.
The rankings of the students in the two classes follow:
Class 1: 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13
Class 2: 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12
(Assume the lower the rank the better the student).
5) To 4 above, Apply appropriate statistics and tell if the type of text employed
influenced students performance?
6) Why should you not use the large-sample z-test version of a non-parametric test
when you have samples small enough to allow the use of small sample version?
7) Identify the non-parametric test that ought to be used.
8) You have 5 independent groups of subjects, with different numbers per group.
There is also substantial departure from homogeneity of variance. The null hypothesis
states that there are no differences between the groups.
You have the same situation described in question 4 (a); and in addition, the alternative
hypothesis states that when the mean ranks for the 5 groups are listed from smallest to
largest, they will appear in a particular pre-specified order.

Daniel, W. W. (1990) Applied Non-parametric Statistics, 2d ed. Boston: PWS-
Kent.
Johnson, Morrell, and Schick (1992), Two-Sample Non-parametric Estimation and
Confidence Intervals Under Truncation, Biometrics, 48, 1043-1056.
McGraw-Hill.
33
UNIT 3 KRUSKAL WALLIS ANALYSIS OF
VARIANCE
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Analysis of Variance
3.3 Introduction to Kruskal Wallis ANOVA Test
3.4 Relevant Background Information on Kruskal Wallis ANOVA Test
3.5 Step by Step Procedure for Kruskal Wallis ANOVA
3.6 Considerations for Large Sample
3.7 Comparison of ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis ANOVA Test
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 INTRODUCTION
So far in Unit 2 we have studied appropriate statistical tests when we wish to compare
two groups (t test if data is from a normal population, Mann-Whitney U test or Wilcoxon
test if there are no assumptions about the distribution of the data), but what if there are
more than two groups that require comparison? One may think that we may apply the
same tests in that condition too. Like for example, if there are three groups say A, B,
and C, one may see the difference between A&B, B&C and A&C. This may not look
so cumbersome. Now, think if we need to compare 5 groups, A, B, C, D, E, the
number for comparison tests we need to do would be 10 (A&B, A&C, A&D, A&E,
B&C, B&D, B&E, C&D, C&E, D&E). And what if we need to compare 6 groups?
Number of two sample test in these cases become too cumbersome and may not be
feasible at all. This may further lead to unnecessary calculations and also give rise to
type I error. The answer in these cases when we have more than two groups
(>2 groups) to be compared is to conduct Analysis of Variance.
3.0 OBJECTIVES
• Define ANOVA tests;
• Describe the procedure for ANOVA calculations;
• Explain Kruskal Wallis ANOVA;
• Enumerate the conditions when this test can be applied; and
• Analyse Kruskal Wallis Anova with one way ANOVA of parametric test.
34
Kruskal Wallis Analysis
3.2 ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE of Variance
The term analysis of variance (for which the acronym ANOVA is often employed)
describes a group of inferential statistical procedures developed by the British statistician
Sir Ronald Fisher. Analysis of variance is all about examining the amount of variability in
a y (response) variable and trying to understand where that variability is coming from.
One way that you can use ANOVA is to compare several populations regarding some
quantitative variable, y. The populations you want to compare constitute different groups
(denoted by an x variable), such as political affiliations, age groups, or different brands
of a product. ANOVA is also particularly suitable for situations involving an experiment
where you apply certain treatments (x) to subjects, and you measure a response (y).
Null hypothesis HO%: Population means are equal. There will be no difference in the
population means.
ì1 = ì2 = ì3 = ì4
Alternative hypothesis: h1
Population means are not equal. There will be difference in the means of the different
populations.
The logic used in ANOVA to compare means of multiple groups is similar to that used
with the t-test to compare means of two independent groups. When one way ANOVA
is applied to the special case of two groups, this one way ANOVA gives identical
results as the t-test.
Not surprisingly, the assumptions needed for the t-test are also needed for ANOVA.
We need to assume:
1) random, independent sampling from the k populations;
2) normal population distributions;
3) equal variances within the k populations.
Assumption 1 is crucial for any inferential statistic. As with the t-test, Assumptions 2
and 3 can be relaxed when large samples are used, and Assumption 3 can be relaxed
when the sample sizes are roughly the same for each group even for small samples. (If
there are extreme outliers or errors in the data, we need to deal with them first.)
1) Fill in the blanks
i) We would use _____, if we are testing a hypothesis of ì1 = ì2 and
_______Test when ì1 = ì2= ì3 = ì4 if the populations under consideration
are normally distributed.
ii) ANOVA was developed by British Statistician _________________.
iii) ANOVA is used when k _________.
iv) ANOVA compares multiple means but the logic behind ANOVA is similar
to _______ test that compares two independent means.
2) What are the assumptions of ANOVA?
.....................................................................................................................
35
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) Why are multiple t-tests not preferred when we have to compare more than 2
means?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3.3 INTRODUCTION TO KRUSKAL-WALLIS

ANOVA TEST
When there are more than two groups or k number of groups to be compared, ANOVA
is utilised but, again since ANOVA is a parametric statistics and requires assumption of
normality as a key assumption, we need to also be aware of its non-parametric
counterpart. The Kruskal-Wallis test compares the medians of several (more than two)
populations to see whether they are all the same or not. The Kruskal Wallis test is a
non-parametric analogue to ANOVA. It can be viewed as ANOVA based on rank
transformed data.
That is, the initial data are transformed to their associated ranks before being subjected
to ANOVA. In other words, it’s like ANOVA, except that it is computed with medians
and not means. It can also be viewed as a test of medians.
The null and alternative hypotheses may be stated as:
H0: the population medians are equal
H1: the population medians differ

ON KRUSKAL WALLIS ANOVA TEST
The Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance by ranks (Kruskal, 1952) and (Kruskal
and Wallis, 1952) is employed with ordinal (rank order) data in a hypothesis testing
situation involving a design with two or more independent samples. The test is an extension
of the Mann-Whitney U test (Test 12) to a design involving more than two independent
samples and, when k = 2, the Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance by ranks
will yield a result that is equivalent to that obtained with the Mann-Whitney U test.
If the result of the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks is significant,
it indicates there is a significant difference between at least two of the sample medians
in the set of k medians. As a result of the latter, the researcher can conclude there is a
high likelihood that at least two of the samples represent populations with different
median values.
In employing the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks one of the
following is true with regard to the rank order data that are evaluated:
36
a) The data are in a rank-order format, since it is the only format in which scores are Kruskal Wallis Analysis
of Variance
available; or
b) The data have been transformed into a rank-order format from an interval/ratio
format, since the researcher has reason to believe that one or more of the
assumptions of the single-factor between-subjects analysis of variance (which is
the parametric analog of the Kruskal-Wallis test) are saliently violated.
It should be noted that when a researcher decides to transform a set of interval ratio
data into ranks, information is sacrificed. This latter fact accounts for why there is
reluctance among some researchers to employ non-parametric tests such as the Kruskal
Wallis oneway analysis of variance by ranks, even if there is reason to believe that one
or more of the assumptions of the single factor between subjects analysis of variance
have been violated.
Various sources {e.g., Conover (1980, 1999), Daniel (1990), and Marascuilo and
McSweeney (1977)} note that the Kruskal Wallis one way analysis of variance by
ranks is based on the following assumptions:
a) Each sample has been randomly selected from the population it represents;
b) The k samples are independent of one another;
c) The dependent variable (which is subsequently ranked) is a continuous random
variable. In truth, this assumption, which is common to many non-parametric tests,
is often not adhered to, in that such tests are often employed with a dependent
variable which represents a discrete random variable; and
d) The underlying distributions from which the samples are derived are identical in
shape.
The shapes of the underlying population distributions, however, do not have to be
normal.
Maxwell and Delaney (1990) point out that the assumption of identically shaped
distributions implies equal dispersion of data within each distribution. Because of this,
they note that, like the single factor between subjects analysis of variance, the Kruskal
Wallis one way analysis of variance by ranks assumes homogeneity of variance with
respect to the underlying population distribution. Because the latter assumption is not
generally acknowledged for the Kruskal Wallis one way analysis of variance by ranks,
it is not uncommon for sources to state that violation of the homogeneity of variance
assumption justifies use of the Kruskal Wallis one way analysis of variance by ranks in
lieu of the single factor between subjects analysis of variance.
It should be pointed out, however, that there is some empirical research which suggests
that the sampling distribution for the Kruskal Wallis test statistic is not as affected by
violation of the homogeneity of variance assumption as is the F distribution (which is the
sampling distribution for the single-factor between-subjects analysis of variance).
One reason cited by various sources for employing the Kruskal Wallis one way analysis
of variance by ranks is that by virtue of ranking interval/ratio data a researcher can
reduce or eliminate the impact of outliers. As noted earlier in t test for two independent
samples, since outliers can dramatically influence variability, they can be responsible for
heterogeneity of variance between two or more samples. In addition, outliers can have
a dramatic impact on the value of a sample mean.
Zimmerman and Zumbo (1993) note that the result obtained with the Kruskal-Wallis 37
Non-Parametric Statistics one-way analysis of variance by ranks is equivalent (in terms ofthe derived probability
value) to that which will be obtained if the rank-orders employed for the Kruskal-
Wallis test are evaluated with a single-factor between-subjects analysis of variance.
4) Fill in the balnks:
a) ANOVA is a parametric statistics its equivalent non-parametric statistics is
_______________
b) Kruskal Wallis ANOVA was developed by ___________ and
___________ in 1952.
c) ANOVA compares means of more than two groups whereas ________ of
more than two groups is compared by Kruskal Wallis ANOVA.
d) One of the assumptions in Kruskal Wallis AONA is that the dependent
variable (which is subsequently ranked) is a __________________
e) Kruskal Wallis ANOVA can be viewed as ANOVA based on _________
transformed data.
5) State the null and alternative hypothesis for Kruskal Wallis ANOVA.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
6) Enumerate the assumptions of Kruskal Wallis ANOVA
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3.5 STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE FOR KRUSKAL

WALLIS ANOVA
1) Rank all the numbers in the entire data set from smallest to largest (using all samples
combined); in the case of ties, use the average of the ranks that the values would
have normally been given.
2) Total the ranks for each of the samples; call those totals T1, T2, . . ., Tk, where k
is the number of groups or populations.
3) Calculate the Kruskal-Wallis test statistic,
H = [ 12 / N (N+1) ] [ Σ((ΣR)2 / n) ] – 3(N + 1)
N = the total number of cases
n = the number of cases in a given group
38
(ΣR)2 = the sum of the ranks squared for a given group of subjects
4) Find the p-value. Kruskal Wallis Analysis
of Variance
5) Make your conclusion about whether you can reject Ho by examining the p-value.
Example of a Small Sample:
In a Study, 12 participants were divided into three groups of 4 each, they were subjected
to three different conditions, A (Low Noise), B(Avearge Noise), and C(Loud Noise).
They were given a test and the errors committed by them on the test were noted and
are given in the table below.
Condition B Condition C
Participant Condition A Participant Participant
(Average (Loud
No. (Low Noise) No. No.
Noise) Noise)
1 3 5 2 9 10
2 5 6 7 10 8
3 6 7 9 11 7
4 3 8 8 12 11
The researcher wishes to know whether these three conditions differ amongst themselves.
and there are no assumptions of the probability. To apply Kruskal Wallis test, following
steps would be taken:
Step 1: Rank all the numbers in the entire data set from smallest to largest (using all
samples combined); in the case of ties, use the average of the ranks that the values
would have normally been given.
Condition Ranks Condition Ranks Condition Ranks

A T1 B T2 C T3
3 2.5 2 1 10 11
5 4 7 6.5 8 8.5
6 5 9 10 7 6.5
3 2.5 8 8.5 11 12
ΣT1 = 14 ΣT2 = 26 ΣT3 = 38
Step 2: Total the ranks for each of the samples; call those totals T1, T2, . . ., Tk, where
k is the number of populations.
T1 =14
T2 =26
T3=38
Step3: Caculate H
H = [ 12 / N (N+1) ] [ Σ((ΣR)2 / n) ] – 3(N + 1)
N = 12
n=4
(ΣR)2 = (14+ 26+ 38)2 = 6084 39
Non-Parametric Statistics H= [12/ 12 (12 + 1) ] [ (142/4) + (262/4) + (382/4)] – 3 (12+ 1)
H= [12/156] [49 + 169 + 361] – 39
H= (0.076 x 579) – 39
H= 44.525 – 39
H= 5.537
Step 4: Find the p-value.
Since the groups are three and number of items in each group are 4, therefore looking
in table H (k=3, sample size of 4,4,4) it can be seen that the critical value is 5.692
(α = 0.05).
Step 5: Make your conclusion about whether you can reject Ho by examining the
p-value.
Since the critical value is more than the actual value we accept the null hypothesis that
all the three conditions A (Low Noise), B(Avearge Noise), and C(Loud Noise), do not
differ from each other, therefore, in the said experiment there was no differences in the
groups performance based on the noise level.
3.6 CONSIDERATIONS FOR LARGE SAMPLE

