Psy201: Psychology

Objective
The main objective of this course is to
enable the students to understand basic
processes and structures underlying
human behavior as a basis for managing
people in an organizational setting.
Contents
The course mainly deals on introduction
of psychology, perception and social
thought motivation and emotion,
learning and memory, memory and
forgetting, thinking and problem solving.
Human Intelligence, emotional
Intelligence and its applications and
personality.
 Detailed Course
UNIT 1: Introduction
• Understanding Psychology concepts, goals of
psychology.
• Major perspectives in psychology (behavioral,
cognitive, biological, evolutionary, development,
psychodynamics, and social and cultural).
• Psychological trends for new millennium.
• Applications of psychology in everyday life.
Research methods in Psychology
• Observation – naturalistic
• Correlation method
• Experimental method
Unit 2: Perception and Social Thought
• Concepts, factors influencing perception. Perceptual
organization, Illusion.
• Person perception
➢ Concept, Kelly's attribution theory, errors or biases in
attribution shortcuts in judging others, specific
applications in organization.
• Social behavior
➢ Persuasion
➢ Attitudes
➢ Prejudices and techniques to reduce it.
• Social influences
➢ Conformity
➢ Compliance
➢ Obedience (Milgram's experiment)
Unit 3: Motivation and Emotion
• Motivation
➢ Concept, motivational cycle, types of motives –
primary and secondary. Motivational theories – drive
theory, arousal theory, expectancy theory, goal-
setting theory, and equity theory.
• Emotion
➢ Concept, types of emotions. Expressive components
of emotions, External constraints on emotion –
organizational influences and cultural influences.
Emotional labor – felt emotion vs. displayed emotion.
• Organizational applications of emotion
➢ Ability and selection, decision-making, creativity,
interpersonal conflict, deviant workplace behaviors.
Implication of emotions for managers.
Unit 4: Learning and Memory
• Concept, theories of learning (different
perspectives) – behavioral perspective (classical
conditioning and operant conditioning), cognitive
perspective (social/observational learning and
insight learning).
• Application of learning theories o Shaping
behavior – positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, punishment and extinction o
Schedule of reinforcement o Behavior
modification
Unit 5: Memory and Forgetting
• Concept, memory process (encoding, storage and retrieval).
• Memory system
➢ Sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory
(Atkinson and Shiffrin model).
• Contemporary approaches to memory
➢ Working memory, long-term memory modules: declarative
memory (semantic memory and episodic memory) and
procedural memory; associative module of memory.
• Improving memory
• Forgetting
➢ Concept, causes of forgetting – i) decay, ii) inhibition
(proactive and retroactive), iii) memory dysfunctions –
Alzheimer's disease, amnesia – retrograde amnesia and
anterograde amnesia.
Unit 6: Thinking and Problem Solving
Thinking
• Concept, elements of thought – mental images and
concepts.
• Creativity –
➢concept, confluence approach of creativity.
Creativity – learned or innate?
• Reasoning – algorithms and heuristics.
Unit 7: Human Intelligence
• Intelligence
➢Concept, major approaches of intelligence – Two-
factor theory, Group factor theory, Gardner's
theory of multiple intelligence, Sternberg's Triarchic
theory, Cattle's fluid and crystallized intelligence.
Variation in intellectual ability – mental retardation
and intellectually gifted. Role of heredity and
environment.
• Emotional intelligence
➢Concept, Goleman's dimensions of emotional
intelligence. Emotional intelligence in work place.
Applications of emotional intelligence.
Unit 8: Personality
• Concept, determinants of personality – heredity,
environment and situation.
• Personality traits – Myers-Briggs, Type Indicator
(MBTI) and Big Five Model of personality.
• Personality attributes influencing OB.
• Measurement of personality – objective method
(MMPI), and projective methods (RT and TAT).
 UNIT 1: Introduction
Understanding psychology
Concepts
• The word psychology derives from two Greek words
‘Psyche’ and ‘Logos’. Psyche meaning "breath, spirit,
soul" and Logos meaning "study of" or "research".
Thus Psychology is the study of the soul.
• In another word, Psychology is the scientific study of
behavior and mental process. Behavior includes all of
our outward or overt actions and reactions, such as
talking, facial expressions, and movement. Mental
Processes refer to all the internal, covert activity of our
minds, such as thinking, feeling, and remembering.
• To understand the clear meaning of psychology, it is
necessary to understand the meaning of scientific
study, behaviour and mental process.
Scientific study
• It is based on empirical or measurable evidence that is
subject to the principles of logic and reasoning.
• Psychologist use the scientific method to conduct
their research.
• The scientific method is a standardized way of making
observations, gathering data, forming theories,
testing predictions and interpreting results.
• Researchers observe in order to describe and
measure behaviour.
• Human behaviour is the response of individuals or
groups of humans to internal and external stimuli.
Behaviour
• It refers to the collection of every physical action and
observable emotion associated with individuals as well as
the human race.
• Human behaviour is the combination of motor activities (
like walking, swimming, dancing etc), cognitive activities
(like thinking, reasoning, imagining etc) and affective
activities ( like feeling, happy, sad, angry etc).
• Likewise it covers overt and covert behaviour involving all
the inner experience and mental process.
• Overt behaviour is any bodily action that persons can
directly observe like walking, dancing, running, using body
language such as hand gesture and facial expression.
• Covert behaviour is any mental, social or physical action or
practice that is not immediately observable.
Mental process and Mental function (Cognitive
function)
• Mental process is the mental action or process of
acquiring knowledge and understanding through
thought, experiences and the senses.
• It includes perception, memory, thinking (such as
generating idea, imagination and reasoning),
decision making, problem solving, attention,
emotion and so forth.
Definition
According to William James, 1890 :
Psychology is the science of mental life, both of its phenomena
and of their conditions. The phenomena are such things as we
call feelings, desires, cognitions, reasoning, decisions, and the
like.
According to John B. Watson, 1919
For the behaviorist, psychology is that division of natural
science which takes human behavior the doings and sayings
both learned and unlearned as its subject matter.
According to Kenneth Clark and George Miller, 1970
Psychology is usually defined as the scientific study of
behavior. Its subject matter includes behavioral processes that
are observable, such as gestures, speech, and physiological
changes, and processes that can only be inferred such as
thoughts and dreams.
 Overall, psychology is the scientific study of
human or animals behaviour and cognitive or
mental process not encompassing just what they do
but also study activities, feelings, thoughts,
emotions, perception etc. and develop theories to
guide behaviour.
 Goals of psychology
Every science has goal. Psychology is the science of behaviour
study. Its main goals is to disclose curiosities of human being.
However major goals are as follows:
1. Description: What is happening?
• It involves observation of behaviour and noting everything
about it.
• It describes what is happening?
• It aims to understand the behaviour of others and gather
information about the way the brain works in order to
better serve humanity.
• By observing different human behaviour, psychologists
determine what is normal and healthy and what is
unhealthy.
• Psychology analyzes the thoughts, feelings, actions and
goals of people through the help of various case studies,
observations and surveys.
2. Explanation : Why is it happening?
Explanation is concern with identifying the causes of
what, when, to whom or under what circle
transaction it happened. It seeks the answer of
question like why is it happening. It conduct
experiment and develop theories to explain
behaviour.
3. Prediction: When will it happen again?
• It refers to determines future activities or
behaviour.
• Based on past observed behaviour, a psychologist
aims to predict how that behaviour will appear
again in the future?
• It is difficult to predict the human behaviour and
it can just figure out what pattern they tend to
follow.
4. Control:
Control refers to the changing and modification of
behaviour. However there is some conflict
between psychologists regular control because
some psychologists deals it as “brain washing”.
Controlling isn’t brain washing rather changing
undesirable behaviour to desirable behaviour.
 Major perspectives of Psychology
Psychological perspectives are outlooks or an approach or
view point that involves certain assumptions or beliefs
about human behaviour. Some common perspectives are:
1. Behavioural Perspective
2. Cognitive Perspective
3. Biological Perspective
4. Evolutionary Perspective
5. Developmental Perspective
6. Psychodynamic Perspective
7. Socio-Cultural Perspective
1. Behavioural perspective:
• John B.waston was first American psychologist to
advocate behavioural perspective of psychology.
• He explained that study of psychology focuses not on
consciousness or experience but focuses on behaviour
that can be observed.
• He conducts his experiment by taking the animals and
extended to human beings.
• He strongly argued that one can gain complete
understanding of human behaviour by changing and
modifying the environment in which he operates.
• Nowadays , the contribution of behaviour perspectives
has been applied in treating diseases, curb, aggression
and ending drug addictions.
2. Cognitive Perspective
• Gestalt psychologist, a notable group of, psychologists of
German supported “mental process” and developed a new
perspective of psychology.
• The Cognitive perspective of psychology deals the
psychology truly is a science of behaviour and mental
process.
• The cognitive perspective is a new or contemporary process
in psychology deals about emotions, intelligence,
perception, learning , language, etc.
• It focuses on the study of how people feel, think and
understand the core.
• The cognitive psychologist attempt to investigate internal,
mental state in objective and scientific manner.
• They compare the mental process with electronic computer
and defines the process of collecting, transmitting, storing
and retrieving information of human and animal behaviour.
3. Biological perspective
• It is also called psychological perspective or neuroscience
perspective.
• It is one of the major perspective in psychology and involves
such things as studying the brain, immune system, nervous
system and genetics.
• Biologic psychologist advocated that biological base or
events such as genetic influences horniness, brain chemical
etc influence human behavior and mental process.
• It also study about neurotransmitter, where it refers to the
chemical substance in brain that determines normal or
abnormal behavior. Use of drugs alerts neurotransmission
and influence or change behavior.
• Biological psychologist also studies on effect of gene and
environment on human personalities whether genetic factor
and environment determine individual’s differences.
4. Evolutionary perspective
• Evolutionary perspective is based on the work developed by
Charles Darwin.
• It involves the combination of psychological concepts and
evolution of human beings.
• The evolutionary perspective focuses on the study of
biological base of human being for universal mental
characteristics all individuals shared.
• It also focuses on how physical structure and behavior
influence human organism to adapt in the environment.
• It seeks to explain mental strategy and traits and apply
different behavior perspective such as selection of mate,
aggression, caring etc.
• It describes human mind as information processing system
where information are obtained from environment and
develop behavior as output which was theorized in Darwin
experiment of natural selection.
5. Development perspective
• It is related to the growth and maturation of a person over time.
• It is scientific study of how and why human beings change the over course
of their life?
• It examines that how much nature and nurturance determine human
behavior and thinking process.
• Most of the developmentalist believe that human behavior and mind is
the product of genetic endowment and experience from environment.
Earlier they were more interested to study the child development process
because there is rapid development of children behavior than old aged
person. However, modern developmentalist also pay attention on the
development of adults and old aged person. The study of development
perspective has two aspects:

a. Pure aspect: pure aspects concern with the study of thinking process of
children and thoughts when they grown up.

b. Applied aspect: Applied aspects studies the behavior of disturb children

who shows deviate behavior. It also studies why the thoughts deviate
children are different from adults deviants.
6. Psychodynamic Perspective
• In 1990, Sigmund Freud developed Psychodynamic Perspective.
• It involves cosmetic modification over psycho analysis.
• This view of psychology and human behavior emphasizes the
role of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and
interpersonal relationships to explain human behavior and to
treat people suffering from mental illnesses.
• Freud conceived of the mind as being composed of three key
elements: the id, the ego, and the superego.
• The id (unconscious mind) is the part of the psyche that includes
all the primal and unconscious desires.
• The ego (subconscious mind) is the aspect of the psyche that
must deal with the demands of the real world.
• The superego (conscious mind) last part of the psyche to
develop and is tasked with managing all of our internalized
morals, standards, and ideals.
7. Socio-cultural perspective
• It is the fusion of social psychology and cultural psychology.
• Social psychology studies about groups, roles of societies, rules in
the society and relationship between social members where as
cultural psychology studies about norms, values, beliefs,
expectations etc held by social members.
• The socio cultural perspective attempts to understand how
individuals and others behave or think not only he/she is alone
group, with friends, in crowd but in the culture where he/she lives.
• In other words, it studies the influence of gender, ethnicity,
religion, other cultural factors on personality behavior ,attitude
etc.
• The socio-cultural perspective also focuses on the study of cultural
relativity. Cultural relativity means the differences and individuals
in terms of gender, ethnicity, and religion are simply different but
it doesn't make them superior or inferior to each other. It also
argues that individuals differences are rampant or everywhere in
terms of culture, ethnicity, and other practices but all people or
individual are alike. It helps to accept multi-cultural values in the
society and understand between each other.
 Common sense and Psychology
Common Sense
• Common sense is defined as sound judgment derived from experience
rather than study.
• Common sense refers mainly to a set of beliefs and skills that are shared
by most people but acquired through no specialist education.
• Common sense is usually played out in proverbs or short phrases, most of
which are contradictory to one another.
• Common Sense knowledge is the locally developed knowledge acquired
through the experiences of the people in their daily life.
• Many people carry the common sense of psychology some common
misconceptions people hold about psychology are :
➢ psychologists are face readers.
➢ Some others perceive that psychologists can even read mind.
➢ Similarly, some people consider psychologists as the ones who deal with
mentally ill people only.
➢ People feels that Psychologists are fortune teller like astrologers, can
estimate character at glance.
Psychology
• Psychology is the one of the most important field that has arisen in this
world.
• The study of psychology Should help us to get an insight in to the glories
of Human nature, through the careful observation of human behaviour.
• Psychology is the science of behavior and mental or cognitive processes.
• It uses systematized methods to study behaviors of both human and
animals.
• It studies why individuals behave in the particular way.
• It also focuses on the internal mental processes of an individual that are
supposed to play role in the behavior of the individual.
• Psychologists are not mind readers. However, they can make inferences
about the mental processes accurately by carefully studying behavior or
through use of certain standardized psychological tests.
The most important difference between psychology and common
sense is that psychology uses systematic and objective methods of
observation and experimentation whereas common sense is the locally
developed knowledge acquired through the experiences of the people in
their daily life.
 Psychology 2000: New Trend In Millennium
• Psychology is tremendously diversify field of study.
• It has large space of specialization, area and scope.
• In the 21st century the psychology is paying
attention on different issues such as
multiculturalism, evolutionary perspective and
exportation of psychology.
1) Psychology and Diversity
• It is a multi cultural perspective in psychology.
• Traditionally psychology as taken as psychic
unity(मनोवैज्ञाननक एकता) where principle of psychologies
are applied in all culture and ethnic (जातीय) diversities
(ववववधता).
• Nowadays researcher developed different perspectives such
as cross-culture psychology and indigenous (स्वदे शी)
psychology, etc. and argues that psychic unity no longer
prevails. They focus on the importance of cultural and ethnic
diversity and advocate such diversity as human
heritage(ववरासत). They also explained that they are
embedded knowledge and have impact on understanding
human behavior.
• The study of cultural and ethnic diversity is not useful for
conducting research rather important for counseling the
communities of societies. Therefore practitioner psychologist
should be aware of the importance of cultural ,ethnic and
linguistic diversity in psychology.
2) Evolutionary perspective
• Evolutionary perspective is a new brand of
psychology developed by Charles Darwin.
• It suggests that human beings are the subject to
the process of evolution and they possess many
evolved psychological mechanism, that influences
on our behavior.
• It studies about human mind, not only body and
seeks to explain mental strategies and traits .
• Evolution involves three basic components i.e.
variation, inheritance and selection.
Variation
• It refers to the fact that organism belonging to a given
species vary in different ways.
• Every human being has individual difference, differing
in shape, size, intelligence, personality, health and so
on.
Inheritance
• It refers to the fact that some variation can be passed
from generation to generation.
Selection
• It refers to the particular behaviour the organisms
have adapted to best suit their environment.
• The strongest or most fit organisms are more likely to
survive and pass these variation on to succeeding
generation.
3)Exportation of psychology
• Traditionally psychology was limited to the study
of human behavior and human mind.
• Nowadays the application of psychology principles
aren't only limited to the experiment and the
prediction and control of human behavior rather it
has been extended to diverse field such as
selection, training to police department, criminal
investigation, improving community awareness
etc.
 Applications of psychology in Everyday life
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental process of human
beings. The study of psychology is not important only for psychologist but
also for anthropologist (मानवशास्री), sociologist (समाजशास्री), political
leaders, managers and so on. Its principles are used in normal, abnormal,
intelligence, dull, child, old, rich, poor, in business, in education and so on..
The application of psychology therefore can be extended beyond the study
of only behaviour and mind and can be summarized as under:
1 .Counseling
• Counseling refers to guiding, giving advices and suggestions to others to
solve problems.
• Counseling psychology is a new branch of psychology related to the
personal or emotional problem, educational problem and vocational
problem. Individuals suffers from mild neurotic problems such as drug
addiction , depression, juvenile delinquents( बाल अपराध)can get benefits
from counseling.
• Further educational psychology as a branch of psychology helps the
students to develop self-understanding , self-control and exploring their
hidden talents. It also prevents them from dyslexia syndrome.
• Vocational (पेशा) psychology helps in individual to select appropriate
vocation and assist in job satisfaction.
2. Exploring diversity
• Diversity refers to the heterogeneity.
• Such heterogeneity in terms of races, religion, ethnicity, gender
will create problem or misunderstanding in human behavior.
• Psychology has contributed different newer field or branches of
psychology. Such as cultural psychology, cross-cultural
psychology, indigenous psychology, women psychology etc.
Which explains about differences based on diversity.
• The study of psychology principle helps to explore such diversity
and manage unity among the diversity.
3. Industrial application
• The study of psychology has great application in industrial field.
• In the initial year psychology principles were applied only in
selecting and placing human resources. They were intelligence
and aptitude test to select human resources.
• Nowadays the application of psychology principles are extended
to different areas such as career orientation , motivation,
training, performance evaluation, equipment designing etc.
4.Established human relation
• Psychology plays crucial role for establishing cordial relation
between the person of society, organization and family.
• It enables each person to understand their internal strength and
weaknesses.
• It also provides knowledge to people about how others are
perceiving them. Therefore it helps to reduce misunderstanding ,
discrimination, prejudice (पक्षपात). So it helps to established
good relationship between parents, friends, and others members
of community.
5. Care for abnormal disease
• Abnormal disease refers to mental problems created by somatic
complaints or disorders.
• Such problems are generated from stress such as blood pressure
, heart attack, diabetes ,etc.
• To some extend physical treatment will not be adequate to cure
such disease, therefore psychological treatment is also required
for the patient.
6. Solving political problems
• Politics refers to the way of gaining or losing power.
• Politics become global and characteristics by negatively,
conflict and confrontation.
• The psychology can be contributed a branch which is called
social psychology developed new concept about positivity in
the society or positive psychology.
• The study of positive psychology helps to develops peace
and harmony between the political philosophers and
leaders. So it helps to minimize political problems.
7. Training for organism
• Organism involves the combination of different cells in
human body that determines our behavior.
• In psychology different learning principles such as of re-
enforcement, principle of extinction have been developed
which helps to change the human organisms and develop
desirable behavior from undesirable behavior.
 Research Method in Psychology
• Psychologist use the scientific method to conduct their
research.
• The scientific method is a standardized way of making
observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing
prediction and interpreting results.
• Researchers observe in order to describe and measure
behaviour.
• The scientific method is essentially a systematic
process that researcher can follow to determine if
there is some type of relationships between two or
more variables.
• The key steps of scientific method are presented
below.
1. Identification of the problem
2. Formulation of hypothesis
3. Collection of data
4. Analysis and synthesis the findings
5. Generalization and communicate the
findings
6. Formulation of theory and law
1. Identification of the problem
• The first step of scientific research is to identify
the problem.
• The problem can be identified through feeling,
study, experience and observation.
• Problem is the gap of knowledge, something not
understood.
• The casual observation and an idea regarding the
existing amount of knowledge on particular issue
may help to define the problem properly.
• Problem may be simple or complex.
2. Formulation of Hypothesis
• Hypothesis is the tentative explanation of the
identified problem.
• It is estimated on the basis of past studies.
• It present the relationship of two variables in the
testable form.
• It helps to determine the methods to be used and
data to be collected.
• Hypothesis may not be always accepted,
sometimes it may rejected.
• Hypothesis helps to systematize the result and
draw conclusions.
3. Collection of data
• Collection of information on the basis of research problem and
objectives is referred as data collection.
• Reliable data collection helps to draw reliable conclusion.
• A researcher should develop questionnaire, schedule for
interview or observation for collecting data.
• In psychological investigation, most of the case, data will be
collected by conducting interview, administering survey using
questionnaire and applying direct observation using observation
checklist.
• Generally, an interview means a private meeting between people
when question are asked and answered.
• A survey is a method of gathering information from a sample of
people, with the intention of generalizing the results to a larger
population.
• Observation is the action or process of carefully watching
someone or something. Pure data for the study can be collected
from the observation.
4. Analysis and synthesis the findings
• After collecting the data they must be processed
and analyzed in order to draw proper conclusion.
• Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing,
transforming and modeling data with the goal of
discovering useful information, informing
conclusions and supporting decision making
• After analyzing the data, it is necessary to
synthesize which is the proper organization of the
analyzed data to give the answer of the study
problem.
5. Generalization and communicate the findings
• After analysis of the data, certain conclusions can
be drawn in relation to hypothesis.
• Such conclusions are applied in all the similar
organizations which are regarded as generalization.
6. Formulation of theory and law
• When a researcher success in describing and
explaining the relation between various facts,
he/she has formulated a theory.
• A theory is the tested hypothesis and deals with
wide range of facts.
 Research methods on psychology
• Psychology uses scientific methods for the systematic
study of an organism behaviour.
• Psychological research refers to research that
psychologist conduct to systematic study and analyze
the experiences and behaviours od individuals and
groups.
