B.A. (Prog.

) Semester-IV Education

DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC CORE COURSE

Understanding Human Learning and Cognition
Study Material : Unit I-III

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

Department of Education
 Graduate Course

DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC CORE COURSE

Understanding Human Learning and Cognition
Contents
Unit-I
Lesson-1: Key Cognitive Process: Thinking, Attention and Problem Ranjan Kumar Sahoo
Solving
Lesson-2: Factors Affecting Thinking and Learning: Personal, Socio- Neeraj Kumari
Cultural, Media and Technology
Lesson-3: Socio-Cultural Factors and its Impact on Children’s Ramanand
Thinking and Learning Process
Unit-II
Lesson-4: Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Heena Chaudhary
Lesson-5: Observational Learning as Explained in the Social Cognitive Sahil Joseph Simon
Theory of Bandura Bhageshwari Sharma
Lesson-6: Learning as Conceptualised in the Information Preeti Panwar
Processing Approach
Lesson-7: Learning as a Social Process of Knowledge Construction as Heena Chaudhary
Discussed by Vygotsky
Lesson-8: Learning as a Process Associated with the Uniqueness of Sahil Joseph Simon
Individual and Evolution of Self as Proposed by Carl Rogers Bhageshwari Sharma
Unit-III
Lesson-9: Concept of Diversity and Inclusion and Associated Practices Ranjan Kumar Sahoo
with Reference to Learning and Cognition
Lesson-10: Uniqueness of Children and Adolescence in Terms of Sahil Joseph Simon
Intelligence, Creativity and Motivation Bhageshwari Sharma
Lesson-11: Children with Special Needs: Issues, Challenges and Amita Juliet Toppo
Possibilities

Editor: Course Co-ordinator:

Ranjan Kumar Sahoo Prof. Janmejoy Khuntia
Assistant Professor Professor
Department of Education School of Open Learning
SOL, University of Delhi University of Delhi

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
5, Cavalry Lane, Delhi-110007
 Lesson-1 Unit-I

Key Cognitive Process: Thinking, Attention and Problem Solving

Ranjan Kumar Sahoo

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Explain the process of thinking, attention and problem-solving.
• Discuss various types of thinking and attention.
• Distinguish between convergent and divergent thinking.
• Identify factors or determinants of thinking and attention.
• Explain various steps in problem-solving.
• Understand the strategies of effective problem-solving.

Introduction
Cognitive processes like thinking, perception, attention, memory, language, and problem-
solving are all cognitive mechanisms that differentiate humans from other organisms. There
are so many things: outcomes of the cognitive process like good poetry, story, painting,
building, computer, robot, etc and so on. In general, the difficultires and issues faced by an
individual and society are also solved through significant efforts invovlving cognitive
processes such as thinking, reasoning and problem-solving. Cognitive processes may thus be
considered to be the important instruments for the well-being and productive life of
individual as well as of society. Let us discuss all essential cognitive processes: thinking,
perception, attention, memory, language, and problem-solving behaviour of human beings
one by one.

Thinking
Humans have a remarkable ability to think, which is the foundation of all cognitive tasks or
processes. It entails manipulating and analysing data gathered from the environment. For
instance, when you look at a drawing, you are not only looking at the colour or the lines and
strokes; rather, you are moving beyond the given text in reading its context and attempting to
relate the information to your prior knowledge. Understanding the painting necessitates the
creation of new meaning that is added to your knowledge. Therefore, thinking is a complex
process. It is a higher mental mechanism in which we manipulate and analyse newly obtained
or existing information. Such manipulation and analysis occur by means of abstracting,
reasoning, imagining, problem-solving, judging, and decision-making.

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Thinking is also known as problem-solving behaviour.It is primarily structured and goal-
oriented. Any day-to-day activity, from cooking to solving a math problem, has a purpose.
One wishes to achieve the goal by planning, recalling the steps that one has familiar, or
inferring tactics if the task is unfamiliar.
Some of the definitions of thinking are as follows:
According to Mohsin, “Thinking is an implicit problem-solving behaviour.”
According to Gilmer, “Thinking is a problem-solving process in which we use ideas or
symbols in place of overt activity.”
According to Kolesnik, “Thinking is the reorganisation of concepts.”
According to Woodworth, “Thinking is mental exploration for finding out the solution of a
problem.”
According to Garrett, “Thinking is behaviour which is often implicit and hidden and in
which symbols (images, ideas, and concepts) are ordinarily employed.”
According to Ross, “Thinking is a mental activity in its cognitive aspects or mental activity
with regards to psychological objects.”
Nature of Thinking
The above discussion about the meaning and definitions of the term ‘thinking’ outlined the
following aspects of its nature:
• Thinking is essentially a cognitive activity.
• It is one of the most important aspects of one’s cognitive behaviour.
• It depends on both perception and memory.
• It is always directed towards achieving some purpose.
• It is a problem-solving behaviour.
• It includes mental exploration rather than motor exploration.
• It is a symbolic activity.
• It can shift instantly over a span of time and space.
• It involves trial and error; analysis and synthesis; foresight and hindsight.
• It is different from daydreaming and imagination.
Elements of Thinking
There are a few important elements involved in the thinking process which are as follows:
Images– Often images are used as an instrument of thinking. These images may be images of
personal experiences of objects, persons or scenes actually seen, heard or felt. These mental
pictures symbolize real events, experiences, and activities.
Concepts– A concept is a ‘universal notion’ that reflects the basic attribute of all objects or
activities belonging to a certain class. The use of concepts as a guide allows one to save time

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and effort while thinking.For example, ‘Man is mortal’; you do not perceive a particular man
but mankind in general i.e. including women. Thus the generalized ‘man’ is a concept.
Symbols & Signs– These are used to reflect and stand as a substitute for actual subjects,
experiences, and events. Symbolic expressions include traffic signs, train signals, school
bells, poems, slogans, and so on. Thus, symbols and signs both inspire and economise
thinking. They immediately tell us what to do or how to behave.
Language– It serves not just as a link for intercommunication but also is the most effective
and evolved tool used for carrying out the thought process. When a person reads, writes, or
hears words or sentences or observes a gesture in any language, they are stimulated to think.
Hence, reading and writing articles and literature also helps in stimulating and promoting the
thinking processes.
Brain Functions– The brain is largely responsible for thinking. Our mind is said to be the
most important tool in the thought process. The impressions registered by our sense organs
have no significance until they are received by our brain cells and properly interpreted to
originate some meaning.The mental pictures or images can be stored, reconstructed or put to
use only on being processed by the brain. What occurs in our thinking process is merely a
function or outcome of the activities of our brain.
Types of Thinking
Thinking as a mental process is usually classified into the following categories:
Perceptual or Concrete Thinking– This is the most basic form of thinking. It is based on
intuition, or the understanding of sensations based on one’s own experiences. It is also known
as concrete thinking as it is based on the interpretation of real or concrete objects and events.
Conceptual or Abstract Thinking– Unlike perceptual thinking, this does not involve the
interpretation of real objects or events. It is a form of abstract thinking in which definitions,
generalised objects, and languages are used. It is thought to be superior to perceptual thinking
because it saves time and resources in comprehending and solving problems.
Reflective Thinking– This is a deeper level of thinking. The following characteristics
differentiate reflective thinking from simplistic thinking:
• It seeks to solve complicated problems rather than straightforward ones.
• It necessitates the reorganisation of all existing experiences and the discovery of new
ways of responding to a problem or avoiding challenges rather than referring to those
experiences or ideas.
• This is an insightful cognitive approach in reflective thinking as the mental activity
here does not entail mechanical trial and error type of efforts.
• In this case, thinking processes take into account all the information in a sequential
order to solve the problem.

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Creative Thinking– The desire to invent or develop something new, novel, or different is
synonymous with this form of thinking. It looks for new relationships and associations to
describe and interpret the nature of things, events and situations. Here, the person generally
formulates the dilemma and gathers the facts and resources needed to solve it. Scientists and
musicians are excellent examples of this style of thinking. The below are some of the most
notable aspects and traits of creative thinking:
• Since creative thought is an internal mental activity in all of its manifestations, it
should be considered an essential component of one’s cognitive behaviour.
• It is a universal phenomenon as everyone is capable of creative thinking.
• Creative thinking leads to the creation of something unique or novel, including a new
way of arranging old elements.
• Creative thinking in all its dimensions involves divergent thinking instead of the
routine and final types of convergent thinking. The mind must have complete freedom
to wander around to create a new idea.
• The field of creative thinking and its outcomes is vast and diverse. It encompasses all
facets of human achievements belonging to an individual’s life.
• According to psychologists, creative thinking covers elements such as originality,
fluency, flexibility, divergent thinking, self-confidence and persistence.
Critical Thinking– It is a way of thinking that allows a person to step back from his or her
personal convictions, assumptions, and views in order to figure out the faiths and find the
facts, even though it means sacrificing his or her core beliefs. In this way, it represents a
difficult thinking process that takes an individual to new levels of knowledge and
understanding. It is, in fact, a systemic approach of thinking to seek ways and means to
strengthen the thought process itself. Here, one resort to set higher cognitive abilities and
skills for proper comprehension, analysis, assessment, and inference, as well as clarification
of the gathered or transmitted knowledge, culminating in a purposeful unbiased and self-
regulatory judgement.An ideal thinker is inquisitive by nature, well-informed, open-minded,
flexible, fair-minded in assessment, free from personal bias and prejudices, truthful in finding
relevant knowledge, and skilled in the proper application of abilities such as interpretation,
analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and drawing conclusions and inferences, among others.
Based on the above, we may conclude that critical thinking is a higher-order, well-disciplined
thought process that entails the application of cognitive skills such as conceptualization,
interpretation, analysis, synthesis, and assessment in order to arrive at an unbiased, accurate,
and consistent judgement of the gathered or transmitted knowledge or data as a guide to one’s
belief and action.
Non-directed or Associative Thinking – There are moments when we find ourselves
thinking in a non-directed and goalless manner. It is reflected though dreaming, imagination,
illusion, daydreaming, and other uncontrolled free-flowing practises. Psychologically these
forms of thought are termed as non-directed or associative thinking.

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Convergent Thinking – Thinking that involves arriving at a single correct answer to a
problem. Hence, thisthinking isfocused, logical and lead to specific answers.
Divergent Thinking– Thinking that involves generating multiple and unusual possibilities
when faced with a task or problem. Hence, these thinking are open-ended and lead in many
directions
Measures of Developing Effective Thinking
One of the most critical aspects of the learning process is thinking. Our ability to understand
and solve problems is dependent on our ability to think clearly, which assists us in making
adjustments and is needed for a successful living. Only men who can reason clearly,
constructively, and carefully can make a significant contribution to society. Since no one is
born with the ability to think, it is necessary to learn proper technique and practise proper
thinking. There are a few approaches that can assist in the development of thinking by
training.
Adequacy of the Knowledge and Experience– Adequacy of knowledge and experience is
considered to be the background of systematic thinking.So care should be taken to provide
appropriate information and experiences for the children, which can be accomplished by:
• Training the children to refine their sensory and cognition processes in order to
achieve greater knowledge and experience and develop critical thinking.
• A person should be provided with opportunities for gaining adequate experiences and
should be encouraged for self-study, discussion and participation in healthy and
stimulating activities.
Adequate Motivation and Definiteness of Aims– Motivation helps in mobilizing our
energy for thinking. It creates genuine interest and voluntary attention in the process of
thinking, and thus helps a lot in increasing the adequacy and efficiency of our thinking. Thus,
one should strive to think in definite lines with a definite end or intent in mind; the challenges
we address should be intimately related to our immediate needs and specific motivations, and
such thinking should be focused on creative and constructive tasks.
Adequate Freedom and Flexibility– Thinking should not be obstructed by imposing
unnecessary restrictions and narrowing the field of thought process. If the past experiences or
habitual methods do not help in solving the problem we should strive for the new association,
relationships and possibilities for arriving at satisfactory results.
Incubation– When we set out to solve a problem but lose despite our attempts, despite
throwing more work into it and constant thinking, it is best to leave the problem aside for a
bit and rest or do something else. During this time, our unconscious mind works to come up
with a solution to the particular issue. This incubation phenomenon is beneficial.
Intelligence and Wisdom– Intelligence is defined as the ability to think properly, and thus it
is critical to gain intelligence in order to think properly. Proper care should be taken to use
intelligence, wisdom and other cognitive abilities for carrying out the process of thinking.

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Proper Development of Concepts and Language– Concepts and language are the vehicles
as well as instruments of thought. One cannot effectively progress on the road of thinking
without their proper growth. Their growth promotes and directs the thinking process.
Improper development and fulty formation of concepts not only hinders a person’s progress
in thinking, but they can also be lethal, as they can lead to perverted thinking and wrong
conclusion. Hence, special attention should be paid to develop the appropriate concepts and
linguistic abilities to be used in the process of thinking.
Adequacy of Reasoning Process– Thinking is also influenced by the mode of reasons one
adopts. Illogical reasoning often leads to incorrect thinking. Logic is the science of correct
reasoning which helps to think correctly. Hence, we should instil the habit of rational
thinking in our children.

Attention
The word attention is heard often in educational settings.Teachers and parents complain that
students do not pay attention to instructions or directions. Even high-achieving students do
not always attend instructive relevant events. Our attentional capabilities are limited; we can
attend to a few things at once. Thus, attention can be described as the process of selecting
some of many potential inputs. It is fundamental to human thinking because it determines
which information will be considered in any task.
Alternatively, attention can be described as a mechanism that forces a person to choose a
specific stimulus from a large number of stimuli in the environment based on his or her
interests and attitudes.Let us consider a few definitions provided by eminent psychologists to
understand the proper meaning of the concept.
According to Dumville (1938), “Attention is the concentration of consciousness upon one
subject rather than upon another.
According to Ross (1951), “Attention is the process of getting an object of thought clearly
before the mind.”
According to Roediger et al. (1987), “Attention can be defined as the focusing of perception
that leads to a greater awareness of a limited number of stimuli.”
According to Berk (2013), “Attention can refer to a process of listening, looking at or
concentrating on a topic, object or event for the attainment of the desired result.”
Nature of Attention
The above discussion about the meaning and definitions of the term ‘attention’ outlined the
following aspects of its nature:
• Attention is essentially a process, and not a product.
• It helps in our awareness or consciousness of our environment.
• The awareness or consciousness is selective.
• Attentional capabilities are limited; we can attend to a few things at once.

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 • It is a process of selecting some of many potential inputs.
• It is fundamental to human thinking because it determines which information will be
considered in any task.
• It is basically a process of selecting some particular stimulus according to individual
interest and attitude out of the multiplicity of stimuli present in the environment.
• It helps in a better understanding of a problem.
Types of Attention
There are various classification of attention. The classification given by Ross (1951) is as
follows:

Non-volitional/Involuntary Attention– This type of attention is aroused without the will

coming into play and we attend to an object or an idea without any conscious effort on our
part. Sudden loud noise, bright colours are some of the examples of non-volitional attention.
This type of attention as mentioned above aroused by our instincts as also by our sentiments.
The attention which is aroused by the instincts is called enforced non-volitional attention and
the attention which is aroused by the sentiments is called spontaneous non-volitional
attention.
Volitional/Voluntary Attention– When the attention is aroused with the will, it is called
volitional attention. It is neither enforced nor spontaneous as like non-volitional attention.
Usually, in this type of attention, we have a clear cut goal before us and we make ourselves
attentive for its accomplishment. Attention paid at the time of solving an assigned problem of
mathematics, answering question in an exam are some of the examples of volitional attention.
Like non-volitional attention, volitional attention is further divided into two categories:
implicit and explicit volitional attention. In implicit volitional attention, a single act of
volition is sufficient to bring about attention whereas in explicit volitional attention we need
repeated acts of will to sustain it. The attention paid for completion of a classroom task and
attention paid at the time of examination days are the respective examples of implicit and
explicit volitional attention.

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Factors or Determinants of Attention
External Factors– External factors are generally those characteristics outside the situations
or stimuli which make the strongest bid to capture our attention. Let us discuss these
characteristics.
1. Nature of the stimulus– All types of stimulus are not able to bring forth the same
level of attention like a picture attracts attention more readily than words. Thus, the
most effective stimulus should always be chosen for capturing maximum attention.
2. Intensity and size of the stimulus– Like the nature of the stimulus, the intensity and
size of the stimulus also bring forth the degree of attention. In comparison with a
weak stimulus, the stronger stimulus attracts more attention. For example, a large
building, bright light, strong smell etc. are more readily noticed due to the intensity
and size of the stimulus.
3. Contrast, change and variety– Change and variety attracts more attention easily
than sameness and routine. For example, when a teacher is lecturing to his students,
the use of map and charts suddenly attracts their attention than regular lecturing.
4. Repetition of stimulus– Repetition is a factor of great importance in securing
attention. We may ignore the stimulus the first time, but when it is repeated several
times, it captures our attention. For example, a misspelt word is more likely to be
noticed if it occurs twice or thrice in the same paragraph than if it occurs only once.
5. Movement of the stimulus– A moving stimulus catches our attention more quickly.
We are more sensitive to objects that move in our field of vision. Most of the
advertisers make use of this fact and try to capture the attention of people through
moving electric lights.
Internal Factors– The above discussed external factors not only capture the attention of an
individual but also one person’s own interest, motives, basic needs, and urges etc. also grab
the attention. Let us discuss some of the inner factors in securing the attention of a person.
1. Interest– Interest is a very helpful factor in securing attention. We generally attend to
objects in which we are interested and we do not attend to those in which we have no
interest. For example: if there will be both cricket and football match simultaneously,
a person having an interest in cricket will pay his attention to a cricket match and
avoid football match.
2. Motives– The basic drives and urges of an individual are very much important in
securing his attention. Thirst, hunger, sex, fear etc. are some of the important motives
that exercise a definite influence upon attention. For example, a hungry person notices
the smell of cooking.
3. Mindset– Besides our interest and motives, the mindset is an important factor in
securing attention. A person always attends to those objects towards which his mind
has set. For example, a person waiting for a letter from his beloved can recognise her
envelope from among a huge pile of envelopes.

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Problem Solving
One of the most important types of cognitive processing that occurs often during learning is
problem-solving. Basically, the productive work involved in the evaluation of the situation
and the strategy worked out to reach one’s set goals is collectively termed problem-solving.
This is an essential exercise for individual advancement as also for the advancement of
society. The meaning and nature of problem-solving are further clarified by the following
definitions:
According to Anita Woolfolk, “Problem-solving is formulating new answers, going beyond
the simple application of previously learned rules to achieve a goal.
According to Skinner, “Problem-solving is a process of overcoming difficulties that appear
to interfere with the attainment of a goal. It is a procedure of adjustingdespite interference.”
According to Woodworth and Marquis, “Problem-solving behaviour occurs in a novel or
difficult situations in which a solution is not obtainable by the habitual methods of applying
concepts and principles derived from past experience in very similar situations.”
Steps in Problem Solving
Different psychologists have suggested different steps involved in the process of problem-
solving according to their respective findings and viewpoints.
John Bransford and Barry Stein (1984) suggested five steps that are basically associated with
the task of problem-solving. They referred to these steps as “IDEAL” and arranged them in
the following order:
I = Identify the problem.
D = Define goals.
E = Explore possible strategies or solutions.
A = Act on the strategies.
L = Look back and learn
Bourne, Dominowski& Loftus (1979), on the other hand, advocated three steps or stages in
problem-solving
• Preparation
• Production
• Evaluation
Though different psychologists have suggested different steps in problem-solving, but in
general, the common steps followed in problem-solving are as follows:
Problem awareness– The first step in the problem-solving behaviour of an individual is
concerned with his awareness of the difficulty or problem which needs to be solved. He must

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be faced with some obstacle or interference in the path of the realization of his goals, needs or
motives and consequently, he must be conscious of the difficulty or problem.
Problem understanding– The difficulty or problem encountered by the individual should
next be properly identified and analysed so that its exact nature becomes clear to him. This
should be followed by relating the problem to his specific goals and objectives. Thus all the
difficulties and obstacles in the path of the goal or solution must be properly named and
identified and what is to be achieved through the problem-solving effort should be clearly
known in very specific terms.
Collection of the relevant information– In this step, the individual is required to collect all
the required information about the problem by all possible means. He may consult
experienced persons, read the available literature, recall his own experiences, think of the
numerous possible solutions, and put in all possible efforts to collect comprehensive data and
knowledge concerning the problem.
Explore possible solutions– After understanding the nature of the problem and collecting all
relevant information, one may start exploring various solutions to the problem.
Selection of the correct solutions– In this important step, all the possible solutions, thought
out in the previous step, are closely analysed and evaluated.
Verification of the concluded solution– The solution arrived at or conclusion drawn must be
further verified by applying it in the solution of various similar problems and only if the
derived solution helps in solving this problem, only then the plausible solution should be
considered as acceptable. This will help in solving other future problems.
Strategies for Effective Problem Solving
Psychologists and educationists, according to their respective research findings and
viewpoints recommended few special strategies for effective problem-solving. Some of them
are as follows:
Algorithms– An algorithm is a defined set of step-by-step procedures that provides the
correct answer to a particular problem.It usually is domain-specific; that is, it is tied to a
particular subject area. In solving a problem, if you choose an appropriate algorithm and
implement it properly, theright answer is guaranteed.
Heuristics– In comparison to algorithms, heuristics, as a strategy of problem-solving, are
more economical in terms of time and labour. A heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows
people to quickly make judgments and solve problems. These mental shortcuts are typically
informed by our past experiences and allow us to act quickly.
So how do you determine when to use a heuristic and when to use an algorithm? Basically,
heuristics are more commonly used in everyday situations, such as figuring out the best route
to get from point A to point B. While you could use an algorithm to map out every possible
route and determine which one would be the fastest, that would be a very time-consuming
process. Instead, your best option would be to use a route that you know has worked well in
the past.

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However, if you are working in a situation where you absolutely need the correct or best
possible answer, your best bet is to use an algorithm. When you are solving problems for
your math homework, you don’t want to risk your grade on a guess. By following an
algorithm, you can ensure that you will arrive at the correct answer to each problem.
Trial and Error– We occasionally use trial and error but still it is a strategy used for
problem-solving. In the trial and error method to solve problems; we simply perform actions
until one works. For example: In desperation, a teacher might use a trial-and-error approach
by trying different reading materials until he begins to read better. This approach might be
effective but also might expose him to materials that prove frustrating and thereby retard her
reading progress. Hence, trial and error is not reliable and often not effective. It can waste
time, may never result in a solution, may lead to a less-than-ideal solution, and can have
negative effects.
Insight– Problem-solving often is thought to involve insight or the sudden awareness of a
likely solution. Gestalt psychologists also postulated that much human learning was insightful
and involved a change in perception. Learners initially thought about the ingredients
necessary to solve a problem. They integrated these in various ways until the problem was
solved. When learners arrived at a solution, they did so suddenly and with insight.
Analogical Reasoning– Another general problem-solving strategy is to use analogical
reasoning, which involves drawing an analogy between the problem situation and a situation
with which one is familiar.Analogical problem solving is useful even in teaching. Teachers
often have students in their classes whose native language is not English. Teaching students
in their native language is impossible. Teachers might relate this problem to teaching students
who have difficulty learning. With the latter students, teachers would proceed slowly, use
concrete experiences whenever possible, and provide much individual instruction. They
might try the same tactics with limited-English-proficiency students, while simultaneously
teaching them English words and phrases so they can follow along with the other students in
class.
Brainstorming– Brainstorming is also a general problem-solving strategy that is useful for
formulating possible problem solutions. The steps in brainstorming are as follows:
• Define the problem.
• Generate as many solutions as possible without evaluating them.
• Decide on criteria for judging potential solutions.
• Use these criteria to select the best solution.
Role of Teacher in Problem Solving
When a child looks at a problem and says, “I don’t know,” our role as a teacher is to help
them persevere – to stick with it and find a solution.Hence, teacher play a most prominent
role in problem-solving. A teacher should do following things for effective problem-solving.

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 • Moderate motivation
• Encourage divergent thinking
• The problem should be presented as a whole
• Level of difficulty
• Active manipulation
• Practice
• Incomplete solution

Conclusion
Thinking is a complex process and it is the base of all cognitive activities or processes and is
unique to human beings. It is a higher mental process through which we manipulate and
analyse the acquired or existing information. Similarly, attention can be described as the
process of selecting some of many potential inputs. It is fundamental to human thinking
because it determines which information will be considered in any task.Alternatively,
attention can be defined as a process that compels the individual to select some particular
stimulus according to his interest and attitude out of the multiplicity of stimuli present in the
environment. Further, one of the most important types of cognitive processing that occurs
often during learning is problem-solving. Basically, the productive work involved in the
evaluation of the situation and the strategy worked out to reach one’s set goals is collectively
termed problem-solving. This is an essential exercise for individual advancement as also for
the advancement of society. It is quite clear from the above that the major key cognitive
processes like thinking, attention, and problem-solving are some of the chief characteristics
that distinguish human beings from other species.The challenges and problems faced by the
individual or society are also solved through serious efforts involving these key cognitive
processes. The power of cognitive processes may thus be considered to be the essential tools
for the welfare and meaningful existence of the individual as well as society.

Chapter at a Glance

Thinking is a higher mental process through which we manipulate and analyse the
acquired or existing information. Such manipulation and analysis occur by means of
abstracting, reasoning, imagining, problem-solving, judging, and decision-making.

Thinking is also known as problem-solving behaviour. It is mostly organised and
goal-directed.

There are a few important elements involved in the thinking process which are
images, concepts, symbols and signs, language, and brain functions.

There are several types of thinking. Few notable types of thinking are Perceptual or
Concrete Thinking, Conceptual or Abstract Thinking, Reflective Thinking, Creative
Thinking, Critical Thinking, Non-directed or Associative Thinking, Convergent and
Divergent Thinking.

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Attention can be defined as a process which compels the individual to select some
particular stimulus according to his interest and attitude out of the multiplicity of
stimuli present in the environment.

Ross (1951) classified attention into categories such as Non-volitional/Involuntary
Attention and Volitional/Voluntary Attention.

There are certain external and internal factors or determinants of attention. The
external factors are the nature of the stimulus, intensity and size of the stimulus,
contrast, change and variety, repetition of stimulus, movement of the stimulus. The
internal factors are interest, motives, and mindset.

Basically, the productive work involved in the evaluation of the situation and the
strategy worked out to reach one’s set goals is collectively termed problem-solving.

John Bransford and Barry Stein (1984) suggested five steps that are basically
associated with the task of problem-solving. They referred to these steps as “IDEAL.”

Bourne, Dominowski& Loftus (1979), advocated three steps or stages in problem-
solving: preparation, production, and evaluation.

Few special strategies for effective problem-solving are algorithms, heuristics,trial
and error, insight, analogical reasoning and brainstorming.

Do and Learn
 Discuss open-ended question that stimulates thinking among learners.
 Describe a situation in which you found a creative way to overcome an obstacle.
 List out five major problems which you encountered during your self-study, analyze
and make a recommendation.

Self-Assessment
1. Discuss the nature of thinking and attention?
2. Discuss various types of thinking with examples.
3. What are the elements of thinking?
4. Explain how creative thinking different from critical thinking?
5. Distinguish between convergent and divergent thinkingwith example.
6. What are the factors or determinants of attention?
7. Explain steps in problem-solving as suggested by Bransford and Barry Stein.
8. Discuss various strategies for effective problem-solving.

References and Suggested Readings

• Berk, L., (2013). Child development. 9th ed., Boston: Pearson.
• Bourne, L.E., Dominowski, R.L., and Loftus, E.F., (1979), Cognitive process. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall
• Bransford, J.D., and Stein, B.S., (1984). The ideal problem solver: A guide for
improving thinking, learning and creativity. New York: Freeman.

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• Dumville, B., (1938). The fundamentals of psychology. 3 rd ed., London: University
Tutorial Press.
• Garrett, H.E., (1968). General psychology. New Delhi: Eurasia Publishing House.
• Gilmer, B.V., (1970). Psychology. New Yok: Harper
• Mangal, S. K. (2008). Advanced Educational Psychology. New Delhi: PHI.
• Mohsin, S.M., (1967). Elementary Psychology. New York: Macmillan.
• Roediger et al., (1987). Psychology. 2 nd ed., Boston: Little Brown & Co.
• Ross, J.S., (1951). Ground work of educational psychology. London: George G.
Harrup & Co.
• Skinner, C.E., (1968). Essentials of educational psychology. New Jersey: Prentice
Hall
• Woodworth, R.S, (1945). Psychology. London: Methuen.
• Woodworth, R.S., and Marquis, D.G., (1948). Psychology. 5th ed., New York: Henry
Holt & Co.
• Woolfolk, A. E., (2013). Educational psychology. Boston, MA: Pearson

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 Lesson-2

Factors Affecting Thinking and Learning: Personal, Socio-

Cultural, Media and Technology
Neeraj Kumari

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• State various factors that affect thinking and learning.
• Categorize the factors affecting thinking and learning.
• Understand the effect of these factors on thinking and learning.
• Explain the role of these factors on thinking and learning.
• Find ways to foster learning by optimizing these factors.

Introduction
Understanding Human behaviour is a complex task and this task becomes even more difficult
if we want to find out the reasons behind a particular behaviour. Our behaviour, mostly
depends upon our thinking and learning. Learning is fundamental to us as it is an
irreplaceable part of our life. It comes naturally through the processes of growth and
development. Usually, people associate learning with school or college. We learn about
grammar rules in school, we learn BODMAS and about the functioning of our heart. We
learn all this in school or college. But, is learning confined to schools only? Is there anything
that we learn even if we aren't aiming for it? For example, an interviewee becomes tensed and
nervous during the interview. Did the interviewee plan for and learnt this behaviour?
One can say that learning is not always a result of a conscious effort. Sometimes, it is
unintentional and sometimes not. Sometimes, we just add new things to our knowledge as
well as our behaviour. It includes our learning through our past experiences or from the
experiences of others. It also includes the changes in our behaviour due to growth and
development.It is important for us to know about the factors affecting learning, so, that we
can optimize learning. This can be done by minimizing the factors that suppress the process
of thinking. At the same time, give more support to the elements that help in learning.
Think about the given situations. Is any learning taking place in these situations? Why or
Why not?
- Walking slowly due to tiredness
- Eating less due to illness
- An infant starts walking on the floor

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Thinking and Learning
As we have learnt in the previous lesson that learning refers to any change in behaviour.
There can be various reasons behind such a change, like, our past experiences or deliberate
practice. For example, a child who puts his feet carelessly on soap water in the bathroom may
slip. Next time when he walks in a similar surface i.e. in soap water, he would put his feet
down very carefully. Such a behaviour change is brought about through experience. If a
child takes classes to learn skating and after practicingfor some months he gets very good at
skating. Such behaviour may be the result of practice. Both types of changes in behaviour
may be referred to as learning.
Another important aspect of learning is that these changes must be relatively permanent. It
means that the changes that occurred must remain with the learner for quite some time.
However, this time is not fixed. But it is not momentarily. For example, while driving on the
road if you see an unknown car passing by and you read its number plate. You will remember
the number on the number plate for some time but not for a very long time.
Now let's discuss thinking and learning. Both are cognitiveprocesses. During both
processes our brain (mind) is active. We can say that thinking is a part of learning. During the
process of thinking, we use our brain (mind) and while learning something we use our brain
along with our body and heart.
This relationship can be represented using the given Venn diagram.

Views of Learning
The definition and meaning of learning have undergone some changes over a period of time.
It is perceived differently by different psychologists.
1. Behavioural View ofLearning– As per behaviourists, learning is all about the
acquisition of facts, concepts and skills. It marks the importance of the relation of a
stimulus to its respective response. Behaviourists say, that people learn through drill
and guided practice. An important feature of this type of learning is repetition-

16
 repetition of concepts, examples and the process. It promotes the acquisition of a skill
or knowledge through rehearsals like a play performance. Learning the mathematical
tables by the traditional method of repeating them day in and day out is an example of
this view of learning.
2. Cognitive View of Learning– Another view of learning is that it is an active process.
Learning occurs as a result of carefully planned strategies and conscious efforts to
acquire accurate facts, knowledge and skills. Cognitive theorists believe that learning
is a complex process because it is not confined to behavioural changes. It brings
changes in the cognitive structures of a person.
3. Psychological Constructivist View– Yet another branch of thought believes in the
active construction of knowledge. They say that knowledge is constructed (built-up)
by the learner by actively participating in the processes. Learners make sense of their
world by working in the real world. Doing multiple activities leads to constructing
and reconstructing the prior knowledge. New learningis connected to the already
learnt concepts. This way the learner owns his/ her learning/ knowledge. This is
known as PsychologicalConstructivism. For example, if a child reads advertisements
in newspapers during the COVID19 pandemic and sees everyone wearing a mask; he
may infer the reasons for wearing masks and washing hands regularly. This reflects
that the child is going beyond the given information. Through the process of
generating ideas, he builds his understanding of the issue and hence learns.
4. Social Constructivist View– Another approach to learning is Social Constructivism.
It opines that learning occurs through socially constructed/ created opportunities. We
do not live in isolation. We are a part of society. Therefore, one can never ignore the
role of society in an individual’s learning. Our social interaction, cultural tools and
activity shape individual development and learning. It is more focused on building a
common consciousness among people as compared to individual learning.
5. Humanistic View of Learning– As the title itself signalizes, this is based on
humanism or being human. This view keeps in mind the basics of humanity. It
believes that each one of us is capable of learning but in our own way. We all follow a
particular, unique learning pattern. Along with uniqueness, we have one thing in
common – we need love and peace. If a learner is nurtured with love, the outcome
would also be lovely. This view of learning emphasizesthe ‘central place’ of the
learner in the process of learning.
Knowledge and understanding of different views of learning can help learners and teachers
design the process of learning in a meaningful way. It can be valuable in planning productive
learning environments. One can know the does and don'ts of learning.
Factors Affecting Thinking and Learning
Beginning from our conception till our death, we keep on learning. It is a continuous
process. During this process, many elements play their role. These elements guide our

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thinking and learning. Psychologists have mainly focused on the factors affecting learning
because learning does not take place in isolation/ vacuum. Let us discuss the example of a
train. The train moves on the railway track. Train turns as per its railway track. It stops when
the signal is red and runs when the signal is green. It runs fast when the driver increases
speed and runs slow when the driver decreases speed. Factors like track, signals and the
driver decide the movement of a train. Likewise, there are a number of tracks and signals
(factors) that keep our train (of thoughts) moving as per their directions.
Psychologists have explained several factors that affect our learning. These include a
person’s interests, motivation, needs, relationships, environment, age, society etc. These
factors can be divided into four major categories based on their nature: Personal factors,
Socio-Cultural factors, Media and Technology. These factors are from different areas but
they all work together when it comes to learners and their learning. The relationship between
their cause and effects cannot be understood in isolation. Having a thorough understanding of
these factors can help individuals lead their own learning. In the context of teachers, parents
or anyone who works with children, knowledge of these factors becomes more essential as
they are the conductors for their learners’ learning. If the teachers and parents become more
expert in learning, there is a great possibility that they would be able to guide their learners
better and hence become better at teaching.
A. Personal Factors
These are the factors that are related to the individual only. Here, personal refers to what is
‘within a person. Personal factors are the elements/ reasons related to a person that affect
his/ her learning. These factors are unique to each and every individual. These factors include
an individual’s Motivation, Intelligence, Health, Age, Sex, Attention, Interest, Aptitude,
Maturation, Emotions, Self-Concept, Learning Styles and Prior Knowledge. Let’s
discuss these factors in detail.
1. Motivation
Motivation can be defined as the innerstate of a person that leads and governs his/ her
behaviour. This inner state provides stimulus to various actions of the person. This stimulus
drives a person to work towards achieving some goal. This is the core reason behind our
choice of behaviour, our feeling while doing a task, our speed of working, the magnitude of
our efforts, our interest and involvement in a task.
Consider this example for better understanding:
Sonia has applied for the post of Nature Conservation Officer (Biodiversity Officer). Her
father also works in a biodiversity park. She applied there for a decent salary. She spends her
time watching movies. She knows about many of the film actors. She even wants to become
an actor herself. She has a younger brother. He is still in school. He continuously researches
various types of birds in that area. He can identify different species of birds just by a look. It
is not a part of his homework or any project. But he enjoys collecting pictures of birds.

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Try answering these questions now:
● Why did Sonia choose to apply for the post of Nature Conservation Officer?
● In which area she can do better?
● Why does her brother collect pictures of birds?
● What career should her brother choose?

The answers to all these questions revolve around the central idea of motivation. It makes a
person behave in a particular manner. For example, Sonia’s brother was keen to learn more
and more about birds because of his interest. There is some kind of energy within him that
forces him to research birds.
Types of Motivation
Motivation can be of two types: Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation.
❖ Intrinsic Motivation– As the name indicates, the stimulus created by the inner self
that directs us to do a task or behave in a particular manner is intrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic means internal or inside of a person. “IN” in the word INTRINSIC reflects
the location of the source of the energy. The activity undertaken by the learner gives
him/ her satisfaction and is itself his/ her reward.
❖ Extrinsic Motivation– When the cause of the stimulus is external to the person, it is
known as extrinsic motivation. Forces from outside influencing the behaviour of a
person aremost common in our society. We frequently use these incentives to control
others' behaviours. For example, a student takes admission in a course to gain a
degree or a certificate.
Let us now see the differences between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in a more crisp
form.