When the number of sample increases, the table H is unable to give us with the critical
values, like for example it gives critical values up to 8 samples when k=3, 4 when k=4,
and 3 samples when k=5, therefore as the sample increases table H is not of use for the
critical value. In such a case we resort to chi square table for getting our information on
the critical value taking degrees of freedom (k – 1).
Exact tables of the Kruskal-Wallis distribution: Although an exact probability value can
be computed for obtaining a configuration of ranks which is equivalent to or more
extreme than the configuration observed in the data evaluated with the Kruskal-Wallis
one-way analysis of variance by ranks, the chi-square distribution is generally employed
to estimate the latter probability. As the values of k and N increase, the chi-square
distribution provides a more accurate estimate of the exact Kruskal-Wallis distribution.
Although most sources employ the chi-square approximation regardless of the values
of k and N, some sources recommend that exact tables be employed under certain
conditions. Beyer (1968), Daniel, and Siegel and Castellan (1988) provide exact
Kruskal-Wallis probabilities for whenever k= 3 and the number of subjects in any of
the samples is five or less. Use of the chi-square distribution for small sample sizes will
generally result in a slight decrease in the power of the test (i.e., there is a higher likelihood
of retaining a false null hypothesis). Thus, for small sample sizes the tabled critical chi-
square value should, in actuality, are a little lower than the value of Table H.
Worked Example for a large sample
A state court administrator asked the 24 court coordinators in the state’s three largest
counties to rate their relative need for training in case flow management on a Likert
scale (1 to 7).
1 = no training need
7 = critical training need
40
Training Need of Court Coordinators Kruskal Wallis Analysis
of Variance
County A County B County C
3 7 4
1 6 2
3 5 5
1 7 1
5 3 6
4 1 7
4 6
2 4
4
5
Step 1: Rank order the total groups’ Likert scores from lowest to highest.
If tied scores are encountered, sum the tied positions and divide by the number of tied
scores. Assign this rank to each of the tied scores.
Scores & Ranks Across the Three Counties
Ratings Ranks Ratings Ranks

1 2.5 4 12
1 2.5 4 12
1 2.5 5 16.5
1 2.5 5 16.5
2 5.5 5 16.5
2 5.5 5 16.5
3 8 6 20
3 8 6 20
3 8 6 20
4 12 7 23
4 12 7 23
4 12 7 23
Calculating the ranks of tied scores

Example: Three court administrators rated their need for training as a 3. These three
scores occupy the rank positions 7, 8, & 9.
(7 + 8 + 9) / 3 = 8
Step 2 Sum the ranks for each group and square the sums
41
Non-Parametric Statistics County A County B County C
Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank

3 8 7 23 4 12
1 2.5 6 20 2 5.5
3 8 5 16.5 5 16.5
1 2.5 7 23 1 2.5
5 16.5 3 8 6 20
4 12 1 2.5 7 23
4 12 6 20
2 5.5 4 12
4 12
5 16.5
ΣR 67.0 153.5 79.5

(Σ R)2 4489 23562.25 6320.25
Step 3 Calculate H
H = [ 12 / N (N+1) ] [ Σ((ΣR)2 / n) ] – 3(N + 1)
H = [ 12 / 24 (24+1) ] [4489 / 8 + 23562.25 / 10 + 6320.25 / 6] – 3 (24 + 1)
H = (0.02) (3970.725) – (75)
H = 4.42
df = (k – 1) = (3 – 1) = 2
Interpretation
The critical chi-square table value of H for α = 0.05, and df = 2, is 5.991
Since 4.42 < 5.991, the null hypothesis is accepted. There is no difference in the
training needs of the court coordinators in the three counties
1) Rearrange the following steps of Kruskal-Wallis test in appropriate order:
i) Calculate H
ii) Make your conclusion about whether you can reject Ho by examining the
p-value.
iii) Rank all the numbers in the entire data set from smallest to largest
iv) Find the p-value.
v) Total the ranks for each of the samples; call those totals T1, T2, . . ., Tk,
42 where k is the number of populations.
2) Fill in the Blanks of Variance
i) As the values of k and N increase, the _________ distribution provides a

more accurate estimate of the exact Kruskal-Wallis distribution.
ii) Use of the chi-square distribution for small sample sizes will generally result
in a slight ____________ in the power of the test.
iii) When the critical value of H is more than the actual obtained value of H, we
____________ the null hypothesis.
iv) When the critical value of H is less than the actual obtained value of H, we
____________ the null hypothesis.
3.7 COMPARISON OF ANOVA AND KRUSKAL

WALLIS ANOVA TEST
The Kruskal-Wallis (KW) ANOVA is the non-parametric equivalent of a one-way
ANOVA. As it does not assume normality, the KW ANOVA tests the null hypothesis
of no difference between three or more group medians, against the alternative hypothesis
that a significant difference exists between the medians. The KW ANOVA is basically
an extension of the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney (WMW) 2 sample test, and so has the
same assumptions: 1) the groups have the same spreads; and 2) the data distributions
have the same shape.
ANOVA compares means of different population to indicate the similarity between the
populations KW ANOVA compares medians of these populations. ANOVA compares
the data itself, KW ANOVA, converts data into ranks and then does its computation,
in this respect Kruskal Wallis ANOVA is knows as Kruskal Wallis Analysis of Variance
by Ranks.
Let’s look at the Example to see how their calculations differ:
Three groups 1, 2, and 3, performed a task, we want to see whether they differ or not.
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
(Ranks) (Ranks) (Ranks)
3 6 9 1 3.5 10
5 7 10 2 5.5 13
6 8 11 3.5 7.5 15.5
7 9 12 5.5 10 17
8 10 15 7.5 13 18
9 10 10 13
11 15.5
38 61 57 Total 29.5 68 73.5
ANOVA
n1 = 6 n2 = 7 n3 = 5
ΣX1 = 38 X2 = 61 ΣX3 = 57
Σ(X1)2 = 264 Σ (X2)2 = 551 Σ (X3)2 = 671
SStotal = (264 + 551 + 671) – [(38 + 61+ 57)2 / 18] = 134
43
Non-Parametric Statistics SSBetween Groups = (382/6) + (612/7) + (572/5) – [(38 + 61+ 57)2 / 18]
SSWithin Gropus = [ 264 - (382/6)] + [ 551- (612/7)] + [ 671- (572/5)] = 63.962
Source of Variation S S df MS F ratio F critical Value Test Decision
Between Groups 70.038 2 35.019 8.213 3.68 Reject H 0
Within Groups 63.962 15 4.264
Total 134.000 17
Kruskal Wallis H test:

H = [12 / 18(18+1)] [ (29.52/6) + (682/7) + (73.52/5)] – [3 (18+1)]
H= 66.177 – 57 = 9.177
Chi Square for Degrees of freedom 2 (3 – 1) is 5.99, Therefore reject the Ho
In both the case, ANOVA or Kruskal Wallis ANOVA, we will reject the Null Hypothesis,
and state that the three groups differ.
F ratio as a function of H:
The fisher’s F or F ratio or ANOVA one way variance is equivalent to H test or Kruskal
Wallis test or Kruskal Wallis ANOVA, or ANOVA by rank order. This can also be
seen in book Iman and Conover (1981)
Where the rank transform statistics states:
F= [{(k-1)/(N-k)} {((N-1)/H)-1}]-1
If We see from the above mentioned example
F was 8.213 and H was 9.177
F= [{(3-1)/(18-3)} {((18-1)/9.177)-1}]-1
F= [(2/15) {(17/9.177)-1}]-1
F= [0.133 x (1.852-1)] -1 = 0.1214-1
F= 8.231
3.8 LET US SUM UP

Kruskal Wallis One way Analysis of Variance (KW ANOVA) is a Non-parametric
Analogue of ANOVA one way variance for independent sample. Kruskal Wallis ANOVA
is used when there are more than 2 groups (k > 2). The assumption of KW ANOVA
are that: a) Each sample has been randomly selected from the population it represents;
b) The k samples are independent of one another; c) The dependent variable (which is
subsequently ranked) is a continuous random variable. In truth, this assumption, which
is common to many non-parametric tests, is often not adhered to, in that such tests are
often employed with a dependent variable which represents a discrete random variable;
and d) the underlying distributions from which the samples are derived are identical in
shape.
The ANOVA or F test and KW ANOVA Or H test are equivalent to each other and
can be appropriately used depending upon the type of population in question.
44
3.9 UNIT END QUESTIONS of Variance
1) Under what circumstances does the chi-square distribution provide an appropriate

characterisation of the sampling distribution of the Kruskal–Wallis H statistic?
2) Data were collected from three populations—A, B, and C,—by means of a
completely randomized design.
The following describes the sample data:
nA = nB = nC = 15
RA = 235 RB = 439 RC = 361
a) Specify the null and alternative hypotheses that should be used in conducting
a test of hypothesis to determine whether the probability distributions of
populations A, B, and C differ in location.
b) Conduct the test of part a.
3) A firm wishes to compare four programs for training workers to perform a certain
manual task. Twenty new employees are assigned to the training programs, with 5
in each program. At the end of the training period, a test is conducted to see how
quickly trainees can perform the task. The number of times the task is performed
per minute is recorded for each trainee, with the following results:
Observation Program 1 Program 2 Program 3 Program 4

1 9 10 12 9
2 12 6 14 8
3 14 9 11 11
4 11 9 13 7
5 13 10 11 8
Calculate H, and report your results appropriately

4) An economist wants to test whether mean housing prices are the same regardless
of which of 3 air-pollution levels typically prevails. A random sample of house
purchases in 3 areas yields the price data below.
Mean Housing Prices (Thousands of Dollars):
MEAN HOUSING PRICES (THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS): Pollution Level

Observation Low Mod High
1 120 61 40
2 68 59 55
3 40 110 73
4 95 75 45
5 83 80 64
Calculate H and report your results with the p-value of 0.05

5) Show that H is equivalent to the F test statistics in one way analysis of variance
problem if applied to the ranks of the observation rather than the actual numbers.
(Hint: Express the F ratio as a function of H)
45
3.10 SUGGESTED READING AND REFERENCES
Kent.
Iman, R. L., and W. J. Conover (1981), Rank transformations as a bridge between
parametric and non-parametric statistics, The American Statistician, 35, 124–129.
References
Leach, C. (1979). Introduction to statistics: A non-parametric approach for the social
sciences. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons
Lehman, E. L. (1975). Non-parametric statistical methods based on ranks. San
Francisco: Holden-Day.
Wampold BE & Drew CJ. (1990) Theory and application of statistics. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
46
UNIT 4 CHI-SQUARE AND KENDALL RANK
CORRELATION
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Concept of Correlation
4.2.1 Scatter Plot
4.2.2 Characteristics of Correlation
4.3 Measures of Correlation

4.3.1 Parametric Statistics
4.4 Kendall’s Rank Order Correlation (Kendall’s tau): (π)

4.4.1 Relevant Background Information on Test
4.5 Step by Step Procedure for Kendall Rank Order Correlation

4.6 Further Considerations about Kendall’s Tau
4.6.1 Comparison of Rho and Tau
4.6.2 Efficiency of Rho
4.7 Chi-Square Test

4.8 Relevant Background Information on Test
4.9 Step by Step Procedure for Chi-Square Test
4.10 Further Considerations about Chi-Square
4.11 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we will be discussing about the issues relating to the association and
relationship between two or more variables. Generally when we want to measure the
linear relationship between two variables, we apply Product Moment Coefficient of
Correlation to the data and compute the ‘r’ value and check for its significance. This
again we would do so if the data is normally distributed and the measurement of scores
etc. are atleast in interval scale and there is a large sample. However if the sample size
is small, and the distribution of the data is not known and the measurement is in nominal
or ordinal scale, then we use non-parametric statistics related correlation, as for example
the Rho or the Kendall Tau or where we need to know the association between two
variables we may use the chi square test. In this unit we will be presenting first the
measures of correlation both in parametric and non-parametric statistics, followed by
Kendall rank order correlation, the Spearman Rank order correlation and the Chi Square
test.
47
4.1 OBJECTIVES
On completing this unit, you will be able to:
z Define parametric and non-parametric tests of correlation;
z Explain the concepts underlying the non-parametric correlations;
z Describe the different non-parametric correlation techniques;
z Enumerate the step by step calculation of Kendall Tau; and
z Enumerate the step by step calculation of Chi Square test.
4.2 CONCEPT OF CORRELATION