• There are various methods to study psychology, some
of the basic methods are as follows:
1. Observation
a. Naturalistic observation
b. Case studies
c. Survey
2. Correlation method
3. Experimental method
1. Observation
• Observation is a basic methods of science in which
the natural world, or various events or process in
it are observed and measured in a very careful
manner.
• It consists of the perception of an individuals
behaviour under natural condition by other
individual and interpretation and analyses the
perceived behaviour by them.
• It helps to infer(conclude) mental process of other
through the observation of external behaviour.
• Following three methods are used under the
observation.
a. Naturalistic Observation:
• Naturalistic observation is also called objective observation or systematic
observation.
• It is one of the oldest method of scientific method.
• The collection of information by the careful observation of events in the
natural setting is called natural observation.
• In other words, naturalistic observation is a research method in which
behaviour is studied in the place where it usually occurs. This means, it is
the way of looking human or animals behaviour in their normal
environment.
• Under this methods researchers observe people or animals behaviour in
their work places, homes, play ground, recreation centers etc.
• However, if animals or people know that they are being observed, will not
behave normally, that is called observation effect. So, observer should
observe others without knowing them that they are being observed.
• Some time researchers might use one way mirror or they can actually
become participants in the group to observe others behaviour, i.e. called
participative observation.
Advantages:
• Useful for generating hypothesis.
• Provides information about behaviour in natural
environment.
• It allows researchers to study things that cannot be
manipulated in a lab due to ethical concerns.
• It can help support the external validity of the research..
Disadvantages:
• People may try to behave in a certain way in order to
conform with what they think the researchers expect to
see.
• Different observers may draw different conclusions from
the same witnessed behavior
b. Case studies
• Case study in psychology refers to the study of one individual in a great
detail.
• It is an in-depth, intensive (गहन) investigation of an individual or small
group of people.
• In other word case study is a research method in which detail information
about individual is used to develop general principles of behaviour.
• It gathers detail information of specified individuals.
• These information are used to formulate principles or research conclusion
that will be applied to all human beings.
• It contains the information of family back ground, home life,
neighbourhood activities, experiences at school, past life, health and so
on.
• This method is based on the idea that more we know about individuals
the better we will be able to understand and help them.
• It includes psychological testing where researcher use carefully designed
questionnaires and gain some insights of individuals or groups
personality.
• The goal of case study is not only to learn about few individuals being
examined but also use insights gained from the study to improve
understanding people in general.
Advantages:
• Provides detailed (rich qualitative) information.
• Provides insight for further research
• Provide good way to generate hypothesis.
Disadvantage:
• Sometimes gives incomplete information
• The case study method depends largely on memory of
incidents may have been observed inaccurately or
over interpreted.
• Can’t generalize the results to the wider population.
• Researchers' own subjective feeling may influence the
case study (researcher bias).
• Time consuming.
C. Survey
• There is no straight forward way of finding out what people
think, feel and do than asking them directly. For this survey
is the most important method.
• Survey research uses the random sampling that represents
entire population.
• Survey is a method in which people are chosen from larger
population and asked series of questions about their
behaviour, thoughts or attitude. It is a way of getting
information about specific type of behaviour, experience or
events.
• In other words survey involves asking standardized
questions to large group of people who represents the
sample of population.
• In this method researchers prepare a set of questionnaire,
asks series of questions about the topic they are studying.
• Survey is conducted through interview, on telephone, the
internet or with questionnaire.
Advantages:
• Provide a good way for hypothesis formulation.
• Yield a lot of information.
• Since it is cheap and easy to do, it can provide a lot of
information about many people.
• Provides information about behaviour that can not
be observed.
• Accurate prediction of large scale trends can be made.
Disadvantages:
• Lie intentionally.
• Gives answers based on wishful thinking rather than
truth.
• Fail to understand the questions asked in survey.
2. Correlation
• Correlation is a measure of relationship between two or more variables.
• A variable is something that can change or vary such as score on test,
temperature, attitude, behaviour etc.
• Correlation is a statistical tool which helps in prediction of behaviours
relationship. It reveals how closely two variables vary together and how
well one predicts other. It predicts whether and to what extent different
variables related to each other.
• Under this method researchers use mathematical formula and determine
relationship that is called correlation coefficient, denoted by r. The
correlation coefficient represent two things: direction of relationship and
its strength. For example if researcher found that smoking and life
expectancy are related, they can decide either life expectancy go up or
down as smoking increases, that is called direction of relationship.
• Correlation coefficient can be positive or negative. If two variables
increase in the same direction the correlation is positive and vice versa.
• The strength of relationship between variables will be determined by the
range of correlation. The correlation always ranges between +1 to -1. if
the correlation coefficient is equal to +1 or close to it, the relationship is
strong. If the coefficient of correlation is zero or -1 or close to it the
relationship between variables is weak.
Advantages;
• Large amount of information can be acquired
quickly.
• Can be used in the field as well as laboratory
setting
Disadvantages:
• Difficult to establish cause and effect relationship
• A correlative finding does not reveal which
variable influences the other.
3. Experimental Method
• The experiment method is considered most
scientific and objective method of studying human
behaviour.
• An experiment is an investigation in which
hypothesis is scientifically tested.
• In experiment independent variables (cause) is
manipulated or altered and dependent variable
(effect) is measured and any extraneous variables
are controlled.
• In this method, the researcher tries to establish
cause and effect relationship.
• The experimental method has following elements
a. Identifying Problem
It is finding causes of behaviour or problems and
asking question on oneself as why people act as they
do? Or why do people smoke? Or why do students
show oddly behaviour?
b. Hypothesis formulation:
Hypothesis are assumption made to test the problem.
It can be positive or negative based on information
available in literature. Hypothesis may be proved or
disproved. Such as smoking harmful for physical and
mental health.
c. Variables
• The crux of the experiment is the use of two or more
variables. A variable as its name it implies something that
varies. Ideally, it is something that can be measured. While
conducting experiment, the experimenter decides variable in
the experiment.
• Variables are independent, dependent and intervening or
extraneous.
• Independent variable refers to a variable that is manipulated
by the experimenter or that can affect other.
• Dependent variable is a variable that represents measurable
response or behaviour of the subject in the experiment. It is
that variable influenced by other.
• Intervening or extraneous variables are other conditions or
factors that influence cause and effect relationship which are
to be controlled. It is also called confounding variable.
d. Experimental and Control group
• Experimental research requires two groups to compare.
These groups are experimental and control.
• Members are assigned in groups randomly so that each
member has equal chance of being in either group.
• One group will receive some special treatment called
experimental group. And other group receive no treatment
is called control group.
• The researcher then can compare the experimental group
and control group to find out whether the manipulation of
independent variable affect the dependent variable.
• Result of comparison between variable are tested with
hypothesis. Changes only in experimental group proves the
effect of the manipulation of independent variable.
However, changes in both groups show the impact of
extraneous variables
Merits:-
a. Experimental research provides conclusions that are specific.
b. Finds out cause and effect relationship
c. Repetition is possible.
Demerits:-
a. Experimental method advocates the study of behaviour under
completely controlled rigid conditions. These conditions
demand the creation of artificial situation or environment and
the behaviour studied under these conditions may be different
from natural behaviour. Thus, experimental method fails to
study behaviour in naturalistic conditions.
b. Difficulty in controlling or equalizing intervening variables.
c. All problems of psychology cannot be studied by this method
as we cannot perform experiments for all the problems.
d. Experimental method is a costly and time consuming method.
Attribution errors:
Person's perception in the organization is based on
attribution given on their behavior. However, research
on attribution theory identifies following two interesting
errors of attribution which are as follows:
i) Fundamental attribution error
It refers to tendency of over estimating the internal
factors or cause or under estimating external factors or
causes when judging other people or events.
ii) Self serving bias
It a tendency of individual to compare his/her success
with their personal efforts or labor and putting the
blame for innocent luck, god or chance to their failure.
 Unit 2:
PERCEPTION, SOCIAL THOUGHT AND BEHAVIOR
 Concept of Perception (धारणा)
• Perception is purely a cognitive process.
• In simple term, perception is an interpretation after interaction
with people, object, situation and environment.
• In other words, perception means giving a kind of impression
towards the people, object, situation and environment.
• Perception provides a unique picture of the world and such picture
may be quite different from reality.
• Perception is a mental process therefore; different people perceive
the things in a different way. Two individuals may perceive the
same situation differently.
Definitions
• According to Robbins and others, “Perception can be
defined as the process by which individuals organize
and interpret their sensory impression in order to
give meaning to their environment.”
• According to Fred Luthans, “Perception is a complex
cognitive process that yields a picture of the world, a
picture that is quite different from reality.”
In conclusion, the perception as the
psychological, subjective and intellectual process
through which a person collects, selects data from
environment, organizes, interprets, experience it
obtains meaning from it. It is based on people thoughts,
beliefs, emotion or mood, expectations or feelings.
Factors Influencing Perception
Perception is a complex cognitive or psychological
process that yields a unique picture of the world, a
picture which is different from reality. Perception is
influenced by nature and nurture. Nature is related
to heredity and nurture is related to environment.
Perceptual mechanism of individuals is affected by
following factors.
1. Factors in the Perceiver
2. Factors in the Target
3. Factors in the Situation
1. Factors in the Perceiver
Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect perception.
When an individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret
what he or she, that interpretation is heavily influenced by
personal characteristics of individual perceiver. The major
characteristics of the perceiver influencing perception are:
i. Needs and Motives:
Individuals’ perception is determined by their inner needs and
motives. They take the same thing differently according to their
needs and motives. Similarly people select different item to meet
their needs than addressing reality. Further, people with satisfied
needs perceive the object entirely different from those whose
needs are not satisfied. This means people will perceive only those
items which suit their wishful thinking. For example, in an
organizational context, a boss who is insecure perceives a
subordinate's efforts to do an outstanding job as a threat to his or
her own position. Personal insecurity can be transferred into the
perception that others are out to "get my job", regardless of the
intention of the subordinates
ii) Self-Concept:
Self-concept means understanding oneself or self
understanding. Perception is guided by the notion that beauty
lays in beholders eyes. An individual with a positive self-
concept tends to notice positive attributes in another person.
In contrast, a negative self-concept can lead a perceiver to
pick out negative traits in another person.
iii) Attitudes:
Attitudes are the belief system that directs thinking, feeling
and actions of people. Attitude evaluate or provide judgment
based on past information or impression. For example,
suppose Mr. X is interviewing candidates for a very important
position in his organization –a position that requires
negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male.
Mr X may feel that women are not capable of holding their
own in tough negotiations. This attitude will doubtless affect
his perceptions of the female candidates he interviews.
iv) Past Experience:
People’s perceptions are very much influenced by their past
experience. A person with successful past experience will
perceive the thing positively and vice versa. For example, A
person visits the restaurant frequently if he/she has the past
experience that serves fresh food with good taste.
v) Moods:
A temporary state of mind or feeling is called moods. Moods
can have a strong influence on the way we perceive someone.
We think differently when we are happy than we do when we
are depressed. In addition, we remember information that is
consistent with our mood state better than information that is
inconsistent with our mood state. When in a positive mood,
we form more positive impression of others. When in a
negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavourably.
vi) Expectations:
The perception is based on the principle that “individuals
see what they want to see than what is reality.” They
perceive the same thing in different manner according to
their expectations. This means, optimistic persons
perceive the information in favorable ways whereas
pessimistic person perceive the same thing in unfavorable
ways.
vii) Interest
The state of wanting to know or learn about something or
someone is called Interest. The focus of our attention
appears to be influenced by our interests. Because our
individual interests differ considerably, what one person
notices in a situation can differ from what others
perceive. For example, doctors, engineers, professors all
observe to the object of their own interest.
viii) Cognitive Structure:
Cognitive structures are mental processes that
individuals use to process and understand
information. They organize information for learning
and recall. Cognitive structure, an individual's
pattern of thinking, also affects perception.
2. Factors in the Target
Characteristics in the target that is being observed can
affect what is perceived. Physical appearance plays a big
role in our perception of others. Extremely attractive or
unattractive individuals are more likely to be noticed in
a group than ordinary liking individuals, loud people are
more likely to be noticed in a group than are quite ones.
The major characteristics of the target influencing
perception are:
i. Size:
The bigger the size of the external stimulus or target
greater the possibility of catching the attention of
perceiver. For example, a full-fledged advertisement of
a motor cycle in the newspaper attracts more attention
of perceiver than the same type of advertisement
placed at the corner of same paper.
ii) Frequency
Frequency means repetition or repeated external stimulus
attracts more attention than single one therefore most of the
advertiser repeat their advertising message to attract the
more attention of customers.
iii) Motion
A moving object is more appealing than stationary. For
example; the two advertisement of same product is given in
television and a front page of newspaper at a time. Usually,
customer Pay their first attention to television than
newspapers.
iv) Status
Status also influences the person's perception. A higher status
of external object catches more attention than lower status.
For e.g. when a person introduce with two personalities such
as prime minister and minister at a time, but a person retain
the name of PM in his/her memory than other ministers.
v) Novelty and familiarity
An external object which is novel or new or more
familiar than other attracts more attention of
perceiver. For example; when delivering two
different classes, one is using traditional method
where other is using overhead projector, the later
method will catch more attention than former one.
vi) Intensity:
An intense external stimulus catches more attention
of individuals than weak one. For e.g.; a bright light,
strong odour or loud noise attracts more attention
than weak ones.
3. Factors in the Situation
It refers to the time and place. Individuals perceive
the same thing in different manner based on the time
and situation. For example, when a manager sees
his/her sub-ordinate is talking with his/her enemy the
manager will perceive subordinate negatively.
However, if the same a manager sees that sub-
ordinate is talking with minister the manager will
perceive sub-ordinate positively.
 Sensation
• In our body, there are five different sense organs
namely eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin. These five
sense organs are responsible for vision, hearing, smell,
taste and touch respectively.
• The process in which sense organs receive the visual,
auditory, taste, touch related nerve impulse and
transmit them to the brain is called sensation.
• For sensation process, highly specialized cells known
as sensory receptors, located in our eyes, ears, nose,
tongue and elsewhere within our bodies receive,
move and process sensory information.
• Then, the brain interprets those neural message,
which allow the brain to make decisions about the
environment.
 Perceptual Organization (Gestalt Principle)
Concept
• A notable group of psychologist of German
(Worthemer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kolher),
who first worked in the field of perception and
developed certain principle called Gestalt principle
of perceptual organization where gestalt means
whole in German.
• This principle describes how human typically see
objects by grouping similar elements, recognizing
patterns and simplifying complex images.
• In other words, assembling the selected
information that is incoming into meaningful
whole is called perceptual organization.
1. Principle of Figure Ground Relationship
• According to this principle, a figure is perceived in
relationship to its background.
• Figure ground perception refers to the tendency of
the visual system to simplify a scene into the main
object that we are looking at the figure and
everything else that forms the background.
2. Principle of Grouping
It is a way of describing discrete stimuli together in
the perceived world. It is arranging the information
or inputs in the same group based on their proximity
and similarity. Thus, selected information is grouped
on the basis of similarity, proximity and continuity.
a. Similarity
It is a tendency to perceive things that looks similar
as being part of the same group. For e.g. why sports
team wear uniform that all are the same color
because it allows people viewing the game to
perceive them as one group when they are scattered
around the field.
b. Proximity
Proximity refers nearness states that a group of
stimuli that are close together will be perceived as
whole pattern of parts belonging together. It states
that objects or shapes that are close to one another
appear to form group even the shape, size and
objects are radically different.
c. Continuity
• It is a tendency to perceive things as simply as
possible with a continuous patterns rather than
with a complex broken-up pattern. It says that we
perceive continuous flowing lines more easily than
broken lines.
3. Principle of Closure
According to this principle of perpetual organization
while confronting an incomplete pattern one tends
to complete or close the pattern or fill in sensory gap
and perceives it as a meaningful whole.
 PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCY
CONCEPT
• Retinal image over perceived objects may vary from
distance, angel and illumination (प्रकाश).
• Despite such variation in image, people perceive
objects in constant or stable manner, that is called
perceptual constancy.
• Perceptual constancy, also called object constancy, or
constancy phenomenon.
• It is the tendency of animals and humans to see
familiar objects as having standard shape, size, color,
or location regardless of changes in the angle of
perspective, distance, or lighting.
• It is a phenomenon in which physical objects are
perceived as unvarying or consistent despite changes
in their appearance or physical environment.
1. Size Constancy
• It is the tendency to interpret an object as always
being the same size regardless of its distance from the
viewer.
• It explains the perceived size on the objects remain
same when the distance is varied.
• In other words, size constancy refers that familiar
objects do not change in perceived size when viewed
from different distance.
• Our retina cast bigger image of closer objects and
smaller image of far or distant objects but the size of
object remains constant. When a person goes away,
the image of retina grows smaller, we see the person
small, but perceive that person as being normal size.
2. Shape Constancy
• It is the tendency to interpret the shape of an
object as being constant even its shape changes
on the retina.
• In shape constancy, we perceive familiar objects as
having constant form even while our retinal of
them change. For example: When you stand in
front of door, its image on the retina is rectangle.
When you move to the side, the image become
trapezoid but you see it as rectangle.
3. Brightness Constancy
Brightness constancy is the tendency to perceive
objects as having a constant brightness when they
are viewed under different condition of illumination.
This means, we perceive the apparent brightness of
an object as the same when the light condition
changes. For example coal looks black even in very
bright moon and sun light, they see snow white
under the same condition.
Illusion (भ्रम)
Illusion refers to incorrect perception. Perception
that provides false interpretation of sensory
information is called illusion. In other words,
illusions are perceptions that do not correspond to
reality. Illusion is, "the perception of something
objectively existing in such a way as to cause
misinterpretation of its actual nature. A perceptual
illusion occurs when any of the sense organs
“transmit misleading information to the brain.” Two
types of illusion:
1. Physical process
2. Cognitive process
1. Physical process:
Illusion perceived without any existence of stimulus
is called physical illusion. Such illusions emerge due
to the distortion of physical condition includes
mirages, in which we perceive something that they
are not really there such as water on the dry road
ahead caused by the refraction of light.
2. Cognitive process
Illusions occur in the presence of mind is called
cognitive illusion. It is simply misconception or
misinterpretation of situation or stimulus. Sometime
it is also called visual illusion where visual illusions
are the physical stimuli that constantly produce
errors in perception that do not reflect the physical
reality of stimulus accurately. They are usually result
of errors in the brain’s interpretation of visual
stimuli. There countless illusions related to cognitive
process, which can be broadly divided in to two
categories:
a. Illusion of size
b. Illusion of shape or area
a. Illusion of size:
Illusion of size occurs because perceptually distort the length of
various lines. Learning also plays important roles in such illusion.
Theory of misapplied constancy suggests that illusion of size occurs
when we interpret certain cues and perceive some parts are farther
away than others. Muller lyer illusion is one example of size illusion. It
is an illusion of line length that is distorted by inward turning or
outward turning corners on the end of lines, cause line of equal length
to appear to be different.
Ponzo illusion
Ebbinghaus Illusion
b. Illusion of shape or area
Illusion of shape or area suggests that the geometrical stimulus is an
important cause to mislead perception. Moon illusion is a common
form of such illusion. The moon looks bigger at horizon than highest
point in the sky. Moon in the high sky is alone with no cues for depth
surrounding. But on the horizon, the moon appears behind the trees
and houses, hills and mountains. The moon is seen as being behind
these objects and seem to bigger than objects or cues. Another cause
is that vertical distances are perceived as very longer than horizontal
distance .
Ames Room Illusion
• The distorted room the ‘Ames Room’ is named after the American
ophthalmologist Adelbert Ames, who first constructed this illusion
in 1946. He based his design on a concept originally conceived by
Hermann Helmholtz, a physician and physicist in the late 19th
century.
• There are two illusions associated with the Ames Room. First the
room appears normal and cubic when viewed from the front via a
special viewing point. Secondly, within an Ames Room people or
objects can appear to grow or shrink when moving from one corner
to the other
 Persons Perception
CONCEPT
• Person’s perception is called personal perception or
social perception .
• It is applied in social psychology.
• It is the procedures by which individuals think about,
approve, and assess other individuals.
• It is the study of how people form impressions of and
make inferences about other people.
• In other words , the mental processes we use to form
judgments and draw conclusions about the
characteristics and motives of other people are called
person perception.
• Person perception, is the way a person forms
judgments and makes conclusions concerning the
characteristics and motives of others.
 KELLY’S ATTRIBUTION THEORY
• Attribution refers to the way of judging others based
on cause and effect relationship.
• It is the process of explaining one’s own behavior and
behavior of others.
• The attribution theory of perception was developed
by Harold Kelly.
• It tries to identify causation of behavior. It explains
the ways by which individuals response the same
situation differently depending on meaning attributed
on their behavior.
• It suggests to indicate whether the behavior is caused
internally (disposition) or externally (Situation)
therefore there are two causation of behavior.
1. Internal cause of attribution
The internal cause or internal attribution are the
individuals disposition which are stemmed or
generated from within individual and they can be
controlled by the individual such as personality,
attitude, motivation, emotion, belief, ability, etc.
2. External cause of attribution
The external cause or attribution refers to situations
which stemmed from situation or other persons and
they are beyond one's controlling ability such as
environment, situation, other person luck, god, etc.
 Internal Factors External Factors

Stable Ability Fate, Luck

Unstable Effort, Hard work Task characteristics

i)Distinctiveness:
The distinctiveness refers to that situation where an individual display
different behavior for different situation. If there is high distinctiveness,
behavior is externally but if the distinctiveness is low, the causation is
internal. E.g Mohan only smokes when he is out with friends, his behaviour
is high in distinctiveness. If he smokes at any time or place distinctiveness is
low.
ii) Consensus:
The consensus refers to the situation where the individual shows similar type
of behavior to respond same situation. High consensus represents the
external causation and vice-versa. E.g Mohan smokes a cigarette when he
goes out for a tiffin with his friend. If his friends smoke, his behaviour is high
consensus. If Mohan only smokes it is low.
iii) Consistency:
It refers to the tendency that the person respond the same way overtime. If
the response is same that is internal cause where the response is different
causation is external. E.g if Mohan only smokes when he is out with friends,
his behaviour is high in consistency. If he smokes only on one special
occasion, consistency is low.
