Unit 1- Introduction to Psychology:

Course contents
 Nature and modern history of Psychology
 Common sense and psychology
 Similarities and differences with other social sciences
 Perspectives of psychology (Biological perspective, cognitive perspective, behavioral
perspective, Psychodynamic and humanistic perspective, Sociocultural perspective and
evolutionary perspective)
 Scientific method and psychological research

Now let us define the courses in details

Psychology- its meaning, definitions, nature and modern history.

Definitions and descriptions
One can ask the questions what psychology is about and he can also try to examine it. In his
attempt to examine it he can find several definitions- early definitions to modern definitions. To
define psychology in precise terms is a difficult task as a word is having a long history and is
also combined with other faculties like religion and philosophy. Further psychology is defined in
a variety of ways.
Psychologists, for very long time have been searching for a complete and satisfactory definition
of psychology. It seems that search is still going on. But a search for correct knowledge is a
never ending process. The term psychology can only be understood if we explain it with early
definitions and the modern definitions.
Early definition
1. In terms of study of soul- The earliest attempts at defining psychology owe their origin
to the most mysterious and philosophical concept namely, that of soul. ‘Psychology’
word comes from Greek word ‘Psukhe’(psyche) and ‘logus’. ‘Psukhe’(psyche) means
soul and ‘logus’ means reason or science. On this base earlier psychology was called as a
science of soul. Thus psychology was first defined as the “science of soul”. - According
to earlier psychologists, the function of psychology was to study the nature, origin and
destiny of the human soul. But soul is something metaphysical. It cannot be seen,
observed and touched and we cannot make scientific experiments on soul. So this
definition was rejected by time.

Consequently, to philosophers living 400 to 300 B.C., psychology was the “study of the
soul.” This was the meaning given by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
 In view of the fact that these thinkers, particularly Socrates and Plato, did not believe that
animals have souls, it becomes evident why for many centuries psychology’s main
attention has been given to human beings.

So this definition was rejected when the study of soul was entirely difficult and we
cannot conduct experiment and scientific studies on it.
2. In terms of study of mind- What is soul? How can it be studied? The inability to find
clear answers to such questions led some ancient Greek Philosophers to define,
psychology as the study of mind.

At this stage, the word Psyche has acquired the meaning of mind and it is used in the
definition. Therefore, psychology was defined as the study of the mind. William James
(1891) says, “psychology is the science of mental life”. It is also stated that psychology is
mainly concerned with mental activities. Although the word mind was less mysterious
and vague than soul, yet it also faced the same questions, namely: What is mind? How
can it be studied? Consequently, this definition was also rejected.

3. In terms of the study of consciousness- The failure to define the terms soul and mind
persuaded the philosophers and psychologists to search for some other suitable
definitions.

William James in his book’ principles of psychology’ published in 1890 defined

psychology as “the description and explanation of state of consciousness as such”

Wilhelm Wundt (1832- 1920) who established the first psychology laboratory at the
University of Leipzig in Germany and his disciple Edward Bradford Titchener also
concluded to define psychology as the science of consciousness. According to these
psychologists, the description and explanation of the states of consciousness is the task of
psychology which is usually done by the instrument introspection- process of looking
within.

This definition was also rejected on the ground that: -

a. It has a very narrow vision on account of its not talking about the subconscious and
unconscious activities of the mind.
b. The introspection method for the study of the conscious activity of the mind proved
the most subjective and unscientific method.
c. It couldn’t include the study of the consciousness of animals.

Any definition involving consciousness is subjected to severe criticism, because, it is

private and personal in an individual. If the meaning of consciousness is awareness,
only the concerned individual knows it. Some associate consciousness with emotions.
 While defining emotions, it is said that it is stirred up state of consciousness. The
organism or the human individual as a whole is involved in it.
Consciousness is also often associated with unconsciousness. A small child or a baby
largely in a state of unconsciousness of the world in which he lives. A man is
unconsciousness of many of his actions. While he is writing, he knows that he is
writing, but he does not know that he is also breathing and his lungs are in action. He
is not ware of or conscious of the actions of his kidney or the actions of digestive
organs.
When a man goes to sleep he goes into unconsciousness, but it does not mean he is
inactive. Whether it is consciousness or unconsciousness, it is not subjected to a
systematic study. We do not know what a man thinks or imagines or seeing a strange
object or event, unless he himself tells us. Therefore, it is not subjected for objective
observation. Gradually the definition of psychology for the study of consciousness
was rejected.

4. In terms of study of behavior-

From the 19th century, with the advent of the modern era of scientific investigations and
thoughts, psychology began to be defined in terms of the study pf behavior.

The first man to define psychology as the science of behavior was an English
psychologist, William McDougall. In his book ‘psychological psychology’, published in
1905, he wrote,” psychology may bet the best and most comprehensively defined as the
positive science of the conduct of living creatures.” Later on 1908, in his book
‘introduction to social psychology’, he added the word behavior to his definition and
finally in his book, ‘An outline of psychology’ gave the4 following meaningful
definition: - “psychology is a science which aims to give us better understanding and
control of the behavior of the organism as a whole.” (1949, p- 38)

In the same period, an American professor Walter Bowers Pillsbury in his book’
essentials of psychology’, published in 1911 gave the same behavioral definition of the
term psychology in the words: - “psychology may be most satisfactorily defined as the
science of human behavior”.

However, in later years in 1913, J.B. Watson, the father of the behaviorist school,
proposed to elaborate the concept of the term behavior including it in both human and
animal behavior and consequently he defined psychology as “the science of behavior
“(taking into account the human as well as animal behavior.)

Taking cues from the earlier works, contemporary psychologists and various other writers
have explained and defined psychology as science of behavior using a somewhat
different vocabulary as follows:
 N.L. Munn says,” psychology is the science and the properly trained psychologists is a
scientist, or at least a practitioner who uses scientific method and information resulting
from scientific investigation (1967, p-4).

Similarly, Desiderato, Howieson and Jackson write, ‘psychology can be broadly defined
as the investigation of human and animal behavior and the mental and physiological
processes associated with the behavior’.