The term “correlation” refers to a process for establishing whether or not relationships
exist between two variables. Correlation quantifies the extent to which two quantitative
variables, X and Y, “go together.” When high values of X are associated with high
values of Y, a positive correlation exists. When high values of X are associated with low
values of Y, a negative correlation exists. If values of X increases bringing about an
increase in the values of Y simultaneously, X and Y are said to be positively correlated.
If increases in X values bring about comparative decreases in the values of Y, then X
and Y are said to be negatively correlated. If there is no typical trend in the increase or
decrease of the variables then it is said to be not correlated or having zero correlation.
Correlation ranges from -1 to 0 to +1. Correlation of +1.00 will indicate a perfect
positive correlation and -1 will indicate a perfect negative correlation. Between these
two extremes there could be many other degrees of correlation indicating positive or
negative relationship between the variables. The correlation cannot exceed 1 in either
direction. But it can have 0.54, 0.82, or 0.24, or 0.63 and so on at the positive level
and at the negative level , it can have -0.55, -0.98, -0.67, -0.27 etc. All the latter are
negative correlations and will not go beyond -1.00. Similarly the correlations that
were mentioned as positive , will not exceed +1.00.
4.2.1 Scatter Plot

The first step is creating a scatter plot of the data. “There is no excuse for failing to plot
and look.”
In general, scatter plots may reveal a
z positive correlation (high values of X associated with high values of Y)
z negative correlation (high values of X associated with low values of Y)
z no correlation (values of X are not at all predictive of values of Y).
These patterns are demonstrated in the figure below
(A) Positive Correlation (B) Negative Correlation

48
Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
(A) No Correlation (B) No Correlation

Correlation Coefficient
A single summary number that gives you a good idea about how closely one variable is
related to another variable
This summary answers the following questions:
a) Does a relationship exist?
b) If so, is it a positive or a negative relationship? and
c) Is it a strong or a weak relationship?
Additionally, the same summary number would allow us to make accurate predictions
about one variable when we have knowledge about the other variable.
Correlation coefficients (denoted by r) are statistics that quantify the relationship between
X and Y in unit free terms. When all points of a scatter plot fall directly on a line with an
upward incline, r = +1.00, but when all points fall directly on a downward incline, r =
-1.00. Such perfect correlation is seldom encountered. We still need to measure
correlational strength, defined as the degree to which data point adhere to an imaginary
trend line passing through the “scatter cloud.”
Strong correlations are associated with scatter clouds that adhere closely to the imaginary
trend line. Weak correlations are associated with scatter clouds that adhere marginally
to the trend line.
The closer r is to +1.00, the stronger the positive correlation. The closer r is to -1.00,
the stronger the negative correlation. Examples of strong and weak correlations are
shown below.
Note: Correlational strength can not be quantified visually. It is too subjective and is
easily influenced by axis scaling. The eye is not a good judge of correlational strength.
Refer to the figures (graph) of correlation given below.
(A) Strong Positive Correlation (B) Weak Positive Correlation 49

(A) Strong Negative Correlation (B) Weak Negative Correlation
It is seen from the above that the strong correlation at both positive and negative directions
is almost in a line with all the dots are placed very close to each other. On the other
hand, the weak positive or negative correlation (refer to the graph above on the right
hand side) that the points are placed far away from each other though the direction is
somewhat clear. Thus there is a correlation but it appears rather weak.
4.2.2 Characteristics of Correlation

1) They tell you the direction of the relationship between two variables.
If your correlation coefficient is a negative number you can tell, just by looking at
it, that there is a negative relationship between the two variables. As you may
recall from the last chapter, a negative relationship means that as values on one
variable increases (go up) the values on the other variable tend to decrease (go
down) in a predictable manner.
If your correlation coefficient is a positive number, then you know that you have a
positive relationship. This means that as one variable increases (or decreases) the
values of the other variable tend to go in the same direction. If one increases, so
does the other. If one decreases, so does the other in a predictable manner.
2) Correlation Coefficients always fall Between -1.00 and +1.00
All correlation coefficients range from -1.00 to +1.00. A correlation coefficient of
-1.00 tells you that there is a perfect negative relationship between the two
variables. This means that as values on one variable increase there is a perfectly
predictable decrease in values on the other variable. In other words, as one variable
goes up, the other goes in the opposite direction (it goes down).
A correlation coefficient of +1.00 tells you that there is a perfect positive
relationship between the two variables. This means that as values on one variable
increase there is a perfectly predictable increase in values on the other variable.
In other words, as one variable goes up, so does the other.
A correlation coefficient of 0.00 tells you that there is a zero correlation, or no
relationship, between the two variables. In other words, as one variable changes
(goes up or down) you can’t really say anything about what happens to the other
variable. Sometimes the other variable goes up and sometimes it goes down.
However, these changes are not predictable.
3) Larger Correlation Coefficients Mean Stronger Relationships
Most correlation coefficients (assuming there really is a relationship between the
two variables you are examining) tend to be somewhat lower than plus or minus
1.00 (meaning that they are not perfect relationships) but are somewhat above
0.00. Remember that a correlation coefficient of 0.00 means that there is no
50 relationship between the two variables based on the data given .
The closer a correlation coefficient is to 0.00, the weaker is the relationship and the less Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
able one is to tell exactly what happens to one variable based on the knowledge of the
other variable. The closer a correlation coefficient approaches plus or minus 1.00 the
stronger the relationship is and the more accurately you are able to predict what happens
to one variable based on the knowledge you have of the other variable.
4.3 MEASURES OF CORRELATION

4.3.1 Parametric Statistics
a) Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (Most widely accepted as a single
appropriate statistics for correlation)

a) Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient: Better known as “Spearman Rho”
(Siegel & Castellan, 1988) assumes that the variables under consideration were
measured on at least an ordinal (rank order) scale, that is, that the individual
observations can be ranked into two ordered series. Spearman R can be thought
of as the regular Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, that is, in terms
of proportion of variability accounted for, except that Spearman R is computed
from ranks.
b) Kendall’s Tau: Explained in section 4.3.
c) Chi Square (Categorical Variables): Explained in section 4.7
i) Scatter plots may reveal a ___________correlation (high values of X
associated with high values of Y)
ii) Scatter plots may reveal a __________correlation (high values of X
associated with low values of Y)
iii) Scatter plots may reveal ________correlation (values of X are not at all
predictive of values of Y).
iv) Correlation coefficients range from ______ to ______
v) A correlation coefficient of _____ tells you that there is a perfect positive
relationship between the two variables.
vi) The closer a correlation coefficient is to 0.00, the __________ the
relationship
vii) Correlation coefficient is a single summary number that gives you a good
idea about how closely one variable is ___________ to another variable
2) What questions does correlation coefficient answers?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................... 51
3) Name any two methods for calculating correlation?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
4.4 KENDALL’S RANK ORDER CORRELATION

(KENDALL’S TAU): (ð)
Kendall’s tau (ð) is one of a number of measures of correlation or association. Measures
of correlation are not inferential statistical tests, but are, instead, descriptive statistical
measures which represent the degree of relationship between two or more variables.
Upon computing a measure of correlation, it is a common practice to employ one or
more inferential statistical tests in order to evaluate one or more hypotheses concerning
the correlation coefficient. The hypothesis stated below is the most commonly evaluated
hypothesis for Kendall’s tau.
Null Hypothesis
Ho: ð = 0
(In the underlying population the sample represents, the correlation between the ranks
of subjects on Variable X and Variable Y equals 0.)
4.4.1 Relevant Background Information on Test

Prior to reading the material in this section the reader should review the general discussion
of correlation, of the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and Spearman’s
rank order correlation coefficient (which also evaluates whether a monotonic relationship
exists between two sets of ranks). Developed by Kendall (1938), tau is a bivariate
measure of correlation/association that is employed with rank-order data. The population
parameter estimated by the correlation coefficient will be represented by the notation ð
(which is the lower case Greek letter tau). As is the case with Spearman’s rank-order
correlation coefficient Rho (ñ), Kendall’s tau can be employed to evaluate data in
which a researcher has scores for n subjects/objects on two variables (designated as
the X and Y variables), both of which are rank-ordered.
Kendall’s tau is also commonly employed to evaluate the degree of agreement between
the rankings of m = 2 judges for n subjects/objects. As is the case with Spearman’s rho,
the range of possible values Kendall’s tau can assume is defined by the limits - 1 to +1
(i.e., - 1 < r > +1). Although Kendall’s tau and Spearman’s rho share certain properties
in common with one another, they employ a different logic with respect to how they
evaluate the degree of association between two variables.
Kendall’s tau measures the degree of agreement between two sets of ranks with respect
to the relative ordering of all possible pairs of subject/objects.
One set of ranks represents the ranks on the X variable, and the other set represents
the ranks on the Y variable.
Specifically, The data are in the form of the following two pairs of observations expressed
in a rank-order format:
52
a) (Rx, Ry,) (which, respectively, represent the ranks on Variables X and Y for the 1st Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
subject/object); and
b) (Rxj, Ryj,) (which, respectively, represent the ranks on Variables X and Y for the jth
subject/object).
If the sign/direction of the difference (R xi – R yj), that is a pair of ranks is said to be
concordant (i.e. in agreement).
If the sign/direction of the difference (Rxi – Rxj), a pair of ranks is said to be discordant
(i.e., disagree).
If (Ryi – Ryj) and/or (Rxi – Rxj) result in the value of zero, a pair of ranks is neither the
concordant nor discordant.
Kendall’s tau is a proportion which represents the difference between the proportions
of concordant pairs of ranks less the proportion of discordant pairs of ranks.
The computed value of tau will equal + 1 when there is complete agreement among the
rankings (i.e., all of the pairs of ranks are concordant), and will equal -1 when there is
complete disagreement among the rankings (i.e., all of the pairs of ranks are discordant).
As a result of the different logic involved in computing Kendall’s tau and Spearman’s
rho, the two measures have different underlying scales, and, because of this, it is not
possible to determine the exact value of one measure if the value of the other measure
is known.
In spite of the differences between Kendall’s tau and Spearman’s rho, the two statistics
employ the same amount of information, and, because of this, it is equally likely to
detect a significant effect in a population.
In contrast to Kendall’s tau, Spearman’s rho is more commonly discussed in statistics
books as a bivariate measure of correlation for ranked data. Two reasons for this are
as follows:
a) The computations required for computing tau are more tedious than those required
for computing rho; and
b) When a sample is derived from a bivariate normal distribution.
4.5 STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE FOR KENDALL

RANK-ORDER CORRELATION
These are the steps in use of the Kendall rank order Correlation coefficient ð(tau):
Rank the observations on the X variable from 1 to N. Rank the observations on the Y
variable from 1 to N.
Arrange the list of N subjects so that the rank of the subjects on variable X are in their
natural order, that is, 1, 2, 3,….N.
Observe the Y ranks in the order in which they occur when X ranks are in natural order.
Determine the value of S, the number of agreements in order minus the number of
disagreements in order, for the observed order of the Y ranks.
If there are no ties among either the X or the Y observations then we use the formula:
T = 2S / (N (N -1))
53
Non-Parametric Statistics Where:
S = (score of agreement – score of disagreement on X and Y)
N = Number of objects or individuals ranked on both X and Y
If there are ties then the formula would be:
T= 2S / [ N (N-1) – Tx T= 2S / [ N (N-1) – Ty
Where:
S and N are as above
Tx = Σ t (t – 1), t being the number of tied observations in each group of the ties on the
X variable
Ty = Σ t (t – 1), t being the number of tied observation in each group of the ties on the
Y variable
If the N subjects constitute a random sample from some population, one may test the
hypothesis that the variable X and Y are independent in that population. The method for
doing so depends on the size of N:
For N ≤ 10, Table — Upper tail probabilities for T, the Kendall rank order correlation
coefficient
For N > 10, but less than 30, Table – Critical value for T, the Kendall rank order
correlation coefficient
For N < 30 (or for intermediate significance levels for 10 < N ≤ 30) compute the value
of z associated with T by using formula given below and use the z table
z = 3T N (N – 1) / 2 (2N+5)
If the probability yielded by the appropriate method is equal to or less than the critical
value, null hypothesis may be rejected in the favour of alternative hypothesis.
Worked up Example:
Without Ties:
Suppose we ask X and Y to rate their preference for four objects and give points out of
10. Now to see whether their preferences are related to each other we may use the
following steps:
Data:
A B C D
X 6 8 5 2
Y 8 4 9 6
Step 1: Ranking the data of X and Y