 Impression Formation
• An idea, feeling, or opinion about something or someone,
especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis
of little evidence is called impression.
• Impression formation is the process by which we form an overall
impression of someone’s character and abilities based on
available information about their traits and behaviors.
• It is forming the first knowledge the a person has about another
person. It is subconscious form of people’s opinions about other
people they met.
• We form impression based on perceptual accentuation, primacy
and recency effect.
• Perceptual accentuation is the tendency to see what we want to
see in the other people where as primacy effects explains rapid
formation of impression on the basis of first impression and
recency effect of impression focuses on last word others speak
or we hear and form impression about others.
 PERCEPTUAL ERRORS AND BIAS
Perceptual process is a way of judging the world. In
fact, perceptual process will not be always perfect.
Most of us use short-cut way to judge or make
decisions about others behaviors. Below presented
are few errors that emerge in course of human
perception.
1. Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to underestimate the influence of
external factors and overestimate the influence of
internal factors when making judgments about the
behaviour of others.
2. Halo effect
It is drawing general impression of individual based
on single dominant characteristics. In other word,
this is the process of judging or evaluating others
behavior based on his or single characteristics. Just
on the basis of one attribute such as intelligence,
cooperativeness, sociability etc. individual behavior
or mental process is evaluated favorably or
unfavorably. Halo effect works mostly under three
conditions when the target shows unclear
behavioral expression, traits are not frequently
encountered by the perceiver and when the traits
have morale implication.
3. Stereotypes
It is also called generalizing or grouping. It generalizes how
people of a given group, race, religion etc. will appear, think,
feel or act. It is the process of assigning traits to people based
their membership in social category. In other words, it is
judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group
to which that person belongs. It is putting people in pigeon
hole. Examples:
• Fat women are = Jolly/ happy.
• Americans are = ambitious
• Japanese are = industrious
• Chinese are = inscrutable
• Nepalese are = lazy
• Gurkhas are = brave
The above examples are not always true, but true in general
not in particular.
4. Self serving Bias
The tendency for individuals to attribute their own
success to internal factors while putting the blame
for failures on external factors.
5. Primacy effect
Primacy effect is the tendency to quickly form
opinion of people on the basis of first information
received about them. It suggests “first impression is
the last impression.” So it is also called impression
effect. The first impression exposed by a person
tends to be given more impression than later
information.
6. Recency effect
It is the tendency of an individual to give more
priorities on the last words that a person speaks or
he or she hears. The recent information has stronger
influence than the first information because latest
information or events are more easier to recall than
first information.
 SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Social behavior is very broad topic which focuses on how
individuals responses to their environment. It looks on how
people interact with and relate to each other in the social
context. There are different ways through which people
manage others behavior.
1. Attitude
2. Persuasion
3. Prejudice
1. Attitude
Attitude is the complex of cognitive factors which involves the
collection of beliefs, feelings, opinions, emotions and
intentions directed towards certain person, object or situation.
It is a tendency of person to respond positively or negatively
towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation. So, attitude
is an evaluative statement either favourable or unfavorable
ways about people, object and events.
According to Robbins “Attitudes are evaluative
statements either favourable or unfavourable about
objects, people, or events.”
Attitudes are relatively enduring feelings,
beliefs, sentiments, emotions and behavioral
tendencies directed towards specific people, group,
issues, ideas and object. People developed attitudes
from their parents, teachers, friends and reference
groups.
 COMPONENT OF ATTITUDE
1) Cognitive component:
When an individual develops attitudes based on beliefs, feeling or knowledge
is called cognitive components of attitudes. It is an evaluative statement of
beliefs towards persons, person, situations; events etc. For e.g If topic is
Smoking is bad.
Cognitive aspect a. Yes b. No c. I don’t know
2) Affective Component:
Affect refers to the mood or emotions. The affective components include the
collection of sentiments, emotions or moods. When an individual develops
feeling towards situation, object, person or event based on their beliefs is
called affective components . For e.g
Affective aspect a. I like to smoke b. I hate smoke c. I can try
3) Behavioural Component:
It refers to the action taking component of attitude. Due to the certain sorts
of feelings of individuals towards situation, objects, person or event,
individuals decide to take action that is termed as behavioral component. For
e.g
Behavioural aspect a. I always tell people not to smoke
b. I always smoke with friends
c. I have never tried
 Attitude formation
1. Direct Contact:
One way in which attitude is formed is by direct contact with the
person, idea, situation or object that is focus of attitude.
2. Direct instruction:
Direct instructions either by parents or other individuals help to
form attitude. Parent may tell their children cigarette smoking is
harmful their health. On the basis of such instruction a child may
form negative attitude towards cigarette.
3. Interaction with other:
Sometime attitudes are formed because of the person is around
other people with that other people. If a persons’ friend holds the
attitude that smoking releases form tension, other people think that
smoking release from tension.
4. Vicarious learning
Many attitudes are learned through the observation of others’
people’s action and reaction to various objects, people or situation.
2. Persuasion ( a way for changing attitude)
Persuasion is the pressure to convince others to
change their attitude of behavior. In other words,
the process through which one or more persons
attempt to alter the attitudes of one or more others
is called persuasion. It is the process by which one
person tries to change the belief, opinion, position
or course of action of another person through the
argument, pleading and explanation. persuasion
process can be explained through the question
“who says to whom by what means?”
The key elements of persuasion are:
• Persuasion is symbolic, utilizing words, images,
sounds and so forth.
• It involves a deliberate attempt to influence
others.
• Self – persuasion is key.
• People are not coerced; they are instead free to
choose.
• Methods of transmitting persuasive message can
occur in a variety of ways, including verbally and
nonverbally via television, radio, internet or face
to face communication.
 Cognitive Dissonance
• Dissonance means inconsistency. Cognitive
dissonance refers to the inconsistency between two
or more attitude and behavior of an individual.
• In other word it is the situation where an individual
perceive inconsistency or incompatibility between his
or her beliefs, emotions, attitude and behavior.
• The concept of cognitive dissonance was developed
by Leon Fistinger in the late 1950s. According to this
theory people want to maintain stability or stable
state by minimizing the dissonance.
• This theory also explained that any type of
inconsistency or dissonance is uncomfortable or
painful to individual and they want to reduce
inconsistency or contradictory with a view to
minimize discomfort felt by them.
 3. PREJUDICE
• Prejudice come from prejudgment. Almost all
attitudes are prejudice to some extent. Prejudice
refers to an unjustified attitude usually unfavorable
towards some persons, objects, casts, religious group.
• Prejudice is powerful negative attitude towards the
members of specific social groups based solely on
their membership in that group.
• Baron defined the prejudice as negative attitude
towards the members of social group based on the
membership on this group. So prejudice is a negative
attitude that a person holds about the members of a
particular social group.
• However, discrimination is the consequences of
prejudice where members of social groups are
treated differently.
 SOURCES OF PREJUDICE
1. Direct intergroup conflict:
A realistic conflict theory explains that prejudice stems from the
competition between social groups that fosters the feeling of antagonism
between each other.
2. Social categorization
There is tendency of dividing the social world in to distinct category as US
and THEM. That is the feeling of in-group and out-group in terms of race,
religions, gender, age, ethnic background, occupation etc. Such a
categorization stimulate prejudice.
3. Role of social learning:
Prejudice are learned attitude. People learn prejudice from other people
through the process of social learning. Children learn attitude from friends,
teachers, parents and other expressing prejudiced view. Further, mass
media is an influential source for prejudice formation.
4. Cognitive factors
Stereotypes are generalized belief and expectation about specific group and
its member. Stereotype views held by individual about specific group can
lead to prejudice between the group.
 TECHNIQUES TO REDUCE PREJUDICE
Prejudice is common in social life and rampant in most societies,
but it can be reduced. Baron proposed following techniques to
reduce prejudice a:
1. Learning not to hate
It is breaking the cycle of prejudice. It suggests that prejudices are
not inborn but learned from later life or acquired. So the useful
way to reduce prejudice involves discouraging the transmission of
negative views and encouraging more positive attitude towards
others.
2. Direct inter group contact
Intergroup contact is more effective in reducing prejudice if the
groups have equal status. Research consistently show that
increasing amount of interaction between people can reduce
negative stereotyping. But only certain types of contact are likely
reduce prejudice and discrimination. Situation in which contact is
relatively intimate, the individuals are of equal status, or
participants must cooperate with one another or are dependent
on another are more likely to reduce prejudice.
3. Re-categorization:
It is redrawing the boundary between us and them
will reduce prejudice. Gaertner and colleagues
developed the common in-group identity model and
explains that when members of different social
groups come to see themselves as members of a
single social entity, their attitudes toward the
former out-group members become more positive
and unfriendly attitude towards the group seems to
weaken away.
Beside the above mentioned techniques
prejudice and discrimination can be reduced by
developing super-ordinate goal, educational
techniques, making the norms against prejudice etc.
 Social Influence
• Social influence is an effort made by an individual or
group of people to change the attitude, belief,
perception and behavior of others.
• It shows how people interact with others and how
they are interacted by them,
• According to Baron, “social influences are efforts by
one or more persons to change the attitude or
behavior of one or more others”.
• Thus social influence is the process through which the
real or implied presence of others can directly or
indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings and
behavior of an individuals.
• There are three common forms of social influences
i.e. conformity, compliance and obedience.
A) Conformity
• Conformity refers to changing one’s own behavior
to match that other people. It is behaving in the
ways that are liked and accepted by friends,
societies, groups.
• Baron, “Conformity is a type of social influence in
which individuals change their attitude or
behavior in order to adhere existing social norms.”
• Thus, conformity means adjusting one’s behavior
to align with norms of groups or existing social
norms. Social norms are the rules indicating how
individuals ought to behave in specific situation.
 ASCH’S CLASSIC STUDY ON CONFORMITY
Solomon Asch conducted his classic study of
conformity by having participants gathered in a
room. They were told that they were participating in
an experiment on visual judgment. They were given
a white card with three black lines of varying lengths
followed by another white card with only one line on
it. The task was to determine which line on the first
card was most similar to the line of second card. In
the only one the last person in the group was real
participant. The all others were confederates, people
following special direction from experimenter who
were instructed to pick incorrect line from the
comparison lines.
Results: Asch measured the number of times each
participant conformed to the majority view. On
average, about one third (32%) of the participants
who were placed in this situation went along and
conformed with the clearly incorrect majority on the
critical trials.
B) Compliance
• Compliance is a part of consumer psychology. When
people change their behavior according to the request
or direction of other person that is called compliance.
It is accepting others requests, direction, suggestion
or agreeing with others behavior.
• According to Baron, “Compliance is a form of social
influence in which one or more persons acquiesce to
requests from one or more others.”
• Thus compliance is changing one’s behavior as a result
of other people directing or asking for the change
which refers to the art of responding favorably to an
explicit or implicit request offered by others.
 Strategies for gaining compliance :
1. Tactics based on liking:
• It is an ingratiation tactics. It involves gaining compliances
by causing others to have positive feelings about us before
we attempt to influence them.
• It is using all possible suitable tactics in a particular situation
in order to foster the positive effect of target person. There
are two major tactics based on liking; self enhancing tactics
and other enhancing tactics.
a. Self enhancing tactics are designed to enhance our
personal demand. This tactics include making ourselves
attractive as possible, showing friendliness towards target
person and associating ourselves with positive events or
people the target person already.
b. Other enhancing tactics refers to flattering target person,
agreeing with them or showing interest on them.
2. Tactics based on commitment or consistency:
• It is a foot in the door tactic. It is a technique for
gaining compliance in which a small request is
followed by a much larger one.
• It involves asking or requesting for a small
commitment first and after gaining compliance
asking for bigger commitment. When a person
accepts free sample from salesman, the salesman
further request to buy goods.
• Lowball tactic is also a part of this tactics to gain
compliance of other people. It refers that once
commitment is made, the cost of commitment is
increased.
3. Tactics based on reciprocity:
• It is a door in the face technique. Under this, large
request is followed by a smaller one to gain
compliance. Targets are asked for large
commitment first and when that is refused than
asked for a smaller more reasonable commitment.
• It is guided by norms of reciprocity that when
someone does something for a person that person
should do something for the other in return.
• Under this, large request is followed by a smaller
one to gain compliance. Targets are asked for large
commitment first and when that is refused then
asked for smaller one more reasonable
commitment.
C) Obedience
• A change in behavior in response to command of
other is called obedience. In other words, obedience
is changing own’s behavior at the direct order of the
authority figure. Individuals act according to the
orders, usually form an authority figure. An authority
figure is a person with social power who has right to
demand certain behavior from people.
• Baron defined “obedience is a form of social influence
in which one or more individuals behave in a specific
way in response to direct order for someone.”
• In short, obedience is the tendency to comply with
commands of those in authority. It is the form of
social influence in which one individual issues order to
another to behave a specific way and other one
follows.
 MILGRAM’S EXPERIMENT
• Social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted an
experiment in 1992. In his experiment, three people
were present, a real participant, a research assistant
and experimenter who gives order in white coat. The
regular participant was given role of teacher and
research assistant was given the role of learner where
subjects (teachers and learners) are randomly
assigned in group.
• The teacher was given a sample 45-volt shock from
the chair in which learner was strapped during the
experiment. The task of learner was simple memory
test of paired works.
• The teacher was seated Infront of a machine through
which the shocks would be administered and levels of
shocked changed.
• For each mistake made by the learner, the teacher
was instructed to increase the level of shock by 15
volts.
• The learner was confederate and actually shocked,
was given script to show discomfort, ask for
experiment to end, screaming or even falling silent
as if unconscious or deal. As the teacher became
reluctant to continue administering the shocks,
the experimenter forced to continue the shock.
Conclusion
Before the Stanley Millgram experiment, experts
thought that about 1-3% of the subjects wouldn’t
stop giving shocks. Still, 65% never stopped giving
shocks. None stopped when the learner said he had
heart trouble. Further studies determined.
• Women are about the same obedience as men.
• The appearance of the authority person and his
rank can increase or decrease the obedience.
 Unit 3: MOTIVATION AND EMOTION
Concepts
• The word motivation comes from Latin word “movere” which means to move. so,
motivation is the mover of behavior. It is synonymously used with the word desires,
wants, wishes, needs, drive, motive, and incentives.
• It is a hypothetical concept like other cognitive process and can’t be seen and touched.
• Psychologically, it refers to the activation, urge and internal carving from within the
organism.
• Motivation can be defined as internal state that activates and gives direction to our
goals. It is an internal process which actively guides and direct human behavior.
Pinder defined ,”Motivation refers to the forces within the person that affect
his/her direction, intensity and persistent of voluntary behavior.”
So, motivation is a process that account to individual direction, intensity and
persistence of efforts towards attainment of goals. Direction is an individual’s choice
when presented with a number of possible alternatives. To achieve the goal certain
amount of effort is essential to put forth, which is called the intensity of the motivation.
Persistence is the length of time a person stays with a given action.
 Motivation Cycle
Motivation cycle begins with a need, which causes a drive fed by the incentive of
reaching the goal that fills the need.
1 .Need
• A need is lack or deficit of what we want. It’s a state of physical deprivation that
causes tension within an organism. The tension caused when the organism is deprived
of basic necessities of life as food, water, and sleep.
• It causes the internal environment of an organism to be imbalanced.
• The imbalance caused by the need arouses the organism to maintain its balance. The
tendency to restore balanced condition in body is known as homeostasis. For any goal
directed behavior, need is the first condition or stimulating factor.
2. Drive
• Need leads to drive, which is the second step towards achieving goal.
• Drive can be defined as the state of tension or arousal produced by need. The drive
can also be considered as the original source of energy that activates an organism. For
instance, when an organism is hungry and/or thirsty, the organism seeks to reduce
this drive by eating and/or drinking.
• Drive acts as a strong persistent stimulus to push an organism towards its goal. It is
the state of heightened tension leading to restless activity and preparatory behavior.
3. Incentives
• The incentive is something in the external environment that satisfies the need and
reduces the drive .
• Incentive is an appropriate objects or situation towards which motivated behavior is
directed. Incentives alleviate a need and reduce drive. It can provide satisfaction for
aroused drive.
• For example: behavior like eating food is an incentive that reduces the drive of the
person caused by the need to fulfill his hunger. The reduction of behavior then cuts off
and restores balance in an organism.
4. Goal/ Reward
• The reduction of tension in the body can be considered as the goal of any motivated
behavior.
• Let’s go back to the example of a hungry man. A hungry man eats food, and his body
restores to a balanced condition. This then reduces the tension. This reduction of
tension as a result of an energized activity is called goal.
• Once the goal has been completed, the organism is again ready for another goal
motivated behavior. Goals might be both positive or negative. Positive goals are the
ones that an organism tries to attain, such as sexual companionship, food, victory etc.
negative goals are the ones that an organism tries to escape from or avoid, such as
embarrassing situations, punishments.
 These four steps continue on and on throughout the life-course of an
organism. Because the needs are never ending, it leads to drive, which then lead
to incentive and the goal.
Types of motives
Motives are the reason behind our actions what compels us to do and what we
do. Motives vary from unlearned physical needs to highly organized system of
learned ideas. Psychologists have categorized needs into two broad categories:
a) Primary Motives
• Primary motives are also called physiological motives.
• Primary motives are inborn, unlearned and biological. They are natural and vital
which the individual brings with him or her upon his or entry into the world.
They are important for our survival without which we can’t live.
• These are universal needs which balance the body and if remain unsatisfied,
may lead different behavioral disturbances . Hunger, thirst, rest and sleep, sex
etc are primary motives.
b) Secondary Motives
• Secondary motives are social motives or psychological motives.
• These are acquired or learned motives and developed through social contact
and experience.
• These motives are not directly related to biological survival of the individuals,
they spend much of their time to satisfy these motives.
• These motives are equally important because individual’s happiness and
wellbeing depend on the satisfaction of these motives. Power, prestige, need
for affiliation, security and status are important secondary motives.
 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
DRIVE REDUCTION THEORY
• Drive Reduction Theory was developed by the psychologist Clark Hull in 1943, as the
first theory for motivation.
• The term ‘drive’ refers to the state of tension or arousal caused by biological or
physiological needs.
• According to the drive reduction theory biological needs arising within our bodies
create unpleasant state of arousal and propels the organism to satisfy the need and
reduce tension and arousal.
• In this theory there are two kinds of drives. Primary drives are those that involve
survival needs of the body such as hunger and thirst whereas acquired or secondary
drives are those that are learned such as need for money or social approval. When
there is primary motive, the body is in the state of imbalance. This stimulates
behavior that brings the body back in to the balance or homeostasis.
• Thus, motivation is basically a process in which various biological needs push us to
action designed to satisfy these needs.
 According to this figure biological needs (food, water, oxygen) lead to the
arousal of drive (hunger, thirst), which activate efforts to reduce them. Behavior that
succeed in reducing a drive are strengthened and are repeated when the drive is
aroused again. Behavior that fails to reduce the drive are weakened and less likely to
recur when the drive is aroused once again.
AROUSAL THEORY OF MOTIVATION
• In arousal theory, people are said to have an optimal (best or ideal) level of
tension.
• Task performance may suffer if the level of arousal is too high (such as severe
anxiety) or even if the level of arousal is too low (such as boredom). For many
kinds of tasks, a moderate level of arousal seems to be best.
• This phenomenon is also referred to as the Yerkes-Dodson Law. It is a law
stating performance is related to arousal. Moderate level arousal lead to better
performance than the levels of arousal that are too low or too high. This effect
varies with the difficulty of tasks.
• Easy tasks demands somewhat high moderate level for optimal performance
where as difficult tasks require a low moderate level arousal.
 According to this theory increased levels of arousal will improve performance,
but only up until the optimum arousal level is reached. At that point, performance
begins to suffer as arousal levels increase. Individuals maintain optimum level of arousal
by increasing or reducing it. Students who experience test anxiety ( a high level of
arousal) may seek out ways to reduce that anxiety in order to improve test
performance. Students who are not anxious at all may not be motivated to study well,
lowering their test performance.
Expectancy Theory
• The Expectancy Theory of Motivation was suggested by Victor H. Vroom in
1964.
• Vroom's Expectancy Theory is a process theory. This theory suggests that
motivation is not primarily matter of being pushed from within various urges or
drives but it is being pulled by expectation of desirable outcomes.
• It states that employee’s motivation is an outcome of how much an individual
wants a reward (Valence), the assessment that the likelihood that the effort will
lead to expected performance (Expectancy) and the belief that the performance
will lead to reward (Instrumentality).
a. Expectancy (E→P)
Expectancy refers to the "effort-performance" relation. It is the perception that
better efforts will result in better performance. If we believe that our effort will
lead to performance, we will put more effort and vice versa.
b. Instrumentality (P→O)
Instrumentality refers to the "performance-reward" relation. It is the belief that
better performance will result better reward. If we believe that our performance
will lead to reward or outcome we will be motivated to work.
c. Valence:
Valence means "value" and refers to the preference of an individual’s on an
outcome. If we believe that outcomes satisfies our desires we will be motivated
to work.
 Equity Theory
• A behavioral psychologist John Stacy Adams developed equity theory in early 1960.
• It is the most rigorously developed social exchange theory of motivation. It is also
called social comparison theory of motivation.
• It explains that employees try to maintain a balance between what they give to an
organization (inputs) against what they receive (outcomes), and compare one’s
inputs-outcomes ratio with the colleagues (referent). If they identify inequities in the
input/output ratios of themselves and their referent group, they will seek to adjust
their input to reach their perceived equity.