S.No. Intrinsic Motivation Extrinsic Motivation

1 Based on Internal Factors Based on External Factors

2 Deeper Level Surface Level

3 Fully self-determined Fully determined by others

4 Process is important Only end product is relevant

5 Lasts longer Only till the goal is achieved

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 6 Reasons behind a behaviour: Reasons behind a behaviour:
Personal Interests, Capabilities, Self- Rewards, Incentives, Salary, Social
confidence, Curiosity, Beliefs, pressure, Punishment, Praise
Values, Fear

7 Examples: Examples:
● Reading for self-pleasure ● Reading to prepare only for test
● Keeping the classroom clean ● Cleaning your classroom for an
because it gives you positive inspection
vibes

We discussed two types of motivation. But are these the endpoints of a continuum? - A
continuum having one end as fully self-driven and another fully driven by others. A girl who
volunteers for a presentation - Is she self-driven because she volunteered? Or is she doing it
because she is being graded and would be praised by her peers and teachers? Maybe, the
answer is not so simple and clear cut. There are times when both types of motivation play
their roles. But as a learner or a teacher, one must be aware of the influence of these factors
on learning.Next time you do something; check the source of your motivation.
2. Intelligence

Think and Reflect

It is a staff meeting. A teacher, Priya, describes her class to his

principal. She says my whole class is so intelligent. One of my students,
Abhinandan, is a good football player. Sonu is good at mimicry. Twisha
is amazing at singing. Indira does all her work the quickest and Shaista
always scores the highest marks in the class.

Among these kids who do you think is the most intelligent? If this question is asked to a 15-
year-old child, he/ she may reply that Shaista is the most intelligent child among these. Why?
Probably the reason is that she always scores the highest marks.This is a common notion
prevalent in our society. The topper of the class is the most intelligent student. There are
examples where toppers have not been so successful in life.
Could you identify the most intelligent student? Priya thinks all of her students are intelligent.
But the topper is only one. This is because she sees and understands the concept of
intelligence differently. She believes that there are several kinds of intelligence. She identifies

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various talents of her students and provides instruction as per their area of expertise. She tries
to nurture their capabilities. This way the students also learn better. She doesn’t waste time
teaching everything to all the students. Including every intelligence in each class is not
necessary.
Lately, Intelligence is seen and understood as a reflection of one’s knowledge, one’s
capacity to learn or one’s ability to adjust tonew circumstances. This indicates that there
can be different bits of intelligence like Logico-mathematical, Linguistic, Musical, Spatial,
Bodily-kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalist intelligence.Further, in
operational terms, it is a capacity or ability for problem-solving, thinking, reasoning, relating
to others, dealing with emotions, developing interests, a sense of right and wrong and living
in consonance with our environment.
Intelligence is defined differently by psychologists.
Alfred Binet (1916)– Judgment otherwise called “good sense,” “practical sense”,
“initiative,” the faculty of adapting one’s self to circumstances auto-critique.
Sternberg & Salter (1982)– Goal-directed adaptive behaviour.
Summing up, we can say that intelligence is the psychological as well as the biological
ability of a person to do well in a particular area of life. If the students are intelligent in a
particular area, say bodily kinesthetics, he/ she is more likely to be successful in dancing. If a
student has good naturalist intelligence, he/ she is more likely to become a successful farmer
or a botanist. Our Intelligence would guide us through what is to be learnt, what process can
be adopted to achieve this and what is the suitable time for it. Hence, intelligence is positively
related to thinking and learning.
3. Health
Health is the condition of a person’s body or mind. It includes not only physical and mental
but also social well-being. These are the three aspects of Health that form a health triangle.

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So whenever we use the term ‘health’, it must be clear that we are talking about all the three
aspects of health that are discussed above. Being healthy means the state of being well and
free from illness. The relationship between health and learning is not easy to define. But they
are indeed related to each other. You must have heard popular proverbs like “Health is
Wealth” and “A Sound Mind in a Sound Body”. Not only psychologically but it is true
scientifically also. The state of our health depends upon our Heredity as well as the
environment we live in.

Think and Reflect

Go back to your school days and think- who were the high performing students
in your school. Write down the names of those students. Think of their
regularity of attending classes and their health.

The students who are not able to attend their schools regularly due to health issues miss their
classes. Not attending school results in a great loss in terms of peer learning, learning through
discussions, doing practical and conceptual understanding. Our education system follows a
spiral curriculum format. If the basic concepts are not understood properly, the higher-level
concepts would appear difficult for the children. Slowly, the same child may develop subject
fear.
School is also a mini-society. If the students fail to participate in day to day school/ college
activities, they miss out on opportunities to learn and broaden their horizon. Students with
poor health seldom engage themselves in social activities also - be it a family gathering or
friends get together.
Research-based in Canada claims that ‘children who are unhealthy are at higher risk for
school problems than students who are free from medical problems. Students with poor
health have a higher probability of school failure, grade retention, and dropout.’ We can
understand this with an example. If a student is allergic to dust and fragrances, he/ she may
be devoid of playing outdoor games or he/ she may not work well in the chemistry lab. Also,
if a student is not feeling accepted in the class, it may hamper free learning. He/ she may start
staying away from class or won’t be interested in making presentations. Ill health hampers
learning. Therefore, food for the body is as important as food for the mind. Maintaining good
physical, mental and social health would help in sound learning.

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4. Age and Maturation: Readiness to learn
From our conception till death, human beings undergo many changes. These changes are
multidimensional. We experience changes in our physical, social, mental, personal, and
cognitive aspects. A large part of these changes occurs due to ageing and maturation. Ageing
can be defined as the process of becoming older. As we grow older, we undergo some
growth and development. Maturation is also related to our age. Maturation is a natural
process that is genetically programmed. This biological process is an important factor in
the process of learning. A person’s readiness to learn in terms of maturation decides a great
deal about the learning. For example, children start holding pencils at the age of 4 or 5. If a
child is asked to write with a pencil at the age of 2, he may not be able to hold and write
properly. This is because his/ her fingers and hand are not yet matured enough to hold the
pencil. This is about physical maturation. Similarly, it won’t be possible for a 2-year-old
child to understand the concept of conservation (as defined by Jean Piaget). It is not always
true that ‘if there is a will there's a way.’ Doesn’t matter how strongly a child wants to walk,
he/ she won’t be able to walk until and unless his/ her legs are fully developed and are ready
to support him/ her in walking. It implies that if the students are not ready
physically,cognitively for a task or a concept, there is no point in repeating the same over and
over again. Any attempt of forcing anything before the learner is ready should be
discouraged.
5. Attention

Think and Reflect:

Mr. Arun is a school teacher. He takes online classes of XII class students.
Whenever he starts his class, he usually starts it with motivating quotes.
Sometimes, he uses famous dialogues from movies also. At others, he
shares the struggle of some famous and successful people with the students.
What would be the reason behind starting a class like this?

Yes, you are right- to get the attention of the students. It is more than just noticing something.
Getting attention is the first step of moving towards learning. It is a part of the cognitive
process in which our mind concentrates on particular information and ignores many others. In
simple terms, attention means the ability to focus on a stimulus. We, generally, pay attention
to stimuli that are different from others or when a stimulus is of our interest.
Attention can be of two types:

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 ● Active Attention– It refers to putting conscious efforts to observe a stimulus. It is
deliberately paid fuelled by curiosity or interest. For Example: Finding six differences
between two pictures.
● Passive Attention– It indicates any external stimulus that we attend to involuntarily.
For example Car tyres screeching on the road. We do not intend to pay attention to it.
But it gets everyone’s attention spontaneously. Another example is the strong
unpleasant smell of ammonium whenever we pass an overused uncleaned washroom.
A learner pays active attention while learning. It becomes very important that he first decides
what is important. After deciding what should be focused on, the learner attends to the
information for the right amount of time. Here, human attention span also plays its role. An
average human brain concentrates on a single stimulus for around 20 minutes continuously.
Children have an even shorter attention span. Hence, we can say that attending to information
positively helps the learner learn better. With practice, learners can increase their attention
span as well. On the other hand, children who lack attention may not do so well. One of their
characteristics is that they keep on changing their decisions very soon. Like they would study
Mathematics for a little time then may shift to Languages saying that Mathematics is boring
etc. In life also, people keep on changing their career due to a lack of focused attention
towards their goal.
6. Interest
Interest can be defined as a desire to know more about something or someone. It is deep-
rooted in the psyche of human beings. We are curious by nature. It is kept in the personal
factors category because it is present within a person. If a person is interested in a task, it is
more likely that the learning would be relatively permanent. Take the example of Sonia’s
brother we discussed at the beginning of this lesson. Her brother knew so much about birds
and nature because he was interested in learning more about them. Our interests stimulate our
actions towards the desired goal of knowing more about something or doing something. A
person would keep on searching until his desire is fulfilled. Interest directs our focus towards
learning.
7. Attitude
Attitude refers to a set of feelings/ emotions one has towards another person, idea, event
or a thing. It is the orientation of our mind in the form of like and dislike. Such tendency of
ours is the result of our past experiences and our upbringing. Our socialization process
nurtures most of our attitudes. This cultivation of attitude affects our behaviour and hence
learning. Attitudes are classified as:

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Attitude Positive Attitude Negative Attitude Neutral Attitude

Traits Optimism, Confidence, Hatred, Pessimism, Indifference,

Initiative Taking, Resentment, and Doubt Detachment,
Sincerity, Reliability Unemotional

Actions Paying attention to the Ignoring the good, paying Not giving enough
good attention to the bad importance to situations
or events

Example Learning new things, Disapproving use of Detached from one’s

Keeping Healthy technology for learning teachers or school

Studying our attitude towards various people, events etc are important as it decides our
behaviour also. Having a positive attitude means a willingness to interact with one’s
environment. Interacting with the environment with an open heart leads to thinking and
learning. A student with a positive attitude would not only like the process of learning but
also enjoy it.
8. Emotions
Emotions are an inseparable part of human beings. They are among the basic things that
make us special. Our actions are mostly guided by the emotions present in us. The Oxford
Dictionary defines emotion as “A strong feeling deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or
relationships with others.” These feelings drive most of our behaviour. The cause of
emotional behaviour can be from within a person or outside stimulus.
According to Crow and Crow (1973), “Emotion is an affective experience that accompanies
generalized linear adjustment to mental and physiological stirred-up states in the individual
that shows itself in his/her overt behaviour.”
According to Morris (1979), “Emotion is a complex affective experience that involves
diffused physiological changes and can be expressed overtly in characteristics behaviour
patterns.”
In this way, emotion may be understood as an excited state of our mind and body.
Emotions that we generally exhibit are love, amusement, lust, fear, anger, hatred, jealousy,
enmity, disgust, distress, appetite, elation, wonder etc. Based on their consequences,
emotions can be divided into two categories- Positive Emotions and Negative Emotions.
Emotions that create negative energy are harmful to the learning and development of a child.
Positive emotions help create a positive and conducive environment for thinking and
learning.
But it should also be stated here that negative emotions are not always bad and positive
emotions are not always good. For example, if a child is sad and hurt that he could not learn

25
a particular and hence couldn’t score well. He may then try to put more effort into the process
of learning and it would take him to the positive side. Fear is a negative emotion but it keeps
people alert.
Summing up, it can be said that our emotions significantly affect our thinking and learning.
Our happy mood would bring in more happy thoughts. Happy thoughts give stimulus to
learning. When we are sad, we see sadness everywhere. Our mind faces difficulty in
concentrating on learning new things.
9. Self-Concept
In layman terms, self-concept is what we think of ourselves; how do we perceive ourselves?
This thinking includes ideas, feelings and attitude about self. We continuously keep on
judging our behaviour, our attitudes and abilities in day to day life. This process of judgement
leads us to self-discovery. This discovery about self helps us form self-concept. In short, it
answers the question “Who am I?”
Let us now understand the three subcategories of Self-Concept:

Self-image Self-esteem Self-efficacy

One’s perceptions about The value a person places on A person’s belief in his/her
oneself himself or herself ability to get things done.

My strengths, abilities, Evaluation of oneself: My Determines how a person

weaknesses or limitations. value thinks, behaves, and feels

How worthwhile am I? Will I succeed or fail?”

I’m good at cooking What is my worth? “Would I be appreciated or
Adds pride in self not?

All these sub-categories of the self-concept have bearings on learning. The self-image of a
person motivates him/ her to move in the direction of his/ her strengths. E.g. If a student feels
he/ she is good at Dramatic expression, he/ she is more likely to learn more about related
concepts. He/ she would try to put in more energy, more efforts to do well in that area. It
holds true the other way round also. The students who think that they are not good at studies
would keep their distance from books.
When we find ourselves valuable, we tend to develop high Self-esteem. If a student is praised
for his/ her dancing skills, he/ she would add pride in self. This pride would refill the person
with new energy to do better next time. Hence, it would lead to learning. Contrary to this, a
student may have low self-esteem due to dissatisfaction of his/ her sports teacher with the
student. This low self-esteem may make the student withdraw himself/ herself from the
process of learning.

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Self-Efficacy is essential to learn. It leads to becoming a source of inner motivation for a
task. Believing in one’s abilities means half of the work is already done. Believing that I can
learn French boosts energy and efforts for learning. The reverse of this also happens. A low
sense of self-efficacy may result in decreased efforts and then failure. Such people avoid
challenging tasks. They mostly have a negative attitude towards learning.
10. Learning Styles - Method of learning
We all have a different way of doing things. The way we speak, the way we walk, the ways
we talk are unique to us. No two people are identical in all aspects. Similarly, we all have our
learning styles. It means we all learn differently. Learning styles are approaches to
learning and studying. Some of us are visual learners that mean we learn better when we see
the content. Some are auditory learners. It means we learn better by listening to it. Some learn
by doing whereas others learn just by observing others. Some can read and understand in
metro trains also and others may need a quiet place. Some people are early risers and
scholars. There are some night owls also. A classroom of 40 students may have 40 styles of
learning. As teachers, we should not try to accommodate all the students in our limited
teaching-learning methods. There would be better thinking and learning if each soul is free to
work upon their environment the way they want to.
B. Socio-Cultural Factors
As the name indicates these factors are related to the society and culture of the learner. These
are the factors that affect an individual’s learning but they exist outside the body of that
individual. Changes in his/ her behaviour are a result of the environment to which the person
belongs. A Human being is what his heredity and his environment make him. After heredity
has played its role, it all depends upon the environment. The socio-cultural environment of a
child shapes his/ her learning to a great extent. The constituents of the environment are
Family, Neighborhood and community, Peer Relationship, School Culture, Socio-Cultural
diversities like caste, class, ethnicity, religion, etc. and Physical Conditions of the learning
space.
• Family– Itis the first environment a child experiences after taking birth. It is the
process of socialization that members of society help a child develop. Family is the
first place where a child learns his/ her values, beliefs, manner of speaking, behaviour,
life skills, social skills, attitudes, culture and identification. Every family has its own
child-rearing style.
• Parents– Within the family, parentshave the most effect on a child’s learning. If the
parents can build a healthy relationship with their child, it would lead to a strong
bond. Such a bond would foster collaborative learning. If the hand holding by the
parents is not done suitably, the child may leave behind on the continuum of learning.
• Peers– After family, peershave everlasting effects on children. They like each other’s
company. They try to copy and follow each other’s behaviour. If they observe

27
 positive behaviour, they are most likely to follow it for the good. But in case they start
going in an undesirable direction of risk behaviour, it is very harmful. So, healthy
peer relationships would lead to creating a healthy, carefree environment for
learning.
• Neighbourhood and Community– After family, the children start socializing in their
neighbourhood and community. From there, they start forming their social identities.
Children start realizing their worth in society. Hence, they try to fit in the structures
made by society. If the community is cultivating enough, the learners would believe
in their strengths and move towards making society better.
• School Culture– Aim, vision and motto of the teachers and school shape the
learning of the child. Schools following a constructivist approach of gaining
knowledge would more certainly yield confident learners. This not only includes the
process of teaching-learning but the criteria of assessment also. Schools focusing on
rote memorization would manufacture robots and not self-directed learners.
• Learning Space– It is difficult to do better with poor resources. There would be less
or no scope of doing experiments without proper types of equipment. There would be
less free movement in the scarcity of learning space. Any learning space would be
valuable only if it is built with due regard to its learning objectives.
• Socio-Cultural Diversity– Ours is a much-diversified country. There are various
social structures like religion, caste and class. Since they are an inseparable part of our
lives, it is essential to study their effects also. A child with less economic and physical
resources would be deprived of a whole range of opportunities to learn. On the other
hand, a resourceful child would be able to get benefited from enriching environments.
A study based in South Africa talks about the effect of Socio-Cultural factors on learning. –
“The findings reveal that parents’ low level of education; lack of parental involvement in the
education of their children, the loweconomic status of parents are some of the socio-cultural
factors that affect the reading acquisition of learners.”
After having all these discussions, it may be interpreted that a child can’t be developed in
isolation. We studied about the social and cultural factors that affect the thinking and learning
process of a child. A conducive environment would be a boon for the child whereas a non-
conducive environment would act as a curse in terms of learning.
C. Media and Technology
Media are the means of transmitting or delivering messages. Nowadays it has become an
essential part of life, especially after the Corona pandemic. It has become essential for
students and teachers to use various media for the teaching-learning process. Starting from
the early years of childhood, children are fond of gadgets. They learn the usage of gadgets
like mobile phone, tablet, smart television, smartwatch and laptop faster than the elderly. This
is because they are curious to know about their working. They are intrinsically motivated to
do so. We learnt earlier in this chapter that intrinsic motivation is the best stimuli for earning.

28
Media can be broadly divided into two categories:
 Print Media
 Non-Print Media
Print media refers to text or printed materials. It is economical and has traditionally been used
for pedagogical resources. Non-print media have certain unique qualities which, in certain
cases facilitate learning much faster than the print medium. This help meet diverse learning
objectives more efficiently than the printed matter. The use of media excites the students
psychologically and motivates them to participate in the teaching-learning process. So, it is
well clear that media are advantageous in enhancing learning among students, but proper use
of the media requires the use of well-developed media-specific skills.
Technology– Like media, technology has played a major role in keeping the teaching-
learning process alive. In simple terms, technology is a science or knowledge that is put into
practical use to solve our problems effectively. It makes our tasks easier. If you got admission
online or getting notes/ assignments online- that is made possible due to technology. One
can’t deny the power of phones, computers, various applications, and other digital devices.
Following are some of the benefits:
• It can provide better access to information and knowledge and hence learning.
• It motivates the students and keeps their interest intact.
• It increases students’ engagement through virtual visits, virtual experimental lab,
interactive quizzes, colourful and playful online activities.
• It can expand learning spaces. There are no physical boundaries. A teacher in a
classroom can show the experiment to a limited number of students. Whereas, online
many more can get benefitted.
• It can provide humanistic grounds of learning in the terms of learning at one’s own
pace.
• It makes us global citizens in the sense that we can know and learn about the
teaching-learning processes at other places of the world.
There are many benefits of technology but it still requires a guide and a path (curriculum) to
make the best learning. At the same time, it is important to make the learners aware of the
risks of technology. Nothing comes in the existence with only the positive face. The negative
effects of technology like harmful effect on health and relationships; misuse of technology,
the distraction of social media etc also need to be taken into account. They also affect
learning- adversely.
Conclusion
We discussed the meaning of learning in this unit. It may be defined as a relatively permanent
change in the behaviour of a person. This change may be due to experience or practice. It can
occur anywhere and anytime. There is no fixed place of learning. Even the process of

29
learning is not fixed. Various people have viewed learning differently- some focus more on
knowledge gaining, others see it as changes in cognitive function. The process of thinking
and learning depends on a range of factors. These factors include personal traits, socio-
economical status, cultural environment, media and technology. A person’s motivation,
interest, intelligence, attitude, self-concept are some of the most significant factors. They act
as stimuli to work in the direction of achieving the desired goal. Teachers and parents must
keep these factors in mind while planning to work with children. Learning is the result of
interaction between nature and nurture.
Chapter at a Glance

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour that comes through
experienceor practice.

Thinking and Learning both are cognitive processes. Thinking is itself a part of
learning.

Behavioural Learning theories explain learning as a result of external factors that
bring changes in behaviour.

The cognitive view of Learning is a general approach that views learning as an active
mental process of acquiring knowledge.

The constructivist view of learning emphasizes the active role of the learner in
building understanding and making sense of information.

Social constructivism sees learning as a process in which children learn actively from
their environment.

Learning is affected by a lot of factors. Some personal factors include a person’s
Motivation, Intelligence, Health, Age, Sex, Attention, Interest, Aptitude, Maturation,
Emotions, Self-Concept, Learning Styles and Prior Knowledge.

Some other factors that are external to the person are Family, Neighborhood and
community, Peer Relationship, School Culture, Socio-Cultural diversities like caste,
class, ethnicity, religion, etc.and Physical Conditions of the learning space.

Media and technology are the factors that help learning become more smooth and
multidimensional.
Do and Learn
 Interview any two students studying in senior secondary school regarding their
performanceand achievements in school. Identify the factors which have influenced
their performance.
 Think of your experiences of the past. Identify the incidents when your own emotions
guided your actions. How do your emotions help you keep mentally healthy?
 Ask your siblings or your friend(s) how they learn best?

30
Self-Assessment
1. Thinking generally leads to learning but it is not always the case. Discuss
substantiating your views with illustrative examples.
2. What are the factors that affect your emotional well-being?
3. Which type of motivation is more important – Intrinsic motivation and Extrinsic
Motivation? Why?
4. List some things/ ways to grab the attention of school students.
5. What do you mean by the learning styles? Discuss some learning styles and their
effect on learning.
6. Draw a concept map showing various factors that affect thinking and learning.

References and Suggested Readings

• Berk, L. E. (2003). Child Development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
• Block -1 Teaching and Learning at Elementary Level. Unit – 3 Factors Affecting
Learning. Issue Date: 18-04-2017. Can be retrieved from
http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/8503/1/Unit%203.pdf
• IGNOU - B.Ed. Course. Subject- BES-002 Teaching – Learning and Assessment.
• Jongiwe Tebekana & E.N. Cishe (2015) Socio-cultural Background Factors Affecting
the Grade 3 Learners’ Acquisition of English Literacy (Reading) Skills in Mthatha
Education District of South Africa, International Journal of Educational Sciences, 8:3,
557-562, DOI: 10.1080/09751122.2015.11890277
• Kumar, A. (2018). Shiksha Manovigyan. Bharti Bhawan Publishers and Distributors.
• Mangal, S. K. (2008). Advanced Educational Psychology. New Delhi: PHI.
• Shaw, S. R., Gomes, P., Polotskaia, A., & Jankowska, A. M. (2015). The relationship
betweenstudent health and academic performance: Implications for school
psychologists. School Psychology International, 36(2), 115–134.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034314565425
• Study material of IGNOU. Can be retrieved from - www.egyankosh.ac.in › bitstream ›
Unit-5 Factors Affecting Learning-I
• Woolfolk, A. (2006). Educational Psychology. Pearson Education.

31
 Lesson-3

Socio-Cultural Factors and its Impact on Children’s Thinking

and Learning Process
Ramanand

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Understand the development of learning and thinking processes in children.
• Differentiate between the different modes of learning among children.
• Understand the profound effect of socio-cultural factors on children’s cognitive
development.
• Realise the application of these understandings in the Indian context.

Introduction
Thinking is a process that validates existing knowledge and enables individuals to create new
knowledge, build ideas, and make connections. It allows the exploration of perceptions and
possibilities. Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviours,
skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. It is the socio-cultural atmosphere that enables the
Learner's thinking process. Psychologists believe that it is the social-cultural atmosphere that
influences the learning process. The behaviourist believes that the social atmosphere plays a
crucial role in the learning and thinking process of the child.1
Socio-cultural is a term related to social and cultural factors, including the Learner's social
background and cultural root. The social environment plays a crucial role in the learning and
thinking of the Learner; it provides environments for Learner's learning and thinking in
various ways.
It is a universally accepted fact that a child's mind develops significantly more when
compared to other points in their life from birth to age five. The significance of a child's
experiences within the initial few years of life – positive or negative – has a high impact on
shaping and developing the brain. 90% of brain growth happens before preschool. Many
psychologists and educationalists have proved this hypothesis. Even India's current National
Education Policy,which has been introduced in 2020, has also made changes in school
structure in keeping the mind of the learning age of the Learner.
Children grow up in specific physical, social, cultural, economic and historical circumstances
(their socio-cultural context); these factors play a crucial role in their childhood. This chapter

1
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/geqaf/annexes/technical-notes/most-influential-theories-learning

32
will examine children's thinking and learning process and analyze the role that socio-cultural
factors play in impacting these factors.

Parents and Childhood Development

Many researchers have found that Learner's social-cultural background plays an essential role
in shaping their development trajectories. We know that cultural factors have a more
significant role in development across cultures due to social and cultural factors that
children's behaviour and habits develop as per the social and cultural backgrounds. Children
who have been deprived of the attention of their primary caregiver at an early stage often
experience some challenges at later stages.
The development includes a cycle of learning and improvement, and Children can realize
when others are there to help them, similar to guardians, educators and kin. Guardians in
various societies assume a significant part in embellishment Children conduct and thinking
designs.
Commonly, guardians are the ones who set up the youngsters to communicate with more
extensive society. Youngsters' connection with their folks frequently goes about as the prime
example of how to carry on around others – learning an assortment of socio-social guidelines,
assumptions and restrictions. For instance, little youngsters regularly foster a conversational
style looking like their folks' – and that frequently relies upon culture.

Understanding the Learning and Thinking Process

Children foster abilities how developers construct a house. They start with the establishment.
Based on that establishment at various phases of advancement, figures out what the house
resembles and how to get from one space to another. It is the process which eveloves with
surrounding activities. Children starts thinking from concrete object to abstract things or we
can say from simple to complex. We need to prvide them atmosphere where this process
facilitate and their abilities of learning and thinking can grow.
Learning and Language
Researches show that infants display behaviours that are essential beginnings for theory-of-
mind development. Children clearly show that they can differentiate between thoughts in
mind and things in the world by age 2. At this age, they also understand the feeling of
happiness and sadness. They can express their desire at the same time.
From 2 to 7 years, language formation starts. They start to learn words other things at this
age. Even they know more words at this stage. It is time where we can give them enabling
atmosphere when they can maximize their capacity. It is a very crucial time for language
learning. This is when we can introduce complex sentences and more languages to children;
it maximizes their cognitive development. It is time when maximum cognitive development
takes place.

33
Many factors, including the social-cultural environment, affects the development of the mind.
Children learn things quickly if those concepts have been introduced in their family by their
parents or guardians. The atmosphere of the family and surrounding add to their vocabulary
and understanding of the issues. The surroundings are the primary dictionary for any
Children.
Learning and Reasoning
The reasoning is the ability to adapt to uncertain, changing, and open-ended environments.
The reasoning is the situations that involve decision-making, including exploring, adjusting,
and using various behavioural strategies. Our mind needs to apply in the cases where
complex decisions making involves so we can learn the reasoning. For this, we need to
prepare children for the stage when their cognitive development starts.
Children learn concept quickly when they engage themselves or internalize that concept
themselves. We need to guide Children through questions and queries to explore more
complex ideas and understand them. Children need to provide an atmosphere where they can
see people performing various activities. Usually, children tend to learn cycling when they
see other children. Cycling is a complex act that involves specific skills at one point in time.
It is skills which require hand, leg and eys. Children learn these skills quickly when they get
an atmosphere and opportunity; otherwise, they take more time later. That’s why it is crucial
to provide them aatmposphere where their resoning skills develop at maximum level.

Socio-Cultural Factors and Development

➔ Socio-Cultural assumes a significant part in affecting youth improvement, and what is
considered “ordinary” shifts are enormously starting with one culture then onto the
next. Children Development is a dynamic, intuitive cycle. Each youngster is
remarkable in communicating with their general surroundings and what they conjure
and get from others, and the climate additionally shapes how they think and carry on.
Children experiencing childhood in various socio-cultural get direct contributions
from their current circumstance. Thus, there's a vast swath of social and social
contrasts in Children's convictions and behaviour.
➔ This early openness influences how Children take care of themselves or their
relationship with others – framing their mental self-view and personality. For
instance, in Western European and North American nations, Children will generally
depict themselves around their interesting qualities–“I am smart” or “I am good at
drawing ”. In Asian, African, Southern European and South American nations,
nonetheless, youngsters depict themselves all the more regularly around their
relationship with others and social jobs. Instances of this incorporate “I am my
parents' child” or “I am a good student”.
➔ Parents in various societies assume a significant part in embellishment youngsters'
conduct and thinking designs. Commonly, guardians are the ones who set up the

34
 youngsters to associate with a more extensive society. Children collaboration with
their folks frequently goes about as the paradigm of how to carry on around others –
learning an assortment of socio-social guidelines, assumptions and restrictions. For
instance, small Children commonly foster a conversational style taking after their
folks' – and that regularly relies upon culture.
➔ Social factors such as peer pressure affect learning in many ways. The type of
company that a learner has the same influenced their behaviour, including learning
(Schmeck et al., 2013). If the learner is influenced to indulge in drugs and skip
classes, it affects their learning abilities because drugs affect their mental health. If
children are influenced to indulge in early sexual relationships, it is likely to interfere
with their concentration during learning.
➔ The educational background of the learners affects their learning abilities either
positively or negatively. Learners from families whose members have been exposed
to higher education are likely to have it easy in all learning activities. Still, a learner
from a family with a poor educational background will have challenges along their
learning journey and will need a lot of help to tackle the challenges.
➔ The instructive foundation of the students influences their learning capacities either
emphatically or adversely. Students from families whose individuals have been
presented to advanced education will probably have it simple in all learning exercises.
In any case, a student from a family with a poor instructive foundation will have
difficulties along with their learning venture and will require a great deal of help to
handle the problems.
➔ When considering learning theories, professionals should also consider socio-cultural
perspectives and the role that culture, interaction, and collaboration have on quality
learning. Modern social learning theories stem from the work of Russian psychologist
Vygotsky, who produced his ideas between 1924 and 1934 as a reaction to existing
conflicting approaches in psychology (Kozulin, 1990). Vygotsky's ideas are most
recognized for identifying the role social interactions and culture play in the
development of higher-order thinking skills, and it is precious for the insights it
provides about the dynamic “interdependence between individual and social processes
in the construction of knowledge” (John-Steiner &Mahn, 1996, p. 192)
➔ Greenfield and her colleagues have documented a pattern of learning among
traditional Mayan peasants girls learning to weave. Mothers organize the girls'
learning by participating in changing roles from early childhood to middle childhood
and beyond. Such learning involves very little verbal interaction. Similarly, Barbara
Rogoff and her colleagues have shown that children from societies where schooling is
either absent or very brief learn through a process of intent observation.
➔ Human Development and learning start in friendly, chronicled, and social
communications. Vygotsky fought that reasoning has social beginnings. Social

35
 cooperations assume a fundamental part, particularly in creating higher-request
thinking abilities. Psychological improvement can't be perceived entirely without
considering the social and recorded setting inside which it is inserted.
➔ He explained, “Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first,
on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first between people (inter-
psychological) and then inside the child (intra-psychological)” (Vygotsky, 1978, p.
57). By working with others on various tasks, a learner adopts socially shared
experiences and associated effects and acquires helpful strategies and knowledge
(Scott & Palincsar, 2013).
➔ Rogoff (1990) refers to this process as guided participation, where a learner actively
acquires new culturally valuable skills and capabilities through a meaningful,
collaborative activity with an assisting, more experienced other. It is critical to notice
that these culturally mediated functions are embedded in socio-cultural activities
rather than self-contained. Development is a “transformation of participation in a
socio-cultural activity”, not transmitting discrete cultural knowledge or skills
(Matusov, 2015, p. 315).
➔ As quoted by Vygotsky' Learning awakens various internal developmental processes
that can operate only when the child interacts with people in his environment and with
his peers. Learning is not development; however, adequately organized learning
results in mental development and sets in motion various developmental processes
that would be impossible apart from learning. Thus learning is a necessary and
universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human,
psychological functions (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 90)
➔ Another significant part of Vygotsky's perspectives on learning is the meaning of
language in the learning interaction. Vygotsky contemplated that social constructions
decide individuals' functioning conditions and collaborations with others, which thus
shape their cognizance, convictions, perspectives, and impression of the real world
and that social and individual work is intervened by devices and signs, or semiotics,
like language, frameworks of tallying, typical signs, and masterpieces.
➔ Vygotsky saw language as a definitive assortment of images and instruments that
arise inside a culture. It is conceivably the best device available to us, a type of
representative intercession that assumes two essential parts being developed.:
speaking with others and building meaning.

Application in the Indian Context

 Families in India do not exist in isolation, and family dynamics are often best
interpreted in the context of their societal and cultural background. Culture has been
shown to determine Indian families structure by shaping the family type, size, and
form and the family functioning by delineating boundaries, rules for interaction,

36
 communication patterns, acceptable practices, discipline and hierarchy in the family.
The roles of family members are primarily determined by cultural factors (and stages
of the family life cycle). Finally, culture also explains families ways of defining
problems and solving them.
 Culture, however, is not an external passive influence on the families, but families
themselves serve as the primary agent for transferring these cultural values to their
members. Parents help children learn, internalize, and understand culture through both
covert and overt means. Family members modify behaviours in themselves and others
by principles of social learning. In this process, the general norms and beliefs may be
limited to suit the family's needs, creating a set of “family values” – A subset of
societal norms unique to the family.
 One such significant component of Asian and especially Indian culture that influences
family working is collectivism. “Collectivism” alludes to the scholarly, financial, or
social viewpoint that underscores the relationship among individuals. It is the
essential social component for union inside gatherings of people, which weights on
the need to gather objectives over singular objectives instead of “independence”,
which accentuates what makes the individual particular and advances commitment in
cutthroat undertakings.
 Social and cultural changes have modified whole ways of life, relational relationship
designs, power structures and familial relationship courses of action in Indian
families. These changes, which incorporate a shift from joint/extended out to a family
unit, alongside issues of urbanization, changes of job, status and force with expanded
work of females, transitory developments among the younger age, and loss of the
experience benefit of older individuals in the family, have expanded the pressure and
tension on such families, prompting a developed weakness to emotional issues and
issues. The families are as often as possible subject to these crucial factors.
 It is demonstrated that taking a gander at the conduct in your family decides a
youngster's reasoning and guiding principle. For instance, in a family where a lady is
a central provider, however, has insignificant remaining in dynamic; the circumstance
prompts job hatred and a complicated force structure in the family. To be sure
contemplates showing that the family unit structure is more inclined to mental issues
than joint families. Subsequently, a Children notices this conduct and embraces it in
his/her life.
 Children from large families have reported significantly lower behavioural problems
like eating and sleeping disorders, aggressiveness, dissocial behaviour and
delinquency than those from nuclear families. Even the large scale international
collaborative studies conducted by WHO – the International Pilot Study on
Schizophrenia, the Determinants of Outcome of Severe Mental Disorders and the
International Study of Schizophrenia – reported that persons with schizophrenia did

37
 better in India and other developing countries when compared to their Western
counterparts mainly due to the increased family support and integration they received
in the developing world.
 The abuse of family assets by a cadre of individuals near the “Karta” (the top of the
family) and women's oppression is the usual discomfort of customary Indian families.
Indian ethos of keeping up “family concordance” and supreme “dutifulness to the
old”. It is frequently used to smother the more youthful individuals. Anyway, aloof
and quiet it might be, the hatred stews and often shows mental problems without an
agreeable goal. Somatoform and dissociative issues, which offer a very expanded
pervasiveness in our general public contrasted with the west, might indicate such
unexpressed pressure.
 The abuse of family assets by a cadre of individuals near the “Karta” (the top of the
family) and women's oppression is the usual discomfort of customary Indian families.
Indian ethos of keeping up “family concordance” and supreme “dutifulness to the
old”. It is frequently used to smother the more youthful individuals. Anyway, aloof
and quiet it might be, the hatred stews and often shows mental problems without an
agreeable goal. Somatoform and dissociative issues, which offer a very expanded
pervasiveness in our general public contrasted with the west, might indicate such
unexpressed pressure.
Conclusion
Our humankind is a consequence of the perplexing exchange of organic and social variables.
A Children devlopment is a collection of the organic, enthusiastic, social and mental changes
that happen in the Children between the times of his introduction to the world to the last part
of immaturity. The improvement begins from home. The social and social foundation where a
Children grows up likewise plays out a significant job in the youngster's turn of events. The
guardians, kin, peer gatherings and older folks all have parts to play in the formative phases
of a Children. Albeit some formative stages are something similar across societies with
practically no limits everywhere on the world, referred to models are normal wonders, for
example, with regards to the achievement of pubescence. In any case, with regards to the sort
of preparing given to a person by the guardians and people around him as specified by their
way of life; and at which age an individual is relied upon to perform some kind of job,
contrasts start to rise up out of one culture to another. The kind of preparing and supporting
of an individual relies upon the way of life. These are establishment stages and in this way
have a lot of impact on the person's later advancement throughout everyday life. We all know
that the development of Children is one of the most crucial tasks of society; it is the
community's collective responsibility that's it is essential to provide an atmosphere where
Child can grow at their maximum capacity. Society's behaviours of surrounding all play a
crucial role in the formation of the child world. A child learns through the surroundings, and
it is essential to make surrounding learning enable where a child can learn at their maximum
capacity.