A B C D
X 3 4 2 1
Y 3 1 4 2
54
Step 2: Rearrange the data of X in order of 1 to N (4 in this case) Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
D C A B
X 1 2 3 4
Step 3: Put the corresponding score of Y in order of X and Determine number of

agreements and disagreements
D C A B
X 1 2 3 4
Y 2 4 3 1
To calculate S we need number of agreements and disagreements. This can be calculated

by
Using the Y scores, starting from left and counting the number of ranks to its right that
are larger, these are agreements in order. We subtract from this the number of ranks to
its right that are smaller- these are the disagreements in order. If we do this for all the
ranks and then sum the results we obtain S:
Y 2 4 3 1 Total
2 + + - +1
4 - - -2
3 - -1
1 0
Grand
-2
Total= S
Step 4: Calculate T
T = 2S / (N (N -1))
T = 2 (– 2 ) / (4 (4 – 1))
T = – 4 / 12
T= – 0.33
Thus, T = – 0.33 is a measure of the agreement between the preferences of X and Y.
With Ties:
The two set of ranks to be correlated are:
Subject A B C D E F G H I J K L
Status striving rank 3 4 2 1 8 11 10 6 7 12 5 9
Yielding rank 1.5 1.5 3.5 3.5 5 6 7 8 9 10.5 10.5 12
As usual we would first rearrange X and observe the scores of corresponding Y scores
to calculate S
55
Subject
D C A B K H I E L G F J
Status
striving rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Yielding
rank 3.5 3.5 1.5 1.5 10.5 8 9 5 12 7 6 10.5 Total
3.5 0 - - + + + + + + + + 8
3.5 - - + + + + + + + + 8
1.5 0 + + + + + + + + 8
1.5 + + + + + + + + 8
10.5 - - - + - - 0 -4
8 + - + - - + 0
9 - + - - + -1
5 + + + + 4
12 - - - -3
7 - + 0
6 + 1
10.5 0
Grand
S= 25
Total
We compute the value of S in usual way

S = (8-2) + (8-2) + (8-0) + (8-0) + (1-5) +
(3-3) + (2-3) + (4-0) + (0-3) + (1-1) + (1-0) = 25
It should be noted that, when there are tied observations, the ranks will be tied and
neither rank in comparison pair precedes the other, so a value of 0 is assigned in the
computation of S.
Having determined that S = 25, we now determine the value of Tx and TY. There are no
ties among the scores on social status striving, i.e. in the X ranks and thus Tx = 0
56
On Y scores there are three sets of tied ranks. Two subjects are tied at 1.5, two Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
subjects at 3.5, and two subjects’ at 10.5 ranks. In each of these cases T = 2, the
number of tied observations. Thus may be computed as:
TY = Σ t (t – 1)
=2 (2–1) + 2(2–1) + 2(2–1)
=6
With Tx = 0, TY = 6, S = 25, and N =12, we may determine the value of T by using
formula:
T= 2S / [ N (N – 1) – Tx N (N – 1) – Ty ]
T= (2 × 25) / 12 (12 – 1) – 0 12 (12 – 1) – 6
= 0.39
If we had not corrected the above coefficient for ties, i.e. we had used the previous
formula for computing T we would have found T = 0.38. Observe that the effect of
correcting for ties is relatively small unless the proportion of tied ranks is large or the
number of ties in a group of ties is large.
4.6 FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT

KENDALL’S TAU
4.6.1 Comparison of Rho and Tau
For the example of tied observation if one calculates r it will be 0.62, whereas the T is
0.39. This example illustrates the fact that T and r have different underlying scales, and
numerically they are not directly comparable to each other. That is if we measure the
degree of correlation between A and B by using r and then do the same for A and C by
using T, we cannot then say whether A is more closely related to B or to C because we
have used noncomparable measures of correlation. It should be noted, however that
there is a relation between the two measures which is best expressed in the following
inequality:
– 1 ≤ 3 T – 2r ≤ 1
There are also differences in interpretation of the two measures. The spearman rank
order correlation coefficient rho (ñ) is the same as a Pearson product moment correlation
coefficient computed between variables the values of which consists of ranks. On the
other hand, the Kendall rank-order correlation coefficient(ð=tau) has a different
interpretation. It is the difference between the probability that, in the observed data, X
and Y are in the same order and the probability that the X and Y data are in different
orders. TXY is different in the relative frequencies in the sample.
However, both coefficients utilise the same amount of information in the data, and thus
both have the same sensitivity to detect the existence of association in the population.
That is, the sampling distributions of T and r are such that for a given set of data both
will lead to rejection of the null hypothesis at the same level of significance. However it
should be remembered that the measures are different and measure association in different
ways.
57
Non-Parametric Statistics 4.6.2 Efficiency of Rho
The Spearman Rho (ñ) and The Kendall (tau=ð) are similar in their ability to reject Ho,
inasmuch as they make similar use of the information in the data.
When used on data to which the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient r is
properly applicable, both Rho ((ñ) and tau (ð) have efficiency of 91 percent. That is,
Rho is approximately as sensitive a test of independence of two variables in a bivariate
normal population with a sample of 100 cases as the Pearson r with 91 cases (Moran,1).
i) Rho and tau have different underlying scales, and numerically they are not
__________ to each other.
ii) Developed by _____________ in year _________, tau is a
__________measure of correlation/association that is employed with rank-
order data.
2) State true or false:
i) Kendall’s tau measures the degree of agreement between two sets of ranks
with respect to the relative ordering of all possible pairs of subject/objects.
ii) Kendall’s tau and Spearman’s rho, the two measures have different underlying
scales, and, because of this, it is not possible to determine the exact value of
one measure if the value of the other measure is known.
iii) Kendall’s tau and Pearson’s r both are rank order correlation, therefore
both can be compared.
4.7 CHI-SQUARE TEST

The chi-square (X2) test measures the alignment between two sets of frequency measures.
These must be categorical counts and not percentages or ratios measures (for these,
use another correlation test).
Note that the frequency numbers should be significant and be at least above 5 (although
an occasional lower figure may be possible, as long as they are not a part of a pattern
of low figures).
Chi Square performs two types of functions:
1) Goodness of fit
A common use is to assess whether a measured/observed set of measures follows an
expected pattern. The expected frequency may be determined from prior knowledge
(such as a previous year’s exam results) or by calculation of an average from the given
data.
The null hypothesis, H0 is that the two sets of measures are not significantly different.
2) Measure of Independence
The chi-square test can be used in the reverse manner to goodness of fit. If the two sets
of measures are compared, then just as you can show they align, you can also determine
58
if they do not align.
The null hypothesis here is that the two sets of measures are similar. Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
The main difference in goodness-of-fit vs. independence assessments is in the use of
the Chi Square table. For goodness of fit, attention is on 0.05, 0.01 or 0.001 figures.
For independence, it is on 0.95 or 0.99 figures (this is why the table has two ends to it).

ON TEST
The chi-square goodness-of-fit test, also referred to as the chi-square test for a single
sample, is employed in a hypothesis testing situation involving a single sample. Based
on some pre existing characteristic or measure of performance, each of n observations
(subjects/objects) that is randomly selected from a population consisting of N
observations (subjects/objects) is assigned to one of k mutually exclusive categories.’
The data are summarized in the form of a table consisting of k cells, each cell representing
one of the k categories.
The experimental hypothesis evaluated with the chi-square goodness-of-fit test is whether
or not there is a difference between the observed frequencies of the k cells and their
expected frequencies (also referred to as the theoretical frequencies). The expected
frequency of a cell is determined through the use of probability theory or is based on
some pre existing empirical information about the variable under study. If the result of
the chi-square goodness-of-fit test is significant, the researcher can conclude that in the
underlying population represented by the sample there is a high likelihood that the
observed frequency for at least one of the k cells is not equal to the expected frequency
of the cell. It should be noted that, in actuality, the test statistic for the chi-square
goodness-of-fit test provides an approximation of a binomially distributed variable (when
k = 2) and a multinomially distributed variable (when k > 2). The larger the value of n,
the more accurate the chi-square approximation of the binomial and multinomial
distributions.
The chi-square goodness-of-fit test is based on the following assumptions:
a) Categorical nominal data are employed in the analysis. This assumption reflects
the fact that the test data should represent frequencies for k mutually exclusive
categories;
b) The data that are evaluated consists of a random sample of n independent
observations. This assumption reflects the fact that each observation can only be
represented once in the data; and
c) The expected frequency of each cell is 5 or greater.
When this assumption is violated, it is recommended that if k = 2, the binomial sign test
for a single sample be employed to evaluate the data. When the expected frequency of
one or more cells is less than 5 and k > 2, the multinomial distribution should be employed
to evaluate the data. The reader should be aware of the fact that sources are not in
agreement with respect to the minimum acceptable value for an expected frequency.
Many sources employ criteria suggested by Cochran (1952), who stated that none of
the expected frequencies should be less than 1 and that no more than 20% of the
expected frequencies should be less than 5. However, many sources suggest the latter
criteria may be overly conservative. In the event that a researcher believes that one or
more expected cell frequencies are too small, two or more cells can be combined with
one another to increase the values of the expected frequencies. 59
Non-Parametric Statistics Zar (1999) provides an interesting discussion on the issue of the lowest acceptable
value for an expected frequency. Within the framework of his discussion, Zar (1999)
cites studies indicating that when the chi-square goodness-of-fit test is employed to
evaluate a hypothesis regarding a uniform distribution, the test is extremely robust.
A robust test is one that still provides reliable information, in spite of the fact that one or
more of its assumptions have been violated. A uniform distribution (also referred to as
a rectangular distribution) is one in which each of the possible values a variable can
assume has an equal likelihood of occurring. In the case of an analysis involving the chi-
square goodness-of-fit test, a distribution is uniform if each of the cells has the same
expected frequency.
4.9 STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE FOR CHI-

SQUARE TEST
1) Write the observed frequencies in column O
2) Figure the expected frequencies and write them in column E.
Expected Frequencies:
When you find the value for chi square, you determine whether the observed frequencies
differ significantly from the expected frequencies. You find the expected frequencies for
chi square in three ways:
1) You hypothesize that all the frequencies are equal in each category. For example,
you might expect that half of the entering freshmen class of 200 at Tech College
will be identified as women and half as men. You figure the expected frequency by
dividing the number in the sample by the number of categories. In this exam pie,
where there are 200 entering freshmen and two categories, male and female, you
divide your sample of 200 by 2, the number of categories, to get 100 (expected
frequencies) in each category.
2) You determine the expected frequencies on the basis of some prior knowledge.
Let us use the Tech College example again, but this time pretend we have prior
knowledge of the frequencies of men and women in each category from last year’s
entering class, when 60% of the freshmen were men and 40% were women. This
year you might expect that 60% of the total would be men and 40% would be
women. You find the expected frequencies by multiplying the sample size by each
of the hypothesized population proportions. If the freshmen total were 200, you
would expect 120 to be men (60% x 200) and 80 to be women (40% x 200).
3) Use the formula to find the chi-square value:
Chi Square = Σ [(O - E)2 / E]
Where:
O is the Observed Frequency in each category
E is the Expected Frequency in the corresponding category
4) Find the df. (N-1)
5) Find the table value (consult the Chi Square Table.)
6) If your chi-square value is equal to or greater than the table value, reject the null
60 hypothesis: differences in your data are not due to chance alone
Worked Up Example: Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
Situation: Mr. X., the manager of a car dealership, did not want to stock cars that were
bought less frequently because of their unpopular color. The five colors that he ordered
were red, yellow, green, blue, and white. According to Mr. X, the expected frequencies
or number of customers choosing each color should follow the percentages of last year.
She felt 20% would choose yellow, 30% would choose red, 10% would choose green,
10% would choose blue, and 30% would choose white. She now took a random
sample of 150 customers and asked them their colour preferences. The results of this
poll are shown in Table below under the column labelled as observed frequencies.”
Category Color Observed Frequencies Expected Frequencies