Conclusion regarding definitions

The above account of definitions regarding the subject psychology clearly reveals that the
meaning and concept of this subject has frequently changed its shape based on its
dependence upon philosophical or scientific thinking, commenting over this aspect,
Woodworth (1948) says, “first psychology lost its soul, then its mind, then it lost
consciousness. It still has behavior of sort”

Although even at this final stage there seems no agreement over universal definitions of
psychology, yet the definition may generally be viewed to center around a common pivot
of behavior. Consequently, it may be concluded that psychology is a science of behavior
or scientific study of the behavioral activities and experiences. The questions which
remain unanswered at this stage are: -

i. What do we actually mean by the term behavior?

ii. What is the nature of subject psychology? Is it a science? If yes, then what kind of
science is it?

Meaning of the term behavior

The term behavior is taken in its totality connoting a wide and comprehensive meaning as
detailed below: -
a. “Any manifestation of life is activity”, says Woodworth (1948) and behavior is a
collective name for those activities. Therefore, the term behavior includes all the motor or
conative activities (like walking, swimming, dancing, etc.), cognitive activities (like
thinking, reasoning, imaging etc.) and affective activities (like feeling happy, sad and
angry etc.)
b. It includes not only the conscious behavior and activities of the human mind but also the
sub conscious and unconscious. Consequently, it covers not only the overt behavior but
also the covert behavior involving all the inner experiences and mental process.
c. It is not limited to the study of the human behavior. The behavior of the animals, insects,
birds and even plants is also covered in the subject psychology. Therefore, when we talk
about the study of the behavior in psychology, we mean to study the behavior of all living
organism in all walks of their life.
In a nutshell, the term behavior refers to the entire life activities and experiences of all the
living organisms.

Modern definition of Psychology

a. “Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes of human

and animal’’

In this definition behavior, mental processes and scientific concepts are important.

Behavior includes all of our outward actions and reactions, such as talking, facial
expressions and movements. Behavior includes anything a person or animal does that
can be observed in some way.

Mental processes refer to all the internal, covert activity of our minds, such as thinking,
feeling, learning, and remembering. The mental processes are called cognitive processes.

Why scientific?

To study behavior and mental processes in both humans and animals, psychologists have
to observe them systematically and objectively. By using scientific methods, psychologists
are able to find answers to questions about the nature of human behavior and thought
processes.

Modern psychology is considered a science because it bases its conclusions on data,

information obtained by systematic observations. The research methods used by
psychology are covered in next chapter.
Behavior has three aspects:
a. cognitive processes,
b. emotional states, and
c. actions.

Cognitive processes refer to what an individual think. Emotional states refer to what
an individual feel. Actions refer to what an individual do. The modern psychology
studies behavior and mental process of organism is any living creature.

Consequently, the behavior of dogs, rats, pigeons, and monkeys can be legitimately
included in the study of psychology. Such organisms have indeed been subjects in
psychology experiments. However, traditionally the principal focus of psychology
has been humans. When animals are used in experiments, the implicit goal is often to
 explore how such basic processes as learning and motivation, as studied in animals,
can cast a light on our understanding of human behavior.

Some of the more recent definitions of Psychology, in chronological order, are as

follows:

1. Psychology is the science of human and animal behavior. It includes the

application of this science to human problems. (Morgan et al., 1986)
2. The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. (Feldman,1996)
3. The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and how they are affected
by an organism’s physical state, mental state and external environment (Tavris
and Wade, 1997)
4. Psychology is all about human behavior, about mental processes, and about the
context in which behavior and mental processes occur. (Das, 1998)
5. The science of behavior and mental processes. (Lahey,1998)
6. The science of behavior and cognitive processes. (Baron, 1999)
7. Scientific study of behavior and mind. (Nairne, 2003)
8. A science in which behavioral and other evidence is used to understand the
internal processes leading people (and members of other species) to behave as
they do. (Eysenck, 2004)
9. The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. (Ciccarelli & Meyer,2006;
Coon & Mitterer, 2007, 2008)
10. The science that studies behavior and mental processes. (Rathus,2008)

In short modern definition of Psychology focuses on:

 Basically Psychology is a science, and

 Psychology studies behavior and mental processes by using scientific
methods.

Nature of psychology

It is an accepted reality that the nature of the subject psychology is quite scientific. This
fact has been properly recognized by the eminent psychologists and thinkers as may be
inferred out of the definition of psychology (in terms of the scientific study or science of
behavior) given by them in the earlier pages. However, let us try to demonstrate why the
subject psychology should be called as a science. In general, we may call the nature of
subject scientific, if it fulfills the following criteria: -

i. Possesses a body of facts and is able to support it through universal laws and
principle
 ii. Emphasis on search for truth
iii. Doesn’t believe in hearsay, stereotypes, or superstitions.
iv. Believe in cause and effect relationships
v. Adopts the method of objective investigation, systematic and controlled
observation and scientific approach.
vi. Stands for the generalization, verifiability and modifications of the observed
results or deduced phenomena
vii. Helps in predicting the future developments
viii. Is able to turn its theory into practice by having its applied aspects

Let us summarize the nature of psychology in the light of abovementioned criteria.

a. Psychology possesses a well-organized theory which is supported by the relevant
psychological laws and principles.
b. It has its applied aspects in the form of various branches of applied psychology like
industrial, legal, clinical, educational psychology and more.
c. It believes that every behavior has its roots, the factors of its causing, influencing or
nurturing.
d. Subjective ideas and opinions have little or no weight in carrying out the study of
behavior in the subject of psychology. It emphasizes on the search for the truth by
advocating objectivity, reliability and validity in the assessment of the behavior.
e. The methods and techniques employed in the study of the behavior in psychology are
quite scientific. The steps like analysis of behavior, formulation of hypothesis, objective
observation or controlled experimentation, deduction, verification and generalization of
the results etc.; provide the solid base for the scientific method and approach in the
subject psychology.
f. The results of the study of behavior always stand for their verifications in similar other
conditions by other experimenters and observers. These results may be accepted,
modified or altered in the light of the recently available data and findings.
g. The established facts, principles and laws of the behavior in the subject psychology enjoy
universal applicability inn practical life, other bodies of the knowledge and future
researches in its own field.
h. The appropriate description as well as quantification of behavior is possible through the
help of psychology. We may make trustworthy predictions about the organism in the light
of the studied behavior.