38
Chapter at a Glance
✔ Children’s socio-cultural context can have a large influence on their development.
These contexts also influence how children develop, given that, across different
cultures, children can develop in quite different ways
✔ Children develop skills the way builders build a house. They start with the foundation.
What gets built on that foundation at different stages of development determines what
the house looks like and how to get from room to room.
✔ Children growing up in different socio-cultural contexts receive specific inputs from
their environment. For that reason, there’s a vast array of cultural and social
differences in children’s beliefs and behaviour.
✔ Children’s interaction with their parents often acts as the archetype of how to behave
around others – learning a variety of socio-cultural rules, expectations and taboos.
✔ Thinking has social origins, social interactions play a critical role especially in the
development of higher-order thinking skills, and cognitive development cannot be
fully understood without considering the social and historical context within which it
is embedded.
✔ Culture, however, is not an external passive influence on the families in India but
families themselves serve as the primary agent for transferring these cultural values to
their members. In this process, the general norms and beliefs may be modified to suit
the needs of the family creating a set of “family values” – A subset of societal norms
unique to the family.
✔ It is proved that looking at the behaviour in your family determines a child’s thinking
and core values. Thus, a child observes this behaviour and adopts it in his/her life.

Do and Learn
● Just observe the behaviour of the child and try to analyse her/his vocabulary. You will
find that the surrounding socio-cultural atmosphere affects the vocabulary of the
Child.
● Find the time table of school, you will find that it follows a sequence which also
relates to learning.

Self-Assessment
1. What is Learning and how it is related to the Socio-cultural atmosphere?
2. What is learning and how it associates with learning?
3. Does peer pressure play any role in the learning of the child? Please cite some
examples to strengthen your argument.
4. Please explain the thinking process and how it is influenced by social factors?

39
References and Suggested Readings
- How culture influences children’s development– Bournemouth University
- How does socio-cultural context influence development?– The Open University
- Sociocultural Perspectives of Learning– Press Books
- Culture– Encyclopedia on early childhood
- The Impact of Culture on the Development of a Child– CordeliaIsidienu

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 Lesson-4 Unit-II

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Heena Chaudhary

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Understand the concept of cognitive development.
• Explain the basic construct of Piagetian theory like Assimilation, Accommodation
and Equilibrium.
• Describe various stages of cognitive development.
• Critically think about the relevance and implications of Piaget’s cognitive
development theory.

Biographical Sketch
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is a
renowned child psychologist from
Switzerland. He is known for his
work on child development. Piaget’s
early interests were in zoology as a
youth he published an article on his
observations of an albino sparrow,
and by 15 his several publications on
molluscs had gained him a
reputation among european
zoologists. Piaget moved from
Switzerland to Paris after his
graduation and he taught at the
school that was run by Alfred Binet,
the developer of the Binet-Simon
test (later known as Stanford- Binet
intelligence scales). Piaget assisted in the making of Binet's intelligence tests.
In 1921, Piaget returned to Switzerland as director of the J.J. Rousseau institute in Geneva.
From 1925 to 1929, Piaget worked as a professor of psychology, sociology, and the
philosophy of science at the University of Neuchâtel. In 1929, Jean Piaget accepted the post
of Director of the International Bureau of Education, Switzerland.
During his journey of learning Piaget became interested in the types of errors children made,
which lead him to explore the reasoning process in these young children (Piaget, 1983) was

41
the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Piaget devised a
model describing how humans go about making sense of their world by gathering and
organizing information (Piaget, 1962, 1983 & 2001). His contributions include a theory of
child cognitive development, detailed observational studies of cognition in children, and a
series of tests to reveal different cognitive abilities. In the 1970s and 1980s, Piaget's works
also inspired the transformation of European and American education system, leading to a
more 'child-cantered' approach. Because of his immense contribution in this field, his theory
of child development is studied in pre-service education programs. Based on Piaget’s
cognitive theory, educators still continue to incorporate constructivist-based strategies in
education.

Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is much more than the addition of new facts and ideas to an existing
store of information. According to Piaget, our thinking processes change radically, though
slowly, from birth to maturity because we constantly strive to make sense of the world. Piaget
identified four factors—biological maturation, activity, social experiences, and equilibration
that interact to influence changes in thinking (Moreno, 2010).Piaget gave a model of
cognitive development which focussed on how children understand and interact with the
world around them.In later section of chapter we will examine Piaget’s ideas closely, because
he provides a detailed explanation of the development of thinking from infancy to adulthood.
According to Piaget (1983), human infants do not start behaving like cognitive beings.
Instead, with the help of their perceptual and motor activities, they build and refine
psychological structures. As children grow they acquire organized ways of making sense of
different experience that allow them to adapt more effectively to the environment. As soon as
Children indulge in environment around them they start developing various structures
actively.They use current structures to interpret experiences, and modifying those structures
to take into account more subtle aspects of reality.
Piaget’s theory is described as a constructivist approach to cognitive development and also
help us to understand the process of human thinking from infancy to adulthood. He viewed
children as discovering, or constructing, virtually all knowledge about their world through
their own activity. Histheory of cognitive development redefines intelligence, knowledge and
the relationship of the learner to the environment.
Characteristics of Cognitive Approach
Following points are the main characteristics of the cognitive approach:
 In the cognitive approach, learning is considered as an active and dynamic process.
 Earlier researchers gave more emphasis to insight while the modern cognitivist place
lot of importance on mental process, schema and cognitive structures.
 ‘Maturation’ is main factor for all the changes and development brought in the
cognitive structures(Sugarman, 1987).

42
  Cognitive development focus on how children think, explore and figure out things.
 It is the development of knowledge, skills, problem solving and dispositions, which
help children to think about and understand the world around them.
 The child is seen as discoverer and active learner who always try to interactsand make
sense of the environment.
 This approach is the most suited for the enhancement of concept formation, problem-
solving attitude and other higher mental processes (Flavell, 1999).

Key Concepts of Piagetian Theory

Piaget’s cognitive development theory has conceptualized that, all species inherit two basic
tendencies. The first tendency is ‘Organisation’ and the second one is ‘Adaptation’(Berk,
2013). Let us discuss each concept in detail in order to understand cognitive development and
formation of knowledge among children.
1. Organisation– Organization is a process that occurs internally, apart from direct
contact with the environment. Infants are born with a tendency to organize their
thinking processes into psychological structures. These psychological structures are our
systems for understanding and interacting with the world (Berk, 2013). Simple
structures are continually combined and coordinated to become more sophisticated and
thus more effective. For example, babies either look at an object or grasp it when it
comes in contact with their hands but they cannot coordinate looking and grasping at
the same time. As they grow up, however, infants organize these two separate
behavioural structures into a coordinated cognitive structure of looking at, moving
towards, and grasping the object(Woolfolk, Misra, & Jha, 2012).
Piaget call these structures schemas. In his theory, ‘schemas’ are the basic building
blocks of thinking. They are organized systems of actions or thought that allow us to
think about the objects and events in our world (Piaget, 1962, 1983 & 2001).In a
simpler termsSchemas are ‘way of organizing knowledge’ (Once children form new
schemes (information or input), they rearrange them, linking them with other schemes
to create a strongly interconnected cognitive system. (Berk, 2013).It can be very small
and specific, for example, the sucking-through-a-straw or drinking from glass, holding
pencil etc.As a person’s thinking processes become more organized and new schemes
develop, behaviour also becomes more sophisticated and better suited to the
environment
One can also understand schemas as ‘units’ of knowledge, each relating to one aspect of
the world, including objects, actions and abstract concepts.On the basis of researches,
Piaget established that newborn babies have a small number of innate schemas - even
before they have had much opportunity to experience the world, and with a growth and
development of a child,schemas become more numerous and elaborated. Gradually the
nature of schema turn into simple to complex(Flavell, 1999).

43
2. Adaptation– According to Piagetin addition to the tendency to organize psychological
structures, people also inherit the tendency to adapt to their environment. Adaptation is
the human tendency to survive for equilibrium or balance between self and
environment. It involves building schemas through direct interaction with the
environment. It results from the interactionist process between the organism and
environment–which helps the infant to organise her/his life experiences from the
environment (Inhelder & Piaget1958). The process of adaptation continues throughout
life. The three basic processes involved in adaptation are: Assimilation,
Accommodation and Equilibrium.
In assimilation, we use our current schemes to interpret the external world.
Accommodation help us to create new schemes or adjust old ones after noticing that our
current way of thinking does not match to an existing knowledge. People adapt to their
increasingly complex environments by using existing schemes whenever these schemes
work (assimilation) and by modifying and adding to their schemes when something new
is needed (accommodation) (Douglas & Holland, 2015).Now let us explore these basic
ideas in detail:
2.1 Assimilation– Assimilation takes place when we use our existing schemes to
make sense of events around us or in our world. In another words ‘Assimilation’
involves trying to understand something new by fitting it into what we already
know (Piaget, 1983). At times, we may have to distort the new information to
make it fit. For example, if child, very first time see a cat then she may call it a
dog. As she already has a perception of dog with four leg, pointed face and a tale.
Piaget said that it happened because she try to match the new experience with an
existing schema for identifying animals.
Assimilation is a tendency to understand new experience in terms of existing
knowledge. Whenever we come across something new, we try to make sense of it,
built upon our existing cognitive structures. According to Piaget, Assimilation
plays an important role in how we learn about the world around us (Woolfolk,
2014). In early childhood, children are constantly assimilating new information
and experiences into their existing knowledge about the world. However, this
process does not end with childhood. As infants encounter new things and
interpret these experiences, they make both small and large adjustments to their
existing ideas about the world around them.
2.2 Accommodation– Accommodation refers to the modification of the individual’s
internal cognitive structures. When the child realizes that his or her ways of
thinking are contradicted by events in the environment, the previous ways of
thinking are reorganized. This reorganization, which results in a higher level of
thinking, is accommodation (Piaget, 1983). In a simpler words the process of
combining or modifying existing schema or formation of new schema is known as
accommodation.

44
 It occurs when the new information is too complex to be integrated into the
existing structure–this means that, it demands for alteration in previous knowledge
or forming knowledge which doesn’t exist before (Flavell, 1999). If we take the
previous example where a baby see a cat and call it a dog. But when explained
about different concept of Dog,baby can modify in pre-existing mental structure
and develop a new one. Another example could be when a child is offered water
in a glass instead of feeding bottle, first he tries his old way of behaving i.e.
sucking. After few experiences the child picks up the new way and makes the
necessary modification in his cognitive structures and accommodate new
learning.Hence, Accommodation occurs when we must change existing schemes
to respond to a new situation.
Piaget also established that during the construction of knowledge, both processes
are required most of the time. Assimilation accounts for the children’s ability to
act on and understand something new in terms of what is already familiar.
Assimilation is followed by accommodation.Whenever new experiences are
assimilated into an existing scheme, the scheme is enlarged and changed
somewhat, so assimilation involves some accommodation (Woolfolk, Misra,
&Jha, 2012). There are also times when neither assimilation nor accommodation
is used. If people encounter something that is too unfamiliar.People adapt to their
increasingly complex environments by using existing schemes whenever these
schemes work (assimilation) and by modifying and adding to their schemes when
something new is needed (accommodation) (Sugarman, 1987).
2.3 Equilibrium– Piaget believed that cognitive development did not progress at a
steady rate, but rather in leaps and bounds. During times of rapid cognitive
change, children are in a state of disequilibrium, or cognitive discomfort. This
unpleasant state of disequilibrium occurs when new information cannot be fitted
into existing schemas (assimilation). Piaget asserted that the process of
assimilation or accommodation helps the organism to adjust or maintain a
harmonious relationship between himself and his environment. This adjustment
mechanism was called ‘Equilibration’ by Piaget. It can be identified as an innate
tendency of an organism to organise its experiences by maintaining a proper
balance between its cognitive structure and the changing demands of its
environment (Inhelder & Piaget 1958).
Briefly, the process of equilibration works like this: If we apply a particular existing
knowledge to an event or situation and the scheme works, then equilibrium exists. If the
scheme does not produce a satisfying result, then disequilibrium exists, and we become
uncomfortable. This motivates us to keep searching for a solution through assimilation and
accommodation, and thus our thinking changes and moves ahead(Margetts & Woolfolk
2012).

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Equilibrium indicates the balance between assimilation and accommodation. Equilibration is
the factor that maintains stability during the process of continuous interaction and continuous
change. Without equilibration, cognitive development would lack continuity and
cohesiveness but instead would become fragmented and disorganized. Equilibrium is the
balancing act between the old and the new perceptions and experiences (Moreno, 2010). The
equilibrium is conceptualised by Piaget as a dynamic and growth-producing process which
would be achieved at each intellectual stage.
Figure-1: Process of Knowledge formation

Source: Moreno, 2010

Theory of Cognitive Development

In this section, we will discuss Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. He has mapped out
in detail the stages by which cognitive functions develop. Piaget postulated that organisation
of the mental structure in all children always takes place in a particular order involving
definite stages of cognitive development (Inhelder& Piaget1958). Thus, although children of
the same age may differ in terms of possession of mental abilities, the order in which the
abilities evolve, and the pattern of development are quite Constant and universal. On the basis
of experiments conducted on children’s way of thinking he concluded that human beings go
through several distinct stages of cognitive development. Each stage involves the acquisition
of new skills and rests upon the successful completion of the preceding one (Piaget, 2001).
Let us discuss this pattern of intellectual development in terms of the four developmental
stages suggested by Piaget.
The proposed names of four stages are: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational,
and formal operational. Each stage represents an increased child’s cognitive ability to think
abstractly, predict the world correctly, explain reasons for things accurately, and generally
deal intellectually with the world. Piaget’s stage sequence has three important characteristics:

46
  The stages are universal; they are assumed to characterize children of all
over(Inhelder& Piaget1958). Piaget regarded the order of development as rooted in
the biology of the human brain. But he emphasized that individual differences in
genetic and environmental factors affect the speed with which children move through
the stages (Piaget, 1983).
 The stages provide a general theory of development, in which all aspects of cognition
change in an integrated fashion, following a similar course.
 Each stage represents advanced cognitive structures and abilities.
 The stages are invariant; they always occur in a fixed order, and no stage can be
skipped.
Stages of Development
The detail explanation about the four stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete
operational, and formal operational) along with their chief characteristics as propounded by
Jean Piaget are as follows:
Figure-2 Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

Source: Woolfolk, 2012

1. Sensorimotor Stage (0-2years)

The first stage is called the sensorimotor stage because major characteristics of this stage are
the child's experiences and learning is limited to only direct sensory and motor interactions

47
with the environment. Which involves seeing, hearing, moving, touching and tasting. In this
stage the baby learns through reflexes, senses, movement and actions on the
environment(Moreno, 2010).During this period, the infant forms most basic conceptions
about the nature of the material world. At this stage they cannot yet carry out many activities
mentally and absence of language can also be observed among children. Some of the major
characteristic of this stage are as follows:
 Object permanence– By this stage an infant is able to react to objects around him.
He begins to realize that the objects around them are separate from himself and they
have their own independent and permanent existence. This is the beginning of the
important ability to construct a mental representation known as object permanence,
the understanding that objects exist in the environment. In initial months the trick of
‘out of sight, out of mind’ works for distracting infants and removing the object while
they are not looking at (Moreno, 2010). After a few months of the birth, the baby
begins to realize that object continues to exist even though he cannot see it. For
example, if you hide a toy in the blanket the baby will try to lift the blanket to find out
the toy because he knows that it still exists.
 Goal-directed actions– A second major accomplishment in the sensorimotor period
is the beginning of goal-directed actions. Now the child starts behaving in a directed
manner to reach out a goal (Douglas & Holland, 2015). Think of the familiar clear
plastic container baby toy with a lid and several colourful items inside it given to a 6-
month-old baby who is likely to become irritated trying to get to the toys inside. An
older child who has mastered the basics of the sensorimotor stage will probably be
able to deal with the toy in an orderly fashion by getting the lid off, turning the
container upside down, shaking if the items jam, and watch the items fall.
 Semiotic function– Semiotic function is another feature of this stage. It is an ability
to work with symbols to represent an object that is not present, such as using the word
horse or a picture of a horse or even pretending to ride a broomstick horse. Children
who are not yet able to talk will often use action symbols—pretending to drink from
an empty cup or touching a comb to their hair, showing that they know what each
object is for. This behaviour also shows that their schemes are becoming more general
and less tied to specific actions.
2. Preoperational Stage (02-07 years)
The second stage called Preoperational Stage starts from 2 years and continues till 7 years. In
this stage the child starts with preliminary mental functioning but the developing ability to
think remains somewhat limited to thinking in one direction only (Piaget, 1983). This stage of
cognitive development involves rapid development of language among children. Some of the
notable characteristics of this stage are as follows:
 Animism– Animism among children can also be identified at this stage. Children
start believing that inanimate objects are capable of actions and have lifelike qualities,

48
 such as thoughts, feelings and wishes (Piaget, 1983). Mannier times you must have
noticed that babies talk to dolls or toys and make them drink water and eat food.
Another example could be when a child falls down on the floor and tries to punish by
kicking it, considering that objects have life like humans.
 Inability to conserve– At pre-operational stage children are seen not to have ability
to conserve.Conservation can be understood as a mental operation or an ability to
comprehend that the physical property of an object will remain the same even if its
appearance gets changed (Inhelder & Piaget1958). Here let’s take a famous
conservation task of Piagetian theory (1983). A child belonging to the preoperational
age say six years old is shown two identical containers filled with the same quantity
of coloured water. The child will agree that both have the same amount. Now the
experimenter - pours the water from one of the containers into a taller but narrower
container and asks the child to compare the amount of water in this taller container
with the amount in one of the old containers.According to Piaget (1983) this happens
because the child at this stage fails to realize that the amount of the material does not
change with the change in shape of the container(See Figure-3).
Figure-3 Piaget’s Conservation Task

Experiment A: 2 container Experiment B: 2 container

with same shape and size and with different shape and size
same amount of water but same amount of water

Source: Woolfolf, 2012

 Lack of Centration– Pre operational children lack in centration. Centration is the
act of focusing all attention on one characteristic or dimension of a situation while
disregarding all others (Woolfolk, 2013). For example if you show a 4year old baby 1
big chocolate and 5 small chocolate of the same weight the baby will tend to choose 5
small chocolate considering that its more in number but not be able to understand that

49
 both options are same in weight. Here, baby’s focused is only on one aspect of a
situation, neglecting other important features.
 Irreversibility– Irreversibility is a common feature of this stage. It refers to the
inability of a young child to reverse a sequence of events or any action. For an
example at this age a child is unable to understand that if he has a brother then his
brother is also having a brother. Here, a child is not able to comprehend the simple
fact of reversing the relationship.
 Egocentrism and Egocentric Speech– Child’s thought process at this stage usually
represents a high degree of ‘Egocentrism’. Piaget believed that when children first
mentally represent the world, they only tend to focus on their own viewpoint and
assume that others think, and feel the same way they do (Piaget, 1962. 1973 & 1983).
One also needs to understand that the concept of egocentrism, as Piaget intended,
does not mean selfishness; it simply means children are unable to consider other’s
point of view at this level.
Egocentric speech occurs between the ages of three to seven as children begin to talk
to themselves. In egocentric speech, the child talks only about himself, does not try to
communicate, expects no answer, and often does not even care whether anyone listens
to him (Flavell, 1999). This inner speech helps them control their reasoning and
organize their thoughts. Piaget interpreted it as ‘Egocentric Speech’ or a practice
engaged in because of a child’s inability to see things from another's perspective
(Piaget, 1983). He also believed that cognitive development and social experiences
eventually bring an end to egocentric speech. Specifically, through disagreements
with peers, children see that others hold viewpoints different from their own. As a
result, egocentric speech declines in favour of social speech, in which children adapt
what they say to their listeners (Sugarman, 1987).
3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
According to Piaget, the concrete operational stage, extending from about 7 to 11 years,
marks a major turning point in cognitive development. In this mental abilities of children
become far more logical, flexible, and organized, more closely resembling the reasoning of
adults than that of younger children (Woolfolk, 2013). The child in the stage of concrete
operations can deal with concrete things and concepts but unable to think in abstract
terms.Detail explanation of these concepts are as follow:
 Logical Thinking– This stage shows remarkable logical abilities among children.
They can use reasoning and mental operations. Now, children learn to deal with
concepts and ideas that exist at mantle level. Children acquire the ability to think in
terms of a set of interrelated principles rather than single pieces of knowledge.
 Conservation– The child now develops the ability to conserve both in terms of
quantity and numbers of objects. It refers to the idea that certain physical
characteristics of objects remain the same, even when their outward appearance

50
 changes (Inhelder & Piaget1958). In contrast with preoperational children, at this
particular stage kids become able to understand that if you break 2 candy bars and
break 1 into smaller pieces and ask which one is bigger? Then the child will answer
both are equal as he knows that change in appearance of an object does not alter
either its quality or number.
 Ability of reversibility– At this level children develop the ability of reversibility
which was absent in the preoperational stage. Now the child knows that if she has a
sister then her sister is also having a sister. Likewise children can understand other
reversible actions also.
 Classification– In this stage of Piagetian theory children are more aware of
classification, hierarchies and can focus on relations between a general and two
specific categories at the same time. For example, a child is shown four yellow
pencils and two white ones and is asked 'are there more yellow pencils or more
pencil’? A typical five year old would say 'more yellow ones' but a child belonging to
the concrete operational stage will say more pencils, as either yellow or white all are
pencils at the end.
 Seriation– A preoperational child is well aware of the process of seriation. The
cognitive operation of seriation (logical order) involves the ability to mentally
arrange items along a quantifiable manner, such as height or weight. To test it, Piaget
asked children to arrange sticks of different lengths from shortest to longest. A child
of 8 to 9 year-old can create the series efficiently, moving in an orderly sequence
from the smallest stick to the next largest (Berk, 2013).
4. Formal Operational Stage (11years to later)
This stage reflects the most advanced period in the functioning of the cognitive system. It
starts from 11years and go on till adulthood. They no longer require concrete things or events
as objects of thought. Formal operational adolescents develop the capacity for abstract,
systematic, scientific thinking. They can think hypothetically, deductively and
scientifically(Woolfolk, Misra, &Jha, 2012).
 Hypothetico-deductive reasoning – According to Piaget the high order of intellectual
functioning developed through this stage. Which is usually characterised by the
presence of the most sophisticated cognitive abilities like the ability to build up
multiple hypotheses and a number of alternate solutions. Piaget believed that at this
level young people become capable of hypothetico-deductive reasoning (Sugarman,
1987).When faced with a problem, they start with a hypothesis, might affect an
outcome, from which they deduce logical, testable inferences. Which will help in
finding a promising solution. At this stage adolescents become capable of thinking
about abstract and hypothetical ideas.
 Abstract thinking– In contrast with previous stages where child’s mental operations
are largely based on concrete concepts. At this level adolescent’s thinking is more

51
 based on abstract things (Flavell, 1999).By now, the person develops intellectuality,
they can judge the validity of logical argument in terms of their formal structure,
independent of content. They can form concepts without seeing things in reality. For
example if teachers want to explain politics in India then she need not show Indian
maps every time. An abstract notion of Indian map in the mental imagery of
adolescent minds is enough to comprehend the topic.
 Imaginary audience– At this stagerelationships between self and others also appear.
Adolescents start believing that they are the focus of everyone else’s attention and
concern (Elkind & Bowen, 1979). As a result, they become extremely self-conscious
about how others perceive them? Due to the belief that everyone is monitoring them
all the time. This concept is called imaginary audience by Piaget. Teenagers spend
long hours inspecting every detail of their appearance and become so sensitive to
public criticism and opinions.
 Personal fable– At this stage adolescents are generally believed that others are
observing and thinking about them. Teenagers develop an inflated perception of their
own importance—a feeling that they are special and unique (Douglas & Holland,
2015). For example some adolescents behave like princes or princesses and think that
they rule the whole world. Many adolescents view themselves as reaching great
depths of despair and experiences others cannot possibly understand.
 Problem solving attitude– During the formal operational stage. Adolescents may
discover the solution of problems by adopting logical and systematic procedures
known as problem solving attitude and scientific thinking. Teenagers at this stage of
cognitive development are often able to plan quickly an organized approach to solving
a problem. It thus represents a stage which help youngsters to attain mental maturity
and developed cognitive abilities.

Limitations of Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget’s theory stands strong in the field of cognitive development but like any other theory
his theory has also some limitations. Many scholars and educationist question and challenged
Piaget’s theory on following grounds:
1. Problem with stage theory– The stages are generally associated with specific ages,
but Many researchers found that these are only general guidelines, not labels for all
children of a certain age (Beilin, 1992). There are many regional and cultural
differences found regarding stage bound cognitive development. It’s not like that all
of us will pass through the same four stages in exactly the same order, as discussed by
Piaget. Critics said that it is important to understand that knowing a student’s age is
never a guarantee you will know how the child thinks.
2. Unscientific Methods– Researchers alleged Piaget’s theory has a lack of rigor. They
characterized his work by: based on small sample size, controlled environment, use of
unscientific methods and absence of statistical analysis in his research. Much of this

52
 form of criticism has originated from ‘Empiricism’ which was extremely popular at
the time.
3. Overlooking Cultural Effects– Educationists also believe that Piaget overlooked the
effects of child's cultural and social groups. Though the stages of development are
representatives of Western society and culture but somewhere undermine the role of
culture in cognitive development. However, in other cultures there may be a much
higher regard for the basic level of concrete operations (Dasen, 1994).
4. The claim that a child is unable to perform an intellectual task like conservation at age
below those specified by Piaget has also been questioned. A number of studies have
shown that it is possible to train children to carry out not only tasks like conservation
but also very complex formal operations in early ages.
5. No importance has given to language development– Piaget has underestimated the
importance of language in cognitive development. He did not consider that language
can play a pivotal role in the construction of knowledge and cognitive development of
children.
6. Generalization is not possible– Piaget attempted to identify universal features of
cognitive development by observing children in specific situations. There are many
cultural differences and different meanings of childhood exist in the world which
strongly questioned the uniformity and universality of theory as claimed by him
(Moreno, 2010). Plus small samples of children and the methods he used were
inadequate to make generalisation. However, it is reasonable to say his theory is
highly context specific and cannot be generalized.

Educational Implications of Piaget’s Theory

Despite above mentioned limitations the contribution of Piaget’s theory can never be
underrated and continues to influence teaching learning process, teacher training and
classroom practices, especially during early childhood:
1. Discovery learning– Piaget’s theory promotes discovery learning among learners. In a
Piagetian classroom, children are encouraged to discover for themselves through
spontaneous interaction with the environment. Instead of presenting ready-made
knowledge verbally, teachers should provide a rich variety of activities designed to
promote exploration and discovery, including art, puzzles,, role play, building blocks,
natural science tasks etc.
2. Aware us with the thought process of children– His theory proves valuable to teachers
and parents for making them aware of thought processes of children at a particular level
of age. It will be also beneficial to them in dealing with the children and planning their
training and education (Kuhn, 1979). They may also get some ideas to handle various
changes occurring in different ages, for example to deal with the problem of adolescent
children.
3. Provide a suitable framework of curriculum– Piaget’s theory helps us in providing a
suitable framework of learning experiences at the proper time in sync with cognitive

53
 development of the children and society. For example there is no use of teaching political
science in second class because small children will not understand it. Similarly teaching
algebra at primary level is pointless as students have not acquired mental abilities yet to
underuse complex things.
4. A focus on the process of children’s thinking, not just on product– Piagetian theory
stressed upon the process of knowledge formation among learners. He clearly talked
about the process of development in a child's thinking and understanding. This really
helped the education system to understand that the process of learning is more important
than the product of learning.
5. Piaget’s theory stressed the importance of use of a variety of teaching learning material
other than verbal communication and including concrete objects while teaching content
especially to younger children for better retention of the concept.

Conclusion
The influence of Piaget’s ideas in developmental psychology has been enormous. Piaget’s
contributions to the field of child development are greater than those of any other theorist. He
awakened psychologists and educators to a view of children as curious knowledge seekers
who contribute actively to their own development (Inhelde & Piaget1958). And his
pioneering efforts to both describe and explain development inspired the current focus on
mechanisms of cognitive change—precise accounts of biological, psychological, and
environmental factors that lead children to modify their thinking. During the 90's, Jean
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was considered as the major paradigm to
understand the complex procedure of mental progression through different levels of thinking
and understanding. He changed how people viewed the child’s world and their methods of
studying children. Piaget’s influence on education has been powerful (Piaget, 2001). He gave
teachers new ways to observe, understand, and enhance young children’s development and
offered strong theoretical justification for child-oriented approaches in education. Finally,
Piaget’s theory offers a useful ‘road map’ of development among children. His theoretical
framework remains powerful aids to understanding emotional, social, and moral
development. Piaget’s ideas have generated a huge amount of research which has increased
our understanding of cognitive development. He was an inspiration to many who came after
and took up his ideas. His ideas still maintain a vital influence in both general psychology
and contemporary education.

Chapter at a Glance

Piaget highlighted the role of biological maturation in the development and growth of
cognitive structures.

The change and development in mental abilities and learning brought by experiences
involves the process of assimilation, accommodation and equilibrium.

54

Schema is the basic building blocks of thinking and mental system of perception and
experience.

Adaptation is a mental tendency to adjust to the environment.

Assimilation is a Process of fitting new information into existing schema

Accommodation is a Process of altering existing schema or creating new schema in
response to information.

Equilibrium is a Search for mental balance between schema and information from the
environment.

Piaget proposed a stage theory of cognitive development with four stages known as
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Semiotic function means the ability to use symbols-language, picture or gesture to
represent actions or objects mentally.

Piagetian theory is a cornerstone in the field of cognitive development. It continues to
influence teacher training and classroom practices, especially during early childhood.

Do and Learn
 Discuss the concept of ‘whole’, ‘part’ or ‘proportion’ for Preoperational children with
the help of shapes on felt board or cardboard pizza.
 In order to develop an ability to see the world from someone else’s point of view,
relate social study lessons about poverty or discrimination back to the children’s
experiences.
 Discuss open ended questions that stimulate thinking among learners like- Are the
brain and the mind same thing?
 Teach the concept of area by having students measure two school rooms that are of
different sizes
Self-Assessment
1. What is cognitive development?
2. What are the main features of it?
3. What are the major concepts discussed by Piaget?
4. How Assimilation, Adaptation and Equilibrium are interconnected in forming
knowledge?
5. What are the characteristics of Sensory motor and Preoperational stage?
6. According to Piaget, at which stage do children begin to think logically about abstract
propositions?
7. What kinds of classroom practices might be indicative of Piaget’s constructivism?

55
 8. What are the basic limitations of Piaget’s theory?
9. Discuss educational implications of Piaget’s theory?

References and Suggested Readings

• Babakr, Z., & Mohamedamin, P., & Kakamad, K., (2019). Piaget's Cognitive
Developmental Theory: Critical Review. 10.31014/aior.1993.02.03.84.
• Beilin, H. (1992). Piaget’s enduring contribution to developmental psychology.
Developmental Psychology, 28(2), 191–204. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-
1649.28.2.191
• Berk, L., 2013. Child development. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson.
• Boden, M. A. (1994) Piaget. London: Fontana Press. Harvard University Press.
• Dasen, P. (1994). Culture and cognitive development from a Piagetian perspective. In
W .J. Lonner & R.S. Malpass (Eds.), Psychology and culture (pp. 145–149). Boston,
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
• Douglas, O. B., & Holland, B. F. (2015). Fundamentals of educational psychology.
New York: Macmillan.
• Flavell, J. H. (1999). Cognitive development: Children’s Knowledge About the Mind.
Annual Review of Psychology, 50(1), 21–45.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.50.1.21
• Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1958). An essay on the construction of formal operational
structures. The growth of logical thinking: From childhood to adolescence. (A.
Parsons & S. Milgram, Trans.).
• Kuhn, D. (1979). The application of Piaget's theory of cognitive development to
education. Harvard Educational Review. 49, 340-360.
• Mangal, S.K. (2004). Advanced Educational Psychology. India: PHI Learning.
• Margetts, K., Woolfolk, A. (2012). Educational Psychology Australian Edition. (n.p.):
Pearson Higher Education AU.
• Miller, P. (1989). Theories of developmental psychology. New York: Freeman.
• Moreno, R. (2010). Educational Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. Morton Library. New
York, NY, US: W W Norton & Co.
• Piaget, J. (1983b). Piaget's theory. In P. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology
(Vol. I, pp. 103-128). New York: Wiley.
• Piaget, J. (1986). Essay on necessity. Human Development, 29, 301- 314.

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• Piaget, J. (2001). The psychology of intelligence. Oxford, UK: Routledge
• Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1973). La psychologie de 1'enfant [The psychology of the
child]. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. (Original work published 1966)
• Piaget, J. (2013). Origin of Intelligence in the Child: Selected Works Vol 3. United
Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
• Siegel, L. (1978). The relationship of language and thought in the preoperational
child: A reconsideration of nonverbal alternatives to Piagetian tasks. In L. Siegel & C.
Brainerd (Eds.), Alternatives to Piaget (pp. 43-67). New York: Academic Press.
• Sugarman, S. (1987). Piaget's construction of the child's reality. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
• Woolfolk, A. E. (2013). Educational psychology. Boston, MA: Pearson
• Woolfolk, A., Misra, G. & Jha, A.K. (2012). Fundamentals of educational
psychology. (11th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson.

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 Lesson-5

Observational Learning as Explained in the Social Cognitive

Theory of Bandura
Sahil Joseph Simon
Bhageshwari Sharma

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Describe the main tenets of the Social Cognitive Theory.
• Understand the different learning approaches in the social cognitive theory.
• Describe the role of Self- Efficacy in learning.
• Illustrate various experiments associated with Observational Learning.
• Integrate various steps in the process of modelling.
• Discriminate between Reinforcement and Punishment.
• Analyse the process of Vicarious Learning.
• Elaborate the strengths and weaknesses of Social Cognitive Theory.