Yellow 35 30
Red 50 45
Green 30 15
Blue 10 15
White 25 45
The expected frequencies in Table are figured from last year’s percentages. Based on
the percentages for last year, we would expect 20% to choose yellow. Figure the
expected frequencies for yellow by taking 20% of the 150 customers, getting an expected
frequency of 30 people for this category. For the colour red we would expect 30% out
of 150 or 45 people to fall in this category.
Using this method, Thai figured out the expected frequencies 30, 45, 15, 15, and 45.
Obviously, there are discrepancies between the colours preferred by customers in the
poll taken by Mr.X. and the colours preferred by the customers who bought their cars
last year. Most striking is the difference in the green and white colours. If Thai were to
follow the results of her poll, she would stock twice as many green cars than if she were
to follow the customer colour preference for green based on last year’s sales. In the
case of white cars, she would stock half as many this year. What to do? Mr. X. needs
to know whether or not the discrepancies between last year’s choices (expected
frequencies) and this year’s preferences on the basis of his poll (observed frequencies)
demonstrate a real change in customer colour preferences. It could be that the differences
are simply a result of the random sample she chanced to select. If so, then the population
of customers really has not changed from last year as far as colour preferences go.
The null hypothesis states that there is no significant difference between the expected
and observed frequencies.
The alternative hypothesis states they are different. The level of significance (the
point at which you can say with 95% confidence that the difference is NOT due to
chance alone) is set at .05 (the standard for most science experiments.) The chi-square
formula used on these data is
Chi Square = Σ [(O - E)2 / E]
Where:
O is the Observed Frequency in each category
E is the Expected Frequency in the corresponding category
df is the “degree of freedom” (n-1)
We are now ready to use our formula for X² and find out if there is a significant difference 61
Non-Parametric Statistics between the observed and expected frequencies for the customers in choosing cars.
We will set up a worksheet; then you will follow the directions to form the columns and
solve the formula.
1) Directions for Setting up Worksheet for Chi Square
Category O E O-E (O-E)2 (O-E)2 / E
Yellow 35 30 5 25 0.83
Red 50 45 5 25 0.56
Green 30 15 15 225 15
Blue 10 15 -5 25 1.67
White 25 45 -20 400 8.89
Total= 26.95
This Total is the Chi Square value. After calculating the Chi Square value, find the
“Degrees of Freedom.”
(Remember: DO NOT SQUARE THE NUMBER YOU GET, NOR FIND THE
SQUARE ROOT - THE NUMBER YOU GET FROM COMPLETING THE
CALCULATIONS AS ABOVE IS CHI SQUARE.)
2) Degrees of freedom (df) refers to the number of values that are free to vary after
restriction has been placed on the data. For instance, if you have four numbers
with the restriction that their sum has to be 50, then three of these numbers can be
anything, they are free to vary, but the fourth number definitely is restricted. For
example, the first three numbers could be 15, 20, and 5, adding up to 40; then the
fourth number has to be 10 in order that they sum to 50. The degrees of freedom
for these values are then three. The degrees of freedom here is defined as N - 1,
the number in the group minus one restriction (4 - 1).
3) Find the table value for Chi Square. Begin by finding the df found in step 2 along
the left hand side of the table. Run your fingers across the proper row until you
reach the predetermined level of significance (.05) at the column heading on the
top of the table. The table value for Chi Square in the correct box of 4 df and
P=.05 level of significance is 9.49.
4) If the calculated chi-square value for the set of data you are analysing (26.95) is
equal to or greater than the table value (9.49 ), reject the null hypothesis. There is
a significant difference between the data sets that cannot be due to chance
alone. If the number you calculate is LESS than the number you find on the table,
then you can probably say that any differences are due to chance alone.
In this situation, the rejection of the null hypothesis means that the differences between
the expected frequencies (based upon last year’s car sales) and the observed frequencies
(based upon this year’s poll taken by Mr.X) are not due to chance. That is, they are not
due to chance variation in the sample Mr.X took. There is a real difference between
them. Therefore, in deciding what colour autos to stock, it would be to Mr.X’s advantage
to pay careful attention to the results of her poll!
Another Example:
Let us take an example of Males and Females in two different categories, full stop and
rolling stop and no stop. Now to see whether they are different from each other or
more similar to each other we will follow the following steps
62
Step 1: Add numbers across columns and rows. Calculate total number in chart. Chi-Square and Kendall
Rank Correlation
Unobtrusive Male Versus Female
Male Female
Full Stop 6 6 = 12
Rolling Stop 16 15 = 31
No Stop 4 3 =7
= 26 = 24 = 50
Step 2: Calculate the expected numbers for each individual cell. Do this by multiplying
st
row sum by column sum and dividing by total number. For example: using 1 cell in
table (Male/Full Stop);
12 x 26 / 50 = 6.24
nd
2 cell in table (Female/Full Stop):
12 x 24 / 50 = 5.76
Step 3: Now you should have an observed numberst and expected number for each cell.
The observed number is the number already in 1 chart. The expected number is the
number found in the last step (step 2). Sometimes writing both numbers in the chart can
be helpful
Male Female
Full Stop 6 (observed) 6 (observed) = 12
6.24 (expected) 5.76 (expected)
Rolling Stop 16 (observed) 15 (observed) = 31
No Stop 4 (observed) 3 (observed) =7
= 26 = 24 = 50
Step 4:
Chi Square = Sum of (Observed - Expected)2 / Expected
Calculate this formula for each cell, one at a time. For example, cell #1 (Male/Full
Stop):
Observed number is: 6 Expected number is: 6.24
Plugging this into the formula, you have:
(6 – 6.24)2 /6.24 = .0092
Continue doing this for the rest of the cells, and add the final numbers for each cell
together for the final Chi Square number. There are 6 total cells, so at the end you
should be adding six numbers together for you final Chi Square number.
Step 5: Calculate degrees of freedom (df):
(Number of Rows – 1) x (Number of Columns – 1)
(3 – 1) x (2 – 1)
2x1=
63
2 df (degrees of freedom)
Non-Parametric Statistics Step 6: Look up the number in the chart at end of handout. At .05 significance level,
with 2 df, the number in chart should be 5.99. Therefore, in order to reject the null
hypothesis, the final answer to the Chi Square must be greater or equal to 5.99. The
Chi Square/final answer found was .0952. This number is less than 5.99, so you fail to
reject the null hypothesis, thus there is no difference in these groups.
4.10 FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT CHI

SQUARE
Observations must appear in one cell only. For instance, if we looked at male and
female swimmers and hurdlers, one person could appear in both the swimmers and the
hurdlers category if they enjoyed both sports. This would make use of Chi square
invalid. Actual frequencies must appear in the cells, not percentages, proportions or
numbers which do anything other than count. For instance, the mean of an interval scale
variable cannot appear.
LOW expected frequencies
One limitation is that one should not proceed with a chi square test where expected
frequency cells fall below 5. The rule of thumb which most statisticians inherited, and
which comes from Cochran (1954) which was that no more than 20% of expected
cells should fall below 5. This would rule out any 2 X 2 in which at least one expected
cell was less than 5.
Hypothetical table:
Age Conversed Did not converse Total

5 years 2 6 8
7 years 6 2 8
Total 8 8 16
For total sample sizes less than 20 and two expected cells below 5, the risk of a type I
error is too high. For instance, the data shown in hypothetical table above give a chi
square of 4.0 (which is ‘significant’ for one df) yet it’s easy to see, again, without much
formal statistical training, that the result was relatively likely to occur - only two children
in each age group needed to move away, in opposite directions, from the expected
frequencies of four in each cell for these results to occur. From first principles (working
out all the possible combinations) the probability of these results occurring comes out
substantially higher than 0.05. If you have these sort of data it doesn’t take too long to
work from first principles but it’s far better to make sure your analysis will be valid by
taking a large enough sample, with a sensible design. Even with tables larger than 2X2,
if several expected frequencies fall below 5 and the row or column total are quite
severely skewed, the possibility of a type I error increases.
1) What are the assumptions of chi-square goodness-of-fit test?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
64
Chi-Square and Kendall
2) Chi square performs two major functions, what are these? Rank Correlation
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
3) State true or false:
i) The expected frequency of a cell is determined through the use of probability
theory or is based on some pre existing empirical information about the
variable under study.
ii) If several expected frequencies fall below 5, the possibility of a type II error
increases.
iii) The chi-square (c2) test measures the alignment between two sets of
frequency measures.
iv) “The data that are evaluated consists of a random sample of n independent
observations.” Is not a cardinal assumptions of chi square?
4.11 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we learnt about the concept of correlation and how parametric test is used to
compute the product moment coefficient of correlation. We thedn learnt about the non-
parametric tests for corrleation and leatrnt about the Rho and Tau. The Rho was by
Spearman and was known as Spearman Rank Correlation while Kendall’s Tau was
known as ð (tau). We also learnt about how to calculate Kendall’s tau and learnt about
the importance of Chi-Square test. We also learnt as to how to calculate chi-square.

1) Compute correlation coefficient for each of the following pairs of sample
observations:
a) x 33 61 20 19 40
y 26 36 65 25 35
b) x 89 102 120 137 41
y 81 94 75 52 136
c) x 2 15 4 10
y 11 2 15 21
d) x 5 20 15 10 3
y 80 83 91 82 87
2) Compare T and r in terms of correlation and state your views?
3) Should a chi-Square test be carried out on the following data?
7 1
65
2 7
Non-Parametric Statistics 4) A (fictitious) Survey shows that. in a sample of 100.9 I people are against the
privatisation of health services, whereas 9 support the idea.
a) What test of significance can be performed on this data?
b) Calculate the chi square value and check it for significance.
c) Could this test be one-tailed?
If for a large sample, we knew on/y that 87% of people were against the idea and
were for could we carry out the same test to see whether this split is significant
5) What is the difference between chi square goodness of fit test and measure of
independence test?
6) What do you understand by efficiency of T?

Kent.
McGraw-Hill.
66
Master’s Degree Programme in Psychology
HANDBOOK ON PRACTICUM
EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING (MPCL-007)
Discipline of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi- 110068
Programme Coordinator
Prof. Vimala Veeraraghavan
Emeritus Professor, Psychology
SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Preparation Team
Dr. Bhagwanti Jadwani Dr. Smita Gupta Dr. Monika Mishra
Asst. Professor, Psychology Asst. Professor, Psychology Asst. Professor, Psychology
IGNOU, New Delhi IGNOU, New Delhi IGNOU, New Delhi
Content Editor
Dr. Swati Patra Dr. Suhas Shetgovekar
Reader of Psychology Reader of Psychology
SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Print Production
Mr. Manjit Singh
Section Officer (Pub.), SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
July, 2011
© Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeography or any other means,
without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Further information on the Indira Gandhi National Open University courses may be obtained from the
University's Office at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068
Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, by Director, School
of Social Sciences.
Laser Typeset by : Tessa Media & Computers, C-206, A.F.E.-II, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025
Printed at:
CONTENTS
Sr. No. Details Page No.

1.0 Introduction 5
2.0 Practicum in MA First Year ( 8 Credits) 5
3.0 Procedure to be Followed by Academic Counsellor 6
4.0 Format for Practicum 8
5.0 Evaluation 9
6.0 A brief Guide to Practicals 9
7.0 Conduction of Term end Examination in MPCL-007 22
Appendix- Certificate 23
4
1.0 INTRODUCTION TO PRACTICUM IN
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology at graduate and post graduate levels requires learners to learn how to conduct
practicals. Practicals consist of psychological experiments and tests that are to be carried out in
controlled condition in a laboratory set up. The experimenter/ administrator has to follow a
standard procedure for administration, scoring and interpretation of the results/ findings.
Experiments in psychology make use of different instruments/ apparatus to study different

cognitive aspects such as sensation, perception, attention, memory, learning etc. They mainly
focus on studying the cause and effect relationship between independent and dependent variables.
Psychological tests on the other hand are administered in order to find out the cognitive, affective
and behavioural functioning of the subjects.
It is well known that children, adolescents and adults show certain maladaptive patterns in their
behaviour, which may be due to a large number of psychological factors. Through psychological
tests, the psychologist is able to unravel the causing factors underlying the dysfunctional
behaviours. Psychological tests can be used in different settings like schools, hospitals,
organisations and welfare organisations. They can also be used for research purpose.
The psychological tests are of various types. Some are used to find out the level of cognitive
functioning such as Intelligence, Memory, Thinking, Problem solving etc. Certain other tests are
used to find out personality, aptitude, attitude, interest, emotional disturbances and conflicts in
the individual. Some tests may also be observational where the individual’s behaviour is observed
in different situations and under varying conditions.
Tests also vary in terms of the mode of administration. Some tests are paper pencil based tests
which require the subject to read the items and respond with alternative answers. Other tests are
projective tests where certain semi-structured or structured materials (verbal, pictorial, or any
other) are shown to the subject and the subject has to respond by telling a story based on the
picture or respond by telling what they perceive. All these responses are scored and interpreted.
A good psychological test is always a standardized test, which means the test follows a uniform
and systematic procedure of administration and scoring. It also has a manual in which the
reliability, validity and the norms are provided.
2.0 PRACTICUM IN MA FIRST YEAR (8 CREDITS)

The following practicals are to be conducted by the learners:
• Intelligence Testing (Bhatia Battery)
• Personality Testing (16 PF)
• Test for Social Behaviour (Vineland Social Maturity Scale)
• Family Pathology Scale
• Sociometry
• Problem Behaviour Checklist
5
• Span of Attention Experiment
• Memory Experiment
All eight practicals are to be conducted by the learner in the psychology laboratory. Out of the
above eight practicals, five practicals are to be written in proper format (as given in the lab
manual) in practical note book. This note book is to be assessed by the concerned academic
counselor. Actual conduction of practicals and reporting it in practical note book (internal
assessment) carries 50% weightage and the term end practical examination including viva- voce
(external assessment) carries 50% weightage. The internal and external assessment will be in
terms of marks which will later be converted into grades.
3.0 PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED BY