On the basis of the above nature, it may be established beyond doubt that psychology is a
science. Its nature is quite scientific and not philosophical or mysterious as was supposed to be in
days or yore.
Psychology as a science
What kind of science is psychology?
We can divide all the sciences into two broad categories – positive and normative sciences.
While physical and life sciences are termed as positive sciences, the subjects like logic,
philosophy and ethics are included in the category of natural sciences.
Psychology in this sense unquestionably falls into the category of positive sciences.
What kind of positive science?
The question here is, can we equate psychology, the science of behavior with the positive
sciences like physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, astronomy and mathematics etc.? The answer
lies in the negative. In comparison with these sciences, psychology is not developed and perfect
science. In fact, it is a behavioral science which deals with the behavior of organism. This
behavior is quite dynamic and unpredictable. Methods of this are also not so absolute and
objective as adopted by natural sciences. On the other hand, physical and chemical reactions
studied by natural sciences are always bound to be more exact, accurate and objective than the
studies of behavior in psychology.
Consequently, it is not proper to equate psychology with the physical and natural sciences.
Although psychology is striving hard in its techniques and approach to be as objective, exact and
accurate as possible, it has yet to attain the position and status of these sciences. Thus in its true
senses, it can be categorized as a developing positive science rather than a developed one.
Hence, in the ultimate analysis for the understanding, the meaning and nature of the subject
psychology, we can define as a developing positive science of behavior.
Psychology has certain characteristics which make it a science.
These characteristics are:
1. Psychology uses scientific methods: Psychologists conduct experiments in strictly
controlled conditions. Psychological laboratories are used to observe any phenomenon to
establish cause and effect relationship.
2. Psychology is factual: It is not based on values but facts. Psychological information is
based on observations and experiments.
3. Psychology is verifiable: Most of the psychological principles can be verified by
researchers by using scientific methods.
4. Cause effect relationship: It is a characteristic of science to establish cause-effect
relationship and derive universal principles for generalization. Psychology also tries to
develop cause and effect relationship between different variables under study and then
formulate theories based on the findings.
5. Laws of psychology are universal: The laws of psychology are considered to be universal
in their application. These laws are applicable to all organisms at all times under similar
conditions.
 6. Psychology can predict human behavior: By discovering the cause effect relationship
psychologist can predict human behavior. Many psychological tests are conducted to
predict the behavior.
Modern history of psychology
Although psychology did not exist in its present form thousands of years ago, its application can
be traced even at that stage of history. The following facts indicate that man was always
interested in understanding and managing psyche and behavior, and was capable of controlling
and modifying it:
Domestication of dogs was practiced even 10,000 years ago. Babylonians made speculation
about etiology of epilepsy and tried to cure it accordingly. Egyptians performed crude brain
surgery thousands of years ago. Evidence is available through an examination of ancient human
skeletons, that ‘trephining’ was performed even half a million years ago; trephining was a
procedure whereby a hole was drilled into the skull of a mental patient. This was done in order to
let the evil spirits or demons escape from the sufferer’s body. The basic assumption was that
abnormal behavior was caused by supernatural beings. Such evidence suggests that man sought
explanations of human behavior, and tried to control it according to the explanation he believed
in. Ancient explanations centered on the supernatural: gods, evil spirits, demons etc.
Today psychology is considered as the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes.
But the case was always not so. Initially the soul; of man interested the philosophers, then mind
and conscious experience, and lastly observable behavior.
In 1590, Rudolf Goeckel used the term “psychology”. This word is the combination of two
Greek words “psyche” and “logos”, the former means the “soul” and the later “discursive
knowledge”. Thus literally, psychology means the science of soul. Aristotle gave a very
important place to soul in human life. Before 300 B.C.E the Greek naturalist and philosopher
Aristotle spoke about learning memory, motivation, emotion perception and personality. Some of
the ideas put forward by him were like heavy meal produces gases and it makes us sleepy. It also
collects heat and surrounds heart which becomes a source of personality. Though, in modern
times, we laugh at Aristotle’s guesses but we have to acknowledge that at least he was asking
right questions.

Psychology grew out of the philosophical tradition of thinking about the mind and body.
Psychology did not only emerge from philosophy. It has its roots in natural sciences of biology
and physiology as well.

Psychology as a science emerged in the late 19th century with the work of Charles Darwin (1809-
82). Darwin proposed the principle of natural selection in his book on the origin of species in
which he described the evolutionary process as favoring an organism’s traits or characteristics
that are best adapted to reproduce and survive. In the 19th century, physiologist also gave a boost
to the new field of psychology.

Philosophy Natural sciences

Psychology

Johannes Muller (1801-58), a German psychologist, proposed that an important role is to

associate incoming sensory information with appropriate motor response.
In the late 19th century, psychology had emerged as a scientific discipline. However, modern
psychology was born in December 1879 at the University of Leipzig, Germany with the work of
Wilhelm Wundt. In his experiment, he mentioned that every mental process has a particular
structure and could be studied qualitatively, i.e. the mental process could be measured.
Gradually, the study of psychology was organized around different schools of thoughts that
are as follows:
Structuralism:
 Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Tichener (1867-1927) was Structuralism focused on the
the pioneer contributor in the field of structuralism. fundamental elements that form the
 The school of thought that focused upon the study of foundations of thinking,
mind and conscious experience: consciousness, consciousness, emotions and other
thinking, and emotions. They used introspection as their kinds of mental states and activities.
method of study. Structuralism entailed early concepts
 Focused upon the structure and operations of the mind of psychology and primarily used the
rather than studying whole things and phenomenon. procedure called introspection (in
Hence named as Structuralism. which the subjects were asked to
 The first well-formed system of psychology that laid describe in detail what they were
the foundations for the scientific and experimentally experiencing when they were exposed
oriented study of mind and mental processes. to a stimulus) in order to study the
 Emerged from the work of Wilhelm Wundt who set up mind.
the first psychology laboratory at Leipzig, Germany, in
1879 to study the “building blocks of the mind”, and is generally known as the founder of
“scientific psychology”. He proposed materialism because he did not think a science
could be operated solely through physical investigations of the brain. He felt that the
study of mind must be a science of experience. He supported the existence of the science
of psychology quite independent of biology and physiology. He believed that psychology
must have an experimental side.
  He limited the subject matter of psychology to the study of conscious experience. The
elements of conscious experience were considered to be of two kinds. These are:
1. Sensations: sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touch, which arise from stimulation of
the sense organs;
2. Feelings: love, fear, joy, and so on

He believed that all conscious experiences are merely intricate combinations of

elemental sensations i.e. sensory knowledge is the building block of our intellect.
Sensations combine to become conscious experiences as basic elements are composed
to form complex substances in chemistry. For example, an experience such as
meeting and recognizing an old friend in the street was thought to be composed of
many independent sensations, feelings and images, which were drawn together and
synthesized by the mind.
 Its method of study was introspection.
1. In introspection people are taught, trained to observe and report the 'content' or
'elements' of awareness in a particular situation. For example; people are presented
with stimulus such as a sentence on a card and asked to describe in their own words
their own experiences.
2. Introspection is detailed description and how people perceive things in the world.
3. Nowadays introspection as a method is rarely used in some problem-solving and
psycholinguistic experiments. Otherwise as an approach it is outdated.