Biographical Sketch
Albert Bandura, was born on Dec 4, 1925 in Alberta, Canada.He was a therapist and
originator of the social-psychological hypothesis, who became popular for his displaying
concentrate on animosity, alluded to as the “Bobo
doll"Experiment, which exhibited that kids can
learn practices through the observation and
perception of adults. After moving on from
secondary school in 1946, Bandura took
admission in a four-year college education at the
University of British Columbia and in 1949
graduated with the Bolocan Award in brain
research. He received a doctorate in clinical brain
science (1952). In 1953 Bandura acknowledged a
one-year instructorship at Stanford University,
where he immediately got a residency. In 1974,
he was named the “David Starr Jordan Professor
of Social Science in Psychology”, and after two
years he became director of the brain research office. Bandura was the first to illustrate
(1977) that viability, the confidence in one's own abilities, affects what people decide to do.
Bandura got various honours for his commitments to the field of brain research, including the

58
American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to
Psychology (2004), the American Psychological Foundation's Gold Medal Award for a
recognized lifetime commitment to mental science (2006), and the University of Louisville
Grawemeyer Award for Psychology (2008; conveying a $200,000 prize) for his notable work
in self-adequacy and intellectual hypothesis. In 2016 he got the National Medal of Science.
Bandura likewise stood firm on numerous hierarchical participation and situations, including
APA president (1974) and American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) individual
(1980). Bandura was related for a long time with an assortment of scholastic diaries,
including the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Applied Psychology, Media
Psychology, Cognitive Therapy and Research, Behavior Research and Therapy, and Social
Behavior and Personality. He additionally composed, coauthored, or altered various books,
including Adolescent Aggression (1959), Principles of Behavior Modification (1969),
Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis (1973), Social Learning Theory (1977), and Moral
Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live with Themselves (2016). In 2002 the
Review of General Psychology positioned Bandura as the fourth most famous analyst of the
twentieth century, following B.F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud.
Introduction
Learning is a process of knowledge acquisition or acquiring certain skills which aims at the
completion of a task. There are different ways in which a person learns. Albert Bandura
theorise learning through observing others in a social context so he is also known as a Social
Cognitive Theorist and the theory that he devised is termed as the social cognitive theory or
the social learning theory.
As per the social cognitive theory there is a aconsistent and equal communication between
Cognitive, Behavioural and Environmental factors. This can be interpreted in the following
ways that the interaction of a person with the environment and behaviour of others including
his own way of thinking and cognition leads to the overall development of the personality of
a person. It highlights a simple fact that people learn by watching and observing others.
These three factors viz. Cognition, Behaviour and Environment are dynamic and
interdependent on each other. For example, A child born in a rich family which rose from
poverty through hardwork and dedication will develop a personality by observing the work
done in the family, the mindset and thinking styles of parents and experiences offered by the
environment he is raised in.
Main Highlights of Albert Banduras’ Social Cognitive Theory
• Social Cognitive Theory suggests the importance of careful observation and
modelling i.e. applying the observed behaviour, thinking styles, attitude and moral
code of conduct in everyday life.
• Social Learning theory agrees with behaviourism and further adds that moderating
processes occur between external stimuli (a factor or a process taking place outside an
organism which may have an effect on the orgamisn or on his actions) and the

59
 generated responses and a given Behavioural Conduct is gained from the environment
through the cycle of observational learning.
• People learn through observing others, this process is known as Vicarious Learning.
• However, People do not always model thebehaviourthat they observe. For e.g. a
person travelling by bus doesn’t always want to drive the bus just because he is
observing the driver’s behaviour. Only those behaviours are modelled with which a
given person can relate and identify.
• The degree and extent of commonalities and emotional relationship between the
observer and the model controls the extent of vicarious learning.
• Self-efficacy also plays a maojor role in in modelling an observed behaviour. It is
“the belief in one's capacity to formulate and execute the courses of behaviour
required to moderate and manage a given situation.” i.e. it is belied in ones ability to
learn from a situation or the ability one has in himself to achieve a goal. If a person
believes that he can successfully model a given behaviour, then that behaviour will
indeed be modelled successfully.
Learning Approaches in Social Cognitive Theory
Albert Bandura, highlighted the fact that learning in an individual through a socio-cognitive
perspective can take place primarily through the following three principles:-
1. Reciprocal Determinism
2. Self- Efficacy
3. Observational Learning
Let us now understand the above-mentioned principles
1. Reciprocal Determinism
This principle highlights the role played by an individual’s behaviour in the environment. It
talks of a triad that includes the individual, his behaviour and the environment.An individual
is the one who is displaying and demonstrating the behaviour. His behavioural outcome is the
product of his thoughts, feelings and emotions. The behaviour of the individual is the set of
actions and decision a person displays and the Environment is the place where the behaviour
takes place. It is important to note that all these three factors work interdependently and
influence each other bidirectionally and interact with each other to give the overall effect to
the personality of a person.

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The above three factors which includes the person, behaviourand theenvironment, do not
work with the same effect and with equal strength and neither of the three work together
simultaneously. Thus, it is important to say that cause of a given indicator will take time to
influence the other indicator. Let us study it through an example:– Suppose a younger brother
is being irritated by his elder brother during the time when there is no electricity and the
young one displays anger and aggression by retaliating and throwing things around as the
result of the stimuli given by the external environment which includes the heat from the
environment and irritation caused by the elder Brother. Thus all the three factors are
interdependent showing reciprocal determination which in this case are:–
Aggression/Retaliation/ Throwing things (Behaviour)

Young Brother Heat/Irritation by Elder brother

2. Self-System/Self Efficacy
“In social learning theory, a self-system is a set of cognitive structures and processes that
involve regulation and control of a given behaviour through self-analysis, insight and
discernment or judgement. The self-framework permits us to assess our own conduct
regarding past experience and expected future outcomes. As per Bandura, there are three
segments of measurement that are engaged with self conduct through the actuation of self-
endorsed possibilities. The three components that are included with self-system are self-
observation, judgmental processes and self-response.
a. Self-observation– This includes observation of our own behaviour and keeping a
check on our own behaviour at different instances and circumstances. For e.g., if a
person hears about the demise of a close relative, how he reacts under such
circumstance by observing himself will characteriseself-observation. Regular
evaluation of this factor helps in adjusting our behaviour appropriately.
b. Judgment– The process of judgement happens when we make an emotional
assessment of the outcomes of our conduct after self-observation. We assess our
exhibition without contrasting it with others. We likewise also contrast our exhibition
with the presentation of others. Our decisions are influenced by the worth we put on
an assignment or ability. For e.g. If a person is feeling that his world is falling apart
after the demise of that relative, he can accept that behaviour and explore options
where he can moderate that feeling.

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 c. Self-response– This happens when a person gives suitable reinforcement to himself
for the observed behaviour. Reinforcement can be positive or negative. For e.g.
Taking the mind off from a dreadful situation by actively engaging in self-interest
activity or by taking help from a counsellor for comfort.
The Role of Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is perhaps the most empowering brain research models to have been embraced
into positive Psychology. It is simply the idealistic faith in our fitness or odds of effectively
achieving an assignment and delivering an ideal result.
Self-efficacy can also be understood in terms of self- viability and evaluation of self has a
significant influence in deciding our odds for progress; indeed a few therapists rate self-
adequacy above our intrinsic ability in order to attain progress. We need to give extraordinary
consideration to self-viability when defining objectives, to, ensure that our convictions
regarding the achievement of a target are in accordance with our internal characteristics and
not neutralising them.
Albert Bandura names four sources from which self-efficacy develops:
a. Mastering our Experiences– The most important sourceof self-viability is through
dominance encounters, where we are able to control the outcome of a given situation.
Nothing is more remarkable than having an immediate encounter of authority to
expand self-adequacy. For instance, if an individual is able to do well in an
assignment or is able to control the environment as per the needs of a given task, then
the victory or achievement will lead to development or growth of self confidence of
that individual. On the other hand, if he fails to attain victory then his self-confidence
will also suffer.
b. Vicarious Experiences– The second wellspring of self-adequacy comes from our
perception and mindful observations of individuals around us, particularly individuals
we consider as good examples and those we tend to look upto.These individuals
become our role models and we start emulating them and also believing that if we
follow their footsteps then even we might achieve our goals.
c. Verbal Persuasion and Encouragement– Compelling and enthralling individuals in
our lives like parents, teachers, guardians, instructors, administrators or mentors can
fortify our convictions that we have the ability and disposition within ourselves to
succeed. Being convinced that we have the capacities to dominate certain activities
and situations in our livesimplies that we are bound to invest the exertion and support
it when issues emerge.
d. Affective & Physiological States–Our Emotional, Psychological and physiological
state controls a great deal of our self -efficacy. The state you're in, will impact how
you judge your self-viability. Misery, for instance, candevoid us of our trust in our
abilities. Stress responses or pressure are deciphered as indications of weakness while
positive feelings can help develop our trust in our abilities.

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 e. Imaginal Experiences– Psychologist and Analyst James Maddux has recommended a
fifth course to self-adequacy through “imaginal encounters”, the speciality of
picturing yourself,acting adequately or effectively in a given circumstance before the
occurrence of that situation. This kind of behaviour prepares us adequately when a
given situation occurs. In such a case, we are able to control our thinking, judgement,
emotions and actions appropriately concerning the demands of situations.
3. Observational Learning
In 1961, Bandura directed his popular analysis known as the Bobo doll experiment, to
examine examples of conduct of individuals when exposed to a stimulus. Bandura's outcomes
from the Bobo Doll Experiment changed the course of present-day brain science and
psychology and were broadly credited for aiding shift the concentration in scholarly brain
science from unadulterated behaviourism to psychological. The study was critical in light of
the fact that it deviated from behaviourism's demand, that all conduct and behaviour is
coordinated by support or rewards. The analysis included presenting kids to two distinctive
grown-up models; a forceful model and a non-forceful one. In the wake of seeing and
observing the grown-up's conduct, the kids would then be set in a room without the model
and were seen to check whether they would imitate the practices they had seen before.The
youngsters got no consolation or motivating forces to pound and hit the doll. On observing
the behaviour, they were essentially found emulating the conduct they had noticed. Bandura
named this wonders observational learning and portrayed the segments of effective
observational learning as attention, retention, reciprocation and motivation. He showed that
young people observe, learn and imitate what they found in others even when there was no
specific motivation for this behaviour. This showed deviation from the behaviourist model
which said that the behaviour will be displayed only after the initiation of an external
stimulus, however in this case they just imitated the observed behaviour without any external
motivating factor.
Bandura in his experiment talked about three types of models:–
• A live model- The one who is demonstrating behaviour and showing and acting out.
• A verbal instructional model- The one who is explaining the behaviour.
• A symbolic model- This includes genuine or anecdotal characters showing practices
in books, films, TV programs, or online media.
Brief overview of the Bobo Doll Experiment– Albert Bandura conducted an experiment
titled “Bobo Doll Behaviour: A Study of Aggression.” Inthis investigation, Bandura exposed
a gathering of kids to a video which presented vicious and forceful activities. For the
investigation Bandura made a film of one of his understudies, a young lady, basically
pounding a bobo doll. Bobo doll is an inflatable, egg-shaped expanded structure with a load
in the base that makes it bounce back up when you wreck it. The lady punched the doll and
yelled “sockeroo!” She kicked it, sat on it, hit it with a little mallet, and soon, started yelling
different forceful expressions. Bandura showed this film to gatherings of kindergartners who,

63
as you may foresee, enjoyed it a lot. They at that point were let out to play. In the playroom,
obviously, were a few eyewitnesses with pens and clipboards close by, a shiny new bobo
doll, and a couple of little sledges.
The eyewitnesses recorded that a ton of young children beat down the bobo doll. They
punched it and yelled “sockeroo,” kicked it, sat on it, hit it with the little mallets, etc. At the
end of the day, they imitated the young lady in the film. Bandura called this phenomenon
observational learning or modelling, and this theory which emerged out of the experiment is
usually called as the social learning theory.

The Process of Modelling

All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there are certain steps involved in the
modelling process:
1. Attentional Processes– Attention is the primary requirement for any learning to take
place. If a person has undivided attention, he will be able to learn more effectively
and efficiently. If the attention is diverted and distracted, that person will be learning
less and have a negative impact on the overall process of observational learning. If the
Lerners find the model interesting and captivating, he will learn more profusely with
undivided attention. The mental state of a person also controls the process of
attention. For e.g., if a person is sleep-deprived, high on drugs and alcohol,
hyperactive etc., the process of learning will take inadequately.
2. Retentional Processes– The capacity to store data or information is likewise a
significant piece of the learning process. Maintenance and sustenance of information
in mind can be influenced by various elements, however, the capacity to pull up data
later and follow up on it is crucial to observational learning. Subsequently, you should
have the option to hold and recall what you have focused on. This is the place where
symbolism and language come in. We store what we have seen the model doing as
mental pictures or verbal portrayals which are easy for us to comprehend later. When
so put away, we can later “raise” the picture or depiction, so we can recreate it with
our own behaviour and conduct.
3. Replication Processes– Whenever a person has given appropriateattention and
focused on the model and held and retained the data, the time has come to really play
out the behaviour the person has noticed and observed. Further practice of the learned
conduct prompts improvement and advancement of performing a given skill. Through
replication and reproduction person needs to decipher the pictures or portrayals into
real conduct. So you must have the capacity to duplicate the conduct in any case.
Another significant characteristic about proliferation is that our capacity to copy
improves with training at the practices in question. Furthermore, it has been noticed
that our capacities improve in any event when we simply envision ourselves
performing! Numerous competitors, for instance, envision their exhibition in their
imagination before really performing.

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 4. Motivational Processes– Motivation to produce behaviour is one of the most essential
requirements for the conclusion of Observational Learning. If the model is attended to
by a person for learning, content is retained adequately and is reproduced when
required, still, it will be incomplete unless the drive to produce that behaviour is
absent. Bandura categorised it inform of reinforcement or punishment because both of
them can be equally responsible for the display of a given behaviour.
As seen above, the process of modelling a behaviour culminates inthe motivational processes,
but what will make a person achieve this motivation. Studies have revealed that motivation
happens when a person receives a reward for a given behaviour or to avoid some kind of
affliction, therefore it is important to understand, two additional terms associated with the
Process of motivation viz. Reinforcement and Punishment.

Reinforcement and Punishment

One of the different arrangements of learning is portrayed as a type of inner reward, like
pride, fulfilment, and a feeling of achievement. In view of certain scientists like Muro and
Jeffrey (2008) which upheld Bandura's social learning theory ideas, this sort of adapting
likewise accentuation on inside contemplations and perceptions and can help interface
learning speculations to psychological formative hypotheses. In this respects, Bandura
(1986), scrutinized this cycle and accepted that outside, ecological support isn't the solitary
factor to impact learning and conduct.
Apart from intrinsic motivation, the social learning theory focused on many other types of
motivations which included:
a) Past Reinforcement– which is often regarded as behaviourism
b) Promised Reinforcements– they include the incentives which are promised.
c) Vicarious Reinforcement– Seeing and imitating a model that a person observes.
When the motivation of a given behaviour to be modelled has to stop, it is substituted by the
punishment which tries to put a stop to the performed behaviour.
a) Past Punishment– Reminding of a situation thatwas perceived adversely and had a
negative impact.
b) Promised Punishment– These include the threats which a person will experience
when a given action is performed.
c) Vicarious Punishment– This demonstrates the threat on a model when he performed
the behaviour.
The above two causes of motivation highlight a new term, viz. vicarious reinforcement and
vicarious punishment. The term “Vicarious” is an important highlight in the social cognitive
theory given by Bandura, therefore it becomes evident to understand and exemplify this term,
so let's now comprehend this term.

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What is Vicarious Learning?
Vicarious learning is a method of discovering that permits people to gain from the experience
of others. It is a cognizant interaction that includes detecting, feeling, and sympathizing with
what individuals are doing and taking notes, and assessing. Instead of direct, involved
guidelines, vicarious taking in is gotten from aberrant sources like hearing and seeing.
Instances of circuitous sources include: when an individual sees or hears a live circumstance,
watches a video, tunes in to a story, peruses a book, or envisions a circumstance.
Examples of Vicarious Learning
There are several ways in which vicarious learning is applied in our day to day lives.
1. Review genuine circumstances and real-life scenarios
For instance, a sales representative who is new to the work can figure out how to offer better
administrations and make more deals. This tends to be accomplished by tuning in to the
business specialists and seeing how they act when making deals. It is likewise fundamental
topick the best attributes to consolidate with their qualities for their business' potential
benefit. Numerous representatives frequently learn by carrying on how they see their senior
associates around them act. They pursue them around the working environment to get more
insight and counsel from them. It just shows how much others' activities may simply impact
our day today lives.
2. Watching a video
Watching a video also aids our learning in some way or the other.For example, these days
several online courses are available in video mode where the learner observes the steps
depicted in the video and learns from it.TheRecordings posted online regularly have “how-
to” and instructional exercise recordings. These recordings intricately teach one the best way
to perform such undertakings, in this manner upgrading their abilities. Aside from these
“how-to” recordings, there are likewise different recordings that can be utilized for
instructive purposes on different points and leads to vicarious learning.
3. Reading a book and hearing a story
Reading a book and hearning a story also aids learning. For example,the business-related
books can help us in understanding the different business procedures that the writer has
applied and what worked in their business, and what fizzled. It gives us another point of view
of the procedures to apply, tomake our organizations more effective and gives us a thought of
the things not to do.Whenreading a book, we regularly get so immersed in the story that we
begin imagining ourselves from the character's perspective.
Contingent upon the character's job, we will get familiar with the outcomes of specific
activities. In such a manner, we will learn through the character's experience that all activities
have results, and dependent on our activities, we anticipate a specific kind of result. Stories
regularly have a method of catching our consideration and making us mindful. Hearing a

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story from your associate about somebody who was as of late terminated in view of explicit
wrongdoing will caution you to keep off a similar movement. It will likewise instruct you to
submit to organization laws and guidelines to evade a similar destiny. Similarly, finding out
about somebody who was as of late advanced for being a high-performing representative will
instruct you that you ought to be more dedicated to your work to improve returns and along
these lines get considered for advancement.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Social Cognitive Theory

In view of past examinations, qualities and shortcoming of social learning theory can be
categorised as follows:
The first is uplifting feedback which implies that if the activity impersonated by the observer
is a positive one, along these lines the activity might be capable of a reward or complimented
by others.
The subsequent one is discipline and it utilises when the activity mirrored by the spectator is
negative and may irritate or hurt others, along these lines prompting a type of discipline may
be fundamentally beneficial for the observer who is performing the activity.As per this point,
if the model is delivering conduct that is proper, dependable and positive in general, the
spectator will impersonate that positive acceptable conduct. In this way, we should be
continually mindful of how we introduce ourselves and of our activities.
Strength of Social Learning Theory
• Gathered a noteworthy examination record
• Directed towards significant human social practices and behaviour
• An advancing hypothesis that is available to change and evolve.
• Primarily focused on significant hypothetical issues, e.g., the job of remuneration in
learning, the security and stability of conduct or behaviour
Limitations of Social Learning Theory
A few specialists dependent on their discoveries announced a few restrictions for this theory
operation allies; many applications of the SCLT focus on one or two constructs, such as self-
efficacy, while ignoring the others.
• Not a fully systematized and an organised theory
• Doesn’t give clarity regarding the requirement of reinforcement for both learning and
performance.
• Ambiguity regarding the concept of self -efficacy whether it's stable or dynamic and
how does it related to broader personify dimensions as detailed by other theorists.
• The finding of the theory ispreliminary and not extensive.
• Doesn’t highlight phases of modelling with respect to the age of a person. For e.g.
what happens when a person matures?

67
Conclusion
The Social Learning Theories’ speculations have frequently been known as an extension
between behaviourist learning hypotheses and cognitive learning hypotheses, since, they
envelop consideration, memory, and inspiration. It is likewise positioned a weighty spotlight
on psychological ideas. In addition, Albert Bandura is apparently the most famous living
analyst whose Social Cognitive hypothesis has impacted numerous territories of request:
instruction, wellbeing sciences, social arrangement and psychotherapy among others. On a
nearer perception, the social intelligencehypothesis has its foundations in American
behaviourism, yet Bandura broadens extremist behaviourism to remember intellectual
elements for his record of social learning. At last, he has attempted to utilise psychological
hypothesis to take care of various worldwide issues like nature protection and conservation,
poverty, growing world population and so on.

Chapter at a Glance

Albert Bandura theoriesof learning is through observing others. Such kind of theorist
are known as Social Cognitive Theorist.

The socialcognitive theory hypothesis clarifies a consistent and equal communication
between Cognitive, Behavioural and Environmental factors.

Social Cognitive Theory suggests the importance of careful observation and
modelling.

When people learn through observing others, this process is known as Vicarious
Learning.

Self-efficacy is “the belief in one's capacity to formulate and execute the courses of
behaviour required to moderate and manage a given situation.

Learning in an individual through socio-cognitive perspective can take place primarily
through the following three principles:–Reciprocal Determinism; Self-Efficacy and
Observational Learning

Reciprocal Determinism– This principle highlights the role played by an individual’s
behaviour in the environment.

Self- Efficacy is measured through self-observation, judgment about our self and the
process of self-response.

Self-efficacy comes from the following: Mastering our Experiences, Vicarious
Experiences,Verbal Persuasion and Encouragement, Affective & Physiological States
and finally Imaginal Experiences

Bandura conducted the Bobo doll experiment in order to depict observational
learning. He said that the participants modelled the observed behaviour even when no
external stimuli werepresent to reinforce it. The said that modelling happens by
observing either a live model, verbal instructional model or a symbolic model.

Process of modelling takes place through the following steps: Attentional Processes,
Retentional Processes, Replication Processes and Motivational Processes

68

The process of reinforcement leads to the probability of the increase in the occurrence
of a given behaviour. These reinforcements can be remembered as Past reinforcement,
Promised reinforcement (based on incentives) and vicarious reinforcement.

The process of punishment leads to the decrease of certain behaviour. This includes
past punishment, promised punishment and vicarious punishment.

Strength of Social Learning Theory– Gathered a noteworthy examination record,
Directed towards significant human social practices and behaviour, An advancing
hypothesis that is available to change and evolve, Primarily focused on significant
hypothetical issues

Limitations of Social Learning Theory– Not a fully systematized and organised
theory, Doesn’t give clarity regarding the requirement of reinforcement for both
learning and performance, Ambiguity regarding the concept of self -efficacy whether
it's stable or dynamic and how does it related to broader personify dimensions as
detailed by other theorists, Finding of the theory are preliminary and not extensive.
Doesn’t highlight phases of modelling with respect to the age of a person.

Do and Learn
 Select a model on any social networking site and follow them closely for a period of
15 days. Observe and write their daily schedules. After this period, introspect your
own habits and lifestyle with that of the modelling and make a qualitative correlation
between them.
 Read self-help text and watch some motivational videos everyday for a period of a
month. After this time span, write a reflective analysis on the impact it had on your
self-efficacy.

Self-Assessment
1. What were the main highlights of the Social Cognitive Theory?
2. What are different approaches for learning in the Social Cognitive Theory?
3. Explain the main sources of Self- efficacy.
4. What are the components of self-efficacy?
5. What is the “Bobo Doll” Experiment? What conclusions were made from this
experiment?
6. Explain the different types of reinforcement and punishments in the process of
observational learning with the help of examples.
7. Differentiate between reinforcement and punishment.
8. Discuss in detail different processes involved in the process of modelling?
9. What were the main strengths and weaknesses of the Social Learning Theory?

69
References and Suggested Readings
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Efficacy Beliefs. Positive Psychology.Org.Uk. http://positivepsychology.org.uk/self-
efficacy-definition-bandura-meaning/
• Bandura, A. & Walters, R.H. (1963). Social Learning and Personality 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.
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• Bandura, A. (Ed.) (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies. New York: Cambridge
University Press
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https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-reciprocal-determinism-2795907
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from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymaker-psychology/chapter/learning-
approaches/
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Introduction to Psychology. Cengage Learning.
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• What is the development of self-system as proposed by Bandura. (2018, September
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proposed-by-bandura/
• What is Vicarious Learning: Examples and Conditioning. (2020). Valamis.
https://www.valamis.com/hub/vicarious-learning
• What the Bobo Doll Experiment Reveals About Kids and Aggression. (n.d.). Verywell
Mind. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/bobo-doll-
experiment-2794993

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 Lesson-6
Learning as Conceptualised in the Information
Processing Approach
Preeti Panwar

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
● Know and understand the holistic meaning of learning.
● Describe the nature of learning.
● Know and learn about Information Processing Approach.
● Situate learning in the Information Processing Approach.
Introduction
“Learning preserves errors of the past as well as its wisdom.”
–A.N. Whitehead
We all know that learning is a life-long and ongoing process. Its scope is wide. When a
human baby is born, at the time of her/ his birth, s/he is equipped with the capacity to make a
limited number of responses. As the child grows and attains maturity, s/he becomes capable
of responding in a diversified manner. Responding towards certain behaviour or a person is
one of theexamples of learning as this includes the capacity to recognise, understand and then
exercise choices.In this way, we can say that learning starts at the point we are born and
continues till the point our lives end. Learning names of objects such as pencil, fruits,
vegetables (potato, tomato), boys, girls etc. is another important task. As one grows older,
one observes many events or objects and learns to distinguish among them by learning their
various features. One also learns to drive a scooter, four-wheeler, to communicate with others
effectively and to interact with others. Categorisation of objects such as furniture, ball,
utensils etc. is also learning. On the whole, we can say that at every moment of life, learning
takes place.
Definitions of Learning
Following are some of the important definitions of learning:
According to Gales and others, “Learning is the modification of behaviour through
experience and training.”
According to J.P. Guilford, “Learning is any change in behaviour, resulting from
behaviour.”
According to Charles E. Skinner, “Learning is the process of progressive behaviour
adoptions.”

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According to Crow and Crow, “Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge and
attitudes.”
According to E.A. Peel, “Learning is a change in the individual following upon changes in
the environment.”
According to Morgan and Gilliland, “Learning is some modifications in the behaviour of
the organism as a result of experience which is retained for at least a certain period of time.”
According to R.S. Woodworth, “Learning consists in doing something new, provided the
new activity is reinforced and can reappear in later activities.”
According to M. Driscoll, “Learning is a persisting change in human performance or
performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and
interaction with the world.”
According to Hilgard, “Learning is the process by which an activity originates or is changed
through reacting to an encountered situation provided that the characteristics of the change in
activity can’t be explained on the basis of native responses, tenderises, maturation or
temporary, states of the organism like fatigue or effect of drugs.”
According to Colvin, “Learning is the modification of our ready-made behaviour due to
experience.”
Above are some of the important definitions of Learning. Almost all of the above definitions
focus on behavioural changes. This means learning has something to do with behaviour.
Nature of Learning
Learning is a key process in any organism’s life. Organisms keep learning throughout their
lives as learning is a continuous process.
1. Learning is Universal. Every creature that lives learns. The human nervous system is
very complex, so are human reactions and so are human acquisition. Learning is
universal as every being while living life learns one or the other thing.
2. Learning is through Experience. Learning always involves some kind of
experience, direct or indirect.
3. Learning is Continuous. It denotes the lifelong nature of learning. Every day new
situations are faced and the individual has to bring essential changes in her / his style
of behaviour adopted to tackle them.
4. It results in a Change in Behaviour. It is a change of behaviour influenced by
previous behaviour. It is any activity that leaves a more or less permanent effect on
the behaviour.
5. Learning is an Adjustment. Learning helps the individual to adjust herself/himself
adequately to new situations. Most learning in children consists ofmodifying,
adapting, and developing their original nature. In later life, the individuals acquire
new forms of behaviour.
6. It comes about as a result of practice. It is the basis of drill and practice. It has been
proven that students learn best and retain information longer when they have
meaningful practice and repetition. Every time practice occurs, learning continues.

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 7. Learning is a relatively Permanent Change. If you have been on a bicycle for
years, in just a few minutes of practice you can be quite proficient again.
8. Learning as Growth and Development. It is never-ending growth and development.
The learner acquires new visions of his future growth and news ideals of achievement
in the direction of his effort. According to Woodworth, “All activity can be called
learning so far as it develops the individual.”
9. Learning is not directly observable. The only way to study learning is through some
observable behaviour. Actually, we cannot observe learning; we see only what
precedes performance, the performance itself, and the consequences of performance.
After analysing the above mentioned points we can summarize the nature of learning as
follows:
- Learning involves activities.
- Learning involves change.
- Interaction is an essential feature of learning.
- Reflection is a must while learning.
- It is a life-long process.
- It involves problem-solving.
- It is purposeful.
- It is about organising experiences.
- It is all about growth and development.
- It is transferrable.
- It is a process.

Information Processing Approach

Following are the assumptions in the Information Processing View of Learning:
• Information is processed in various steps or stages.
• At each stage, limited information can be processed.
• The human information processing system is interactive.
Overview of the Information-Processing System
According to the cognitive information processing view, the human learner is considered to
be a processor of information in the same way as a computer. As per this approach, the
information is input from the environment, it is processed and stored in memory and output in
the form of some learned capability. Advocates of this approach like behaviourists seek to
explain how human behaviour can be modified by the environment.
Most models of information processing can be traced to Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), who
proposed a multistore, multistage theory of memory. That is, from the time information is
received by the processing system, it undergoes a series of transformations until it can be
permanently stored in memory. This flow of information, as it is generally conceived, is
shown in Figure 3.1. Shown in the figure are the three basic stages of the proposed memory

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system – sensory memory, short term memory, and long-term memory – along with the
process assumed to be responsible for transferring information from one stage to the next.
Figure. 1 Flow of Information as Generally Conceptualized in Information-Processing
Theory.

(Source: From Driscoll, M.P., Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Allyn & Bacon,
1994. Second Edition)

Learning as Conceptualized in Information Processing Approach

Let us briefly discuss the three important stages of the Information Processing Approach. The
following table represents the summary of the various stages of memory:

Properties Sensory Register Short-Term Store Long-Term Store

Capacity Large Small Large
Code Literal copy of physical Dual code- verbal Episodic / Semantic
stimulus - visual
Permanence 0.5 seconds 20-30 seconds Permanent

Source Environment Environment and prior Effective encoding

knowledge from STS

Loss Decay Displacement or Irretrievability

decay

Source: From McCown, R.R., Driscoll, M.P., & Roop, P., Educational Psychology: A learning-
centred approach to classroom practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1996. Reprinted with permission.

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1. First Stage of Information Processing
Sensory memory, represents the first stage of information processing. This memory is
associated with the senses like vision, hearing etc. It functions to hold information in memory
very briefly, just long enough for the information to be processed at a further stage.
For example, imagine that you are in a dark room that is unfamiliar to you. You strike a
match which flares briefly and then goes out. After the match has gone out, you have a visual
after-image of the room, which is in your mind just long enough for you to determine where
the door or the light switch is located. There is a separate sensory memory corresponding to
each of the five senses (vision, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting).
In a nutshell, features of Sensory memory:
• It is related to the senses like hearing, vision etc.
• It holds the information very briefly, just long enough for the information to be
processed at the next stage.
As we know that Sensory Memory represents the first stage of information processing and is
associated with the senses we have. The existence of some sort of perceptual store in the
information-processing system that registers information and holds it very briefly was
demonstrated in a series of experiments conducted by Sperling (1960). Sperling presented the
subjects with a visual array of twelve letters (arranged in three rows of four letters each) as
shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Visual Displays Similar to Those used by Sperling (1960)

Source. (Source: From Driscoll, M.P., Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Allyn & Bacon,
1994. Second Edition)

He, flashed the array on a screen for 50 milliseconds (1/20th of a second) and then the
subjects were asked to report the letters they have seen. Even with such a short span of
exposure, subjects could report three or four letters accurately. He used the partial report
technique to show that all of the letters had entered sensory memory. He used a high,
medium, or low tone to signal to subjects which row of the array they were to report. Instead

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of relatively poor performance (three or four of twelve letters), subjects showed remarkably
good performance, reliably reporting three or four letters in the row no matter which row was
signalled.
Researchers, have come to view attention as a resource with limited capacity to be allocated
and shared among competing goals (Kahneman, 1973; Grabe, 1986). This indicates that
learners have some control over the process and they may selectively focus attention to meet
some specific ends. This is also true that some tasks need more attention and others require
less attention and maybe accomplished effortlessly and automatically.
Here comes the importance of the concepts like selectivity and automaticity which are
considered as necessary aspects of attention. Let us briefly discuss these two concepts.
A. Selective Attention
Selective Attention refers to the learner’s ability to select and process specific information
while simultaneously ignoring other information. The extent to which the individuals can
spread their attention across two or more tasks or focus on selected information within a
single task depends upon a number of factors like meaningfulness of the information, the
complexity of the task, similarities or differences among competing tasks, the ability to
control attention etc.
B. Automaticity
When tasks are overlearned or sources of information become habitual, to the extent that their
attention requirements are minimal, automaticity has occurred. Driving a car is a very good
example of this.
C. Pattern Recognition and Perception
Pattern Recognition refers to the process when information from the environment is analyzed
and familiar petters are identified to provide a basis for further processing. It consists of
simply matching the incoming information to the appropriate template in memory. Past
experiences or prior learning is one of the important factors to be considered for its effect on
pattern recognition.
2. Second Stage of Information Processing
The Short-Term memory functions as a temporary working memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin,
1968, 1971). At this stage, further processing of the information takes place so that the
information gets ready for long-term storage or a response.
Working memory has been likened to consciousness. When one is actively thinking about
ideas and is therefore conscious of them, they are in working memory.
In a nutshell, features of Short-Term memory:
• This is the stage where further processing of information takes place to make it ready
for long term storage.
• It holds information for a limited amount of time.
• It holds a limited amount of information.

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Information selected for processing at the next stage comes to the working memory which is
also known as the Short-Term Memory or Short-Term Store. We have already discussed that
this memory holds a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time. In order to
prevent or minimise the loss of information from working memory, and to make sure it is
being transferred to long-term storage, two important processes are necessary which are
briefly discussed below:
A. Rehearsal
When we repeat digits of a phone number over and over again while waiting to use the
phone, we are engaged in the process of rehearsal. Some of us may call it maintenance
rehearsal because repetition helps us to maintain the information in the working memory for
some period of time. Once we have made the call and reached the meeting, we no longer
need to maintain the phone number in the short-term store.
It is important to understand that to reach a relatively permanent state in long-term memory,
maintenance rehearsal is not sufficient. In the case of more complex and meaningful
information, mere repetition does not ensure its processing to long-term storage. For this, we
need the technique which is discussed below.
B. Encoding
Encoding refers to the process of establishing a relationship of the incoming information to
the concepts and ideas already in memory in such a way that the new material is more
memorable. Humans will always try to make things meaningful, to fit the new experiences
into the ones they already know. Encoding serves to make permanent what the processes of
perception and attention have initiated. Bousfield (1953) found that people will group related
pieces of information into categories in order to learn and remember them better. Even when
the information is seemingly unrelated, learners will impose their own, subjective
organization on the material in order to learn it (Tulvin, 1962).
3. Third Stage of Information Processing
The Long-Term memory represents a permanent storehouse of information. Things which
are to be remembered for a long time must be shifted from short-term to long-term memory.
It is assumed that the information which is processed into long-term memory is never truly
lost.
In a nutshell, features of Long-Term memory:
• It has the capacity to retain an unlimited amount and variety of information.
• It is a permanent storehouse of information.
• The information processed in this memory is never truly lost.
Once the information has been stored in long-term memory, no matter in what form, it can be
retrieved for use, retained over time, or forgotten.

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The process of retrieval from long-term memory is relatively simple to understand.
Previously learned material or the information is brought back to mind, either for
understanding some new concept (input) or for making a response.
After World War II, the birth of computers provided a concrete way of thinking about
learning anda framework for interpreting early work on memory, perception and learning.
Stimuli were considered as inputs and behaviour became the outputs. And what occurred in
between was conceived of as information processing.
On the whole,the Cognitive Information Processing Model of learning can be considered as
inspired by the system operated in a computer. In a computer, the inputs in terms of
commands are given, then processing takes place in the Central Processing Unit CPU (mind
of the computer). Afterwards, the output is shown by the machine (computer). In this manner,
the process of learning gets a concrete form to get itself explained. As per this model,
learning is all about giving inputs, getting them processed at various stages and getting
outputs.
Like the traditional cognitive view, the Cognitive Information Processing Model portrays the
mind possessing a structure consisting of components for processing (storing, retrieving,
transforming, using) information and procedures of using the components. Like the
behavioural view, the CIP (Cognitive Information Processing) model holds that learning
consists partially of the formation of associations. (Andrte & Phye, 1986, p.3).

Implications of Information Processing Approach for Instruction

1. Providing organized instructions– Instructional tactics such as signalling what
information is important and drawing learners’ attention to particular characteristics
of that information can promote selective attention and appropriate pattern
recognition. To enhance encoding and retrieval, the use of images and representing
the information in multiple ways are appropriate. Graphis representations are very
effective to promote encoding and memory storage of information.
2. Arranging extensive and variable practice– The amount of practice is important but
the kind of practice also matters a lot. During concept learning, learners’ must not
only be able to distinguish among similar concepts but also be able to apply that
knowledge across a range of appropriate contexts.
3. Enhancing learners’ self-control of information processing– This is possible in
two conditions. First, the learner must have a base of prior knowledge that may be
related to the strategies they are learning. Second, learners must know when and why
various self-regulatory strategies may be effectively used.

Conclusion
The Cognitive Information Processing Approach considers the human learner as a processor
of information (in the same way a computer is). Stimuli from the environment are considered

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as inputs which are registered in sensory memory, afterwards, it is shifted to the short term
memory store and with more meaningful efforts it is transferred to long term memory store.

Chapter at a Glance

Learning is a life-long and ongoing process, it starts at the point we are born and
continues till the point our lives end.

The assumptions in the Information Processing view of Learning are: Information is
processed in various steps or stages; at each stage, limited information can be
processed; and the human information processing system is interactive.

According to the cognitive information processing view, the human learner is
considered to be a processor of information in the same way as a computer. As per
this approach, the information is input from the environment, it is processed and
stored in memory and output in the form of some learned capability.

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), proposed a multistore, multistage theory of memory
which includes sensory memory, short term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory is associated with the senses like vision, hearing, touching, smelling
and tasting. It functions to hold information in memory very briefly, just long enough
for the information to be processed at a further stage.

The Short-Term memoryfunctions as a temporary working memory. At this stage,
further processing of the information takes place so that the information gets ready for
long-term storage or a response.

In order to prevent or minimise the loss of information from short-term memory, and
to make sure it is being transferred to long-term storage, two important processes are
necessary which are rehearsal and encoding.

The Long-Term memoryrepresents a permanent storehouse of information. Things
which are to be remembered for a long time must be shifted from short-term to long-
term memory.

Do and Learn
 As you were a part of the classroom teaching-learning process in the school system,
give an example explaining the implications of theCognitive Information Processing
Approach and ways to retain the learned material in long term memory. You can
explain by choosing one of the subjects of your curriculum.