• As a social comparison theory, individuals compare their output input ratio with the
same ratio of referent person where referent are people with whom we compare our
own situation.
• Inputs are logically what we give or put into our work such as time, loyalty, effort,
tolerance, flexibility, enthusiasm, personal sacrifice, skill, experience, training,
knowledge, trust in superiors etc. and outputs are everything we take out in return or
what an organization has given to people in lieu of their contribution such as salary,
job security and employee benefits, but extend to less tangible aspects such as praise,
sense of achievement, praise and reputation.
According to Adam, individuals compare their ratio with 'referent' and
determines the reward condition. The reward condition can be over
rewarded, under rewarded and equal rewarded. If they find that are equal
or over rewarded they will be motivated and vice versa. However, feeling of
inequity leads following situation:
• Change their inputs.
• Change their outcomes.
• Distort the perception.
• Choose the different referent.
• Leave the field.
 GOAL SETTING THEORY
• In 1960’s, Edwin Locke put forward the Goal-setting theory of motivation.
• It states that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback
contribute to higher and better task performance.
• In simple words, goals indicate and give direction to an employee about what needs
to be done and how much efforts are required to be put in.
• The goal setting theory can be explained through an acronym SMART- F to remember.
a. SPECIFIC
Specific goals lead to greater output and better performance. Because such a goal itself
seems to act as an internal stimulus.
b. MEASURABLE
Goals must be quantifiable in terms of measurement in percentage so that a vision of
attainment and progress is sensed.
c. ATTAINABLE
Attainable means achievable in a given period of time. this means, goals should set by
considering ability and capacity.
d. REALISTIC
Goals should be realistic and challenging. This gives an individual a feeling of
pride and triumph when he attains them, and sets him up for attainment of next
goal. The more challenging the goal, the greater is the reward generally and the
more is the passion for achieving it.
e. TIME BOUND
There should be appropriate fixed time to accomplish the task so that individuals
remain active and alert.
f. FEEDBACK
Feedback is a means of gaining reputation, making clarifications and regulating
goal difficulties. It helps employees to work with more involvement and leads to
greater job satisfaction. Better and appropriate feedback of results directs the
employee behavior and contributes to higher performance than absence of
feedback.
Followings are the major conclusions of goal setting theory;
• Specific goals works as internal stimulus and produce higher levels of
performance.
• Challenging goals energizes individuals and direct attention towards tasks and
more motivate people
• Better and appropriate feedback of results directs the employee behavior and
contributes to higher performance than absence of feedback.
• Opportunities to participate in goal setting foster the commitment.
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
• Abraham Maslow expounded the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in 1943.
• Maslow started his formulation with that man is a wanting animal with a hierarchy of
needs of which some are in lower scale and some are in a higher scale.
• According to Maslow a satisfied need is not a motivator. Unsatisfied needs propel
individuals to act in certain ways. This theory is based on the assumption that there is
a hierarchy of five needs within each individual. These five needs are as follows
1. Physiological needs
These are the basic needs of air, water, food, sex, clothing and shelter. In other words,
physiological needs are the needs for basic amenities of life. These needs must be
equated with pay rate, pay practice and the physical condition of the job.
2. Safety needs
The next in order of needs is safety need, the need to be free from danger, either from
people or free from environment. It includes physical, environmental and emotional
safety and protection. For instance- Job security, security against disease, misfortune,
old age, industrial injury, health security, etc.
3. Social needs
It is a need in which individuals develops desire to work in a cohesive group and
feel sense of belongingness. Once safety needs are met, s/he feels the need to
love and be loved and to belong and identified with group. Thus, Social needs
include the need for love, affection, care, belongingness, and friendship.
4. Esteem needs
Esteem needs are also called ego needs. It reflects the desire for status and
recognition, respect and prestige in the work group. It can be of two types:
internal esteem needs (self- respect, confidence, competence, achievement and
freedom) and external esteem needs (recognition, power, status, attention,
participation and admiration).
5. Self-actualization need
This is an upper level needs. It is also called self realization need. It includes the
urge for becoming capable to become or the potential to become. It also includes
desire for gaining more knowledge, social- service, creativity and being aesthetic.
The self- actualization needs are never fully satiable.
Maslow grouped the five needs into two categories - Higher-order needs and
Lower-order needs.
• The physiological and the safety needs constituted the lower-order needs.
These lower-order needs are mainly satisfied externally.
• The social, esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the higher order
needs. These higher-order needs are generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an
individual.
According to Maslow, only one level of need can be operative at a time and
individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of these needs is
significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge. So, this theory
involves the satisfaction-progression analysis.
 McClelland achievement theory
• In 1961 David McClelland proposed a book 'The Achieving Society' and expounded a
new theory of motivation.
• He advocated that an individual's specific needs are acquired over time from parents,
teachers, colleagues, neighbors etc. T
• He described three types of motivational needs- achievement, affiliation and power
where motivation and effectiveness of a person in any jobs are influenced by these
three needs.
1. Need for Achievement (n-Ach):
• People with a high need for achievement (nAch) set challenging (not impossible)
goals, calculate possible risk, assume the responsibility and put sincere efforts for the
attainment of goals.
• They avoid money as motivator but seek opportunities for advancement and expect
strong feedback of accomplishment or progress in the job.
• High n-ach individuals prefer work that has a moderate probability of success, ideally
a 50% chance. They prefer either to work alone or with other high achievers.
2. Need for Affiliation (n-Aff):
• People with a high need for affiliation (nAff) want to maintain friendly
relationships with other people and strictly avoid all sorts of conflicts and
confrontations.
• These people are team players; need to feel accepted by other and ready to
follow the norms of their work group.
• People with a high need for affiliation prefer work that entails significant
personal interaction.
• They perform well in customer service, client interaction situations and public
relation activities.
3. Need for Power (n-Pow):
• This refers the desire for influencing others and exercise control.
• People with high need for power generally seek position of leadership, speak
more and suggest more to other.
 Emotion
• Any desirable or undesirable feeling occurred quickly and profoundly in
response to an event or situation is called emotion.
• Emotions are the short but intense feeling directed towards object, persons or
events.
• They are the reaction to person or event and expressed a variety of ways such
as anger, fear, joy, love, happiness, sadness, surprise etc. People frequently
express emotion through their thoughts, behavior and physiological reaction.
"An emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct
components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral
or expressive response."(Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007)
Thus, emotions are intense feeling directed towards persons, object, or
events that create state of readiness for behavior. People differ from each other
based on their emotions and every one reacts the situation in different way such
as a teacher used to scold that student who does not complete his/ her
assignment but the same teacher appreciate to other student who complete the
assignment regularly.
 Types of Emotion:
Emotions are intense feeling directed towards persons, object, or events that
create state of readiness for behavior. Psychologists classified emotions on
different bases. Broadly emotions are two types primary and secondary.
1. Primary emotion and secondary emotion
Primary emotions are in- the- moment emotional responses to a pleasant or
unpleasant stimulus. This means, primary emotions can be extremely pleasant
and they can also be extremely unpleasant. Primary emotions provide
information about our current situation and get us ready or motivated to act in
some way. Some primary emotions are Joy, Happiness, Satisfaction, Fulfillment,
Peace, Fear, Shame, Sadness, Hurt, Guilt, Frustration, Dissatisfaction,
Disappointment etc.
• Secondary Emotions
Feeling which is not acknowledged or displayed commonly across societies are
called secondary emotions. Secondary emotions are the emotions we have in
response to a primary emotion not being recognized or expressed. Secondary
emotions do not pass quickly. They tend to stick around for a long time. As a
result, they often lead us to try to avoid our emotions and cause damage to
ourselves and our relationships. eg. love, envy, Disapproval, Disdain, Hatred,
Coldness, Hostility, Paranoia, Distrust, Jealousy, Worry, Anxiety, Insecurity, Low
Self Esteem, Self-hatred, Depression, Anger etc.
2. Positive and negative emotion
• A desirable feeling of an individual, events, things or objects which develops
pleasant consequences is called positive emotion. In other words, positive
emotion refers to the extent to which an individual subjectively experiences
positive moods. It is a pleasurable and positive experience. These emotions are
markers of people's overall well-being or happiness, but they also enhance
future growth and success. Joy, happiness, alertness, appreciation etc. are
positive emotions, A desirable feeling of an individual, events, things or objects
which develops pleasant consequences is called positive emotion. In other
words, positive emotion refers to the extent to which an individual subjectively
experiences positive moods. It is a pleasurable and positive experience
• Intense but undesirable feeling directed towards some persons, object or
situation is called negative emotion. It is usually an unpleasant or unhappy
feeling which is evoked in individuals to express a negative affect towards an
event or person. Negative emotions are considered unhappy leading to mental
ill health. Fear, anger, Coldness, Hostility, Distrust, Jealousy, Worry, Anxiety,
Insecurity, Low Self Esteem, Self-hatred, Depression, Anger etc.
3. Felt Emotion and Displayed Emotion
• Natural and spontaneous emotion is felt emotion. They are real, true emotions
of individuals.
• Emotions that are guided by fixed rules and regulations set by organization is
called displayed emotion. They are expressed in relation to time, situation or
nature of jobs. They are learned or acquired to please others. Organizations
need employees to disguise their true emotions and display emotions that are
effective to their jobs. It is similar to chanting god’s name by keeping a knife in
the pocket, i.e. mukha ma Ram Ram bagali ma chhura.
 Emotional Labor
• Emotional labor refers to the effort, planning and control needed to express
organizationally desired emotion during the interpersonal transaction.
• It forces employees to follow “displayed rules” and curtail their real individual
emotion.
According to Robbins, emotional labor is a situation in which an employee
expresses organizationally desired emotion during interpersonal transaction at
work.
• Every employee including the chief executive of the organization must abide
the rule. For example nurses must show devotion and dedication with the
eagerness to help the patient throughout the time.
• However, emotional labor is difficult to persons when s/he has to protect one
emotion that is opposite to what s/he is feeling. This conflicting situation is
known as emotional dissonance. In emotional dissonance employees display
different emotions that are quite different from the true feeling.
 External Constraints on Emotions
There are certain rules, disciplines and acceptable standard ways to express
emotion. People must abide rules otherwise they are treated as wild. For
example, a student must behave like student, expected to listen, concentrate and
participate well in the classroom. However, an appropriate emotion in one
situation may not be appropriate in other situations; the cause behind it is the
external constraints on emotion. Basically there are two major external
constraints on emotion.
1. Organizational Influence:
Organizations have their own criteria for employees to express their emotion. The
expression of emotion may differ from organization to organization. However,
negative emotions such as anger, fear, stress etc. are not always accepted where
positive emotions like love, joy etc. are always wanted. Further intense emotion
such as laughing too hard is prohibited because it hampers the work.
2. Cultural Influence:
Cultural learning influences the expression of emotion more than what is
experienced. Emotions are highly interrelated and guided by the culture. Some
culture encourage free emotional expression, where as other culture teach
people to disclose little of their emotion in public. Employees need to smile and
act friendly in the United States when interacting with the clients. Whereas
smiling is seen as a sign of inexperience for Israeli supermarket cashier.
 Gender and Emotion
• Emotional expression between the male and female is a hot topic of discussion and
interesting matter in psychology. Most often people say that women are more
emotional than man; however man could be described more emotional than women.
• In reality, the expression of emotion depends on types of emotion, how it is
measured, where it is expressed and other lots of factors. From evolutionary
perspective, there are some sex differences in emotion. Some of the facts obtained
from empirical about sex and emotional expressions are as follows:
1. Women do appear to react more negatively to unpleasant experiment, react with
more fear disgust, sadness, physical violence, where men express greater happiness to
happy situation.
2. Women tend to be able to recognize and process negative emotion of others better
than man.
3. Men and women tend to differ in average levels of depression. Feeling of depression
is high in women than man.
4. Women are associated with negative emotionality than man.
5. Women attribute more importance in personal values including values related love
and altruism (परोपकारी).
 Application of Emotion in Organization Behavior
Emotional expressions are directly related in influencing behavior. Well managed
emotional situations also maintain control over employees in the organization.
Therefore, emotions have great significance in the organization and can be applied in
following ways.
1. Ability and Selection:
Ability refers to the individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. It is the
current assessment of what one can do. The organization should have the ability to
select emotionally intelligent employee in their organization. People with high levels of
emotional intelligence are considered socially intelligent; perform well in social and
business settings. They do not control only their emotion but also can impress other as
a valuable person in the organization. These persons are healthy competitors in the
profession and can fit themselves in any organization.
2. Creativity:
People who are in good mood or have positive emotion tend to be more creative than
people in the bad mood or negative emotion. They produce more idea, others think
their ideas are original and they tend to identify more creative option to problems. It
seems that people who are experiencing positive emotions are more flexible and open
in their thinking.
3. Decision Making: Organizational behavior researcher found that emotions
have an important effect on decision making. People who are experiencing
positive emotions are more likely to use their heuristics to help make good
decision quicker than those who do not have. Positive emotion also enhances
problem solving skills so that positive people find better solution to problems.
4. Motivation: Emotion and motivation are closely related concept that affects
organization’s goals. Motives are often accompanied by emotions. People with
positive emotion are more excited and stimulated to the job and perform well. If
an employee finds that the job is more interesting, s/he will be more motivated
to work on the job without caring about dinners.
5. Leadership: Leadership refers to the ability of a person to entice or influence
others. Leaders influence, acceptance and rejections are determined by the
expression of their emotion in the speech. When a leader feels excited,
enthusiastic and active, s/he may be more energize subordinates and more
successful in influencing others and applying their vision in the both political and
corporate sectors of organizations.
6. Interpersonal conflict
Interpersonal conflict occurs when a person or group of people frustrates or interferes
with another persons efforts at achieving a goal. It is the difference of opinion between
two persons or groups which results in an argument. The basic reason for this conflict is
that we are all different. Each person has unique ideologies and values and when they
meet people with opposing beliefs, conflict occurs. The existence of conflict is usually
accompanied by various emotions such as hurt, anger, confusion, inferiority complex
and so forth. If people involved in an interpersonal conflict act defensively and close
themselves to others ideas completely then these conflicts are serious and intensified.
On the other hand, open discussion and timely conversation can be the solution to
these problems.
7. Customer Service:
A workers emotional state also influences customer service. Employees who have
positive emotions or good mood are more likely to communicate in friendly manner,
show warmth, be positive and behave with fine gesture which will enhance customer
interest and appreciation. It will help employees to experience and develop better skills.
Sometime employee’s emotion may transfer to the customers and cause matching
effect between employees and customers which are called emotional contagion
(catching of emotion from others).
8. Job attitude:
Job attitude is the feeling of employees towards their job. If a person has positive feeling in and
about the job, they remain in the job for longer time. People who experience a bad day at work
experience bad mood even back home, they feel irritating. When people with the good day at
work experience they will have pleasant feeling at home. When managers in good mood,
employees cooperate more, show more positiveness and willingness.
9. Deviant workplace behavior:
Deviant workplace behavior is an antisocial behavior where employees often violets
organizations norms, threatens it or both. Evidence suggests that people who feel negative
emotion, particularly those who feel angry or hostile are more likely to engage in deviant
behavior than those who do not have negative emotion.
10. Implication of emotion for managers
Managers who understand the role of emotions will significantly improve their ability and
predict their workmate and employee's behavior. Getting to know people is an extremely
difficult task. There are so many complexities and traits for every individual that we will
probably never see two people alike. Simple triggers can make someone angry, joyous, sad or
happy. Employees emotions and pain challenge managers to behave more sympathetically
when they are frustrated, sad, upset, or angry; become more caring managers; help those in
need at the organization; and be more mindful of how our day – to –day words and actions in
the workplace affect others. In this way, emotional employees are not problems but they are
opportunities.
Unit – 4
Learning
Concept
Learning simply refers acquiring the ability to do something that we have not
done before. Learning can be defined as the process of changing, developing and
maintaining skill, knowledge, and attitude of people. Learning is often defined as
a relatively lasting change in behavior that is the result of experience. In other
word learning is the acquisition of new behavior or the strengthening or
weakening of old behavior as the result of experience.
According to Baron, “Learning is any relatively permanent change in
behavior (or behavior potential) resulting from experiences.”
According to Myers, “Learning is a relatively permanent change in an
organisms’ behavior due to experience.”
Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge & attitudes. It involves
new ways of doing things and it operates in individuals attempts to overcome
obstacles or to adjust to new situations. It represents progressive changes in
behavior. It enables individuals to satisfy interests to attain goals.
Importance of Learning
• “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
Einstein.
• It reflects the importance of learning. Further learning is important because it
boosts confidence, is enjoyable and provides happiness, leads to a better
quality of life and helps boost personal development. The importance of
learning is as follows:
a. Make life meaningful
Learning is essential to all organisms and without learning, a living soul is of no
use. One who doesn’t understand his environment at least will be dead in no
time.
b. Adapt in new environment
Learning helps to adapt to a new environment. If only we know how to change
our ways according to changes in our locale, will we survive. We have to adapt
ourselves every day to new people, places, jobs and relations, only learning can
assist us in this.
c. Understand basic necessity
Learning helps us understand basic necessities of life, and gives us a way of
acquiring and mastering them.
d. Improve skills and knowledge
Greater learning can provide you with deeper knowledge of a subject, which
cannot be imparted from bookish education. Managers attempt to design a
learning element to maintain or improve desired levels of skills and knowledge of
employees.
e. Behavioral development
Learning can help persons or managers to check the dysfunctional behavior and
boost up functional behaviors by applying new rewards and interventions.
f. Multiple impact
Every activity in organization is influenced by learning. Almost all dimensions of
individual’s behavior or organizational performance such as knowledge, skills,
attitudes, values, personalities, loyalties, job performance are responsive to
learning.
 Models of Learning
1. Behavioural Learning/Models
Behavioural approaches view learning as an observable and measurable
behaviour. Under the behavioural learning classical conditioning and operant
condition learning have been discussed:
A. Classical Conditioning
Conditioning refers to automatic response over the situation through repeated
activities. The classical conditioning theory of learning was developed by Ivan
Pavlov a Russian psychologist. This theory is also called respondent condition or
Pavlovian theory of learning. According to this theory when a stimulus is paired
with another stimulus that will create a response which is called condition
learning. It involves the stimulus response connection and deals that stimulus
elicit response that is a form of learning.
2. Experiment
Pavlov presented a piece of meat, the dog produced saliva. Then Pavlov rang the
bell but the dog did not make any response. Subsequently, Pavlov presented a
piece of meat with ringing the bell at a time. The dog again produced saliva.
Again, Pavlov rang the bell with holding the meat, the dog also produced saliva.
Pavlov paired the sound of bell with the flash digit the dog also produced saliva.
Finally, When the Pavlov used only flash light the dog produce the same
response. In his experiment, he termed meat is an Unconditional stimulus and
the saliva produced due to the presentation of meat is an unconditioned
response. The sound of bell and flash of light are conditioned stimulus where as
the response of dog is conditioned response. So, Pavlov concluded that when
conditioned stimulus is paired with unconditioned stimulus that will eventually
lead to a response which is called conditional response. The classical conditioning
theory explains simple and reflexive behavior. It deals when something happens,
people reacts in specific ways. However, human behavior is complex and it can’t
explain all aspects of human behavior.
3. Basic elements of classical conditioning
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS):
A stimulus that naturally, automatically and reliably triggers a particular response
without previous learning for example food, or smell of food.
• Unconditioned response (UCR):
An automatic and unlearned response triggered by UCS is called UCR for example
flow of saliva when food is presented. It is an unlearned and occurs because of
genetic wiring in nervous system.
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)
An initially neutral stimulus that does not automatically cause a response until it
becomes linked to unconditioned stimulus. This means unconditioned stimulus
and conditioned stimulus are associated with each other.
• Conditioned response (CR)
A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus is called conditioned
response. It is the response to conditioned stimulus.
3. Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning
Pavlov experiment revealed five major processes or principles of classical
conditioning:
• Acquisition
Acquisition is the process by which a conditioned stimulus acquires the ability to
elicit conditioned response through repeated pairing of an unconditioned
stimulus with the conditioned stimulus.
• Extinction
If the conditioned stimulus is alone a number of times without the food, the
magnitude of the conditioned response of salivation begins to decrease. So, this
process with the gradual disappearance of the conditioned response on
disconnecting the S-R association is called extinction.
• Stimulus generalization
Generalization is the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the
original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response. In Pavlov
experiment, even though that was learned to salivate in response to specific bell
that also salivates when there is a slight change in the sound of bell.
• Stimulus Discrimination
Discrimination is the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and
other stimuli. It is the process by which organisms learn to respond to certain
stimuli but not others. If two stimuli are sufficiently distinct from one another
that one evokes a conditioned response but the other does not. When the dog
salivates at ringing bell, but using another stimulus like flash light without any
conditioning, the dog will not produce saliva.
• Simultaneous conditioning
The bell and food are presented at exactly the same time.
• Delayed conditioning
The bells come on first and stay on until food is presented
• Trace conditioning
The bell comes on and goes off before the food is presented
 Application of Classical Conditioning Theory
• Creating phobia or fear
Classical conditioning is useful to create phobia and anxiety in human being. Watson and his
assistant classically conditioned 9 month baby "Little Albert" Albert was originally not fearful of
any of the items. Watson then allowed Albert to play with the rat, but as Albert played, Watson
suddenly banged a hammer on a metal bar. The sound shocked Albert and caused him to cry.
Each time Albert touched the rat, Watson again banged the hammer on the bar. Watson was
able to successfully condition Albert to fear the rat because of its association with the loud
noise. Several times Albert started to cry at the sight of the rat even there is sound eventually,
Albert was conditioned to fear other similar objects that resembles a rat such as a rabbit and
even white mustache etc. Here, loud noise is a UCS and noise due to loud noise is UCR where
as white rat or rabbit is the conditioned stimulus and fear from rat is a conditioned response.