Criticism
This school of thought has been criticized on various grounds i.e.
 It was Reductionist
 It reduced all complex human experience to simple sensations
 It was Elementalistic.
The structuraralists sought to look at individual elements first, and then combine parts
into a whole, rather than study the variety of behavior directly.
 It was Mentalistic.
Structuralism studied only verbal reports of human conscious experience and awareness,
ignoring the study of subjects who could not report their introspection.
Functionalism:
It is an approach that concentrated on what the mind does; the functions of mental
activity, and the role of behavior in allowing people to adapt to their environments. This
school founded by the American psychologist William James, became prominent in
the1900s. It was proposed by William James (1842-1910), who studied the functions of
mind and behavior in adapting to the environment. James and his followers were looking
at what goes on in a person’s interaction with the outside world. James considered the
mind as flexible and fluid, characterized by constant change.
  Founded by William James, also known as the founder of American Psychology.
 Emphasized “function” rather than “Structure” of human consciousness i.e., what the
mind does
 Examined the ways in which behavior allows people to satisfy their needs
 Functionalists were especially interested in education and applied psychology.
 It focused on what the mind does on the functions of mental activity and the role of
behavior in allowing people to adapt to their environment.
 Functionalism was strongly influenced by biology. The work and ideas of Charles
Darwin had a great impact on the emergence of functional psychology. According to
Darwin’s theory of evolution, living organisms change and develop over time through a
process of natural selection. Organisms whose characteristics were best suited to their
environment survived and reproduced. While organisms whose characteristics were less
adaptable died out. Survivors would transmit to the next generation those characteristics
that enabled them to survive.
 William James was greatly influenced by Darwin. James held that the function of
consciousness was to enable humans to behave in ways that would act survival through
adaptation to the environment. Where these adaptive behaviors were repeated frequently
they became habits. Habits provide stability and predictability in society

Method of Investigation
Observation, interviews, and testing of a person over a long period of time: made possible to
observe and record the subject’s development and his reaction to different circumstance.

Behaviorism:
The psychological model that focuses on the overt, observable, behavior. The model grew
out of the rejection of psychology’s early emphasis on the inner working of the mind,
suggesting instead that observable behavior should be the focus of the field. John B.
Watson was the first person that advocated the behavioral approach. This is a
psychological approach that considers the relationship between behavior and
environmental stimuli as the focus of study; observable behavior is what psychology
should be studying, understanding, and explaining. This approach dominated psychology
for most of the 20th century

 It was developed by J.B. Watson (1878- 1958), who proposed an objective study of
observable behavior. It is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its
theoretical goal is the prediction of control of behavior.
 John Watson (1878-1958) revolutionized psychology by changing the subject matter of
psychology from the study of conscious experience to the study of behavior.
  Watson believed that the study of psychology should be about observable behavior and
its aim should be to describe, predict, understand and control behavior.
 He contended that psychologists should never use the terms consciousness, mental states,
introspection, imagery and the like.
 Followers of behaviorism did not reject the existence of mind and consciousness. Rather,
they viewed these concepts as impossible to observe and contributing little to a scientific
approach to psychology.
 Watson’s focus on the study of observable behavior enabled to formulate clear
hypotheses, which could be tested by experimentation.
 Watson’s view of learning relied to a great extent on Pavlov’s account of classical
conditioning. Accordingly, it is possible to break down and analyze a certain behavior
into stimulus-response units.
 Much of the behaviorists’ research into learning was carried out on animals, rather than
humans; partly because animals were easy to obtain and greater control could be
exercised over their environment, and partly because they accepted the idea that humans
and animals are related both physiologically and behaviorally.
 The work of John Watson contributed much to the use of more objective and systematic
methods to the study of human behavior.
The behaviorists specifically study:
 Observable/ overt behavior
 Specific measurable responses
 How particular types of behaviors are controlled by particular types of environmental
stimuli
Gestalt:
It is an approach that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a
‘‘whole” sense rather than on the individual elements of perception. Instead of
considering the individual parts that make up thinking, gestalt psychologists took the
opposite track. They concentrated on how people consider individual elements as units or
wholes. Their contribution in understanding the perceptual phenomena is very
significant.

It was developed by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka (1886- 1941). It is
referred to how a thing had been ‘put together (gestalt) and often translated as ‘pattern’ or
‘configuration’ in psychology.
It precepts, formulated as a reaction against automatic orientation of previous theories,
emphasized that the whole of anything is different from the sum of its parts; organisms tends to
perceive entire patters or configurations rather than bits and pieces. This school focused on a
holistic view and consciousness. Perception was the main area of study.
  An approach that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a ‘‘whole”
sense rather than on the individual elements of perception. Instead of considering the
individual parts that make up thinking, gestalt psychologists concentrated on how people
consider individual elements as units or wholes. They made great contributions to the
understanding of the perceptual phenomena.
 This school developed as a reaction to structuralism in the early 1900s
 In contrast to the structuralist approach of breaking down conscious experience into
elements, or focusing upon the structure, the Gestalt school emphasized the significance
of studying any phenomenon in its overall form.
 The word gestalt means “Configuration”
 The main concept that the Gestaltists posed was that the “WHOLE” is more than the sum
of its parts, and it is different from it too.
 They concentrated on how people consider individual elements together as units or
wholes • The concept of Gestalt applies to everything, objects, ideas, thinking processes
and human relationships
 Any phenomenon in its entirety may be much greater than when it is seen in a
disintegrated form
 Three German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler were
regarded as the founders of gestalt school as each one of them had done significant work
in his respective field.
Psychoanalysis:
It accepted that human beings are motivated by unconscious instincts and urges that are
not available to the rational, conscious part of our mind. To uncover the unconscious, he
developed a technique, called psychoanalysis, in which the patient lies on a couch,
recounts dreams, and says whatever comes to mind which is termed as free association.
The psychoanalyst sorts through half remembered scenes, broken trains of thoughts and
the like and attempts to reconstruct the past experiences that shape the patient’s present
behavior.