Self-Assessment
1. “Learning is a life-long process.” Justify the statement.
2. Describe various nature of learning?
3. Name and explain three important stages of the Information Processing Approach?
4. What are the implications of the Information Processing Approach for learning?
5. Define the following terms:
(a) Selective Attention

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 (b) Automaticity
(c) Encoding

References and Suggested Readings

• Dillon, R.F., & Sternberg, R. J., (1986). Cognition and instruction. Orlando:
Academic Press.
• Driscoll, M.P., (1994). Psychology of learning for instruction. Boston: Allyn & Bacon
• Gagne, E. D., (1985). The cognitive psychology of school learning. Boston: Little,
Brown.
• McCown, R.R., Driscoll, M.P., & Roop, P., (1996). Educational psychology: A
learning-centred approach to classroom practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon
• Phye, G.D., & Andrfe, T., (1986). Cognitive classroom learning. Orlando: Academic
Press.

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 Lesson-7

Learning as a Social Process of Knowledge Construction as

Discussed by Vygotsky
Heena Chaudhary

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able:
• To understand the concept of socio-culturaltheory of cognitive development.
• To explain the basic construct of Vygotsky’s theory like ZPD, scaffolding and private
speech.
• To describe the difference between the theory of cognitive development proposed by
Piaget and Vygotsky.
• To critically think about the relevance and implications of Vygotsky’s theory.

Biographical Sketch (1896-1934)

Lev Vygotsky was born in 1896 in
Russia. He graduated from Moscow
University in 1917. After graduating, he
first became a teacher and later turned
to the field of psychology. He taught
literature and psychology for several
years. His interests were quite diverse
but often centred on issue like cognitive
development, language, culture and
psychology. He is considered a pioneer
in the area of learning in social
contexts. He made the world understand
how child learn in a social environment
and created a unique theory on social
learning (Vygotsky, 1987).
Vygotsky was amongst the first to
examine how social interactions
influence our cognitive development.
He strongly believed that Social interactions are the main source of learning and various
institutions like family, peers, school and society play a vital role in it.He has also
emphasized on the role of culture and argued that culture has a major impact on a child’s
cognitive development. He postulated that the social interactions with adults and more

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learned peers can facilitate a child’s potential for learning (Kozulin, 1990). Without this
interpersonal instruction, he believed children’s minds would not advance very far and were
only confined to their own discoveries.
Vygotsky died very early in the age of 37,due to tuberculosis,resultantly his theory is not well
researched like other theorist. Nevertheless, the field of child development has experienced a
burst of interest in Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective (Berk, 2013). His work became the
foundation of much research and theory in the field of cognitive development over the past
several decade. Vygotsky made us understand how people learn in a social environment and
created a unique theory on social learning. Many academic institutions, teachers and
researchers flourished and got benefited because of his concept of social context of learning.
His contribution is this direction is immense and quite relevant in today’s time as well.

Socio-Cultural Theory of Cognitive Development

Vygotsky is known as the proposer of social constructivism. He believed that knowledge is
co-constructed. A learner constructs his/her knowledge in the close interaction with family,
peers, society and culture. All these institutions play a crucial role in the formation of
knowledge among children. According to Vygotsky, learning happens with interaction and
assistance of much informed person, thus contributing to the social aspect of the theory
(Vygotsky,1987). Social Constructivism approach stressed on the importance of social
interaction and context in learning. This approach and he strongly believed that learning is
social in nature and through social interactions children shared their views and made their
own meaning. Socio- cultural approach doesn’t talk about individual learning rather it
emphasized on the social context (Woolfolk, Misra&Jha, 2012).
Vygotsky’s theory is labelled as ‘Socio-Cultural theory’ as social and cultural aspects are
elemental to it. His theory does not have any stages, like Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development.The main idea of the theory is that the way children interact with others and the
culture they give shape to their mental abilities. It is the combination of cultural influences
and genetics that create one’s personality (Wertsch, & Kanner, 1992). The main intent of
Vygotsky was to design a new way to look at cognitive development and come up with a
solution to educational and social problems of that time (Vygotsky, 1987 & 1994). He
believed that factors other than biological instincts also play an important role in cognitive
development of child. He postulated that parents, relatives, peers and society all have an
important role in forming higher levels of functioning in children. His theory highlights the
role of social and cultural interactions in the process of learning.
Vygotsky‘s theory clearly states that socio-cultural interaction is critical in the process of
cognitive development and growth thus child’s mental processes begin initially with social
interactions. According to Vygotsky, social and cultural interactions are very important for a
learner. As he conceptualized that ‘every function in a child’s cultural development appears
twice: first, at the social level (between the people) and later at the individual level (inside the
child) (Vygotsky, 1987).He was a strong supporter of the idea that what children learned

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from other people belongs to their own culture helped them develop. He postulated human
thought processes are highly based on social interactions.To understand Vygotsky’s
sociocultural theory in a holistic way it is important to understand all the basic theoretical
concepts of it, which are discussed in the following headings.
1. Knowledge and culture
Vygotsky was the first modern psychologist to suggest that culture plays a critical part in
learning and cognition of children (Wertsch, 1985). Culture and context, according to him
(1987) are critical for the cognitive development of the children. He postulated that Culture is
significant in learning, it can be defined as the morals, values, and beliefs of community
members, which are held in place with systems, traditions and rituals. It is also important to
note that the culture of each individual is created by their unique strengths, language, and
prior experience.
Children use their psychological tools to cognitively transform their social experiences.
According to Vygotsky the culture in which a child is embedded dictates which tools, social
interactions and skills are needed. What one culture values may differ from another, thus the
tools reflect specific cultural values and needs. For example, western society places
importance on individual centred life, education and technology. While other societies, such
as more indigenous types, may emphasise the importance of hunting and gathering type self-
sufficient life style and behaviour (Goodnow, 2001). As one can analyse that the
psychological tools indigenous societies utilizes and the ones which western societies utilize
would differ a lot. It means the process of learning of children immensely affected by the
cultural tools that they belong to. Vygotsky strongly believed that culture provides the child
with the cognitive tools needed for development. The adults in the child’s environment are a
source of transmission and preservation of the tools of the culture, which include language,
cultural knowledge and social context (Woolfolk, 2013).
Vygotsky is of the view that teachers should provide an environment to children to construct
knowledge with peers and teachers i.e. co-construction of knowledge. He emphasized on the
role of culture on learning which helps in acquiring appropriate skills. In the context of
education cultureis not limited to only classroom culture rather it is a social culture where
children live, grow and learn, which includes family, neighbourhood, community and society
as a whole (Wertsch, & Kanner, 1992). Here culture is seen in a very comprehensive manner.
With regards to ‘Knowledge’ he postulated that it is mutually built and constructed.
Knowledge is distributed among people and environments, which could be developed best by
cooperation and interaction with others. Giving more and more opportunity to children to
interact with elders at home or in community, and learners in class or in the playground helps
them to refine their own thoughts and develop a shared vision or understanding of a different
situation or object.
2. Zone of Proximal Development
The Zone of Proximal Development is a fundamental component of Vygotsky’s theory. It is a
‘range of tasks that are too difficult for a learner to master alone, but can be mastered with

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the assistance or guidance of more-skilled adult’ (Vygotsky, 1987). The working of ZPD can
be understood in three steps. First, ZPD focus on children mental functioning (to complete a
task) which is ongoing but not complete. Secondly, it recognize assistance from experienced
adult. Finally it help children to complete the task by adding extra learning to them. Hence
ZPD helps in converting actual learning ability into potential learning ability where children
will be able to complete a task with assistance. In other words ZPD is process which establish
relation among the following questions.
 What students are unable to do?
 What students are able to do independently?
 What students are able to do with assistance?
Basically, ZPD is a difference between what a student can learn independently and what a
student can learn with the assistance of a more knowledgeable person (peer or teacher). The
strength of the ZPD is it allows students to begin the process of moving beyond what they
could learn independently. You may have observed that a child may have an interaction with
an adult or more capable peer that may lead to mental functions that are not yet mature and
lie between actual and potential development. Often, a teacher will collaborate with students
as they move through the zone of proximal development, and will assist their knowledge
building process that results in adding to their existing knowledge bank (Shabani, Khatib,
&Ebadi, 2010).
In the range of ZPD the student develops the ability to perform a task, first with guidance of a
teacher or peer, and finally on his or her own. Though the teacher initially serves as a more
knowledgeable person to guide the process which she later withdraws and allow the students
to then self-lead. We can see the benefit of this sort of guidance when we think about the
acquisition of language. For example children can be assisted in learning language by others
who listen attentively, model more accurate pronunciations and encourage elaboration
(Vygotsky, 1987 &1994).
It is within the ZPD that a student’s current level of development raises through
communication and mediation with an adult or a more competent peer. It helps students to
reach a higher level of learning which they could not achieve independently. Let’s take an
example of Reena, a 12th class student who was trying to solve some mathematics problems
but failed. The teacher asked guiding questions to her, which led her to follow the right
approach and she succeeded to solve the problem. In this example, you can observe how the
child moves from lower limit to upper limit and enjoys successful learning with the help of a
more experienced person.
The concept of ZPD clearly defines that cognitive development among children are centred
around both the process- what a child can do on his/her own and what a child can do, when
assisted by more competent person (Wertsch, &Kanner, 1992).

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 Figure-1: Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development represents what a child can learn with the
proper support of experienced adult.

3. Scaffolding
Scaffolding is deeply associated with Vygotsky’s idea of the Zone of Proximal Development.
It can be understood as an interaction between a child and an adult who helps the child to
finish a task that s/he could not do alone. Just like an artificial physical support material is
used to support buildings as it is being made, scaffolding in sociocultural theory plays an
important role in assisting and providing support to children as their mental processes
develop(Woolfolk, Misra & Jha, 2012).
A simple example of scaffolding could be a ‘child learning to walk’. A new born baby does
not simply walk on his/her feet right away after birth. First, the parents would hold their child
upright, helping and allowing the baby to put barely any weight on his/her own legs. Then,
parents may begin to put more weight on the child's legs, until the baby gets the movement
correctly.Gradually baby starts learning to walk with the help of parents. Scaffolding is also
work in a similar manner.
Largely, scaffolding is about providing assistance in the right amount, at the right time. There
are many ways to scaffold learning. Teachers may utilize different techniques based on the
needs of their students or the type of task. It can be given through instructions. For example
when a teacher supports students throughout the learning process. The teacher gradually
introduces new ideas, building on prior knowledge. As students learn new skills, they are able
to master the task by tackling each section at a time. This allows them to acquire new skills
using only temporary supports (Goodnow, 2001).
The following are the ways in which scaffolding can be incorporated with the help of teacher
in the classroom:

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  Co-creation of learning goals with the students– Co-creation of learning
goalsalways helps in better learning.The students feel like they have a say in their
learning, they will be much more motivated to follow through. It also creates
belongingness and ownership among learners.
 Using various strategies– A teacher should use various strategies to assist students
throughout a learning activity. For example, diagrams, graphics, sentence prompts,
questioning, relevant stories, or other forms of visual models can be used to enhance
learning and retention.
 Building independence– During scaffolding a teacher should try to build
independence among learners by encouraging students to apply their knowledge to
new contexts. Application of knowledge and understanding, will encourage a lot of
self-confidence and independence among students (Kozulin, 1990).
 Collaboration– Scaffolding can be used with the help of collaboration. In the
classroom a teacher can make groups or pair of children, posing a problem in front of
them and ask them to solve it through each other’s help and cooperation. This method
is also a major implication of Vygotsky’s theory, used widely in various classrooms
(Vygotsky, 1987).
 Linking knowledge with daily examples– Teachers can develop activities that
directly correlate with day to day life of learners and give instructional goals. This
will help students to relate better with the content.
Vygotsky visualized that children are in centre of education system where teachers should act
as a facilitator for learning by guided exchanges, comprehensive discussions, and the creation
of an engaging community. These are valuable strategies for cognitive development. The
teacher should guide the students through their learning journey. This encourages students to
become more responsible for their own learning, and, in turn, they create their own goals and
monitor their own levels of engagement. (Shabani, Khatib, & Ebadi, 2010). Hence,
scaffolding is beneficial because it promotes a positive learning environment. Students feel
supported; they are able to ask questions, enhance their participation, encourage their
classmates, and offer their opinion on the activity.
4. Role of Language and Private Speech
Vygotsky strongly believed that language is critical in the process of learning for learners and
it forms the basis of social interaction among learners. He expressed that language is the first
stage of development as a vocal means of learning in the social process and students move
beyond the initial stage of development when the thought processes become more complex
and advanced.
His ground breaking theory about language as a tool of learning also emphasised on the
argument that language supports other activities such as reading and writing. In addition, he
claimed that logic, reasoning, and reflective thinking were all possible as a result of language.
According to him, Language is ultimately the tool by which we communicate the desired

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behaviours and therefore enable the development of a society and culture at large (Wertsch,
& Kanner, 1992).
Vygotsky while explaining the importance of language also emphasised upon the role of
private speech in the cognitive development of a child. You must have experienced that you
talk to yourself when you are struggling with a problem, trying to remember something, or
feel very emotional about a situation. In a similar way children talk to themselves too.
Vygotsky, however, theorized that children talk to themselves in order to solve problems or
clarify thoughts. When children are too young and learn to think in words, they do so aloud
eventually (with growing years) closing their lips and engaging in Private Speech or inner
speech. During interaction with more capable people, children get information and use that
understanding in their private speech(Vygotsky, 1987 & 1994).
While, Vygotsky said that children speak to themselves as a way of guiding themselves
through action. He also acknowledge thatprivate speech changes with age of children. At the
beginning it’sexternal (out loud) speech when they are too young but later it becomesmore
internal (within themselves) as they grow.

Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky

The realm of education and the teaching learning process have been greatly influenced by the
work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Both have contributed immensely to the field of
education by offering detailed explanations on children's cognitive learning styles and
abilities. Whereas Piaget’s theory emphasized the biological side of cognitive development.
Vygotsky, emphasized the profound effects of social and cultural contexts on child’s
learning. Both psychologist may have different opinion on how they view cognitive
development in children, but undoubtedly they offer constructivist perspective on how to
teach children in an appropriate manner. Also, both identify child as a discoverer, active
agent and self-motivated explorer who forms ideas, tests it, and interacts with the world.
In this particular section we will discuss the basic differences between the theories proposed
by Piaget and Vygotsky:
1. Piaget conceptualized that cognitive development among children occurs in four
universal and consecutive stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations,
and formal operations (Woolfolk, 2013). Whereas Vygotsky didn’t conceptualize his
theory in any stage format. His Socio-Cultural theory discusses various concepts of
cognitive development without putting it into stages.
2. The biological aspect is more dominant in Piaget’s theory on the other hand
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development pose lot of emphasis on
social aspect of learning.
3. Vygotskian theory believed that children can be master in any task or work with the
help and assistance which he called ‘Scaffolding’. It involves offering the support
during learning process to with hints or clues for problem solvingin order to maximize
child’s current level of performance (Berk, 2013). Thus according to him, with the

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 help of scaffolding child will be able to achieve success in problem solving while
Piaget proposed that children do not have the mental abilities to solve various
problems, until and unless they reach at certain age.
4. In Piaget’s view egocentric speech is immature and doesn’t contribute to cognitive
development. Vygotsky understood the importance of Private speech and considered
it self-directed. According to him Private speech helps children in solving problem
and clarifying thoughts.
5. Piaget and Vygotsky both differ on the approach of learning. Piaget advocated for
discovery learning with the little intervention from the teacher, while Vygotsky
promoted guided discovery in the classroom. Guided discovery actively involves the
teacher as a facilitator in offering probing questions and discovering the answers of
those questions (Berk, 2013).
6. Piagetian theory proposed that children progress through the stages of cognitive
development through maturation and mental processing like schema, assimilation and
accommodation. While Vygotsky's theory stressed the importance of interaction with
culture and society as an important factor for development.
7. Vygotsky believed that learning and development occurs first at social level and then
move to individual level which is opposite in Piaget’stheory of cognitive
development. He believed that firstly a child builds a unique view of the world
according tohis/her age (Individual level) and maturation.
8. Piaget, conducted a systematic study of cognitive development based on research and
experiments that answers many questions related to child development (Kozulin,
1990). On the other hand Vygotsky did not conducted researches or any empirical
study in support of his theory.Overall, Piaget’s work has been more heavily
scrutinized and well organised than Vygotsky’s.
Following table will help you to understand the differences and similarities between
theoretical understanding of cognitive development discussed by Piaget and Vygotsky:
Table-1: Difference between the theory of cognitive development proposed by Piaget
and Vygotsky.
Sl.No. Piaget Vygotsky
1. According to Piaget cognitive development Vygotsky did not believe that
among children occurred in stages and each development occurred in distinct stages.
stagemove in a specific order.

2. Biological aspect is dominant in Piaget's Vygotsky’s Socio-culture theory poses

theory. more emphasis on Social aspect of
learning and cognition.

3. Piaget, in his writing established that Whereas Vygotsky emphasized that

development first begins at development begins in the social world

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 child’s(individual) level and then continues and gradually becomes internalized in the
to the social world. individual.

4. Piaget stated that the pace of cognitive Vygotsky expressed that children are born
development is dictated by the child’s level with innate elementary functions and
of maturation. social interaction can enhance the pace of
learning.

5. Piaget focused little on language as a tool of Vygotsky stronglyadvocates that language

cognitive development. is a very important tool of cognitive
development.
6. According to Piaget, private speech is Vygotsky considered private speech to be
egocentric and immature. self-directed and promotes problem
solving skills among children

7. Piaget believed that egocentric speech Vygotsky believed that egocentric speech
serves to prove that children are self-centred occurs as children progress from language
and not able to see from any point of view as a tool used to communicate socially to
but their own. language as private speech and then inner
speech (thought).
8. Piagetian theory says children cannot solve Vygotsky theory stressed that with the
their problem until they reach a certain help and scaffolding children can solve
stage of cognitive development. their problems.

9. Piaget postulated thatdevelopment precedes According to Vygotsky social learning

learning. precedes development.

10. Piaget has proposed a universal theory of Vygotsky believed that development
cognitive development and believed that varies depending on socio-culture
development is the same in every child. interaction.

11. Piaget conducted systematic researches to Vygotsky did not conducted empirical
prove his theory. research in favour of his theory.

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 Table-2: Similarities between the theory of cognitive development proposed by Piaget
and Vygotsky.
Sl. No Similarities between Piaget and Vygotsky
1. Piaget and Vygotsky, both focused on the concept of cognitive development.

2. They visualized ‘child’ as an active participant who construct his or her own learning.

3. Both thepsychologist talked about egocentric speech and consideritimportant in the

process of cognitive development.
4. Piaget and Vygotsky, both believed that cognitive conflict can initiate further
development.
5. They alsoacknowledge the role of biology and language in cognitive development.

Limitations of Vygotsky’s Theory

Vygotsky's Socio-cultural theory has contributed a lot in the domain of education but like any
other theory his theory is also having limitations. Many educationist question and challenged
Vygotsky’s theory on following grounds:
 Lack of research based work– Vygotsky’s theories have been largely criticized for
his lack of experimental tests. He did not conduct any empirical research and relied
widely on observation of his subjects to prove his findings. His vague definition of
social interaction also needs to be well defined in order to make his theory more
organised and clear(Kozulin, 1990).
 Over emphasis on Societal Influences– Vygotsky’s theory draws heavily on socio
cultural interaction based learning. He minimized the role of genetics and biological
factors. Some researchers observed that even with consistent social support, some
children are never able to develop cognitively until a certain age (Goodnow, 2001).
They also having this opinion, everything cannot be taught by cultural interaction.
Vygotsky’s theory lacks in answering certain questions related to cognitive
development among learners.
 Ambiguous concept of Zone of Proximal Development– The concept of the zone of
proximal development is very important component of Vygotsky’s theory but many
researchers found it least understood concept. It doesn’t throw proper light on the
ability of learners and the scope of ZPD to provide assistance.
 Mainly adults are considered as an important source of knowledge– According to
Vygotsky adults are an important source of cognitive development, who transmit their
culture's tools in the childrenand also provide help through scaffolding and ZPD. But
Children also learn heavily in the company of their own age mates and peers.
Children’s friend circles also affect their thinking and learning a lot.

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  Generalizations cannot be made– Vygotsky stressed that children strive for social
connections for learning. Goodnow (2001) dismisses the idea that Vygotsky's
concepts are culturally universal. As there are cultural differences, exist in different
societies. For example the concept of scaffolding, which is heavily dependent on
verbal instruction may not be equally useful in all cultures for all types of learning.
However, it is reasonable to say that his theory is highly context specific and cannot
be generalized.
Implications of Vygotsky’s Socio Cultural Theory
Vygotsky’s theoryestablished that social settings and learning are closely intertwined. It
provides a social aspect of learning to the domain of education hence, socio-cultural theory
has several important implications for the process of teaching and learning.
1. Learning by Activity– According to Vygotsky, curriculum shouldbe developmentally
appropriate. The teacher must plan activities that encompass not only what children are
capable of doing on their own but what they can learn with the help of others (Woolfolk,
Misra&Jha, 2012).Group activities can be planned with children at different levels for
enriched learning with vivid experiences.
2. Instruction based learning– Vygotskyfavours instruction based learning as it motivates
learner to reach at his/her goal successfully. Instruction can also be planned to provide
practice in the zone of proximal development for a child or groups of children. For
example, hints and prompts can help children to solve quiz, mathematical calculations etc.
3. Assisted Learning– Assisted Learning plays a critical role in Vygotsky’s theory. He
believed that in assistance with an experienced person a child will learn more. Thus,
educators should apply this concept by assigning tasks that students cannot do on their
own, but can perform with assistance (Wertsch, 1985). Teachers should provide just
enough assistance so that students learn to complete the tasks independently and then
provide an environment that enables students to do harder tasks.
4. Collaborative Learning– Collaborative learning is a process of peer interaction that is
mediated and structured by the teacher. Teachers can also encourage students to become
knowledgeable and to assist those who need more guidance. Especially in the context of
collaborative learning, group members who have higher levels of understanding can help
other members. Vygotsky believed that children learn more in collaborative set up
(Vygotsky, 1987).
5. Scope of extrapolating knowledge of learners– Teachers should identify what is already
known to the learners. After knowing about it, the teacher should plan the situations or
such example where a new concept can be developed by linking it with learners’ prior
knowledge. While planning the lesson, a teacher should design such situations and
activities, where most learners can reach out to successful results.
6. Creation of constructivist classrooms– One of the major implications of Vygotsky’s
theory is that it helps in the creation ofconstructivist classrooms. Constructivist classrooms

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 are essentially child centric where the focus tends to shift from the teacher to the students.
His theory discarded the old notion of teaching learning process where the teacher are
considered the only source of knowledge and children are seen as empty brain. In the
constructivist education, the students are motivated to be actively involved in creation of
knowledge on their own (Vygotsky,1987 & 1994). The main activity in a constructivist
classroom is solving problems. Students use prior knowledge, apply inquiry method,
investigate a topic, and use a variety of resources to find solutions.
7. Situated Learning– Situated learning demands that knowledge cannot be taught in an
abstract manner, and that to make it useful, it must be situated in a relevant and relatable
context. (Vygotsky, 1987). In earlier times students in schools just merely memorize facts
and information with the sole aim of passing examinations. More recently several theorists
have argued that the process of learning among learners are more important than the
product of learning. Knowledge should be actively learned and constructed in a
meaningful context.

Conclusion
The Russian Psychologist Lev Vygotsky developed keen interest in the domain of Child
psychology and Cognitive development. He is considered a pioneer in the area of learning in
social contexts and proposed a socio-cultural theory. He strongly believed that learning is
social in nature and first happened at social level. His theory comprises many concepts like
knowledge and culture, zone of proximal development, scaffolding and private speech.
Vygotskian theory holds that social interaction is critical to cognitive development. Learning
takes place on a social level initially and is followed by internalization on an individual level
(Vygotsky, 1987). Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and scaffolding are the key
concepts as outcome of his theory. Where he also postulated that a child learns better if s/he
receives the support from a more learned individual.He emphasized a lot on Private speech
which leads to cognitive development among children. Assisted learning, collaborative
learning, learning by activity, situated learning etc are the important implications of
Vygotsian theory(Wertsch, &Kanner, 1992). Though he died early and could not prove his
theory through empirical researches. Even then his ideas continue to influence the teaching
learning process immensely. His theory has initiated a huge amount of research on culture as
a tool of learning and social aspect of cognitive development. He was an inspiration to many
researchers who took up his ideas and investigated it further. His ideas still maintain a vital
influence in both general psychology and contemporary education. The adoption of the
various principles of the theory in academic domain plays a crucial role in promoting active
learning by involving the students in the learning process and proven its success in the field
of education.

Chapter at a Glance

In socio cultural theoryVygotsky tried to understand how people learn in a social
setting and environment.

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Vygotsky stated that culture and social interaction play an importantrole in
construction of knowledge.

Language is the basis of Vygotsky's idea of social interaction.

Major concepts given by Vygotsky are Socio-cultural interaction which is
fundamental for full cognitive development, Zone of Proximal Development,
scaffolding and private speech.

Zone of Proximal Developmentis a range of tasks that are too difficult for a learner to
master alone, but can be mastered with the assistance or guidance of more-skilled
adult.

Scaffolding is the temporary support that provided by parents or teachers to child in
order to complete a task.

Vygotsky said that children speak to themselves as a way of guiding themselves
through action which is known as Private speech

According to Vygotsky the major role of a teacher is to guide the learner and facilitate
learning so that the learner can reach to a maximum level of development.

Vygotsky was a strong supporter of the idea that what children learned from other
people in their own culture helped them develop.

Learning by activity, assisted learning, collaborative learning and creative of
constructivist classroom are the major implications of his theory.

Do and Learn
 Watch pre-schoolers as they play and explore the environment, and observe their
private speech and incidents of frequently talking out loud to themselves.
 Experiment with collaborative learning– Make groups of students, give them task and
motivate them for helping each other and collaborative efforts to solve given
problems. Write your observations in detail.
Self-Assessment
1. ‘A cornerstone of Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development is that society and
culture play a key role in promoting cognitive development in children’. Explain
Vygotsky’s theory in detail, In light of the above statement.
2. What is the Zone of Proximal development and how it helps in development of a
child's understanding?
3. What is scaffolding? What are the different ways of providing it?
2. Why did Vygotsky give a lot of emphasis on language and private speech in child
Development?
3. What kinds of classroom practices might be indicative of Vygotsian social
constructivism?
4. Identify a few points in the views of Piaget and Vygotsky which are contrasting and
can be compared.

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 5. What are the basic limitations of Vygotsian’s theory?
6. Discuss educational implications of Vygotsian’ssociocultural cognitive theory?

References and Suggested Readings

• Amory, M. (2018). L.S. Vygotsky and Education by L. C. Moll (2014). Language and
Sociocultural Theory, 5(1), pp.80-84.
• Berk, L., 2013. Child development. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson.
• Goodnow, J. (2001). Directions of Change: Sociocultural Approaches to Cognitive
Development. Human Development, 44(2-3), pp.160-165.
• Jaramillo, J. A. (1996). Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and contributions to the
development of constructivist curricula. Education, 117(1), 133-140.
• Kozulin, A. (1990). Vygotsky's psychology: A biography of ideas. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
• Piaget, J. (2001). The psychology of intelligence. Oxford, UK: Routledge
• Shabani, K., Khatib, M., & Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky's zone of proximal
development: Instructional implications and teachers' professional
development. English Language Teaching, 3(4), 237-248.
• Turuk, M. (2008). The Relevnavce and Implications of Vygotsky
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). The Collected Works of L. S. Vygotsky (Vol. 1). In R. W.
Rieber and A. S Carton (Eds), Plenum Press, New York and London.
• Vygotsky, L. S. and Luria, A. (1994). Tool and symbol in child development. In R.
van de Veer and J. Valsiner (Eds) The Vygotsky Reader. Blackwell Publishers.
• Wertsch, J., & Kanner, B. (1992). A sociocultural approach to intellectual
development. In R. Sternberg & C. Berg (Eds.), Intellectual development (pp. 328-
349). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
• Wertsch, J.V. (1985) Vygotsky and the Social Formation of Mind. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
• Woolfolk, A. E. (2013). Educational psychology. Boston, MA: Pearson
• Woolfolk, A., Misra, G. & Jha, A.K. (2012).Fundamentals of Educational
Psychology. (11th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson.

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 Lesson-8

Learning as a Process Associated with the Uniqueness of

Individual and Evolution of Self as Proposed by Carl Rogers
Sahil Joseph Simon
Bhageshwari Sharma

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Discuss the basic principles of learneraccording to Carl Rogers.
• Describe the characteristics of the Humanistic Learning Approach.
• Distinguish between Cognitive Learning and Experiential Learning.
• Understand the role of institutions in Experiential Learning and the uniqueness of
individual to learn.
• Explain the Rogerian Theory of Self and Self Actualisation.
• Examine the Client-Centred Therapy and apply it in psychological healing.
• Recall the Characteristics of Fully Functioning Person.

Biographical Sketch
“The only person who is educated is the one who
has learned how to learn and change.”
–Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers was brought into the world in
1902 in Oak Hill, Illinois. Rogers was an extremely
bright child to an extent that he skipped
kindergarten and 1st grade and was promoted to the
next class. He was selected at the University of
Wisconsin in 1919 in an agricultural course.
However later, in the wake of going to a 1922
Christian meeting in China, Rogers started to
scrutinize his vocation decision. He later changed
his major to History with plans to turn into a
clergyman. He moved on from the University of
Wisconsin in 1924 with a four-year bachelors in
History and was selected at the Union Theological Seminary before moving to Teachers
College of Columbia University in 1926 to finish his graduate degree. One explanation he
decided to surrender his quest for philosophy was an understudy driven course on religion

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which made him question his confidence. Another motivation for his change to the
investigation of brain research was a course he took at Columbia University-educated by the
clinician Leta Stetter Hollingworth. Rogers believed brain science to be an approach to keep
contemplating life's numerous inquiries without buying into a particular regulation. He chose
to take on the clinical brain science program at Columbia and finished his doctorate in 1931.
After accepting his PhD, Rogers spent various years working in the scholarly world, standing
firm on footholds at Ohio State University, the University of Chicago, and the University of
Wisconsin. It was during this time that Rogers built up his way to deal with treatment, which
he at first named “non-directive treatment.” This methodology, which includes the advisor
going about as a facilitator as opposed to ahead of the treatment meeting, in the end, came to
be known as a customer-focused treatment. In 1946, Rogers was chosen President of the
American Psychological Association. Rogers composed 19 books and various articles laying
out his humanistic hypothesis. Among his most popular works are Client-Centered Therapy
(1951), On Becoming a Person (1961), and A Way of Being (1980). After certain conflicts
and disputes with the University of Wisconsin, Rogers acknowledged a Position at the
Western Behavioral Studies Institute (WBSI) in La Jolla, California. Many of his partners
joined him.
In 1987, Rogers was selected for a Nobel Peace Prize. He proceeded with his work with
customer-focused treatment until his demise in 1987.

Concept of Learning
Learning is a process of gaining and acquiring the novel know-how, appreciating and
recognizing skills, morals, values, attitudes and vantage points by an Individual. Amidst the
1950s, a group of Psychologists put forth their ideas concerning learning and acquisition of
the above indicators. Among these categories, one of the groups were known as the Humanist
and their approach was known as the Humanistic Approach. This approach was an alternative
to previously thriving Psychoanalytic and Behaviouristic Approaches to learning.One of the
primary founders and main proponent of the Humanistic Approach was Carl Rogers (1902-
1987), an American Psychologist. He gave his insights on ways in which people should learn
and how the personalities of people can be enhanced.
In the first part, we will understand how learning takes place in people and in the second part
when will focus on the theory of personality as given by Rogers.
The Three Principles of Learning
The questions on how people learn and in what ways they learn wereanswered by Rogers
with the following three perspectives:
1. Experiences of Person– The experience of the person is the pinnacle in any learning
process. Learning has to be viewed subjectively in accordance from person to person
rather than objectively which focuses on one size fits all. Their own ideas of a

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 situation experienced, the kaleidoscope of their own views and their own desirability
and worth are of the most significant importance in the learning of an individual.
2. The Self Actualizing Tendency– The driving force behind achieving any milestone
in the process of learning is the “self-actualizing tendency” of an individual. It means
an individual’s realization of his full potential and development of abilities to
maximum capacity. The eventual goal of the person is to reach Autonomy.
3. Trust in the Learner– The humanist approach believes that people are innately good
and this nature of people should be understood and no external agents should be
available to control it.
Learning ways: Humanistic Approach
According to the theory of Carl Rogers, an individual has the freedom to learn in his own
unique ways. The humanistic approach in learning keeps the learner at the centre and
focuses on learning as an experience rather than unfruitful imbibition of knowledge. It
focuses on finding meaning in every situation which is experienced. He highlighted the
following characteristics which emphasize an individual’s tendency to learn:
• Learning happens when life is meaningful and it has a purpose.
• Individuals have their own innate, instinctive and natural ways to learn.
• Humans are unique therefore the learning processes cannot be generalized and
objectified. It has to be differentiated from one learner to the other.
• Learners are holistic individuals and cannot be reduced to components, therefore
learning also has to happen holistically.
• They are consciously aware of their own self and how it is seen and comprehended by
people in society.
• Humans can derive meaning from their experiences and are creatively engaged in the
problem-solving process.
• They can choose what they intend to learn and can be trusted to achieve their goals.
• The experience of an individual in a given situation and being involved in the learning
process by doing hands-on activities will help significantly in realizing the potential
of an individual.
• Learning happens more efficiently when the content to be learnt fulfils the own
subjective goals and purposes of an individual.
• Learning which is initiated by self will be more pervasive and retentive in comparison
to a situation in which it is forced.
• The complete participation of individuals is essential for fulfilling their potential to
maximum tendency.
• Positive regard for the learners will help them in establishing meaningful relationships
with their peer group which can help them to learn and grow constructively.
• The readiness of an individual to change and to accept and welcome new experiences
caters holistically to the process of learning.

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 • It is essential for the learners to form a perspective from a given experience or the
learning situation and thereafter self-evaluate and self-criticize the extent of learning.
This will help the individual to enforce self-sufficiency, liberation and ingenuity
within oneself.

Rogers Insight on Learning: Learning Methods

Rogers, being a pioneer in the theory of humanism employed his intellect in the betterment of
people. According to his idea, the foremost way to bring the best in people is through the
process of learning. Therefore, he introspected two ways in which learning happens viz.
learning based on Memory Skills/Cognition or Cognitive Learning and learning which
caters to the experience of a person which is known as Experiential Learning.
1. Cognitive Learning
The word Cognition means the process in which knowledge is gained and understanding is
fostered in the mind. It varies from learning simple mathematical operations to solving
complex differential equations, it includes learning to repair a motor to fixing an Aeroplane
engine, learning new words in your mother tongue to learning a new language and much
more.Therefore, it includes both basic mental operations like sense, attendand perceiveto the
complex mental process which includes memory, learning, problem-solving, decision
making, logic and reasoning.
Rogers classified cognitive learning as the lower form of learning in which the learning is
memorizing things which in his words is meaningless. He said that the course content in
education institutions may not be always associated with the interest of the learner and hence
is more commonly associated with partial or impaired learning.
According to Rogers, Cognition, per se is an important indicator to achieve the learning
outcomes designed for an individual, however, it cannot be completely relied on as it doesn’t
cater to individualistic learning in which the interest of each person is taken into account.
2. Experiential Learning
Roger’s theory of experiential learning was conceived on the ideas of psychotherapy and
humanistic psychology. Rogersassumed thatfor a learner to become fully capable and
functional it was essential to incorporate emotions and feelings i.e. affective skills in his
process of education. He further realised that the agenda of education should be transformed
to evolve the knowledge of self. Thus, Rogers believed in learning that leads to inner-
personal growth and thinking about self, which became the foundation of his learning theory.
Rogers categorised experiential learning as a more significant and substantial form of
learning which facilitates change and growth. It includes personal involvement of the learner,
it is initiated by the learner himself, it is evaluated by the learner and haslonging effect on the
learner.