• Treatment of phobia and fear:
Classical conditioning can be used to reduce fear that is called counter conditioning. First the
child was presented his favorable food (UCS), the food evoke pleasant feeling (UCR). The caged
rat was slowly inched closer as closer to the child (CS). Eventually pleasant feeling evoked by
the food became associated with the rat, the fear diminished (CR). The way which we follow to
reduce fear and learned phobia is called systematic desensitization. It is a treatment for
phobias in which the individual is trained to relax while being exposed to progressively more
anxiety-provoking stimuli.
• Taste aversion.
Classical conditioning has been used as a successful form of treatment in changing or
modifying behaviors, such as substance abuse and smoking. Some therapies associated with
classical conditioning include aversion therapy. Aversion therapy is a type of behavior therapy
designed to encourage individuals to give up undesirable habits by causing them to associate
the habit with an unpleasant effect. It has been applied in human life to avert drug addiction,
alcoholic addiction, smoking etc. Some substances are mixed in the usual diet or food so that
when take alcohol, the person becomes ill after consuming drugs and alcohol. They learn that
the illness is caused by alcohol or drug and will stop to use
• Biological preparedness:
Classical conditioning is also applied by the psychologist to prepare biologically to take some
foods which caused them nausea or vomiting them. It was applied by psychiatrist Dr. Garcia to
cancer patients in order to avoid conditioned taste aversion. Because, in some patients
radiation or chemotherapy causes nausea or vomiting only thinking food they had consumed
before therapy. He suggested that:
➢To arrange meal schedule so that there will be less chances of association between eating
those dishes and illness.
➢To use familiar food they prefer on regular basis before treatment than eating new or
unusual food.
➢To eat mild or some tasteless food so that flavor aversion does not develop like alcohol.
• Study of sensory capacity
The principle of classical conditioning are useful to determine the sensory
capacities of infants, handicapped persons or animals. Suppose in a clinic, a child
came for treatment who does not respond to any type of sound stimuli. The
problem can be detected through the classical conditioning procedures. If a child
is presented a number times with a bell and pinprick. A bell is sounded before a
pin tries to prick the child, the child may withdraw his foot sensing that the
sound of the bell is followed by pinprick. If the child withdraws his foot, he can
hear normally. If the child does not respond to the sound of bell, he has some
sorts of sensory problems and requires further treatment.
2) OPERANT CONDITIONING
• The operant conditioning theory was developed by an American Psychologist B.F.
Skinner.
• Operant refers to the volunteer behavior such as walking, working, eating, talking,
sleeping, etc. So, the learning applies to voluntary behavior is called operant
conditioning.
• According to this theory human being involves in voluntary behavior that produce
specific response. The response finally determines their further behavior.
• If the consequences are rewarding the response will be repeated and will grow in
strength. It is guided by the Thorndike law of effect which states that if response is
followed by pleasurable consequences, it will tend to be repeated and followed by
unpleasant consequences, it will not be repeated. So, the relationship between
reward and response is the essence of operant conditioning.
• By this theory, skinner concluded that individual's behavior is developed, controlled
and changed by the consequence or behavior is the function of it's consequence. It is
also called instrumental theory or re-enforcement theory or response stimulus
model.
Experiment
Skinner developed special testing environment called operant conditioning
chamber or skinner box. The box was typically sound proof with a bar or key
inside it. If it is pressed pecked it will releases food or water as reward. The
chamber was large enough to allow animals to move within it. Skinned used a rat
and pigeon in his experiment. He placed the rat in a box called Skinner box.
When a rat is placed, the rat was started to move around the box suddenly
pressed on the liver. The lever delivered a pellet of food. Then, the rat repeatedly
presses the lever and got the food over and again. In this theory the rat learned
that when the lever is pressed that would deliver the food. In this theory, the
food is the consequence or reward where repeated pressing the lever is behavior.
So, the behavior is determined by reward. Therefore, it is also called reward
stimulus theory. By this theory skinner concluded that individuals learn to get
what they want and avoid to learn what they do not want.
 Major concepts of Operant Conditioning Theory
Common concepts of Operant Conditioning theory are as follows:
1. Reinforcement
Reinforcement is the central concept of operant conditioning. It is the process by which
a stimulus increases the probability the preceding behavior will be repeated. It
increases the likelihood that learned behavior will be repeated. It increase the strength
of response and increases its probability of being repeated. It involves either
presentation or withdrawal of pleasant consequences that consequence is called
reinforcer. There are basic two types of reinforcement
a. Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is the presentation of pleasant consequences or stimulus that
make the behavior more likely to be repeated. It strengthens desirable behavior by
providing rewards at every time. Food pallet or grain is a positive reinforcer to the rat or
pigeon that pressed the bar. Appreciation, medal, monetary reward etc. are the positive
reinforcer to human being.
b. Negative reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is a form of behaviour in which the removal of something after
an operant behaviour decreases the probability of the reoccurrence of the behaviour. It
is reinforcement of response by the removal, escape from or avoidance of unpleasant
stimulus to strengthen desirable response or weaken undesirable response.
2. Punishment
Punishment (weakens behaviour) is a response/ consequence that causes a
behaviour to occur with less frequency. Hence the punishment is a procedure by
which the application or removal of a stimulus decreases the strength of a
behaviour. There are two types of punishment:
a. Positive punishment
An unfavorable consequences/ response following a behaviour, which leads to a
decrease in that behaviour. For example every time you come late in your class
(behaviour), you are door locked (consequence). This consequence of being
locked will demotivate you from coming late, thereby weakening the behaviour.
b. Negative punishment
Punishment by removal occurs when a favourable event or outcome is removed
after a behaviour occurs. For example every time you wake up late (behaviour) in
the morning your mobile is taken away from you (consequence) for that day. This
taking away of mobile following an undesired behaviour, results in a decrease in
that behaviour.
• Extinction
Extinction, in operant conditioning, refers to when a reinforced behavior is extinguished
entirely. The rate of responding or pressing the bar when the reinforcement or food is
consistently absent. The extinction process occurs when the rat does not get any food
after pressing the bar and it diminishes the tendency to press the bar or lever.
• Spontaneous Recovery:
It is the recurrences of conditioned response after the extinction. The phenomena of
spontaneous recovery is also applied in operant conditioning. When the rat receives
food after the lapse of time it starts to press the lever to deliver food again.
• Stimulus generalization
It is quite similar both in classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Skinner
trained a pigeons to peck at a key illuminated by yellow light, later, same pigeons were
tested with light of varying wavelengths, the result shoed the generalized effect. As the
light became less similar to the original, the pigeons were less inclined to peck the key.
Stimulus discrimination Like the classical conditioning, rat and pigeon learn to
discriminate between the stimuli. The rat was trained to press the bar when green light
is on. The rat presses the bar only when the green light is on and does not press the bar
when there is no green light. The light becomes discriminating stimulus for response.
 Difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning theory:
Both the classical conditioning and operating theories try to bring changes on human
behavior. Despite the similarity the difference between these two theories are
mentioned below.
a) Determinants: In the classical conditioning, stimulus are the determinants of
behavior where as in operant conditioning, reinforcement of rewards are the
determinants.
b) Reward: In classical conditioning reward is presented every time where as in operant
conditioning reward is attached to the behavior.
c) Types of behavior: Classical condition explains elicited or passive behavior where as
operant conditioning explains emitted or active behavior.
d) Approach: Classical conditioning is a reactive approach where as operant
conditionings is a proactive approach of learning.
e) Model: Classical conditioning is based on stimulus responses (S"R) model whereas
operant conditioning based on response stimulus (R"S) model.
f) Pre-requisite: In classical conditioning stimulus is pre-requisite for clearing whereas in
operant condition consequences or re-enforcement is pre-requisite per learning.
 Cognitive Theory of Learning
Concept
• Cognitive theory is related to the term cognition which refers to act of thinking,
perception, use of intuition, experience to gain knowledge.
• The cognitive theory of learning was developed by American Psychologist
Edward C. Tolman According to this learning is not caused by stimulus response
(S-R) interaction rather it is the result of individual's cognition and
environmental clues.
• It is based on stimulus – stimulus connection. One stimulus leads to another
stimulus. When an individual's behavior is directed towards objective they
confront different environmental situation and find their ultimate objectives.
So, learning is the consequence of human brain, or thinking and knowing but
not the stimulus response or response stimulus reaction.
Experiment
Tolman experimented taking a rat and complex maze. He used three groups of
rats in the same maze with or without reward. The rat was trained to run through
a complicated maze. The first group was reward group where reward (food) was
placed at the end of maze. The second group was non-reward group, never
received reward and third group was no-reward/reward group, did not receive
food reward until the eleventh day of training. Tolman put a food at the corner of
the maize and placed the rat, that rat moved straight forward as soon as the rat
reached to the station or choice that got confusion but the rat was able to use
environmental clues through sense of organs and followed right path. Finally,
that rat got the food. However, the rat in a reward group found the reward at
lower rate of error whereas rat with non-reward and reward cum non-reward
showed higher errors and similar levels of performance By this theory Tolman
concluded that when the rat got the food learning took places.
 Application of cognitive learning
1. The cognitive theory combines characteristics of both classical conditioning
and operant conditioning theory. Therefore, it has a broad area of application. It
can be applied in following ways:
2. Key in overcoming many negative impact of personality.
3. Cognition always precedes behavior and emotions therefore changing our
thoughts may lead to change in our behavior.
4. It is useful in increasing short term and long term memory of students.
5. The concept of cognitive theory can be equally applied in human resources
management and industrial training.
6. The map used in cognitive theory can be used to identify the material stored in
the store room. So it promotes efficiency and saves time.
7. The cognitive theory is also useful in social life. By using the cognitive map, we
can reach new destination. It is more applicable in tourism industry.
 Observational learning theory
Concept
• Observational learning Theory is the result of empirical research on human
behavior.
• It was developed by Albert Bandura. According to this theory neither stimulus
from environment (Classical and operant theory) nor the self-determination
(Cognitive theory) determine the learning, rather, learning occurs through the
direct observation and experience of an individual.
• Bandura combined classical conditioning, operant conditioning and cognitive
theory of learning to develop the new way of learning.
• According to Bandura, individuals are the social being who live in the society
and have a contact with different person such as father, mother, colleague
friends, teachers, managers and other celebrities. They earnestly observe their
behavior and put in practice that behavior which they like or prefer most that
family creates the new way of behavior.
Experiment
Bandura experimented with preschool child, a model and “Bobo” doll. In the
experiment room, a model interacted with doll in a room in front of child. In one
condition the model interacted with toy in a non-aggressive manner completely
ignoring the presence of Bobo doll. In other condition, the model became very
aggressive with the doll, kicking it, yelling at it, throwing it in the air and hitting it
with a hammer. When each child was left alone in the room where a camera
filming was set and given opportunity to play with the toy. He found through the
camera that children who were exposed to the aggressive model, they were
beating up the doll in exact imitation of the model. The children who saw the
model ignore the doll, did not act aggressively. He concluded that learning can
take places without actual performance and labeled latent learning. He further
explained that observational learning require the presence of four elements or
steps via attention, retention, motor reproduction and reinforcement.
Attention process:
Attention is the first basic process in observational learning. The learner must pay
attention over different activates of model. Normally people or learner pay more
attention to that model they perceive as similar to them and they perceive as
attractive.
Retention process:
It is keeping the model’s behavior in memory. The learner must be able to store and
retain the observed model in the mind and develops image of the model so that s/he
can retrieve at any time when that is required.
Motor reproduction process:
It is the imitation process and translating memories into behavior. The learner must be
capable of reproducing or imitating the action of model. In this stage, the most liked or
preferred model is put into practice. In other words, individuals apply that model which
scene has given the preferences.
Reinforcement:
It is the motivational process. When the individual gets support or appreciation by
applying the preferred model she will repeat the model over and again and vice-versa.
Social learning stress on reinforcement facilities. It emphasized that people are not only
influenced by their experience but also by the observed consequences that is called
vicarious learning.
 Application of Observational Theory
There are many possible uses of observational learning. It has both negative and
positive impact. The application or usefulness of observational learning are as
follows:
• Observational learning is the main method to learn about our culture, customs,
tradition and environment.
• Observational learning helps to advocate productive behavior. For example,
observing parents behavior, children perform many tasks.
• Observational learning can be applied to reduce or treat phobia, anxiety and
fear of children through modeling.
• Observational learning can be useful to prevent the global organization and
individual from cultural shock.
• Observational learning may contribute to the development of unhealthy
behavior including smoking, alcohol, drug addiction among adolescents.
• Sometime it may be impacted by wrong model.
 Application of Learning Theories
1. Shaping Behaviour
• The process of establishing a behavior that is not learned or performed by an
individual at present is referred to as Shaping.
• Shaping can also be defined as the procedure that involves reinforcing behaviors that
are closer to the target behavior, also known as successive approximations.
• The concept was first developed and used by B.F Skinner, who is known for his
theories that involve learning behaviors through reinforcement.
• This is a behavioral term that refers to gradually molding or training an organism to
perform a specific response (behavior) by reinforcing any responses that are similar to
the desired response.
• For example, a researcher can use shaping to train a rat to press a lever during an
experiment (since rats are not born with the instinct to press a lever in a cage during
an experiment). To start, the researcher may reward the rat when it makes any
movement at all in the direction of the lever. Then, the rat has to actually take a step
toward the lever to get rewarded.
Positive Reinforcement
• The process of encouraging or establishing a pattern of behaviour by offering
reward when the behaviour is exhibited is termed as positive reinforcement.
• "Positive reinforcement is the most important and most widely applied
principle of behaviour analysis"
• Positive reinforcement is the addition of a reward following a desired behavior.
For e.g
• Imagine you are having a picnic at the park, and you witness a man with his
dog. He is trying to teach the dog to sit, but the dog is so excited that the man
is having a very difficult time. You laugh as the dog jumps up and tries to play
with the man. Finally, the dog sits down. Immediately the man gives him a
treat. It appears to you that the dog only sat down on accident, so you wonder
why the man rewarded the dog. You have another laugh and take a walk
around the park. A few minutes later, you see the man and dog again. The dog
seems to be sitting a bit more often. At first, you think that the dog must just be
getting tired, but as you watch, you realize that the dog is looking for the treat
he is being given each time he sits.
Negative Reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement increases the probability that an operant will occur
when reinforcers (negative) are applied. Simply put, negative reinforcement is
the stimuli that strengthen responses that permit an organism to avoid or
escape from their presence.
• The stimulus or reinforcer causes the frequency of operant to increase, as it
terminates or removes the undesired responses. Examples
• An employee fails to meet the deadline, and he is made to come to work even
on Sundays. The employee then works harder from next month in order to
avoid having to go to work on Sundays.
• A student fails in class, and he is made to attend summer school. The action
then motivates the student to work harder in future in order to avoid similar
consequence.
Here, the extra work day and the summer school are negative reinforcers, which
cause both the employee and the student to work harder.
Punishment
Aversive stimulus that follows an undesirable behavior, and is intended to decrease or
eliminate the occurrence of that behavior. It may be triggered either due to the
performance of an undesirable act (negligence) or the non-performance of a desirable
act (disobedience). Punishments take the form of presentation of an unpleasant
stimulus (criticism or warning) or withdrawal of a pleasant one (employment or
promotion). Threat of punishment usually also constitutes a punishment. There are
two types of punishment i.e. Positive punishment and Negative punishment
An unfavorable consequences/ response following a behaviour, which leads to a
decrease in that behaviour. For example every time you come late in your class
(behaviour), you are door locked (consequence). This consequence of being locked will
demotivate you from coming late, thereby weakening the behaviour.
Punishment by removal occurs when a favourable event or outcome is removed
after a behaviour occurs. For example every time you wake up late (behaviour) in the
morning your mobile is taken away from you (consequence) for that day. This taking
away of mobile following an undesired behaviour, results in a decrease in that
behaviour.
2. Schedule of Reinforcement
• A schedule of reinforcement is a protocol or set of rules that a teacher will
follow when delivering reinforcers (e.g. tokens when using a token economy).
The “rules” might state that reinforcement is given after every correct response
to a question; or for every 2 correct responses; or for every 100 correct
responses; or when a certain amount of time has elapsed.
• Broadly speaking there are two categories of reinforcement schedule, the first
being a "continuous" schedule and the other being an "intermittent" schedule.
• A continuous schedule of reinforcement (CRF) occurs when reinforcement is
delivered after every single target behaviour whereas an intermittent schedule
of reinforcement (INT) means reinforcement is delivered after some behaviors
or responses but never after each one.
• Continuous reinforcement schedules are more often used when teaching new
behaviours, while intermittent reinforcement schedules are used when
maintaining previously learned behaviours.
a. Continuous reinforcement schedule:
• A schedule of reinforcement in which every occurrence of particular behavior in reinforced. It is
reinforcing of a behavior every time it occurs.
• Individuals receive reward every times s/he performs a desired behavior. For example, if a rat
receives a food pellet each time it presses a lever. A student gets each time when s/he respond
questions correctly. A sales person receive commission for each car sold. These are continuous
reinforcement.
• With this schedule behavior increases very rapidly but when reinforcement is removed, the
performance decline rapidly.
b. Intermittent reinforcement:
It is also called partial reinforcement or non- continuous reinforcement. It is reinforcing a behavior but
not all of the time. In the partial reinforcement, behavior is reinforced occasionally. Learning is slower
with the partial reinforcement at the beginning but it result stronger and long lasting result than
continuous reinforcement. Broadly intermittent reinforcement has two types:
i. The ratio schedule:
• When the reinforcement or reward is based on the numbers of response emitted that is called ratio
schedule. There are two types of ratio schedule:
❖Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule
• It is a type of reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement is provided to the organism after a
specified numbers of correct responses are made. For example a rat is provided pellet when it
pressed lever with green signal. Employees are paid with every five units are produced.
❖Variable Ratio Schedule
• A schedule by which reinforcement occurs after a varying numbers of responses
rather than after fixed number. This means reward is given at variable numbers of
output. For example, reinforcement might come after two responses, again after ten
responses, again after six responses and so on after different numbers of responses.
ii. Interval schedule:
• When reinforcement is based on the amount of time that elapses before
reinforcement that is called interval schedule. There are two types of interval
schedule:
➢Fixed interval schedule:
• A schedule that provides reinforcement for a response only if fixed period of time
period has elapsed is called fixed interval schedule. This means no information is
given until a certain interval of time.
• Students study habits often exemplify this reality. If periods between exams are
relatively long, students often study minimal or not at full until the day of
examination draws near. Just before the examination students begin to cram for it,
signaling rapid increase in their rate of responses.
➢ Variable Interval Schedule
• A schedule by which the time between reinforcement varies around some
average rather than being fixed. Rewards are given randomly distributed length
of time.
• Reinforcement is based on the passage of time but animals can not predict how
long the time interval is, that will bring reward.
• For example the rat might receive food pellet every five minutes on average.
But some time it might be two minutes, some time after ten minutes etc.
3. Behavior modification
• Behavior modification is defined as "the alteration of behavioral patterns
through the use of such learning techniques as biofeedback and positive or
negative reinforcement."
• Behavior modification is based on the idea that good behavior should lead to
positive consequences. And bad behavior should lead to negative
consequences.
• Behavior modification is a treatment approach which is focused on changing
behavior. This method is based on the work of B.F. Skinner, a well known
psychologist who developed the operant conditioning theory -- which suggests
that behavior can be modified by consequences and through reinforcement.
• The major goal of behavior modification is to replace undesirable behaviors
with acceptable ones. An underlying theme is the belief that how people react
to an object or event can be modified by learning. This technique can be used
in all age groups, and can be applied to a wide range of settings.
Common steps of behavior modifications are as follows:
a. Identification of critical behavior:
Critical behavior refers to that behavior which is unexpected, undesirable or unwanted
behavior that hampers the efficiency and operation of organization such as fighting in
the office, sleeping, late arrival, using alcohol, misuse of tools, etc, In the first step of
behavior modification, the most critical behavior of employee are identified.
b. Measurement of Behaviour:
In the second stage, the occurrences of undesirable behaviour or critical behaviour is
measured. In this stage different data relating to frequency of occurrence such
behaviour before, during and after the application of this method is gathered. Data
before this process is called baseline which provide basis for the comparison of data.
c. Functional analysis:
It is the most important stage behavior modification process. It involves cause and
effect analysis. It identifies what are the antecedents situation that lead or develop
consequences. In other words, It tries to show this relationship between Antecedent,
Behaviour and consequence (c).
It identifies the important causes that force to individual to develop undesirable
behaviour. It also analysis the impact of the consequences of behaviour on
organization's performance.
d. Development of Intervention strategy:
When the undesirable behaviour creates severe consequences, the organization will
apply some strategies to eliminate or reduce the negative consequence that is called
intervention strategy. It attempts to change undesirable behaviour into desirable
behaviour by applying positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment or
extinction intervention based in the severity of undesirable behaviour. However, it
suggests to apply positive re-enforcement strategy.
e. Evaluation of behaviour:
It is the final step of behavior modification process where the data related prior to the
use to intervention strategies are compared with after the use of strategies. If any
remarkable changes on behavior is found the process will be completed and stopped
and vice-versa.
Conclusively, behavior modification is not a panacea for solving all forms of
organizations and organisms ills and evils. It neither consists a bag of tricks nor it can
be applied in discriminately for the coercing of unwilling people but, it is the
sophisticated tools that can be used to shape developed and motivated human
behaviour.
 Unit – 5
Memory and Forgetting
Concept of Memory
• Memory is the term given to the structures and process involved in the storage and
subsequent retrieval of information.
• Memory is our cognitive system for storing and retrieving information. It is the
process by which we encode, store and retrieve information.
• Memory a basic cognitive function by which we draw on our past experiences in
order to use this information in the present consciousness.