Freud held that personality develops in a series of critical stages during the first few
years of life. If we successfully resolve the conflicts that we encounter at each of these
stages, we can avoid psychological problems in later life. But if we become ‘fixated’ at
any one of these stages, we may carry related feelings of anxiety or exaggerated fears
with us in to adulthood.

Freud maintained that many unconscious desires and conflicts have their roots in sexual
repression. The view that unconscious conflicts within the individual influence much
human thought and action is known as psychoanalytic psychology.

 The Viennese neurologist and psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) pioneered the
psychoanalytic perspective.
  Freud said that conscious experiences are only the tip of the Iceberg. Beneath the
conscious experience is Primitive biological urges that seek expression but which are in
conflict with the norms and morality of the society.
 These unconscious motivations and conflicts have powerful influences on our conscious
thoughts and actions. Therefore, they are responsible for much of human behavior
including physiological problems. According to Freud, all behavior whether normal or
abnormal is influenced by the unconscious mind. This belief is called psychic
determinism.
 Therapy is based on the premise that the roots of all abnormal behavior reside as
unresolved conflicts in the unconscious.
 To avoid these conflicts, people use defense mechanisms
 Psychoanalysis is an intensive, long term, psychotherapeutic procedure.
 Requires long sessions over extended periods----- may be years
 Better suited to intelligent individuals.
 Involves a special relationship between the therapist and the patient
According to Freud the methods of studying the unconscious mind are:
a. Free association
 In this method the psychoanalyst gives the client a word and asks to reply with the
first word that comes to mind be it nonsense or irrelevant.
 The psychoanalyst makes associations and meanings between ideas, words, and
thought.
 It is a projective technique to explore the client’s unconscious thoughts.
 Kept in a comfortable position, the patient is a sked to talk aloud and say
whatever comes to his mind without considering whether or not it is relevant,
rational, or sensible
 The patient is asked to reveal even the most un desirable and strong thoughts
that have been repressed. This leads to emotion release, called ‘catharsis’.
b. Dream analysis based on case studies
 The contents of dreams are analyzed for underlying or hidden motivations.
 Dreams are viewed as indication of what a person is truly feeling within the
conscious mind. Freud said dreams are ‘the royal road to the understanding of the
unconscious.’ Remember the old proverb, which says. " Pigs dream about
corn and geese dream about maize."
Target:
 To explore unconscious motivation, conflicts, desires
Goal:
 Establishing intra psychic harmony by developing awareness of the role of the id,
reducing over compliance with super ego, and by strengthening the ego
Understanding of ‘repression’:
 The therapy gives central importance to the understanding of the manner in which
the person uses repression to handle conflict Interventions used in Psychoanalysis
Conclusion –
The concept of unconscious experience strongly initiated psychological research in modern
times. Freud’s work attracted many followers, but his theory also generated much debate and
controversy. Even among his original followers such as Carl Jung and Alfred Adler, eventually
broke away from him and developed their own modified thoughts of psychoanalytic theory.
Similarities and differences between psychology and other social sciences
Psychology is not alone in applying the scientific method to the study of behavior. The
behavioral sciences like psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, economics and
history are very closely related. However, the questions and hypotheses that guide the research in
each field differ, and consequently different methods of research are adopted.
Let us analyze the relationship of psychology with other disciplines.
a. Psychology and Economics

Similarities

 According to Marshal, ‘Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business

of life. It studies that part of the individual and social action which is most closely
connected with the attainment and use of material requisites of well-being.’

Economics is the study of man’s activities devoted to obtaining the material

means for satisfaction of his wants. Thus it can easily be concluded from the
above definitions that economics studies some activities of human beings on the
other hand psychology also studies human activities.

 The solution and clarification of an economic problem such as poverty, for

example, requires the full understanding of the psychological needs of the human
being: which is an essential concept in the theory of personality.

 There is a mutual relationship of economic conditions and social interactions. It is

a fact that economic conditions do influence social interactions and social
interactions also influence economic circumstances and conditions. Many
economic problems have a psychological aspect, for example problems of strikes,
lockouts, advertisements and propaganda, working conditions can be solved by
psychological interventions. Principles of demand and supply and law of marginal
utility are also related to human interactions which form an important part of
psychology.
 Differences

 The difference is in the approach. Economics studies the economic functions of

man but psychology is only concerned with the social interactions of man.

b. Psychology and Philosophy

The word “psychology” comes from the Greek words “psyche” and “logos”. Respectively,
these mean “soul” and “study”. Therefore, psychology means the study of the soul. In a
simple way, we could say that psychology is the science responsible for the study of
the human mind and behavior.

It aims to explain what happens in our “black box” and how these events affect our way of
acting, considering the stimuli we receive too. Psychology also aspires to understand how
people receive and interpret information that comes to them through their senses.

Now, the term philosophy comes from the Greek words “philo” and “sophia” which
mean “love of wisdom”. The purpose of philosophy is to solve problems that occur in
reality.

It focuses on the study of a variety of perhaps more transcendent problems. They include
existence, knowledge, truth, morals, beauty, the mind, and language. It generally performs
its research in a non-empirical way. It could be through conceptual analysis, mental
experiments, speculation, or other a priori methods.

Similarities between philosophy and psychology

 Psychology depends on philosophy for several reasons. First of all, philosophy

gives psychology a general vision of being human. This is the basis for a good part
of psychological theories. The inverse relationship is also true. Philosophy
sometimes uses scientific methodology to achieve its objectives. Both share
theories and objects of studies.
 History of psychology reveals that psychology was considered the study of mind.
Mind is a philosophical term. Mental concepts like deep sleep, dreams are all a
part of philosophical discussions but its logical explanations are based on the
psychological theories given by Freud.
 Another similarity is that philosophy has contributed some topics to psychology.
Some examples are sensation, perception, intelligence, memory, and will. As we
said, both share objects of study, although their ways of studying them and
the answers they give differ.
  On the other hand, philosophy fits into psychology in two ways. One, through the
relative hypotheses: the mind and proper ways of studying it. Two, through the
general principles underlying scientific research