ACADEMIC COUNSELLOR
For Experiments in Psychology
1) Select any experiment from experimental psychology book based on the list of the practicals
given above. You may refer to some of the reference books given as follows:
• Experimental Psychology by L. Postman & J. P. Egan
• Experiments in Psychology by S. M. Mohsin
• Experimental Psychology with Advanced Experiments (2Vols.) by M. Rajamanickam
2) Explain the experiment in detail to the learners
3) Introduce the experiment in terms of:
• Historical background
• Hypothesis/es
• Independent and dependent variables
• Control and experimental conditions
• Administration
• Scoring
4) After the introduction of the experiment, demonstrate to the learners how to conduct the
experiment.
5) The demonstration will include the following:
• Preparation for the experiment, for instance, keeping the material (instrument/ apparatus,
stimulus words/ list, stopwatch) ready.
• Establishing rapport with the subject, making the subject feel comfortable
• Explaining the experiment (procedure, time limit, precautions)
• Taking informed consent for undergoing the experiment and informing the subject that
the experiment findings will remain confidential.
• Taking permission to record the session, wherever applicable.
6
• Explaining the instructions to the learners.
• Clearing all doubts in the mind of the subject about the experiment.
• The experiment is conducted on the subject.
6) Explain the scoring procedure to the learners.
7) Explain how to discuss the data.
8) Ask learners to conduct the experiment on each other in pairs and monitor the same.
9) The learners will now conduct the experiment and do the scoring.
10) The learners will have to write a report of the experiment in the practicum note book which
will be evaluated by the academic counsellors.
For Psychological Tests

1) Go though the manual of the test thoroughly.
2) Explain the test in detail to the learners in the class.
3) Introduce the test in terms of:
• History of the Test
• Author
• Development of the test
• Features of the test (e.g. no. of items, dimensions, reliability, validity)
• Administration
• Scoring
• Interpretation
4) After the introduction of the test, demonstrate to the learners how to administer the test.
5) The demonstration of administration will include the following:

a) Preparation for the test, for instance, keeping the test material (test booklet, answer
sheet, stopwatch) ready.
b) Establishing rapport with the subject, making the subject feel comfortable
c) Explaining the test ( procedure, time limit, precautions)
d) Taking informed consent for undergoing the test and informing the subject that the test
findings will remain confidential.
e) Taking permission to record the session, wherever applicable.
f) Reading the instructions for test administration from the manual and showing it to
learners as to from where they have to read the instructions.
g) Clearing all doubts in the mind of the subject about the test administration.
h) The subject takes the test.
i) Taking the answer sheet from the subject after completion of the test. .
7
6) Explain the scoring procedure (as given in the manual) to the learners.
7) Explain how to interpret the data.
8) Ask learners to administer the test on each other in pairs and monitor the same.
9) The learners will now administer, score and interpret
10) The learners will have to write a report of the test in the practicum note book which will be
evaluated by the academic counsellors.
4.0 FORMAT FOR PRACTICUM

The academic counsellor introduces the following format to the learners which they have to
follow while preparing their practicum notebook.
• Title: This heading will contain the ‘title’ or ‘name’ of the practical e.g: 16 PF / Span of
attention.
• Aims/ Objectives: This will basically consist of the main objectives or purpose of the
practical. For example, if they are performing a test on ’16 PF’ then the basic objective of
the test will be: ‘To assess the personality of the subject using 16 PF’.
• Hypothesis (written in case of experiments only): A tentative statement about the cause
and effect relationship between the independent and dependent variables is provided.
• Introduction: Here the historical background of the test/ experiment is mentioned. The
concept is defined and discussed. For example, in case of 16 PF, the historical background
of 16 PF is described. The concept of personality is defined and the theories related to it are
discussed.
• Description of the Test/ Experiment: Under this, the details with regard to the test/
experiments are mentioned, like author of the test, basic purpose of the test, no. of items,
dimensions/ factors, time limit, reliability, validity, scoring.
• Materials Required: The materials required for the administration of the test/ experiment
are mentioned. For example, in case of 16 PF, the test booklet, answer sheet, scoring key,
pencil, eraser.
• Subject’s Profile: This will contain of all the detailed information about the subject, like,
name of the subject (optional), age, gender, educational qualification and occupation.
• Procedure and Administration: The following sub headings are included here
Preparation: The material required for conduction of the test/ experiment, like, test booklet,
apparatus or instrument, answer sheet, stopwatch are kept ready.
Rapport: The learner has to mention that rapport was created with the subject and that the
subject was well informed about the details of the test/ experiment.
Instructions: Instruction as give in the test manual/ experiment are included here.
Precautions: Precautions, if any, to be considered while administration of the test/ experiment

are mentioned under this sub heading.
8
Introspective Report: After completion of the test/ experiment by the subject, an introspective
report is to be taken of the subject, that is, the subject’s feeling and constraints faced by him/her
while undergoing the test/ experiment is mentioned under this sub heading in first person.
• Scoring and Interpretation: After the subject completes the test, the answer sheet is to be
scored with the help of the scoring key and the data is to be interpreted with the help of the
norms given in the manual. The scores can then be mentioned and interpreted under this
heading. For experiments, the findings are to be analysed and mentioned here.
• Discussion: Here, the subject has to discuss the result based on the interpretation. It may be
further analysed in the light of the introspective report. In case of experiments, the results
may be supported by existing studies conducted in the field.
• Conclusion: Under this heading, the learner has to conclude the findings of the test/
experiment.
• References: The books, websites and the manual referred to by the learner are mentioned
in American Psychological Association (APA) format.
5.0 EVALUATION
Actual Conduction of Practicals and reporting it in the practical note book in the prescribed
format (internal assessment) carries 50% weightage. The Term End Practical Examination
including Viva Voce (External Assessment) carries 50% Weightage. Total marks for practical
examination will be 100 marks (Internal 50 marks and External 50 marks).
INTERNAL Marks Weightage EXTERNAL Marks Weightage

Attendance 10 10% Conduction 10 10%
Conduction 10 10% Answer sheet 20 20%
Interpretation 10 10% Viva Voce 20 20%
Practical notebook 20 20%
TOTAL 50 50% TOTAL 50 50%
6.0 A BRIEF GUIDE TO PRACTICALS

¾ Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Test of Intelligence
In our day to day life we often say, ‘she is very intelligent’, or ‘he is a brilliant learner’. We
make judgments about others’ mental ability by their behaviours and specific achievements. Do
you think one can measure ‘how much intelligent a person is?’ This is exactly what psychologists
started with and endeavored to develop some scientific procedures to tell about the how and
what type of mental ability a person possesses. But measuring something which can’t be directly
seen, as with all psychological attributes, is really a very difficult task. And in case of intelligence,
the task was more challenging. Since measuring something requires a simple answer to what is
being measured. The interesting thing about intelligence is that every test developed to measure
it defined it in its own way.
9
What is Intelligence?
Wechsler has defined intelligence as “the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act
purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment.” Alfred Binet, the
inventor of modern intelligence test, believed that intelligent behaviour would be manifested in
such mental abilities as reasoning, imagination, insight, judgement and adaptability. Some
psychologists held the view that all the cognitive abilities (such as abstraction, learning and
dealing with novelty) are the manifestation of a single underlying factor, called General factor
and Specific abilities such as artistic ability, linguistic ability, mathematical or spatial ability
referred constitute specific factor or s factor.
Thus, we may define intelligence as
• The ability to behave adaptively
• The ability to function successfully within a particular environment
• Ability to learn new things quickly, to solve different kinds of problems
Moreover it is said that intelligence is what the intelligence test measure, “Intelligence is,
conceptually, what it has always been, the ability to profit from experience-and pragmatically,
what it has become-that which the intelligence tests measure” (Reber & Reber 2001: 361).
Origin and Early Developments

The first attempt to develop tests of intellectual ability was made more than century ago by Sir
Francis Galton, a naturalist and a mathematician, in 1884. James Mckeen Cattell (1860-1944)
has also made significant contributions to the measurement of individual differences. But the
mental testing movement began with the development of the first intelligence test by Alfred
Binet and Théophile Simon in 1905.
The French government commissioned Binet to discover an objective method of assessing

intellectual level of French school children. The major concern was to identify children who
were unable to profit from public school education. The task for Binet and Simon was
• To devise a scale that would select retarded children
• Indicate the nature of special instruction that could benefit those children
• To improve the diagnosis of severely retarded institutionalized children, though it was the
secondary objective.
Binet assumed intelligence should be measured by tasks that required reasoning and problem
solving abilities. Binet published the first test in 1905 in collaboration with Simon and revised it
1908 and in 1911. The test was constructed with items of common information, word definitions,
reasoning items, and ingenuity. The measure of intelligence was mental age (MA). Binet and
Simon assumed that intelligence grows with the child’s chronological age (actual age). Thus the
child who passes all the items at the 7 year level is mentally 7 years of age irrespective of his or
her chronological age (actual age) or we can say the child is able to do the test items that 50 to 75
% of 7 year old children can pass. In Binet’s views, a slow or dull child is like a normal child
whose mental growth is retarded. The slow child would perform on the level that is below his
actual age whereas the bright child can perform up to the level of the children above his/her
chronological or actual age. The items in the Binet’s scale are arranged in increasing difficulty.
10
The higher a child could go on the scale in answering the item, the higher his/her mental age will
be. In 1916, Lewis Terman, published the Stanford revision of Binet test, that is known as the
Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale (SBIS). Terman adapted the test items developed by Binet for
American school children. SBIS was revised in 1937, 1960, 1972 and in 1986. Binet’s concept
of MA was retained in SBIS. But Terman used intelligence quotient as an index of intelligence.
The term IQ, from the German Intelligenz Quotient was suggested by the German psychologist
William Stern (1912). Intelligence quotient (IQ) expresses the relation of mental age (MA) to
the real age (chronological age-CA):
MA
IQ = ——— × 100
CA
IQ is calculated by dividing a child’s mental age in months by his CA. An average child of 7
84
years whose MA is also 7 years, his IQ will be. —— = 100. The number 100 is used as a
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multiplier to eliminate the decimals. So the IQ of this child will be 100. IQ in intelligence tests
now is no longer calculated using this equation.
Tables are used to convert raw scores on the test into standard scores, which express the IQ.
1986 version of the test uses percentiles to express the level of intelligence in a particular group.
The 1986 revision of the Stanford-Binet is grouped into four broad areas: verbal reasoning,
abstract/visual reasoning, quantitative reasoning and STM. Terman chose the following category
ranges for score levels on that test with standard deviation 16.
Table 1: Terman’s Stanford-Binet Fourth Revision Classification

IQ Range (“Deviation IQ”) Intelligence Classification
164 and over Genius or near genius
148 - 164 Very superior intelligence
132 - 148 Superior intelligence
113 - 132 Above average intelligence
84 - 113 Normal or average intelligence
68 - 84 Dullness
52 - 68 Borderline deficiency
Below 52 Definite feeble-mindedness
The above scores are obtained by converting raw scores into standard scores. Raw scores are the
actual scores obtained on the test. These scores are converted by the tables which contain age
appropriate standardized scores given in the manual. It was felt that Stanford Binet test depended
heavily on linguistic ability. In 1939, David Wechsler developed a new test-Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAIS). WAIS comprises of a verbal scale and a performance scale. These
two yield a separate IQ and a full IQ. Later, similar tests were used by Wechsler for children,
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-WISC (1958). The verbal scale in WAIS consists of
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information comprehension, arithmetic similarities, digit span, vocabulary and letter number
sequencing. The performance scale consists of digit symbol, picture completion, block design,
picture arrangement, matrix reasoning, object assembly and symbol search. Both the Stanford
and Wechsler scales show good reliability and validity and are widely used tests to measure
intelligence. Wechsler proposed different category ranges with a standard deviation of 15 by
which I Q scores could be explained.
Table 2: Wechsler’s classification

IQ Range (“Deviation IQ”) Intelligence Classification
145 and over Very superior
130 - 145 Superior
115 - 130 Above average
85 - 115 Average
70 - 85 Below average
60 - 75 Borderline
60 and below Defective
All the above tests were individual tests of intelligence, i.e. these tests can be administered on
one person at a time. The wider social settings sought after the need for such test that can be
given to a large number of population at a time. Group ability tests were devised for such purpose.
Group ability tests can be administered to a large number of people by a single examiner and are
usually pencil and paper test. Individual test focuses on global ability, their major purpose being
to assess a general trait. The focus of the group tests is to predict academic or occupational
performance. Group test of intelligence are more often used for initial screening in schools
(Scholastic Assessment Test-SAT) and industries. These tests may be followed by individual
testing if more information is required. Individual tests are preferred by psychologists in clinics,
hospitals and other settings where a clinical diagnosis is required.
Apart from the individual and group test, another major division is verbal and non-verbal tests.
As the name implies, verbal tests can be used with educated persons while non verbal tests are
preferred for uneducated persons, and those handicapped in some respect (like blind, partially
sighted). Paper pencil tests and performance tests are one more variant of intelligence test.
Performance test require the some sort of activity, like arranging the blocks, completing a picture
with the given cards and choosing a correct matched card for a particular picture or symbol.
At present, many IQ tests have been developed to suit the cultural milieu of an individual. There
are also culture fair tests that are applicable to all the persons irrespective of their culture. Culture-
fair tests are free from any verbal content that measure culture specific and linguistic knowledge.
Now we will give you brief introduction to Bhatia Battery of Performance Tests that learners are
required to do for their course work:
Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Test of Intelligence was constructed by C. M. Bhatia in 1955.