According to Baddeley ,“Memory is an active system that receive information
from sense, organizes and alter it as it stores it away and retrieve the information from
storage.”
• Memory is the faculty of the mind by which information is encoded, stored, and
retrieved. Memory is a system or process by which result of learning are stored for
the future use. Memory process is essentially the capacity for storing and retrieving
information.
• Three processes are involved in memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. All three of
these processes determine whether something is remembered or forgotten:
1. Encoding
• It is getting information in. The first step in the memory process is to get
sensory information in to the brain that is called encoding.
• Encoding is a set of mental process that people perform on sensory information
to convert information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage system.
• Like the computer key board entries and transform symbols to electronic
process which may be stored in computer disk, our sense of organs collects
information and converts in to neural events that can be stored and used by the
brain.
• For example, people hear a sound their ear turn the vibration in the air in to
neural message from auditory nerves, which make it possible for the brain to
interpret that sound.
2. Storage
• The next step in the memory is to hold the information for some period of time
that is called storage. It is the retention of information in the brain.
• Memory has been often called store house. Some information are stored for
one period of time, use very less and discarded while other are frequently used
and stored more permanently.
• The encoded information recorded in the nervous system is called memory
trace. Some memory traces are isolated and being used in practice frequently,
they will be pushed out of memory and then forgotten.
• This period of time will be actually different lengths depending up on the stage
of memory being used such as sensory memory, short term memory and long
term memory.
• Sensory memory stores information only the fraction of a second whereas
short term memory retains for 12 to 20 seconds but long term memory retains
information unlimited time.
3. Retrieval
• Once, information are stored in computer, it can be obtained whenever we
want. So, the way of bringing the stored information in conscious mind is called
retrieval.
• It is the final stage of memory process where stored information can be used.
• Psychologists have explained three distinct ways of retrieving information i.e.
recall, recognition and relearning method. Recall is bringing past experience in
to present consciousness in the absence of stimuli. Where information are
retrieved in the presence of stimulus we have already experienced is called
recognition. It is the process of relearning of forgotten information where
individuals’ feel easier than before.
 Memory System
Memory is the mental function that enables you to acquire, retain, and recall
sensations, impressions, information, and thoughts you have experienced. To help
understand memory as a whole, you can think of memory in terms of stages. The
different stages describe the length of time that information remains available to you.
The three stages of memory are:
1. Sensory memory
2. Short-term memory
3. Long-term memory
Information processing begins in sensory memory, moves to short-term
memory, and eventually moves into long-term memory. Information that you come
across on a daily basis may move through the three stages of memory. However, not all
information makes its way through all three stages. Most of it is forgotten somewhere
along the way. The determination of what information makes its way through the
different stages depends on what you pay attention to and process. Information that
you pay attention to and process will move to the next stage of memory. However, any
information you to do not pay attention to never makes it way to the next stage.
1. Sensory Memory
• Sensory memory is the first stage of memory. Its purpose is to give your brain
time to process the incoming information. Sensory memory is not consciously
controlled. You subconsciously and continuously gather information from the
environment through your five senses.
• Sensory memory holds impressions of that sensory information that was
received by your five senses after the original stimulus has stopped. However, it
only holds it for a very brief period, generally for no longer than a second. In
order for that information to be retained for longer, it has to continue onto
short-term memory.
• Most of the information that gets into sensory memory is forgotten. It never
makes its way into the second stage of memory because it was never attended
to. To get information into short-term memory, you need to pay attention to it.
• Sensory memory can be observed if you look at an object then close your eyes.
As your eyes close, you can notice how the visual image is maintained for a
fraction of a second before fading. It is your sensory memory that is holding
that image.
Types of Sensory memory
i. Iconic memory is the visual sensory memory that holds the mental representation of
your visual stimuli.
ii. Echoic memory is the auditory sensory memory that hold information that you hear.
iii. Haptic memory is the tactile sensory memory that holds information from your
sense of feeling.

2. Short-term Memory
• Short-term Memory Short-term memory (STM) is also known as working or active
memory. It holds the information you are currently thinking about. This information
will quickly be forgotten unless you make a conscious effort to retain it.
• Like sensory memory, short-term memory holds information temporarily, pending
further processing. However, unlike sensory memory which holds the complete image
received by your senses, short term memory only stores your interpretation of the
image.
Temporary Storage
• Information in short-term memory is not stored permanently. Information passes
from sensory memory into short-term memory, where again it is held for only a short
period of time.
• Most of the information stored in short-term memory will only be kept for
approximately 20 to 45 seconds. While many of your short-term memories are
quickly forgotten, paying attention to the information and processing (encoding) it
allows it to continue into long-term memory. Just as sensory memory is a necessary
step for short-term memory, short-term memory is a necessary step toward the next
stage of retention, long-term memory.
• Processing or encoding includes making judgments and assessments about meaning,
relevance, and significance of that information. It also includes the mental activities
needed to move selected portions of the information into long-term memory. If
encoding never happens, the information never gets into long-term memory.
• The reason a person forgets the name of someone to whom he or she has just been
introduced to is because the name often was never encoded and transferred from
short-term to long-term memory.
Limited capacity
Short-term memory not only has a limited time, it also has a limited capacity. It is
believed to only hold a few items. Research shows the number is around 7 +/- 2
items. For example, if a person is asked to listen to a series of 20 names, he or
she normally retains only about seven names. Typically, it is either the first few or
last few. The reason is because if you focuses on the first few items, your STM
becomes saturated, and you cannot concentrate on and recall the last series of
items. People are able to retain more information using memory techniques such
as chunking or rehearsal.
3. Long-term Memory
• Long-Term Memory (LTM) refers to the storage of information over an extended
period. It is all the memories you hold for periods longer than a few seconds.
• The information can last in your long-term memory for hours, days, months, or
even years. Although you may forget some information after you learn it, other
things will stay with you forever.
• Some information retained in STM is processed or encoded into long-term
memory. This information is filed away in your mind and must be retrieved
before it can be used. Some of the information in your LTM is easy to recall,
while other memories are much more difficult to retrieve.
• Unlike short-term memory, long-term memory has seemingly unlimited
capacity. You may remember numerous facts and figures, as well as episodes in
your life from years ago.
 Types of long-term memory
There are main two types of long term memory; explicit memory and implicit memory.
a. Explicit memory
• Explicit memory are those experiences that can be intentionally and consciously
remembered. It is knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered
such as facts, data, episodes, or events.
• Explicit memory can be further sub-categorized as either episodic or semantic
memories.
• Episodic memory refers to the firsthand experiences that you have had (e.g. episodes
or events in your life). For example, you may remember your 16th birthday party or
your first soccer game. Semantic memory refers to knowledge of facts and concepts
about the world. For example, you may remember the names of presidents or how to
multiple two numbers.
b. Implicit memory
Implicit memory refers to knowledge that we cannot consciously access. It is
remembering without awareness. For example, you may remember how to ride a bike
or walk, but it is difficult to explain how you do it.
 Multi Store Model of Memory / Atkinson and Shiffrin Model
• The multi store model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
and is a structural model. T
• He proposed that memory consisted of three stores: Sensory register, Short-
term memory (STM) and Long-term memory (LTM).
• Information passes from store to store in a linear way, and has been described
as an information processing model (like a computer) with an input, process
and output.
• Information is detected by the sense organs and enters the sensory memory. If
attended to this information enters the short term memory.
• Information from the short-term memory is transferred to the long-term
memory only if that information is rehearsed (i.e. repeated). If maintenance
rehearsal (repeatation) does not occur, then information is forgotten, and lost
from short term memory through the processes of displacement or decay.
 Contemporary approaches to memory
1. Working memory
• Working memory is formally called short term memory.
• It is a memory system that holds information we are processing at the moment.
• It is a set of active temporary memory stores that actively manipulate and rehearse
information.
• It is not only like a box in which information is placed but it is a working active system
that process information.
• Baddely and Hitch proposed the WMM in 1974 as an alternative to the Multi-Store
Model of Memory (MSM), as they thought the MSM was too simplistic and didn't
think that the idea of the STM being a unitary store was correct.
• Baddely and Hitch built the WMM on the idea that if you perform two visual tasks
simultaneously then you perform them worse than if you do them separately
whereas if you perform one visual and one acoustic task simultaneously there is
usually no interference.
 The Four Components of the WMM
The Central Executive:
• This is the main component of the WMM.
• Data arrives either from the senses or from the Long-Term Memory (LTM) and
then the central executive acts as a conductor and directs the attention to
particular tasks and allocates data to the different slave systems.
• The central executive has a very limited capacity and can't do too many things
at once.
The Phonological Loop:
• The Phonological Loop is subdivided into two parts - The Phonological Store
and the Articulatory Process.
• The Phonological Store, or 'inner ear', holds information in speech based form
and allows acoustically encoded items to be held for a brief period of time.
• The Articulatory Process, or 'inner voice', allows sub-vocal repetition of items
stored in the phonological store. This is a form of maintenance rehearsal.
The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad:
• Also known as the 'inner eye', this component of the WMM is used when you have to
mentally plan a special task (like getting from one room to another).
• It stores visual and special information and is also responsible for setting up and
manipulating mental images.
• It has a limited capacity and much like the Phonological Loop it is subdivided into two
parts, the Inner Scribe and the Visual Cache (Store).
• The Visual Cache deals with the storage of information.
• The Inner Scribe acts as a rehearsal mechanism.
The Episodic Buffer:
• In 2000 Baddely added the Episodic Buffer to the components of the WMM because
he realized that the model needed a general store.
• The Phonological Loop and Visuo-Spatial sketchpad deal with processing/storage of
specific kinds of information (acoustic, visual etc.), but because the Central Executive
has no memory storage capacity the model needed a store that could deal with
different types of information.
• The Episodic Buffer has a limited capacity and integrates information from all the
components of the WMM and also the Long-Term Memory.
2. Long term memory module
a. Declarative Memory
• Declarative memory is a mental data base of facts and rules.
• It is a type of long term memory containing information that is conscious and
known.
• Declarative memory is recall of factual information such as dates, words, faces,
events, and concepts.
• Remembering the first female president of republic Nepal, the rules for playing
football, and what happened in the last game of the inter BBA football, tour
program.
• Declarative memory is usually considered to be explicit because it involves
conscious, intentional remembering.
• Some psychologist use explicit memory as synonym to declarative memory,
explicit memory is a conscious recollection or retrieval of information for
example recalling the words lists.
• Declarative memory is of two types: semantic and episodic.
i. Semantic Memory
• Semantic memory is recall of general facts.
• A memory system that stores general, abstract knowledge about the world
information we can’t remember acquiring at specific time and place is semantic
memory.
• Semantic memory stay very long, highly organized and very little forgetting in
rule and meaning while using them. Such memory includes meaning of words,
typical events in everyday life and other countless facts we learned during our
school years
ii. Episodic Memory
• Episodic memory is recall of personal facts.
• It consists of memories of particular events, time and places. In other words, It
is the memory of factual information that we have acquired at specific time.
• It is a memory that allows you to go back in time and to remember specific
thoughts or experiences you had in the past.
2. Procedural Memory
• Procedural memory is also called non declarative memory.
• It is a type of long term memory that includes memory for skills, procedures,
emotional association, habit and conditioned response that may or may not be
conscious, but memories are implied because they affect conscious behavior.
• Procedural memory is usually considered implicit memory because people
don’t have to consciously remember how to perform actions or skills.
• It recalls how to do things such as swimming or driving a car. It makes people
able to do something who are not able to express in the words.
• Procedural memories make people never forgetting and it would be rare to find
someone who has lost procedural memory.
 Improving Memory
Memory is essential to all our lives. Without a memory of past we can not operate in
the present or think about the future. Without memory we could learn nothing. So we
need to improve our memory. A varieties of strategies are available to enhance human
memory. Common strategies are as follows:
• Rehearsal
Practicing material or information over and again is called rehearsal. It helps people to
remember materials . The more people rehearse information, the more likely they are
to remember that information.
• Over learning
Over learning, or continuing to practice material even after it is learned, also increases
retention.
• Distributed Practice
Learning material in short sessions over a long period is called distributed practice or
the “spacing effect.” It is a spaced learning or part learning, where learning materials
are distributed in to small units for study by which difficult and lengthy materials can be
memorized better way than cramming or massive learning
• Minimizing Interference
People remember material better if they don’t learn other, similar material right
before or soon after their effort. One way to minimize interference is to sleep
after studying material, since people can’t learn new material while sleeping.
• Deep Processing
People also remember material better if they pay attention while learning it and
think about its meaning rather than memorize the information by rote. One way
to process information deeply is to use a method called elaboration. Elaboration
involves associating the material being learned with other material.
• Chunking
It is a grouping principle, where information or materials are combined into
meaningful segments or chunks, people can remember long sequences of
numbers, such as social security numbers, cell numbers by chunking them into
two-, three-, or four-digit segments. Like 98520- 62- 123
• Narrative methods
Narrative methods involve making up a story to remember a list of words. For example,
people could remember the colors of the rainbow in the right order by making up a
short story such as this: Red Smith stood next to an orange construction cone and
flagged down a yellow cab. He told the Anu she was feeling very green and asked to be
taken to a hospital. The Anu took him to a hospital, where a nurse in a blue coat guided
her to a room with indigo walls. She smelled a violet in a vase and passed out.
• Imagery
Images are taken powerful aid to memory and provide capacity to individuals relate
events mentally to form new concept. So, a process by which all items or materials
being experience or learned are visualized is called imaginary. If a learner learns the
material by developing image, s/he can remember better. Students form mental picture
about their notes and perform better in exam.
• Method of Loci
Loci is a Latin term for place. It is mnemonic device used to visualize each of item that a
person wants to remember in different spatial location. Individuals use different
location and linked the location with information or materials so that they can recall
information in better way.
• Peg Word Method
It is a technique for memorizing lists. The peg word is similar to loci but it uses
familiar lists of items or numbers than locations as memory cue to visualize the
information or materials. For example, in case of managerial application of
emotion one is a selection, two is creativity, three is a decision making, four is
motivation, five is leadership, six is negotiation, seven is customer service, eight is
job attitude, nine is deviant behavior, and, ten is a forgiveness. They then
visualize each item on their list being associated with selection, a creativity,
decision making, and so on. Provision of speed dialing system in mobile is also
example of peg word method.
• Acronyms
Acronyms are words made out of the first letters of several words. For example,
to remember the colors of the spectrum, people often use the name ROY G. BIV,
which gives the first letters of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,
and violet in the right order.
• Focus Your Attention
Attention is one of the major components of memory. In order for information to
move from your short-term memory into your long-term memory, you need to
actively attend to this information. Try to study in a place free of distractions such
as television, music, and other diversions. Getting rid of distractions might be a
challenge, especially if you are surrounded by boisterous roommates or noisy
children. One thing you can do is to set aside a short period of time to be alone.
Ask your roommates to give you some space or ask your partner to take the kids
for an hour so you can focus on your work.
• Avoid Cramming
Studying materials over a number of sessions gives you the time you need to
adequately process information. Research has continuously shown that students
who study regularly remember the material far better than those who do all of
their studying in one marathon session.
• Read Out Loud
Research suggests that reading materials out loud significantly improves your memory
of the material. Educators and psychologists have also discovered that having students
actually teach new concepts to others enhances understanding and recall. You can use
this approach in your own studies by teaching new concepts and information to a friend
or study partner.
• Vary Your Study Routine
Another great way to increase your recall is to occasionally change your study routine. If
you're accustomed to studying in one specific location, try moving to a different spot
during your next study session. If you study in the evening, try spending a few minutes
each morning reviewing the information you studied the previous night. By adding an
element of novelty to your study sessions, you can increase the effectiveness of your
efforts and significantly improve your long-term recall.
• Get Some Sleep
Researchers have long known that sleep is important for memory and learning.
Research has shown that taking a nap after you learn something new can actually help
you learn faster and remember better. In fact, one study found that sleeping after
learning something new actually leads to physical changes in the brain. Sleep-deprived
mice experienced less dendritic growth following a learning task than well-rested mice.
So the next time you're struggling to learn new information, consider getting a good
night's sleep after you study
 FORGETTING
CONCEPT
Individuals preserve countless information in long term memory and recall or
retrieve when they need to use. When they failed to recall or retrieve or bringing
out information retained in the memory that is called forgetting. So forgetting is a
passive mental process and failure to recall the past memories and experiences.
According to Munn, “Forgetting is the loss, permanent or temporary of the ability
to recall or recognize something learned earlier.”
According to Drever, “Forgetting means failure at any time to recall an experience
when attempting to do so or to perform action previously learned.”
Forgetting refers to the loss of information encoded and stored in the long
term memory or failure of an individual to revive consciousness. It is failure to
retain what has been acquired.
Causes of Forgetting
Everyone forgets things; like a person’s name, where they left their keys, the
ending to a movie, or how to do math problems. However, the reason why we
forget something may differ. Psychologists have proposed several explanations to
deal about causes of forgetting. The most common cause of forgetting are given
below:
1. Decay
Decay means decline or fade. It is the oldest and commonly accepted explanation
of forgetting. Decay is the loss of information in memory through its nonuse or
disuse. It explains that forgetting takes place through the passage of time due to
the fading of memory trace. Memory trace involves some sorts of physical
changes when new material is learned and simply old material fade away over a
time. This means, with the passage of time, the normal metabolic processes and
chemical reaction of the brain cause decline or decay of the memory. People
might easily remember their first day in junior high school but completely forget
what they learned in class last Tuesday. However psychologists argued that
forgetting is more complicated than simply fading or decaying of memory traces.
2. Inhibition
Inhibition means interference. It refers to the phenomenon by which information in
memory disrupts the recall of new memory. Psychologists developed interference
theory and explained that passage of time is not the failure of memory but it is the
interference of memory by other similar memories. When students learn similar
theories around the same time, they become often confused. Cognitive psychologists
explained two kinds of inhibitions i.e. retroactive inhibition and proactive inhibition.
a. Retroactive Inhibition
When the new learning interferes with the old one is called retroactive inhibition. There
is difficult in the recall of information learned earlier because of the later exposure of
different material. Sometime it is important to remember old telephone and address
but new address and new phone numbers only one that comes to mind.
b. Proactive Inhibition
When earlier information learned interferes or disrupts the recall of new information is
called proactive inhibition. Old memories that are already stored may be recalled
instead of specific, recent memory we are seeking. It can been seen in different areas
such as when we entered in the new year, we tend to write old date.
3. Memory Dysfunction
Sometime forgetting occurs due to the some problems with the brain is known as
memory dysfunction. It refers loosing memory by the dysfunctional consequences of
our brain. Memory dysfunction occurs in following two ways:
a. Alzheimer diseases
Alzheimer is a brain disease that causes memory loss and other cognitive impairment.
Alzheimer's is a disease that robs people of their memory. At first, people have a hard
time remembering recent events, though they might easily recall things that happened
years ago. People with Alzheimer's might forget their loved ones. They might forget how
to dress themselves, feed themselves, and use the toilet.
b. Amnesia
Amnesia is a loss of memory without any mental difficulties. Amnesia is a deficit in
memory caused by brain damage, disease, or psychological trauma. Amnesia can also
be caused temporarily by the use of various sedatives and hypnotic drugs. The memory
can be either wholly or partially lost due to the extent of damage that was caused. It is
the loss of memory stemming from injury, illness, drug abuse or other causes. There are
two main types of amnesia: retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia.
i. Retrograde Amnesia:
Retrograde amnesia is the inability to retrieve information that was acquired
before a particular date, usually the date of an accident or operation. In some
cases the memory loss can extend back decades, while in others the person may
lose only a few months of memory. It is the loss of memory of events that
occurred prior to an amnesia-inducing events. People suffering from such
amnesia may be unable to remember from specific periods in their lives.
ii. Anterograde Amnesia
Anterograde amnesia is the inability to transfer new information from the short-
term memory into the long-term memory. It is the inability to create new
memories due to brain damage, while long-term memories from before the event
remain intact. The brain damage can be caused by the effects of long-term
alcoholism, severe malnutrition, stroke, head trauma, encephalitis, surgery,
Korsakoff Syndrome or other trauma. People with this type of amnesia cannot
remember things for long periods of time. For example if a person meets some
persons for the first time after the onset of amnesia, s/he can’t remember that
person who was familiar with him or her.
 Unit 6: Thinking and Problem Solving
Thinking concept
• Thinking is a process of creating knowledge and activating brain and mind to produce
thoughts.
• Thinking is the process accumulating information and developing mental image and
forming concept about objects.
• Thinking is a cognitive or mental process, function of conscious mind that goes on in
the brain when a person is organizing and attempting to understand information and
communicating other.
• Thinking includes memory and more than it. When people think, they are not only
aware of information in the brain but also are making decisions, comparing the
information to other information and using it to solve problems.
According to Robert Feldman, “Thinking is the manipulation of mental
representation of information.”
So, thinking is the human process of using knowledge and information to make
plans, interpret and model the world, and constructively interact with and make
predictions about the world in general.
 Components /Elements of Thoughts
1. Mental Images
• Mental images are mental pictures of our past experiences. When we think
of certain objects or events, we visualizes them in their absence.
• Images can be auditory, olfactory(सुँघ्ने शक्ति), visual, gustatory (स्वाद),
cutaneous (छाला) and kinesthetic.
• If call mental picture of picnic with your friends, where you listened good
music (auditory), enjoyed delicious food (gustatory), smelled the flower
around the picnic spot (olfactory), good scenario (visual), danced with your
with each other’s hand (cutaneous) and so on.
• Mental image helps tasks for better results and make plan better. Despite
thinking mental image plays better roles in thinking but all thinking such as
abstract thinking do not require mental image.
2. Concepts
• Concepts are mental grouping of similar things, events and people that is
used to remember and understands what things are, what they mean and
categories of groups are they belonged to.
• In other words, concepts are ideas that represent a class or category of
objects, events or activities.