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Rogers said that all people have an intrinsic drive to learn and this learning should be
facilitated by the teachers.According to Rogers, the learner should be completely involved in
the process of learning and has command ofits characteristics and direction, it is foremost
inclined towards inclination towards encountering hands-on, societal, personal investigative
problems, individualistic and self-analysis is the chief method of measuring progress or
success. Rogers also emphasised the importance of individuals to learn and imbibe new
information readiness and openness to change and evolve.
In the words of Rogers, “If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing
conformity of knowledge, of values, of attitudes, which our present system induces, then
we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness, for self-
direction, and for self-initiated learning.”
Experiential learning is the dynamic process in which learners master information through
heuristics like discovering and exploratory method.The primary focus is on the learner in
which he is at the centre and it is about catering to his needs and expectations. Learning takes
place when the learner commits mistakes and learns from them which eventually helps him to
develops new skill sets, behaviour modification, attitudes and paradigm shifts and various
problem-solving expertise by the means of experiencing the situation.
The interest and the engrossment of the learner towards a particular task is the primary
priority and hands-on learning in which the learner engages in a task by actually attempting it
makes the process of learning a fulfilling experience in real-world situations.
The experiences of the learners will influence their understanding and thinking modes and
help them to gain new insights regarding a real situation. After gaining experience from one
situation, the learner can reflect on the same experience and apply it to a new situation in turn
gaining a new set of experiences which eventually helps them in learning a new set of
knowledge thatcan be applied further to other novel experiences. The experience gained can
be analysed by the learner himself, identifying all the various issues it caters to and the extent
to which it can solve a given problem. Finally, the experiences from different situations can
be gathered together can be reflected to find a common ground between them which can be
applied holistically to different situations and address and solve the problems associated with
them.
The above can be summarised through the following steps:
1. Having an experience from a given situation can be referred to as Concretising the
Experience.
2. The second step is reflecting on the experience, introspecting it and reviewing it. This
is known as Reflective observation.
3. Conclusions thatare drawn from the experiences are known as Abstract
Conceptualisation.
4. Finally, practically applying and trying out the experience in different situations.
The most important place wherein experiential learning can be understood and evaluated is
the school. So let’s now focus on how this learning works with the schools and institutions

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including the prime factors which moderate the process of learning with regard to the
Rogerian approach.
Experiential Learning in School-Curriculum
Experiential learning is a highly successful and efficacious method of teaching that is vastly
used in the present-day education system. It is highly effective in the fields of mathematics &
sciences. In addition to this, it can also be holistically applied with any other subject with the
availability of skilled teachers.
Mathematics– Many concepts in maths can be easily understood through experiential
learning. Learners can experience different objects and shapes in the houses and look for
similarities with the standard geometrical shapes. The use of manipulatives like cubes, Judy
clocks etc. stimulates a hands-on learning experience for learners in which they grasp
mathematical ideas, concepts and processes using actual concrete objects to enrich their
understanding, analysis and application.
Science– Science is a subject that is treasured with activities. Therefore, Hands-on learning
wherein learners can efficiently relate to their own experiences can happen in lots of ways.
The “Inquiry-based method” in science can help the learners to ask the right questions related
to their own experience which will eventually help them to co-relate science with real-life
situations making the subject more interesting. This can foster active classroom engagement
in the learners making the process of learning more effective and successful employing
inquiry-based creative and critical thinking.
Science Engineering Technology and Mathematics (STEM)– This is a recently adopted
interdisciplinary and applied approach. The incorporation of STEM into education has
fostered several experiential learning opportunities for students in both the math and science
classes, but also in the technology class as well.
Role of Institutions in Rogerian Learning
In any learning institution teachers has the authority and controls the process of learning.
He/she is responsible for the achievement of the learning outcomes and decides how and in
what ways the learners will learn. However, Roger believes that although the presence of a
teacher is inevitable, he should not interfere with the process of learning.
Teacher as a Facilitator– His role is that of a facilitator which involves guiding the student
to achieve a learning outcome or their worthy ideal without clouding learner’s insights and
strategy to achieve their goals.
Understanding the learner’s Needs– The role of the teacher as a facilitator can be effective
and efficient only when he is aware of the unique needs, learning capacities and emotional
reactions of the learners. This will help the teachers to support the learner to achieve their
learning outcomes. In addition, to cater to learner’s needs, the teacher should foster it by
exposing them to situations and experiences which incorporates problem-solving, cooperative
learning, etc. This will help the learner to master competitive skills.

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Competency of learners Analysis– The teacher should have a clear way of comprehending
and assessing each student's understanding. The teacher should be affluent and competent to
study the behaviour of the learner in the environment and analyse the mental processes of the
learner associated with the learning situation. Thereafter, he/she can motivate the learners to
undergo self-reflection and fill and master the learning gap in the given situation.
Setting a positive Environment for learning– The cognitive and emotional development of
the individual can be supported further if the learning environment designed by the teacher is
non-threatening in which learners are positively regarded.
Focussing on Real-life Experiences– The learning goal either designed by the learner or the
teacher should be related to the real-life situations and the experiences and learner should
decide the methods in which the objective will be realised and teacher will act as director
employing different activities in which real-life experiences could be relived and realised.
This will help the learner to discover himself.
Factors which controls Learning in Individuals
Rogers said that for learning to take place significantly, learners need an environment and the
role of the teacher is quintessential. This encapsulates the following:
Genuineness– This factor highlights that the learners are accepted on the account of what
they are and not on what they can be. By being accepted based on their real self, the learners
develop a sense ofcomfort thinking that they are not being judged and are free to make
mistakes.
Unconditional Positive Regard– The idea of giving unconditional positive regard
acceptance of what an individual irrespective of what a person does or say.
Empathetic Understanding– Empathetic understanding ofthe role of the teacher/counsellor
that makes the person believes that someone is there to listen and hear them.
The presence of the above factors makes an individual believes that someone is standing with
them. When the above-mentioned factors are available to an individual, he has the potential
within himself to realise his full potential which helps him to achieve his goals, dreams and
desires in his life and in other words“Self Actualise”.
The focus on the current state of being of an individual known as the “Self” and Self -
Actualisation is one of the major propositions given by Humanistic Psychologists, like Carl
Rogers, Abraham Maslow, etc. Therefore, in order to holistically understand Roger’s theory,
it is important to contemplate on his proposed idea of Self Actualisation.
The Theory of “Self” and “Self-Actualisation”
Rogers' theory of the self is considered to be humanistic related to the humane nature of an
individual, existential which means the existence of an individual in their surroundings is the
most important feat to be achieved knowing what they truly are, and phenomenological
which tells that the experience is intentionally direction towards something i.e. our
experience will help us in deriving the meaning about things.

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The predominant theme in Roger’s theory of humanism is the idea of “Self” or “Self
Concept”. It includes ideas, feelings, perceptions, values and morals one has about
himself. It is the knowledge of a person of his self and his capabilities. This is known as
“Own-Self”. People generally act and react in the ways in which it is aligned with the own
self, emotions and experiences in life. For e.g., A man who believes that he has the problem-
solving ability and have solved problems before will be more successful in similar tasks in
comparison to the ones who believe that they are not good at problem-solving.
This person can be also categorised as a well-adjusted person as his thoughts, emotions and
feelings are in congruence and alignment with what he believes about himself.
Another insight that was brought forth by Roger’s was the realisation by an individual of
“what he can be?” In other words, to what extent a person can grow to the pinnacle in his life.
This is known as the Perfect- Self or IdealSelf. If the reality of the person is inline with the
ideal self, the happier the person will be.
If the Own-Self coincides with the Ideal-Self, then we can say that a state of Congruence is
achieved and that person can be regarded as healthy and fully- functional. However, if the
Own- Self and Ideal- Self are far apart, then the person is in the state of Incongruence and
cannot be regarded as a healthy and happy person. Incongruence is “a deviation between the
real experience of the person and the own-self of the individual so far as it represents that
experience.” Due to this, he tends to deny the experiencing situation and represses in the
unconscious according to Freud. However, being a humanist and inclined towards the
positive image of the existence of man, Rogers denied the idea of Repression by stating that it
is not permanent. It should be noted that the perfect superimposition of Own and Ideal -Self
may not exist, however, comparative closeness characterises a healthy, happy and contented
Individual.
Cumulatively, the theory of Self consists of Self Worth which comprises on what we think of
ourselves which Rogers believed that is formed in the initial years of life in which the child
interacts with his guardians, secondly, it consists of Self-Image which includes how we see
ourselves which might include good or bad, beautiful or ugly etc. and finally ideal self which
includes the person who we would like to be which includes our dreams, desires, goals and
ambition.

Real Self Ideal Self Real Self Ideal Self

Incongruence
Congruence

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After, understanding the gap between the real self and ideal self, an individual must strive to
reduce this gap by the coherence of both of these “Selves”. This is accomplished through a
technique of Self-Actualisation, a concept which was underlined by most Humanistic
psychologists. Now, let us understand the Rogerian idea of Self-Actualisation and the ways in
which it can be achieved.
Self-Actualisation
Carl Rogers, as he was a humanist maintained that the interest of human being was the
primary priority in order to have sustenance in life. He said that to buildout and progress in
life, the individuals should be present in such a surrounding which is Genuine which is true
and can be trusted easily and he can express himself openly without being judged, which
accepts the individual on the account of what he is and not what he can be and finally
empathy in which he feels that people understand him and respects his perspective and that
he is heard and understood.
When a person is exposed to the right kind of environment as mentioned above, he can
achieve their goals and fulfil their dreams and desires in life and actually be what they are
meant to be understanding their maximum potential. This type of person who has gone out to
reach the pinnacle in his life and is driven continuously to achieve his worthy ideal-self is
known to be regarded as a self-actualised person and the characteristic property is known as
Self-Actualisation.
In the words of Rogers, Self-Actualisation is “The organism has one basic tendency and
striving–to actualise, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism” (Rogers,1951,
p.487).
This is the innate inclination of the person to develop and evolve through all its dimensions in
order to preserve and perpetuate the organism.The basic premise behind psychoanalysis and
Behaviourism is the situational perception of behaviour i.e, the environment in which an
individual is present determines his behaviour and this is the deterministic nature. However,
Rogers declined the idea of determinism stating that “As no one else can know how we
perceive, we are the best experts on ourselves.”
According to Rogers, Situations and experiences that are discerned as enhancing and
enriching are valued as positive and in a good light, whereas those that are recognised as non-
enhancing are valued negatively and in a bad light. From this perspective, humans have an
innate ability to know what they need and what is essential for a fulfilling life. All humans
have the intrinsic tendency to Self-Actualise and it is with this they tend to move forward
with an aim to achieve more. With the right kind of environment, people will bloom and
flourish achieving their highest potential.
In order to achieve Self- Actualisation, a person’s own-self should be in a state of congruence
with his ideal-self i.e. his current identity should be in alignment with what he expects to be.

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The person who is Self-Actualised according to Rogers works in his full capacity and is
referred to as a “Fully-Functioning” Person”.
The strive towards becoming self-actualise and reach a state in which an individual functions
to his maximum capacity can be accomplished through many ways especially which involves
external help employing a Therapist, a person who in conversation with the Client (one who
seeks therapy) realises him/her to achieve a state of “Full Functioning” as discussed above.
The therapeutic process in humanismthat was founded by Rogers is referred to as the
“Client-Centred Therapy”. So let’s now understand the main highlights of this therapy and
the techniques used by the therapist to help the client self-actualise and reach a fully
functioning state.

Client-Centred Therapy
This therapy was given by Carl Rogers in the year 1959 and the main objective of the therapy
is to convert the state of Incongruence experienced by the person to the state of Congruence.
The name Person-Centred Therapy highlights the presence of the client at the centre of the
entire therapeutic experience and understanding the world and surrounding through his
perspective. In this therapy, it is important that the views of the therapist about the world
arecoherent with the client’s view and the attitude of the therapist is such that he doesn’t want
the client to feel that there is a problem thatdoesn’t have a treatment, therefore the therapist
portrays the given qualities:
1. Genuineness– This means that the feelings that the therapist displays to the client are
true and is expressed authentically without any counterfeit. This helps the client to
trust the therapist and express himself completely. With this quality being present in
the therapist, the client believes that no judgement will be passed even when the client
was wrong at certain things. This helps in furthering the trust between the client and
the therapist.
2. Empathy– Genuineness when coupled with empathy have a significant influence on
the therapy session. Empathy is the quality to understand how one feels. So if the
therapist, puts himself in the position of the client and understands things from his
purpose, it further helps the client to establish a closer bond with the therapist and
then he can find out those nuances where the client is struggling and provides a
comforting solution wherein the gap between Incongruence and congruence is further
reduced.
3. Unconditional Positive Regard– This character in the therapist when expressed to
the client enforces a feeling of love and acceptance of the client about who they are
deeply and enhances the positive and trusting relationship between the client and the
therapist. It is not actually in the actual sense of accepting everything the client has
done, but treating him humanly and accepting his will and judgement in the best
interest ofthemselves. In the words of Roger’s “The kind of caring that the client-
centred therapist desires to achieve isa gullible caring, in which clients are accepted

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 as they say they are, not with a lurking suspicion in the therapist’s mind that they
may, in fact, be otherwise. This attitude is not stupidity on the therapist’s part; it is
the kind of attitude that is most likely to lead to trust…”
Techniques in client-Centred Therapy
The following is one of the ways in which Client-Centred Therapy is done.
1. Greeting the client– The therapist greets the client pleasantly and makes him feel
comfortable through words that are pleasing and creates a sense of positivity in the
environment. He asked the client to share his feelings and emotions whenever the
client is ready to do so and then listens actively.
2. Opening-up by the client– If the client is a stranger to the therapist, he will take
sometime to openup and might feel embarrassing to discuss certain topics. The
therapist reiterates the same nodding his heads trying to make the client feel further
comfortable. He often uses words and phrases like “ yes”, “you are right”, etc. to
make sure the adequate comfort level is achieved by the client who is sharing his
problem.
3. Normalising the situation– The therapist normalises the situation wherein he makes
the client believe that whatever resistance and hesitance the client is experiencing is
quite normal. The therapist relates this experience with the past clients, that he has
seen situations thatare much more adverse than what the current client is
experiencing. He also tells the clients once he expresses himself, he will feel more
relieved and as the therapy continues, he will be in a situation to express things more
explicitly.
4. Expression of the problem by the client– Once the client feels comfortable, he may
express his problems and the challenges which he is facing and the therapist listens to
the clients genuinely and changes his body language to show that he is listening and
understanding the problems that arefaced by the client.
5. Appreciation by the Therapist– The therapist appreciates the client for opening up
and sharing his problems, In addition to this, he also admires the things that he might
have done in trying to overcome the problem.
6. Questioning about the problem– After spending sometime with the client, the
therapist asks the client regarding the conflicts he is facing giving situational and
factual examples. The client counter questions by maintaining the rapport to find
further minute details regarding the same.
7. Summarising by the Therapist– The therapist finally summarises what is actually
expressed by the client including the problems, challenges and the solutions given by
the client himself which helps the client to deeply understand the problem
fromanother perspective and satisfies the client that he has been listened to.
8. Scheduling next Session– Keeping this in mind, if the client is satisfied with the
discussion of problems with the therapist, schedules the next appointment if he is
further want to go into therapy.

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In the above situation, the client in his therapy receives genuineness, Empathy and
Unconditional positive regard. The continued sessions with the therapist change his state of
Incongruence to the state of Congruence and with further work with the client, the therapist
can transform him to become Fully Functioning Person. So, let us now show some light on
the idea of a Fully-Functioning Person as given by Carl Rogers.
Fully Functioning Person
The term fully functioning person expresses the absolute and ideal condition in which own-
self is congruent with an individual’s experiences. According to Rogers, a fully functioning
person experiences an enriching and good life. He emphasised fulfilment on not only
achieving his ideal or goal but experiencing the sense of fulfilment along the journey towards
his goals. In the words of Rogers, it can be said as “The good life is a process, not a state of
being. It is a direction, not a destination”. (Rogers, 1967, p. 187) While studying and
analysing the characteristics of fully functioning persons, the following indicator came to
light:–
• They interpret the experiences accurately and are open to experience i.e. they
welcome situations that are unconventional and novel. This helps in evolving their
own understanding.
• They are psychologically well adjusted i.e. they don’t tend to lose their minds when
they encounter a challenging situation and do not rely on defences to escape the
situation.
• They have positive regard for themselves.
• They are more emphatic and accepting towards others.
• They consider the centre of comprehending a situation within oneself.
• They believe in existential living i.e. living in the moment and avoid prejudices and
biases for the experiencing moment. They accept the experiences of the past as lesson
and move forward.
• They trust their instincts and feeling and have a sense of discernment in their action.
• A person who is fulfilled is satisfied with his life.
• They have strong work ethics and are creative. They can take a calculated risk.
Once the person strives to become fully functioning, he can achieve those feats in his life
which he may not have even realised earlier. He becomes fully confident and aims to achieve
larger goals and dreams which benefits not only him but all those people who are associated
with him.

Conclusion
Carl Rogers gave his insights on both the process of learning by means of Cognition and
Experiences. He emphasised mainly on Experiential learning which in the association of
factors such as empathy, unconditional positive regard and genuineness helps an individual to
reduce the gap between the real and ideal self and helps him/her to self -Actualise. Self-

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Actualisation can be accomplished through the means of therapy in which the interest and the
state of being of the client are of the primary importance to the therapist, and the therapy is
known as Client-Centred Therapy which eventually enables the client to become a fully
functioning person.

Chapter at a Glance

Learning is a process of gaining acquiring novel know-how, appreciating and
recognising skills, morals, values, attitudes and vantage points by individuals.

One of the primary founders and main proponent of the Humanistic Approach was
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

The Three Principles of Learning includes Experiences of Person, The Self
Actualising Tendency and Trust in the learner.

Learning happens in two ways Learning based on Memory skills/Cognition or
Cognitive learning and learning which caters to the experience of a person which is
known as Experiential learning.

Cognitive Learning includes both basic mental operations like to sense, to attend and
to perceive to the complex mental process which includes memory, learning,
problem-solving, decision making, logic and reasoning.

Experiential learning is the dynamic process in which learner’s master information
through heuristics like discovering and exploratory method. It is a process of learning
through reflecting on the experiences by doing.

Experiential learning is a highly successful and efficacious method in the fields of
mathematics & sciences.

Role of Institutions in Rogerian Learning: Teacher as a Facilitator, Understanding the
learner’s Needs, Competency of learners Analysis, Setting a positive Environment for
learning and Focussing on Real-life Experiences.

The predominant theme in Roger’s theory of humanism is the idea of “Self” or “Self
Concept”. It includes ideas, feelings, perceptions, values and morals one has about
himself. It is the knowledge of a person of his self and his capabilities. This is known
as “Own-Self”.

If the Own-Self coincides with the Ideal-Self, then we can say that a state of
Congruence is achieved and that person can be regarded as healthy and fully-
functional.

Incongruence is “a deviation between the real experience of the person and the own-
self of the individual so far as it represents that experience”.

Self-Actualisation is “The organism has one basic tendency and striving- to actualise,
maintain and enhance the experiencing organism”.

Client-Centred Therapy: This therapy was given by Carl Rogers in the year 1959 and
the main objective of the therapy is to convert the state of Incongruence experienced
by the person to the state of congruence. This includes having genuineness on the role
of therapist, Empathy towards the client and Unconditional Positive Regard.

107

Techniques in client-Centred Therapy: Greeting the client, Opening-up by the client,
Normalising the situation, Expression of the problem by the client, The term fully
functioning person expresses the absolute and ideal condition in which own- self is
congruent with what an individual’s experiences. Questioning about the problem,
Summarising by the Therapist & Scheduling next Session.

The term fully functioning person expresses the absolute and ideal condition in which
own- self is congruent with an individual’s experiences.

Do and Learn
 Maintain a reflective diary and record your every experience in your classroom and
home and when the day is over, analyse what you learnt or how could you have dealt
with a problem more effectively.
 Apply client-centred technique with any of your friend who you think is experiencing
some kind of distress and record his progress as you proceed through your session.
Also, analyse how you are helping him as a therapist.

Self-Assessment
1. What are the different types of learning methods as given by Rogers?
2. Carl Rogers approach to learning was overall based on which approach. Explain in
detail.
3. Differentiate between Cognitive and Experiential Learning. Which mode of learning
was propagated by Rogers? Give reason to support your answer.
4. Explain the process of experiential learning.
5. What does “Individualistic Learning” signify?
6. What are the different factors which control the learning of the individual?
7. How can Rogerian learning methods be applied in the school classroom?
8. What role does the institution play in Rogerian Learning?
9. Explain the Rogerian Theory of Self.
10. Explain the difference between Congruence and Incongruence using a Venn diagram?
11. What does it mean for a person to be Self- Actualised?
12. What is Client-Centred Therapy? On what basic premise is it based?
13. Explain the process of Client-Centred Therapy.
14. What are the main Tenets of Client-Centred Therapy?
15. What are the characteristics of a Fully- Functioning Person?

References and Suggested Readings

• (PDF) Humanistic Approach In Education According To Carl Rogers (n.d.). Research
Gate. https://doi.org/10.21111/at-tadib.v12i2.1264
• 11 Education Theorists: Carl Rogers and a tip of the cap to Dewey ideas |
experiential learning, experiential, education. (n.d.). Pinterest. Retrieved February 28,

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 2021, from https://www.pinterest.com/Sonndixie/education-theorists-carl-rogers-and-
a-tip-of-the-c/
• Cynthia, V. (2018). What Is Self-Concept in Psychology? Thought Co.
https://www.thoughtco.com/self-concept-psychology-4176368
• Experiential Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2021, from
http://psyc479.weebly.com/experiential-learning.html
• K. Thiyagu (18:43:00 UTC). Carl rogers [Education].
https://www.slideshare.net/THIYAGUSURI/carl-rogers-158623037
• McLeod, S. (2014). Carl Rogers | Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-rogers.html
• Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B., & Loftus, G. (2014). Atkinson & Hilgard’s
Introduction to Psychology. Cengage Learning.
• November 30th, L. U., & Pm, 2018 07:02. (n.d.). Experiential Learning (Carl
Rogers). Instructional Design.Org. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from
https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/experiential-learning/
• Person Centred Therapy—Core Conditions | Simply Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 28, 2021, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-
therapy.html
• Person–Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy). (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2021,
from https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/person-centered
• Tekke, M. (2015). (PDF) Rediscovering Rogers’s Self Theory and Personality.
ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286456614_Rediscovering_Rogers's_Self_
Theory_and_Personality
• Woolfolk, A. (2014). Educational Psychology. (12th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson
Education.
• Woolfolk, A., Misra, G. & Jha, A.K. (2012). Fundamentals of Educational
Psychology. (11th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson.

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 Lesson-9 Unit-III

Concept of Diversity and Inclusion and Associated Practices with

Reference to Learning and Cognition
Ranjan Kumar Sahoo

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Understand the concept of diversity and inclusion.
• Identify the benefits of classroom diversity and inclusion.
• Discuss the role of a teacher in promoting inclusivity and diversity.
• Understand how inclusion really works in diverse, standards-based classrooms.
• Discuss various types of inclusive classroom strategies.

The Concept of Diversity and Inclusion

Our universe is full of diversity that can be found in abundance everywhere. This diversities
provide us an opportunity to understand others. The term diversity is known as difference.
For example, differences exist in our society in terms of language, faith, caste, ethnicity,
gender, educational, social, economic and physical capacity. The concept of diversity become
broad and wide when we try to understand it in a person, category, culture and social context.
The term inclusion can be understood as a right to include disadvantage people irrespective of
their ethnicity, colour, faith, age, sex, culture and physical abilities. In fact, equality above all
sorts of obstacles and discrimination can be referred to as true inclusion, in which all feel
involved and valued. According to UNESCO, inclusion can be generally interpreted as an
improvement that supports variation between persons as diversity. The term inclusion also
suggest that everyone should respect and support one another without any discrimination and
prejudices. In another sense, inclusion is a basic right of all people. As a member of society,
they should be respected and encouraged in the community so that equal opportunities can be
attained.
The term ‘inclusion’ comes from the Latin word ‘inclusions’ which means‘act of addition.’
On this basis, inclusion can be seen to be connected with diversity and it is not only related to
people who are viewed as different but also to the interest of every individual of society. It
provides provision to ensure fair access to all, to all social places without any discrimination
and prejudices. The term inclusion can also be interpreted based on three elements, which are
as follows:

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 • Inclusion is a process and a product– Inclusion is a constant process and is always
ready to adopt new dimensionsto make the appropriate responses. Friendly &Lero
(2000) has described social inclusion as a process and an outcome. When an attempt
is made to achieve social inclusion, it is called a process and when it is achieved, it is
called product.
• Inclusion is related to presence, participation and achievement of all– Inclusion is
related to presence, participation and achievement of everyone where diversity is seen
as an opportunity to contribute to the development of society.
• Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of barriers– In a
diverse society, how we view and treat an individual or a community is based on their
colour (race), gender, culture, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds. Hence,
inclusion eliminates these obstacles by understanding the disparities as opportunities
to learn from one another.
In addition, inclusion in education means accommodating the physical, emotional,
intellectual, social, and language needs of all children under education. It can also be
understood in providing uniform quality education for all children. In the present context, it
covers all children belonging to different sections of society. Under inclusive education,
special attention is given to all vulnerable and disadvantaged children, children with
disabilities, and children belonging to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe backgrounds.
These children are placed in the mainstream in order to grow their potential and contribute to
the nation’s development.
According to T. Booth (2000), inclusive education is a process that promotes equal
participation in learning as per the need of the learner so that it can both response and address
diversity.
UNESCO characterised inclusion as a developmental approach addressing all the learning
needs of children, including young people and adults. It focuses on vulnerable children in
particular.
Furthermore, if we will talk about the basic principles of inclusive education, in that case, it is
based on the theory that all members of society are equal and should be treated equally. It is
the basic right of all to access equal opportunities to learn. The philosophy of inclusion is
based on the equal rights of all members of the society, where everyone is respected not
discriminated. Education which is based on the philosophy of inclusiveness, follows some
basic principles, which are as follows:
• Education is the fundamental right of all learners based on equity.
• No students should be excluded from accessing education on the basis of caste, race,
gender, language, and religion, political, national, physical, cultural and economic
constraints.
• All students should get equal benefitsfrom learning through education.

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 • The school should cater to all the essential requirements of the students regarding
education.
• The opinions of all the students should be listened and taken at school seriously.
• The school should make an effort to see the difference among the students not as a
problem but as a positive diversity.
• Teachers should adopt to the diverse needs of the students, to promote and stimulate
more involvement.

Cognition and Learning: How do Students Think and Learn?

A great deal of research from cognitive and educational psychology has uncovered how to
enhance thinking and learning in the classroom. The following are some of the most critical
findings of teacher practices that influence student growth:
1. Growth mindset– Research shows learners who believe that intelligence is malleable
and that achievement is determined by commitment level are more likely to stay
focused on their goals and persevere despite setbacks. A development mentality
teaches students how their beliefs about knowledge can affect their academic
performance.
2. Prior knowledge– Prior knowledge has been shown to affect both conceptual
development and change in students. Through conceptual development, students add
to their existing knowledge, and through the conceptual change, they correct their
misconceptions or errors in their existing knowledge.
3. Limits of stage theories– Research shows that cognitive development and learning
are not limited by general stages of development. It's important for teachers teaching
Piaget's cognitive stage theory to mention the limitation of this approach. The teacher
should also mention about the importance of Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal
development theory. Teachers may consider all these points and plan a curriculum
that incorporates scaffolding, classification, and mixed skill classification to help
students achieve more effectively.
4. Facilitating context– Student growth and deeper learning are developed when
teachers help students transfer learning from one context to another. Students will also
be better able to generalize learning to new contexts if teachers devote time in
focusing on deeper learning.
5. Practice– Practice is more important for acquiring long-term knowledge and skills.
Teachers can help students improve their knowledge, skills, and confidence by
providing regular formative assessments in the form of practice problems, exercises,
and so on.
6. Feedback– It is essential for students to receive transparent, detailed, and timely
feedback as it enhances learning. Hence, a teacher should outlines the best way to
provide feedback to students in order to keep or improve their desire to learn.
7. Self-regulation– Attention, organisation, self-control etc., are some of the examples
of self-regulation capabilities that can be learned by direct teaching, modelling, and

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 classroom organisation. Teachers must help students develop organisational skills
through emphasising learning objectives at the beginning and end of classes, using
classroom schedules, identifying challenging topics that may need more practice,
splitting complex tasks into manageable pieces, using well-designed rubrics, and
enabling ample processing time by questioning, summarizing and practice.
8. Creativity– Since creativity is not a stable characteristic, it can be learned, nurtured,
and increased in the technologically influenced world of the twenty-first century.
Teachers should create innovative problem-solving tasks to increase creativity and
suggest about how to model creative problem-solving.

Benefits of Classroom Diversity and Inclusion

A classroom having diversity has so many benefits. Some of the notable benefits of
classroom diversity and inclusion are as follows:
Improve Critical Thinking and Cognitive Skills– The existence of diversity in the
classroom helps students to accept viewpoints and views that are different from those they've
already developed or were influenced by family and peers while they were younger. It allows
students to think critically about their own views and explore the universe in new ways.
According to a Scientific American article, exposure to diversity alters people's thinking by
encouraging creativity and innovation, as well as decision-making and problem-solving
skills.
Foster Creativity– Creativity is fundamentally about combining different concepts or ideas
and translating them into something new, special, and personal. People can be more creative
if they are open to more thoughts and experiences. A diverse classroom always provides
differential thoughts and ideas, which helps in fostering creativity among students.
Prepare Students for Citizenship– As a classroom features differences in ethnicity, socio-
economic class, religion, reading level, athletic ability, background, gender, personality, and
much more, it helps students for associative living, active community engagement and much
more. Hence, diversity also helps in preparing students for citizenship.
Prepare Students for the Real World– Offering students chances to engage with different
people in their classroom and school environments best prepares them to do so in the
workplace as adults. The ideal instructional storm is created by combining standards-based
reform, including students with disabilities, and educating more students from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Provide opportunities for all students to learn from other students– A diverse classroom
gives students a chance to learn about different languages, customs, traditions, religions,
worldviews and much more.
Provide opportunities for all students to develop cross-cultural competence– When
students only communicate with people from their own backgrounds, they become blind to
different forms of thinking and doing things. Hence, a teacher should inspire students to

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engage in everyday activities in the classroom and in diverse school environments where they
are forced to discover meaningful ways of communicating with students that are culturally
diverse. In doing so, they develop vital skills in cross-cultural competence.

Role of Teacher in Promoting Inclusivity and Diversity

Diversity in the classroom has many beneficial effects for students, as has been mentioned,
but how do teachers ensure that their students are getting the best out of their interactions
with their diverse peers? The below are some of the tactics that a teacher can use in order to
support their students.
Learn about Students' Cultural Backgrounds– For a teacher, understanding cultural
diversity in the classroom is an important aspect of being able to predict where certain
lessons might lead or any problems that may occur with students of different backgrounds.
Teachers can set a tone of inclusion, stressing that all perspectives are valuable.
Create a Culturally Responsive Learning Environment– A teacher who creates a
culturally responsive environment has created a classroom where students learn to appreciate
and understand cultures other than their own. Instead of mocking, scorning, or fearing the
unfamiliar, certain students are more likely to listen politely to diverse points of view.
Teachers can best do this by teaching students that people who don't look like them, come
from diverse social backgrounds, follow different religious beliefs, speak different languages,
or have a different sexual orientation or gender identity are still just the same as them on the
inside.
Allow Students to Learn about Their Community– When it comes to fostering cultural
awareness among students, learning about one's own culture is just as vital as learning about
others. Teachers should assist students with learning about their own backgrounds and inspire
them to do so. Teachers should recommend activities such as visiting culturally significant
neighborhood landmarks and interviewing influential members of the community. Students
can then be given the opportunity to share what they have learned with their peers.
Can Inclusion Really Work in Diverse, Standards-Based Classrooms?
Although it is not always possible to bring all students at the same time to exactly the same
stage in the curriculum, most students can still be moved into defined standards through the
curriculum. Further, although cultural and language diversity frequently seem to be at odds
with standards-based reforms on the principle of inclusion and learning, these principles
actually work together.

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 Standard-Based Inclusion Education for
Reform Diversity
Overarching Goal Enhance Enhance Enhance educational
educational educational outcomes for all
outcomes for all outcomes for all students
students students

Basic Tenet Educational Educational Educational

outcomes can be outcomes can be outcomes can be
enhanced by setting enhanced by enhanced by
rigorous standards, maximizing embracing student
teaching to those opportunities for diversity
standards, and students with and
assessing progress without disabilities
toward to be educated
accomplishing those together
standards

Associated • Curriculum is • Differentiated • Multicultural

Instructional practices aligned with instruction education
standards • Universal design • Sheltered
• Uses large-scale instruction
assessments

The figure above indicates that the overarching goals of standard-based reform, inclusion and
education for diversity are the same to enhance the educational outcomes for all students. The
goal of ensuring all students meet rigorous standards can only be addressed by attending to
the needs of the most vulnerable students; students with disabilities and students from
culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The ideas embodied in movements such as
inclusion and teaching for cultural and linguistic diversity provide this needed attention.
Furthermore, although standard-based reform is largely silent regarding teaching methods,
inclusion and education for cultural and linguistic diversity movements include educational
approaches that enable all students to learn from their different peers. These approaches
include differentiated instruction, universal design, sheltered instruction, and multicultural
education.

Inclusive Classroom Strategies

Use a variety of instructional formats– In order to cater to the diverse need of a classroom,
a teacher should use a variety of instructional formats. For a small group, a teacher may adopt
group-wide instruction, modular classes etc. For a large group, a teacher may use digital

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technologies such as digital whiteboards. With respect to flexible groups, teachers may also
take the help of older studentsforpair-work, cooperative grouping and peer tutoring etc.
Ensure access to academic curricular content– A teacher should ensure that all students
have access to academic curricula as all students deserve the ability to experience the same
learning objectives. The teacher should also require to support students as per their individual
needs and encourage student differences.
Apply universal design for learning– A teacher should apply a universal design of learning
in his/her class. These are diverse approaches, which support the need of many students.
They provide many forms of representing learning material to students. The universal design
of learning also provides scope to the learner to perform activities and assignments such as
research- and project-based learning, where they can learn independently or jointly.

Chapter at a Glance

The term diversity is understood as differentiation in terms of an individual, group,
community and any social context.

Inclusion is seen as a practice to address and respond to the diverse learning needs of
all learners by providing them with the opportunity to participate in learning, thereby
reducing their chance of exclusion from the education.

Inclusive education refers to the education of all students regardless of their different
abilities, where all the students are equal participants in the learning process.

The basic principles of inclusive education are based on the philosophy that all
members of society are equal and are to be treated equally.

Inclusion requires tailored made content, approaches, and strategies to suit the
specific needs of each learner in the class.

Certain factors that influence learning and student's growth are growth mindset, prior
knowledge, limits of stage theories, facilitating context, practice, feedback, self-
regulation and creativity.

Some of the notable benefits of classroom diversity and inclusion are: it improves
critical thinking and cognitive skills; foster creativity; prepare students for citizenship;
prepare students for the real world; provide opportunities for all student to learn from
other students, and provide opportunities for all students to develop cross-cultural
competence.

In order to promote inclusivity and diversity, a teacher should learn about students'
cultural backgrounds, create a culturally responsive learning environment, allow
students to learn about their community, and so on.

A teacher should adopt inclusive classroom strategies such as using a variety of
instructional formats, ensuring access of students to academic curricular content, and
applying universal design for learning for the maximum benefit of a diverse
classroom.

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Do and Learn
 Prepare a group consisting of five people and identify various kinds of diversity
among all five members of that group.

Self-Assessment
1. Discuss the concept of diversity and inclusion with examples.
2. What are the basic principles of inclusive education?
3. What are the factors that influence student's growth and learning in a diverse
classroom?
4. Explain how inclusion really work in diverse, standards-based classrooms?
5. What are the benefits of classroom diversity and inclusion?
6. Discuss the role of a teacher in promoting inclusivity and diversity.
7. Discuss various strategies for an effective inclusive classroom.

References and Suggested Readings

• Chennat, S., & Behari, A. (2019). Disability, inclusion and teacher education. Delhi:
Shipra Publication.
• Kaushik, B., (2019). Creating inclusive schools: Theory, process and practice.New
Delhi: Sage Publication.
• NCERT (2006). Including children and youth with disabilities in education, a guide
for practitioners. Department of Education of Groups with Special Needs. New Delhi:
NCERT.
• UNESCO (1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special
Needs Education. Adopted by the World Conference on Special Needs Education:
Access and Quality. Salamanca, Spain: UNESCO.
• UNESCO (2005).Guidelines for inclusion: Ensuring access to education for all. EFA
Global Monitoring Report. Paris: UNESCO.

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 Lesson-10

Uniqueness of Children and Adolescence in Terms of Intelligence,

Creativity and Motivation
Sahil Joseph Simon
Bhageshwari Sharma

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Define Intelligence, Creativity, and Motivation.
• Describe various theories of Intelligence, Creativity, and Motivation.
• Enlist different components of Creativity and Motivation.
• Summarize different types of motivation.
• Explain the process of Creativity in children and adolescents.
• Highlight the process of development of creativity and the role of the brain in creative
thinking.
• Discuss the different ways in which children and adolescents remain motivated.

Introduction
Children and Adolescents make up over a quarter share (29.3%) of the population in the
world. This is the group which falls in the age group of below 18 years (approx). Children
being the smaller age group generally fall within the limits of Infancy and Puberty (onset of
reproductive maturity). They lie in the age group of 3yrs to 10yrs and Adolescents belong to
that age group which is marked by the stage of post-puberty starting from the age of 12yrs
and reaching 19yrs. Children and Adolescents are the future of the society that we thrive in. It
is they who will fabricate the creations and innovation of today and transform it in such ways
which will eventually stand for the holistic welfare of society. Therefore, it is the duty of the
stakeholders which includes the Government, Educators and Parents to think and contemplate
about the well-being and welfare of the Children and Adolescents in terms of not only their
physical health but in terms of their mental health as well.The Mental health training of
children starts with building up their cognitive structures of the mind which primarily
includes intelligence, using this intelligence to create something and eventually be able to
keep using the same or be motivated to create things which in due course of time assist in the
upliftment of the society.
Therefore, it is important for us to study Children and Adolescents from the perspective of
their intelligence, how can they stay motivated to create something useful which not only
comes to their own benefit but the overall benefit of society.