This test was developed for use on Indian Population. It includes following five sub tests.
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i) Koh’s Block Design Test: This battery includes 10 designs from the original 17 designs
from the Koh’s test. The time for first five designs is 2 minutes and for the remaining five
the time is 3 minutes. The cards with a variety of coloured designs are shown to the test
taker and he is asked to reproduce them using a set of colored blocks. Performance is based
not just on the accuracy of the drawings but also on the examiner’s observation of behavior
during the test, including such factors as attention level, self-criticism and adaptive behavior
(such as self-help, communication, and social skills).
ii) Alexander Pass-along Test: All the designs of the original test are included in this battery.
The first four of these have to be completed in two minutes and the rest of the four have to
be completed in 3 minutes.
iii) Pattern Drawing Test: This test is constructed by Bhatia. This test includes eight cards.
Every card has a pattern and the subject is required to draw these patterns in one go without
lifting the pencil. The time for the first four cards in 2 minutes and for the rest of the four
cards it is 3 minutes.
iv) Immediate Memory: This test has two parts: digit span forward and digit span backward.
The test taker is required to repeat the numbers the examiner says. The number of digit is
increased on every trail. The test is continued till the subject repeats it successfully in the
same order. This is digit span forward. In the backward recall, the numbers are repeated in
the backward position, from the last to the first. This recall is also continued till the subject
successfully repeats the sequence.
v) Picture Construction Test: This test requires the subject to construct a picture that is given
in parts. The parts are to be meaningfully combined to construct the picture. The time for
first two pictures is 2 minutes and the rest of the three pictures it is 3 minutes.
Individual administration of this test takes less than one hour. Maximum 95 marks can be obtained
in the complete test. Maximum marks for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th test are 25, 20, 20, 15, 15
respectively. The main objective of the test is to measure the intelligence of children and less
educated or illiterate Indians. The norms for the test have been obtained for the boys of 11 and
16 years. Later, the norms for girls have also been obtained.
¾ 16 PF
A number of approaches and theories have been developed to understand and explain the concept
of personality. These theories are based on different models of human behavior. Each throws
light on a significant aspect of personality but not all aspect of personality. Psychologists
distinguish between type and trait approach to personality. Type approach attempts to comprehend
human personality by examining certain broad patterns in the observed behavioral characteristics
of the individual. Each behavioral pattern refers to one type in which individuals are placed in
terms of the similarity of their behavioral characteristics with that pattern. Whereas, the trait
approach focuses on the specific psychological attributes along which individuals tend to differ
in consistent and stable ways.
Efforts to categories people into personality types have been made since ancient times. The
Greek physician Hippocrates had proposed a typology of personality based on fluid or humor.
He classified people into four types (sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric); each
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characterised by specific behavioral features. Ayurveda classifies people into the categories, Vat,
Pitt, and Kapha, on the basis of three humoral elements called tridosh. There is another typology
of personality based on the Trigunas, i.e. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. All the three gunas are present
in each and every person in different degrees.The dominance of one or the other guna may lead
to a particular type of behaviour.
Sheldon using body build and temperament as the main basis, proposed Endomorphic (fat, round,
soft, relaxed, and sociable), Mesomorphic (strong body build),Ectomorphic (thin, long, fragile
body build) classification. Jung proposed another important typology by grouping people into
introverts and extroverts. Recently, Friedman and Rosenman have classified individual into
Type A and Type B personality. Type A personality seems to possess high motivation, lack patience,
feels short of time, and be in a great hurry. Such people are prone to developing coronary heart
disease and hypertension. Absence of such traits is Type B personality. Morris suggested a Type
C personality, one that is prone to cancer. Type D personality is characterised by proneness to
depression. Trait theorists are mainly concerned with the description of characterisation of basic
components of personality. They are mainly interested in the ‘building blocks’ of personality.
Human beings display a wide range of variations in psychological attributes, yet it is possible to
club them into smaller number of personality traits. A trait is considered as a relatively enduring
attribute or quality on which one individual differs from one another. They include a range of
possible behaviour that is activated according to the demands of the situation. A number of
psychologists have used traits to formulate their theories of personality, for example, Allport,
Eysenck, Cattell.
16 PF is constructed by Raymond B.Cattell. According to Cattell there is a common structure on

which people differ from each other. This structure could be determined empirically. With the
help of statistical technique called factor analysis, he discovered the common structures. He
found 16 primary or source traits. The source traits are stable, and are considered as the building
blocks of personality. Besides these, there are also a number of surface traits that result out of the
interaction of source traits. Cattell described the source traits in terms of opposing tendencies.
Cattell developed Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF), for the assessment of
personality. This test is widely used by psychologists.
The test, as already said, is constructed by Raymond B. Cattell, and was first published in 1949,
thereafter 2nd and 3rd edition in 1956 and 1962.Five alternative forms of the 4th edition were
released between 1967 and 1969.Fifth edition of 16 PF was released in 1993. PF stands for
‘Personality Factors’ and there are sixteen personality factors, hence, it is known as 16 PF. These
16 factors are the major source traits .Cattell’s theory asserts that every person possesses a degree
of each of the following sixteen traits (Cattell also uses the term factors).
For each trait, factor label or code letters are used. The major source traits as represented on 16
Personality Factor Inventory is as follows:
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Factors Description
A Outgoing- Reserved Outgoing-Reserved
B Intelligence
C Stable-Emotional
E Dominant-Submissive
F Sober-Happy-go-lucky
G Conscientious-Expedient
H Venturesome-Shy
I Tough-minded-Tender-minded
L Trusting-Suspicious
M Imaginative-Practical
N Shrewd-Forthright
O Apprehensive-Placid
Q1 Radical-Conservative
Q2 Self-sufficient-Group-dependent
Q3 Undisciplined-Controlled
Q4 Relaxed-Tense
The 16 PF Inventory consists of 187 multiple-choice items. The subject has to choose one option.
There is no right or wrong answer to the statements.
¾ Vineland Social Maturity Scale

Social maturity deals with learning to properly relate to acquaintances, friends and intimate
relationships. It also involves understanding how to honor and respect those in authority; civil,
parental, employer or spiritual. It is an indicator of the life skills a person possess for various
situations. The World Health Organisation defines life skills as “abilities for adaptive and positive
behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday
life.” In primary and secondary education, life skills may refer to a skill set that accommodates
more specific needs of modern industrialized life; examples include, food preparation, hygiene,
basic literacy and numeracy skills. These skills are a basic requirement for a happy and successful
life. The teens and children are specifically checked for these skills for their better future in their
personal and professional life. The level of social maturity also gives an indication of the dark
aspects of parenting and schooling where some more sincere efforts are required from parents
and teachers. The Vineland Social Maturity Scale was developed by the American psychologist
Edger Arnold Doll. The test measures communication skills, general self help ability, locomotion
skills, occupation skills, self direction, self help eating, self help dressing, socialization skills.
The test is administered during an interview of the child with a parent or other person familiar
with the person being assessed. It measures social competence, self-help skills, and adaptive
behavior from infancy to adulthood. It is used in planning for therapy and/or individualized
instruction for persons with mental retardation or emotional disorders. The Vineland scale, which
can be used from birth up to the age of 15, consists of a 89-items for interview with a parent or
15
other primary caregiver. Personal and social skills are evaluated in the following areas: daily
living skills (general self-help, eating, dressing); communication (listening, speaking, writing);
motor skills (fine and gross, including locomotion); socialization (interpersonal relationships,
play and leisure, and coping skills); occupational skills; and self-direction. The test is un-timed
and takes 20-30 minutes. Raw scores are converted to an age equivalent score (expressed as
social age) and a social quotient (SQ):
SA
SQ = —— × 100
CA
SA= Social Age; CA= Chronological Age or Actual Age, SQ= Social Quotient.
The test was adapted in Indian conditions by Dr A J Malin during his work at Nagpur guidance
and Counselling centre.
¾ Family Pathology Scale

The family is a primary social unit of every culture. In India, the family rather than the individual
has been considered as the unit of social system. The Indian family reflects the socio- cultural
fabric of Indian society, its philosophy and values (Sethi, 1989). The relationships within the
family are complex, of varying degrees of intensity and myriad in nature. The emotional tone,
which governs the relationship between any two persons, is continuously influences in its course
by emotional relationship of all others in the family.
The family pathology scale indicates the extent to which maladaptive behavior is present amongst
the family members in their interaction with each other that is between spouses and between
parents and children. A total of 100 items were prepared in the form of statements which had to
be rated on a 3 point scale, with 1 indicating ‘low/ no family pathology (‘Never’ response), 2
indicating ‘average family pathology’ (‘occasional’ response) and 3 indicating ‘high family
pathology’ (most often response). This scale consisting of 100 items was distributed to 25 clinical
psychologists and 25 psychiatrists. The judges were asked to indicate as to what extent each
item was indicative of family pathology on a three point scale, that is, “highly indicative”,
“somewhat indicative”, and not at all indicative”. Using the internal consistency method, only
those items were chosen on which the rating was the same amongst all the 50 experts. Secondly
the items, which were given a rating of 1 indicating poor family pathology, differed by two
points from the item that was chosen as indicative of high family pathology. Only those items
were selected and included in the final scale for family pathology, which met the above two
criteria. Thus, there are 42 items in the scale to be responded by the subject with ‘most often’,
‘occasionally’ and ‘never’. These were then administered to a group of 300 married couples
from the normal population, (N= 600) and 100 couples from the psychiatric (pathological)
population (N=200) and the reliability and validity were worked out.
¾ Sociometry
The word sociometry (coined by Jacob Levy Moreno, 1953) comes from the Latin “socius,”
meaning social and the Latin “metrum,” meaning measure. The words therefore mean that
sociometry is a way of measuring the degree of relatedness among people. Measuring the degree
of relatedness or affiliation can not only help in evaluating the degree of cohesiveness amongst
the members of the group, work teams, class or organisations, it may also help in bringing about
positive change and required interventions. Sociometry also serves as a powerful tool in lessening
16
the communication gap and reducing conflict by helping the group to analyse, examine and
evaluate its own dynamics. It can also be helpful in finding out the relevant areas or group that
requires therapy or training. It is a measure which helps in evaluating how individuals associate
with each other when acting as a group toward a specified end or goal (Criswell in Moreno,
1960, p. 140). Moreno himself defined sociometry as “the mathematical study of psychological
properties of populations, the experimental technique of and the results obtained by application
of quantitative methods” (Moreno, 1953, pp. 15-16).
Sociometry can be used as a scale, with the help of which choices in forming interpersonal
relationships of people can be studied. It is a technique of measurement in which at least
(minimum) a group consisting of 5-6 members are asked to select or choose members of the
same group based on a specific criteria, as for example everyone in the group can make choices
and describe why the choices were made. From these choices a description emerges of the
networks inside the group. With the help of these choices or preferences a drawing, like a map,
of those networks called a sociogram is developed. The data for the sociogram may also be
displayed as a table or matrix of each person’s choices. Such a table is called a sociometric
matrix. It is also important to understand the concepts of sociometric star, mutuals, cliques/
chains, isolates, sociometric matrix, and sociogram, they are explained as follows:
1) Sociometric star: Regardless of the criterion, the person whose name is selected by maximum
members of the group is known as the sociometric star for that specific criterion.
2) Mutuals: where two people choose each other
3) Chains or cliques: where person A chooses person B who chooses person C who chooses
person D and so on
4) Isolates: the person who has not been chosen by any one within the group
5) Sociogram: With the help of the choices or preferences a drawing, like a map, of those
networks called a sociogram is developed.
6) Sociometric matrix: The data for the sociogram may also be displayed as a table or matrix
of each person’s choices. Such a table is called a sociomatrix
The above concepts can be clearly understood with the help of an example. Let us assume that
there is group of six members, namely, ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘E’ & ‘F’. Each member will be asked
to give their choices for a set of questions. The questions asked may be as follows:
1) Whom do you trust amongst the members of your group?
2) Whose advice would you like to take regarding serious matters of your life?
3) Who do you think can transmit messages accurately within your group?
4) Who would like to work with?
5) Who would you like to spend your leisure time with?
6) Who would you like to seek help from to generate creative ideas for your task?
17
The only requirement is that, the members are required to choose only one person for each
question.
The sociometric matrix chart, sociogram, star, mutuals, isolates and cliques will be different for
each question. Suppose the members have given their responses for the first (question no.-i)
question. Let us say the members have marked a-‘+’ to indicate “High Trust”, “M” to indicate
“Moderate Trust”, and “-” to indicate “Distrust/Conflict”. Say for example, the member ‘A’ has
been asked the question first and the following is his rating:
B +
C -
D M
E M
F +
This means that for the above question, ‘A’ highly trusts ‘B’, distrusts or is in conflict with ‘C’,
has moderate trust on ‘D’ , has moderate trust on ‘E’ and has high level of trust for ‘F’ . After
obtaining the responses from everyone for the first question (question no.-i), the next step is to
prepare a sociomatrix from all the received responses which may be as following for the above
example:
Sociometric Chart for the question no.- 1
‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ ‘F’
‘A’ ------- M + M + M
‘B’ + ------- + + + +
‘C’ – M ------- – – –
‘D’ M M + ------- M +
‘E’ M M + + ------- +
‘F’ + + M + M -------
In the above figure, the first column shows the choice based ratings of ‘A’ for the other group
members, the second row shows the ratings of ‘B’, third row is of ’C’ and so on. The matrix
clearly represents the extent to which the interpersonal relationships amongst the members of
the group. The row which has a large number of ‘+’ can be identified as the informal leader(s) of
the group (member ‘B’ can be said to be an informal leader in the above example). Rows
showing -’s can identify those people the group may be close to rejecting (member ‘C’ can be
said to be as rejected or least trusted member in the above example). Columns showing all M’s
or all +’s may highlight those members who have a fear that their responses may be disclosed to
others and therefore give moderate responses.
Another important pattern to look for is what is called mutuals. A mutual occurs when I rate you
at the same level as you rate me. A positive mutual is when we both rate each other +; a negative
mutual is when we both rate each other -.Positive mutuals show bonding in a group. Negative
mutuals show areas of conflict. The identification of negative mutuals gives the consultant or
therapist insight as to where to start to repair a dysfunctional group. Here are the column totals,
and mutuals for our sample group:
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Mutuals for the question no.- 1
‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ ‘F’
Total ‘+’ 2 5 0 2 3 3
Total ‘M’ 3 0 1 3 2 2
Total ‘-’ 0 0 4 0 0 0
Total choices received 5 5 5 5 5 5
No choices received 0 0 0 0 0 0
MUTUALS:
Mutual ‘+’ 0 1 0 1 0 2
Mutual ‘M’ 1 0 0 1 0 0
Mutual ‘-’ 0 0 0 0 0 0
The sociometric thus highlights that, the member ‘C’ requires to work more upon its interpersonal
relationship with the other members in order to bring a better team effort. Similarly, the data of
a sociomatrix can also be represented in a graphical form (called “sociogram”). The persons are
represented in the form of small circles or bubbles. Say, if you are to prepare a sociogram for the
above example, where the arrow indicates “high trust”, the arrow indicates “moderate
level of trust” and the arrow indicates distrut or “conflict”.
Since, all the members have high trust for the person ‘B’, he is at the center as a sociometric star
and the relationship of each member with each other has been indicated simultaneously. If there
would have been an isolate in the above example, then no arrow would have been drawn for the
concerned person.
Sociogram for question no. 1
The learners are required to prepare and work out the sociometric, sociogram, sociometric star,
mutuals, cliques and isolates for all the rest of criterion based responses in a similar pattern
The following instructions should be given, “The following are some of the questions, on the
basis of which you have to prepare a sociometric chart, sociogram and then you are required to
find out the sociometric star, isolates, mutuals, and cliques for each of the following criteria You
have to select only one person for each mentioned question”. Some of the questions are given
below:
19
Whom in this room would you choose…
1) for advice on the best suited mobile phone for you?
2) to generate creative ideas for your tasks?
3) for support in taking risks?
4) to transmit messages accurately?
5) for help in dealing with a difficult situations?
6) to work with you?
7) to get reliable information on top management decisions?
8) to keep a confidence?
9) who would recognize your effort and your job?
10) who has shown the most growth in the past year?
On the basis of the responses of each member in the group, the learner has to find out the star,
isolates, mutuals and cliques. He/ she has to then prepare a sociometric chart and sociogram.
¾ Problem Behaviour Checklist