• People use concepts to think about objects or events without having to
think about all specific examples of category.
• For example flower is a concept, but individual flower is not concept.
Mother is a concept but my mother is not a concept. Concepts help to
reduce mental efforts make communication easier with the relative use.
They organize complex phenomena in to simpler, easily understandable
and useable categories and help to solve our problems. It is developed
through reasoning.
• Concepts also varies in hierarchies, grow gradually, differ from culture to
culture and individual to individual.
 CREATIVITY
Concept
• Creativity is the ability to produce new idea.
• In other words, it is the phenomenon whereby something new or somehow
valuable is formed. creativity provides new knowledge and new invention which
help to improve quality of human life.
• It enables people to look at the same things in different ways. Research suggests
that remembering information, association, synthesis, transformation etc. are
the primary sources of creativity.
Robert E. Franken:- Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or
recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving
problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
So, creativity is the process of solving problems by combining ideas
behavior in new ways.
 Creative Thinking
• Creative thinking is a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh
perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions.
• Creative thinking encompasses open-mindedness, flexibility and adaptability
and is essential to critical thinking.
• Creative thinking bridges the gap between what is dreamt and what is desired;
Creative thinking can be seen as a prerequisite to understanding, judging and
implementing the change .
• Creative thinking are convergent thinking and divergent thinking.
• Convergent thinking is a type of thinking in which a problem is seen as having
only one answer. It is logical, factual, conventional and focused on problems
until a solution is found.
• Divergent thinking is the ability to generate multiple possibilities in a given
solution. It is more related to the creativity. Divergent thinkers use a variety of
thoughts to solve problems.
 Steps in Creative Thinking
Creative thinking is a process in which the individual generates an original,
unusual and productive ideas which are novel. Creative thinking goes through
different four steps via preparation, incubation, illumination and verification.
1. Preparation
This stage consists of purposeful study and enquiry in order to collect experience
and information needed to solve problem. The plan of action is formulated by
means of collecting and analyzing the information.
2. Incubation
In the second stage, necessary connections are made in order to “lay” the idea –
like when an egg is getting “incubated” and getting the heat it needs to turn into a
full-blown chicken. In fact, this stage is an absence of creative thinking about the
problem. There is a period of rest when creative thinker finds that problems can
not be solved easily. In this stage, you have the idea, but you’re just giving it some
steam and energy in order for it to fully materialize.
3. Illumination
It is in short, the “lightbulb” moment. It is the moment when "connections
automatically, subconsciously collide and then reach the threshold of consciousness.
Sudden idea occur through insight and it provide better solution to the problem. Thinker
gets a insightful solution.
4. Verification
It is testing the correctness of the solution is the last stage of creative thinking. It is
necessary to evaluate, test and perhaps review new ideas. It is necessary to determine
whether a new idea is appropriate to apply, correct and workable. This step evaluates
the solution to see if it is satisfactory.
Reasoning
Man’s life is full of never ending problems which have no prepared formula to solve,
thus we encounter reasoning in everyday life. Reasoning is drawing conclusion from the
information available to us in order to each specific conclusion.
In the process of reasoning, individuals reason from the past experience to solve
problems. It may involve imagination, concepts, percepts and languages. For example, if
we perceive an object lying on the table, if we go on deeply thinking about that
particular object, we fall in to the reasoning process. However people have different
reasoning ability. Reasoning ability is divided in to every day reasoning and formal
reasoning.
• Everyday reasoning
It involves thinking that we come across in everyday affairs. It may involve simple
and not too complex activities which need to solve. Such as evaluation of reports,
planning, meeting people to solve problems etc.
• Formal reasoning
It is also called syllogistic reasoning in which people draw a conclusion from a set
of assumptions. If these assumptions are true, then reasoning is correct, it can be
made by literature, past experiences, observation and so on.
✓Premises ; fat women are lovely.
✓Premises ; Sarita is a fat.
✓Premeises; Sarita is lovely.
 PROBLEM SOLVING
Concept
• A problem is basically a conflict situation in which a person experience
frustration in achieving goals. The frustration may be a barrier to a goal, or
frustration may be a conflict of goals. The process by which individuals try to
minimize frustration is called problem solving.
• Problem solving refers to the mental process that people go through to
discover, analyze and solve problems.
According to Ciccarili and Mayer, “Problem solving is a process of
cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in
certain ways.”
Problem-solving is a mental process or a phenomenon dedicated towards
solving problems by discovering and analyzing the problem. It is a process
dedicated to finding not just any solution, but the best solution to resolve any
problems.
 STEPS IN SOLVING PROBLEMS
Life is collection of problems. Problem solving is an routine duty of human beings.
It requires clear and step by step procedure to follow. Psychologists have
developed certain steps to solve the problem. However there is lack of unanimity
between them. The common steps in solving problems are as follows:
1. Identification of the problem:
It explains the issues, obstacles and goals related to it. The tools, techniques and
operation needed to be finalized.
2. Formulation of potential solution:
It describes different alternatives to be drawn for possible solution. The
alternatives need to be critically examined. Information stored in long term
memory and other sources may help to generate possible alternative solution.
3. Evaluating alternative:
It describes each alternative to be judged with its outcomes, eliminating poor
choices, reducing error, saving time and effort, enhancing closer to the goal.
4. Enhancing the consequences of the each goal:
It explains every alternative are analyzed on the basis of outcomes it draws. The
one that has more positive valences are chosen while more negative results are
neglected.
5. Implement the potential solution:
It generating all possible ways to implement the solution you have chosen. It also
involves making strategy and plan to put in to action.
6. Implement the solution:
It involves selecting best solution, examining it with implementing perspective
and applying into action.
 Methods of Solving Problems
Problems are the impediments that creates troubles in human life. Different strategies
are applied to solve problems which are as follows:
1) Algorithm
Algorithms are mathematical formula. The specific and step-by-step procedure involved
in figuring out the correct answer to any problem is called algorithm. The step by step
procedure involved in solving a mathematical problem using math formula is a perfect
example of a problem-solving algorithm. Algorithm is the strategy that results in
accurate answer; however, it’s not always practical. The strategy is highly time
consuming, and involves taking lots of steps.
2) Heuristics
Heuristics refers to mental strategy based on rule-of thumb. It is an educated guess
based on the prior experience that helps to narrow down the possible solution of the
problem.
It is rule of thumb that reduces cognitive effort required for problem solving. It breaks
the problem down into smaller sub-problems to simplify complex problems by
narrowing the possible solutions. It makes it easier to reach the correct solution using
other strategies but does not guarantee for the solution of the problem.
Heuristic strategy of problem solving can also be referred to as the mental
shortcut. For instance, you need to reach the other part of the city in a limited
amount of time. You’ll obviously seek for the shortest route and means of
transportation. The rule of thumb allows you to make up your mind about the
fastest route depending on your past travels. Different types of heuristics can be
applied such as representative, availability , anchoring and adjustment etc.
a. Representativeness Heuristics
Representativeness refers to the prediction based on similarity between
information obtained through the past experience and the result to draw. It is a
rule of thumb where current situation is perceived based on the similarities of
past events. Sometime this strategy may lead to the good solution but may
mislead by surface similarities.
b. Availability Heuristics
Judgment based on the accessibility of information in our memories rather than
seeking more information is called available heuristics. If information come
frequently and readily, they are generally easier to remember than infrequent
ones. In this heuristics we use whatever information we can remember.
3) Trial-and-Error
Trial and error strategy is the approach that deals with trying a number of different
solutions and ruling out the ones that do not work. Trial and error is not a cognitive
strategy. It is the simplest problem solving approach commonly used by people. It
constantly seeks solution of problems applying different approaches and that approach
which is found effective will be applied in practices. However it does not guarantee that
solution will be discovered. When people do not have much information about the
problem to adopt more systematic, standard step to solve the problem.
4) Insight
Sometimes we are not aware of using any problem solving strategy. We feel puzzled
over problems for sometimes and stay away from it. Then, suddenly, sudden flashes of
information hit us the problems seem organized and solved. That is called insight. So,
insight is something that just occurs suddenly. Researchers suggest that insight can
occur if you’ve dealt with similar problems in the past. For instance, Knowing that
you’ve solved a particular algebra question in the past will make it much easier for you
to solve the similar questions at present. However, it’s not always necessary that the
mental processes be related with past problems.
 Factors Influencing Effective Problem Solution
Despite problem solving is a part of human life, sometime we solve problem easily while
other time we find it very difficult. The solution of the problem is not easy job. Problem
solving is influenced by different factors. The major factors are as follows:
1. Functional fixedness:
It is fixed on the function. Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits a person to
using an object only in a particular way. It is the rigidity in our approach to solve the
problem or tendency that problems solver rely on past experience without allowing to
think in some other new fixed perspectives. It strongly forced to use that techniques
which have been used before. Functional fixedness is based on mental set.
2. Mental Set
Mental set is a tendency to persist in using problem solving patterns that have worked
them in the past. It is a habitual way of approaching problem in a particular way usually
based on how we approached the similar problems in the past. People first try to use
the method which was used in the past and often hesitant or even unable to think other
possibility.
 DECISION MAKING
Concept
Decision means to choose or select. so, decision making is the process of
choosing two or more alternatives. In the psychology, decision making is regarded
as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or course of action
among several alternative possibilities. It is the process of identifying and
choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker.
However, decision is made to solve problems, therefore it is a mental process of
solving problems.
 Bias and Errors in Problem Solving /Decision Making
Bias has a negative connotation but often unintentional and results of heuristics
short cut that allows people to make quick decision. When biases are systematic
and predictable, they work well. But bias becomes problematic if it is heavily
relied on one’s habit. Some biases and errors emerge in problem solving and
decision making are as follows:
1. Overconfidence Bias:
Overconfidence is personality trait often seen in the top rank people. It is the
tendency of people to over estimate the accuracy of knowledge and judgment
than they really have. In other word, it is the tendency where subjective confident
in his or her judgment is greater than objective accuracy of those judgment.
overconfidence is general bias. It applies to both lay people and experts. For
example a doctor’s confidence during the diagnosis of the disease as they receive
information, even the information irrelevant and non-diagnostic. Later on go fatal.
2. Anchoring Bias
Anchoring or focalism is a term used in psychology to describe the common
human tendency to rely too heavily on “anchor” or trait of piece of information
when solving problems or making decision. Anchoring is a cognitive bias that
describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of
information offered. It involves the judgment based on a familiar reference point
that may be incomplete or irrelevant that is being solved. When consumers judge
the relative value of a product or service from a company on the basis of the cost.
3. Availability Bias
Availability bias is a tendency to make decisions based on whatever information is
easily retrievable to decision maker. If the individuals are making decisions or
solving problems based on only avail information, they might be missing facts and
others opinion. This can be problematic, when solving problem that involve other
people. It is misleading when in information are subjective. If you are asked to
evaluate your own performance relative to the performance of other, most of
people will rate their own contribution to be higher because that is the
information they have most available.
4. Confirmation Bias
Confirmation is the tendency by which people seek evidence to solve problem or
make decision that support their beliefs or expectation. Confirmation bias, also
called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret,
favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or
hypotheses. Under the confirmation bias people seek evidence that fit their
beliefs and ignore any evidence that does not fit those beliefs. when one
demonstrates confirmation bias, one is formally or informally collecting data and
then subsequently observing and experimenting with that data in such a way that
favors a preconceived notion that may or may not have motivation.
5. Representative Bias
Representativeness is a rule of thumb or heuristic where problems are solved or
decision are made on by using past experiences which have surface similarities.
Representative bias is thus tendency of people to rely too heavily on the past
experience and mental representation seemingly similar to the new situation.
Naturally, relying on past experience can be beneficial and allow to solve
problems quickly. However it is not sure that all past experiences and situation
represents new situation.
6. Escalation of Commitment
Escalation of commitment refers that people stick with decision even when they
know that is wrong or bad. These people try to demonstrate their decision was
not wrong, they do not admit their mistake. They may spent extra time, money,
efforts, resources in self-justification to that decision. Individuals trapped in bad
decision with no means to get out of it.
7. Hindsight Bias
Hindsight is a term used in psychology to explain the tendency of people to over
estimate their ability to have predicted an outcome that could not possible been
predicted. It is a sort of like saying, “I KNEW IT” when outcome expected or
unexpected occur When a student was nervous to face exam until the very last
minute. When he took exam he was unsure about the result. When the result
published he got B plus, but he explained his friend “ I was sure I would aced that
exam”.
 UNIT 7: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE
CONCEPT
• The common meaning of intelligence is the capacity to acquire and apply
knowledge.
• It is the individuals’ ability to understand complex ideas, to learn from
experience, to adapt effectively in the environment and to overcome obstacles
by various thoughts.
According to Robert Feldman, “Intelligence is the capacity to understand
the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with
challenges.”
So, intelligence is the ability to think , to learn from experience, to solve
problems and to adapt new situation.
 Major Approaches of Intelligence
1. Two-Factor Theory
Charles Spearman advanced the two-factor theory of intelligence in 1904. This theory is
based on the factor analysis which is a statistical technique to examine the relationship
between the people’s score on different factors of intelligence. According to Spearman,
intelligence is the ability to think constructively and he advocated that intelligence
consists of two ability viz. general or “g” factors and specific or “s” ability. He also
explained that general ability works in combination with special ability.
• GENERAL FACTORS
General or “g” factors refers to the general intelligence, are the ability to reason and
solve problems. it is an inborn ability and general mental energy of human being.
Amount of ‘g’ differs from individual to individual and used in every life activity. The
greater the ‘g’ in individual, the greater the success.
• SPECIFIC FACTORS
‘S’ factor is specific capacity that helps the person to deal with specific problems. It
learned and acquired in environment. It varies from activity to activity in the same
individual. We can improve ‘s’ factor.
2. Group Factor Theory of Intelligence
Psychologists Louis L. Thurston offered a differing theory intelligence. Instead of viewing
intelligence as a single, general ability he focused on nine different primary factors.
These primary factors are independent of each other. The abilities that he identified are
as follows:
1. Spatial factor: It is involved in visualizing shapes.
2. Verbal factor: It is concerned with understanding of verbal ideas.
3. Word fluency factor: It is involved whenever the subject is asked to think of isolated
words at a rapid rate.
4. Numerical factor: It is the ability to do numerical calculations.
5. Memory factor: It is the ability to memorize quickly.
6. Inductive Reasoning factor: It is the ability to draw inferences.
7. Perceptual factor: It is the ability to perceive objects accurately.
8. Deductive Reasoning factor: It is the ability to make use of generalized results.
9. Problem-solving ability factor: It is the ability to solve problems independently.
The weakest aspect of the group factor theory was that it discarded the concept
of the common factor.
3. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence
In the 1980s and 1990s, psychologist Howard Gardner proposed the idea of not
one kind of intelligence but he proposed first eight and extended to nine which
are relatively independent of one another. These nine types of intelligence are:
1. Verbal/ Linguistic: spoken and written language skills. Sample occupation are
writer, speakers.
2. Logical–mathematical: number skills. They will be suitable for scientist and
engineers.
3. Musical: performance or composition skills to music and suitable occupation is
musician and composer.
4. Spatial: ability to evaluate and analyze the visual world. Suitable occupations
are pilot, artists. Navigator.
5. Bodily-kinesthetic: dance or athletic abilities , suitable occupations are dance,
athletes.
6. Interpersonal: skill in understanding and relating to others and suitable
occupations are teachers, social workers and politicians.
7. Intrapersonal: skill in understanding the self suitable occupations are
psychologists, counselor.
8. Nature: skill in understanding the natural world suitable occupations are
farmers, biologists, botanists.
9. Existentialist: ability to see big picture of human world bay asking questions
about life, death, and ultimate reality of human existence and suitable
occupations are philosophical thinkers.
The idea of multiple intelligence has great appeal especially for educators
in spite of the fact that there is little scientific evidence.
4. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Triarchic means three. Robert Sternberg propagated triarchic theory around the
1988s and 1997. in this theory three types of intelligence are explained:
a. Analytical/componential intelligence: It is an academic intelligence. It refers
to the ability break problems down into component parts or analysis for problem
solving. Such type of intelligent is measured by intelligence tests and academic
achievement tests.
b. Creative/experiential Intelligence: It is the ability to deal new and different
concepts and to come up with new ways of solving problems. It is the ability of
divergent thinking.
c. Practical/contextual Intelligence: It is the ability of a person to use information
to get along in life. People with the high degree of practical intelligence know
how to be tactful and how to manipulate situation to their advantages.
Research found that practical intelligence has low level of relationship to
academic or analytical intelligence . Thus higher levels of practical intelligence,
the less likely person is to succeed in academic setting.
5. Cattle’s Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence
Cattle and Horn have proposed fluid and crystallized theory of intelligence. This theory
suggests that intelligence is composed of different abilities that interact and work
together to produce overall intelligence. They have distinguished two types of
intelligence:
a) Fluid Intelligence
This is an innate, biologically or genetically determined capacity and not influenced by
education and training. This is the ability which is useful in understanding and adjusting
to strange situation. This capacity helps persons in learning and problem solving. This
ability develops fully in people by the end of adolescences stage.
b) Crystallized Intelligence
It is learned or acquired capacity. It is influenced by environmental factors like
education, training, culture, knowledge and learned skills. This ability can be observed
in the behavior of a person while dealing with culture, tradition in the society, and his
or wordily affairs. It continues throughout the life.
 Cattle argued that fluid and crystallized intelligence are complimentary to
one another and equally important in our everyday life. Because fluid intelligence
helps a student to prepare the strategy or plan to attempt questions and
crystallized intelligence supports for recalling the learned materials. However,
fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence increase throughout childhood and
adolescence but fluid intelligence peaks in adolescence and begins to decline
progressively around the age of 30 or 40, crystallized intelligence continue to
grow throughout adulthood.
 Variation in Intellectual Ability
Intellectual ability refers to the skills required to think critically, see connection
between disciplines, solving problems in new or changing situation. it includes a
high level of abstract reasoning and thinking skills, ability to acquire knowledge
and problem solving abilities or meeting the demand of everyday life. A change
or difference in the intellectual ability is called variation in intellectual ability.
There are two common forms of such variation, metal retardation and
intellectually gifted.
1. Mental Retardation
Mental retardation also called intellectual disability is the developmental delayed
of human intelligence. It is characterized by below average mental ability or lack
of skills necessary for day to day living or meeting the demand of every day life.
Mental retardation is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder. It significantly
limits both the intellectual functioning and conceptual, social and practical
adaptive skills. IQ tests are used to measure intellectual ability. In mental
retardation the IQ score falls below 70 and adaptive behavior is severely
deficient. Mental retardation consists three levels i.e. mild, moderate, severe and
profound.
a. Mild mental retardation is a minor intellectual deficit where score ranges from
51 to 69. In mild mental retardation, intellectual development is typically slower
than peer, but they can function quite independently, able to hold jobs and
families of their own.
b. Moderate mental retardation is quite greater level of intellectual deficits
where IQ score ranges between 40 to 50. language and motor skills of people
with such retardation lags behind than that of their peers. Although these people
can hold simple jobs, they need supervision throughout their lives.
c. Severe mental retardation holds the IQ score between 25 t0 39 and people
with profound retardation hold IQ score below 25. such people are unable to
function independently and typically require care for their entire lives.
 Causes or roots of mental retardation
Most often mental retardation is caused by environmental and biological factors.
Some common roots for mental retardation are as follows:
1. Fetal alcohol syndrome : It is the most common cause of mental retardation in
newborns. When mothers use alcohol during the pregnancy period that will
produce intellectual deficits.
2. Down syndrome: It is a genetically caused condition that results in mental
retardation. When a person is born with 47 chromosomes instead of usual 46,
that leads problems in the development of brain and body.
3. Familial retardation: Mental retardation in which no apparent biological
defect but caused by family environment such as extreme poverty, malnutrition
etc. Besides, lack of oxygen during the birth, head injury after births, infections
such as meningitis.
2. Intellectually Gifted
Intellectually gifted is also called mentally gifted or genius persons. Persons
whose intelligence is far above than average is called intellectually gifted. Such
persons have IQ score more than 130. Intellectually gifted persons are out-going,
healthy, well adjusted, show adult behavior in childhood stage, trustworthy,
lower rate of alcoholism and criminal problem. Mentally gifted persons are often
called, “Early ripe early rot” in societies. A study conducted by Levis Terman at
taking 1500 children's who had IQ score above 140 that they were physically,
academically and socially capable than nongifted. However, if such persons do
not get special attention , they become bore, frustration and even suicide.
 Role of Heredity and Environment on Intelligence.
According to Plomin, human intelligence is the result of complex interplay between
genetic factors and wide range of environmental condition. The influence or role of
heredity and environment on intelligence is presented under:
a. Heredity and Intelligence
• Heredity refers to the transformation of qualities and characteristics from ancestors
to descendants.
• Researchers conducted to understand the role of heredity on intelligence. They
assumed that if intelligence is indeed determined by heredity, the persons would be
more similar their IQ will be.
• They conducted research by taking identical twin, fraternal twin , adoption, brother
and sister, and cousins etc. Twin studies show a higher correlation between identical
twins in IQ (+0.9) than between fraternal twins. Adoption studies show that adopted
children somewhat resemble their biological parents in intelligence. But they found
no relationship between adopted children. However sibling and parent and rearing
together or apart have positive IQ correlation (+0.5). Based on these findings,
researchers have estimated the heritability of intelligence.
• Estimates of the heritability of intelligence vary, depending on the methods used.
Most researchers believe that heritability of intelligence is between 60 percent and 80
percent.
b. Environment and Intelligence
• Genes are not the entire factors that determine human intelligence. Rather
environment variables too, are important to raise intelligence.
• It was first advocated by Flynn which is called Flynn effect. Flynn explained that
better nutrition, increased urbanization, the advent of television, better
education, cognitively demanding jobs etc. play significant roles in shaping
intelligence.