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Intelligence
In this part, we will understand Intelligence from the perspectives of Children and
Adolescents. But first, let us understand the concept of Intelligence.
Human Intelligence is a propensity of the mind that consists of the capacity to master our
experiences & learn from them, adjust and adapt to new environment and situations,
understand both physical and metaphysical concepts, and use the know-how to transform a
given situation.
Different psychologists around different times have investigated and explained intelligence in
their own ways with extensive research and exploration.
According to William Stern, “Intelligence is defined as a general ability and capacity of a
person to mindfully and consciously make adaptation and adjustments in his thoughts in
order to respond and cater to the changes in the environment.” He coined the infamous term
“Intelligence Quotient or IQ” which measures the extent of intelligence of aperson.
According to Wechsler, “Intelligence is the total or aggregate ability and capacity of an
individual to put his actions into a defined purpose, think in rational terms and accord
effectively with the environment.”
Psychologist Alfred Binet glanced at intelligence as the “general ability and capacity of
anindividual to comprehend and reason various processes and phenomena’s”
Thorndike defined intelligence as the” ability to learn and the give reasonable responses to
questions.”
Lewis Terman defined intelligence as the “ability of individuals to think in abstract terms”
Later on, other psychologists highlighted that Intelligence is the process in which an
organism adapts to the environment and responds to the ways in which this adaption occurs.
Adaptation can happen in a variety of ways ranging from an individual to change
herself/himself so that s/he can be best adjusted in the environment or finding such an
environment for her/ himself in which her/his capacities and abilities are best suited.
Modifications in an individual occur in various ways for example a toddler starting his school
learns to communicate with her/his peers first time when being away from the parents; a
bomb squad makes a decision to select the wire to be cut for diffusing the bomb, or an
engineer designs a new engine which is fuel-efficient or a poet writes a poem to change the
stagnant, depreciating mindset of people.
The better and effective adaptation focuses on a variety of indicators which in the field of
intelligence are known as Cognitive Processes. These include processes such as Knowing
about a situation and learning from it,Memorising a given fact or an instance and Perceiving a
given situation and Problem-Solving. Therefore, the main goal of intelligence is not only to
focus on the process of cognition but a combination of the above highlighted mental
processes that eventually leads to efficient and effective adaptation. Thus, the child who learn

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to make friends adapts to her/his surroundings by bringing her/his thoughts in line with
her/his peer group and becomes more comfortable in the school environment, can also adapt
to and deal with other life situations effectively. This overall analysis of Intelligence tells us
that we cannot regard it as a single ability but as an amalgamation of multiple abilities
working coherently to produce a synergeticeffect.
Thus, in order to understand the concept of intelligence we need to look at several other
processes. Let us first look at some of the significant theories of intelligence to get a clear
insight into the concept.
Theories of Intelligence
As per the views of several Psychologists as the child grows into an adult her/his intelligence
also gets evolved. There are different types of intelligence present inthe child which
determines her/his unique capacities. Let us now look at some of the theories of intelligence
which go by this point of view. An elaboration on these theories will help us understand the
ways in which intelligence transforms in anindividual.

Theories of Intelligence

Monarchic Bifactor Group Multifactor Sampling Hierarchical Three Multiple

Dimensional Intelligence
Theory Theory Factor Theory Theory Theory
Theory Theory

1. Monarchic Theory of Intelligence

The monarchic theory of intelligence was proposed by Binet, Terman and Stern along with
other psychologists. According to this theory, intelligence is the ability of an individual to
adapt effectively and efficiently in the ever-changing dynamic environment. The propagators
of this theory believe that an individual has the ability to display intelligence in every domain
or area of life. This theory also holds that if an individual can perform a given mental task to
her/his maximum ability, s/he can perform any other task with the same ability. For e.g. Dr
Samuel Johnson who was one of the firm believer’sof the monarchic theory of intelligence
cited the example of Issac Newton and stated that, If Newton would have turned his mind to
literature and poetry, he would have achieved similar marvel as he had achieved in sciences.
2. Spearman’s Bifactor Theory of Intelligence: Factor Analysis
Charles Spearman, in 1904 gave his theory of Intelligence known as the theory of Factor
Analysis in which he said that all individuals possess a General intelligence Factor known
as g-factors, which refers to a general mental ability that primary includes cognitive
functions that categorize students as Intelligent and Non-Intelligent. So,the score obtained by

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an individual in an Intelligence Test is based on the general intelligence factor present in an
individual.
Spearman coined yet another intelligence factor known as the specific factor or the s-
factors. This intelligence as the word suggests is acquired in specific environments/domains
or helps in the development of specific skills such as speech, musical, spatial, numerical and
machineorganization.
To draw the conclusion of this theory, Spearman used a technique which was called factor
analysis.
Factor analysis is a technique and procedure through which the correlation of related
variables like mathematical and spatial, Music and Arithmetic etc. are analyzed and
evaluated to explore an underlying factor that explains this correlation.
In the case of intelligence, Spearman observed that those who did well in one area of
intelligence tests also did well in other related areas. For e.g., the ones who did well in
mathematics did well in the other areas related to mathematics.In other words, Spearman said
that one area was general (g) which was major for e.g., maths in the above case and the other
area was categorised as specific (s) which can bephysics or logic. Thus, an individual’s
intelligence has a combination of two factors i.e., some amount of g in the combination of
specific sfactor.
Thus, again the same fact is realised that both Children and Adolescents have the unique
combination of factors in general and specific terms which categorises their intelligence.
3. Thurstone’s Group Factor Theory of Intelligence
Louis Thurstone gave a contrasting insight regarding the theory of intelligence as was given
by Charles Spearman. He said that intelligence being such a dynamic entity cannot be
glanced through a single perspective i.e. he negated the idea of the presence of general ability.
Henceforth, he took intelligence as the function of seven different primary abilities of the
mind. The primary abilities are as follows:-
1. Associative memory– The ability to learn facts and memorize them and whenever
required these facts can berecalled.
2. Numerical ability– The ability to solve mathematical problems.
3. Perceptual speed– The ability to observe contrasts and similarities between
different objects inspace.
4. Reasoning– The ability to question things and having a critical outlook towards
different phenomena and processes in the surroundings.
5. Spatial visualization– The ability to comprehend and visualize the relationships
between different objects inspace.
6. Verbal comprehension– The skill to define and understand words and make
meaningful relations between them including the formation of sentences.

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 7. Word fluency: The ability to coin new words at a goodpace.
So, the above mentioned seven different primary abilities collective for intelligence. This
reiterates the fact that children and adolescents do not have just one general and common
intelligence which is present uniformly in everyone, but, on the other hand, they have unique
abilities in one or more fields to make sense of the world around them.
4. Multifactor Theory of Intelligence
The multifactor theory of intelligence was given by Edward L. Thorndike. In his theory, he
opposed the idea of general intelligence and general ability. He said that each mental activity
requires the aggregate and amalgamation of a different set of abilities. The four different
abilities that were focused on by Thorndike are:-
i. Level– The extent of difficulty of a given task that can be worked out andsolved.
ii. Range– This includes the total number of tasks that can be solved with a given
level of difficulty.
iii. Area– This includes the total number of situations at each level to which an
individual can caterto.
iv. Speed– The pace at which an individual can successfully complete a giventask.
5. Sampling Theory of Intelligence
The sampling theory was given by Godfrey Thompson in which he critiqued the two-factor
theory and said it is not the only theory which substantially explains information and facts. It
includes selecting a group or a sample and applying it to the population. It explains that the
group of intellectual abilities of a person is not a function of a single ability but rather
includesa number of different abilities or a group of intellectual powers. For e.g., if a child is
competent in mathematics, he may do physics well but not perform so well in social sciences
since maths and physics use related concepts directly or indirectly. Therefore, a certain range
of human abilities issampled with some additional abilities occupying a wide range however
there are certain abilities which occupy a narrow range and cannot be coupled.
6. Hierarchical Theory of Intelligence
This theory was given by Cyril Burt and Vernon. This theory filled the nuances between the
two- factor theory, which negated the existence of group factors, and the multiple-factor
theory, which did not allow a ‘‘g’’ factor. According to them, Intelligence can be described as
comprising abilities at varying levels of generality:
1. The highest level– ‘‘g’’ (general intelligence) factor with the largest source of
variance between individuals.
2. The next level– This included the major group factors such as the verbal-
numerical-educational and practical-mechanical-spatial-physicalability.

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 3. The next level– The minor group factors which include those indicators not
included in major groupfactors.
4. The bottom level– This included the “s” factor given byspearmen.
Vernon also focused on the role of environmental and genetic factor in intelligence and
intellectual abilities and concluded that the genetic makeup of an individual attribute to
approx. 60% differences in intelligence in different individual.
7. Three-Dimensional Theory of Intelligence
Guilford and his associates proposed the model of intelligence consisting of three
dimensions. His theory is often referred to the theory of the Structure of Intellects.Guilford
suggests that the mind comprises of the three types of dimensions which includes
• Processes
• Material or Contents
• Products
Processes
The processes include six types of sub-dimensions which are: -
1. Cognition– This involves immediate discovery, awareness, comprehension and
understanding.
2. Memory recording– It refers to the retention of something identified for a short
duration.
3. Memory retention: It refers to the retention of something identified for along
duration.
4. Divergent thinking– Establishing information from the data to get newpossible
outcomes
5. Convergent thinking– Thinking on a variety of possible outcomes from a given
setof information. Mostly involved in thinking out of the box.
6. Evaluation– To reaching to a conclusion as the best possible outcome for the given
information.
Material or Contents
1. Visual content– It refers to the substantial information perceived through our
thoughts and ideas by means of visualisation.
2. Auditory content– perceiving the matter on the basis of hearing the content and
information.
3. Symbolic content– Analysis of written language, numbers or other conventional
signs and symbols usually organised in general patterns.

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 4. Semantic content– interpreting the ideas present in verbal information.
5. Behavioural content– Interpreting human behaviour in the social context and
derive meaning fromit.
Products
1. Units– Studying information as an independent item.
2. Classes– grouping the information according to their common properties.
3. Relations– Establishing the relation between information with well-defined
variables.
4. Systems– Derive holistic and aggregate intentions and purpose from the given
information
5. Transformations– Modifying and redefining the information which fits best for
our purpose.
6. Implications– Predicting consequences and expectations from a given set of
information.
Thus, according to Guilford if we combine the above, we have 6 Processes, 5 contents and 6
Products which can be aggregated into 6 x 5 x 6 = 180 mental abilities. He negates the idea of
a fixed amount of intelligence and focuses on the development of a particular intelligence
skill as practice. He also included social intelligence in his theory which was negated by other
theorists before him.

Gardner Theory of Multiple Intelligence

Generally, we have a very narrow idea regarding the concept of intelligence. In the
classroom, if a child scores good marks in an exam, he is referred to as an Intelligent Child.
The one who is not good with the paper-pencil test, that child is regarded a brainless. This
idea to judge a person only by focussing on a singular factor was contradicted by Howard

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Gardner. He gave The Theory of Multiple Intelligence was given by in the year 1983 in his
book Frames of Mind: The Theories of Multiple Intelligences. He questioned the idea of
intelligence perceived only by focusing on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) through the means
of Intelligence Test stating that it is a very mono-chromatic way to evaluate intelligence
which is actually a very complex. Thus it is important to view intelligence from various
dimensions and having a kaleidoscopic view regarding the idea of Intelligence. Gardener
pointed out that intelligence is a potential, the presence of which allows an individual to
access different competencies within them from different dimensions. His theory gave
forward Eight-different types of intelligence based on skills and competencies that are
respected in different cultures. When an individual knows about his competence, then he can
master it by further practising and eventually choose a career in which a given intelligence is
highlighted and he rises to newfeats.
1. Verbal-linguistic intelligence– Possessed by those people who have speech
capacities which knowledge of phonology (sound of words), grammar
competency (proper sentence formation) and semantic understanding of sentences
i.e. they have well-developed literary and verbal skills, a good understanding of
sounds, comprehension, and rhythms of words. People with such skill can be good
orators, debaters, recommended choosing a career in media, politics etc.
2. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence– This type of intelligence includes the
involvement of their gross motor skills which includes their ability to control their
body position and movements and to handle objects competently and skilfully.
People with such a skill can do better when they are involved in performing arts
like dances, physiotherapist, Surgeon, mechanic, farmer etc.
3. Interpersonal intelligence– These people have the ability to understand the
feeling, emotions, intentions, moods and desires of others i.e. they are good with
reading people. Such people who realise this form of intelligence can choose a
career in the field of Psychiatry, Psychologist, Social Worker, customer service,
receptionist, etc.
4. Intra-personal intelligence– People with Intrapersonal intelligence have a high
capacity of being self-aware. This involves the capacity to be in tune with their
own inner feelings, nature, value-system, their beliefs, and cognitive processes.
These people can choose their career in fields of theology or chaplain, therapist,
counsellor, Yogic gurus etc.
5. Logical-mathematical intelligence– They have the ability to think in abstract
ways. They are good with logic and conceptual thinking and deductions. They are
good at reasoning and can understand and comprehend logic-based mathematical
problems and solve them efficiently and quickly. The people who are good in this
type of intelligence can choose their careers in the field of sciences and
mathematics as mathematician and scientists; Accountants, Statistician, Actuary,
etc.

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 6. Musical intelligence– They have the creative skill and ability to compose and
appreciate musical sounds based on the indicators of rhythm, pitch, and timbre.
People with this intelligence can choose their careers in the field of Music
Industry being Song Writers, Composers and Producers; Band Singers, DJ’s etc.
7. Naturalistic intelligence– These people have the ability to appreciate nature.
They can identify and categorise various non-biological and biological
components of the environment and study them in effective and efficient ways.
Such people can choose their career as Zookeeper, Farmer, Geologist, Marine-
Biologist, Wild-life photographer etc.
8. Visual-spatial intelligence– They have theintelligence to analyse space and open
areas effectively. They can modify and recreate image patterns and construct them
in three dimensions. They have the ability to think in terms of visual images and
pictures. People with such intelligence can choose a career in the field of
Engineering, Architecture, Photography, Interior Designing etc.
Gardener, therefore called the school and higher level institutions to have assessments
related to the above-mentioned intelligence which allows the students to assess their
unique ability in these categories so that they can timely realise their capacities and choose
a career path in which they possess an innate and natural talent tosucceed.
Creativity
Human beings are often referred to as creative beings wherein they have the tendency to
form and produce something new. As given by Sternberg in his theory of intelligence,
humanshave their own creative intelligence which helps them to solve problems with new
inventions and innovations.Creativity has been defined by different psychologists in
different ways.
According to Sternberg, “Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel and
appropriate.”
Charles Spearman regarded creativity as “the power of the human mind to create new
contents by transforming relations and generating new correlates.”
Guilford said that “Creativity is the capacity to produce ideas that are both new and
useful through divergent thinking.”
Carl Rogers define Creativity as“Emergence in the action of a novel relational product,
growing out of the uniqueness of the individual on the one hand, and the materials, events,
people, or circumstances of his life on the other.”
He further adds three different components as the key ingredients of creativity viz.
Openness to Experience, should have an internal locus of evaluation and finally the ability
of a person to play with elements and concepts.
• Openness to Experience– The idea of being open to experience emphasises the
proactive nature of human beings towards new experiences rather than deny them.

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 His call is to acceptthe experiences posed by the environmental stimuli without
distorting them by being defensive.
• Internal Locus of Evaluation– This includes the process of evaluation of the
creativity quotient from a person’s own perspective without getting clouded by
the appreciation or criticism of others. It primarily includes one’s own satisfaction
and appreciation with regard to thecreation.
• Ability to play with Elements and Concepts– It involves going beyond the
general idea of fixed use of the things and transforming their use to various
dimensions. For e.g. a maths teacher forgot to bring a ruler in the classroom for
drawing a line on the board. So he uses the edges of the duster to draw the line.
The U.S. patent office gives three criteria’s on the basis of which they decide whether an
innovation is creative. These are
1. Originality– The creation or the innovation should be unique and original and the
occurrence of idea in the mind of people should have a low probability. For e.g.
various scientific theories which werediscovered and were given initially had
originality as it was not given by anyone else.
2. Usefulness– The creation or innovation should have a purpose and it should solve
a problem. Any creation which is not useful or doesn’t have any practical utility
willnot be regarded asa novelty.
3. Surprise– The creative idea should have an element of surprise in it so that it is
accepted as respected as something which none of the others would have thought.
For e.g. the ring structure of industrial chemical benzene when was given by
August Kekule came as the surprise to everyone in the scientific world.
Sternberg identifies and highlights five characteristics which are present commonly in
the research about Creativity. These are as follows:
 Creativity focuses on producing novel ideas and products that areenthralling.
 Creativity involves the presence of specific knowledge which can be spread and
scattered across differentareas.
 Creativity can be measured to someextent.
 Creativity can be developed, encouraged and stimulated inindividuals.
 The rewards associated with Creativity is not appreciated in practice to the extent
to which it shouldbe.
The 4 P’s Approach
The word creativity can be understood as 4 P’s approach which stands for Person, Process,
Product and Pressure. In terms of person, it can be understood by judging the personality
of a person as being creative i.e. personal characteristic of a person. The process of

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creativity refers to the different thinking processes which invoke creativity known as
Creative Thinking, the third P which includes creative product refers to the final product
or invention that is formed as the result of creative thinking by a creative person and
finally the fourth P involves the pressure that is environment stimulated which motivates
the person to deploy his creative nature.
Creativity in Children
Children have an innate nature of curiosity, experimentation and inquisitiveness about new
happenings in the surroundings. They want to learn and question the various process and
phenomena’s goingaround them. Each child has a unique creative expression and therefore
the parents, guardians and school should engage them in differentiated activities that foster
their creative expression. Ample opportunities should be made available to them that
evokes creative expression of their ideas, emotions and feelings by means of both indoor
and outdoor activities. Different mediums should be used by parents and teachers to elicit
this creative expression with the help of colours, markers, legos, clays, music, dance etc.
This will give children an opportunity to gain new experiences and eventually they will be
open to unfamiliar experiences infuture.
Children’s surroundings and objects that they engage with plays a pivotal role in the
creative expression of Children. Active home and classroom engagement of children
increases their overall creative exhibition. Parents and Teachers can design activities for
children in such a manner that they are able to utilise their surroundings by engaging with
them effectively and efficiently through optimal utilisation of environmental space by
moving, the tactile association of children with the objects in their surroundings and
learning new ideas through observation and experimentation leads to increases the
tendency to register a given idea. Play method can be used extensively for children to
further enhance their creative expression. All these engagements and experiences help to
ignite significant, substantial and meaningful neural connections in their developing and
evolving brains. A study conducted on the effects of poverty on Children found that stress
hormone known as cortisol was found to be lower in preschoolers who participated in
performing arts like music, dance and visual arts classes, suggesting a potential benefit of
the Arts on children’s health outcomes (Brown, Garnett, Anderson & Laurenceau, 2017).
Studies also reveal that artistic expression may be as important for brain growth as
speaking, writing and reading. (Zaidel, 2014).
Creativity in Adolescents
Studies in Adolescent research and associated fields evidenced that adolescence is a
critical period for the development and enhancement of cognitive and creative abilities.
(Steinberg, 2005). It was also found that during adolescence brains and neural connections
inside the brain displays significant transformation in structure and function (Luna,
Padmanabhan, & O’Hearn, 2010; Shaw et al., 2008). Thus, it is evident to conclude that
creative thinking develops from adolescence to adulthood. Creativity in adolescents

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manifests in the following pathways from the development of creative thinking which in
turn develops through evolving of the neural pathways and the process of training which
refines the creative thinking.
Development of Creative Thinking
Creativity which is often referred to as the tendency to generate novel ideas, insights, and
problem solutions that are both original and practically applicable. Since the centre of
creative thinking happens in the brain, the cognitive approach to creative thinking emphasises
the correlation of creativity with regard to the dependence on fundamental cognitive
functions related to thinking and memory. Scientists from the field of social and cognitive
psychology say that that creativity in adolescents can be comprehended in terms of effortful
learning which takes place at a fast pace and when they are able to make the association
between two processes or products using logical processing. This helps in developing the
dual pathway of creativity which includes cognitive flexibility and cognitive persistence.
Cognitive flexibility is an innate tendency to access a variety of cognitive processes which
includes attention, memory, perception etc. Cognitive persistence the contrary is linked with
in-depth use and exploration of a single cognitive process and using it to a greater extent with
a narrowing focus on a single structure.
Further, it is important to note that there are two types of cognitive process which test the
potential of creativity in adolescents viz. divergent thinking and insight. Divergent thinking is
one that focuses on one’s capacity to create something Novel and Original. It highlights the
requirement of the generation of a variety of solutions to a problem and reflects cognitive
flexibility. It can be measured througha different test like Alternate Uses Task (AUT), which
measures divergent thinking in the verbal skills wherein an object is given to the participant
and he devises multiple uses of the same. For e.g. if a toothpick is given, in what ways it can
be used tests the divergent thinking of a person and the Creativity Ability Test (CAT), which
measures divergent thinking in the visual skills and spatial organisation.The CAT involves
following a set of rules in order to find relation and association between two objects in space.
Insight or Insightful thinking requires the establishing association between two unrelated or
slightly related objects or information by organising their mental structures. Insight generally
includes the following characteristics;
• A sudden solution to a given problem
• Reaching to a point where the person doesn’t know how to proceed further
• The inability of the problem solver to give a descriptive account of how he actually
came to the solution.
Divergent Thinking and Insight together helps in the development of Creative thinking in
adolescents.

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Role of Brain Development in Creativity
Neuro-imaging is a useful method in neurological science for gaining insight into the
processes underlying creative success. Studies have shown that the Pre-frontal cortex (part
of the brain) plays a significant role in creativity. This region is associated with cognitive
control and coordinating lower-level brain regions that areinvolved in both insight and
divergent thinking tasks. (Miller & Cohen, 2001). Since the structure of the brain evolves
greatly during the time of adolescence, therefore it is important to understand various
neurological functions during the task of divergent thinking and Insight. Studies have
shown the activation of the Pre-frontal cortex during adolescence while engaging in some
creative task. (Carlsson, Wendt, & Risberg, 2000; Chavez- Eakle, Graf-Guerrero, Garcia-
Reyna, Vaugier, & Cruz-Fuentes, 2007; Gibson, Folley, & Park,2009).
In a comparative study conducted between Adolescents (15-17yrs) and Adults (25-30yrs)
where they were given divergent thinking task where they had to arrange matchsticks to
form a given pattern, the results of MRI showed that the neural activation in adolescents
helped them to outperform the associated group of adults. This showed the greater success
of adolescents in comparison to adults while engaging in a task which is associated with
exploration and experimentation.
Creative Ideation Training in Adolescents
Creative Ideation Training involves the process of training in which new ideas and
concepts are formed in a given task. In a study, the adolescents were trained in higher
cognitive skills which include working memory, executive control, and algebraic equation
solving. The extent of their learning was measured regarding performance and brain
function during adolescence.
The study revealed that adolescents were more susceptible to produce Creative Ideation in
the field of ideational fluency and flexibility in comparison to the adult group.
(Kleibeuker, S. W., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Crone, E. A.;2016). Concerning originality,
adolescents progressed further post two weeks of training in adults which indicated that
adolescents are more susceptible to practice in comparison to adults which confirmed the
hypothesis that adolescence is a period of enhanced and extended flexibility in cognition
and learning. (Crone & Dahl, 2012; Johnson & Wilbrecht, 2011).
Theories of Creativity
In this section, we will study various theories of Creativity.
1. Divine Inspiration/ Theory of Giftedness
This theory was an ancient theory which believed that creativity within an individual is a gift
from the divine and only certain individual who isborn with such innate giftedness can
demonstrate various attributes of creativity. There is no scientific credential for this theory.

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2. Left and Right Brain Theory of Creativity
This theory emphasized the fact that the Left and the right hemisphere of the brain work
together in synergy to accomplish a creative process or a product. However, according to
Clark and Kirby, people with the dominant right hemisphere of the brain are more creative in
nature.
3. Taylor’s Theory of Creativity
This theory of creativity was given by Irvin A Taylor. He studied creativity and creative
processes and arranged theminto a five-level hierarchy:
a. Expressive Creativity (Level 1)– These ideas emerge without being bound by any
laws, guidelines or set boundaries. For e.g., when a set of crayons are given to
children and they are asked todraw.
b. Technical Creativity (Level 2)– When creativity is guided by physicallaws.
c. Inventive Creativity (Level 3)– When we integrate various physical laws and
technicality to create a new design taking inspiration from previously createdthings.
d. Innovative Creativity (Level 4)– When the process of creativity deviates from the
existing and generalized thinking pattern. It happens when creativity happens as the
result of thinking out of thebox.
e. Emergent Creativity (Level 5)– This is the highest level of creativity in which the
established laws are rejected and new laws emerge which is generally attributed as a
groundbreakingIdea.
4. Psychoanalytic theory of Creativity
The psychoanalytic theory of creativity was given by Sigmund Freud. He said that creativity
stems from the store of an unconscious drive. He had a pathological vision of the creative
process stating that only people who are not satisfied and unhappy can channelise their
energies to buildsomething which is original and novel. Freud related creativity with neurosis
with creativity stating that both of them emerges from unfulfilled biological drives. He
highlights the fact that creativity is the product of sublimated sexual drives.
5. Investment and Confluence Theory of Creativity
To explain creativity, Sternberg (2006) suggested the principle of investment and confluence.
The investment theory of creativity (Sternberg & Lubart, 1991, 1995) is a confluence theory
according to which creative people are those who are willing and able to “buy low and
sellhigh” in the realm of ideas Buying low means pursuing ideas that are unknown or out of
favour but that Creativity needs a confluence of six distinct though interrelated resources,
according to investment theory these include Intellectual skills, Intelligence, Thought
styles, Personality, Motivation, and Environment.

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Intellectual skills– Especially important are the following three intellectual abilities (a) the
ability to see issues in different forms and to escape the limits of traditional thought,
(b) the logical ability to consider which of one's ideas are worth pursuing and which are
not, and (c) the practical-contextual ability to know how to convince others to sell the
value of one's ideas to others. 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– One needs to know enough about a sector, on the one hand, to move it forward.
If one doesn't know where it is, one can't move beyond where a field is. It can also restrict the
view of the people to look at things from a single perspective. Thus, knowledge can both
foster creative expression or hinder it.
Thinking styles– Thinking skills involves decisions on how a person can deploy the abilities
available to him. The legislative thinking style is the one which is of prime importance
wherein conscious decision takes place in the direction which involves creative and new
ways of thinking.
Personality– The personality of a person plays a major role in creativity. Personalities which
includes the following characteristics such as Willingness to tackle challenges, willingness to
take calculated chances, willingness and self-efficacy to accept uncertainty. These
characteristics enable the person to take a plunge and explore creative ways of doing a given
task.
Motivation– Intrinsic motivation of children is an essential factor to transform creative
personality in them. If they are motivated enough and love what they engage in,
automatically the brain will transfer signals which will increase the creativity quotient in
them.
Environment– Environment plays a significant role in cultivating creativity in children and
adolescents. These include both physical and biological environment. The ways in which
children and adolescents are nurtured especially through environmental support leads to the
enhancement of their creative expression.
Thus, the confluence of the above-mentioned characteristics leads to the development of
creativity and enhancement of creative skills in children and adolescents.
After having glanced at various theories of creativity, lets us now focus on how creativity
takes place according to different proponents.
Creative Process
The creative process is defined as the set of steps and stages which eventually leads to
creativity. In the following, the creative processes as substantiated by some of the significant

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psychologists have been highlighted:
A. Wallas Model for the process of Creativity
Graham Wallas, was one of the primary psychologists to highlight the main stages in the
creative process. He proposed a complete model of the creative process in his book, “The Art
of Creativity” in the year 1920. The creative process proposed by him included primarily
four stages which included Preparation, Incubation, Illumination and Verification.
1. Preparation– In this stage, information is gathered by means of observation and
research. Ideas are created through brainstorming, reflection and contradictions to
solvea given problem.
2. Incubation– In this stage, the main problem to which we seek the answers to is kept
aback and simultaneously contemplated while engaging in other activities. Here, the
role of the unconscious mind comes into play and a variety of ideas ranging from
conservative to the most obnoxious are welcomed.
3. Illumination– The stage is the moment of “Eureka” wherein the creative insight
strikes to the most creative solution of a problem.
4. Verification/implementation: The fourth stage is testing the idea which seems the
most probable solution to the problem and verifying it through constant analysis and
building it further so that it can be successfully applied to the problem.
B. Rossman’s Creativity Model
Rossman analysed the creative model is based upon Wallas’ original four steps to creativity
and added three more steps in it. This research administered 710 inventors to evaluate their
thought processes. His model consists of seven steps which are as follows
• Observation– This included finding a problem or situation of difficulty by
observation which requires a solution.
• Analysis– Analysis of the problem
• Survey– This included finding out the various source of information directly or
indirectly related to the problem.
• Formulation of Solution– This includes systematically lay down various solutions to
the given problem.
• Critical Analysis– This called for the analysis of the solution with light to their pros
and cons.
• Invention– This calls for shortlisting the most appropriate solution(s) to the problem
which is known as the invention.
• Experimentation– This includes comparing and contrasting various solutions to the
problem to arrive at the most fitting and close to the ideal solution to the given
problem.

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C. Torrance and Mayer’s Creativity Model
E. Paul Torrance model of creativity was given in the year 1970 and he highlighted four
elements in creative thinking which included Fluency, Flexibility, Originality and
Elaboration. Let’s understand each of these factors.
• Fluency– this includes the possibility of generating as many ideas as possible.
• Flexibility– this includes generating a variety of ideas of a different kind.
• Originality– Generating ideas which are original and novel which no one has thought
of before.
• Elaboration– This includes the generation of ideas which transforms the original
thing in a better way.
Torrance in his book “The creative Man” also highlights the importance of divergent thinking
which one of the most important ingredients of creativity.

Motivation
The origin of the word motivation comes from the word “Movere” which means to move.
Therefore, motivation is an intrinsic drive that makes a person to move forward in giving
direction towards the achievement of a goal.
Psychologist Carol Dweck defines motivation as “One’s love for learning and willingness
to accept challengers”. She also quoted that It is defined as “desire to focus energy and
action in a certain manner to achieve a certain goal. It is a strive towards spending a life a
with meaning andpurpose.”
Petri (1996). Defined motivation as “the process by which various activities are initiated,
given a direction and pursued with vigour so that the bodily, physical, psychological and
emotional needs and desires are sufficed.”
Hull defined motivation as “the process in which individual takes actions in order to satisfy
their biological needs.”
Sigmund Freud defined motivation as “the actions initiated by an individual in order to
fulfil the state of pleasure derived from it.”
After gauging at the various definition of motivation, it is important to view some of the
important terms associated with this word which focusses on those properties which
crystallise motivation.
Some important Terminologies
Let us glance at some of the important terms often referred to by various psychologist when
motivation is being discussed.
• Instincts– These are biologically manifested and internal and innate pattern of
behaviour directed towards the fulfilment of desires.

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 • Needs– Needs are wants and requirement of materials that areessential for the
survival of the organism.
• Drives– It is often referred to as the psychological and physical arousal arising when
the needs initiate a behaviour that makes a person to act in such a way that the needs
are fulfilled and the overall discomfort and tension are reduced accordingly.
• Incentive– These are external materials, objects or appreciations that is rewarded to a
person when a certain task is accomplished and the objective and goal associated is
fulfilled.
Types of Motivation
A person getshis motivation from two factors i.e. internal factors or external factor.When
motivation is caused as the result of internal factors, it is known as Intrinsic Motivation.
This type of motivation generally happens when a person enjoys or derives pleasure due to
the task he is involved with, without any obligation. For e.g. Mother Teresa helped the poor
and needy because it is what she loved to do and gained an immense amount of satisfaction
from it.
The second type of motivation known as Extrinsic Motivation results due to the presence of
external factors. In this type of motivation, the presence of external factors like salary, need
for appreciation, need for recognition, fear of loss, etc. makes a person to act in a certain
direction in a certain way. For e.g. a child is motivated to study for the exam because he
doesn’t want to experience the embarrassment of a failure.
Theories of Motivation- Various Approaches to Understand Motivation
Instincts and Evolutionary Theory– This approach is often referred to as the theory of
instincts which was given by William McDougall in 1908. Initially, motivation was
understood as an attempt to fulfil the biological and innate system of actions and behaviour
known as instincts which were present in both animals and humans. Some of the important
instincts which help in maintaining life are as follows:– to know and find out things
(Curiosity); Flight (running away from threatening situations); pugnacity (to show
aggressive behaviour) and Acquisition (which is often referred to as collecting and procuring
things essential for survival and maintain the standard of living). With more years added to
research in psychology, thousands of other instincts were proposed. One of the most
important findings which wereachieved by the analysis of this theory was that a significant
amount of human behaviour which included cognition, temperament and personality is
manifested as the result of genetic and hereditary factors and the expression of different genes
in different people leads to variability. However, the theory of instincts didn’t substantiate
further as there was no scientific explanation to various questions like why instincts exist in
humans? What is the nature of instincts? What is the reason behind the variation of instincts
in different people? etc. Therefore, much research in this field leads to the development of
other theories of Motivation.

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Drive Reduction Theory– The drive reduction theory was given by Hull in 1943 which
highlighted the existence of needs and drives in individuals. Need is an essential requirement
of external substances and materials that is necessary for the survival of the organism. Needs
lead to the development of psychological tension and discomfort which motivates a person to
moderate his actions and behaviour in order to fulfil that need. The agenda of need fulfilment
is to reduce the tension and this tension is known asdrive.
According to Hull, there are two kinds of drives. First is much of a primitive one known as
the primary drive which motivates a person to fulfil the need required by the physical state of
the body such as hunger and thirst. The higher one is referred to as secondary need which
isoften learnt through conditioning by social pressures and self- experiences of individual
such as the need for money, respect, or a drug addict to relapse back todrugs.
One of the main highlights of this theory is the idea of Homeostasis. This is the tendency of a
body to maintain its internal environment or internal steady-state. It is analogous to the idea
of a thermostat that is present in air conditioners which keep a given room at a constant
temperature by switching itself automatically. For e.g., if a person is thirsty, the body needs
water and at that instant, it is in a state of tension associated with that need. Thus, in this case,
homeostasis is restored by drinking water which is eventually stimulated to reduce the drive
of thirst. The drive reduction theory works well with the fulfilment of needs as the result of
tension in the body, however, it doesn’t explain all the type of motivations. Whydoes
someone want to do sky diving? Or why some people prefer watching horror movies? etc.
The answer to these question pertains to create a disbalance to the state of homeostasis and
increase the state of tension and arousal which is a complex thing to understand and beyond
the scope of this theory.
Psychoanalytical Theory of Motivation– The psychoanalytical theory of motivation was
given by Sigmund Freud. It posits that the unconscious psychological drives such as hidden
motives and desires shape the external individual behaviour and his motivation to accomplish
a given feat. According to Freud, the human mind is divided into Preconscious, Conscious
and Unconscious. The Unconscious mind consists of the hidden desires and passions which is
often manifested in dreams oractions which people are not consciously aware of. This
unconscious mind is primarily involved in driving and motivating a person to accomplish a
certain goal or fulfil a given desire. The conscious mind perceives everything in reality
whereas the preconscious mind works on making the best out of an individual. Freud also
highlighted that personality of an individual consists of three parts viz. Id, Ego and Superego
which forms as the result of the unconscious, conscious and preconscious mind. Id is guided
by instincts and works on the pleasure principle which are present in the person during the
time of birth. This Id creates a drive in an individual which motivates a person to accomplish
a given task. For e.g.,if a person is feeling hungry, it is the Id that drives the person to drink
water and quench his thirst. Similarly, the urge to harm a person is often contested by the
Superego which reminds the person indulging in such behaviour to moderate it due to the
consequences he will need to face, thus moderating his motivation.