Differences between philosophy and psychology

 Although both disciplines examine the behaviors of people, they do differ. Some
differences are in their methodologies, purposes, and whether or not they take
morality into account.
 Regarding the method, philosophy works with conceptual categories and the
relationships that exist between them. Therefore, it is open to any method.
 Psychology, on the other hand, relies on the empirical and statistical. It uses
quantitative and qualitative research. It focuses on experiments and the empirical
test of hypotheses. Experiments are a way to understand our behavior and validate
the tools, such as therapies, we have.
 Regarding the end goals of each field, philosophy has more intellectual
purposes while psychology focuses on therapy and intervention. Philosophy
creates philosophical systems or categories that serve to explain reality.
Psychology, instead of studying a whole like philosophy, seeks to isolate
individual variables of human behavior.
 Therefore, psychological theories consider our biology. One example is the study
of our brain chemistry. Furthermore, psychology considers individual differences.
After all, no one imitates the behavior of another person exactly, even in the same
circumstances.

c. Psychology and Anthropology

Similarities
 The study of mind and human behavior is called Psychology. Psychologists
investigate a diverse range of topics through their theories and research. These
topics include the relationship between the brain, behavior and subjective
experience; human development; the influence of other people on the individual’s
thoughts, feelings and behavior; psychological disorders and their treatment; the
impact of culture on the individual’s behavior and subjective experience;
differences between people in terms of their personality and intelligence; and
people’s ability to acquire, organize, remember and use knowledge to guide their
behavior. Thus for the psychologists the focus of study is upon all aspects of
human behavior: and its personal, social and cultural dimensions which will never
be complete without having the knowledge of social anthropology. Therefore, for
understanding the social processes and meanings in the world around us one has
to study social anthropology.
  Both Social Psychology and Social Anthropology deals with the manifold
relations between individuals on the one hand and groups, communities, societies
and cultures on the other hand.

Differences
 The only line of difference is that social anthropology examines the group,
psychology the individual. Social anthropologists specialize in social structure or
culture psychologists in the personality system, and in mental process such as
cognition, perception, and learning, and emotions and motives. Social
anthropologists take personality system as constant and look for variation in the
social structure as the basis of their investigations whereas, psychologists accept
the social structure as constant and look for variations in the personality system as
the basis of their analysis.
 Social anthropologists abstract and generalize at the level of the social system
whereas psychologists also abstract and generalize, but in their case at the level of
the personality system.

d. Psychology and Political Science

Similarities
 Many political problems consist psychological problem. The political battle can
be effectively carried on at all, in so far as it can be supported by a scientific
psychology.

 Political science studies political institutions, working of government laws etc.

Social psychology studies the behavior of individuals in society. Political science
studies the laws formed for the people living in the society. The laws cannot be
made without understanding the psychology of people. Political institutions exert
pressure and influence social behavior of the individuals. Thus psychology and
political science are closely related.
 Political science and psychology are closely related to each other and their
merging has given rise to a new discipline called ‘political psychology’ which
tries to use psychological theories and facts to explain and understand political
problems. The State and its political institutions are the products of the human
mind and can best be understood in terms of the mind. Government to be stable
and really popular must reflect and express the mental ideas and moral sentiments
of those who are subject to its authority; in short, it must be in harmony. In the
democratic processes the part played by social psychology is, thus, subtle. Modem
psychologists study men in groups as well as individual behavior. The study of
social psychology often has more direct relevance for the political scientist than
does individual psychology.
e. Psychology and history

Similarities
 History and Psychology are also closely linked. A historian must have to show
some psychological insights while making an analysis of the motive and actions
of men and societies. Historian work would be mere fiction unless he uses the
discoveries of modern psychology. The personal life and the environment of a
historian has a direct bearing in his decision and often import a bias to his account
and renders the much desired objectivity impossible.
 The impact of psychology on history is evident from the fact that in the past
historian inquired primarily into the origins of war and ignored the result of war.
As a result of the influence of psychology historians have under taken the study of
the results and impacts of war. An understanding of the group psychology can
enable a historian to determine the role of masses in the various revolutions such
as Jingoistic patriotism has been described as the cause of certain wars but
historian can discuss this cause with the help of the social psychology.

f. Psychology and sociology

Both sociology and social psychology are concerned with the study of social groups,
especially human groups, their organization, development, and behavior. In the broad
sense sociology may be defined as the study of human relations, or of the interactions of
individuals and of groups. But inasmuch as these relations are the outcome of group life,
we may accept as a working definition for sociology that it is the science of the origin,
development, structure, and functioning of social groups. Its point of view, its interest, is
always in the group, or in collective behavior. On the other hand, the point of view, the
interest, of psychology as ordinarily understood is in the individual and his behavior. The
problem of psychology is to explain the experience and the behavior of the individual,
while the problem of sociology is to explain the nature and the behavior of the group.

Similarities
 Sociology and Psychology are interrelated. Psychology is the study of human
behavior and thus psychology depends on sociology for understanding of human
nature.
 Sociological researches have contributed a lot to psychology. Similarly, the
sociologists also take help of psychology. They take the psychological factors into
consideration while studying changes in social structure.
 Social psychology, is a branch of psychology serves as a bridge between
psychology and sociology. It studies mental processes of man as a social being.
There exists a mutual relationship between sociology and social psychology.

Differences:
  Sociology studies society as a whole, psychology studies individual behavior of
man as a social being.
 Sociology deals with social processes whereas psychology deals with mental
process.
 Sociology studies social forms and social structure whereas psychology
concerned with the individual and his behavior.

Perspectives or approaches of Psychology:

Psychologists subscribe to many different perspectives or approaches in trying to analyze human
behavior. These perspectives have been developed over time across the history of psychology
and serve to orient researchers providing them with a frame of reference. A specific perspective
to the study of behavior is called school of psychological thought. In psychology we study
human behavior and mental processes. All perspectives are trying to explain human behavior and
mental processes. But no one perspective perfect to explain the causes of behavior and mental
processes. Through these effects psychologists have developed various perspectives in
psychology.
The various perspectives of psychology as follows:
1. Biological Approach/ perspective:
The psychological model that views behavior from the perspective of biological
functioning. The role of brain, genes, neurotransmitters, endocrine glands etc. How the
individual nerve cells are joined together, how the inheritance of certain characteristics
from parents and other ancestors’ influences behavior, how the functioning of the body
affects hopes and fears, what behaviors are due to instincts, and so on. Psychologists
using the biological model view even more complex kinds of behaviors such as
emotional responses e.g. anxiety, as having critical biological components.

2. Psychodynamic perspective:

Psychodynamic is the theory and therapy based on the work of Sigmund Freud.

Dr. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) has developed the psychodynamic perspective.