• Researcher explained the role of environment by dividing the influence into two
components environmental deprivation and environmental enrichment.
• Absence of key forms of environmental stimulation are the environmental
deprivation, such as poverty deprivation reduces the intelligence, Prolong
malnutrition, use of alcohol, drugs adversely affect the IQ and negatively
influence intelligence.
• Environmental enrichment refers to removing children from sterile, restricted
environment and placing them in more favorable setting seems to enhance
their intellectual growth.
 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Concept
• Intelligence related to management of feelings or emotion is called emotional
intelligence (EI). It is also called emotional quotient (EQ).
• In simple terms emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) refers to the capacity to identify,
evaluate and manage emotion in oneself and in other people. It is a feeling side of
human intelligence.
• Emotional intelligence is a cluster of traits or abilities relating to the emotional side of
life abilities.
• It measures the ability to understand, perceive, express and regulate emotion.
According to Mayer, emotional intelligence is the capacity to reason about emotions
and emotional information, and of emotions to enhance thought.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions; to understand
emotions and emotional knowledge; and to regulate emotions so as to promote
emotional and intellectual growth. It accurately perceives emotions in oneself and
others, use emotions to facilitate thinking, understand emotional meanings, and
manage emotions.
 Goleman Dimensions to Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman presents five categories of emotional intelligence.
1. Self-awareness
It is knowing own emotion. This is the ability to know one's emotions, strengths,
weaknesses, drives, values and goals and recognize their impact on others while
using gut feelings to guide decisions. People with high understanding about their
limitation and strength perceive and regulate their behavior according to the
situation and see how his behavior affects them.
2. Self Management
It refers to the self-regulation of emotion. It involves controlling or redirecting
one's disruptive emotions and impulses and adapting to changing circumstances.
The person with high emotion managing skills remains calm in difficult situations,
shows confidence , and can foresee the consequences that may erupt when
acting on impulse . The self regulation of emotions helps him or her become
popular among colleagues.
3. Self Motivation
It is the person’s internal urge to maintain and manage emotional behavior in a stable
manner, even when difficult situation and hurdles arise . Emotionally intelligent people
are self-motivated. They're not motivated simply by money or a title. They are usually
resilient and optimistic when they encounter disappointment and driven by an inner
ambition.
4. Empathy
The ability to understand and sense another person’s feeling ,sentiments , emotions ,
and thoughts is empathy . A person who has empathy has compassion and an
understanding of human nature that allows him to connect with other people on an
emotional level. The ability to empathize allows a person to provide great service and
respond genuinely to others’ concerns. For example , I feel your pain ; I understand
your pain.
5. Social Skills
It is the ability to manage and handle the emotions of other people. People who are
emotionally intelligent are able to build rapport and trust quickly with others on their
teams. They avoid power struggles and usually enjoy other people and have the respect
of others around them.
 Emotional intelligence and Workplace
Emotional intelligence is defined as the set of competencies demonstrating the
ability one has the ability to recognize his or her behaviors, moods, and impulses
and to manage them best according to the situation. EI has three main
competencies which have direct relation with workplace
1. Empathy
It is our awareness of other’s feeling, needs and concerns. This competency is
important in the workplace for the following reasons:
• To understand others' feelings and perspectives, and showing an active interest
in their concerns and interests
• To anticipate, recognize, and meet customers' needs
• To sense what others need in order to grow, develop, and master their
strengths.
2. Social Skills
This is one's adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others. This
competency is important in the workplace for the following reasons:
• To influence others using effective tactics and techniques for persuasion and
desired results
• To communication sending clear and convincing messages.
• To inspire and guide groups of people through leadership.
• To solve conflict through negotiating and resolving disagreements with people.
• To Collaborate and cooperate by working with coworkers and business partners
toward shared goals.
• To create group synergy in pursuing collective goals.
3.Self-Awareness
Knowing one's internal states, preferences, resources, and intuitions. This
competency is important in the workplace for the following reasons:
• To recognizing one's emotions and their effects and impact.
• To promote accurate self-assessment by knowing one's strengths and limits
• To develop self-confidence being sure about one's self-worth and capabilities

4. Self-Regulation
This involves managing one's internal states, impulses, and resources. This
competency is important in the workplace for the following reasons:
• To maintain self-control by managing disruptive emotions and impulses.
• To maintain standards of honesty, integrity, flexibility in handling change.
5. Self-Motivation
It refers to the motional tendency that guides reaching goals. This competency is
important in the workplace for the following reasons:
• To stimulate to meet a standard of excellence we impose on ourselves
• To fosters commitment by aligning with the goals of the group or organization.
• To make ready to act on opportunities without having to be told and make
being persistent in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks.
 Application of Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence refers to the capacity to identify, evaluate and manage
emotion in oneself and in other people. Followings are some of application of EI:
1. Excel in business and career:
High level emotion means the person performs well in assigned responsibility
and taken as respected and valuable person. Such persons is skillful to recognize
others sentiments, and always have positive attitude, optimistic and often can
handle employees, employer and colleagues even in hard times. Such people can
be successful in every area like jobs and business.
2. Manage anger emotion:
Emotion of anger is the most difficult to manage among the negative emotions. If
the person has knowledge of EI, s/he can understand others feeling, ones own
strengths, weakness, limitations etc. and can control own emotion and negative
feelings . This means , a person with high EI is full of positivity and empathetic
mind and prevent himself of herself from anger.
3. Develop relationship:
This means people with high EI has ability to understand others feeling, emotion
and sentiments. They avoid power struggle and keenly interested to establish
rapport. Further they hold social skills and know how to manage and handle
relationship with other. Thus, EI enhances the ability to get along with others and
strengthens the relationship.
4. Development of positive social characteristics:
EI teaches art of living with harmony and peace. So, an increased sense of EI is
associated with positivity such as sense of well-being, motivation, sociability,
confidence, optimism, altruism, self-efficacy etc. these all help to promote
positive social characteristics.
5. Selection of Employees:
Now a day attitude of employees is the main concern of organizations than skill
and knowledge. Every organization wants to get people who are friendly, caring
and have positive feelings and attitude. So, organization choose that person who
has positive attitude towards organization, jobs, seniors, colleagues, subordinates
etc. Emotionally intelligent people always hold positive attitudes and have high
chance s of being selected in the organization.
6. Development of healthy life style:
A person who is emotionally intelligent has ability to understand ones own
emotions, others sentiments and focuses on establishing peace and harmony.
Such persons are free from stress and anger so that they can develop healthy
lifestyle.
 Unit 8: Personality
Concept:
• The word personality is a common term and used in most of the situation but still in
confusion.
• It has been derived from the Latin term "Persona" which means to speak truth. In the
ancient Rome and Greece, it was used as a mask worn by the actors to influence
others.
• This describes the personality is the way or process of influencing other through
external appearance. Now day, it has been defined psychological characteristics of an
individual that both determines and reflects their responses to the environment.
According to S.P. Robbins, "Personality is the sum total of way by which an individual
reacts and interacts to others.
According to Baron, “ Personality consists of the unique and stable patterns of
behavior, thoughts and emotions shown by individuals.”
Personality can be defined as the inner psychological characteristics that both
determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment.
Determinants of personality:
Personality refers to the sum total of qualities and characteristics that distinguishes one
person to another person. A person's personality is determined by different factors.
However, there is lack of unanimity among the behavioral scientist whether it has been
influenced nature or nurture. The common factors that determines the personality are
as follows:
1. Heredity:
• Heredity refers to the factors determined at conception.
• It is the transformation of qualities and characteristics from ancestors to descendants
through the cell of chromosomes.
• Basically, temperament, physical stature, facial expression or outlook, energy level,
muscles composition etc, are transmitted from parent to their generation.
• The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s
personality is the molecular structure of genes locate in the chromosomes.
• Researchers conducted to understand the role of heredity on intelligence. They
assumed that , if personality is indeed determined by heredity, the persons would be
more similar their IQ will be. They conducted research by taking identical twin. They
found high correlation between identical twins and moderate relationship between
fraternal twins despite they rearing apart or together.
2. Environment
• Environmental factors are the social economic and cultural aspects of
individuals.
• An individual in which family s/he born, where he lives, where they are studying
or their upbringing, their relatives, friends, neighbor are important
determinants of their personality.
i) Family :
• Family and social factor are major determinacy of person's personality.
• Personality depends on factors like in which family s/he belongs to, who are the
family members, what is their family status, their image in the society, their
financial conditions, their upbringing, ethics, values of the family.
ii) Social factors
Social factors such as location of the society where the person live his/her
relatives, neighbors and socialization process , schools where they studied etc.
determine the personality of individuals.
iii) Culture:
Culture refers to the aggregate of norms, values, feelings life style of a particular
society or a country where individuals live. The countries culture can be
individualistic, co-operative, aggressive, jealous, etc. Individuals develop their
personality suitable to country's culture. Therefore, cultural factors affect our
personality.
3. Situational factors:
• Situation refers to aggregate of surrounding, circumstances, atmosphere, etc.
That influence human behavior.
• There is only one thing which is beyond the controlling capacity of individual is
situation. An individual’s personality may change in different situation.
• A person has to change according to the situation and in every situation or
circumstances a different forms of personality come out.
• So, environmental situation determines the personality and individual's show
different personalities according to the demand of the situation.
 Personality Traits
Personality traits are the enduring characteristic by individuals react or interact with
each others. Broadly personality traits are divided in to two groups:
1. MBTI:
• MBTI refers to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It was developed by Isable Briggs Myer
and his mother Kahtleesn Briggs.
• It is the most widely personality assessment instrument in the world. It’s a 100
question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in a particular
situation. on the basis of their answer, individuals are classified as under:
a. Extraverted versus introvert ( E or I): Extraverted individuals are outgoing, sociable,
and assertive. Introverts are quiet and shy.
b. Sensing versus intuitive ( S or I): Sensing types are practical and prefer routine order,
they focus on detail. Intuitive relays on unconscious process and look at big picture.
c. Thinking versus feeling ( T or F): Thinking types use logic and reasons to solve
problems. Feeling types relay on their personal values and beliefs.
d. Judging and perceiving ( J or P) : judging types want to control and prefer their world
to be ordered and structured. Perceiving are flexible and spontaneous.
2. Big Five Models
• Individual's personality refers to the sum total of their traits and characteristics that
disguises one person from another.
• Initially researcher found 17972 personality traits and characteristics. Later on they
were re-grouped in 16 groups. And, finally formed five dimensions of personality traits
and characteristics.
• These five dimensions are also called big five dimensions of personality traits and
characteristics which are as follows.
a. Extra version:
• It refers to comfort level relationship. In other words, it is concerned with propensity
of individual to maintain the relationship with others.
• In this regard, individuals can be extrovert and introvert. Extrovert person are
talkative, assertive, social and want to maintain relationship with other persons. Such
individuals can easily adjust themselves in any group. Where as introvert person are
quite shy, prefer lonelier they do not like to talk more with others and feel discomfort
to adjust in new groups and situation.
• The extrovert persons are likely to be more successful in managing team and
establishing relation with others.
b. Agreeableness:
• It refers to the propensity of individual to go along with others or ability to work with
others. Agreeable people also can be high agreeable and low agreeable.
• High agreeable people us to be good nature, gentle, mild, altruistic, cooperative,
straight forward, and warm where as low agreeable people used to be irritable, non-
cooperative, cold, antagonistic, disagreeable and short temper.
• The high agreeable people are more successful than low agreeable people.
c. Conscientiousness:
• Conscientiousness refers to the tendency of individual to use their own conscience
while performing the job. It can be high conscientious and low conscientious.
• High conscientious people focuses on few goals. They are careful, organized,
responsible, self-discipline and understanding. Such people are ethical and have high
level of aspiration.
• People with low in this category used to focus wide array of goals. They are careless,
disorganized, irresponsible and less self discipline.
• As compared to low conscientiousness people, high conscientiousness one more
successful in the job.
d. Emotional stability:
• It is also called neuroticism. It refers to degree by which individual can stand or work
with pressure. In this regard, individuals can e emotionally stable and emotional
instable.
• Emotional stable individuals are calm, poise, secured and flexible where people with
emotional instability are excited, in secured and subject to the mood swing.
• Normally, people with emotional stable are assumed as more successful in the job.
e. Openness to experience:
• It refers to tendency of individual on rigidity of belief or range of interest held by
individuals. In this regard, people can be opened and closed.
• Opened people are ready to listen new ideas and change their behavior. They are
curious, imaginative and creative where as closed people are conventional, They are
the slave of tradition they are lazy and imaginative non creative, they prefer
statuesque and result the change.
• Opened people are given more priority in the organization.
 Personality Attributes Influencing Organizational Behavior
Individual's personality is the sum total of traits and characteristics that identify
commonalities and differences between one person and another. Organization behavior
is influenced by some tries or attributes which are as follows:-
1. Locus of control:
• It refers to the tendency that what happens to himself or herself is determined by
oneself or other.
• In other words it is concerned with determining whether someone’s behavior is
controlled internally or externally. In this regard, people can be internal and external.
• The people who believe that they are the master of own fate and they can construct
their future by themselves is called internal. Such internal people used to believe in
effort and strive hard to achieve objectives where as if the people believe that their
fate or future is controlled or influenced by other people, chance, luck, god, etc, they
are called external people such people have low confidence level and they pay low
attention on effort.
• In the organization behavior, internal people are more suitable in managerial position
and external people are suitable in non managerial position.
2. Machiavellianism:
• The concept of Machiavellianism was developed by Italian philosopher Niccolo
Machiavelli in 16th century.
• It refers to tendency of individual to gain and use of power for the personal
benefits. In this regard, individuals can be High Mach and low Mach.
• Individuals with high Mach tend to be calm, cool, pragmatic, loyal, maintains
emotional distance, tries to control people and feel pleasure while manipulating
other. They used to speak lie, even try to bypass the bass to make vital decision.
• Individuals with low Mach are emotional, real, not speak lie, highly friendly and
do not try to manipulate other.
• In the organization high Mach individuals will be successful in those job which
require bargaining skills.
3. Self-Esteem:
• It refers to the tendency of individuals to like or dislike oneself. In this regard,
individual can be high self esteem and low self esteem.
• The individual with high self esteem used to feel themselves worthwhile,
deserving and high level of self confidence. Such person have high self efficacy
and want to perform challenging job. So, they are motivated by intrinsic factors.
• Individuals with low self esteem do not like themselves. This mean they do not
feel themselves as deserving and they have low level of confidence. They seek
guidance, instruction from others to accomplish the task. They are motivated by
external factors such as money and reward.
• In the sense of organizational behavior, people with high self esteem will be
successful in managerial level where as low self esteem are useful for operating
level.
4. Self- monitoring :
• It refers to the tendency of individual to adjust in changing environment or
external situation. In this regard, individuals can be of high self-monitoring and
low self-monitoring.
• Individuals with high self monitoring are ready to change their behavior
according to the changes in situation. This means an individual shows different
appearances and faces to different audiences.
• Individuals with low self monitoring ability are rigid in nature. They feel difficult
to disguise themselves according to the changes in environment.
• In this sense, people with high self-monitoring ability get more opportunities for
promotion, transfer of career development than self monitoring managers are
more mobile in their career.
5. Narcissism:
• The narcissism refers to the individual tendency of feeling proud, arrogant over
oneself and own image and performance. It involves the Grandiose sense of self
importance, require excessive admiration and have a sense of entitlement.
• It is a feeling of individual superiority than other. Narcissists also tend to be
selfish and exploitative.
• High narcissism individual take risks and choose unconventional job. They are
less susceptible to external influences and high job satisfaction through higher
performance. Low narcissism individuals are concerned with pleasing other
people and look for security and money related rewards.
6. Risk propensity:
• It refers to the tendency of individuals taking risk while making decision. In this
regard, individual personality have two aspect that is high risk taking and low
risk taking.
• The individual with high risk taking tendencies have more confident and ready
to make important derision having only few information. Whereas a person with
low risk taking propensity like to follow more formalities to make the decision.
They require more information, participation and other formalities to make the
decision.
• In the sense of organization, high risk taker will be more successful in the top
level management.
7. Personality type A and type B:
Individual personality is broadly classified into type A and type B. A person with type A
personality is aggressively involved in a chronic and incessant struggle to achieve more
and more in less and less time.
Individuals with personality Type A are:
• Always moving, walking, eating rapidly, strong sense of time urgency.
• Feel impatient with the rate of events.
• Try to do two or more things at once.
• Avoid leisure time. Obsessed with numbers.
• Work for long hours, makes poor decision and less creative.
Individuals with Type B personality:
Type B individuals are opposite to the Type A, holds following characteristics:
• Lack sense of time urgency.
• Less competitive and tends to their achievement to themselves.
• Play for fun and relaxation, do not lose temper.
• Type B persons are more successful in in the top management.
 Measurement of Personality
The personality of an individual is highly complex. Therefore it is not possible to
measure the personality of an individual as a whole by a single test. Psychologists
have developed several techniques to understand the behavior of people. The
common methods used in measuring an individual’s personality are as follows:
1. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
• Developed by Strake Hathaway and J.C. McKinley of the Minnesota University in
1943.
• MMPI is a psychological test that especially tests for abnormal behavior
patterns in personality. It uses a questionnaire consisting 567 statements, the
participant must answer “true, false or I can not say.”
• The MMPI-2 is designed with 10 clinical scales which assess 10 major categories
of abnormal human behavior, and four core validity scales to test the level of
abnormality . Each scales tests for a particular kind of behavior. The behavior
patterns include relatively mild personality problems such as excessive worrying
and shyness as well as more serious disorder such as schizophrenia and
depression.
 The names of 10 scales and what they measure are:
1. Hypochondriasis (Hs) – Exaggerated anxiety about ones health and pessimistic
interpretation and exaggeration of minor symptoms.
2. Depression (D)- Feeling of permission, hopelessness and worthlessness.
3. Hysteria (Hy) – Various alignments such as headaches, paralysis and vomiting
which have no physical basis.
4. Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) – antisocial and amoral conduct.
5. Masculinity/Femininity (Mf) – possession of traits and interest typically
associated with opposite sex.
6. Paranoia (Pa) – suspiciousness, delusions of grandeur or harassment.
7. Psychasthenia (Pt) – obsession, compulsion, fear, guilt , indecisiveness.
8. Schizophrenia (Sc) – The Schizophrenia scale measures bizarre thoughts,
withdrawal, hallucinations.
9. Hypomania (Ma) – emotional excitement, flight of ideas, overactivity.
10.Social Introversion (Si) – shyness; lack of interest in other; in security .
2. Projective Test:
A projective test is one in which a person’s patterns of thoughts, attitude,
observational capacity and emotional responses are evaluated on the basis of
ambiguous test materials. There are two popular projective tests:
I) Rorschach Inkblot Test (RT)
Rorschach Inkblot Test is the is the most commonly used projective psychological
test. The test was first introduced in 1921 by a Swiss psychiatrist called Hermann
Rorschach. In this test individuals are asked to describe what they see in a series
of inkbolts. The original purpose of the test was to produce a profile of people
suffering from mental disorders, like schizophrenia, based on the scoring.
This test consists of ten black and white cards with blots of ink on them. The cards could
be multi-colored. The subjects who are to be examined are provided with these cards
one by one, and asked what they look like, or what they could be. Each of these card is
presented one at a time and test is taken individually. There is no right and wrong
answers.
The test is completely dependent on the guesswork done by the subjects. The subjects
are allowed to answer with one, several responses, or no response to each card.
The test is administered by dividing three periods:
a. Free- association period: In this period, the examiner records the participants
responses, comments, reactions and time taken for the first response.
b. Inquiry period: Examiner questions the participant about each response to find out
which part of the bolt was used to respond. The participant is also inquired about
important picture of the figure.
c. Testing the limit: Examiner notes what kinds of responses not given by the subjects
and responses usually given by other participants. Psychologists score responses on key
factors such as reference to color, shape, figure seen in the bolt and responses to the
whole or to details.
II) Thematic Appreciation Test(TAT)
• This projective test is also regarded as a picture interpretation technique as it
consists of a series of drawings that give a picture of human figures in various
ambiguous situations.
• The test consists of 31 cards, 30 with pictures and a black card. Subjects are
then asked to interpret the pictures by creating a story describing the situation
of the person in the cards. The blank card is provided with the goal to ask
subjects to create their own scene and story. Designated sets of 20 pictures are
administered to men and women, while the two other sets are administered to
boys and girls. Murray recommended the test to be administered in two 1-hour
sessions, consisting of 10 cards each.
Researchers encourage the subjects to create as dramatic story as possible. It is a
must for the story to have a title, a beginning, a body, a hero and the end. The
general idea is that with their story, subjects reveal their needs, desires, along
with their hidden motivations, expectations and intentions, which otherwise
would not be out for display on the open. The test also has a standard scoring
system.
 Personality and Behavior in Work Setting
• Personality has both internal and external elements. External traits are the observable
behavior that we relay on to identify someone’s personality. The internal states
represents the thoughts, beliefs, emotions, values or genetic characteristics that we
infer from the observable behavior.
• Personality explains behavioral tendencies because a person’s behavior is influenced
by situation as well as personality traits. Personality traits are less evident in situation
where social norms, reward system, and other conditions constrain behavior. For
example, when “no talking” rules are explicitly or implicitly enforced, talkative people
remain quiet. A considerable amount of research has been carried out exploring the
relationship between personality and individuals behavior in the work setting and
found that it is difficult to predict accurately how a person’s personality impacts on
behavior at work setting, it is because personality only one of factor many factors
influencing the behavior in organization.
• Rather behavior is influenced by other many factors such as ability, perception,
motivation and organizational system. Regarding the personality and behavior at work
setting, following conclusion can be drawn: It is one of the many factors influencing
the behavior of the individual.
• Personality traits are less evident in all situation, where norms, rewards constraint
behavior. A person’s behavior is influenced by situation as well as personality.