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Maslow’s Theory of Self- Actualisation– Abraham Maslow in 1943 published a paper on
the “Theory of Motivation” on the basis of fulfilment of Needs by an individual at different
levels. These levels were categorised under a hierarchy with lower and high levels. He said
that the needs are fulfilled according to the fulfilment of desires pertaining to a given level.
Only after the fulfilment of the needs at a lower level, a person is able to go onto a higher
level. According to Maslow, Needs are classified generally into two types: D-needs also
known as Deficit-Need and B-Needs known as Being-Needs.
D- Needs or Deficit needs motivates a person to fulfil a deficiency or insufficiency
experienced by a person. If these needs remain unfulfilled, the motivation to fulfil these need
becomes even stronger.The D-Needs are classified into two types known as Basic Needs and
Psychological Needs, each of which has two sub-types.
A. Deficit Needs
1. Basic Needs– These are the needs thatarerequired by the people for the basic necessity to
survive. These are of twotypes:-
• Physiological Needs– These are the primary needs of a person in order to maintain
the normal functioning of the body. It includes the need for food, water, oxygen etc.
Without them, a person will not be able tosurvive.
• Safety Needs– These are the needs which are associated with the safety and security
of a person. It motivates a person to make sure he is safe and secure at all times and
in case of any emergency, he has enough resources to make sure that the security
sustains. For e.g. a person buys health insurance to ensure medical safety at times of
need.
2. Psychological Needs– These are the needs thathelp in maintaining psychological balance
in a person. These are further categorised into two types:-
• Need for love and Belongingness– These includes the internal needs of a person to
fulfil the needs of love, affection and establish social relationships with people. This
motivates a person to form intimate relationships, have friends and join a social
community like a religious cult, NGO’setc.
• Need for Esteem– Thisincludes the person’s need to fulfil his self-esteem by
gaining other people’s respect and respect for oneself.
The deficit needs once fulfilled and satisfied, will tend to vanish and all the activities in
person are directed towards the satisfaction of these needs.
B- Needs
The B- Needs or the B-needs are arrived at, once the deficit needs of a person are satisfied.
The B-Needs doesn’t require a person to fulfil a deficiency but the desire to grow to the
maximum extent.
According to Maslow, it is comprehended as “To be what a Person Can Be”.
The final level of achievement in this category is to experience the person’s highest level of

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achievement or the tendency to self-actualize.
The above pyramid shows the level of needs to be satisfied by a person when transcending
upwards on the pyramid.

Weiner’s Attribution Theory– “Attribution” in psychology refers to the basic reason behind
the cause of the event or behaviour. For e.g. a person uses an umbrella when it is raining
heavily, the use of an umbrella is attributed to rain. Weiner’s theory of Motivation also
known as “Attribution Theory” introspected the main reason behind the thinking and
behaviour of a person i.e. why people do what they do.
The individual interpretation of events and their relation with his thinking and behaviour is
one of the main tenets of Attribution Theory. The process of attribution is enlisted in three
ways:
• Perceiving of Original Behaviour
• Trusting that behaviour of the person was performed by his own choice and was
intentional
• Ability to differentiate between the forced performance of behaviour and natural
occurrence of a behaviour.
Attribution Theory has implication for motivation in the field of academics. Learning
underscores that students are unequivocally propelled by the result of the option to have a
positive outlook on themselves. Appropriate interpretation of success and failure of their
effort is attributed to the self-perception.
Attribution Theory for Children and Adolescents– Attribution theory influence the extent
of motivation in children and adolescents especially in the field of Education. This is

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highlighted by certain indicators, which when focused on, leads to motivation required to
accomplish a task. These are:
• The ability of children and adolescents– It is generally a non-variable factor and
they cannot control it.
• The complexity of a task– It is also an invariant factor that is also beyond learners
control. It is an external factor.
• The effort is an internal and unstable variable over which is controlled by the learner
• Luck is also aninvariable factor over which learner doesn’t have any control
In conclusion, children and adolescents will be motivated to perform a task especially in
relation to the academic field, if they attribute their successes and failures as a function of
internal factors which they can largely control. For e.g. effort, etc. Thus, they will be
motivated to perform academic task if they rely less on the ability to a certain extent and on
luck over which they have no control off. They need not rely completely on their ability since
they might think they are well-abled and put less effort into a task.
In addition to this, studies have shown that even after working hard students may not succeed
and blame on ability. Hence, the more reliable attribute is the effort that is actually in their
control and they can moderate the amount of effort and succeed later.
The lack of motivation also crops up when children and adolescents repeatedly fail even after
making sincere efforts and toil their way towards the exam and eventually they lose
confidence in themselves and they stop attributing failure to their own lack of effort. Thus,
the perspective of effort which children and adolescents have should change and be defined
for them correctly. Otherwise, it will lead to an overall reduction of Motivation.
Inculcate Motivation in Children and Adolescents
1. Identify the lead given by children– Children are generally curious by nature.
Therefore, whenever they experience anything novel, they will try to find out what it
is. So, the stake holders which include parents and teachers should identify those
things which children are showing interest in and build their lives around those
things. This will keep them motivated to learn more and explore things in more
detail.
2. Inculcate curiosity in Children and Adolescents– When parents and teachers cater
to the curious nature of Children and Adolescents, they become further proactive and
motivated in finding the answers to questions and solve problems to satisfy their
curiosity.
3. Encourage the process of Exploration through Play-Method– Play Method for
children and adolescents is extremely motivating. Once the fun activities are
involved in the process of learning, it reduces the overall stress and keeps the child
motivated in finding the answers to the questions.

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 4. Encourage peer interaction– The 21st century has witnessed a break through in
technology. Most of the children and adolescents are learning through computers,
smart class etc. In such a scenario, their interaction with their age group has seen a
decline. Therefore, parents and teachers have to design learning activities in such a
manner that they foster peer attraction through which they will understand the
psyche of their own peer group and will help to increase their spirit of competition
and remain motivated to learn andgrow.
5. Provide incentive– If children and adolescents are provided with some kind of
incentive on completion of a task or achievement of a goal, they will continue to be
motivated towards the task. Incentive may not be always materialistic. It can include
an extra play hour, points chart,etc.
6. Appreciation of the process– The handwork done by the adolescents and children
while engaging in the process should be appreciated in contrast to appreciation only
after the achievement of the target. Encouragement facilitates active engagement in
the task and they eventually start to enjoy theprocess.
7. Maintain open communication and connection with Adolescents– Adolescence is
a period during which many indulge in risky activities and push their limits. In order
to overcome peer pressure, they may indulge in activities thatmight jeopardise their
future. Therefore, close interaction and empathetic supportas parents, teachers and
counsellors help them to keep track of their own limits and this will, in turn, make
them believe that they have people whom they can trust and put their faith in.

Conclusion
Human Intelligenceis a propensity of the mind that consists of the capacity to master our
experiences & learn from them, adjust and adapt to new environment and situations,
understand both physical and metaphysical concepts, and use the know-how to transform a
given situation.Different psychologists around different times have investigated intelligence
in their own ways with extensive research and exploration. There are various intelligence
theories to support the idea of different types of intelligence associated with a person.
Intelligence at the time will lead to the inculcation of creativity in Human beings and
therefore they are often referred to as creative beings wherein they have the tendency to form
and produce something new. As given by Sternberg in his theory of intelligence, humans
have their own creative intelligence which helps them to solve problems with new inventions
and innovations. The creative idea or product is generally judged on the basis of originality,
usefulness and an element of surprise. The investment and confluence theory of creativity
incorporates various styles in which the creative performance of an individual is
judged.Finally, an intelligent person who is creative must be motivated enough to work or
create something. Motivation is an intrinsic drive that makes a person to move forward in
giving direction towards the achievement of a goal. The basic pull behind the achievement of
a goal or maintenance of life is the overall satisfaction of needs and thus a person gets

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motivated in the direction of the satisfaction of his needs. Parents and Teacher should be
aware especially regarding the needs of children and adolescents and devise ways and
techniques in which they can remain motivated.

Chapter at Glance

Human Intelligenceis a propensity of the mind that consists of the capacity to master
our experiences & learn from them, adjust and adapt to new environment and
situations, understand both physical and metaphysical concepts, and use the know-
how to transform a given situation.

Different psychologists around different times have investigated intelligence in their
own ways with Betterand Effective adaptation focussing on a variety of indicators
which in the field of intelligence are known as Cognitive Processes.

Different psychologists understood intelligence in different ways according to which
they proposed different theories which include:- Monarchic Theory, Bi-factor ortwo-
factor theory, Group Factor theory, Multifactor theory, Sampling theory, Hierarchical
theory, Three-dimensional theory and Multiple Intelligences theory.

Creativity is defined as the emergence in the action of a novel relational product,
growing out of the uniqueness of the individual on the one hand, and the materials,
events,people,or circumstances of his life on the other. It includes openness to
experience, internal locus of evaluation, and ability to play with elements and
concepts.

There are two types of cognitive process which test the potential of creativityin
adolescents viz. divergent thinking and insight.

The various theories of creativity include– Theory of Giftedness, Brain Theory of
Creativity, Taylor’s Theory of Creativity, Psychoanalytic Theory of Creativity and
Investment and Confluence Theory of Creativity

Motivation– motivation is an intrinsic drive thatmakes a person to move forward
ingivingdirection towards the achievement of agoal.

Types of Motivation– A person gets his motivation from two factors i.e. internal
factors or external factors which are known as Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
respectively.

Various theories of Motivation includes– Theory related to Instincts and Evolution,
Drive Reduction Theory, Psychoanalytic Theory, Self - Actualisation Theory and
Attribution Theory.

Inculcate Motivation in Children and Adolescents– Identify the lead given by
children; inculcate curiosity in Children and Adolescents; Encourage the process of
Exploration through Play-Method; Encourage peer interaction; Provide incentive;

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 Appreciation of the process; Maintain open communication and connection with
Adolescents

Do and Learn
 Identify your current needs and arrange them in a hierarchy according to Maslow’s
Pyramid. Also, enlist the ways in which you will be able to satisfy thoseneeds.
 Complete a scrapbook with any ten of your friends and peers. Analyse the data and
mention your findings related to their intelligence and creativity adhering to theories
of intelligence andcreativity.

Self Assessment
1. Explain Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory? What were its drawbacks?
2. Contrast between Thurstone’s Intelligence Theory and Factor analysis.
3. Explain the three-dimensional theory of intelligence
4. Contrast between different theories of Creativity.
5. Differentiate between drive-reduction theoryand psychoanalytic theory of motivation.
6. What was the basis of motivation given by Maslow? Explain in detail
7. What is Motivation? What are the ways in which Children and Adolescents remain
motivated?
8. How does the process of attribution works for children and adolescents?

References and Suggested Readings

• Baron, R.A. (2010). Introduction to Psychology. Wadsworth Publishing Co., NJ
• Cherry, K. (2020a). The Components and Psychological Study of Creativity. Verywell
Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-creativity-p2-3986725
• Cherry, K. (2020b). The Psychology of What Motivates Us. Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-motivation-2795378
• Das, J. (2003). Theories of intelligence: Issues and applications. Contemporary
Handbook of Psychological Assessment, 5–23.
• Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York;
Basic books.
• Gupta, D. A. K. (n.d.). Concept, Nature, Process and Theories. 20.
• Kendra, C. (2019). How Different Psychologists Have Evaluated Intelligence.
Verywell Mind.https://www.verywellmind.com/theories-of-intelligence-2795035

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• Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B., & Loftus, G. (2014). Atkinson &Hilgard’s
Introduction to Psychology. CengageLearning.
• Pal, H. R., Pal, A., & Tourani, P. (2004). THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE. 3, 12.
• Theories of Intelligence. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2021, from
https://otec.uoregon.edu/ intelligence.html
• Thurstone, E. L. (1938). Primary mental abilities. Chicago; University of Chicago
Press. Woolfolk, A. (2014). Educational Psychology. (12th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson
Education.
• Woolfolk, A., Misra, G. & Jha, A.K. (2012). Fundamentals of Educational
Psychology. (11th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson.

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 Lesson-11

Children with Special Needs: Issues, Challenges and Possibilities

Amita Juliet Toppo

Learning Objectives
On completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Understand the concept of Children with Special Needs (CWSN).
• Acknowledge the categories of CWSN.
• Conceptualise the concept of Inclusion.
• Identify the issues and challenges of CWSN.
• Understand different terms associated with CWSN.

Introduction
When the term “Children with Special Needs (CWSN)” is used the first common thought that
comes to mind is, they are those children with some disability condition that cannot be
overcome. They cannot be a part of society and get excluded from the mainstream. The
concept of CWSN since its inception has undergone a big change in its understanding and
usage. Let us understand the concept of CWSN from the examples given below.
Example 1– Raman is in class 6th, comes to school regularly, sincerely pays attention in the
class, attempts to complete all his class and homework yet he is quite behind his peers. A
major issue is with the medium of instruction, the language used in the class which is
different from the language spoken in his family. As a result, despite all his efforts, he lags
behind his peers and the teacher also doesn’t expect him to come to the level of his peers. He
does not receive individualised guidance from the teachers in his studies. Raman is gradually
losing interest in his studies and is being counted as a below-average student.
Example 2– Sakshi is another student in grade 6th. She demonstrates superior academic
performance in whatever work the teacher assigns her. She works hard and sometimes
redoing the assignment even after the grades have been given. Sakshi’s classmates seek
academic help from her and look for social and emotional leadership. Teachers find teaching
Sakshi a challenge as she is always a step ahead of them and wants them to provide her with
extra work.
Example 3– Rohit is another student. He is a challenge not because of what he does but
because of what he does not do. Rohit has a vision problem He needs special help with many
of the things that other children are expected to do in school. His teachers have to plan
assignments and activities according to the visual functioning of the Rohit.

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Example 4– Anu is excited today to reach her school as she has her Hindi oral test. The
teacher has asked the students to learn the poems for the oral test. The teacher assessed the
students on their ability to recite the poem with expressions. But when Anu’s turn came she
was assessed based on her written work. Anu is with speech impairment. She is academically
included in the class but a different evaluation procedure for her assessment indicates the ill-
preparedness of the teacher and of the education system to cater to her individual needs.
The above examples illustrate that no children are similar. Every child is unique in his/her
abilities. It is a universal understanding that every individual will have varying capabilities
and abilities. Does that mean that every individual is unique, special and different? Indeed,
we all are different in some way or the other from another average individual. A child who
has abilities that are different from that of an average child is said to be a Child with Special
Needs (CWSN) or Exceptional Children. Earlier CWSN was understood in a narrow sense
and included only those children with physical disability and children with MR (Mentally
Retarded, now the term changed to Mentally Challenged) who were considered as a burden
for the society, neglected and even abandoned. Today, Children with Special Needs, Children
with Disabilities (CWD), Differently Able are some of the umbrella terms used to identify
children deviating away from the so-called normal children or an average child. The term
children with special needs now is a wide spectrum terminology that says that every
individual child does deviate from the other child in some way. This deviation from an
average child can be in terms of their mental, physical, psychological, social and other kinds
of abilities in performing a given task. ‘Special needs’ is commonly addressed as arising due
to disability in the context of performing daily life routine activities such as eating,
communication, toilet training etc. In the context of education, a subcategory of special needs
arise related to teaching-learning, access to school, participation in school activities can be
termed as “special educational needs”. Further, the special educational needs can be even
subject-specific such as dyscalculia, dysgraphia and the like. Special needs require adaptation
in daily activities such as using the spoon to eat, combing, picking up a glass of water etc.
similarly special education requires adaptation in teaching-learning methods and materials.
There can be a varying difference in the degree of special education needs depending on the
factors such as the age of the onset of disabilities, nature of the impairment, early
identification and intervention. These specific abilities may need special arrangements from
the school and society.
According to the Rights of People with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD, Act 2016)–
“Person with a disability” means a person with long term physical, mental, intellectual or
sensory impairment which, in interaction with barriers, hinders his full and effective
participation in society equally with other”.
There has been a changing trend in the understanding of the term CWSN. RPWD, Act 2016
is the latest law passed by the Parliament of India which describes the rights of persons with
disabilities so as to enable the individuals who are differently able and have special needs
they too can be an active member of the society with its capacity and abilities. Thus, its motto

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is for an “inclusive” society. India is a signatory to the United Nations General Assembly
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006. The RPWD Act, 2016 which is
based on this Convention lays down the following principles for the empowerment of persons
with disabilities that includes:
• Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make
one’s own choices and independence of the person;
• non-discrimination;
• full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
• respect for differences and acceptance of persons with disabilities;
• equality of opportunity;
• accessibility;
• equality between men and women;
• respect for the evolving capacities of the children with disabilities and respect for the
right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
RPWD Act, 2016 identifies twenty-one disabilities to be called a person with a disability. The
Act is the latest law in force to identify CWSN.
Any society that is based on the democratic principles of equality, equity and justice will
have the provision of equality of opportunity to all its members. One of the means to achieve
this aim is making the school system inclusive in philosophy and practice. When the society
follows the principle of inclusion it respects the differences of its members and continuously
makes conscious efforts to enhance their well being by embracing their differences. In an
inclusive set up the major aim of education is to benefit all the learners including those with
special educational needs such that the children with disabilities (CWD) and disadvantages
feel empowered to participate in the education system.
According to the National Curriculum of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
“Inclusive education means the education of all students, where all students are equal
participants in the learning process. Provision of inclusive education involving students with
disabilities is based on the belief that those with disabilities should not have to depend on
specialised services alone, to benefit from educational resources, activities and practices that
are otherwise available to all. Inclusivity is maintained when all members of a group can
participate in its activities, which means, provisions made are considerate of all members and
not just those from specific groups or, with special abilities, disabilities, and/or needs.”
UNESCO defines “inclusive education as a process intended to respond to student’s diversity
by enhancing their participation and reducing their exclusion within and from the system of
education. In other words, it is the admission, attendance, retention, participation and

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achievement (not limited to academics) of all students, especially those who, due to different
reasons are excluded or are at the risk of being marginalised.”
RPWD Act, 2016 says “Inclusive education means a system of education wherein students
with and without disability learn together and the system of teaching and learning is suitably
adapted to meet the learning needs of different types of students with disabilities.”
This means all children have diverse capabilities, abilities and needs be it physical,
intellectual, emotional, social or a combination of them. The current term in use is “children
with diverse needs”. The concept of diversity is all about acceptance. It accepts that each
child is unique, special and needs to be respected, accepted and valued as an important
member of society. It emphasises on recognising and understanding the uniqueness of each
child. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embrace
and celebrate the rich dimensions of diversity existing within each individual (Kaushik,
2019).
Children considered exceptional or with special needs in today’s classrooms are not just those
with disabilities but those who are gifted and talented and even who are socially and
culturally disadvantaged too. By using various standards the educators and other
professionals have established that some children require more and some require less
instruction to master the content mastered by their non-exceptional peers. At times they need
different instruction than their non-disabled peers. Sometimes they need modification in
instructions and classroom practices that are different from general education classrooms.
They require a modification of school practices to develop to maximum capacity. The
children with special needs are a heterogeneous group with lots of sub-groups within such as
a child with a disability (CWD) can be a child belonging to a socially disadvantaged group
having a hearing impairment.

Historical Developments
There has been a big shift in the discourse of children with special needs (CWSN) from its
conceptual evolution to their inclusion in the mainstream. It was the renaissance movement
that established belief in the capabilities of the disabled people and efforts were made for
special education of the disabled children. The first optimistic step that was taken for the
CWSN was the segregation approach where a segregated setup or special school for the
education of all such children was made. The children with disabilities of varying degree of
different types study in this special set- up with special teaching-learning methods,
curriculum and special trained teachers, segregated from the mainstream setting. The special
schools depending on the disability category can be either single category special schools
such as schools for visually challenged or multi-category special schools. This special school
ensures holistic development (physical, mental, social, academic and vocational) of CWD by
catering to their specific needs. However, special schools somewhere promote the feeling of
alienation and difference from the rest of the children. It also facilitates the common belief
that CWSN has no abilities to attend regular schools hence they require separate schools.

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Another wave of change that came after the mid 20th century was the efforts of integrated
education. Integrated education refers to an educational set up where CWD study with the
able children in the mainstream regular schools but in different classes. The children are
placed in separate special schools with the regular school for all the scholastic and non-
scholastic learning under one roof. Here the school makes the learners with special needs
adapt themselves to the mainstream school by acquiring school readiness skills like
communication, daily living skills, material managements and the like which will facilitate
their coping with the learning activities in regular schools. Integrated education of CWD in
regular schools reduced the feeling of segregation and provided an enriched experience to
both the CWD and children without disability through their interaction. However, such
interactions are occasional during school hours of lunchtime and non-scholastic activities like
sports period, art and craft, music and cultural programmes.
Since the last quarter of the 20 th century and the beginning of the 21 st century, the new
emerging trend is the philosophy of inclusion of CWSN that all children irrespective of their
abilities, disabilities, socio-economic linguistic background, caste, creed, religion will learn
together in the neighbourhood regular school. For this internationally as well as nationally
many conventions, policies, legislations, acts have been enacted. To name some Salamanca
statement, 1994, National Curriculum Framework 2000, 2005, RTE Act 2009, Programmes
such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), National Education Policy 2020. Inclusion is seen as a
practice to address and respond to the diverse learning needs of all learners by providing
them with an opportunity to participate in learning thereby reducing their chance of exclusion
from the education. Inclusion requires tailored made content, approaches, and strategies to
suit the specific needs of each learner in the class.
Classification of Children with Special Needs
For a convenient understanding of the children with special needs can be classified into the
following categories:
1. Children with Sensory disabilities (physically challenged, Visually Impaired, Hearing
Impaired, speech and language disorder, Cerebral palsy and the like.)
2. Children with Intellectual disabilities (includes slow learners, underachievers,
mentally challenged)
3. Children with Learning disabilities (Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia Dysphasia,
Autism.
4. Children with Giftedness and Creativity.
5. Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural problems such as juvenile
delinquents.
6. Children belonging to Socio-Economically disadvantaged and other marginalised
group.
All of the above including those enlisted in the RPWD Act, 2016.

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Issues and Challenges
Despite various legislations and recommendations achieving complete inclusion of CWSN
remains unachieved due to many issues and challenges. Some of the common issues and
hindrances concerning CWSN are-
1. ‘Inclusion’- not accommodation but adaptation– Most of the schools implement
inclusive setup. But inclusion does not mean accommodating CWSN to the regular
schools but adapting the children according to their learning needs and capabilities by
making need-based modification in the classroom and school practices.
2. School and its infrastructure– The schools and school infrastructures are not barrier-
free and are inaccessible. CWSN require specific approaches such as children who are
visually impaired may have a problem while accessing school when there are standard
stairs and no ramps in the school campus. A student with impairment of lower limb may
require appropriate/suitable seating if not in a wheelchair, adequate space and height of
desk if the student is in a wheelchair.
3. Resource and Resource rooms, and Resource persons– The schools are ill-equipped
with non-availability of resources such as audio-visual aids, specialised material (Braille,
Taylor frame, Maths kit), computers and its software like daisy, special educators,
counsellors.
4. Teaching strategies and methods– The teachers do not understand and fail to develop
strategies to create an inclusive learning environment in the classroom such as alternative
assignments; rearranging the classroom to assist the students with visually impaired and
so on.
5. No labelling of differently able learners– On many occasions teachers while teaching
the students with different learning styles, strengths and abilities make use of definitive
labels such as dumb, blind, deaf, stupid.
6. Catering to the learning needs of all the learners– The teachers need to take into
account the learning needs of both, the advanced learners as well as the learners who
may find the classroom learning a struggle for a variety of reasons or causes.
7. No uniform method of teaching– No one uniform standard method of teaching-learning
can be followed in an inclusive classroom. The learners have to be catered according to
their learning abilities for which the teachers have to identify specific learning needs of
each of the children with specific needs which is a time-consuming task. The teachers'
focus gets limited to the majority and most of the time the children with special needs
present in the class get neglected.
8. Modified Curriculum– Still there may remain some students whose learning needs
unattended or unanswered. They may benefit from the adaptation of a tailored
curriculum and alternative curricular goals and their achievements. This needs to be
worked out by the teacher in collaboration with the special educator, counsellor, parents.

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9. Teamwork between teachers, special educator, parents– Following from above it is
the responsibility of each of the subject teacher to work in collaboration with the class
teacher, special educator, counsellor, parents, local community to cater to the specific
learning needs of the children which is a time-consuming task.
10. Lack of adequate staff– Not all teachers are willing to work sensitively. This also
becomes challenging for the regular teacher when the student ratio is large and the school
in an inclusive set up is ill- staffed with special educators/ resource teachers, and
counsellors. The school authority needs to make the arrangement as per the requirement,
depending upon the learning needs of the CWSN, which may vary from situation to
situation.
11. No sensitisation and understanding of the teachers– The teachers lack the
understanding, ability and skill to deal with the children with special needs. The pre-
service teacher training programmes must make the subjects like special education,
inclusion a compulsory paper and not an optional paper.
12. Profiling, assessment and progress– The profile of each student progress has to be
documented and maintained by the teacher. This requires constant interaction between
the teachers, parents with reference to the child. As this demands time the teachers fail to
update the documentation of the progress of the children.

Possibilities for the CWSN

To make inclusion a possibility, it demands changes at three levels namely- the macro-level,
the meso level and the micro-level.
1) Macro-level– For the inclusion of CWSN this is the first crucial step. The changes
are required to be made in the government policies and initiatives in order to promote
the education of the children with special needs who otherwise remain out of the
mainstream.
2) Meso level– To make the policy initiatives fruitful, changes to be brought about in
the collaborative efforts at the state, district and community level in order to make
inclusion into practice and reality. Inclusive practices will be at institutions,
curriculum and pedagogy to cater to the diverse needs of the CWSN.
3) Micro-level– changes is at the school level. It emphasises on creating an inclusive
atmosphere of the school and classroom. It is associated with the school ethos,
classroom practices and behaviours, home- teacher-child nexus for making inclusion
effective.
At the policy level, it must recognise the importance of creating enabling mechanisms for
providing CWSN or (Divyang), the same opportunities for obtaining quality education as any
other child. For focused attention, separate strategies must be formulated to reduce the social
category gaps in school education. CWSN must be enabled to fully participate in the regular
schooling process from the foundational stage to higher education.

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Following are some of the changes required for making education inclusive for CWSN:
i. The educational policy initiatives should be inclusive in nature to cater to the diverse
needs of both able and disabled children learning together. Such as the latest National
Education Policy 2020 is in complete consonance with the provisions of the RPWD
(Rights of People with Disabilities) Act 2016 endorsing all its recommendations for
the school education of CWSN.
ii. The framing of the National Curriculum Framework should be in consultation with
expert bodies such as the National Institute of DEPwD (Department of Empowerment
of Persons with Disabilities).
iii. There should be barrier-free access to the school and the classroom to all the CWSN.
Different categories of children with special needs have different needs. The school
must work to provide support mechanisms tailored to suit their needs to ensure their
full participation in the classroom. Particularly the schools must be well equipped
with assistive devices, appropriate technology-based tools, adequate language
appropriate teaching-learning materials (for example textbooks in accessible formats
such as large print and Braille) other than basic infrastructural changes such as the
building of ramps. The seating arrangement of the classroom can be modified as per
the CWSN present in the class. For instance, a child with low vision can be made to
sit in the front near the board during the board work; a child on the wheelchair can be
made to sit near the door for easy access. A child with autism can be made to sit on a
fixed seat for he finds it comfortable getting adapted to a routine. Such adaptations
will help CWSN integrate more easily in the classroom and engage in learning with
teachers and peers.
iv. Special Educators: NEP 2020 has emphasised that “There is an urgent need for
additional special educators in certain areas of school education. Some examples of
such specialist requirements include subject teaching for children with specific
learning disabilities/ Divyang Children at the Middle and Secondary school level,
including teaching for specific learning disabilities. Such teachers would require
knowledge and understanding of subject teaching along with the relevant skills for an
understanding of special requirements of children.
v. From the above point, it follows that pre-service, as well as in-service teacher
specialisation courses in teaching courses, be compulsorily be introduced.
vi. Greater synergy should be enabled between the NCTE (National Council of Teacher’s
Education) curriculum course and RCI (Rehabilitation Council of India) to ensure
adequate availability of qualified special education teachers who will be subject
specialist as well.
vii. The necessary balance between regular curricula, developmental curricula and
additional-curricular areas varies according to the strengths, needs and circumstances
of the particular student. Schools have the responsibility of providing a flexible

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 curriculum that is accessible to all students. Instead of a special curriculum, the
existing curriculum must provide appropriate challenges and create enabling
opportunities for students to experience success in learning and achieve the best by
their potential. Teaching and Learning processes in the classroom should be planned
to respond to the diverse needs of students. Teachers can explore positive strategies
for providing education to all children, including those perceived as having
disabilities. This can be achieved in collaboration with fellow teachers or with
organisations outside the school (NCF, 2005). Parents, professionals and other
community members can also support in developing a flexible curriculum.
viii. Each child with special needs will be entirely different in learning needs, abilities,
attitude and skills. CWSN should be made to do the class and the home works with
some modifications with the help of the teacher and the peers. For effective classroom
management and teaching-learning of the CWSN cooperative learning and peer
tutoring can be used effectively. “Cooperative learning is working together to
accomplish shared goals. Within cooperative situations, individuals seek outcomes
that are beneficial to themselves and beneficial to all other group members.
Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work
together to maximise their own and each other’s learning.” (Johnson and Johnson:
http//www.cooperation.org/what-is-cooperative learning). The teacher divides the
children into small groups in which students learn together to maximum from each
other’s learning. In cooperative learning, there is working together in cooperation to
achieve a task. There can be cooperative learning in doing a role play, project making,
writing a story and so on.
Another effective teaching strategy can be peer tutoring. “Peer tutoring is working in
pairs to help one another in learning. It works best with children with different ability
levels work together (Kunsch, Jitendra, & Sood, 2007). During a peer tutoring
assignment, it is common for the teacher to have students switch roles partway
through so that the tutor becomes the one being tutored. At some point in time, the
learners become a tutor and the tutee to each other. Explaining a concept to another
helps extend one’s own learning, this practice allows students to understand better the
material being studied. (http://www.nea.org/tools/35542.htm). A child with no
disability will develop a sense of sensitivity towards a child with special need. On the
other hand, the child with special need will develop a sense of onus. For peer tutoring,
it is the responsibility of the teacher to pair the learners in the most effective manner
where both the learners can benefit maximum in the process of learning.
It is important to motivate students with poor social skills to participate in group or
play activity by offering suitable reinforcement.
ix. The multi-Sensory approach should be used for learning such as visual, kinaesthetic,
tactile and auditory. For example, a child with visually Impaired will require
verbalization as well as tactile aids. If necessary the writing task of the visually

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 impaired child must be allowed to record or narrate the task while the rest of the class
writes the homework. A child with hearing impairment will prefer visuals for
learning. A child with speech impairment may not require any such kind of
modification.
x. Most classrooms have CWSN who require continuous support. Earlier the support
begins the better is a chance to progress. There must be timely identification of the
specific learning needs and intervention by the teachers and plan specifically for their
mitigation.
xi. A teacher must be well planned regarding the delivery of lesson in the class, engaging
in the activities with the appropriate teaching-learning materials in the class.
xii. The teachers teaching in the inclusive classroom must work collaboratively with
fellow teachers, special educators, school councillors, parents along with the CWSN
and the peers for innovative learning. CWSN can best learn in an inclusive set up
which can best work only when there is teamwork and no hierarchy. The schools must
have special educators/ resource teachers who may be required to provide constant
assistance to the regular teacher. The special teachers must be updated with the use of
assistive technology and pedagogical practices. Special educators help regular
teachers to adapt, modify the curriculum to suit the abilities and level of CWSN.
xiii. Each child must be assessed on a regular interval of time on a continuum. They must
be assessed to identify various growth and developmental delays, learning difficulties,
emotional disturbances caused due to social and cultural factors.
xiv. There is a need for documentation of every child progress and delay in performance.
The teacher must also document the best practices put to use to achieve maximum
success with children with special needs in catering to their learning needs. Such
documentation helps in future references of the child.
xv. The teacher should involve parents in the teaching-learning process of their children.
The parents can help the teachers in suggesting class activities, making modified
worksheets, designing home assignments as they know their child more closely than
the teacher.
xvi. Not all cases of CWSN can be a part of an inclusive setup. As per the RPWD Act,
2016 children with benchmark disabilities must have the choice of regular or special
schooling. Resource centres in conjunction with special educators will support the
rehabilitation and educational needs of learners with severe or multiple disabilities
and will assist the parents/guardians in achieving high-quality homeschooling and
skill development for these children as needed.
xvii. Apart from the aforesaid possibilities of inclusion of CWSN, there must be an effort
to sensitise the community at large towards CWSN.

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Conclusion
It can be concluded by saying that the concept of CWSN is a constantly evolving concept
which does not only include children with disabilities (CWD) but also the other categories
covered under the RPWD Act,2016 (Rights of Persons with Disabilities). It demands the
inclusion of all, both in philosophy and practice, regardless of any kind of differences so that
no individual gets excluded in society. The concept CWSN identifies each individual as
special and unique deviating from any other regular individual. That means every individual
is special with its own set of abilities and disabilities which make it different from the other.
Thus, all are different and simultaneously normal. Thus we see the focus has got shifted from
‘disability’ to ‘ability’ in the current trend. This understanding of CWSN gives equal
opportunity to all to participate equally according to their abilities in the learning context.
Underlining this position the school system has to be inclusive in nature to accommodate all,
without labelling any CWSN.

Chapter at a Glance

Impairment: (Dosh, Vikaar) Illness, injury, complexity arising from any difficulty in
the way our body works.

Disability: (Nishkta) Disability is more than a problem or difficulty with how our
body works - a child with an impairment may experience disability when functioning
in an environment that impacts the child’s successful performance at a task.

A child who has abilities that are different from that of an average child is said to be a
Child with Special Needs (CWSN) or Exceptional Children.

Children with Special Needs, Children with Disabilities (CWD), Differently Able are
some of the umbrella terms used to identify children deviating away from the so-
called normal children or an average child.

Currently, the term children with special needs in a wide spectrum terminology say
that every individual child does deviate from the other child in some way. This
deviation from an average child can be in terms of their mental, physical,
psychological, social and other kinds of abilities in performing a given task.

CWSN includes– Children with Sensory disabilities (physically challenged,
Visually Impaired, Hearing Impaired, speech and language disorder, Cerebral palsy
and the like.); Children with Intellectual disabilities (includes slow learners,
underachievers, mentally challenged); Children with Learning disabilities
(Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia Dysphasia, Autism; Children with Giftedness
and Creativity; Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural problems such
as juvenile delinquents; Children belonging to Socio-Economically disadvantaged
and other marginalised group; Others enlisted in RPWD Act, 2016.

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There has been a paradigm shift in the discourse of children with special needs
(CWSN) from its conceptual evolution to their inclusion in the mainstream.

Integration (Ekikaran)– integration means providing education to students with
special needs in the regular classroom. In integrating a child with disabilities in the
regular classroom, the child adapts/adjust to the regular classroom. The child may be
even taught in separate classrooms.

Inclusion (Samavesh) Inclusive education refers to the education of all students
regardless of their different abilities, where all the students are equal participants in
the learning process.

Inclusion is seen as a practice to address and respond to the diverse learning needs of
all learners by providing them with the opportunity to participate in learning thereby
reducing their chance of exclusion from the education.

Inclusion requires tailored made content, approaches, and strategies to suit the
specific needs of each learner in the class.

To make inclusion possible it requires changes at three levels- Macro, Meso and
Micro level.

There are many challenges and obstacles in the implementation of the policy of
inclusion which still makes meeting all the learning requirements of the CWSN
unattained. These obstacles are related to school ethos and practices, school
infrastructure, Teacher’s role, Teaching learning strategies, Teacher’s sensitisation,
Parent, school, teacher/ special educator/resource person collaborative teamwork
towards CWSN.

Do and Learn
 After developing an understanding on the concept of CWSN and inclusion suggest
how will you teach the concept of a market to a class which has VI (visually
impaired), HI (hearing impaired) student.
 Can you think of some assessment strategies to assess a student with speech
impairment on the recitation of the poem hara tota (green parrot)?
 Visit a neighbouring school or think of your own school and identify the school
structural and other existing barriers to inclusion in education.

Self-Assessment
1. Explain the term ‘Children with Special Needs’.
2. What do you understand by the term ‘Inclusion’?
3. What is the difference between Segregation, Integration and Inclusion with respect to
CWSN?

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 4. Enlist and discuss the essential features of an inclusive school that are absent/ not
found in the regular schools.
5. In order to make ‘Inclusion’ a possibility, certain changes are needed. Elaborate.

References and Suggested Readings

• Chennat, S., & Behari, A. (2019). Disability, inclusion and teacher education. Delhi:
Shipra Publication.
• Government of India. (2020). National Education Policy 2020. New Delhi: Ministry
of Human Resource Development. Retrieved from
https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf
• Julka, A. (2014). Including children with special needs: Primary stage. New Delhi:
NCERT. Retrieved from
https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/publication/otherpublications/SpecialNeeds.pdf
• Kaushik, B., (2019). Creating inclusive schools: Theory, process and practice. New
Delhi: Sage Publication.
• NCERT. (2005). National Curriculum Framework. New Delhi. Retrieved from
http://www.ncert.nic.in/rightside/links/pdf/framework/english/nf2005.pdf
• The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, Gazette of India (Extra-Ordinary);
28 December. 2016. Available from:
http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/uploaad/uploadfiles/files/RPWD/ACT/2016.pdf.

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