The problem behavior checklist was devised to identify the emotional and conduct problems of
children. A total of 100 items were prepared in the form of symptoms which had to be rated on
a three point scale, with 1,2, and 3 indicative of ‘no’, ‘average’ and ‘high’ problem behavior. As
per ICD-10, specific diagnostic criteria were included separately for emotional, conduct and
mixed disorders of conduct and emotions. These 100 items were given to 25 psychologist and
25 psychiatrists. Using the internal consistency method, only those items were chosen on which
the rating was the same amongst all the 50 experts. Using this principle, 58 items were selected
from a total of 100 items. Thus, there are 58 items in the scale to be responded by the parents
with ‘most often’, ‘occasionally’ and ‘never’. These were then administered to a group of 300
married couples from the normal population, (N= 600) and 100 couples from psychiatric
(pathological) population (N=200) and the reliability and validity were worked out.
¾ Span of Attention Experiment

Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment
while ignoring other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of processing
resources.
When the nature of various stimulus items presented randomly is the same, the maximum number
of items or objects grasped by a person is called his span of attention. As gestalt psychologist
have shown human minds tends to take things as a whole. Where it fails to apprehend the whole,
it goes to parts rather smaller wholes. When we come across a word PSYCHOLOGY we usually
have a glance of this letter grouping plus few initial letters and read the word. It is interesting to
note that if any letter in the middle, say “o” is missing, still the word is correctly perceived. This
overlooking of typographical errors is called proof reader’s illusion.
Attention plays a important role in perception, cognition, and action, influencing the choices an
individual make. The study of attention has been of interest to the field of psychology since its
earliest days.
20
Wilhelm Wundt was one of the main persons to contribute to the study of attention. The
relationship between attention and perception is one of the first topics to be studied in experimental
psychology. Wundt held that attention was an inner activity that caused ideas to be present to
differing degrees in consciousness. Wundt suggested that the focus of attention could narrow or
widen. During late 19th century, Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) argued that attention is
necessary for visual perception. Using himself as a subject and pages of briefly visible printed
letters as stimuli, he found that attention could be directed in advance of the stimulus presentation
to a particular region of the page, even though the eyes were kept fixed at a central point. He also
found that attention was limited. William James’s in his book on Principles of Psychology (1980)
described as taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one of what seem several
simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought.
Any experiment based on span of attention, using tachistoscope, can be conducted by the learners.
¾ Memory Experiment
Memory is an ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. In other words, it is
also explained as the process of encoding, storage and retrieval of information. Encoding refers
to transformation of information in form of codes Storage i\s the process of putting the coded
information in to the memory and retrieval is the process of gaining access to the coded, stored
information. There are three types of memory based on the process of collecting and storage of
information, they are discussed as follows:
• Sensory memory: We receive several information from our environment through different
sense organs (for example, visual, auditory etc.) at a particular time. For instance, while
you are listening to the instructor, you are also looking at the instructor at the same time. We
pay attention to some information and reject others. The duration of information held here
is for few seconds.
• Short term memory- Once we pay attention to the selected information it is passed on to
the short term memory. At this juncture the information received through sensory memory
is held up to 30 seconds. The best example of this memory is the ‘serial position effect’. If
subjects are said to listen to certain words and then recall them instantly, it has been found
that the subjects will recall those items which appeared at the end (which is known as
recency effect) and the beginning (which is known as primacy effect) of the list, the items
encountered most recently are remembered well.
• Long term memory- Some of the information reaching short term memory is processed by
being rehearsed, that is, by having attention focused on it, perhaps by constantly
repeating the words. The duration of information stored in long tem memory can be for
life time. The information processed and stored here is systematically organised.
In 1885, Ebbinghaus found that the effects of memory can be seen more pragmatically with the
help of nonsense syllables (i.e., meaning less words like- mus, duv, tun). He found that if the
subjects are given to memorize a list of given words, and then asked to recall them after a certain
time period, the subjects could recall non sense syllables more effectively and quickly in
comparison to the meaningful words. He was later on criticized by Bartlett (1932) who said that
it is not only the non sense syllables, but the cognition, social and experimental environment
which equally effects memory, so these aspects should also be taken care of while measuring
memory. Several ways of measuring memory were developed later on. Today, one of the classic
21
techniques of measuring memory is the experiments done with the help of memory drum. Memory
drum is an apparatus which is cylindrical in shape and can be rotated clock wise. It is basically
a mechanical device for the serial presentation of syllables or words for regulated periods and at
regulated intervals.
Any experiment based on memory, using memory drum, can be conducted by the learners.
7.0 CONDUCTION OF TERM END EXAMINATION

IN MPCL 007
Duration: 3 hours
Conduction of the examination: The examination has to be conducted in the respective study
centres by the Regional Centres. During the examination, the learner will conduct the practicals
and submit the answer sheet.
The practical may be allotted to the learner by the way of lot system. Chits with names of various
practicals may be prepared before hand and the learner may be asked to pick one at the time of
the examination. S/he may then collect the test/ experiment material and start conducting the
practical. S/he will have to bring one subject along with her/him. Once the learner finishes
conducting the practical, s/he will have to report the findings in the answer sheet. The answer
sheet is then to be submitted to the internal examiner. This will be followed by the viva voce.
Viva voce will be conducted by both the internal examiner and the external examiner.
22
APPENDIX
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Ms/ Mr.______________________________________________________
of MA Psychology First Year has conducted and successfully completed the practical work in
MPCL- 007 Practicum: Experimental Psychology and Psychological Testing.
Signature of the Learner Signature of Academic Counsellor
Name: Name:
Enrolment No.: Designation:
Name of the Study Centre: Place:
Regional Centre: Date:
Place:
Date:
23

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Cognitive Psychology

UNIT 1 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

1.2 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: AN

1.3 RESEARCH METHODS IN COGNITIVE

1.3.1 Goals of Research

1.3.2 Distinctive Research Methods

i) Experiments on Human Behaviour: In controlled experimental designs,

ii) Psychobiological Research: Through psychobiological research,

iii) Self-Reports, Case Studies, and Naturalistic Observation: Individual

iv) Computer Simulations and Artificial Intelligence: Digital computers

Cognitive psychologists often broaden and deepen their understanding of

1.4 DOMAINS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Fig. 1.1: Principal research areas of cognitive psychology

v) Consciousness: Consciousness is defined as “the current awareness, of

vii) Representation of Knowledge: Fundamental of all human cognition is the

x) Developmental Psychology: Developmental psychology is another important

1.5 A BRIEF HISTORY OF COGNITIVE

1.5.1 Early Thoughts on Thinking

1.5.2 Cognition in the Renaissance and Beyond

1.5.3 Cognitive Psychology in Early Twentieth Century

Psychological studies of mental processes as conceptualised in the late nineteenth

Also in 1932 Sir Frederick Bartlett from Cambridge University wrote

1.5.4 Cognitive Psychology—As it is Today

The emergence of communication theory. Communication theory prompted

Modem linguistics. New ways of viewing language and grammatical structure

Memory research. Research in verbal learning and semantic organisation provided

Computer science and other technological advances. Computer science, and

Cognitive development. Psychologists interested in development psychology

From the earliest concepts of representational knowledge to recent research,

1.6 KEY ISSUES IN THE STUDY OF COGNITIVE

Nature versus Nurture – Which is more influential in human cognition – nature

Rationalism versus Empiricism – How should we discover the truth about

Structures versus Processes - Should we study the structures (contents, attributes,

Domain generality versus Domain specificity – Are the processes we observe

Validity of causal inferences versus Ecological validity – Should we study

Applied versus Basic research – Should we conduct research into fundamental

1.7 KEY IDEAS IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

1.7.1 Computer Metaphor and Human Cognition

However, what computers do well (perform high-speed mathematical functions

1.7.2 Cognitive Science

1.7.3 Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology

1.8 LET US SUM UP

Cognitive psychology is interested in what is generally called mental phenomena.

1.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES

The sensory memory retains an exact copy of what is seen or heard

ii) Short-Term Memory (STM) - After entering sensory memory, a limited

iii) Long-Term Memory (LTM) - This is relatively permanent storage.

Schemas are mental models of the world. Information in LTM is stored in

Since LTM storage is organised into schemas, instructional designers should

LTM also has a strong influence on perception through top-down processing -

2.3 COGNITIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING

2.3.1 Principles of the Information Processing

A second principle is that a control mechanism is required to oversee the encoding,

A third principle is that there is a two-way flow of information as we try to make

A fourth principle generally accepted by cognitive psychologists is that the human

2.4 INFORMATION PROCESSING IN LEARNING

2.4.1 Cognitive Information Processing Model (CIP) of

2.4.2 Development of Memory and Information Processing

Structuring and Organising - Structuring and organising information occur as

One of the most important information processing capacities a child develops is

2.5 THEORIES OF INFORMATION PROCESSING

2.5.1 Designing Instruction that Incorporates Best Practices

If learning is to occur, educators must ensure that new information is processed