According to this perspective human behavior is motivated by various internal energies
and internal conflicts. Which are not easily accessible. We are not aware of all wishes,
thoughts, feelings, conflicts and urges and yet they may directly influence our behavior in
various ways. These are called unconscious processes.

Unconscious mind concept has coined by Freud. Sexual dissatisfaction, unfulfilled

motives, conflicts, wishes and destructive thoughts are suppressed in our unconscious
mind. But these things are not visible.
 Psychoanalytic theory assumes that maladjustment is a consequence of anxiety resulting
from unresolved conflicts and forces of which a person may be unaware. Freud
emphasized the idea that childhood experiences influence future adult behavior and that
sexual energy fuels day-to-day behavior.

3. Behavioral Perspective:

American Psychologist J. B Watson (1878-1958) challenged the functionalism as well as

psychoanalysis, with his own science of behavior, which is called behaviorism.
Behaviorism is the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only.
Behavioral perspective rejects the mind or mental processes and emphasis only on
observable and measurable behavior. That’s why J. B. Watson is called the father of
behaviorism. According to Watson for understanding the behavior it is necessary to study
the environment is which behavior occurs. Our all behavior depends on environment.
Watson believed that if we control the environment, we can modify or change the
behavior and bring expected changes in behavior.

Watson based a lot of his ideas on the work of Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov,
in his experimental work with dogs, had shown that a reflex such as salivation, which is
normally produced by actually having food in one’s mouth, could be caused to occurs in
response to a totally new and formerly unrelated stimulus, such as sound of a bell. He
would ring the bell, give the dogs food, and they would salivate. After several repetitions,
the dog would salivate to the bell before the food was presented a learned reflexive
response. This process was called conditioning.
Watson believed that every human behavior is learned. After Watson B. F. Skinner
(1904-1994) systematically expended the behaviorism. He conducted served experiments
on rat and Pigeons, and developed operant conditioning. In operant conditioning
describes learning in which a voluntary response in strengthened or weakened, depending
on its positive or negative consequences.

For example, a child who cries and rewarded by setting her his mother’s attention will cry
again in the future. Behavioral perspective focuses on how observable responses are
learned, modified, and forgotten. It usually focuses on current behavior and how it is
acquired or modified rather than inherited characteristics or early childhood experiences.
Behavioral perspective is still a major and important perspective in psychology today. It
has also influenced the development of other perspectives, such as cognitive psychology.

4. Humanistic perspective:

This is new perspective in perspective in psychology which is known as third force in

Psychology. The perspective is response to psychodynamic perspective and behavioral
perspective. In the early to mid-1990s, psychodynamic perspective and behavioral
perspective were dominant in psychology; Behaviorism was seen as a very ‘mechanical’
theory. In this theory stimulus goes in, response comes out, and what happens in the
 middle is of no interest. The environment determines behavior and the individual has no
control on it.

Humanistic perspectives focus is on people’s ability to direct their own lives. Humanist
held the view that people have “free will”, the freedom to choose their own destiny.
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Roger (1902-1987) are the founders of this
perspective. They emphasized the human potential, the ability of each person to become
the best person he or she could be. They believed that studying animals in laboratories
could not lead a better understanding of this human potential for ‘self-actualization;’ as
Maslow called it – achieving one’s full potential or actual self. In psychotherapy
humanistic perspective is still very influential and popular.

5. Bio psychological perspective:

Another new emerging perspective in psychology is biological perspective. Biological
perspective is the study of the biological bases of behavior and mental processes. In the
biological perspective, human and animal behavior is direct result of events in the body.
Hormones, brain chemicals, tumors and diseases are some of the biological causes of
behavior and mental events. For example, due to biological cause schizophrenia occurs.

6. Cognitive perspective:
This is a major force in Psychology which is emerged in 1960s. Cognitive psychology
focuses on how people think, remember, store, and use information. Earlier Gestalt
psychologists were supported to study of mental processes of learning. So, cognitive
psychology was not a new perspective. The development of computers, the work of
Piaget with children, Chomsky’s analysis of Skinner’s views of language, and discoveries
in biological psychology stimulated an interest in studying the processes of thought.
Cognitive psychology focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes,
problem solving, language and learning.

7. Sociocultural perspective:
This perspective focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture. This is
another modern perspective in psychology. Sociocultural perspective is a combination of
social psychology and cultural psychology. Social psychology is the study of groups,
social roles, social actions, and relationships. Cultural psychology is the study of cultural
norms, values and expectations.

The sociocultural perspective reminds people that how they and others behave is
influenced not only by the particular culture in which they live. For example, in a classic
study Darley and Latane (1968) found that the presence of other people actually lessened
the chances that a person in trouble would receive help. This term is called “diffusion of
responsivity.’’ Diffusion of responsibility is a tendency in which people feel that
someone else is responsible for taking action when others are present. Can we apply this
conclusion for other culture? sociocultural perspectives try to answer this question.
8. Evolutionary Perspective:
This perspective focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics that
all humans share. This perspective explains general mental strategies and traits. Such as
why we lie, how attractiveness influences mate selection, why fear of snakes is so
common, and why people like music and dancing among many others.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) first suggested evolutionary theory. In this perspective, the
mind is seen as a set of information-processing machines, designed by the same process
of natural selection. Which allow human beings to solve the problems we faced in the
early days of human evolution the problems of the early hunters and gatherers.
Evolutionary psychologists would view the human behavior of not eating bitter taste
substances as an adapting behavior that evolved as early humans came into contact with
such bitter plants. Those who ate the bitter plants would die, while those who spit them
out survived to pass their genes on to their offspring, who would pass the genes on to
their offspring, and so on, until after a long period there is an entire population of humans
that naturally avoid bitter-tasting substances.

Scientific method and psychological research

Definition and general remark

Theodoson and Teodoson in their modern dictionary of sociology (N.Y, 1969) defined research
as ‘any honest attempt to study a problem systematically or to add to man’s knowledge of a
problem.’

The methods used by psychologists in their investigations are similar to the methods used in
other scientific fields. A feature of scientific method is that data are collected in an unbiased,
objective way.

There are three main ways in which objectivity can be maximized: this can be through,
1. operational definition,
2. replication and
3. control.

Operational definition is defining exactly what particular terms mean in that particular
investigation. This enables to measure and quantify the variables under study and avoid
ambiguity.
One way to check the objectivity of findings is to see if they can be replicated. If similar results
are yielded with the same or different participants and in different contexts objectivity of
findings is maintained. This helps to construct a body of knowledge or theory.

Psychologists use theories to organize different observations and relate them in a coherent
manner. In laboratory experiment, the experimenter manipulates an independent variable and
measures its effect on a dependent variable and holds the influence of all other unwanted
variables. For example, a test of the effect of alcohol on driving ability would need to control
other extraneous variables like previous experience or drinking history.

No one best method is available for studying all aspects of human behavior and thought. Each
has advantages and limitations. In general, psychological investigations attempts to:

i. Describe mental and physical behavior;

ii. Explain the reasons for that behavior;
iii. Predict the circumstances under which it might occur again.

Regardless of the problem type the general methods employed in psychological research are:

a. Identifying and clearly stating the problem;

b. Generating hypothesis;
c. Deciding the research procedure;
d. Decide the type of data;
e. Gather the Data;
f. Analyze the data by means of statistical techniques.
g. Conclusion and recommendations.

Data gathering is influenced by factors involved in the research and the nature of the population
to be studied. When gathering data psychologists focus on variables, factors or events.

A variable is something that undergoes changes. If the variable in the research is, for example,
intensity of a tone, intensity is the variable; if difficulty of a test is the variable in a study, the
study variable is difficulty.

There are two major types of variables.

These are:
1. Independent variable: any factor whose change is expected to affect the event that is being
studied.
2. Dependent variable: the event that is expected to change when the independent variable is
altered.
 Suppose an epidemiologist wants to investigate the effect on tooth decay of the addition of
fluoride to drinking water. The independent variable in this research design is addition of
fluoride. Tooth decay is the dependent variable. Collecting all possible data is not practical.
Hence, there is a need to sample from the target population. But the sample must be: a. Large
enough to reflect the universe (population) b. Randomly selected i.e., every member of the
population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. In a random sampling, some
members are not favored over others. It is called representativeness.

Representativeness goes beyond the choice of subjects. The specific items in which people in a
study respond should be an adequate sample of possible items. Once the problem is identified,
we can use any of the following five methods. Psychology as a scientific study of human
behavior and mental processes, it involves collecting data systematically and objectively. To
accomplish this, a variety of research methods are used by researchers.

Each method has its own advantages and limitations. The following section gives a brief
description about the methods in psychology.
1. Naturalistic Observation
Psychologists and researchers use naturalistic observation to study human behavior in natural
settings. It is essentially a way of perceiving behavior as it is. This method helps to infer mental
processes of others through the observation of their external behavior. Since there is minimal
interference from the researcher, the behavior observed is more likely to be accurate,
spontaneous and varied than behavior studied in a laboratory.

Advantages
a. It is a natural and flexible procedure, and hence economical.
b. It is reliable and more accurate.
c. It is verifiable by other researchers.
d. Very useful in developmental psychologies.
e. Very useful for clinical psychologists to gather data required for understanding abnormal
behavior.

Disadvantages
a. Can be used for observing overt behaviors only.
b. It is very difficult to apply in adults as they can easily manipulate or hide their behavior.
c. Subjectivity of interpretations on the part of the observer will affect the results.
d. The success of the method depends on the ability to establish cause and effect in a proper
manner.
e. The behavior being observed is dependent on time, place and individual or groups involved.

2. Case studies

Researchers conducting a case study investigate the behavior of one person or a few persons in
depth. The concept of clinical method is included in the concept of clinical psychology which is
the art and technology of dealing with the adjustment problems of individuals for achieving
 optimum social adjustment and welfare. It is a method used for studying the behavioral
problems of maladjusted or deviant personalities which is often considered as a case. Case study
is characterized by detailed and realistic description of a case. Data pertaining to the past and
present are collected and analyzed to locate causes of maladjustment or deviation in order to
find remedies to it. The clinical set up or environment is associated with health care and
treatment of individuals who undergo treatment of physical and mental disorders. This method
can yield a great deal of detailed, descriptive information useful for forming hypotheses.

Advantages
a. It can be used for studying specific behavior of an individual or a group.
b. It studies the problems in-depth, and hence it is intensive yielding better results.
c. It is an efficient and useful method.
d. It helps in finding out the problems and its related causes, and suggests remedies to it.

Disadvantages
a. The success of this method depends on the efficiency of the researcher.
b. The area covered or the scope of the problem is often limited.
c. It focuses only on individual cases.
d. The findings of case studies cannot be generalized.

3. Surveys
Under this method data pertaining to a particular phenomenon are gathered and studied to
reach at generalizable results. For this, the phenomena under study is thoroughly analyzed in to
relevant aspects. Questions are formed and pooled so that the maximum relevant data relating
to the phenomenon can be generated for studying. Survey research generates large amount of
data quickly and inexpensively by asking a set of questions from a large number of people. The
data thus gathered are analyzed by using techniques that are appropriate for the study.

Advantages
a. Data pertaining to phenomenon can be studied on a fairly large sample or population.
b. Data can be collected from large number of people using questionnaires.
c. Fairly large detailing of data can be done by including more questions in the questionnaires.
d. Large amount of data can be collected quickly that is economical.
e. The results can be generalized.

Disadvantage
a. The quality of questions determines the accuracy of data collected. Hence, if the questions
are not prepared carefully, it may show wrong results.
b. If the sample is not a representative of population, then it may affect the results and will
give a wrong picture when generalized to the population.
c. The analysis of large amount of data is often a tedious work.
d. The response of respondents is very crucial, if they wrongly represent their responses, it
may affect the study.
4. Correlational Research
Correlational research is used to investigate the relation, correlation, between two or more
variables. Correlational research is useful for clarifying relationships between pre-existing
variables that cannot be examined by other means.
5. Experimental Research
In the experimental method one variable (independent variable) is systematically manipulated
and the effects on another variable (dependent variable) are studied, usually using both an
experimental group of subjects (participants) and a control group for comparison purposes. By
holding all other variables constant, the researcher can draw conclusions about cause and
effect. Often a neutral person is used to record data and results, so that experimenter bias does
not exist.

Advantages
a. It is scientific method of inquiry.
b. It follows an objective method of research.
c. It helps in establishing the cause and effect relationship.
d. It helps to identify the problems for remediation.

Disadvantages
a. It is conducted under controlled situations.
b. Specific situation demands specific experiments to understand the problem under study.
c. Specialized knowledge is required to conduct experiments.
d. The skill and efficiency of the researcher is very important in conducting experimental
research.
e. The researcher must have the ability to design appropriate experiments for conducting
research.